Combat

This section covers the core combat rules. Like the character creation system, the combat system applies equally to PCs and NPCs.

The GM decides when to start using the combat rules. This will generally be when fighting seems likely and combatants begin maneuvering for tactical advantage. The GM may also use these rules to resolve 'action' situations such as chases and tournaments.

Combat Turn Sequence

Combat takes place second by second. Each character actively involved in the combat gets one opportunity to act per second, referred to as his 'turn.' After everyone has taken his turn, one second has passed.

The GM shouldn't feel constrained by the one-second time scale. This is just a way of breaking a battle into manageable chunks! He should feel free to drop out of combat time whenever dramatically appropriate, and to resume combat time when noncombat action gives way to more fighting. Consider a running gunfight in which the combatants leap across rooftops and chase each other up and down rickety fire escapes: the GM could resolve this through roleplaying and DX or skill rolls (against Jumping, etc.), interspersed with a few seconds of combat whenever he feels the opponents have a clear shot at each other.

Active Characters
An 'active character' is involved in the combat and able to take action. A character who is knocked out, asleep, etc., is not active. But someone who chooses to do nothing is still active - "Do Nothing" is a valid combat maneuver.

Turn Sequence

The 'turn sequence' is the order in which active characters take their turns. It is set at the start of the fight and does not change during combat. The combatant with the highest Basic Speed goes first and takes his turn, then the one with the next-highest Basic Speed, and so on, in descending order by Basic Speed. Once every active character has taken his turn, one second has passed and another second begins.

Tied Speeds: If multiple NPCs on the same side have the same Basic Speed, the GM simply decides who goes first - it isn't really important. If PCs are involved, ties go to the highest DX. If there's still a tie, GM should roll randomly at the start of the combat to determine who acts first, and use that order throughout the combat.

Sequence Chart: If a combat has many participants, the GM may find it useful to make a quick list of the order in which the combatants take their turns.

"Your Turn"

A given participant's turn is the one-second period that stretches from when he chooses a maneuver until his next opportunity to select a manuever. This overlaps the turns of other characters.

Maneuvers

A 'maneuver' is an action that you can take on your turn. Each turn, you must choose one of the following maneuvers: Aim, All-Out Attack, All-Out Defense, Attack, Change Posture, Concentrate, Do Nothing, Evaluate, Feint, Move, Move and Attack, Ready, or Wait. Your choice determines what you can do on your turn, and sets your options for active defense and movement.

Multiple Maneuvers and Full-Turn Maneuvers

Ordinary characters can only take a single maneuver when it is their turn to act, limiting them to one maneuver per second. However, a few traits allow you to act with superhuman speed and take multiple maneuvers per turn!

Some maneuvers are described as 'full-turn' maneuvers. If you take one of these, it's the only maneuver you can perform on your turn, regardless of how fast you can act. You are assumed to be performing that maneuver for an entire second.

Active Defense and Maneuvers

The maneuver you choose affects your 'active defenses' - your ability to dodge, parry, or block attacks (see Defending.) You only have to select an active defense if you ar e attacked. Your most recent maneuver governs the active defenses you can use.

For the purpose of active defenses, your maneuver is considered to be in effect until you select another maneuver on your next turn. For instance, if you chose All-Out Defense (which gives a defensive advantage), its benefits would apply if you were attacked after you took your turn, and would persist until it was your turn again and you took a different maneuver.

If you're attacked before you've had a chance to choose a maneuver - usually at the start of combat - you're considered to be taking a Do Nothing maneuver.

Movement and Maneuvers

Most maneuvers allow some form of movement. The Move and Move and Attack maneuvers allow you to move quickly, up to a number of yards equal to your full Move score. Other maneuvers, such as All-Out Attack, limit you to a fraction of your full Move.

Many maneuvers restrict movement to a 'step.' This is movement up to 1/10 your Move, minimum 1 yard, in any direction, a change of facing (for instance, to turn around), or both. You can perform your step before or after the rest of the maneuver, for instance, you could step and attack or attack and step.

Some maneuvers allow no movement. In particular, you cannot move if you Change Posture or Do Nothing.

For more on movement, see Move and Movement and Combat.

Free Actions

"Free actions" are things you can do during any maneuver. Some examples:

Talk. You can always talk. If the GM wants to be realistic, he should allow only one sentence of communication per second... but it is usually more fun when you ignore this limitation!

Maintain spells or psi. As long as you remain active, you can maintain a spell or ongoing psi ability, no matter what else you do.

Drop an item. You can drop any 'ready' item at any time during any maneuver. If you're moving, you may drop it at any point within your reach during your movement.

Crouch. If standing, you may opt to crouch (to make yourself a smaller target for ranged attacks) at the beginning of your turn. This will usually slow your movement speed (see Movement), and you cannot crouch and sprint. If you were already crouching, it is a free action to rise from a crouching position at the start of your turn.

