Chapter 3: Combat

Them's Fightin' Words

Combat Basics

Turn Order and Initiative

At the beginning of an encounter, all involved characters make a special Initiative check to determine turn order, and go in the order from the highest roll to lowest. An Initiative check is a special Reflex check + your Dexterity ability. In the case of a draw, have the characters who tied roll initiative checks again, the one who rolled higher goes before the lower. Initiative can be used to determine actions both in-and-out of combat; any time when you need to know who does something first (who speaks first, who grabs the cursed magic item first, etc.) have the contesting characters make a Reflex check for initiative.

Late Arrivals

If a character shows up to an encounter late, simply roll an Initiative check for that character (as above) the same as for the others, and insert them into the Initiative order based on their roll.

Delay Initiative

A character can, on his turn, choose not to act. Instead, he can delay his turn until later. At any time after his skipped turn but before his next turn, he can take his turn „ even if it is in the middle of someone else‚s turn (but not in the middle of an action, such as an attack or combo). If this happens, the other character begins his turn, the delayed character interrupts him, and the other character finishes.

Combat Rounds

A round represents six seconds. Every round, each combatant gets a turn. On your turn, you have six in-game seconds in which to act. To help keep track, you can keep a d6 in front of you, and count down one step for every second that you use in combat.

Actions

An action represents any task that takes a relatively significant amount of effort. A character can take any number of actions in a round, so long as the total time taken by them adds up to six seconds. In one second, a character may (for example) move or draw a weapon. In four, he could use a combo or cast a spell. This means that in a full round, he could move six times, use two combos, cast a spell and move three times, or any combination thereof. Action time is sometimes abbreviated, so a 4-second action could be written as a “4SA.”

Unless otherwise specified, actions that take longer than 1 second must use concurrent seconds. So a character couldn't spend 3 seconds casting a spell and then an hour later use the final second to trigger it, all 4 seconds must be done successively. This doesn't mean that the whole activity must be done in one round, though. A character can, for example, spend the last 3 seconds of one round casting a spell and finish it on the first second of the next round.

Delays

A delay is an activity that takes time, but little or no effort. For example, if a character casts a spell that has a 2-second delay, the spell comes into effect two seconds after casting. Casting the spell takes 4 seconds, then the character has 2 seconds in which to move before the spell occurs, and then one second after that. If a delay makes the action happen after the end of your turn, it happens on your next turn. For example, if you cast a spell (4 seconds) with a 11 second delay, you could act normally in your remaining 4 seconds on your turn. The spell now has 7 seconds left of delay. On your next turn, you have 6 seconds in which to act normally. The turn after that, the spell occurs immediately after your first second of action.

Zero-Second Actions

A zero-second action (“0SA”) represents something that takes little-to-no time or effort. An example of a 0SA is talking, or dropping a held object. Characters can take any number of 0SAs on their turn (within reason). Despite the name, a 0SA need not necessarily take zero seconds, but it must be something that you could do without distracting you from another action. The GM is the final arbiter of what is within reason.

Example Actions:

Movement and Size in Combat

Move

A move in combat takes 1 second. You can move up to your speed in any direction. A round is six seconds, so you can move up to six times a round. If you move at distances fractional to the size of the grid, use normal rounding rules: round up if the distance is 0.5 or greater, round down if it is less than 0.5; so a move speed of 2.5m allows you to move three 1m squares per move.

Run

If high speed is necessary, you can attempt to run. You can move up to triple your speed (that is, triple your speed per second ƒ so, for a six second run, that's 18x your speed per round!) in a straight line over relatively level terrain. You cannot run through rough terrain, while wearing wildly impractical shoes (such as high heels or stilts), or while balancing on shifting or rocky terrain. While running, you must move for at least three seconds in a continuous straight line. Thus, you can take two separate run actions on your turn, each in a different direction.

Difficult Terrain

Difficult terrain halves movement. So, for every square that you move over that is difficult, it counts as if you‚ve moved two squares (or three for diagonals). You cannot run through difficult terrain.

Rocks, underbrush, deep snow, steep inclines, rubble, and highly slippery surfaces all count as difficult terrain.

The GM may rule that in certain extreme cases, movement costs in difficult terrain triples (such as a combination of several of the above).

Scale

Scale: A creature's or objects' scale is determined by how large it is. Generally, round down ƒ so if a creature's dimensions are between 1m across and 2m across (that is, between scale 0 and 1), it is a scale 0 creature. A character‚s scale is subtracted from attack rolls and stealth checks; and added to wrestle and fortitude skills. See the individual skill descriptions for more information. If an object is very small in one dimension compared to its longest (eg. a flagpole or a Longbow) then its scale might smaller than its largest dimension.

Scale Square: This is the size of square on the combat grid that this creature takes up. Also, whenever an ability or rule refers to "squares," this is what that rule or ability is talking about ƒ a human moving 2 squares would move 2m, but a cat moving 2 squares would only be moving 1m.

Base Toughness: Add the creature's endurance and any other toughness bonuses from Defence to this to determine its toughness. This is equal to 6 + (3x Scale).

Attacking

There are three common forms of attack: melee, ranged, and magical. All are resolved by the following basic system:

Step One: Attack Roll

Attacker's d6 roll + Attack Bonus vs. Defender's Target Score

This determines whether or not the attack will hit the target if they fails their defence roll. A failed attack roll is a miss. If the attack roll succeeds, move on to step two. Characters and objects have a Target score of 4 ƒ their scale. Your attack bonus is generally equal to your bonus in the skill involved (weapon skill for melee attacks, ranged skill for ranged attacks, magic skill for attack spells, etc.), minus your scale.

