Combat Cheatsheet

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• Combat Round: is 3 seconds long. Page 184.

• Join Battle: Is a reflexive action that cannot be botched. Roll (WITS + Awareness + 3), 10s count twice. Page 192-193

• Step 1: Attack Roll (DEX + combat ability + weapon accuracy) vs a difficulty of the target's Defense. If the roll produces fewer successes, it fails (i.e., the roll must exceed the Defense value).
• Step 2: Determine Raw Damage Raw damage is (STR + weapon damage value + threshold successes). Some weapons do not add strength.
• Step 3: Subtract Soak and Roll Damage Subtract soak value from raw damage. This value cannot be reduced to less than the weapon's overwhelming rating. Roll the dice that remain. Whithering: double 10s.
• Step 4: Initiative Gain and Reduction Subtract: [Successes] from target's initiative at the end of the tick. Add: [Successes + 1] to your Initiative at the end of the tick.

• Step 1: Attack Roll (DEX + combat ability + any modifiers) vs a difficulty of the target's Defense. If the roll produces fewer successes, it fails and you lose 2 initiative if your initiative was 2 to 10, or 3 if your initiative was 11+.
• Step 2: Apply Hardness and Roll Damage If your current Initiative pool is equal to or less than the target's hardness, you inflict no damage (go to step 4). Otherwise, roll your current Initiative score as damage. No double 10s.
• Step 3: Count Up and Apply Damage Add up successes from Step 2. This damage is applied to the target's health track, using a damage type (bashing or lethal) as determined by the weapon used.
• Step 4: Reset Initiative If the attack was successful, your initiative resets to a base initiative of 3. If the attack missed, your initiative is lowered but not reset (see step 1 for value).

When your initiative is 0 or lower, you are in a state of Initiative Crash, Page 193-194.

• You have a Hardness of 0 regardless of armor or magic unless your magic specifically states it applies during crash
• You cannot launch a decisive attack
• You cannot use charms with the Perilous keyword
• Withering attacks continue to apply normally, driving your initiative lower and lower. The ST can rule a crashed character with a huge negative initiative as “defeated”, and he can no long provide a source of free initiative.
• If you survive 3 consecutive rounds in Crash, your initiative resets to 3 at the beginning of the next turn.
• If you enter Crash as a result of your own actions, you immediately lose another 5 Initiative.

When you force an opponent into Initiative Crash, you gain an Initiative Break bonus. This is awarded to the person who pushed him over the threshold into crash. You gain +5 to your initiative. Page 194.

• You cannot gain Initiative Break the same round your enemy recovers from Initiative Crash
• You cannot gain Initiative Break the round after your enemy recovers from Initiative Crash

If an enemy uses an ability that puts himself into Initiative Crash, the character most responsible for causing him to use that charm gains the Initiative Break bonus, at the ST's discretion.

While in Initiative Crash, you enter Initiative Shift when you Crash the enemy that Crashed you. You instantly return to base initiative (unless this would cause you to lose initiative). Immediately roll a Join Battle roll, adding the result to your initiative. Your turn is refreshed; you can make any combat or movement actions immediately. However if you take an attack action, you can only do this against the enemy that you Shifted against. Page 194.

If you Crash yourself by your own actions, you cannot gain Initiative Shift.

Page 194-195.

• Highest of Parry or Evasion
• Parry: (DEX + combat ability)/2, round up
• Evasion: (DEX + dodge)/2, round up
• Applicable specialties add +1 before dividing by 2.
• If a circumstance modifies your Defense, it applies to both Parry and Evasion after dividing by 2 and rounding up.

• Onslaught Penalty: Cumulative -1 to Defense every time a character is attacked by any opponent in a single round (p184).

Page 194-195.

• Natural Soak: Equal to your Stamina rating
• Armor Soak: See armor description, p591
• Total Soak: Natural Soak + Armor Soak
• Using Soak: Soak is only applied during withering attacks.

You can typically only take 1 combat action on your turn per round. Exception: Flurry. If you declare a flurry as your action, you take two different types of actions, at a -3 to both action, and your Defense takes a -1 penalty until your next turn. Page 195-196.

