- Combat -

[Brad the Inhaler]

Combat Actions

In one round of combat, a character may do the following:

Move/Charge - A character may either charge an opponent who is close enough, or run in any direction (not into combat), e.g. fleeing. If the character 'moves' at another character, this is counted as Charging, and will receive a +10% modifier to their WS score for the first attack they make in the next round of combat. If they have more than one attack in a single round, only the first attack receives a bonus.

Missile - Providing the character is not engaged in hand-to-hand combat, they are allowed to make one missile attack, such as with a bow, crossbow, throwing-axe, launched barstool or cannon, providing they meet the weapons criteria, e.g. in range, has ammo etc.

Reload - If the character is not engaged in hand-to-hand combat, they may reload a single missile weapon they are currently holding. If they are not holding it, they must make a Take Up action, as described below. If they are holding the weapon, the character spends the round reloading it - nocking an arrow or bolt, loading a pistol - and may not make any other actions.

Note that some missile weapons require more than one round to reload (crossbows, blackpowder weapons), while some may not require a round at all (the repeater crossbow has a magazine of 10 bolts, and so reloads automatically until it has been emptied).

Take Up - the character spends the round retrieving and readying an item, such as something from their pack, or a weapon or shield.

When retrieving an item from storage, the character must spend the whole round retrieving it - if it especially deep, such as at the bottom of their backpack, it may take longer.

A weapon that is easily reachable - for instance a sword at the character's hip, or a bow over his shoulder, may be Taken Up at the cost of one Attack. Therefore, if the character has more than one Attack, they may retrieve a weapon and attack with it in that round. If not, they must wait until the next round.

If the character already has something readied and they wish to ready another item have two options - they may Put Back the item, e.g. their sword or shield, into its correct place, such as a sheath. This action takes the entire round, irrespective of the number of Attacks the character has.

Alternatively, they may Drop the item/s they are currently holding. This doesn't take up any Attacks or Rounds, and they make subsequently take up another item or weapon - it is a Free Action. However, on a D6 roll of 6, the dropped item has been damaged in some way - a GM will decide the effects (from shattered swords to broken vases).

Combat - If the character is in hand-to-hand combat, he may attempt to strike as many blows as he has Attacks. See below for the different types of attacks.

Magick - If the character knows the correct spell, has the ingredients and suchlike, they may cast a single spell. See the Magick FAQ for details on spellcasting.

[Brad the Inhaler]

Turn Order and Effective-Initiative

When determining the order in which characters make their actions in any given turn, they act in order of Initiative - the character with the highest Initiative goes first, then the next highest and so-forth.

Characters who are in combat may gain modifiers to their Initiative. For instance, a character with a heavy Two-Handed Sword has -10 removed from their Initiative , while a character with a lighter and faster Rapier will gain +20 to there Initiative.

Initiative modifiers from weapons are only used to determine who goes first out of them and their opponent/s - they don't confer any benefit when not using them to attack with.

For instance, Johan and Friedrich are attacking each other. Johan has I 30, while Friedrich has I 40. As Friedrich has the higher Initiative, he may act first, and elects to Charge his hated enemy Johan. In the upcoming round of combat, he will receive a +10% bonus to his WS.

However, Johan is armed with a Rapier, whilst Friedrich has only a normal longsword. Now, with the Rapier's Initiative bonus, Johan has an I of 50 (30+20) for the purposes of Combat, whilst Friedrich still has I 40. Although Friedrich has a higher Base Initiative, and therefore got the Charge, Johan will strike first in combat, thanks to his lightweight Rapier.

If everyone only has one Attack, then each character takes their actions in the order dictated by their Initiative. However, if a character has more than one attack, then he must make the rest of his attacks in order of Effective Initiative.

To prevent characters with multiple attacks and high Initiative killing everyone before they can respond, whenever a character attacks (i.e. uses one Attack to strike), his Initiative score is halved for the rest of the round (rouding up) - this is their Effective Initiative (EI) for the round. This applies to everyone making more than one attack per round.