Step Two: Defence Roll

Defender's D6 roll + Defence bonus vs. 4 + attacker's Attack Bonus (except scale) vs. Defence DC

The defender can then choose to defend. He picks one of his available defence options (typically Block, Dodge, or Parry using the Shield use, Reflex, and Weapon Skill skills respectively) and rolls. A successful defence roll negates the attack. If the defence roll fails, move on to step three. Attackers do not subtract their scale from the DC to defend against their attacks.

Step Three: Damage

Attacker's Damage vs. Defender's Toughness

If the attacker's damage exceeds the defender's Minimum Toughness (Toughness - 6), the defender receives a wound. If it exceeds the defender's Toughness, the defender starts dying and receives a wound. See Death, Dying and Healing for more details. The damage depends on the type of attack being used. Creatures typically add three times their scale to melee attack damage.

Melee Attacks

A melee attack can be made with a weapon or unarmed. The target has to be in a square threatened by your weapon. Threatened areas are all squares in reach of the weapon you are using. For melee attacks, your attack bonus is equal to your Weapon Skill bonus minus your scale.  

Your target must be in your reach in order to attack it. Humans have a natural reach of Close, meaning they can use unarmed attacks against targets in their occupied area only. Most melee weapons have reach of Standard.

Close: In your occupied area

Standard: Areas adjacent to your occupied area

Long:  Areas one square away from adjacent to you

Long X: X squares away

You can't generally use a weapon to attack an enemy closer than their reach without a special technique or ability.

Ranged Attacks

Ranged attacks use your Ranged Skill bonus to attack. There are a few considerations necessary for Ranged Attacks that are not usually necessary for Melee:

1. Range : As targets get further away, they likewise become more difficult to hit. All ranged weapons have a range increment, listed in metres. For every full doubling of the range increment, the attacker gets -1/0 to his attack. For example, the heavy crossbow has a range increment of 15m. If the target were between 0m and 15m, the attack is made at no penalty. Between 16 and 30, the attack is made at -1. Between 31 and 60, -2. 61 and 120, -3. Lastly, if the attack were made at a target between 121 and 240m (the maximum range) away, there would be a -4 penalty. Four is usually the maximum number of range increments a ranged weapon can be used at without special weapons or techniques.

2. Ammunition: some ranged weapons (ex. firearms and crossbows) need to be reloaded. Reloading a weapon of your scale or smaller is a 4SA unless otherwise specified. The time it takes to reload a larger weapon increases by 4 seconds for every scale larger than you it is. Multiple people can reload a weapon at the same time, dividing the time between them.

3. Aiming : Before attacking with a ranged weapon, you may choose to take time to aim. Aiming takes 2 seconds. If you move or the target leaves your line of sight between aiming and attacking, you lose any benefits of having aimed. Aiming decreases any range penalties by one point, but various techniques from Ranged Skill can increase the effects of aiming.

Magical Attacks

Magical attacks are like melee or ranged attacks, but typically use the caster's Magic Skill modifier instead of Weapon or Ranged skills. See Chapter 5: Magic for more detailed information.

Ranged magical attacks otherwise work like ranged attacks, except the caster cannot aim.

Attack Bonuses and Penalties

An attack bonus (such as from an advantageous situation or technique) increases your chance to hit your target either by increasing your attack roll or your defence DC. Attack penalties (such as from range or cover), meanwhile, do the opposite. Bonuses and penalties are written in the following format: +X/+Y. The number before the slash (X) is added to your initial roll against your opponent‚s Target score, while the number after the slash (Y) is added to the DC to defend against your attack. Most modifiers increase or decrease both ratings at the same time, but some (such as range penalties and scale) do not. For example, the Ranged Skill technique On the Exhale grants an attack bonus of +1/0, meaning that a +1 bonus is added to attack rolls, but there is no change to the DC to defend against. Conversely, the technique Shoot from the Hip imposes a -1/-1 penalty to attack, meaning that both attack rolls and defence DCs are decreased by 1 point.

Area Effect Attacks

Attacks with an area of effect can hit more than one target at a time. Attacks with an area of effect include explosives, flame-throwers, vials of acid that splash, and spells with the Explosive Spell ,   Cone Spell , or Line Spell metamagics applied.

Step One: Choose a square in range, and make an attack roll. The target area has a Target score the same as if it were your scale ƒ so, Target 4 for a human-sized (scale 0) creature.

Step Two: If you hit, everything (friend or foe unless otherwise specified) that is even partly in the target area is affected. If you miss, your attack still has to go somewhere. Roll a scatter die and 1d6 per range increment out to see how many squares (of your scale or the weapon‚s scale, whichever is larger) away it lands and in which direction.

Step Three: All viable targets (typically all creatures and objects) in the area are affected by the attack. If a target can defend against area attacks they may make an attempt. By default, shields may be used to block area attacks without penalty, and dodges can be used to reduce damage. A successful dodge without the Evasion technique reduces damage by 3 points. Non-damage-dealing effects cannot be dodged at all without Evasion.

Step Four: Resolve effects. Most often, this is some form of damage, in which you attempt to beat the target's toughness. Remember that you only roll one damage die and compare it to all targets' toughness.

Area attacks generally come in one of three forms „ lines, cones, or spheres. If the area doesn‚t specify, assume it is a sphere.

Spheres : have a diameter the length of one square across, so a scale 0 sphere has a diameter of 1m, and a scale 4 square has a diameter of 8m across.  The illustration shows a scale 0, 1, and 2 sphere area overlayed over a scale 0 grid. The scale 0 sphere affects everything in one square, the scale 1 in a 2x2 area, and the scale 2 in a 4x4 area.

Lines: Lines are generally half a square across, and two squares long. The illustration shows scale 0, 1, and 1 lines on a scale 0 grid.

Cones: Cones are generally one square long, and one square wide at the end. The illustration shows cones of scale 0, 1, and 2.

