Skip to content

Combat

Intent

Most People don't resort to violence unless they want something badly (except Bene).
The first Thing to do when combat begins is to determine what each character wants to get out of the fight.
Boil it down into a simple sentence that starts with the words "I want": "I want to kill Joe", "I want to Strizzle's Lunch Money"
Or even "I want to get away from this guntoting psycho in the armor."
By stating the characters intent, a player is setting out how much her character is willing to hurt of even kill someone in order to get it.
If a characters intent has nothing to do with hurting people and he ends up killing someone, he loses a point a Willpower in addition to probably suffering a breaking point

Down and Dirty Combat / Quick Combat

The Storyteller might decide that the details of a fight are not important enough to justify a full scene.
In such cases the Quick Combat system allows resolving a conflict in a single roll.
If multiple characters are participating, they can use teamwork
Dice Pool: Combat Pool (Dexterity + Firearms / Strength + Brawl / Strength + Weaponry) vs either the opponents combat pool or an attempt to escape (Strength or Dexterity + Athletics). Defense is ignored for this roll.
Action: Contested; resistance is reflexive

Initiative

1D10 + Init Mod = Intitiative
Init Mod = Dexterity + Wits
Initiative is modified by Weapon Mali
Idea: spend one willpower to be on top of init order this round?

Delaying Actions

A player may delay his own action and act a later time, whenever he chooses. If a player delays his action until the end of the round (thus sacrificing his action) he may act at any time in the next round.

Surprise

Characters who don't realize they're about to be on the receveiving end of bloody violence have a chance to notice an ambush if reasonable (decision lies with the storyteller) by rolling Wits + Control, contested by the attackers Dexterity + Stealth.
Any character who fails the roll cannot take an action on the first round of combat and can't apply defense for that turn.
For the second round initiative is continues as normal.

Attack

On each character's turn, he can attack using a combat skill in combination contested with the opponents defense (except firearms).

Defense

Substract the character's Defense from any unarmed, melee or thrown attack of which the character is aware.
Every time a character applies his Defense against an attack, his Defense is effectivly reduced by 1 until his next turn starts.
Spending a point of willpower increases his Defense by 2, but only against one attacker.
A player can choose not to apply defense against some attacks.

Old Notes (have still to be reworked, assume static defense + dodge until then)

  • Passive Defense(Reduces Defense by one)
  • Static Defense(Static Defense Value) - Defend yourself
  • Active Defense(Reduces Defense by two)
  • Dodge(2*Defense Dice) - Dodge an Attack, allows moving in opponents turn
  • Parry(Defense Dice) - Ward off (a weapon or attack) with a countermove. If successfull, reduce opponents defense by successes.

Dodge

At any point before a character's action, he can choose to dodge. Doing so takes up his normal action.
When dodging double the characters Defense but do not substract it from attack rolls. Instead roll Defense as a dice pool and substract each success from the attackers successes. If this reduced the attacker's successes to zero, the attack deals no damage. Apply successes from Dodging before adding any weapon modifier. Dodging only works when Defense can be applied.
Agains multiple opponents reduce Defense by 1 for each opponent before doubling it to determine the Dodge dice pool.
If defense is reduced to 0, roll a chance die. A dramatic failure when Dodging leaves the character off balance; reduce his defense by 1 for the next turn.

Unarmed combat

Bite

A human's teeth have a -1 weapon modifier and deal bashing damage. Animals and some other creatures treat their teeth like weapons, dealing lethal damage.
Animals bites have a weapon modifier depending on the kind of animal: a wolf applies +1 while a great white shark gets +4.
Humans can only bite as part of a grapple, using the Damage move.

Disarm

To snatch an opponent's weapon away, roll Strength + Brawl contested by the opponent's Strength + Athletics.
If the attacker succeeds, the opponent drops his weapon.
If the attacker gets an exeptional success they take posession of the weapon.
On dramatic failure they take damage equal to the weapon's modifier.

