Combat

COMBAT

While it is possible for a campaign to have no combat, there are often times when it will be necessary. In such cases, characters will either take the offensive or be forced to defend themselves against one or many foes!

COMBAT ORDER

Unlike normal turns in a round; during combat, players decide the combat order. Once combat concludes, the order of turns goes back to what was previously determined. When a new combat instance begins, the players will create a new combat order.

To determine the order for an instance of combat, each player rolls a d20 and adds their Grit attribute. The player with the highest total has their turn first and each player follows in descending order until the last player with the lowest roll has their turn. This is the order of combat until combat concludes. 

For the opponents and any NPC companions joining combat, the GM will make the same roll towards their Grit to determine where they stand in the combat order.

SETTLING A TIE

If there is a tie between players, they each roll a d20 with out adding their Grit. The player with the highest roll goes before the rest and each other player follows in descending order. If there is a tie between an opponent or NPC and a player, the player goes first.

SURPRISE ATTACKS

Before entering combat, one or more party members may have the opportunity to catch another character or party by surprise. When this happens, combat begins but those who were surprised get a turn disadvantage and are unable to roll for their combat order. This means, everyone who initiated the surprise gets to roll for combat order and take all their turns first before anyone else.

Once all who initiated the surprise have taken their turn, the round is over and everyone else rolls for their order in combat as usual to beginning the next round succeeding those who initiated the surprise.

ATTACKING

Similar to performing actions, to determine the success or failure of an attack, the player rolls a d20 and adds their attack attribute to get their total. If the total is greater than the enemy's defense, the character deals damage equal to their attack attribute, to the enemy's vitality.

Below are the attack attributes and their relative weapon types.

• STRENGTH

• Melee weapons such as swords and axes, for example, utilize strength.

• FINESSE

• Ranged weapons like bows or throwing implements utilize finesse.

• INTELLECT

• Magic spells, projectiles, and other magical acts would utilize intellect.

RANGE

Some weapons, skills, and spells allow the wielder to attack targets from greater distances. Some melee weapons might also have an attack range such as spears or halberds. Any weapon, skill, or spell with this ability will specify it's maximum effective range in meters in the description. Anything beyond this range would be impossible to attack.

Determining the success and damage of a ranged attack is the same as a normal attack but the effective range must first be considered while choosing a target.

DEFENDING

Instead of using a main action for anything else, a character may choose to defend. While defending, the character adds their strength to their defence level. If this total is greater than the attacker's melee attack strength, the attacker will sagger. A successful block of a ranged attack will not cause the attacker to stagger. If the attacker is not staggered then the defender takes damage and staggers.

While staggering, a character is unable to perform their main action in the next turn and takes double the amount of damage when next attacked.

HEALING

While adventuring or in combat, characters are bound to take vitality damage in some capacity. To keep a character from losing too much vitality, it is important to heal. All characters have the ability to heal themselves or others by using items or skills but the effectiveness of healing this way depends on a character’s grit added to the result of a d20 roll. Otherwise, a character may rest and tend to their wounds that way.

• RESTING

• If there is a safe place to rest, a character may decide to spend time recovering from their injuries and regain lost vitality.
• For every 1 hour of rest, a character recovers 3 vitality.
• Resting is generally better suited for outside combat.

• HEALING ITEMS, SKILLS AND SPELLS

• Some items, skills and spells recover vitality as an effect.
• These can generally be used within one main action and would be much more effective for healing during combat.

DAMAGE OVER TIME (DOT)

Some forms of damage like poison or bleeding will cause points of damage during the characters turn until remedied. Curing any kind of DOT damage depends on the damage type and many items, skills, or spells will target a particular type of damage specifically to cure it.

• BLEED
• Causes vitality damage at the end of the afflicted character's turn.
• Is cured by healing vitality equal to the amount of damage that would be dealt from bleed this turn.
• Taking a main action to bandage the afflicted area with an item can stop the bleeding as well.
• POISON
• Causes vitality damage at the start of the afflicted character's turn.
• Is cured by using an item, skill, or spell which will cure the character of poison.
• FIRE
• Causes vitality damage at the start of the afflicted character's turn.
• Is cured by using an item, skill, or spell which will put out the fire.
• Taking a main action to smother the fire with a blanket, extinguish it in water, or roll around on the ground will work great too.
• ACIDIC
• Causes defense damage at the end of the afflicted character's turn.
• Is cured by using an item, skill, or spell which will cure the character of acidic damage.
• When acidic damage is cured or ends, the characters total defense is returned to normal.