Combos

The number of attack combos a character knows is determined by their Combat Expertise skill. Characters learn a number of Combo Components from various skills (primarily Weapon Finesse, Weapon Skill, and Ranged Skill).

Developing Combos

When a character gains the ability to learn a new combo, he may either be taught one by someone else or develop one himself. When developing a combo, simply add together known components. Components are techniques that are Bold Underlined   and are followed by [Attack Combo +X] where X is the Combo Rating that they add to the combo. Combine the Combo Rating for each of these components to determine the combos total Combo Rating for your combo.

The total number of components that can be included in a combo is equal to your total number of ranks in either Weapon Skill or Ranged Skill (whichever is highest) plus one.

Two Combos Components are known to all characters:

Attack [Attack Combo +1]: Make a melee or ranged attack. To gain more than one attack in a combo, the Weapon Skill: Extra Attack technique is needed.

Charge : [Attack Combo -1]: Your combo must be made immediately following a straight movement of at least 6 metres

All characters start the game knowing one combo. Whenever the character's maximum Combo Rating score changes, they can update their combos to meet the new value.

All moves made in a combo occur simultaneously. So if you wound your target in your combo, for example, all future attacks still hit against their original toughness.

Using Combos

A character can use any combo he knows that is within his Combo Rating. Using a combo is a 4SA. The entire combo happens simultaneously. The player has to choose before rolling how many attacks are against which enemies, etc.. All the dice should be rolled at once.   If a combo has multiple damage dealing attacks, do not add the damage together . For example, Colonel Mauve attacks a Goblin Mook. Mauve hits three times with an arming sword, so rolls three d8s, and adds +3 to each (his strength score). The results (including the strength bonus) are 8, 6, and 4. The Goblins toughness is 9/3, so the Goblin is wounded three times (8, 6, and 4 are all above 3 but below 9). If the damage were added together (it isn‚t! Here‚s why) it would total 18, which is enough to kill a Goblin eight times bigger in a single hit.

Attacks Without Combos

There are situations where a character is said to only be able to make …single attacks,‚ such as with the Nick technique. The single attack can be substituted with any single combo component with complexity 1. For example, the character could use a Grab, Trip or Disarm.

Situational Modifiers

Flanking

A character is flanked when he has an enemy on two opposite adjacent squares. Flanked characters  take a -1 circumstance penalty to all defence rolls made against any attack, not just ones made by the flanking enemies. Flanked characters are also vulnerable to sneak attacks and other abilities.

Crouching and Prone

Characters can crouch or go prone to make themselves smaller targets. A crouching character gains +1 Target against ranged attacks, while a prone character gains +2. However, these same bonuses apply as penalties against melee attacks. These bonuses do not exactly stack with cover. Instead, ignore the bonus (and penalty) from crouching or prone, and instead increase the cover value by one step (while crouching) or two steps (while prone). So, a character crouching in an open field gains +1 Target from ranged attacks but -1 from melee attacks, while a character crouching behind light cover gains +2 Target against all attacks (the light cover counts as medium). Crouching or going prone each take 1 second. Going from one to the other takes a second as well. Standing up from a crouch takes 1 second, standing up from prone takes 2.

Cover

Light Cover: Light cover is any cover that covers approximately ¼ to ½ of the target. Increase the target‚s Target score by +1, and if the creature is hiding behind it, +1 to its visual perception DC to see. Light cover includes low walls, tree branches, etc.

Medium Cover: Medium cover protects around ¾ of the target‚s vital areas. Medium cover adds +2 to the target‚s Target score and, if the creature is hiding behind it, +2 to its visual perception DC to see. Medium cover includes shooting around corners, chest-high walls with parapets, etc.

Heavy Cover: Heavy cover covers around 90% or more of the target, and adds +3 to the target‚s Target score, and if the creature is hiding behind it, +3 to its visual perception DC to see.  Heavy cover also allows the target to dodge as if he had the Evasion technique. Heavy cover includes arrow slits.

Total Cover: Total cover completely blocks the target. You can attempt to attack targets through the cover (see Hitting the Cover, below) but anyone on the other side is treated as being Invisible.

Hitting the Cover: If it is ever important to determine if the cover gets hit (i.e., it is weak, expensive, explosive, or alive) then follow this method: if the attacker missed by less than the bonus the cover provides, he hit the cover but missed the target. If he missed by more than the cover provides, then he missed both the cover and the target. Beating the Toughness on the cover reduces its value by one step (total to heavy to medium to light to no cover) because there are big holes in it. Attacks that defeat the Toughness on the cover continue and can hit the target hiding behind it, who can use the cover‚s Durability score as a defence bonus that does not stack with armour. Wounds to the cover can also hit the target behind, but deal -3 damage. The target behind the cover can still defend normally against attacks, and may count as invisible.

Concealment, Lighting and Invisibility

Concealment: Your target has concealment when he is, for whatever reason, hard to see but not totally invisible. Cover or concealment is necessary for a character to make a Stealth check. Even if the character isn‚t hiding, concealed creatures add +1 to Target. Example: smoke, fog, tall grass, an Invisible creature covered in dust or flour, darkness without lowlight vision.

Lighting: For game purposes, lighting comes in three types: clear, hazy, and total darkness. In clear light, characters operate without penalty. In hazy light, everything has concealment. In total darkness, everything is invisible.

Invisibility: When a creature or object cannot be seen, it is invisible. Invisibility is relative „ a hiding character who made a DC 6 stealth roll is invisible to characters who rolled 5 or lower on perception, but visible to those who rolled 6 or higher. If you try to attack an invisible character, you must first locate its square „ there are a few ways to do this, (guessing,  having it pointed out, etc.) but the most common way is simply by hearing the target. Invisible creatures get +4 Target.