Grapple

To grab an opponent roll Strength + Brawl - Defense. On success both characters are grappling. If the attacker rolls an exceptional success, he has a free move.
During each subsequent turn both grappling characters make a contested Strength + Brawl vs Strength + Brawl action on the higher of the two's init. The winner may make a move.
Example moves include:

  • Break free
  • Control Weapon
  • Damage your opponent by dealing bashing damage equal to your rolled net successes. If you previously succeeded at a Control Weapon action, add the weapon bonus to your successes.
  • Disarm
  • Drop prone
  • Hold
  • Restrain
  • Take Cover

Touching an opponent

Sometimes a combatant doesn't want to do damage.
Maybe she wants to place something on the opponents body or similar.
Roll Dexterity + Brawl vs Dexterity + Weaponry to tap an opponent with a weapon.
A successful roll deals no damage.

Ranged Combat

Aiming

If a character takes an instant action to aim carefully at an opponent with a ranged weapon, the player enjoys a one-die bonus to the attack roll when he fires on the next turn. A character can aim for multiple turns in a row at the same target, to a maximum of a three-die bonus. If a character applies his Defense while aiming, he loses his accumulated bonus and must start over. Aiming is incompatible with autofire (below).

Autofire

Automatic weapons can fire a short, medium, or long burst in place of a single shot. - Short Burst: Three bullets fired at the same target. The shooter enjoys a +1 to her dice pool. - Medium Burst: 10 bullets, which can hit one to three targets standing close together. The shooter receives a two-die bonus to her dice pool. If firing at more than one target, subtract the total number of targets from the shooter’s pool, then make one attack roll per target. - Long Burst: 20 bullets at as many targets as the shooter wants. The shooter receives a three-die bonus to her dice pool. If firing at more than one target, subtract the total number of targets from the shooter’s pool, then make one attack roll per target.

Covering Fire

Characters can use automatic weapons to provide covering fire — firing on full auto to dissuade enemies from coming out into the open. Covering fire is only possible with a weapon capable of fully automatic fire.
The player states the general area at which he is firing, and rolls Dexterity + Firearms. If the roll succeeds, each character in the affected area must make a choice on his next action. He can avoid the attack, either running to cover within range of his Speed, or dropping prone (see “Going Prone,” below). Or, he can take an action as normal but suffer damage based on the Covering Fire successes + weapon modifier. Covering fire takes 10 bullets, the same as firing a medium burst.

Firearms in Close Combat

Any firearm larger than Size 1 is too big to accurately shoot someone when fists and crowbars are the order of the day. In close combat, the target’s Defense against Firearms attacks is increased by the gun’s (Size +1). If using a gun larger than a pistol to bludgeon the opponent, treat it as an improvised crowbar (see Weapon Traits, p. 268).

Range

The firearms chart (in equipment) lists the short, medium, and long ranges of some sample firearms. Shooting a target at medium range imposes a -1 penalty, while shooting a target at long range increases that to -2 penalty. Shooting at targets beyond long range reduces the attack dice pool to a chance die. Thrown weapons have a short range of (Strength + Dexterity + Athletics - object’s Size) yards or meters, doubled for medium range, and doubled again for long range. Aerodynamic objects double each range — so an aerodynamic object’s long range is {(Strength + Dexterity + Athletics) * 8} yards or meters. Characters can only throw objects with a Size less than their Strength.

Cover and Concealment

Hiding behind something is a good way to not get shot.
How effective it is depends on how much the cover hides.
Concealment penalties apply to a shooter's dice pool.
- Barely Concealed: -1 (hiding behind an office chair) - Partially Concealed: -2 (hiding behind the hood of a car, with upper body exposed) - Substantially Concealed: -3 (crouching behind a car) A character who is concealed and wants to fire at someone else takes a penalty to his Firearms attack that’s one less than the penalty afforded by the character’s protection — so if he’s substantially concealed, he can fire back with a –2 die penalty. If a target’s entirely hidden by something substantial, he’s in cover. If the cover’s Durability is greater than the weapon modifier, the bullets can’t penetrate the cover. Otherwise, subtract the cover’s Durability from the attacker’s damage roll. If the cover is transparent (bulletproof glass, for example), subtract half the cover’s Durability, rounding down. Both the object and the target take any remaining damage.

Shooting into Close Combat

If a character fires or throws a ranged weapon at a target who is involved in close combat with other characters she doesn’t want to hit, like allies or bystanders, the player takes a -2 to her attack for each combatant she wants to avoid, or -4 for a combatant who is currently in a grapple. This rule doesn’t apply to autofire (see above).