For instance, we have our fighters:

Johan - I 50 (with his Rapier), 3 attacks
Friedrich, I 40, 2 attacks

The order these combatants attack goes as follows:

Johan (I 50 against I 40)
Friedrich (I 40 against I 25)
Johan (I 25 against I 20)
Friedrich (I 20 against I 13)
Johan (I 13 against I 10)

Note that, with characters that have very high Initiatives (more than double that of their opponents), it is possible to get more than one attack in per round before their opponent responds.

Also note that if two or more characters have the same Initiative scores, then they act and attack at the same time. Therefore, it is possible for two characters to kill each other simultaenously. The only exception to this is if one of the characters is winning (see below), in which case he may strike first if the Initiatives are equal.

[Brad the Inhaler]

Ambush and Surprise!

If it happens that a character meet an opponent suddenly, for instance if somone leaps out of hiding at them, then they are classed as surprised.

If the character is confronted by opponents of which they were previously unaware, they will be surprised. A character can be aware of something if they can hear or see them (or their lights), or if they are able to detect them by magickal means. Note it is not sufficient just to suspect something is there...

Surprised characters may do nothing for a whole turn, giving their opponents a 'free round' in which to act - such as attacking the character without reprisal. The surprised character may do absolutely nothing - no Dodging, Parrying or Taking Up weapons. Nothing.

Note that if both characters surprise each other, neither side does anything for a round. Actions are taken as normal next round.

[Brad the Inhaler]

Combat Procedure

Once you know who's attacking, with what, and in what order, this is the sequence for one character's attacks:



Roll a D100 to see if the character's Attack hits. If the score is equal to or less than the character's WS (after all applicable modifiers), a hit is scored. Otherwise the blow misses and the Attack is wasted. The character may attempt to strike another blow if they have more Attacks.

If a hit is scored, determine how much Damage the blow causes: roll a D6, add the attacker's Strength (and any Damage modifiers from weapons and the like), and subtract the victim's Toughness.

Determine where the blow has landed. To do this, roll a D100 and look up the result on this table:

01-15 - Head
16-35 - Right Arm
36-55 - Left Arm
56-80 - Body
81-90 - Right Leg
91-100 - Left Leg


Deduct the Armour Value of any armour worn at that location from the Damage caused. For example, if a character wearing an iron helm (AP 1) is hit in the head for two points of damage, they will only suffer 1 point of damage (2D - 1 (helm) = 1).

The final Damage received is deducted from the victim's current number of Wounds. Record this number down.

The effect of any Critical Hits are resolved on the Critical Hit chart for the body area struck (i.e. the character suffers damage beyond 0W - not Extra Damage, as described below).

If the character has more than one attack, repeat steps 1-6 for each Attack in turn.

[Brad the Inhaler]

To-Hit Modifiers

There are times in combat where factors will be either favourable or unfavourable for a particular combatant - they may have a natural advantage, or be forced to attack someone seeking refuge behind cover. As a result, characters receive modifiers to their To-Hit roll depending on the circumstances. These here are a guideline, and many others can be imposed as is seen fit.

Charging +10
A character who initiates combat by charging receives a +10 to-hit bonus for their first attack in that round only.

Advantage of Ground +10
Characters that are fighting from a higher position compared to their opponent - such as on top of a table, riding a horse (versus someone on foot), or higher on a flight of stairs - may claim this bonus. Note that characters cannot claim this bonus by just being taller than their opponent.

Winning +10
If the character won the previous round of combat against the same opponent, they may claim this bonus.

Obstacle -10
Opponents behind an obstruction such as a hedge or wall are harder to hit - if hitting them is possible at all. If they can be hit, impose at least a -10 penalty to-hit on the attacker.

Using a Weapon Wrong-Handed -10
Characters are naturally 'handed' - they favour their left or right hand (defaults to right-handed unless otherwise specified). Blows struck with their 'off-hand' suffer a -10 penalty to-hit. This penalty does not apply if the character has the Ambidextrous skill.