Do Nothing

Anyone who is just standing still is assumed to be doing nothing. In particular, when combat begins, anyone who has not yet taken a turn is treated as if he took this maneuver before entering combat.

Someone who is conscious but stunned or surprised must take this maneuver. On each turn of Do Nothing, he may attempt an HT roll to recover from physical stun or an IQ roll to recover from mental stun. On a success, he recovers at the end of his turn - that is, he Does Nothing this turn, but may act normally next turn.

Movement: None!
Active Defense: Any (unless you're tied up, etc.) If you are stunned, however, your active defenses are at -4 until your next turn - even if you recover.

Move

Move, but take no other action except those specified under Free Actions. You may move any number of yards up to your full Move score. Most other maneuvers allow at least some movement on your turn; take this maneuver if all you want to do is move.

Players must tell the GM exactly where their PCs move to so that he can keep track of the combat. The GM decides where his NPCs move, and will inform any players whose PCs are in a position to witness the movement.

If you are controlling a vehicle or riding a mount, take a Move maneuver to spend the turn actively controlling it. Instead of you moving, the vehicle or mount moves on your turn (carrying you and other occupants). See Mounted Combat and Vehicles for details.

Sprinting: If you run forward for two or more turns in a row, you get bonus movement on your second and later moves; see Sprinting.

Movement: See above.
Active Defense: Any.

Change Posture

This maneuver lets you switch between any two 'postures' (stances in which you can pose your body). Valid postures are standing, sitting, kneeling, crawling, lying prone (face down), and lying face up. Any posture other than standing slows your movement and penalizes your attack and defense rolls, but also makes you a smaller target for ranged attacks.

You cannot stand up directly from a lying position. If you are lying (prone or face up), you must take a Change Posture maneuver to rise to a crawling, kneeling, or sitting posture first. A second Change Posture maneuver lets you stand from any of these postures. (Going from standing up to lying down, however, only takes one maneuver - or none at all, if the change was involuntary!)

You can switch between kneeling and standing (only) as the 'step' portion of any maneuver that allows a step - you don't need Change Posture for that. This is instead of using the step to move. Thus, you could go from prone to kneeling with a Change Posture maneuver on one turn, and then stand up in place on your next turn by taking a maneuver that allows a step.

Crouching does not require a Change Posture maneuver; see Free Actions.

Movement: None. You remain in place as you change posture.
Active Defense: Any. Postures other than standing penalize your defense rolls, but also make you a smaller target for ranged attacks.

Aim

This is a full-turn maneuver used to aim a ranged weapon (or a device such as a camera or telescope). You must choose a specific target. You can't aim at something that you can't see or otherwise detect.

Specify the weapon you're aiming with and your target. If you follow an Aim manuever with an Attack or All-Out Attack with the same weapon against the same target, you get a bonus to hit. Add the weapon's Accuracy (Acc) to your skill, plus any bonuses for targeting systems used: sights, targeting computers, etc.

If you brace a firearm or crossbow, you get an extra +1 to Acc. A firearm or crossbow is braced if you can rest it on a sandbag, low wall, car, etc. A one-handed firearm (e.g., a pistol) is considered braced if used two-handed. A two-handed firearm (e.g., a rifle) is considered braced if you are prone and using a bipod.

If you Aim for more than one second, you receive an additional bonus: +1 for two seconds of Aim, or +2 for three or more seconds.

Your combined bonus from all targeting systems (scopes, sights, computers, etc.) cannot exceed the weapon's base Accuracy. For instance, if you add a telescopic sight that gives +4 Acc to a pistol with Acc 2, the bonus is +2, not +4.

Movement: Step. Exception: You cannot step if using a braced, two-handed weapon.
Active Defense: Any, but you automatically spoil your aim and lose all accumulated benefits. If you are injured while aiming, you must make a Will roll or lose your aim.

Evaluate

This maneuver is the melee combat equivalent of Aim. It lets you take time to study an adversary in order to gain a combat bonus on a subsequent attack. You must specify one visible opponent who is close enough to attack unarmed or with a ready melee weapon, or whom you could reach with a single Move and Attack maneuver. You are sizing him up and looking for the right moment to strike.

An Evaluate maneuver gives you +1 to skill for the purpose of an Attack, Feint, All-Out Attack, or Move and Attack made against that opponent, on your next turn only. You may take multiple, consecutive Evaluate maneuvers before you strike, giving a cumulative +1 per turn, to a maximum of +3.

Movement: Step.
Active Defense: Any. This does not spoil your evaluation.

Attack

Use this maneuver to make an armed or unarmed attack in melee combat, or to use a thrown or missile weapon in ranged combat. To use a weapon to attack, it must be ready.

If you are using a melee weapon or unarmed attack, your target must be within reach. Resolve the attack as explained under Melee Attacks. If you took an Evaluate maneuver last turn, you will have a bonus to hit. If you took a Feint, your opponent may have a penalty to defend.