• Attack: Make a withering or decisive attack against an enemy
• Aim: Declare target, +3 bonus to attack on next turn. Aim is required for an attack made at medium or greater range, even one assisted by magic. Attacks from medium+ don't gain a +3 unless two aim actions are performed. You cannot move while aiming. An Aim action cannot be part of a flurry.
• Defend Other: You jump in between two people, and your Defense takes precedence. If you fail to defend, the attacker can choose which of the two of you to hit. If he chooses his original target, he can apply his threshold successes against their Defense to see if they hit the original target. If doing a decisive attack against his original opponent, he loses one Initiative die from his damage roll for each two points of the protecting character's defense.
• Draw/Ready Weapon: Reduces your Defense by 1. Characters are assumed to begin combat with a weapon already drawn and readied unless they are ambushed. Natural weapons never need to be readied.
• Full Defense: Defense gains a +2, lose 1 Initiative point. Cannot be placed in a combat flurry action (Social Combat: yes). Cannot be used during Initiative Crash.
• Miscellaneous: Catch-all for other actions that will take a few seconds to perform.

This occurs when two characters attack one another on the same tick. Defense values are ignored for both; victory goes to the person whose strike is superior. Page 202.

• Make an opposed attack roll (defense is ignored).
• Withering attack:
  • Winner gains additional raw damage equal to the threshold that he won by.
  • Winner adds 3 additional points of Initiative after damage is rolled.
• Decisive attack:
  • Add 1 additional automatic point of health track damage after damage is rolled
  • Loser receives a -2 penalty to his Defense until his next turn

Page 197.

• Close Range: Melee attacks can only be made from this range. Right next to the target. You must use a Disengage action to move away from melee range of an opponent.
• Short Range: Outside of melee range, but close enough the gap can be closed with a quick sprint.
• Medium Range: Farthest range for thrown weapons and wimpy archery weapons. Characters at this range must shout to communicate. An Aim action must be performed (adding no bonus) at this range or the ranged attack automatically misses.
• Long Range: Sniper range. Thrown/archery requires Aim action (adding no bonus) to be able to attack at this range.
• Extreme Range: Combat is impossible at this range. A character may be several extreme ranges away from another character. Any ranged attacks powered by magic still require an Aim action at this range (adding no bonus) or they will automatically miss.

Page 197-198.

• Move: Reflexive. May move one range band toward or away from a character on your turn.
• Rush: Combat Action. Must be in short range of the target. Can be used after a move action. Contested (DEX + Athletics) roll at short range. If successful, the rushing character can reflexively move another range band when his opponent moves a range band to remain engaged with him. This is a reflexive action that is separate from Move.
• Disengage: Combat Action. (DEX + Dodge) vs (DEX + Athletics) of all opponents. Must succeed vs all to be able to retreat to short range. If an enemy approaches him at close range on the next turn, the character can reflexively move one further range band away. Only occurs after a disengage action the first time an enemy re-approaches.
• Rise From Prone: Combat Action. If an enemy is at close range, must succeed (DEX + Dodge) difficulty 2 to successfully rise from prone.
• Take Cover: Combat Action. (DEX + Dodge) roll vs whatever difficulty the ST decides based on the scenery.
• Withdraw: Combat Action. An attempt to escape from the battlefield completely. Extended (DEX + Athletics) roll, difficulty 1, goal number 10, interval 1 round. Must be at medium or greater range from all opponents before attempting this. You lose 10 initiative per round, and you can do this even if it would make your initiative negative. This succeeds for the rest of the scene if you make the goal value and are at extreme range from all opponents.

Characters and their opponents at close range enjoy the same cover bonus acquired from a Seek Cover action. Page 198-199.

• Light Cover: + 1 to Defense against attacks
• Heavy Cover: + 2 to Defense against attacks
• Full Cover: Ranged attacks are impossible.

When doing a decisive attack, instead of dealing damage, you can choose to do a Gambit. Page 199-200.

• Disarm (difficulty 3): A successful disarm gambit flings their weapon away to short range. Requires the target move to the weapon and use a draw/ready action to reclaim it.
• Unhorse (difficulty 4): Knocks an opponent off his mount and deals 1 level of bashing damage, rendering the opponent prone.
• Distract (difficulty 3-5): The distracter feints a foe into the decisive attack of an ally. The distracter declares an ally whose decisive attack will benefit (cannot be in Initiative Crash). That ally gains the Initiative the opponent loses as a result of a successful execution of this gambit. Ally must do this decisive attack the next turn or lose the benefits.
• Grapple (difficulty 2): Page 200-201. See section on grapple.