Unarmed -20
Creatures that normally use weapons (such as characters) receive a -20 to-hit penalty when attacking unarmed, such as with punches and kicks. This doesn't apply to creatures that normally attack unarmed, such as with bite and claw attacks etc., or to characters with skills such as Street Fighter or Wrestling

Prone and Static Targets

Unmoving targets are considerably easier to hit than targets that are moving and dodging. Prone and Static targets, such as doors, tables, sleeping or unconscious enemies, or enemies you are attacking from behind without their knowledge (i.e. sneaking up and back-stabbing someone, providing the target is relatively still). Attacking a Prone or Static target means any attacks hit automatically, and any damage is doubled. Attacking characters may also choose the location hit, if their target is another creature.

[Brad the Inhaler]

Parrying

Note that the rules for Parrying are altered from the main WFRP Rulebook.

To Parry, a character requires something to parry with - a hand-to-hand weapon preferably, although other items may be improvised in cases of need, with additional penalties. Note that some shields are designed for parrying to, as discussed below. Characters may not parry with their bare hands or other body parts.

Weapons suitable for Parrying are:
One and two-handed swords, maces and axes, and flails with handles; shields; spears; staffs; all parrying weapons - bucklers, sword-breakers, off-handed daggers etc.

Any character may Parry, and no Skills are needed to do it.

Attempting a Parry requires the use of 1 Attack. The character gives up his next Attack (as determined by the Effective-Initiative order for the round, so they lose the next chance they had to attack, and must wait even longer). If the character has no more attacks this round, he must give up his first Attack opportunity next round.

The decision to Parry must be made after the attacker rolls to hit, but before any rolls are made for Damage.

If the character does decide to Parry a successful Hit, they roll a D100 - if the result is equal to or less than the parrying character's WS, all Damage from that blow is ignored. In addition, after a successful Parry, the parrying character gains a +10 bonus to-hit for his next attack only, to represent his opportunity to riposte. Note that if the character uses his next Attack to Parry again, this bonus is lost.

The character may attempt to Parry as many times per round as he has Attacks remaining - the more remaining Attacks, the more Parry attempts he's allowed. If the character has no remaining Attacks in a particular round, but wishes to Parry, they may do so. However, they lose their first Attack from the next round. Note that, if this is the case, they may make fewer Attacks in the next round.

Some weapons provide modifiers to Parry. These apply when a character is parrying that particularly weapon - not when he is using that weapon to Parry with. Therefore, a character attempting to Parry a flail attack receives a -10 penalty to his chance to Parry. He does not receive a -10 penalty to his Parry role when parrying with that weapon.

A character may opt to Parry with a shield, rather than a weapon as normal (note that bucklers are not classed as shields for parrying purposes - they offer no protection other than for parrying). As shields are fairly large and cumbersome, a character parrying with a shield loses all of his following Attacks. If he has no other chance to attack this round, he loses all his Attacks for the next round of combat.

However, because of the size of shield and its defensive abilities, characters parrying with a shield receive a +20 bonus to their WS for the purpose of the parry.

Example:

Johan - I 50, 3 attacks
Friedrich - I 40, 2 attacks

Johan attacks and hits! Friedrich elects to Parry. Loses one Attack. Assume the Parry is successful.
(Friedrich loses this opportunity to Attack because he has previously Parried).
Johan attacks again, and hits again! Again, Friedrich decides to Parry. Loses his second and last Attack. Assume the Parry is successful.
(Friedrich loses this opportunity to Attack because he has previously Parried).
Johan attacks again, and hits again! Again, Friedrich elects to Parry. As he has no attacks remaining this round, he loses his first Attack chance next round. Assume the Parry is successful.

Round #2
Johan attacks and misses, much to Friedrich's relief.
(Friedrich loses this opportunity to Attack because he has previously Parried).
Johan attacks, and misses again.
Friedrich finally gets a chance to attack, and because his last Parry (the previous turn) was successful, he gains +10 to-hit with this attack.
And so on and so forth...