If you are using a ranged weapon, your target must be within the weapon's Max range. Resolve the attack according to Ranged Attacks. If you took an Aim maneuver last turn, you will have a bonus to hit.

Movement: Step. You may step and then attack or attack and then step - your choice. To move further and still attack, take All-Out Attack or Move and Attack.
Active Defense: Any.

Feint

"Fake" a melee attack. You cannot Feint someone unless you could have hit him with a melee attack - that is, your weapon is ready and your foe is within reach. This maneuver is not an attack, though, and does not make your weapon unready.

When you Feint, roll a Quick Contest of Melee Weapon skills with your foe; if either of you is unarmed, you may roll against an unarmed combat skill instead. Your opponent may opt to roll against Cloak or Shield skill, if he is suitably equipped and this would give him a better roll. If his DX is better than his combat skills, he may roll against DX instead.

If you fail your roll, your Feint is unsuccessful. Likewise, if you succeed, but your foe succeeds by as much as or more than you do, your Feint fails.

If you make your roll, and your foe fails, subtract your margin of success from the foe's active defense if you attack him with Attack, All-Out Attack, or Move and Attack on your next turn. For instance, if your skill is 15 and you roll a 12, your foe defends against you at -3 next turn.

If you and your foe both succeed, but you succeed by more, subtract your margin of victory from the foe's defense. For instance, if your skill is 15 and you roll a 10 (success by 5), and your foe's skill is 14 and he rolls 12 (success by 2), you win by 3, so he will defend at -3 if your next maneuver is to attack him.

You cannot Feint if your foe is unable to observe you! However, if your foe runs away, turns his back on you, or loses sight of you in some way after you successfully Feint, he will still suffer his defense penalty if you attack him on your next turn. If you lose track of the foe, or cannot attack him next turn, your foe's defense penalty vanishes.

A Feint is good for one second! But if you Feint and then make an All-Out Attack (Double), the feint applies to both attacks.

In all cases, your allies cannot take advantage of your Feint. The defense penalty applies only to your next attack.

Shield Feints: After you have attacked your foe once by striking with your shield, you may also Feint with your shield, rolling against Shield skill.

Movement: Step.
Active Defense: Any. However, if you Feint and then parry with an unbalanced weapon, you cannot attack on your next turn, making your Feint pointless.

All-Out Attack

Attack any foe with a ready weapon, making no effort to defend against enemy attacks. If you are making a melee attack, you must specify one of these four options before you attack:

* Determined: Make a single attack at +4 to hit!
* Double: Make two attacks against the same foe, if you have two ready weapons or one weapon that does not have to be readied after use. Attacks with a second weapon held in the off hand are at the usual -4 (see Handedness) unless you have Ambidexterity.
* Feint: Make one Feint (see above) and then one attack against the same foe. The Feint applies to this attack instead of one you make on your next turn.
* Strong: Make a single attack, at normal skill. If you hit, you get +2 to damage - or +1 damage per die, if that would be better. This only applies to melee attacks doing ST-based thrust or swing damage, not to weapons such as force swords.

If you are making a ranged attack, you must specify one of these two options before you attack:

* Determined: Make a single attack at +1 to hit.
* Suppression Fire: Take the entire turn to spray an area with automatic fire. This is a full-turn maneuver, and you can only choose this option if your weapon has RoF 5+. See Suppression Fire.

Movement: You may move up to half your Move, but you can only move forward.
Active Defense: You may make no active defenses at all from the point you take this maneuver until your next turn. If someone attacks you after you make an All-Out attack, all you can do is hope he misses - you can't dodge, parry, or block!

Move and Attack

Move as described for the Move maneuver, but during or after your move, make a single, poorly aimed attack - either unarmed or with a ready weapon.

You attack as described for the Attack maneuver (above), but at a penalty. If you are making a ranged attack, you have a penalty of -2 or the weapon's Bulk rating, whichever is worse - and if you took an Aim, you lose all of its bonuses. If you are making a melee attack other than a slam, you have a flat -4 to skill, and your adjusted skill cannot exceed 9.

Movement: As described under the Move maneuver - but since you are trying to do two things at once, you are -2 on any rolls the GM requires to avoid falling, tripping over obstacles, etc.
Active Defense: Dodge or block only. You cannot parry and you may not retreat (see Retreat).

All-Out Defense

This is the maneuver to choose when you're beset by foes - especially foes who like All-Out Attacks! You must specify one of the following two options:

* Increased Defense: Add +2 to one active defense of your choice: Dodge, Parry, or Block. This bonus persists until your next turn.
* Double Defense: Apply two different active defenses against the same attack. If you fail your defense roll against an attack, you may try a second, different defense against that attack. For instance, if you fail a block, you may try a dodge or a parry. If you try a parry (armed or unarmed) with one hand and fail, a parry using the other hand does count as a 'different defense'.