Human Shields

Sometimes, the only available cover is another person — be he a terrified member of the public or a lifelong friend. Characters who use human shields treat them as cover, with Durability equal to the victim’s Stamina + any armor. Unlike normal cover, the victim takes all of the damage from the attack. Using a human shield is almost certainly a breaking point (see p. 73). For a human, this means a pretty severe modifier (-3 or more) if the victim dies.

Reloading

Reloading a firearm is an instant action. If a character needs to load bullets separately, she cannot apply her Defense on the same turn. If she has a magazine or speed loader, she doesn’t lose her Defense.

General Combat Factors

Some actions apply to all kinds of fights.

Movement

A character can move his Speed in a single turn and still take an instant action. He can give up his action to move at double his normal Speed.

Charging

A character can sacrifice her Defense for the turn to move up to twice her Speed and make a Brawl or Weaponry attack in the same action, charging in heedless of incoming threats. If she has already applied her Defense against an attack before her action occurs, she can’t Charge.

Going Prone

When a character can’t find cover, the next best thing when bullets are flying is to drop flat to the ground. Ranged and thrown attacks against him suffer a -2. A standing at- tacker using Brawl or Weaponry to attack instead gains a +2. A character can drop prone at any point before his action. Dropping to the ground costs his action for the turn, as does getting back up from a prone position.

All-Out Attack

A character can sacrifice her Defense for the turn in order

Off-hand-attack

Pulling blows

Sometimes a character wants to beat the fight out of some- one without killing him. She can choose to pull her blow, not putting full force behind the attack. The player chooses a maximum amount of damage for the blow that can’t exceed the higher trait in her character’s attack pool — for example, if the character has Strength 2 and Brawl 4, the player can choose between 1 and 4 points as her maximum damage. If she would deal more damage with the attack, any extra is ignored. Because she’s holding back, it’s easier for the oppo- nent to ward off the blow; the defender gains +1 to Defense. At the Storyteller’s discretion, a character can reflexively spend a point of Willpower when pulling her blow with a weapon to deal bashing damage. Otherwise, the only way to avoid dealing lethal damage is to stop using a lump of metal or wood to inflict trauma.

Specific targets

Attacking specific body parts has its benefits. In addition to ignoring armor (see Armor below), strikes to the limbs and head can have added effects, represented by Tags (see below). These attacks take dice penalties depending on the body part targeted, noted below.

What to aim at Malus
Limb -1
Head/Other critical Point -2
Little Target -2
Heart -3
Tiny Target -4
Hand -4
Eye -5

Combat Tags

Combat Tags are like normal character tags/conditions but are specific to combat situations and normally temporary for a scene.
They are explained where needed by other rules.

Killing Blow

A character can make a killing blow when her opponent is unconscious, completely immobile, or otherwise totally defenseless. When doing so, the character deals damage equal to her full dice pool plus her weapon modifier. She has time enough to line up her attack so it avoids her victim’s armor. While people who kill in combat can justify their actions based on the heat of the moment, performing a killing blow is a premeditated attempt to end a sentient life without the target having a chance to do anything about it. Going through with a killing blow is a breaking point whether the victim survives or not.

Improvised Weapons

If no comparable weapon can be found in the weapon tables, an improvised weapon does (Durability - 1) damage, with an Initiative penalty and Strength requirement equal to the weapon's size.
Using an improvised weapon reduces your attack pool by one die. On a successful attack, the weapon takes the same amount of damage as it inflicts; Durability reduces this damage as normal. Once the weapon’s Structure is reduced to 0, the object is wrecked.

Armor

Armor provides protection against attacks, including bullets and knives. Police officers and other law enforcement agencies frequently rely on it. - Ballistic armor applies to incoming firearms attacks. Each point of ballistic armor downgrades one point of damage from lethal to bashing. - General armor applies to all attacks. Each point of general armor reduces the total damage taken by one point, starting with the most severe type of damage.

If armor has both ballistic and general ratings, apply the ballistic armor first. When applying armor to an attack dealing lethal damage, the character always takes at least one point of bashing damage from the shock of the blow.

Armor-Piercing

Some weapons have an armor piercing quality, usually between one and three. When attacking someone wearing armor, subtract the piercing quality from the target’s armor.
Subtract from ballistic armor first, then general armor.
Armor-piercing attacks in close combat subtract from general armor only.
When shooting at an object — or a person in cover — subtract the piercing quality from the object’s Durability.