Combat Reference (1.

3)
Awareness of Opponents  Actions making noise (such as moving to a new
position) may trigger a Listening or Observation
 Listening or Observation checks every 5 seconds check
once within sensory range  As soon as a target becomes aware of the attackers,
the Count Up begins at 1
Initiative
 The ambushing characters automatically have an
 Once aware of opponents, roll Initiative Initiative of 1
 Standard encounter (d12)
Movement
 Declared ready for trouble and have
evidence of an ambush ahead (d10) Humans, Elves, Dwarves,
 Can hear opponents in a concrete direction, size M and L Halflings, size S
but not see them (d8) creatures and T creatures
 Going through a doorway with knowledge Walk 5 ft. 2.5 ft.
an opponent is on the other side (d6) Jog 10 ft. 5 ft.
Run 15 ft. 7.5 ft. (5/10)
 Leaping around a corner with knowledge an
Sprint 20 ft. 10 ft.
opponent is there (d4)

Surprise  From a standing position, a character may begin to

 Surprised characters:
 continue doing what they were doing and
can take no other actions
 have no Defense adjustments and cannot
deploy a shield
 roll d8p for defense rolls
 An unsurprised character may move next to and
alert a surprised character
 The surprised character’s Starting Initiative
number is averaged with the current count
to produce a new Starting Initiative
 The character doing the alerting can take no
other actions
 An unsurprised character may raise a “hue and cry”
 Deduct two seconds from the Starting
Initiative of all combatants
 If attacked, a surprised character is only surprised for
two more seconds
Ambushes
walk or jog immediately, but not run or sprint
 A walking or jogging character may then move to a
run or sprint
 Characters may only sprint for half their Con. in
seconds (rounded down)
 This may be spread across several spurts
 Characters recover in (16 + d4p – Con.) minutes and
may then sprint again

If zero or less, a 10 second rest is required
 Movement action rates
 Halt run/sprint (10 ft. over 1 second)
 Change facing to side or rear (1 second*)
 Sit/kneel/stand from prone or reverse (1
second*)
 Pick up dropped weapon at feet (1 second)
 Draw/ready small weapon (0 seconds**)
 Draw/ready medium weapon (1 second**)
 Draw/ready large weapon (2 seconds**)
 Ready an available shield (d4p + 1 seconds)
 Remove a shield (d4p seconds)