Speed

If you move 30 squares or more in a single turn (whether deliberately running, or falling, or being thrown, etc.), you add +1 to your Target score. Every additional 30 squares after that you move in the same turn adds a cumulative +1.

A melee attack made against or by an extremely fast-moving creature can deal extra damage. Such an attack, if the GM deems it appropriate, deals its normal weapon damage +1 per 5 squares/second that the fastest-moving creature is moving at. Squares use the scale of the creature taking damage. For example, a human with strength 3 normally deals 1d8+3 damage with an arming sword. However, from the back of a charging mount moving at 18m/s against a stationary human deals an additional +3 damage (18m divided by 5 1m squares rounds down to 3).

For high-speed collisions, see “Falling and Collisions,” below.

Surprise

A target caught by surprise is treated as Flat-Footed. Surprised targets are those who are attacked by foes they didn‚t know were there, such as invisible or stealthy creatures. Flat-footed characters take a -1 circumstance penalty to all defence rolls made against the creature that surprised them, and are vulnerable to certain abilities (such as Sneak Attack).

Called Shots

A called shot is an attack against the target's head, hands, limbs, feet, stomach, tentacles, etc. Since the target area is smaller, they are harder to hit. See the chart for details „ the "Target Modifier" is what is added (or subtracted) to the creature‚s normal Target score, the "Toughness Adjustment" column refers to how much easier it is to hurt that location, and the "Minimum Toughness" and "Toughness" columns show what happens when you meet or beat the target‚s minimum toughness or regular toughness, respectively.

Attacking a Worn  or Held Item

This functions much like a called shot. An attack against an enemy can instead be directed to something he is wearing or carrying. A melee weapon deducts its wounds from damage, and a ranged weapon deducts its wounds from damage and attacks. Wounded firearms jam when a …1‚ is rolled on an attack die. Destroyed weapons can‚t be used for their intended purpose, but might make good improvised weapons. Here‚s a chart of some common items and their toughness scores. The chart is for weapons made for scale 0 creatures. At increased scale, add +3 to toughness and -1 to target for every increase.

Mounted Combat

A character with ranks in Ride riding a trained warhorse has a significant advantage in battle. Fighting from horseback (or another animal) works just like fighting on foot, with the following changes:

1.   Controlling a mount without special techniques takes the equivalent of 2 seconds of effort every round.
2.   Controlling the mount takes one hand, unless the mount remains stationary.
3.   Your mount always acts on your initiative count under your control, but may take its own actions at your command. For example, your mount could spend its entire turn running forwards, while you still have 4 seconds (because 2 are used controlling it) with which to use a combo or cast a spell.

Morale

All characters and creatures have a Will score. It is equal to their Spirit + 6 + any miscellaneous modifiers (such as from Discipline). They also have a Minimum Will score, which is equal to their Will minus 6. The primary use of the Will score is in determining the effects of Morale damage.

Morale damage works in a method very similar to normal damage. If a character takes more Morale Damage from a single source than his Minimum Will score, he gets a Morale penalty. This decreases his Will by 1.

If he takes more Morale damage than his Will score, depending on the source, something happens:

Fear: If a character's Will is beaten by a Fear effect, he is panicked. The character flees as fast as possible from the source of fear, as well as any other dangers he encounters during the escape. If there are multiple possible escape paths, roll a scatter die and run in that direction. The character may still make defence rolls normally. A panicked creature can use spells, skills, and techniques to aid the flight, and in fact must do so if they are the fastest means of escape. A fleeing character will attack anyone that prevents him from fleeing.

Insanity: If a character's Will is beaten by an insanity effect, he is treated as Confused until at least one morale penalty has been removed.

Rage: If the character‚s Will is beaten by a Rage effect, he flies into a screaming frenzy. What exactly happens depends a little on the situation, but generally he attacks the source of his rage, or failing that any nearby creature. If the GM approves, rage can manifest in other ways than physical combat. He takes a -1 penalty to all Dexterity- and Intelligence-based skills. Any activity that requires focus or concentration (such as casting a spell) cannot be done while raging. If the character has ranks in the Berserk skill or a similar ability, the ability automatically activates ƒ so a skilled enough Berserker can actually benefit in certain ways from being forced into a rage.

Untyped: If the character's Will is beaten by morale damage that does not specify a type (like fear or insanity), the character takes two morale penalties instead of any other effect.

If the character's will is reduced to 0, he gains the Broken status, effectively giving up. He cannot take any actions, move, speak, or make defence rolls. The character is Helpless. A character's Morale cannot fall below zero. Every round, the character can make a Spirit check against DC 10. On a success, the character is not broken and he recovers one morale penalty. On a failure, the DC decreases by one, so a character can generally shake off the Broken status in three rounds or so. At this point, the character removes a single morale penalty.

Skills such as Discipline can increase a character's Will, and Charisma can be used to help allies who have taken morale penalties.

If a character goes for a full, relatively calm hour without taking any morale penalties, he removes all morale penalties.

Falling and Collisions  

If an object or creature collides at high speed or falls on another object, creature, or vehicle, someone could get hurt.

Falling Hazards: After falling from a height, characters and objects take damage, modified by the surface they impact. See the chart for details. Falling damage is always Bludgeoning. Characters take 1d6+(triple their scale)+1 per 5m fallen. Characters generally fall at up to 60m/s (roughly terminal velocity), so any additional distance after the first 60m doesn‚t add any damage. There are a few things characters can attempt to do to save themselves during a fall:

1.   Make a Reflex check (DC 4) to try to catch a ledge or branch (if one is present) on your way down
2.   If you have the Acrobatics: Tuck and Roll technique, you can make a check to reduce damage.

