II.D. The Combat System - Missile Combat
Just as in melee combat, when a character engages in missile combat, the player must first state a course of action. The player next determines the initiative for the intended action, rolls are made to determine if the action succeeded, and the player makes a new statement of intent for the character.
Missile weapons differ from melee weapons slightly, in that when the character throws or shoots the missile weapon, he or she must draw another missile to attack again. Thus, using a missile weapons has two parts: readying or reloading the weapon, and the firing or throwing of the weapon. When making an attack, the speed of the weapon used forms the basis of the random initiative for the attack. Table II.F. lists the speed of each weapon. A speed of 6, e.g. a light crossbow, generates an initiative between 1 and 6 (1d6), and a weapon speed of 9, e.g. a hand axe, generates an initiative of 1d9.
If the character continues with missile combat, the character must ready another missile weapon, either by reloading his projectile weapon, e.g. a bow or crossbow, or by getting out another weapon to hurl at his or her opponents. If the character draws another weapon, he or she just takes the standard initiative time to get the weapon from its current location. A character may use the Fast Draw skill to get the weapon out faster. Reloading a crossbow requires time to cock the weapon as well as draw another bolt from the quiver. Reloading a sling requires the time to draw the stone or bullet from the pouch, as well as the time to bring the sling up to speed for throwing.
A character may choose to apply the Agility Modifier to subtracts from both the weapon speed and the draw time. For example, a character with an Agility Modifier of +2 attacks with a sling, speed 8. First the character uses the AGI Modifier to reduce the time to get the stone from the pouch from 1d6 to 1d4. The character then applies the AGI modifier to the speed of the weapon, 8. The resulting initiative check is 1d6 (8 - 2 = 6). No matter how fast the character can react or what additional bonuses may apply, one cannot act before one starts, i.e. no initiative can be negative. Initiative speed is an exception to the general rule that a bonus is always added, and a penalty subtracted.
For war crossbows and other mechanically loading projectile weapons, the character may apply the STR modifier to each die rolled.
Once the initiative count starts, and the character begins his or weapon speed count, a change to intent or disengagement requires a two second penalty. When the character reaches the weapon speed initiative, the attack roll is made.
After the attack roll the character must wait until the next second to make the next statement of intent, repeating the cycle until concluding the conflict.
Range plays a very important part in determine the accuracy of a missile weapon. Table II.F. lists the range for each missile weapon as the number of five foot increments the weapon can be used. Point blank range is the first increment, normal range is the second increment, and a cumulative -5% applies to each range beyond normal. A character may thrown a hurled weapons up to 10 range increments. A character may fire a projectile weapon up to 20 range increments.
A character may choose to apply his or her STR modifier to the Range increment of a hurled weapon. For a projectile weapon, a character may choose to apply his or her PER modifier to the Range increment.
Inside the point blank range for projectile weapons, damage done by the weapon applies directly to the targets physical damage, bypassing stamina. Inside the point blank range of hurled weapons, a character may choose to apply his or her STR Modifier to the weapon Damage. A character may only apply the STR modifier to either the Range or the Damage, not to both.
Three elements contribute to a character's attack bonus: raw natural aptitude, experience and skill in combat, and skill with the weapon used.
To calculate the first element for thrown weapons, add the character's Strength (STR), Agility (AGI), and Perception (PER) together. To calculate this for projectile weapons, add the character's Agility (AGI) twice to the character's Perception (PER). This total represents the natural aptitude of the individual.
The character's level adds to his or her Missile and Thrown Combat Skill Level, and represents the character's experience and skill in combat. To determine the Thrown Combat Skill Level, total all Learning Points (LP) the character has assigned to the thrown weapons and related combat skills, and finding the Skill Level (SL) that results. To determine the Missile Combat Skill Level, total all Learning Points (LP) the character has assigned to the projectile missile weapons and related combat skills, and finding the Skill Level (SL) that results.
The Combat Skill total includes a limited amount of Learning Points from non-weapon skills. The following skills contribute in this manner to the Thrown Combat Skill: Alertness, Fast Draw (thrown weapon). The following skills contribute in this manner to the Missile Combat Skill: Alertness, Fast Draw (missile weapon).