 Near misses with ranged weapons (within 6 needed  Retrieve readily available spell components
to hit) allow the target to roll Initiative (d4p seconds)
  Search container for tiny item (2d4p
seconds)
 Search container for small item (d4p +1
seconds)
 Search belt pouch or pockets for item (d4p
seconds)
 Remove backpack or shield strapped to
back (d4p + 1 seconds)
 Retrieve strung bow from back (d4p + 2
seconds)
 String a bow (15 seconds)
 Raise a Hue and Cry (1 second)
 Unstopper container and drink potion (2
seconds + retrieval time)
* = free when combined with another movement or
action
** = if drawn during melee (e.g. to switch weapons),
the character must wait his weapon speed before
attacking
Ranged Attacks
 Attacker rolls d20p, modified by range penalties and
Attack bonuses
 A moving defender rolls d20p and a stationary
defender rolls d12p
 Being aware of the attack provides no bonus to the
defender unless the attacker suffers from a -6 (long
range) or greater penalty to attack
 Attacks with a -8 (extreme range) penalty give the
defender a chance to raise his shield for cover if he
can see the attacker
 A target’s size affects the Effective Range of an
attack (p. 221)
Death and Dying
 Zero hit points = near-death but stable state
 Must make Wisdom check (d20p + Wisdom
vs. d20p + 11) to remain conscious; can take
no action other than speaking in a labored
whisper
 A character taking more negative hit points than half
his Constitution dies
 A character with negative hit points is in the process
of dying
 Every 10 seconds until he stabilizes or dies,
a character must make a Constitution check
(d20p + Constitution + current hit point
total vs. d20p + 11)
 Failure = lose one hit point; success = no
additional hit point loss
 Success by 10 or more = stabilization;
critical failure = lose two hit points
 Must make Wisdom check (d20p + Wisdom
+ current hit point total vs. d20p + 11) to
remain conscious; can take no action other
than speaking in a labored whisper
 A stabilized character who receives any additional
damage begins dying again
 A successful First Aid check (average) gives a dying
character a bonus to his next Constitution check
 This may be attempted immediately and
every 10 seconds thereafter
Melee Attacks and Reach
 Once within reach, the first melee attack can occur;
the character with the best reach swings first
 The attacker rolls d20p + his Attack bonus vs. d20p-4
+ the defender’s Defense bonus; tie goes to the
defender
 The character with lesser reach can move and attack
one second later
 As long as these opponents stay engaged, add their
Weapon Speed + any other speed modifiers to their
previous attack’s Initiative and continue until
someone falls or breaks off the attack
 Once the contest ends, the survivor can
move or take any other action on the next
second
 When engaging a new opponent, he makes
an initial attack on the second in which he
engages
 The new opponent can also attack unless he
is already engaged with another opponent
Drawing Weapons
 Drawing a weapon while engaged with an opponent
= waiting for full weapon speed before being able to
attack
 While drawing/readying a weapon, a character is not
considered unarmed
Shields
 Using a shield eliminates the -4 defense penalty
(d20p + Defense bonus)
 If a defender with a shield succeeds in his defense
roll by less than 10 points, the attacker still does ½
 damage dice + full damage modifiers of damage to
the defenders’ shield
 Shields protect against the opponent a character is
engaged with and those counterclockwise from this
foe until the maximum protective capacity is
reached (see chart on p. 225)
 Shields can take damage and be destroyed (see chart
on p. 225)
 Destroyed shields still provide their Damage
Reduction value the round they break
 Shields provide their base cover value whenever
worn—even when the wearer is surprised
 Character crouching behind a shield may advance at
walking speed
Weapon/Equipment Breakage
 Poor-quality equipment may break in combat
 Worthless: every use
 Poor: shield hits, crits, fumbles, full parry
 Shoddy: crits, fumbles, full parry
 Average or better: fumbles
 Extraordinary-quality weapons gain a save (p. 197)
when a fumble result indicates a broken weapon
Armor Degradation
 Every damage penetration roll, critical hits suffered
to an area covered by armor, certain fumble results,
and some spells will cause armor to lose 1 hit point
 Once armor loses all 10 of its hit points, it loses 1 DR
 If it loses 10 more hit points, it loses 1 more DR, and
so on, until DR = 0
Fighting Styles
 Weapon and shield
 When defending, roll d20p + shield bonus +
any other bonuses
 Two-handed weapon
 When defending, roll d20p + any bonuses
against the first attack between your own
attack rolls and d20p-4 + any bonuses
against successive attacks
 One-handed weapon only
 -1 Speed bonus
 When defending, roll d20p-4 + any bonuses
 One-handed weapon, used two-handed
 Weapon smaller than character = no effect
 +3 Damage
 +2 Speed penalty
 When defending, roll d20p + any bonuses
against the first attack between your own
attack rolls and d20p-4 + any bonuses
against successive attacks
 Two one-handed weapons, attacking with both
 Primary weapon makes its first attack
normally