In the event of a collision (one object moving into the occupied square of another) use the following procedure:

1. Roll to evade: All creatures can make a Dodge roll to avoid taking damage. The DC is 4 + the scale of the largest object or creature - the scale of the smallest object or creature.

2. Damage: All creatures and objects involved that fail their dodge roll take damage equal to 1d6+ (triple the scale of the smallest object involved)+1 per 5 squares/second of speed the fastest-moving object  (or creature) is moving at. If they are crushed against a hard surface, they take damage based on the scale of the largest object involved (other than the hard surface).

Possession

Certain creatures can attempt to possess characters, taking over the character‚s body entirely. First, when a creature attempts to possess someone, he must make a Possession check against the defending character‚s Will. The creature‚s entry will detail what the creature‚s bonus to this check is, as well as other details (such as maximum range of the possession ability).

If the possession check beats the character‚s Minimum Will, he takes a morale penalty (untyped damage).

If the possession check beats the character‚s Will, the character is possessed. Now the defender and possessor have equal control over the character‚s actions. On their respective turns, they can direct the character‚s body to act. However, the body can‚t act for more than six seconds per turn, which could be three seconds each from the possessing creature and the possessed character, six seconds from one and none from another, or any combination thereof. Whoever is currently controlling the character uses their own skill bonuses and techniques, their own mental ability scores (intelligence and spirit) but the possessed character‚s strength, endurance, and dexterity. Acting characters can use only their own combos and cast only spells that they know.

Either of the actors involved can attempt to veto the other‚s turn. To do so, make an opposed Will Check (1d6+Will). If the acting character wins, he has control for the turn and the vetoing character takes a morale penalty. If the vetoing character wins, the acting character‚s turn is skipped. In cases of a tie, roll again. A character with zero Will cannot attempt to veto.

Example 1:

In this example, the fell demon Bal-Ziggaroth attempts to posses the hero Jack Clancy. First Bal-Ziggaroth makes a Possess check (his bonus is +4) against Jack‚s Will (9/3). Bal-Ziggaroth rolls a 6, meaning his total Posses check result is 10, so he succeeds. Jack is now possessed.

Bal-Ziggaroth acts before Jack in the initiative count, and decides to use Jack‚s body to shoot one of his comrades. Jack, wanting none of this, decides to veto Bal-Ziggaroth‚s turn (risking a morale penalty in the process). Each makes a Will check (1d6+Will). Jack‚s Will is only 8, while Bal-Ziggaroth‚s Will is 11. In the end, Jack only got 12, while Bal-Ziggaroth got 14. Jack fails his veto, takes a morale penalty (dropping his Will to 7/2), Bal-Ziggaroth is able to control Jack‚s body for his turn. Bal-Ziggaroth shoots Jack‚s friend using one of the demon‚s own combos (taking four seconds) and takes no actions for the remaining two. On Jack‚s turn, he has two seconds to use (which Bal-Ziggaroth can attempt to veto).

Cooperative Possession

In an unlikely but theoretically possible scenario, a creature can attempt to possess a character and work with him, instead of against him. In this case, the character can deliberately allow the creature in (negating the need for a Possession check).  Then, when either one acts, they can use the highest skill modifiers and mental ability scores of both the possessor and possessed, as well as techniques, and spells and combos known from both. At any point, either can stop working together and begin vetoing the other‚s actions, just as a hostile possession attempt can turn cooperative if the two characters involved decide to work together.

Multiple Possessors

Multiple creatures can attempt to control the same character‚s mind, each vying for dominance. If attempting to possess someone who already is possessed by one or more creatures, the initial possession check is made against the creature with the highest Will. However, that creature can deliberately forgo the check (and take no risk of a morale penalty for failure), meaning the check is made against the second-highest Will. That creature can similarly refuse the check, and so on. If the possession check is successful, that creature can now attempt to control the character‚s body as normal ƒ but has to struggle with more parties. Any of the creatures involved can attempt to veto any of the others‚ actions. A single creature can attempt to veto any number of other creatures (risking morale penalties each time), but no more than once per round against any one creature. The body, as always, can take no more than six total seconds of action per round.

Broken Possessors

If a possessed character gains the Broken condition (has Will of zero), he can no longer attempt to veto other creatures, nor act on his turn. He is still alert and can use all of the body‚s senses, but can‚t actually act in any way. The character cannot remove any morale penalties without outside help (such as an ally inspiring him with Charisma). If a possessing creature gains the Broken condition, it ends up in the same situation. A Broken character cannot aid another possessing creature with a cooperative possession (see above). A Broken creature cannot attempt to flee (see Ending a Possession, below) without permission of all other possessing creatures.

Ending a Possession

Generally speaking, creatures can choose to stop possessing a character at any point on their turn as a 0SA. However, this action can be vetoed by another possessing creature or the possessed character, thus trapping the creature. A creature whose escape attempt has been vetoed takes a morale penalty.

Possessions can also be ended forcibly, such as with an Exorcism (see the Faith skill).

Death, Damage, and Healing

Creature or Object Toughness:

6 + (3 x Scale) + Endurance + Defence

All characters, creatures, and objects (referred to simply as "characters" from here on out) have a Toughness score. For an average, unarmoured human, this works out to be 9.

All characters and objects also have a Minimum Toughness, which is simply 6 lower than their toughness. An unarmoured, average human therefore has 3 minimum Toughness.

Objects, which have no endurance, are treated as having an endurance of 3 in this case.

Defence

Defence bonuses are added to toughness, along with endurance and scale bonuses. The most common form of defence boost comes from worn armour. There are several other types of Defence, however:

Natural Armour: This is an amour bonus that comes from having thick skin, scales, bony plates, etc.. Creatures have a +0 natural armour bonus unless otherwise specified, which is why armour bonuses lower than +0 can‚t decrease your toughness. If you are wearing a paper shirt (defence …bonus‚ -3), you don‚t decrease your toughness. Your natural armour takes over, with its +0.

