Combat with a Long-Ranged Weapon

Kregg said...

Anyway, Projectile Combat would be very similar; but first, you must ask yourself "What are the factors when you shoot/throw an object at an opponent?" Distance, Size, Movement, & Cover, right? The Attacker would still roll an Attribute Die & a Skill Die and add the shooting-distance-bonus (shotgun = +1, pistol = +2, rifle = +3, sniper rifle = +4, long-range artillery = +5, etc.). The Attacker must roll above the Distance, Movement, and Cover (AR); Defender will simply roll his Attribute Die to dodge, and add/subtract his Size bonus/penalty (depending on how big/small the Defender is). Here's what a Projectile Combat scenario would look like:
Conrad the Crossbowman's Attribute Die is a D6, his Crossbow Skill is D10, and his weapon's distance bonus is +2. His target is Ronny the Rogue--size level 7 (5 = an average 6' man, so he's a pretty BIG man) , running out in the open, wearing 30% armor (AR = +3). His Size gives him a -2 to dodge (2 above the average level of 5), but his AR gives him a +3. So, Conrad measures out the distance: 40 yards; plus, Ronny is running at a movement level of 3. Conrad must therefore roll above 7 (4 [40 yards] + 3 = 7), rolling his 2 dice (the Attribute Die & the Crossbow Skill Die). Ronny rolls his dodge with his Attribute Die (1 die), -2 (size level), & +3 AR (30% Armor Cover). [By the way, 100% Armor Cover would be +10 AR--"armor rating"; a roll above the AR means that the projectile hit the wearer somewhere where it didn't cover the wearer; a roll above the dodge, but below the AR means that it only hit the Armor, hence damaging the armor---any damage inflicted above the armor's penetration factor (PF) will go right through the armor and hurt the wearer; a roll below the dodge roll means that the projectile totally missed, doing no damage to both the armor and the wearer.]

Fortuity in Combat

Okay, Kregg brought up a good theory. Good Fortune should produce better combat rolls or outcomes, right? Kregg proposed to have it included in an Attribute Die (a combat die that includes Initiative, Coordination and Fortuity). Is this the only way to use the tool called Fortuity in combat? What other ideas can we come up with?

Damage in the Five-Point System

We have stated many times before that War Combat and Hero (or RPG) Combat have different rules but use similar tools. After considering this a bit, I came to the conclusion that War Combat is not concerned with moments in particular battles (i.e. Hakila the dwarf swings his halberd down on the goblins shoulder and give a hard pull, catching the fiend off balance; with a leaping twisting axe-kick, Hakila knocks the goblin to his knees; Hakila recovers, swinging the halberd in a fluid motion into the goblins exposed back; etc.) NO!! War is about outcomes! So, damage should be done a bit differently in Wartime as opposed to RPG-time. Here is a proposed Five-Point Damage system:

1. Unphased: The victim receives no obvious or immediate effects from the amount of damage. (1 point of Damage)*
   
2. Stunned: The victim is unable to move or attack for one turn due to the immediate effects of pain caused by the amount of damage. (2 points of Damage)*
   
3. Injured: The victim is Stunned and receives minus one (-1) to all combat actions until wounds are mended. (3 points of Damage)*
   
4. Bleeding: The victim's wounds are open and issuing blood; victim will faint from loss of blood in the X amount of turns equal to victim's Endurance attribute. Victim experiences effects of immediate pain (Stunned) and receives minus two (-2) to all combat actions. (4 points of Damage)*
   
5. Destroyed: Victim succumbs completely to the effects of his wound(s) falling to the ground incapacitated. (5 points of Damage)*
   

*Obviously this system is only for living units (i.e. Humans). Also, not every unit will have the capacity to be damaged five times. Weaker units will simply be Destroyed on the first hit. Others might be Injured with the first hit. Which damage effect a unit will receive on the first hit will depend on two factors. First, the Endurance (Toughness) of the unit. Second, the amount of damage received. Damage will typically be one through five, but can be more for more powerful weapons.

Combat Flow Chart: Fencing

Ron asked me to make a flow chart that mapped out what happens in a Fencing match. After attempting to make a flow chart I came to some basic conclusions. Here is the basic flow of action first:

1. Opponents face off
2. One opponent (Combatant A) will advance with an attack (usually a lunge or an advanced lunge)
3. The other opponent (Combatant B) has to defend. [This is a formality in official Fencing. This rule tries to represent a real combat scenario where the weapons are deadly. In a real fight, combatant B most likely will be stabbed if he tries to counter immediately with an opposing attack without any type of defense.] His defense usually consists of two simultaneous actions; first, he steps back to increase the distance and provide more reaction time; second, he uses his own sword to parry.
4. If the parry is successful, then Combatant B is now in a position to attack, which is called the reposte (basically a counterattack). An unsuccessful parry does not necessarily mean the attack was successful (the step back could have been enough to evade the attack). If the parry in fact is unsuccessful, Combatant A still has the opportunity to pursue attacking.

Conclusions:

1. When battling with real weapons, where one hit can potentially kill you, simultaneous attacks do not happen!!! (This is a big knock to the Simultaneous-Bridge Theory) A fist-fight or wrestling/grappling would be a better model for the aforementioned theory, because a single hit does not kill (typically).
2. The attacker has the potential to attack repeatedly if not correctly parried. This means that the parry is more than just blocking or deflecting an attack. A parry is a way to gain the advantage. Basically, it is keeping your sword/foil in the inside or on top of the opponent's sword.