Movement: If you choose Increased Dodge, you may move up to half your Move. Otherwise, the only movement you may take is a step.
Active Defense: You may choose any legal active defense, with bonuses as described above.

Concentrate

You concentrate on one primarily mental task (even if it has a minor physical component, like operating controls, gesturing, or speaking). This may be casting a magical spell, using a psi ability, making a Sense roll to spot an invisible warrior, making a Leadership roll to give orders, making an Electronics Operation roll to operate a sensor, or any similar action, including most IQ-based skill rolls. This is a full-turn maneuver.

Some activities (e.g., casting spells) require you to take the Concentrate maneuver for multiple seconds. If you are forced to use an active defense, knocked down, injured, or otherwise distracted before you finish, you must make a Will-3 roll. On a failure, you lose your concentration and must start over.

Movement: Step.
Active Defense: Any. However, it interferes with concentration as noted above.

Ready

Take a Ready maneuver to pick up or draw any item and prepare it for use; e.g., to pull a sword from its sheath or a gun from its holster, or to reload a firearm. In some cases, you may also need a Ready maneuver to regain control of an unwieldy weapon after a swing, or to adjust the reach of a long weapon - see the Melee Weapon Table.

You can use a Ready maneuver to perform physical actions other than fighting: opening or closing a door, picking a lock, digging, lifting, etc. Continuing activities may require multiple, consecutive Ready maneuvers; see Other Activities in Combat.

Finally, a Ready maneuver lets you switch an advantage 'off' or 'on' if it is not always on and does not require an Attack or Concentrate maneuver to use.

For more information, see Readying Weapons and Other Gear and When is a Weapon Ready?

Movement: Step.
Active Defense: Any.

Wait

Do nothing unless a particular event you specified in advance occurs before your next turn; e.g., a foe moves into range. If that happens, you may transform your Wait into an Attack, Feint, All-Out Attack (you must specify the option before acting), or Ready maneuver. If you are reacting to someone else, this interrupts his turn, but he can still resume it after you've acted.

You must specify exactly what your action will be when you take the Wait maneuver, and what will trigger it. For instance, "I'll make an All-Out Attack (Determined) with my sword on the first orc to move toward me."

You may take a Wait with a ready ranged weapon; this is known as 'covering' a target or area. If so, you must specify the zone that you are covering with that weapon. There is no penalty to cover a one-yard area. For larger areas and additional rules, see Opportunity Fire.

You can use the Wait maneuver for any 'reflex action' you want to plan in advance, provided you specify both the response and the action that will trigger it. This can include holding a knife at a hostage's throat, or even a noncombat action (e.g, "If Dora sees any orcs, she will pull this rope immediately - otherwise, she does nothing.") An action only qualifies as a 'reflex' if you could do it in a single motion. The GM's decision is final.

Finally, you can use Wait to coordinate actions with slower friends.

Stop Thrust: If you have a ready thrusting weapon, you can use a Wait to brace your weapon to receive a possible enemy charge. Simply state, "I brace for a stop thrust." You can convert your Wait into an Attack or All-Out Attack against any one foe that moves one or more yards toward you to make a melee attack (armed or unarmed, including a slam or a grapple) or evade (see Evading). You strike first if you have the longer reach. If you hit and your foe fails to defend, add +1 to thrust damage for every two full yards your attacker moved toward you.

Movement: None until your Wait is triggered. At that point, you may move as allowed by the maneuver you specified (Attack, Feint, All-Out Attack, or Ready).
Active Defense: You may defend normally while you are waiting or after your Wait is triggered. But if you defend while taking a Wait, you may not transform your Wait into an All-Out Attack; you must convert your Wait into an Attack instead.

Movement and Combat

Basic movement does not require a game board. Instead, the GM should have a general idea of the environment, and mentally keep track of relative distances between combatants or objects - possibly referring to maps, notes, or diagrams. Should the players ask about reach or distance ("I want to run up and swing at him... how far away is he?"), the GM's judgment is final.

Since movement and facing issues are in the GM's head, it's up to the GM how much detail to give the players. The GM might carefully keep track of every yard of movement, taking notes on paper... or he might only worry about exact distances when they are of vital importance. Most GMs will want to adopt a middle ground. For example:

GM: "You see Indigo Joe 90 yards north of you. He's at the edge of the cemetary, crouched behind a tombstone, aiming his laser rifle at Kim."
Player: "Damn, he spotted us. Is there any cover nearby? I want to run toward it."
GM: "An outcropping of rock starts 7 yards to your northwest, and there are some trees about 10 yards to the east. Your helicopter is parked 10 yards behind you, if you want to fall back."
Player: "No way! Kim will use a Move and Attack. She runs her full Move toward the rocks, while firing at Indigo Joe with her Gauss rifle."
GM: "Fine. You have Move 5? Okay, you're now 2 yards from cover. Now it's Joe's turn. He fires an aimed shot..."