Durability: This bonus comes from the material an object is made out of. Living creatures usually do not have a Durability Defence bonus.

Unarmoured: This bonus is granted by the Unarmoured skill.

Stacking Bonuses: The bonuses from different Defence sources do not stack.

Damage

If a character takes more damage from an attack than his Minimum Toughness, he is wounded. A wound decreases the character's Toughness (and therefore Minimum Toughness) by 1.

Dying

If a character ever takes equal to or more than his Toughness in damage from a single hit, he starts dying. A dying character is unconscious and must make a DC 4 endurance check every round, with a -1 penalty for every wound the character has. Success means he gets to make another check next round. For every failed check, the DC increases by 1. If the DC becomes  too high for the character to be able to succeed (ex., the character has Endurance 3 and the DC is higher than 9), then the character dies. If a dying character gets wounded while dying, he dies.

A dying character has a 10% (a roll of 10 on a d10) chance to stabilize each round. A stabilized character is still unconscious, but is no longer in danger of dying. A successful  Medicine check can also stabilize a dying character.

If a character dies, a timely Medicine check, using Resuscitate, can bring character back to life.

Healing

Characters heal one wound every day that they spend with at least eight hours of sleep, and a number of wounds equal to their Endurance score every day that they spend bedridden.

Wounded objects don't generally heal. An object that takes more damage than it's Toughness is destroyed. A destroyed object is unusable. Objects can be repaired using the Engineering skill, however.

Conditions

Wound: A wound decreases the character's Toughness (and therefore Minimum Toughness) by 1. A character can have several wounds. The effects stack.

Mobility Penalty: Mobility penalties represent encumbrance (usually) from armour or from carrying heavy objects. Mobility penalties are subtracted from your bonus to the following skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Wrestle, and Stealth. Each mobility penalty also subtracts half a square of movement from your speed. If you have multiple movement types (such as the ability to either walk or fly), it subtracts from all of their speeds. Multiple mobility penalties stack. If you are piloting a vehicle which has a mobility penalty, the penalty applies to all Pilot checks you make. Similarly, when riding a mount, the mount‚s mobility penalties are subtracted from your Ride bonus.

Morale Penalty: A morale penalty is like a wound, but to the character‚s Will instead of his Toughness. A morale penalty decreases the character‚s Will (and therefore Minimum Will) by 1 point. If a character hits zero Will, he gains the Broken status.

Flat-Footed: Caught by surprise. A flat-footed character may not make any defence rolls (block, dodge, parry) and is vulnerable to a Sneak Attack (see Stealth Skill).

Confused: The character is driven totally insane (usually temporarily). This is usually caused only by supernatural abilities. Roll once on the Confusion chart every round to see what the character does. If the result doesn't really make any sense, the GM can roll again, or make up something for the character to do.

Panicked:  The character flees as fast as possible from the source of fear, as well as any other dangers he encounters during the escape. If there are multiple possible escape paths, roll a scatter die and run in that direction. The character may still make defence rolls normally. A panicked creature can use spells, skills, and techniques to aid the flight, and in fact must do so if they are the fastest means of escape. A fleeing character will attack anyone that prevents him from fleeing.

Stunned: Hit so hard your senses are jostled. Usually only lasts for a few seconds. The character cannot take any actions for the duration he is stunned, though he can still make defence rolls as normal.

Staggered: A staggered character rolls 1d6 every round. He is stunned (as above) for that many seconds. The staggered condition usually lasts for 1d6 rounds.

Disabled: The character is, well, disabled. He can't walk, but can crawl as a 4SA one square. The character can't use any weapon heavier than light. The character can't use any combos, but can make single attacks. The character can only take the equivalent of 3 seconds of action every round (doing anything takes roughly twice as long)

Broken: If a character's will is reduced to 0, he gains the Broken status, effectively giving up. He cannot take any actions, move, speak, or make defence rolls. The character is also Helpless.

Helpless: A Helpless character is one who, for whatever reason, cannot react to his surroundings. He may be unconscious, have a Broken morale, or be paralyzed. Melee attacks against a Helpless character automatically hit. Helpless characters cannot make defence rolls.

Unconscious: Unconscious characters are also always Helpless. They do not wake up simply from loud  noise or violent motion. A character who falls unconscious wakes up in 1d4 hours per wound it has taken, unless otherwise specified. When a character first wakes up from being unconscious, he is flat-footed for one round.

Sleeping: Sleeping characters are also always Helpless. Unlike unconscious characters, a sleeping character will wake up if it hears a noise louder than DC -5. However, characters get a -6 penalty to Perception checks while asleep. When a character first wakes up from being asleep, he is flat-footed for one round.

Dying: If a character ever takes more than his Toughness in damage from a single hit, he starts dying. A dying character is unconscious and must make a DC 6 endurance check every round. Success means he gets to make another check next round (yay!) For every failed check, the DC increases by 1. If the DC becomes too high for the character to be able to succeed (ex., the character has Endurance 3 and the DC is higher than 9), then the character dies. If a dying character gets wounded while dying, he dies.

Soul Coma: If a body is deprived of its soul, it enters a coma-like state. It appears dead at casual glance „ a DC 7 Medicine or DC 8 Perception check reveals that it is alive. Every hour for which the spirit is away, make a Fortitude check against DC 1. The DC goes up for every hour which the spirit is away. On a failed check, the body beings Dying. A character can make a Treat Injury check against the same DC to keep it alive, and in this case the DC does not go up with every check, so a trained doctor can keep it alive virtually indefinitely. This falls under the Long-Term Care use of Medicine.