 Its second attack occurs on its modified
weapon speed + 2
 Secondary weapon makes its first attack on
half the unmodified weapon speed of the
primary weapon + 1 and then on its weapon
speed +2 thereafter
 Secondary weapon gets -2 damage penalty
 When defending, roll d10p + and defense
bonuses for the primary weapon only
 If the secondary weapon is one or more size
categories smaller than the wielder, near-
perfect defense value is full
 Two one-handed weapons, defending with
secondary weapon
 When defending, roll d20p + any defense
bonuses from your primary and secondary
weapons against the first attack between
your own attack rolls and d20p-4 + any
defense bonuses from both weapons
against successive attacks
 If the secondary weapon is one or more size
categories smaller than the wielder, near-
perfect defense value is full
 Shield only
 May only attack unarmed or via a shield
bash
 +1 Defense bonus
 Opponents can attack at half weapon speed
(twice as often)
 Two shields only
 May only attack with shield bash
 Both shield bonuses may be added to
attacks from the front and front flanks
 Orthogonal (at right angles) attacks can be
defended against with one shield
 Opponents can attack at half weapon speed
(twice as often)
Multiple Opponents and Rear Attacks
 When facing more than three opponents, the
Defense die may be adjusted (see chart on p. 230)
  Against opponents attack from behind, a defender
only rolls a d8p + Defense bonus
 If a character is already in melee and is attacked by
an additional foe, he does not get to use his better
Reach to attack the new opponent first nor does he
get an automatic counterattack on the next second
Knock-Backs
 Damage rolls of five points per size category (see
chart on p. 232), independent of armor or natural
defenses, knock the defender back 5 feet
 An attacker, on the next second, can move forward
and advance those 5 feet
 If the attacker cannot or does not advance, the
defender may either regain that ground or break
away from melee (unless the attacker has a weapon
that can still reach him)
 Double the required knockback damage knocks a
defender back 10 feet, triple damage results in 15
feet, and so on
 Double, triple, or more knockback also knocks the
defender prone and resets his next attack’s Initiative
to his Weapon Speed value
 The defender can regain his feet in 1 second
while the attacker can advance over the lost
ground if he chooses
Trauma
 When a character suffers damage greater than his
Threshold of Pain score, he must make a trauma
check (d20 vs. ½ Con. score)
 Natural 20 = character knocked unconscious
for 5d6p minutes and appears dead
 ≤ ½ Con. score (round down) = no effect
 > ½ Con. score (round down) = character
falls to ground, unable to take action until
the pain subsides
 Recovery time = 5 seconds x difference
between the ½ Con. check roll and the ½
Con. score
Coup De Grace
 A character can slay a helpless opponent (including
those incapacitated by trauma) by focusing on this,
and nothing else, for 10 seconds
 Animals and nonsapient creatures cannot
perform coup de grace
 If a coup de grace is interrupted, the
attacker may attack (at +4) the defender
during the second required to stand up
 Victims that are fast asleep can be killed
automatically
Attacking a Helpless Opponent
 Defender receives only a 1d8p defense die and the
attacker may attack at intervals of half modified
weapon speed (round up)
 Minimum weapon speed does not apply
Automatic Hits and Defenses
 Natural 20s on attacks always hit
 Natural 20s on defense always cause a miss
 If attacker and defender both roll natural 20s, the
character with the greatest modified total wins
Critical Hits and Defenses
 Critical hit = natural 20 on attack roll and modified
attack roll exceeds defender’s total defense
 Roll d10,000 and consult the GMG
 Near-perfect defense = defender rolls a natural 19
and his defense total exceeds the attacker’s total
and he is within 5 feet of the attacker
 The defender receives an immediate free
hand-to-hand (or small weapon) counter-
attack
 A successful hand-to-hand counter-attack
does two rolls of 2d4p - 2 damage, ignoring
shield and/or armor damage reduction, but
not natural defenses
 Add Strength modifiers and any unarmed
combat bonuses to this damage roll, but no
other bonuses
 Damage of zero is possible
 A successful small weapons counter-attack
rolls normal damage for such an attack
 Perfect defense = defender rolls a natural 20 and his
defense total exceeds the attacker’s total
 The defender receives an immediate free
riposte/counter-attack with his weapon
Misses and Fumbles
 If an attacker rolls a natural 1, his attack misses
 Fumble = attacker rolls a natural 1 and his attack
total is ≤ the defender’s total
 Roll a d1,000 and consult the GMG
  If a defender rolls a natural 1, the attacker receives
an automatic free attack on the next second
Spellcasting in Combat
 It takes d4p seconds to ready material components
 While searching for components or casting, a caster
can take no other actions
 Limited to a d20p-6 defense roll
 If damaged, mages lose spell and related
SPs
 If damaged, clerics must restart spell from
the beginning
 Defenders can attempt saving throws against hostile
spells