The GM should always provide enough detail to give the players tactical choices, but not so much as to overwhelm them. If things get confusing, a sketch map with a few notes can often help. Groups that desire more detail than that should consider using the Tactical Combat System - or at least adopting some of those rules to add extra detail to the guidelines given here.

Here are a few 'rules of thumb' for movement and combat. See Mounted Combat and Vehicles for notes on mounted and vehicular combat, respectively.

Movement

A combatant can move a maximum number of yards equal to his full Move score if he took a Move or Move and Attack maneuver. He can move up to half his Move if he chose an All-Out Attack or All-Out Defense (Increased Dodge) maneuver.

Obstacles and bad footing will generally slow movement. The GM decides how many yards of movement a fighter must give up to cover one yard of difficult terrain or to cross a given obstacle. For instance, tangled brush might cut Move in half, while climbing over a fallen body might cost an extra yard of movement.

You can move while in almost any posture, but you only get your full Move if standing. You have 1/3 your Move while crawling or kneeling - and you have a flat Move 1 while lying down (belly crawl or rolling). You cannot move at all while sitting!

Step

Most maneuvers allow you to take a step, either before or after another action. You may step a distance equal to 1/10 your Move, but never less than one yard. Round all fractions up. Thus, Move 1-10 gives a one-yard step, Move 11,20 gives a two-yard step, and so on.

If you are capable of steps greater than one yard, you may break up your movement in a turn. For instance, if you had a two-yard step, you could move one yard, make an attack, and move another yard during an Attack maneuver.

You can use a step to go from a kneeling to a standing posture (or vice versa) instead of moving. This requires your entire step, no matter how far you could normally move.

You may always turn to face a different direction as part of any step (or as the step, if you just want to change your facing).

Spacing

A human-sized fighter needs about one yard (3') of space; thus, two warriors could move downa passage two yards wide shoulder-to-shoulder - or hold it against a foe. A doorway is about one yard wide, so a single person could hold it. All this assumes room to attack and defend. Noncombatants could be packed in much more tightly, but they would have no room to react.

Moving Through Other Characters

You can always move through space occupied by your allies in combat, and you can run around an adversary who does not completely block your path (see Spacing). But if the GM rules that the only way past an opponent is through him, you must either bowl him over (see Slam) or 'evade' him.

Evading
"Evading" is moving through ground occupied by an opponent without trying to knock him down. You can attempt this as part of any maneuver that allows movement, providing you can move fast enough to go past your foe - not just up to him.

First, ask if your foe is trying to stop you. If he chooses to let you past, you 'evade' him automatically - no roll is needed. If your foe wants to stop you, roll a Quick Contest of DX. Modify your DX as follows:

-5 if your foe is standing up.
-2 if your foe is kneeling.
+2 if you are approaching your foe from his right or left side.
+5 if you are approaching your foe from behind.
+5 if your foe is lying down.

If you win, you evade him and are free to move on. If you lose or tie, he got in your way and stopped you.

You cannot evade anyone while you are being grappled (see Grappling). You cannot evade a foe if there is no logical way you could avoid hitting him, either (GM's decision)... but note that huge creatures can step over smaller ones, while small creatures can duck between the legs of larger ones!

On the other hand, if you can use an advantage such as Flight or Super Jump to move up and over the foe's reach in the vertical plane, you can evade him automatically!

Crouching

If you are in a standing position, you can elect to crouch at the beginning of your turn, as part of any maneuver. If you don't move, or if you only step, you may also crouch after performing another action such as attacking or readying. However, you may not move more than a step and then crouch at the end of your movement to avoid attacks - not in one second! But if you are already crouching, you may leave your crouch at any time as a free action.

Attacking

An "attack" is an attempt to hit a foe or other target. If you execute an Attack, All-Out Attack, or Move and Attack maneuver (or convert a Wait into any of these), you may try to hit a foe. You can only attack with a weapon if it's ready (see Ready).

The GM always has the option of ruling, for any reason having to do with the situation, that some fighters cannot attack certain opponents. For instance, eight attackers could not hit one human-sized foe at the same time. (Even three or four attackers at once would be unlikely, unless their victim had no allies!)

There are two basic types of attacks: melee attacks and ranged attacks. Your target must be within reach if you're making a melee attack, or within range if you're making a ranged attack. Resolving either type of attack takes three die rolls:

* First is your attack roll. If your roll is successful, your attack was a good one.
* Now your foe must make a defense roll to see if he can defend against your blow. If he makes this roll, he evaded or stopped the attack, and is not hit.
* If he misses his defense roll, your blow struck home and you roll for damage.

Some advantages (e.g., Extra Attack) and combat actions (see All-Out Attack and Rapid Strike),let you attack more than once. Resolve such attacks one at a time.

