Combat

Combat is a fairly complicated system. Here are some of the mechanics explained:

Basics & Numbers

Physical attacks are broken up into Melee attacks and Ranged attacks.

Unlike ranged attacks, melee attacks must first bypass the target's chance to avoid attacks altogether based on their position. After this check, a melee attack must then bypass the target's weapon reach defense, if they have one. For instance, a target using a long weapon such as a pike has a significant chance to keep an attacker with a short weapon like a dagger fended off and out of striking distance.

Attack accuracy is generally dependent upon either the Melee Combat or Ranged Combat skill, depending on the type of attack. Accuracy can also be affected by the attacker's balance, weight encumbrance, armor hindrance, and whether the attacker is mounted, standing, sitting, or lying down. Accuracy of occult projectile attacks, such as a sorcerer hurling a gob of nether at a target, still rely upon the Ranged Combat skill, NOT the associated occult skill (i.e. Sorcery).

When attacked, the target's combat skills are taken into consideration for defense. Both Melee and Ranged combat skills can be considered for defense, but Melee skill is more suited against melee attacks and Ranged skill against ranged attacks. The better of the two skill defenses will be considered - they do not stack. A target will automatically attempt to avoid incoming attacks.

A target's first defense is to Dodge. Dodge rolls are heavily affected by balance, weight encumbrance, armor hindrance, and whether the target is mounted, standing, sitting, or laying down. Dodge rolls may also be affected by leg or foot wounds and various movement-impairing effects, such as roots.

A target's second defense is to Block with a held shield. Shield rolls are lightly affected by balance, weight encumbrance, armor hindrance, and whether the target is mounted, standing, sitting, or lying down. They are also affected by the type of shield - small shields like bucklers are less likely to block than large shields such as a kite shield. Shields are generally the most efficient all-around defense against physical attacks, but require the shield to be held in hand, preventing a free open hand that might be otherwise used for additional combat maneuvers or to wield a two-handed weapon. Some types of attacks cannot be blocked, such as a charge from a bison. Some particularly forceful attacks may cause slight harm to the shieldbearer's hand or arm when blocked, such as a powerful blow from a sledgehammer.

A target's third defense is to Parry with a held weapon. Parry rolls are moderately affected by balance, weight encumbrance, armor hindrance, and whether the target is mounted, standing, sitting, or lying down. Parry rolls are also affected by the weapon type - it's difficult to parry with a small dagger or a clumsy hafted weapon, while well-balanced weapons like a quarterstaff or a rapier grant substantial bonuses to parry rolls. Ranged attacks cannot normally be parried, though some special abilities may grant the potential to parry some types of ranged attacks. Some forms of melee attack cannot be parried, such as a charge from a bison.

The best of the 3 defensive options - Dodge, Block, or Parry - for a given situation will be used.

Additionally (and very importantly), a target's overall defense rerolls are affected by how much roundtime they're in - the higher the roundtime, the fewer rerolls they will get (capped at 5 seconds roundtime).

An attack might look like this:

You jab at an attack dummy with your copper dagger!  Melee(d227):211 vs Dodge(d103(5x)):44 = 167 (73%)
   55 pierce damage (left arm)
(energy -3)
Roundtime: 5 seconds.

In the above, note the numbers displayed. These represent the combat skill rolls for that attack.

• Melee is the attacker's Melee Combat roll, representing the attack's accuracy. Were the attack a ranged attack, it would read Ranged instead. The (d227) means a 227-sided die was rolled - or rather, a random number between 1 and 227 was chosen. This time the result was 211.
• Dodge is the target's Dodge roll. In the case of a Block or Parry, it would read Block or Parry, respectively. The d103 means a 103-sided die was used to calculate the result. The 5x means that the 103-sided die was rolled 5 times, and the best of those rolls was applied. In this case, the target was unlucky and their highest roll was a 44.
• At the end, you see the result of the Melee offense roll (211) versus the Dodge defense roll (44), which is 167. The (73%) at the very end is the endroll percentage, meaning that the resulting endroll of 167 is 73% of the attacker's full offense potential of 227.
• The amount of damage dealt was 55.

Some other things to note from our example:

• The damage type in this case was pierce damage.
• The hit location struck by the blow in this case was the left arm.
• The attack spent 3 of the attacker's energy.
• The attack incurred a roundtime of 5 seconds for the attacker.

Once an attack lands, it will do damage to the target, based on the endroll percentage (73% in our example), the damage type, the target's armor if any, and any additional damage resistance the target might have. The damage will affect a specific hit location on the target, which may have additional consequences, such as damage to the legs hindering dodge attempts or a wounded hand or arm making it difficult to wield a weapon or shield effectively. Some hit locations are considered vital and will cause the target to be defeated if they become too damaged.

In addition to receiving wounds on hit locations, taking damage also reduces the target's energy by the amount of damage done. If a character runs out of energy, they will fall unconscious and be completely helpless, and if energy goes too far into the negative, a character can die of energy loss despite not having suffered a mortal wound on a vital hit location.

Tactics

Tactics are important in this combat system. Simply attacking over and over without thought is not going to be enough to be an effective combatant. The following tactics will help you get an edge against your foes:

Timing

Timing is one of the most important aspects of combat. Generally speaking, you'll want to time your attacks to happen just after your enemy makes their own move, or when they are stuck in high roundtime for some other reason. In addition to the target having lowered defenses from being in high roundtime, they will also be unable to counterattack while you wait out your own attack's roundtime. Timing your attacks immediately after an enemy's is sometimes referred to as "stance dancing".

Some foes may be too quick or tricky to effectively "stance dance" with, however. Alternate techniques should be explored, and members of combat-oriented guilds should be able to learn various combat maneuvers and other tricks to help set things in their favor.

Balance

Balance management is an important aspect of combat. Negative balance reduces rerolls for both your offense and defense combat rolls, so you'll want to keep an eye on it (it shows in your prompt, indicated by the letter B). Additionally, some combat maneuvers spend balance, or require a minimum amount of balance to execute - you can't tackle or sweep an enemy when you're struggling just to keep your own footing!

It's usually best to use quick combat maneuvers to build up your balance first (and reduce your enemy's balance, if possible), and then unleash your more powerful attacks or disablers once you have the balance advantage to do so. Circle is an excellent way to increase your own balance against an enemy, and feint is a quick maneuver that can lower your opponent's balance. Both of these moves are available to anyone. If you get stuck in negative balance and can't seem to regain the advantage, it may be best to flee, take some time to regain your footing (negative balance gravitates toward 0 over time), and try again.

Combat Maneuvers

Join a combat-oriented guild or society to learn special combat maneuvers so you can set yourself up with a tactical advantage. For instance: Several combat maneuver abilities can stagger an opponent, knock them down, or both!

Study your Opponent

While some foes may stupidly perform the same clumsy attack over and over and be easily defeated with simple, predictable timing at minimal risk, other foes may a bit more clever. Study and learn their moves and timing, and be patient in waiting for the right opportunities. Learn which of their attacks are quick, and stay patiently on the defensive or perform low-risk moves of your own - don't take the bait and lower your defenses with a high-roundtime move for their next strike. Learn which of their attacks are slow, and unleash a powerful blow or disabler of your own immediately after while their defenses are down.