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.]

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.