Attack Roll

Your 'attack roll' is a regular success roll. Figure your effective skill (base skill plus or minus any appropriate modifiers) with the weapon you are using.

If your roll is less than or equal to your 'effective' skill, your attack will hit unless your foe successfully defends (see Defending). If he fails to defend - or if he can't - you've hit him.

If your roll is greater than your effective skill, you missed!

No matter what your effective skill, a roll of 3 or 4 always hits, and is a 'critical hit'; see Critical Hits. A roll of 17 or 18 always misses.

Melee Attacks

When you take a maneuver that lets you make a melee attack, you must specify who you are attacking, and with what weapon. You can make a melee attack using any ready melee weapon (including a natural weapon such as a kick, bite, or punch) against any target that is within reach.

You can use some weapons in more than one way; e.g., you can swing or thrust with a shortsword. Such weapons have multiple lines on the Melee Weapons Table. When you attack with a weapon like this, you must indicate how you are using it before you roll.

To Hit
Figure your adjusted chance to hit by:

1. Taking your base skill with the weapon or unarmed attack you are using.
2. Applying all conditional modifiers for your maneuver, situation, posture, and the target's visibility. A detailed list appears under Melee Attack Modifiers (p547).

The result is your effective skill. A roll of this number or less is a successful attack roll. It will hit, unless the target succeeds with an active defense.

Ready Weapons

A one-handed weapon is ready if it's being held in your hand. A two-handed weapon is ready if you are gripping it with both hands. Some unwieldy weapons (e.g., the great axe) become unready after each attack unless you are extremely strong; see the Melee Weapon Table to learn which weapons are unwieldy, and their ST requirements (always marked ‡).

To draw a new weapon from a sheath, scabbard, or sling, or to ready an unwieldy weapon that became unready after an attack, you must take a Ready maneuver.

A natural weapon (punch, kick, etc.) is always ready unless the body part in question is occupied or restrained; e.g., you can't punch if you are holding a weapon with the same hand, or bite while wearing a full-face helmet or gripping something with your teeth.

Reach
A melee weapon can only attack a target that is within its reach (measured in yards), as given on the Melee Weapon Table. Most weapons have a reach of 1, which means you must be adjacent to your target (that is, within one yard of him). Reach plays a much larger role if using a game board; see the Tactical Combat System.

Melee Attack Options

Before making a melee attack, you may specify some additional options.

Hit Location
It is assumed that you are attacking the target's center of mass (the torso, on a human), unless you specify otherwise. If you wish to target another body part (e.g., the head), see Hit Location. If you choose to attack his weapon, see Striking at Weapons.

Deceptive Attack
You may designate any melee attack as 'deceptive' before you roll to hit. A Deceptive Attack is intended to get past an opponent's defenses through sheer skill. You can use this option to represent any number of advanced fighting techniques.

For every -2 you accept to your own skill, your foe suffers a -1 penalty on his active defenses against this attack. You may not reduce your final effective skill below 10 with a Deceptive Attack, which normally limits it to skilled fighters.

The GM may opt to speed play by limiting Deceptive Attacks to a flat -4 to skill, giving the target -2 on his active defenses.

Rapid Strike
A Rapid Strike is a melee attack executed swiftly enough that you get one extra attack. You must take an Attack or All-Out Attack maneuver, and you must use a ready weapon to make the extra attack. Make two attacks, both at -6 to skill. You can target multiple opponents this way.

If you already have multiple attacks, for whatever reason, you can replace one of them (and only one!) with two attacks at -6.

Unarmed Combat

Sometimes you have to fight without weapons, or with improvised weapons. This is unarmed combat. Anyone can engage in unarmed combat, but certain skills make you a more effective unarmed fighter. For this purpose:

* Striking skills are Boxing, Brawling, and Karate.
* Grappling skills are Judo, Sumo Wrestling, and Wrestling.

Striking
See the Melee Weapon Table for the reach, damage, etc., of punches, kicks, bites, and other unarmed strikes. For additional options, see Sample Combat Techniques and Special Unarmed Combat Techniques. And see Hurting Yourself for the effects of striking an armored target barehanded...

Grabbing
You can grab something a foe is holding, like a weapon. To do so, you must have an empty hand (but some weapons, such as whips, can also grab). Make an attack using DX or a grappling skill, with the usual penalty to hit the hand (-4). Your opponent defends normally.

If you hit, you've grabbed hold of your foe's weapon. On subsequent turns, you may try to wrest it from him. Each attempt is a full-turn maneuver. Roll a Regular Contest of ST. If you win, you take his weapon away. If you lose, you lose your grip on his weapon.

Grappling
"Grappling" is an attempt to grab your foe's body. You must have at least one empty hand. On a game board, you must also move into your foe's hex ('close combat').

Each attempt requires an Attack, All-Out Attack, or Move and Attack maneuver. Roll against basic DX or a grappling skill to hit. Your foe may defend normally - he can parry, dodge, or block. You may Evaluate or Feint beforehand to improve your odds of success.

