HACKSSENTIAL RULES ~ CHAPTER VI

VI. Combat

VI.1Melee

Combat is a sub-application of the core rule on actions of the previous chapter; the principles are the same adapted to an attack as follows:

Melee ARC = KS + US + ES Adj (+ Other Adj) - Weapon level

This formula is identical to the ARC with the result negatively affected by the level of the attacker’s weapon (for details on weapon level, see Weapons).

The attacked subject has the following options:

• defend with a weapon, the target can use the same formula of the attacker. The target can have a shield and in this case the positive modifier of the shield level is added to Other Adjustments.

• dodge the blow, in this case an ARCO with ES Dodge is required with no weapon level modifier and the positive modifier of the shield level can be included in the Other Adjustments if present.

• perform something different than defend or dodge, in this case the attack is an ARCT against the target’s Agility as a threshold.

The attack succeeds when the attacker's ARC is higher than the defender’s one, it fails in case of tie or lower result:

Melee ARC (attacker) > Melee ARC (defender)

When the attack succeeds, the damage suffered is calculated as follows:

Damage = Result of the combat ARC +
Attacker’s weapon level – Target’s armor level

Where the result of the ARC is the difference between attacker’s and defender’s ARC (or the threshold). If the score of the damage is zero (or even negative), this means that even if the attacker hits the target, the blow has likely been absorbed.

VI.2 Ranged

For attacks with ranged weapons, either with bow, crossbow or thrown weapons, the mechanics are the same of the melee attacks with some adjustments: in a ranged attack, the formula is the same as melee where modifiers of -2 or -4 are applied to mid or long range targets.

The target can defend only by dodging and if he has a shield its modifier applies as well (the same formula of melee dodge applies). No defense is allowed with weapons unless specifically stated in the weapon description.

In case the target does not want to defend, the threshold is the same as melee (Agility score) with -2 or -4 modifiers due to mid or long range.

VI.3 Combat actions

• Brawl: this type of action includes two types of attack; the first relates to creatures endowed with natural weapons (claws, fangs and so forth); the second relates to a human fighting with his bare hands. In the first case, the attack works like the one defined in Melee; natural weapons also have a level (with a score from 1 to 4) and the mechanics are the same both to hit and to injure the opponent. Any being cannot defend with natural weapons unless otherwise stated. With reference to the second case, an attack with either a punch or a kick works in line with the rules of Melee considering the weapon level of 0 (i.e. no modifier for weapon level in the formulas); even in this case, there is no chance to defend with bare hands; the stun % for this type of attack is 33% (see Stun). The ES Brawl is required for both types of attacks.

• Cover: when a character hides behind an object such as a wall or a door, he gains a modifier of +1 for every 10% of hidden body for all defensive rolls. The GM evaluates the hidden % and the resulting bonus. Similarly, the modifier for an attack is -1 for every 10% of coverage of the attacker. A 100% coverage does not allow the covered subject to suffer any hit but, equally, to carry out any attack.

• Helpless targets: the attacker performs an ARCT with a trivial threshold (i.e. 3) and the damage is calculated accordingly.

• Hit silently: a character with the ES Workmanship Vile Arts is able to attack without noise; this implies that the melee or ranged attack will not make any noise. Before the attack, the character must succeed an ARCT on ES Workmanship Vile Arts (the threshold is defined by the GM): if both check and attack are successful, no one can hear noises from that action.

• Mounted attack: combat while riding a mount introduces an additional level of complexity. When mounted, a character uses one hand to guide the mount and has one hand to use the weapon. The mount movement and speed is directed by using ES Ride, and with a score of 8 or higher the character can renounce to one attack in favor of using a 2-hand weapon. If the mount is trained for combat, it will remain calm during battle while untrained animals may require control checks each turn, especially when injured or exposed to violence.

• Stun: any weapon has a chance to stun the target: the blackjack, for instance, is a weapon that produces no damage and has only the option (100%) to stun the target. The default chance for any weapon is: 20% for impact-type weapons, 10% for slash-type and 0% for pierce-type. If a PC wants to stun the target, the GM rolls for the probability according to the type of weapon: in case of success no damage is suffered but the target is stunned (see States).

• Surprise attack: when a character strikes an unaware target, the GM resolves the action before turn order begins. The surprise is valid based on context, positioning, and involved people. If the surprise is total, the target is unable to defend (the only option is ARCT vs target’s Agility).

• Withdraw: in a fight, one of the two sides can decide to abandon the fight and retreat; the retreating character cannot take any other action and the opponent, in case he opts for an attack, is granted an ARCT against target’s Agility.

• Wrestle: a character in a fight can opt to wrestle. Some prerequisites are necessary: the attacker should have both free hands, be in close combat with the target and have the ES Wrestle. If all these prerequisites are met, then he can perform an ARCO like a melee attack and the target can counter the action using the ES Wrestle (he also must meet all the prerequisites). In case of success in the ARCO, the attacker does not cause any damage but he can decide between 2 outcomes: the first is that the target is unbalanced and falls to the ground; the second is that he manages to immobilize the target with a grapple. In the second case, the attacker is asked to perform a successful ARCO (again against either ES Wrestle) every turn he wants to keep the target grappled. The grappled target is unable to carry out any action which requires use of either arms or legs (see States).