 Defender rolls d20p + his level ± relevant
ability score bonus/penalty
 Monsters roll d20p ± relevant save bonus/
penalty in HOB
 Attacker rolls d20p + his level ± any other
bonuses/penalties (such as using more or
fewer SPs)
 If defender’s total is > the caster’s total, he
makes his save (see spell description)
 A natural 1 on a saving throw = failure,
unless the caster also rolls a natural 1
 Spell fatigue = each spell has a recovery time during
which the spellcaster can only do limited activities
 -6 to defense rolls
 Cannot attack
 -30% to all skill checks
 ½ movement and no sprinting or running
 All actions take twice as long
 Touch attacks for spells require a normal attack roll;
a defender using a shield is automatically hit
 Unless otherwise stated, damaging spells ignore DR
from shields and armor
 If monsters need to make an ability save (such as
with poisons), they roll d20p + 7 + Physical save
bonus vs. d20p + Virulence Factor
Turning/Commanding Undead
 A cleric presents his holy symbol and rolls d20p + his
level + his Turning Modifier (based on Cha.)
 The GM rolls d20p + the monster’s Will Factor
 If priest’s roll is > the monster’s, the monster flees
for 3d4p minutes
 If the priest’s roll = the monster’s roll, the monster is
held at bay for 5 seconds
 Turning takes 5 seconds and can be done repeatedly
as long as the priest succeeds or ties
 If a monster attacks the priest during the 5 seconds,
the turning attempt activates immediately
 When a priest fails his roll, he may try again but the
undead receive a cumulative +4 bonus to their roll
 Each monster in a group rolls separately to resist
 Commanding: When a priest tries to command the
undead, their Will Factor increases by 2
 A check that succeeds by < 5 results in a
turning
 A check that succeeds by ≥ 5 results in the
undead being compelled into service for
3d4p minutes; afterwards the undead flee
 If commanded to attack an enemy, term of
service ends immediately after the enemy is
defeated and the undead will either flee the
area (50%) or attack the cleric (50%)
 A cleric can attempt to counter a successful Turning
by making a Command attempt
 Counter-turned undead mill about confused
for 5 seconds before resuming their attack
 The original repelling cleric can attempt to
re-turn the Counter-turned undead; this can
continue indefinitely
 When turning, a cleric can only move at a walk
 Turning attempts are disrupted if the cleric is hit for
damage
Spending Honor
 A character may spend Honor (see chart on p. 113)
 to re-roll any roll he made
 to force a re-roll of any harmful roll made
against him
 to adjust any roll by one or more points
Checking Morale
 Individuals check morale any time they suffer a hit in
combat (or other event) that results in a trigger
event for their Tenacity level
Tenacity [Morale] Trigger event
Roll modifier
None n/a n/a
Fearless +2 50%+ in one hit
Brave +1 Suffer enough for ToP check;
attacked from rear, front, and
flank; battle appears hopeless
Steady 0 Suffer 25% damage in one
blow; flanked on two sides;
unable to significantly damage
foe in 30 seconds;
outnumbered
Nervous -4 Suffer 20% damage in one
blow; flanked; unable to
significantly damage foe in 30
seconds; even numbers or
worse
Cowardly -8 Any wound; double-teamed;
unable to damage foe after
two attempts; does not
outnumber opponent 2:1
 Tenacity checks are a competing d20p roll
 The subject of a check modifies his roll by
the Morale Modifier for his Tenacity Level
 The counter-die is modified by the Charisma
Morale Modifier of the attacker (if a
character) or the Tenacity Modifier (if a
creature)
 If the subject’s roll is lower, it fails the check
 A failed check means creatures with Intelligence ≥
6/01 immediately execute a fighting withdrawal and
move to leave combat
 They can return if the triggering event is no
longer in play or they are rallied by a leader
 Creature with < Intelligence 6/01 immediately flee
on a failed check
Special Combat Moves (Advanced)
 A special combat move is declared just before an
attack sequence (rolling an Attack die) and commits
a character to that move until he attacks again
 Tactical Move and moves initiated in
response to an opponent’s attack (Give
Ground, Scamper Back, and Flee) are
exceptions
 Jab, Hold at Bay, Aggressive Attack, and
Charge are mutually exclusive moves and
cannot be combined
 Fighting Defensively and Full Parry are
mutually exclusive but either may be
combined with Give Ground, Scamper Back,
or Fighting Withdrawal; when combined,
defensive bonuses are not cumulative
 Jab (p. 228)
 Must be using weapon with a jab speed
 ½ damage dice
 No penetration
 Hold at Bay (p. 228)
 If a single target enters a character’s reach,
he may attempt to Hold it at Bay
 This prevents the opponent from attacking
the character’s body, or from advancing any
closer
 If his weapon has a jab speed, the character
may make a normal jab attack
 If a character is within an opponent’s reach
but his own weapon is not in reach, and he
is held at bay, he’ll need to knock aside his
opponent’s weapon before he can engage
 To hit an opponent’s weapon, an attacker
must make a d20p Attack roll against the
defender’s shieldless Defense roll; if he
succeeds, the attacker may make his attack