Grappling does no damage, but if you successfully hit, the foe has -4 to DX as long as you're holding on. He may not move away until he breaks free (see Actions After Being Grappled) or you let go. Exception: If you grapple a foe of more than twice your ST, you do not prevent him from moving away - you're just extra encumbrance for him!

You may grapple with any or all of your arms. If you grapple with more than two arms, each arm beyond the first two gives a bonus of +2 to hit. An arm committed to grappling cannot make unarmed parries until you let go. Letting go is a free action on your turn.

If you are holding onto your foe with all your arms, the only further attacks you can make are those listed under Actions After a Grapple, below.

Posture: To grapple a prone, kneeling, or sitting opponent, you must kneel or lie down yourself, unless his Size Modifier is two or more greater than yours. You may do this as part of the 'step' component of an Attack maneuver.

Hit Location: The rules above assume that you are grappling the torso. To grab another body part, apply half the penalty given under Hit Location to your roll; see Grappling and Hit Location. If you hit, your foe has -4 to DX only when using that body part. You could grab a weapon arm or hand (to disarm your victim), a leg (to trip him), or the neck (to strangle him). If you grab an arm or hand, you cannot snatch a weapon away, but you can force your foe to drop it by winning a Regular Contest of ST - roll once per turn, as explained under Grabbing. For a related technique, see Arm Lock.

Actions After a Grapple
Once you have grappled a foe, you may attempt the following moves on subsequent turns (provided your opponent does not break free!) Each action requires an Attack or All-Out Attack maneuver.

Takedown
This is an attempt to bear your opponent to the ground. You may only try this on a standing foe. Roll a Quick Contest, with each contestant using the highest of ST, DX, or his best grappling skill. If you are not standing, you have a penalty equal to the usual penalty to hit for your posture. If you win, your victim falls down next to you (on a game board, he falls in your hex and any adjacent hex of your choice). If he was grappling you, he loses his grip. If you lose, you suffer the same effects! On a tie, nothing happens.

Pin
You may only attempt a pin if your foe is on the ground and you are grappling his torso. Roll a Regular Contest of ST. The larger fighter gets +3 for every point by which his Size Modifier exceeds that of his foe. The fighter with the most free hands gets +3. If you win, your foe is pinned and helpless. You must stay there to hold him down, but you can free one of your hands for other actions. If you lose or tie, nothing happens.

Choke or Strangle
You must have grappled your foe by the neck. You must normally use your hands, and can't do anything else with them (e.g., parry) while holding on - but if you have the Constriction Attack advantage, you can use your body instead. Roll a Quick Contest: your ST vs. the higher of your foe's ST or HT. You are at -5 if you use only one hand, but at +2 per hand after the first two. If your Size Modifier exceeds your foe's, you can grapple and squeeze his torso instead, in which case you roll at -5 unless you have Constriction Attack. If you win, your foe takes crushing damage equal to your margin of victory. DR protects normally. Multiply injury to the neck by 1.5. If any damage - even blunt trauma - penetrates the victim's DR, you also start to suffocate him! On his next turn and every subsequent turn until he escapes, he loses 1 FP; see Suffocation (p436).

Choke Hold
If you have Judo or Wrestling skill, you may try to apply a hold that can incapacitate without crushing the throat or torso. See Choke Hold.

Arm Lock
If you have Judo or Wrestling skill, you may try to apply a lock to restrain or cripple your opponent's arm. See Arm Lock.

Neck Snap or Wrench Limb
If you grappled your foe's neck or skull, or a limb or other extremity, you can twist. See Neck Snap or Wrench Limb.

Other Actions
You can bite or use a Striker (provided it has reach C) even if all your hands are busy. If you're not using a hand to grapple your foe, you can use it to Attack or All-Out Attack (either unarmed or with a reach C weapon), or to take a Ready maneuver. You cannot Aim, Feint, Concentrate, Wait, or make ranged atacks unless you've pinned your foe. You may also perform the following free actions:

* Release your grip. Let go of the foe, if you are grappling or pinning him. Or you can release just one hand - but this makes it easier for him to escape.
* Throw away a ready weapon. This automatically succeeds and takes no time. You may do this to get a useless weapon out of your way, or to deprive the foe of a chance to grab a useful weapon (e.g., a blackjack) from you.
* Drag or carry your victim. If you've pinned your foe, you can move or step normally, draggong or carrying him; see Lifting and Moving Things (p353) for how much you can lift or drag. He counts as encumbrance, reducing your Move. If you haven't pinned him, moving away from him means you automatically release your grip unless you have at least twice his ST. If you're that strong, you can pull or carry him with you!