Finally, the third element is the skill the individual has with the weapon. For SL 1-3, the individual receives a bonus of 1 point per SL. The character gains +2 for each SL from 4 to 7, +3 for each SL from 8 to 11, +4 for each SL from 12-14, and +5 for each SL from 15-20. The chart below maps out the these bonuses. Other benefits may be gained from having high weapon skills, but the individual weapon skill description should be consulted for details.
| Weapon Skill | Attack Bonus |
|---|---|
| 1 | +1 |
| 2 | +2 |
| 3 | +3 |
| 4 | +5 |
| 5 | +7 |
| 6 | +9 |
| 7 | +11 |
| 8 | +14 |
| 9 | +17 |
| 10 | +20 |
| 11 | +23 |
| 12 | +27 |
| 13 | +31 |
| 14 | +35 |
| 15 | +40 |
| 16 | +45 |
| 17 | +50 |
| 18 | +55 |
| 19 | +60 |
| 20 | +65 |
Both the AGI and the PER modifiers apply to the ESL.
The player rolls percentile dice to determine the success of the character's attack. The player then adds the Attack Bonus and all appropriate modifiers. If the total equals or exceeds 100, then the character connected. If not, then the character has failed to make connection with his or her opponent.
A natural roll of 05 or lower indicates the chance for a critical miss. A second percentile roll should then be made, and the Critical Miss chart consulted for the results.
A natural roll of 96 or higher indicates that a critical strike has been made. An unmodified 96 should be treated in all ways as though the player rolled 105, a 97 as though the character rolled 110, a 98 as though 115 were rolled, a 99 as though 120 were rolled, and a 100 as though 125 were rolled. A second percentile roll should then be made, and the Critical Hit chart consulted for the results of the critical strike. A character may make a critical strike, and still miss.
If the opponent has any active defenses, then these must be overcome as well. Active defense includes such things as the Agility Dodge Modifier, but not the Shield Bonus or Paries. If the attack total is not greater than 100 plus the sum of all active defenses, then the blow did not connect with the opponent, either being dodged or blocked. Defense stances and other active defense do not apply to missile weapons. However, bonuses from movement and cover do apply.
If a blow connects, then it must still penetrate passive defenses to do damage. Armor is the most common form of passive defense. As a suit of armor does not provide the same protection to all parts of the body, the hit location must be determined when rolling an attack. By use of the hit location chart, the area of the body hit may be determined if necessary, and accurate armor points can be matched against an attacker's to hit roll.
For example, an individual with a standard suit of plate mail might have the following protection:
| PL+SM+Q | SM+Q | |
|---|---|---|
| Slash AP | 60 | 30 |
| Chop AP | 54 | 24 |
| Thrust AP | 45 | 15 |
| Impact AP | 12 | 9 |
Different numbers in the above listing represent areas covered by plate (PL), single mail (SM), and quilt (Q), e.g. the chest, the shoulders, knees, etc., and areas covered only by mail and quilt (SM+Q), e.g. the joints, the rear of the legs, etc.
The weapon used determines the damage done. The character may choose to apply the STR modifier to damage done by thrown weapons in point blank range, though the STR modifier may not apply to both range and damage on the same attack. Therefore, an axe with base damage of 6 thrown by a person with a Strength bonus of +2 can do 1d8 points of damage. Every full 10 points of connection that penetrate through all of the opponent's defenses increased the minimum damage rolled by 1. The damage first reduces the opponent's stamina, if any, and then opponent's physical points, as described in the Damage rules.
The number of physical points that an attack inflicts never exceeds the amount by which the attack penetrated all defenses. If an attack penetrated exactly, no physical damage is done. If the attack penetrated only by 1, then the amount of physical damage is limited to 1, etc. This limitation has no effect on stamina damage.
All actions and tactics must be declared during the statement of intent phase. They cannot be adopted after rolling initiative and starting an attack.
When this maneuver, for every point of Attack Bonus sacrificed, the attacker may shift the Hit Location an equal amount towards the desired location. For example, an attacker may reduce his or her Attack Bonus by 15, and then shift any connection roll by 15 towards a specified target, such as the head, or the left hand.
The attacker may trade off accuracy for speed. He or she may reduce the Initiative check range to attack by 1 for every 5 points by which the Attack Bonus is reduced. This acts just as an Agility Modifier to Initiative.
The attacker may trade off accuracy for speed. He or she may reduce the Initiative check range to reload by 1 for every 5 points by which the Attack Bonus is reduced. This acts just as an Agility Modifier to Initiative.
The attacker may sacrifice accuracy for power. For every 5 point reduction in the Attack Bonus, the attacker may add 1 to the Damage roll, if the attack is successful. Characters may only use this option with Thrown weapons.
The attacker may trade off accuracy for speed. The attacker accelerates the time to making the attack, taking a 5% penalty for each remaining second in the initiative. Only projectile weapons, loaded and ready, can make a snap shot.