SWORDS
This chapter describes the rules for physical combat.
Damage
Attacks are trait rolls like any other. Damage is determined by the attacker's strength (except when using mechanical weapons), the weapon, the Dos of the trait roll, the defender's constitution, and the defender's armor.
The basic formula goes like this:
Though damage to Health is cumulative, players should keep track of each wound separately. Note the amount of Health done by each attack, adding them together only to determine if the character is dead. This is important for later healing (healing ten minor wounds is easier than healing one serious wound. See Pain and Suffering).
Weapons
Weapons not only add damage, but also a small amount of skill. On the other hand, grasping objects makes grappling more difficult.
Using one melee weapon by itself (one-handed or two-handed) gives +2 to hit.
Using two melee weapons gives +1 to hit, +1 to defense.
Using a shield gives +2 to defense.
Using a missile weapon gives -2 to defense against melee attacks.
Having only one free hand gives -2 to grappling.
Having no free hand gives -4 to grappling.
A person who is grappled can drop their weapons to remove the penalties.
Combat Maneuvers
There are a number of combative actions a character may perform during a round.
To avoid an attack, the target must make a Defense trait roll. A character who is attacked automatically gets the chance to defend, even if he has not yet reached his initiative.
If a character is unable to defend for any reason, he gets no chance to evade. For melee attacks, this means an attack roll vs a challenge level of 0. For ranged attacks, this means an attack roll at the challenge level of the range.
Strike
A strike is a direct attack. It can be done with melee weapons, thrown weapons, missile weapons, or bare hands. Roll trait vs trait and determine damage as given above.
A strike can also be used to disarm an opponent. The attacker makes a normal attack roll, but directed at the object in his opponent's hand rather than at the opponent's body. This attack can be defended against as normal. If the attacker's roll is higher, the defender is disarmed and the object is knocked a 1d6-2 spaces away. An object may be destroyed by this action.
Grapple
A grab is used to initiate close combat. To make a grab, the attacker must roll his Fighting trait versus the defensive trait of the target. If the grab succeeds, the attacker can restrain the target, preventing him from performing any actions. The attacker has the option to do damage as well, but only with base strength or small weapons. Larger weapons are useless in close combat.
Traits that can be used to defend against a grab are Defense and Fighting. If the target successfully defends with Fighting, close combat is still initiated. If the character successfully defends with Defense, the attacker has been warded off and melee combat continues.
Once opponents are locked in close combat, the Fighting trait is all that matters; it is used for both offense and defense. Upon reaching his initiative in close combat, a character can attempt to gain control of an opponent or to escape from the grapple. Either case is handled by rolling Fighting vs. Fighting.
An attempt to escape does no damage to an opponent. If successful, the character has escaped the fracas and melee combat resumes.
A character who has successfully gained control over an opponent in close combat can use elements of the environment as weapons. Slamming an opponent into a solid floor or wall can be worth anywhere from +1 to +6 depending on the hardness of the material (a wooden floor should hurt less than a stone one). Slamming an opponent into a sharp corner might give an extra +1 to +4 on top of this. The exact bonuses for any situation are up to The Master.
Throwing an opponent off a great height is a good way to end a fight.
A grab can also be used to disarm an opponent. If this type of grab is successful, the attacker manages to wrench an object out of an opponent's grasp. This action does not initiate close combat.
Optional rule: The Master may wish to give bonuses to a grappler if his mass if greater than his opponents'. The more massive combatant should receive a +2 to grappling rolls for each doubling of mass between he and his opponents, with an additional +1 if the more massive character is approximately halfway to the next doubling.
Example: A 200 pound man is wrestling an 800 pound gorilla. The gorilla is four times as massive as the man. This is two doublings, so the gorilla gets a +4 to all grappling rolls.Example: The same 200 pound man tries to wrestle a 2400 pound giant. The giant is twelve times the mass of the man, which is between three and four doublings. The giant gets +7 to all grappling rolls.
Logic trumps game mechanics, of course. Even if a master wrestler is able to out-wrangle a giant monster despite the mass bonuses, he is still not going to be able to move the thing very far. He will not be able to slam it into the ground for damage bonuses or toss it off a cliff. At best, he can cling to it as it moves around, ignoring him.