Actions After Being Grappled
If you have been grappled, you cannot take a Move maneuver unless you have at least twice your foe's ST. Aim, Feint, Concentrate, and Wait maneuvers - and ranged attacks - are completely impossible. If you are pinned, you can't take any maneuver that requires physical movement! Otherwise, you can do the following:

Attack or All-Out Attack
You can take either maneuver, with certain limitations. You cannot use any limb that has been grappled - or bite, if your neck or head was grappled. You're limited to unarmed attacks (striking or grappling) or attacks using weapons with reach C. You can stab with a dagger, but not swing a sword!

Ready
You can Ready an item if you have a hand free, but you must make a DX roll. Failure means you drop the item. Ready maneuvers to switch advantages off and on succeed automatically.

Break Free
If you are grappled, you cannot move away until you break free by winning a Quick Contest of ST. Your foe has +5 if he is grappling you with two hands. If he has you pinned, he rolls at +10 if using two hands or at +5 if using only one, and you may only attempt to break free once every 10 seconds. If either of you has three or more arms, each arm beyond the first two gives +2. If your foe is stunned, he rolls at -4; if he falls unconscious, you are automatically free! If you successfully break free, you may immediately move one yard in any direction.

Slam
You can deliberately collide with an opponent. This requires an Attack, All-Out Attack, or Move and Attack maneuver. Roll against DX, Brawling, or Sumo Wrestling to hit. Note that the -4 to hit and effective skill cap of 9 for a Move and Attack do not apply to slams.

Your foe may block, dodge, or parry (but your body counts as a heavy weapon; see Parrying Heavy Weapons). If your foe dodges, you must move at least two yards past him if you have enough movement. If you would hit someone else, see Hitting the Wrong Target.

If you hit, you and your foe each inflict dice of crushing damage on the other equal to (HP x velocity)/100. "Velocity" is usually just the number of yards you moved this turn - but in a head-on collision, add the distance your foe moved toward you on his last turn (that is, use relative velocity).

If damage is less than 1d, treat fractions up to 0.25 as 1d-3, fractions up to 0.5 as 1d-2, and any larger fraction as 1d-1. Otherwise, round fractions of 0.5 or more up to a full die. You can use All-Out Attack (Strong) to increase your damage!

If your damage roll equals or exceeds that of your foe, he must make a DX roll or fall down. You knock him down automatically if you roll twice his damage or more. If he rolls twice your damage or more, though, you fall down instead!

If your opponent dodged and you went past him and hit a solid obstacle, apply your damage roll to yourself (and to the obstacle, if it matters).

You can also slam with a vehicle or mount. Roll against your vehicle-operation skill to hit with a vehicle, or Riding skill to hit with a mount. Figure damage based on the HP of your vehicle or mount.

For additional rules and special cases, see Collisions and Falls (p430).

Flying Tackle: As slam, but you must have at least two legs and one arm free - most animals and vehicles can't do this! A flying tackle gives you +4 to hit and an extra yard of reach, and you may opt to roll against Jumping skill to hit. However, whether you succeed or fail, you end up lying down (in the same hex as your foe, if you are using a combat map).

Pounce: As flying tackle, but you must have four or more legs. After you attack, make a DX, Acrobatics, or Jumping roll. On a success, you stay on your feet! This is how some animals attack, especially cats: they knock down their foe and then claw or bite. If a mount tries this, the rider must roll vs. Riding-4 or fall off!

Shield Rush: As slam, but you must have a shield. Roll against Shield skill to hit, and add your shield's Defense Bonus to your damage roll. Your shield takes damage instead of you, but you still fall down if your opponent rolls twice your basic damage or more.

Shove
You can shove a foe with one or both arms. Roll against DX or Sumo Wrestling to hit. Your foe may block, dodge, or parry. If you hit, roll thrust/crushing damage - at -1 per die, if you used only one hand - and double it. This inflicts knockback (see Knockback), but never actual physical injury.

Ranged Attacks

A 'ranged attack' is any attack with a weapon used at a distance, from a thrown rock to a laser rifle. This includes Missile spells and the Affliction, Binding, and Innate Attack advantages (unless given the Aura, Malediction, or Melee Attack modifiers). Most other spells and advantages are not considered ranged attacks.

Range
You can only make a ranged attack on a target that falls within your weapon's range. To find this, see the relevant weapon table or advantage or spell description. Most ranged attacks list Half Damage (1/2D) range and Maximum (Max) range, in yards. Your target must be no further away than Max range; 1/2D range only affects damage.

A few weapons have a minimum range, as they lob projectiles in a high arc, or have fusing or guidance limits. When using a weapon like this, your target can't be any closer than the minimum range.

To Hit
Figure your adjusted chance to hit by:

1. Taking your base skill with your ranged weapon.
2. Adding your weapon's Accuracy (Acc) if you preceded your attack with an Aim maneuver.
3. Applying the target's Size Modifier (SM). See Size Modifier.
4. Modifying for the target's range and speed (done as a single modifier), from the Size and Speed/Range Table.

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