Options in Combat

First you work out in what order people do things. People act in the order of their I score (initiative), modified by:

• weapon specific modifier if in combat
• automatic win if you have surprise

Characters can act later in the round than is given by this method, but no earlier.

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Here are the actions that you can do in combat when not engaged:

• Move: if you move into contact with an opponent, then you are engaged
• Charge: you may charge into combat a maximum of M yards. You get one attack in that round, and you get WS+10 as you are charging the opponent
• Missile attack: you may make a missile attack. These generally take a full round.
• Magic: you may attempt a spell. These take a full round.
• Take-up: you can draw a weapon, or put away an item into a bag, etc. This takes the equivilent of one attack.
• Drop: you can drop an item; this happens immediately, but the item might suffer damage, or if it is a candle or lantern it could go out - or even smash and spread burning oil everywhere!

and the actions you can do when engaged in hand to hand combat:

• Combat: you may strike as many blows as you have attacks.
• Magic: you may attempt a spell. These take a full round.
• Take-up: you can draw a weapon, or put away an item into a bag, etc. This takes the equivilent of an attack
• Drop: you can drop an item; this happens immediately
• Flee: you may try to disengage combat by running. If I were you, I'd practice this.

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Types of attack:

• Normal Attack

  This is your bread and butter attack, what warriors live for.
  Make a WS test to hit with the following modifers:

  • if you were charging : +10
  • if you have ground advantage : +10
  • if they're behind an obsticle : -10
  • if you're attacking with your wrong hand : -10
  • if you won the last round (see below) : +10
  • any weapon specific modifiers
  • automatic hit if defender is prone

  Roll D100 for hit position (if defender is prone, choose body area)
  Calculate damage: D6, with the following modifiers:

  • add your strength
  • subtract opponents toughness
  • any weapon specific modifiers
  • subtract any armour modifiers
  • double result if defender is prone

  Then take this from the defenders wounds, and follow the procedure for calculating any critical hits.

• Stun attack

  This is when you when you attempt to stun and therefore disable the opponent. Make a WS test to hit, with the modifiers given above, and also -20 if you you do not have the skill 'Strike to Stun'.
  Roll D6. If the result is a 6, then you have hit too hard, and will maybe do additional damage (calculate normally, see here, damage is only the additional rolls). To find the percentage chance of it working, adjust the D6 roll by strength/toughness/head armour as before, then multiply by 5. If you have the skill 'Strike to Stun' there is another modifier of +20 onto this chance. Then test with this score to see whether your attempt is successfull.
  NB: if the target is prone/static, you hit automatically as usual, and then double the percentage chance at the end.

• Disarm

  Needs the 'Disarm' skill.
  Make two tests on WS; if both are successfull, the opponent is disarmed.

• Parry

  To parry, test against WS - if successful the damage done is reduced by D6.
  You must decide whether to parry a blow immediately after the blow has struck (after the potential damage has been calculated). You can only do so if you have at least one attack left in this round. You may not parry the same blow twice, and you may not use up an attack from the previous or the next round.
  You may use one of the following types of weapon to parry with:

  • one & two handed swords, maces, axes
  • one & two handed flails with handles
  • shields, spears, staffs
  • all parrying weapons - bucklers, sword-breakers, left-handed daggars, etc.

  Shields:

  Parrying with a shield uses up all the remaining attacks in that round, but you gain a +20 modifier

  Sword-breakers:

  After a sucessful parry with this weapon, test against S*10: if sucessful again, the opponents weapon is broken.
  NB: a broken sword is a daggar, a broken daggar is an improvised weapon.

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Extras:

• Winning combat:

  If you caused more damage than you took last round, then you are judged to be 'winning' combat. The opponent that you are facing is forced back 2 yards for the next round, if they can move. You can either press your advantage and move forward to re-engage in combat, or you can break off. If this occurs then the opponent who was forced back can do nothing in this next round, as they are recovered from the barage of blows in the previous round.

• Fleeing combat:

  If you are forced to flee from combat then you are judged to be fleeing from when you sustained the damage that is forcing you to flee. If you choose to flee then you are fleeing from the start of that round.
  When you are fleeing, each opponent that was attacking you may strike one blow at your back, with no armour help from your sheild, if you have one, but you do not count as a prone target.
  The fleed from opponents may make chase next round; ie they cannot re-engage you in combat unless they catch you up somehow.

• Unarmed combat:

  An unarmed character may do one of two things when trying to attack unarmed.

  • Blow:

    You attack or normally, but suffer -20 modifier to WS and -2 modifier to any damage. Also metal armour points count double.

  • Grapple:

    If you have no Wrestling skill, then you get a -20 modifier to WS. If successful, then the opponent tests against their Dex - if unsuccessful then you pin them.
    Both of you count as prone, and both can do nothing except try and maintain or break the hold. Every round both test against S*10:

    • Both fail or both succeed: nothing happens, hold maintained
    • Holder succeeds, opponent fails: cause damage as for a normal unarmed blow, hold maintained
    • Holder fails, opponent succeeds: hold is broken