The extra mass rule can also be used when multiple characters are trying to work together to pin a single character. Simply add all of the masses together and give the bonus to the character with the best Fighting.
A character who defeats another through grappling (causes the opponent to lose all his Stamina) may declare that the opponent is not unconscious, but merely hopelessly pinned.
Defend
There are two ways to defend: blocking and dodging.
To block is to stop an attack with force.
Not every attack can be blocked. Melee attacks can be blocked by most other melee equipment, though The Master may assign a penalty to a warrior who tries to block a sword with his bare hands. The Master may also assign bonuses or penalties if the weapon of one fighter has a significantly longer reach, depending on the flavor of the game.
Missiles cannot normally be blocked without a shield. This, again, depends on the flavor of the game.
Shields can be used to block almost any attack except those that are enormous. If facing siege engines, or an axe-wielding giant, characters are advised to dodge instead.
Characters can also choose to block attacks aimed at a friend, so long as that friend is not more than a few steps away. Each one of these "assisted blocks" count as an action, however.
To dodge is to evade an attack with speed (by moving out of the way).
Dodging requires no particular equipment and is useful against any attack. The only requirement for a dodge is that there be room to move out of harm's way. There may be rare occasions where a character could use a block to evade harm, but not a dodge (a hail of arrows, perhaps).
Whether a character is blocking or dodging is usually not important, in game terms - the character simply rolls his Defense. It only matters when one type of defense is possible, but not the other.
Some players may wish to declare their Defense as mystical protection for the sake of flavor - attacks may veer off course or simply miss the character for no reason. This is fine. The player should decide whether these mystical protections are blocks or dodges for the sake of the limitations above.
Skill and Damage
In hand-to-hand combat (striking or grappling), a fighter may choose to trade skill for damage or vice-versa. One level of skill may be traded for two levels of damage; two levels of skill may be traded for four levels of damage. One cannot trade more than two levels of skill this way.
| Attack Roll | Damage |
|---|---|
| +2 | -4 |
| +1 | -2 |
| +0 | +0 |
| -1 | +2 |
| -2 | +4 |
Area attacks
Most attacks are directed at a single individual. The attacker aims, fires, and hits or misses based on his offensive trait and the defensive trait of his target.
Some attacks, however, are directed not at a person, but at a place. These are called area attacks.
To hit a particular area, an attacker need only roll greater than the ranged challenge level to hit.
If a character is hit by an area attack that covers more than one space, he may attempt a Defense roll to dodge out of the way. The challenge level is based on how far the victim must move to get out of the affected area - 5 per space moved.
This assumes that the attack was directed at the general area, not the individual - area attacks directed at an individual are resolved as normal attacks, but with bonuses to the attack roll for the size of the area.
Note: while normal land-based creatures can be engulfed by any attack that affects a wide enough area, creatures with three dimensional movement (flying, swimming) are able to dodge an attack unless the areas above and below it are hit as well.
Animals and Mounted Combat
Animals are characters just like any other. They have traits, damage metrics, and natural weapons. They often have better movement rates than humans.
Animals are controlled by The Master, even those that are on the side of the player. If a character with the Animals trait has spent time training an animal, then it should obey his commands in most cases. Combat is a chaotic environment, however; it may be necessary to roll Animals to make creatures to obey. It helps if the animal has been specifically trained for fighting.
Mounts allow characters to move much faster than they can on their own two feet. Movement rules are the same for mounted characters as running characters, except that horses can move twice as fast as human beings and can haul much more gear without being slowed.
The Riding trait is equally important, but for different reasons. Whereas the Animals trait lets the character persuade his mount to do what he wants, Riding allows a character to stay on his mount in difficult circumstances (leaping, bucking, being attacked).
If a character is hit by an attack while mounted, he must make a Riding roll to keep his seat. The challenge level should be equal to the amount of damage done by the attack (before defenses are applied).
Note that it is very difficult for a mounted person to perform any acts that require whole-body agility. This makes dodging impossible unless the character wishes to dive out of the saddle. If the character is unable to block an attack, he may opt to use Riding as a substitute for dodging, but may have a penalty based upon the room to maneuver and the contrariness of the animal.
Note also that a mount can be attacked as easily as the rider. This is a useful tactic for foot soldiers facing mounted opponents.