Characters can only grapple opponents that make sense. Grappling MoW's corpse-fortress Juggernaut or an 8-ton Tyrant lizard would not make sense. A toddler grappling an adult would not make sense. Page 200-201.

• Perform a Grapple Gambit and succeed.
• If you succeed on your grapple gambit, roll a control roll: opposed (STR + (brawl or MA)). If the opponent equals or exceeds, they escape the grapple on their next turn. Should the grappler win, they gain control of the grapple for the control roll's (1 + threshold successes) turns. After these turns, the target automatically escapes the grapple.
  • Grapple ends if the grappler suffers Initiative Crash.
  • While grappled/grappling, both characters suffer -2 Defense penalty and cannot flurry.
  • The grappled cannot take movement actions and suffer a -1 penalty to all attacks, or -3 to to all attacks using 2-handed weapons.
• Each time the grappler suffers an attack or damage from any source, she forfeit one turn of control
  • Example: Grappler will lose 2 turns of control from a single an attack that damages
• Grappler applies one of the following effects each turn of the grapple, including the one on which it is initiated
  • Savage: Make a withering or decisive unarmed attack. Grappled has a Defense 0. Withering: Attack hits even if the roll generates 0 successes, and calculate new initiative as normal. Decisive: no attack roll is necessary - just roll Initiative, apply damage, and reset to base as usual.
  • Restrain and Drag: Uses up 2 rounds of control and can't be used if the victim wins the control roll. Target is immobilized and cannot perform any actions. Grappler may take a movement action and drag the grappled with him.
  • Throw/Slam: Grappler ends clinch prematurely by slamming the target into a surface within close range. Roll as if savage except that the attacker gains 2 dice (if withering) or 1 die (if decisive) per turn of forfeited control up to a maximum of (STR). Decisive slams are typically bashing damage unless you can find a near enough sensibly lethal part of the scenery (e.g., a spike).
  • Release: Releases the victim without harming her. This is a reflexive action and may be performed at any time.

Once per story, instead of taking physical damage from a decisive attack, a character may choose to wave the damage in favor of a crippling injury. Page 201-202.

• 1-2 Health Levels: Maiming injury that impairs the function of some body part or sense. Losing half the fingers on one hand, or an eye.
• 3-4 Health Levels: Lose an entire sense or useful extremity. Blinded, have tongue cut out, lose a hand.
• 5 Health Levels: Lose an entire limb. Most of an arm or leg, gone.

Can occur generally only in the first round of combat. Page 203.

• Declare attempt to conceal oneself
• Roll (DEX + Stealth) vs (PER + Awareness)
• If successful, the opponent's Defense is 0 against the attack

An attack launched from hiding versus an opponent who generally knows he's on combat. Page 203.

• Declare attempt to conceal oneself
• Roll (DEX + Stealth - 3) vs (PER + Awareness)
  • Attempting to stealth in combat gives a -3 penalty to the roll
• If successful, the opponent's Defense suffers a -2 against the attack
• Attempting to re-establish surprise is a combat action that cannot be part of a flurry
• A stealthed character cannot take rush actions
• If a stealthed character attempts to move, must make another reflexive (DEX + Stealth - 3) roll
• If cover in the area is poor, the stealth roll penalty increases to -5

Related to ambush, hold at bay is to succeed at an ambush without attacking, choosing instead to hold the target hostage for a number of rounds. Page 204.

• Number of rounds held is the difference in their initiative
• If the target fights back, attacker may make a decisive ambush attack against him with target's Defense at 0, Hardness at 0 and +5 automatic damage to the attack.
• If the attacker chooses to attack the target before the rounds are up, the target may defend normally

Try to escape the battlefield by attempting to hide and avoid detection until the fight is over. Page 204-205.

• Must already be in Stealth
• Declare attempt to Go To Ground
• Roll (DEX + Stealth) to maintain concealment over the next 3 turns
• First roll is -3, second roll is -4, third roll is -5
• If all rolls successfully defeat the (PER + Awareness) rolls of the enemy, he is considered so well hidden that there is no hope of finding him until he voluntarily emerges from concealment.
• Players are encouraged to think about how they attempt to go to ground, and stunt appropriately to gain bonus dice