Gonna try combat tonight but have a few questions

[Donny D.]

I'm gonna try doing a combat or two tonight just to get myself and the players a feel for the game, but in rereading the rules I had a few questions. I'll just list them so they will be easier to answer.

- Can a character AVOID while his opponent is INSIDE?

- If #1 is YES then can he avoid while he is LOCKED UP? Can the LOCKER avoid his attacks? What happens to the LOCK in this case?

- Can a person who is LOCKING another person STRIKE him? What happens to the LOCK in this case? Does it take an action to HOLD the LOCK from one action to the next? One Exchange to the next?

- Does holding a person in a LOCK give you any negative modifiers to your STRIKE (providing you can strike while LOCKING)?

- Can you only STRIKE the person you are INSIDE with?

- Does INCREASE PRESSURE in a lock add to the previous LOCK or does the whole LOCK start over?

- What happens if you don't ASSESS before entering combat? If you run into a room and your first script action is STRIKE ORC (because you saw him run in there) but you didn't ASSESS first what happens?

- If a character runs into a room and scripts ASSESS for 3 consecutive actions what happens? Does the GM tell him 1 thing he sees per Action ASSESSED?

- How do you narrarate a Counterstrike vs. Counterstrike?

- If both combatants script Blocks, do you just narrarate that the characters are circling warily or something?

- What rolls are open-ended?

[foxandwarlock]

Hey Donny,

I will give you my best shot but don't take these as gospel.

1) A character who is avoiding is considered to be jogging and therefore loses the Inside designation. However, if a character wishes to do both I believe there is a +1 Ob penalty at the GM's discretion.

2) The technical rule is that the character can do anything while in a lock but the die penalty remains. However, some common sense here is required by both players and GM's. It can get sticky.

3) It does not take an action to Maintain Lock...only to better your lock or break a lock. Therefore, as long as the combatant can realistically justify being able to strike and hold the lock - they can script away.

4) No. The Locker does not suffer any penalties, it is the defense of the victim that suffers via the Lock penalties.

5) Technically, no. You can strike a nearby combatant even if it wasn't the person you were Inside of. However, since you are inside on one combatant, I would have to assume that you are at least at a Lunging distance from the closest other opponent. Again, let common sense rule in terms of weapon lengths and distances between combatants.

6) Adds to existing penalties. I believe the defender can actually decrease his penalties if he beats the attackers attempt to increase. This represents the attacker shifting grips, etc. and the defender slips out or changes his own grip.

7) Well, if he ran in the door and stepped to the side - a whole lot of nothing is going to happen for the PC and a whole lot of bushwhacking is going to go on for the orc. No Assess means that the character has no chance to notice anything not in plain, in-your-face view.

8) Nothing happens. Both people are eyeing each other, circling, waiting for the other guy to strike because ooooo..boy then they are really going to lay it on...but then nothing happens.

9) Exactly. Kind of like #8.

10) Um, off the top of my head, Steel and Perception.

[Kublai]

- Can a character AVOID while his opponent is INSIDE?

Yes, this is one of the ways to Get Outside. The other is simply to script, Get Outside.


- If #1 is YES then can he avoid while he is LOCKED UP? Can the LOCKER avoid his attacks? What happens to the LOCK in this case?

He can Avoid while Locked but he will suffer the lock penalties to his avoid. The locker can avoid as well. The Lock remains until the Locker scripts Let Go or the Lockee successfully breaks the lock with a Power Test.


- Can a person who is LOCKING another person STRIKE him? What happens to the LOCK in this case? Does it take an action to HOLD the LOCK from one action to the next? One Exchange to the next?

Again, the lock remains in place until the lockee breaks it with a power test. Make sure to use common sense here, though. If the Locker has a Two Handed Maul, there's no way he can maintain the lock.


- Does holding a person in a LOCK give you any negative modifiers to your STRIKE (providing you can strike while LOCKING)?

No, only the lockee incurs the penalties. Such is the tremendous might of the Lock!


- Can you only STRIKE the person you are INSIDE with?

Of course! Larger weapons incur penalties to do so, but smaller weapons are actually at an advantage while used Inside. Daggers are Knight's Bane in BW!! Knives get free called shots while on the Inside!


- Does INCREASE PRESSURE in a lock add to the previous LOCK or does the whole LOCK start over?