[Brad the Inhaler]

Dodging

Only characters with the Skill Dodge Blow may attempt to Dodge in combat. This represents their combat training and knowledge of how to evade certain attacks - any basic dodging techniques the character knows are not included in this, and are partly represented in the opponent's chance of failing to hit.

A character may attempt to Dodge one successful hit per round. The character must decide if he wants to use his one Dodge opportunity after the attacker has rolled to hit, but before he has rolled to determine the Damage caused.

Note that if faced with more than one attacker, the character may still only attempt to Dodge one attack in that round - they may not attempt to Dodge one attack per attacker.

In addition, a character may not attempt to both Parry and Dodge in any one turn - they may either make one Dodge attempt, or as many Parry attempts as they have remaining attacks (one minimum if they have none left - they lose their first attack from the next round instead). They may not attempt to Parry if they have already attempted to Dodge this round, and vice versa.

To successfully Dodge an attack, the dodging character rolls a D100 - if the result is equal to or less than their Initiative score, all damage that would have been caused by the blow is ignored.

The character may attack as normal in the turn that he attempts to Dodge - he does not lose any Attacks from Dodging, as is the case with Parrying.

[Brad the Inhaler]

Unarmed Combat

Blows - creatures that normally attack using weapons, i.e. not with teeth and claws, may fight unarmed, but with penalties. Any unarmed attack suffers a -20 penalty to hit, and a -2 penalty to any damage caused.

The Skill Street Fighter removes these penalties for striking unarmed. The use of normal Fist Weapons, such as knuckle-dusters, although the Skill Special Weapons - Fist Weapons is required to use them correctly, reduces these penalties to -10 to-hit and -1 Damage instead.

Grapples - An unarmed character may elect to Grapple, rather than cause damage. They still suffer the -20 to-hit penalty, unless the Grappling character has the Wrestling SKill. If the attack is successful, the opponent must make a successful Dexterity test, or be immobilised by the hold.

Once the opponent is held, both characters count as Prone, and neither may perform any actions except maintaining or resisting the hold. The holder may release the hold at any time, but while the hold is maintained, both combatants must roll a D100, and compare the result to their (Strength x 5):

-If both combatants either pass or fail, the hold is maintained for that round, and nothing else happens;

-If the holder succeeds and the held character fails, the holder has the option to apply pressure, causing damage as for a normal successful unarmed blow (with -2 Damage, unless the holder has the Wrestling skill).

-If the holder fails and the held character succeeds, the hold is broken and the held character escapes.

For all unarmed combat, whether the character has the Street Fighter or Wrestling Skills or not, all armour worn by the target is treated as 1 point more. For instance, when making an unarmed attack against a location on an opponent covered by mail (2 APs), the mail will count as having 3 APs for the purposes of the attack.

[Brad the Inhaler]

Extra Damage

Extra Damage covers the possibilities of a lucky or powerful blow striking its target in an area of vulnerability, causing much more damage than a standard blow. Although this is referred to in other systems as a Critical Hit, it is not so in WFRP (Critical Hits are what happens when a character is taken below 0W, and reflect more visible damage such as broken bones).

When a character rolls a natural 6 (i.e. without modification) on their Damage die, there is a possibility they will cause Extra Damage.

The player rolls another D100 - if the number is equal to or less than their WS, additional damage has been caused (the character effectively rolls to hit again).

To determine how much Extra Damage is caused, roll another D6, re-rolling any further results of a 6 (you can only get one lot of Extra Damage). Add this to the original D6 score.

Only then do you add the character's Strength and Weapon Modifiers, and subtract the victim's Toughness and Armour - these are not added and deducted from each separate roll. Therefore, a character doing Extra Damage will effectively cause 6 + D6 + (Strength + Weapon Modifiers) - (Toughness + Armour).

As above, Extra Damage only occurs on a natural, unmodified D6 roll of 6, and characters may not use their Luck skill to cause Extra Damage (although they may re-roll the first Damage die - a natural 6 is just that however, and the Extra Damage is not allowed).