Held: Held characters can't make block or parry defence rolls, but can dodge with a -1 penalty. Less common defence rolls can be made or not made with GM discretion, unless otherwise specified.

Tired:

Physical Damage Types

Piercing : Piercing damage is any that inflicts injuries primarily with a stabbing attack. Weapons that can deal piercing damage include spears, some swords and knives, bows, and firearms.

Bludgeoning :  Bludgeoning damage comes from attacks that deal primarily blunt-force trauma. This could include a club, mace, collision with the ground, or even the shockwave of an explosion. As most bludgeoning weapons rely on a large mass to deal damage, bludgeoning weapons made out of lighter materials (such as aluminum, titanium, and mithril) deal one die smaller damage.

Slashing : Slashing weapons use a sharp edge to deal cutting damage. Weapons that deal slashing damage include most blades, axes, and shrapnel from explosions.

Energy Damage Types

Electric : Electricity damage generally comes from magic or advanced technology. It shocks the target with a sudden jolt.

Heat : Heat damage is dealt by extremely high temperatures such as from fire magic, laser or plasma weaponry, or natural flames. Heat damage may include a risk of being lit on fire.

Cold : Cold damage is dealt by extremely low temperatures. Generally, this is the result of magic or extreme environments.

Sonic :  

Chemical : Chemical damage results from a corrosive substance, such as a powerful acid or base.

Special Damage Types

EMP: This type of damage is unlike others. It only affects electronic devices, and as such probably is irrelevant in most fantasy settings. Only objects such as vehicles, robots, and electronic equipment are vulnerable to an EMP. The resistance to EMPs that an object has depends on its complexity. Armour, size, etc. is irrelevant.

If a device takes more EMP damage than its EMP toughness, it ceases to function without repairs. (see the Repair skill)

Nonlethal Damage: this is not a damage type in itself, but always comes with another one. Ex. nonlethal Chemical or nonlethal Bludgeoning. It functions exactly like normal damage with regards to wounds, but in the case of a would-be-fatal attack with nonlethal damage, the target is simply knocked unconscious instead of killed. Objects are immune to nonlethal damage.

Poison and Disease

Poison and Disease Traits

Symptoms: The symptoms of a syndrome are what happens to the unfortunate afflicted character. If they are listed as cumulative, the penalties stack. Otherwise, they just last for the duration of the disease or poison. Symptoms cannot be removed or dealt with until the poison or disease has been cured, so a wound from snake venom can‚t be cured until the poison is. Typically, symptoms are wounds, fatigue, and/or nausea. If a character is infected by a poison or disease which can afflict wounds as a symptom, the character does not heal naturally every day regardless of whether he succeeded on his fortitude check or not.

Primary Transmission: The Transmission of a syndrome is how someone gets it in the first place.

Injury: If the poison is present on the weapon dealing damage (even if it doesn't do a wound), the character is afflicted. Injury syndromes are also always Ingestion transferrable.

Inhalation: Breathing in the toxin causes the syndrome. The DC increases by +1 for every full time increment, based on the check rate (ex. For every round spent breathing tear gas, or every day spent in the presence of one or more plague victims).

Ingestion: Eating or drinking the toxin causes the syndrome.

Vector: A vector refers is a small creature, usually an insect (such as fleas or mosquitoes) that carries a disease from subject to subject. Vectors are almost always insects.

Secondary Transmission: This is the way that it gets from an infected creature to a healthy one.

Airborne Secondary: Every round the character is within 3m of an infected creature, roll a d6. On a 1, the character gets infected.

Waterborne Secondary:

Check Rate: The check rate is how often the character has to make a Fortitude check against the syndrome's DC. Each failed check incurs Symptoms. Three successful checks in a row mean the character has recovered from the poison or disease and is no longer afflicted

Diagnosis DC: This is the Medicine DC required to diagnose the character. If it is obvious what the character has (i.e., you saw him get bit by a viper) this check is unnecessary. See Medicine for more information.

Fort DC: This is the DC that a character must beat to avoid that round of symptoms. Three successful checks in a row mean the character has recovered.

Overdose:  The given DCs and effects are for one standard dose of poison. If the afflicted character is, say, bitten twice in the same round or injected with more sedative, the DC goes up. For every doubling of dose, the DC increases by +1 and the effects increase. If the character fails the check, he counts as having been poisoned twice (for double dose) three times (for quadruple dose), etc..  So, a quadruple dose of sedative would have DC 8 (6 +2), and would cause the drugged character to fall unconscious for 3d4 minutes.

Example Poisons and Diseases

Alcohol: Alcohol‚s fortitude DC generally varies between 3 (fairly-low alcohol content) to 6 (extremely strong). A character who fails their check becomes Drunk for 1d4 hours. Even on a success, the DC for all further alcoholic beverages drunk in the next hour increases by +1. This increase stacks with each additional drink.

Infection: A character has a 10% chance to get infected after an unsterilized surgery. Characters can also be infected if they are in unsanitary conditions after receiving cuts (such as an attack by a slashing or piercing weapon) without seeking medical attention, if the GM rules it.

Plague:

Encumbrance

The term “encumbrance” refers, generally, to the accumulated mass of everything a character is carrying. Like weapons and armour, a character can be encumbered in several steps, based off of his endurance score. High encumbrance imposes mobility penalties which do not stack with those from armour. To find out how much a character can carry, add his endurance and strength abilities together and consult the following chart to find your “encumbrance step”. For every additional encumbrance step in weight you are carrying after the first, you take a mobility penalty „ so a strength 3, endurance 3 human can carry up to 8kg with no penalty, 16kg with a -1 penalty, 24kg with a -2 penalty, etc.. Every mobility penalty gives a -1 penalty to dexterity-based skill checks, and a half square (0.5m/s) drop in speed. Regardless of your original speed, a character carrying more than five encumbrance steps of weight can only stagger at one square per six seconds of movement.