If you have a 2 die lock on someone, you can decide to increase the lock. You roll all your dice versus the lockee's non-penalized power. If you roll 2 successes and he rolls one, you now have him in a 3 die lock. If he rolls 2 successes and you roll none, the lock is actually broken!!


- What happens if you don't ASSESS before entering combat? If you run into a room and your first script action is STRIKE ORC (because you saw him run in there) but you didn't ASSESS first what happens?

A one action assess will give you information on what type of weapon your opponent is wielding, plus where he is wearing armor and what kind of armor it is. It won't tell you anything about your surroundings or how many other people are in the room. If no assess was declared at all, the GM has the right to refuse to answer questions that would've been answered by such an assess. For example, if your character chases after that orc and doesn't assess, he won't know where the orc is unarmored and he won't see the other orc ready to bring down his double-handed axe onto your head!


- If a character runs into a room and scripts ASSESS for 3 consecutive actions what happens? Does the GM tell him 1 thing he sees per Action ASSESSED?

He if assesses for 3 actions he sees all. He gets a fully detailed 360 degree view of the room. 2 actions will give him details from his side arc to his side arc. 1 actions will tell him what's in front of him in detail.


- How do you narrarate a Counterstrike vs. Counterstrike?

Both characters stand there, waiting for one to act. Nothing else happens, no strikes, no blocks, nada.


- If both combatants script Blocks, do you just narrarate that the characters are circling warily or something?

Exactly!


- What rolls are open-ended?

Sorcery, Perception, Faith, Astrology, Steel, Elf Songs, and Dwarf Crafts are all open-ended. Anything else can be open-ended with one point of Fate.

Have a great time!![/quote]

[Donny D.]

My wife and I tried the combat system tonight and it worked out very good. I printed off 2 characters that are listed online here and we each took one with me Game Mastering a small demo scene.

She took the Duelist character while I took Ay-San the Thug. She was just leaving a tavern after having a couple drinks late at night when, as she traversed a deserted ally, was accosted by the Thug who appeared out of the darkness.

"Hey you, my Boss wants his money! Hand it over!" I told her OOC that she had borrowed 50 gold florens from 'the boss' but soon after he raised the intrest and she now owed 500. I told her she had 500 on her in her money pouch.

"I'll give it to him tomorrow" she shot back.

He reached for her money pouch and grabbed it while she gave him a right cross. It landed. He tried to Get Inside but failed while she slugged him again and moved back. He charged her to tackle but failed and hesitated for an action. She maneuvered around for an action. He pulled his SHIV while she struck, missed and moved back. He tried to get inside but failed again and circled while she pulled her knife. She struck with the knife for a Mark hit (light) while he struck and missed with the shiv (it was not his night). She struck again and hit for another wound. Ouch. At this point he decided to run away and as he ran she gave up an action to throw the knife at the fleeing thug (a begginers luck skill) and hit, -1D for a total of -3D which is equal to his Will stat) The Thug fell unconcious.

It was fun to play it out and she was getting into it too. I took a lesson from Luke and pushed my chair out of the way and stood the whole time. It is truly amazing how just a little thing like that and moving around adds so much to the game. My wife was getting a kick out of seeing me seem excited about a game again and really getting into it. She even stood up some and acted out what her character was doing (totally unlike her to get that into a game, especially at 1:30 in the morning)

I see now after checking the rules that we did a couple things wrong but it worked out fine and was a blast. I think she would definately like to make a character. I just need to come up with a good world to play in. That is always the hardest part for me.

Quick question...If someone is sprinting (or any movement for that matter) is there a modifier for trying to strike him with a melee attack?

[foxandwarlock]

Yes, there are Ob penalties for acting and moving.

For walking, neither the person moving or the attacker suffer penalties.

For jogging, the person moving suffers a +1 Ob Penalty for any actions (except for Avoid) and the person trying to attack him suffers an Ob penalty equal to 1/3 of the mover's Speed.

For sprinting, the person moving suffers a +4 Ob Penalty for any actions (except for Charge) and the person trying to attack him suffers an Ob penalty equal to 1/2 of the mover's Speed.

Sounds like you had a good time last night. Welcome to the folds.

[luke]

Sounds like you did just fine. You got the spirit of the rules down -- privately determine actions, and then have actions happen simultaneously -- you can sprinkle the modifiers and other bits to taste.

rock.
-L