roll on the next second of the Count Up
 Aggressive Attack (p. 229)
 +5 on next attack roll
 -2 on next defense roll
 ½ damage if the defender uses Give Ground
or Scamper Back (must decide before attack
is rolled)
 Charge (p. 229)
 Must run or sprint (in a straight line) into a
foe at least 20 feet away going at least 10
feet/s
 +4 on attack roll
 Attacker loses Dex. Bonus to defense upon
contact with enemy and 5 seconds
thereafter
 Double damage is used only to calculate
knock-backs
 Charging 5-10 feet/s = +2 on attack roll and
using 1½ damage when determining knock-
backs
 Tactical Move (p. 229)
 During any second, a character can move at
a walking pace while still engaged with an
opponent
 -1 penalty to attack and defense until the
character’s next attack
 Penalties for multiple tactical moves are
cumulative
 Ready Against Charge (p. 229)
 A defender with reach and a spear or other
polearm may set his weapon for a charge
 This takes 3 seconds prior to a charging foe
reaching the weapon
 The defender then attacks first
  Successful attack = charge is broken (no
benefits from charge), double weapon
damage, and attacker is Held at Bay
 Fight Defensively (p. 229)
 A character can choose to suffer an attack
penalty of -2, -4, -6, or -8 in exchange for a
defense bonus of +1, +2, +3, or +4
 The defender may not apply penetration
damage—even with a Near Perfect or
Perfect Defense
 Full Parry (p. 229)
 The defender forgoes his attack
 +5 to defense roll
 Resets the defender’s Count for his next
attack
 Give Ground (p. 230)
 When an attacker rolls his attack die, the
defender may retreat at walking speed
 +5 to defense roll
 -1 to next attack roll
 The attacker can automatically advance to
remain engaged
 Can’t be used against opponents that walk
faster than the character
 Can’t be used against charges
 Scamper Back (p. 230)
 As an attacker rolls his attack die, a
defender can retreat at jogging speed
 +5 to defense roll
 -4 to next attack roll
 The attacker can automatically advance at
any legal speed to remain engaged
 Can’t be used against opponents that walk
faster than the character
 Fighting Withdrawal (p. 230)
 The defender uses his normal walking
movement to back up or side step during
melee
 Withdrawing character suffers a -2 penalty
to his next attack as long as he continues
withdrawing
 Attackers are free to purse unless nearby
allies prevent this
 Flee (p. 230)
 Characters may turn and jog away from
melee any time
 May be attacked by opponent while fleeing
if attacker is due an attack roll in the next
(half weapon speed) seconds
 The presence of an ally who can threaten
the creature a character is fleeing from
negates this fleeing attack ability
 If the attacker makes a fleeing attack, the
strike delays further pursuit for half his
weapon speed (rounded up) in seconds
 A fleeing character can’t use his shield’s
defense bonus while fleeing
 A fleeing character can’t attack again until
at least the current second plus weapon
speed (should he change his mind and try to
attack)
 A fleeing character uses a d10p defense roll
Maximum # of Opponents (Advanced)
 A character may be engaged by a maximum of
 6 like-sized opponents
 4 one-size-larger opponents
 8 one-size-smaller opponents
 12 two-size-smaller opponents
Called Shots (Advanced)
 2d4p (melee) or d4p (ranged) seconds delay
 -4 defense during the delay time
 Defense bonus to attack
 Arm (+6)
 Torso (+2)
 Head/groin (+8)
 Hand/foot/shield arm (+12)
 Eye/ear/fingers (+16)
 Leg/chest/stomach (+4)
 Specific finger (+20)
 Beat modified defense roll by bonus to hit specified
location
 Crit always hits the desired location
Fatigue (Advanced)
 No check for fatigue during first combat of the day
or the first 10 seconds of any combat
 During melee, if a character rolls ≤ his Fatigue Factor
for his unmodified defense roll, he is winded:
 -1 penalty to his attack, defense, and
damage rolls
 +1 penalty to speed
 Succeeding failures double these penalties
 Defense rolls on ranged attacks do not
trigger fatigue penalties
  Five minutes of complete rest remove all fatigue
penalties
 After every 30 seconds of combat, monsters must
attempt a competing d20p save (modified by its
Fatigue Factor score) against a straight d20p
 Failure indicates the creature is winded and
suffers a -2 penalty to its attack and
defense, a +1 penalty to speed, and a -1 to
damage
 Successive failures double these penalties
each time

Unarmed Combat (Advanced)

 Armed attacks against unarmed foes occur twice as

often (round to higher number, but cannot go faster
than minimum weapon speed)
 Does not apply to characters with < 5/26
intelligence
 Unarmed attacks against armed opponents have a
base speed of 10 (modified speed cannot be < 2)
 If an unarmed character attacks an armed
character’s front or flank, the attack triggers an
immediate free armed-character counter-attack
 This free attack ignores the Count Up
 On a successful counter-attack, the unarmed victim
can choose:
 Back up and remain at bay (p. 237)
 Suffer full damage and continue with the
unarmed attack

Shields (Advanced)

 Individual weapons list the damage they inflict

on shields
 Damage > a shield’s damage reduction is blunt
trauma absorbed by armor and then applied to
hit points