If the mass is on wheels or otherwise has very low friction, it only counts for one quarter its actual mass with regards to encumbrance.

Radiation: Generally speaking, radioactive objects emit radiation that decreases at distance. A radioactive object emits radiation of its severity to one scale larger than it, then one scale larger than that in one severity less, etc.. For example, a Scale 0 chunk of radioactive material that emits Moderate radiation will expose anyone within a scale 1 area centred on the chunk to moderate radiation, to a scale 2 area with light radiation,  a scale 3 area to minor radiation, and no noticeable radiation at distances further than that.

Experience and Level Gain

Experience Points

Experience Points (XP) are a measure of your character‚s progress and advancement. A character gains XP as the campaign progresses, mostly from achievements, adventures, and quick-thinking.

Characters gain a level every time they attain 1,000 XP. Upon reaching 1,000 XP, the character‚s XP count drops back to zero. If a character gains enough XP in one go to go beyond 1,000 XP and still have some left over, halve the remaining XP. So, for example a level four character has 996 XP and gains 10 XP for having a Clever Idea. This puts the character at 1,006 XP. Subtract  1,000 XP for levelling up, so the character is left with 6 XP. Halve the remaining XP, and the character continues life as a level five with 3 experience points. This means that if a character (somehow) manages to get to 2,000 XP all at the same time, he will level up once (dropping him to 1,000 XP) and halve the remaining (to 500 XP) instead of levelling up twice.

XP can never decrease under any circumstance except after going up a level. GMs should not penalize characters by decreasing their XP.

Encounter

Enemy Defeated or Outsmarted

If a character or party …defeats‚ an enemy, the whole party receives the XP shown on the chart. The calculation works out so that defeating an enemy of your level grants you 100 XP, so that at most ten such victories always results in a level increase.

Note that it is enemy defeated or outsmarted, not "enemy slain." So if the party thinks up a clever plan that means that an enemy which in a straight fight would be a serious challenge is instead a cakewalk, they gain XP as if they had won in a straight fight.

GMs and players shouldn‚t limit themselves to thinking this only means enemies defeated in combat, either. Negotiating past a guard or convincing a courtroom to see their side counts as an enemy defeated.

Even if one player did most (or all) of the work, the whole party gains experience „ they were helping by merely being present. Say one player wins the battle with a lucky roll, and went first in the initiative count, the whole party still gains XP. The character who won single-handedly may get extra XP for a Minor or Major achievement (see below).

Here are some examples of an enemy being defeated or outsmarted:

1.   Four CR 1 Mooks defeated in a fair fight
2.   Four CR 1 Mooks knocked unconscious, caused to flee, detained, or that the party talked over to their side
3.   Four CR 1 Mooks on watch the party snuck past
4.   Four CR 1 Mooks the party defeated without even rolling a die due to a brilliant scheme
5.   Convincing a border guard with Charisma or bribes not to search the players‚ luggage (which includes an illegal substance)

Defeated by Enemy

Yes, even losing grants XP ƒ sometimes even more than winning, in the case of a particularly embarrassing defeat. (a high level character gets more XP for losing to a weaker enemy than for winning ƒ because if they lost, they must have learned some sort of lesson).

Players should only be awarded "defeated by enemy" XP if they were actually defeated. The players had to have actually legitimately tried to win. Deliberately losing  to row after row of one-legged goblins won‚t grant the players any XP

Adventure Completed

Story Arc Completed

Minor Achievement

The GM can award 10 XP to a character for a relatively minor but still notable achievement. What this entails can vary, but the general rule is that if congratulations are in order, 10 XP is, too. Examples:

1.   Being extra useful in a fight
2.   Roleplaying what makes the best sense for the character would do even if it isn‚t necessarily the best option for you „ such as giving money to the poor or refusing a small reward.
3.   If the character is a witty swashbuckling type, delivering a particularly good (or awful) pun in combat

Clever Idea or Realisation

1.   Doing something described as a high DC use of ingenuity... without having to use the ingenuity skill.

Major Achievement

1.   Rescuing a prisoner (if rescuing the prisoner was the goal of the adventure, this is instead "Adventure Completed" and earns 200 XP)
2.   Winning a battle singlehandedly. The whole party gains normal XP, but this player also gets +50

Effects of Level Gain

Max Skill Ranks:

This is the maximum number of ranks a character can put into an individual skill. It is equal to the character‚s level. See Chapter 2: Skills for more information.

Skill Bonus (Fast):

This is the skill bonus a character would have in a Skill Rate: Fast skill if he has maximum ranks in it. See Chapter 2: Skills for more information.

Techniques (Fast):

This is the number of techniques a character would have in a Skill Rate: Fast skill if he has maximum ranks in it. See Chapter 2: Skills for more information.

Skill Bonus (Staggered):

This is the skill bonus a character would have in a Skill Rate: Staggered skill if he has maximum ranks in it. See Chapter 2: Skills for more information.

Techniques (Staggered):

This is the number of techniques a character would have in a Skill Rate: Staggered skill if he has maximum ranks in it. See Chapter 2: Skills for more information.

Bonus Skill Ranks:

At every level divisible by three, a character gains a single extra skill rank that he can place in any skill, with the normal restrictions. See Chapter 2: Skills for more information.

Ability Boosts:

At every level divisible by four, a character can permanently boost a single ability score (strength, intelligence, dexterity, or spirit) by +1. This increase does not change the number of skill ranks a character gains per level.

A character cannot increase the same ability two increases in a row „ so a character who boosted his strength at level 4 must boost a separate ability at level 8, but can increase his strength again at level 12. Similarly, a character at his 4 th level ability boost cannot increase any ability that he started the game with an above„average score in.