The following are optional rules included to make combat more dynamic at the cost of making it more complex.
Unarmed Attacks
Any character can make an unarmed attack, incorporating the same aptitudes as a normal melee attack along with Brawling. When an unarmed attack is made, it is treated as a weapon with -1 FTM and any attempts to grapple gain a weapon bonus.
Attacks of Opportunity
When a character moves away from an opponent or stands from being knocked down, their opponent may perform an attack of opportunity, attacking the moving character without using an action. Generally, a character can only perform one attack of opportunity per turn and a moving character may prevent an attack of opportunity by sacrificing their main action for that turn.
Over-Ranging
If a character wishes to use a weapon beyond its listed range, they may do so. When they exceed their range, the check takes a penalty of 1; this penalty doubles for each time after that. Thus: a longbow, with an effective range of 150, can fire up to 300 feet with a penalty of 1, up to 450 feet with a penalty of 2, 600 feet with a penalty of 4, and so on. Additionally, melee only weapons can be thrown with disadvantage, having an effective range of 10 feet.
Stunning
When using a weapon with no FTM, a character may elect to use said weapon to deal fatigue rather than injuries. In such cases, the weapon is treated as having a +0 FTM.
Dodging & Parrying
When a character is attacked, a player may choose to replace their defense score by dodging or parrying. To dodge, the player forfeits the character’s next move action and makes a check incorporating Coordination, Reaction, Speed, or Steadiness, replacing their total defense score with the result—in the case of the result tying with the attacker’s check, the character avoids taking an injury, but falls over in the process. Additionally, if a character fails their dodge, they may elect to fall down rather than take an injury. Parrying works similarly, save that it forfeits the next main action, Speed is replaced with Might, and ties result in being disarmed (a character may also choose to be disarmed on a failure, in lieu of taking damage). Under normal circumstances, parrying cannot be used against ranged weapons.
Combat Maneuvers
Characters may attempt a variety of actions that target their opponents without causing damage directly. These maneuvers are made against a threshold of 4, potentially increased by Coordination, Speed (Might, at GM discretion), or Reaction from the target. Unless otherwise noted, checks for performing maneuvers gain bonuses from Coordination, Might, or Speed. Some example maneuvers and their effects are listed below:
- Trip: the target becomes knocked down, moving at half speed and taking a penalty to all actions until they spend a turn standing up; additionally, any attacks made against a knocked down opponent gain a bonus.
- Disarm: the target loses their weapon, which lands 5’ x [result – threshold] away. After reaching the weapon, they must spend an action (or their movement) picking it up.
- Shove: the target is moved 5’ + 5’ x [result – threshold] away and must succeed on a standard check incorporating Coordination, Might, or Steadiness to remain standing.
Grappling
Grappling is a special maneuver. To grapple, the attacking character must be within arm’s reach of their target and attempt an opposed check incorporating Brawling, Coordination, Steadiness, or Might. Their target may attempt to dodge, parry, or counter-grapple (making the same check and grappling their attacker if they win). None of the above actions forfeit the character’s next move action. Any character attempting to grapple while holding something in one hand takes disadvantage and characters currently holding something in each hand cannot grapple (grappling with a two-handed weapon causes no disadvantage, but normal attacks cannot be made while grappling in such a way. While two characters are grappling there is a dominant and subordinate grappler. The subordinate grappler cannot move and attacks with disadvantage while the dominant grappler can only move at half-speed and takes disadvantage if attacking any targets other than the subordinate grappler; however, the dominant grappler gains advantage on any attacks or maneuvers (besides grappling) made against the subordinate. The subordinate may attempt to switch their roles by attempting a grapple maneuver on the dominant—if the dominant attempts a dodge or parry and succeeds, the subordinate is released. Any attacks or maneuvers made against either grappler are made with advantage.
Difficult Terrain & Cover
Generally, battlefields are not perfectly curated arenas with smooth terrain and no obstacles; they are littered with areas of broken ground, fallen objects, and crumbling walls.
In cases where the ground is broken, uneven, covered in foliage, or has water up to a character’s knees or higher (but below their shoulders), the terrain is considered “difficult”. When moving through difficult terrain, characters move at 2/3 their normal rate; i.e., every 5 feet moved through difficult terrain costs 7.5 feet of movement (30′ becomes 20′, 45′ becomes 30′).
The protection offered by cover varies depending on the sort of cover and the type of attack. In cases where a character is obscured by fog, smoke, darkness, etc., ranged attacks are made against them with disadvantage and the obscured character gains +1 AD against melee attacks. If a character is shrouded, such as by light foliage, they gain +1 AD against ranged attacks, but melee attacks are unaffected. In cases where a character has half-cover, such as a wall between their waist and chest or the edge of a wall above their shoulders, ranged attacks are made against them with disadvantage, but melee attacks are unaffected. A character has full-cover if they are behind a wall which has a height between their chest and the top of their head, in which case all attacks made against them over said cover are rolled with disadvantage (as are their attacks).
Xavier Makes 