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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Some Dude" data-source="post: 7833092" data-attributes="member: 6980080">CHAPTER 8: COMBATAlright, bring on the blood, piss and naughty word we were promised in the introduction! It's time to talk combat!This chapter explains Zweihander combat, its mechanics as well as its overall tone. That is to say, fast, brutal and unforgiving. We are warned that combat will test not only our characters' bodies and will, but their very spirit and sanity.Combat is the beating heart of many a system, and can make or break a game. How does Zweihander measure up? Let's see.First of all, we are given a list of relevant combat terms. This list has four terms:-Turns: a measure of time in combat. Roughly ten seconds. Interestingly, there is no turn/round structure here. Once everyone has taken their combat turn, that same sequence is repeated until combat has ended. Time during Combat is called Structured Time, a term to be fully described in Chapter 11: Game Mastery.-Actions In Combat: whatever you do during a Combat Turn, if it is potentially consequential, is an Action. PCs and NPCs haver access to the same range of Combat Actions.-The Initiative Ladder: the order in which players take turns in combat. Players roll 1d10 and add their Initiative score from their Character sheet. Highest goes first.-Fury Dice: the basic Damage roll for every weapon in the game. Remember: a Weapon's Damage is equal to the relevant Attribute Bonus +1d6 Fury Dice (remember, 6s roll over and add). Certain Weapon Qualities and/or other effects may increase the number of Fury Dice you roll when you make a successful Attack.The book now reminds us that despite certain Actions in Combat having fixed Difficulty Ratings, the GM is the final arbiter in any situation, whether it is covered by the rules, or is a special case.Of note here, is that throughout, players are encouraged to discuss matters with the GM, and to come to mutual decisions on many matters. Despite the statement above, Zweihander seems to value player agency more than many games of its type, especially OSR-type games.COMBAT OVERVIEWCombat in Zweihanderhas three Steps:Step 1: Surprise Turn (where applicable)Step 2: Initiative LadderStep 3:Take TurnsBut before these steps are explained further, there is an admonition to always be roleplaying, even during combat. There is also a list of Conditional Effects In Combat, or conditions/states of being that combatants may find themselves in, They include:-Blinded: cannot use Counterspell, Dodge or Parry-Choked: Cannot use any Action in Combat, except to use a Resist Action to Escape-Defenseless: Cannot use any Reactions whatsoever-Disarmed: Lose Weapon from primary hand to 3 yards away, cannot use hand until next Turn-Helpless: Cannot use any Reactions whatsoever, and may be Slain! with a Successful Attack-Inspired: Temporary +1 to Damage and Pril Thresholds (until the end of current Combat)-Intimidated: Reverse of the above-Knocked Out: unconscious, i.e., Helpless until awakened-Prone: Down but not out, however, you suffer an additional Fury Die every time you take Damage-Stunned: Begin Turn with one less AP-Surprised: See description of Surprise effects belowStep 1: In Zweihander, the GM alone decides whether the characters (or their foes) are Surprised. Anyone who successfully Surprises an opponent gains the following advantages:Surprised PCs/NPS are Defenseless.Any PCs/NPCs who successfully Surprise their opponents get a full Turn, called a Surprise Turn, in which to act before their foes. Any successful Attacks made by a Character who gains the advantage of Surprise will add an additional 1d6 Fury Dice to Damage dealt by that Attack.Step 2: Initiative is as described above. In the event of a tie, highest Perception Bonus goes first. If this is also a tie, the concerned parties roll Initiative again.Note: the Initiative Ladder is to be kept in plain view of all players, although the GM may opt to obfuscate the identities of some parties or even events. Random or Environmental Events that may affect Combat or those in it can generate Initiative by having the GM roll 2d10+2 for fires, explosions, dams bursting, bridges collapsing, or just about anything else that can be thought of!Any party who enters the fray after Initiative has been rolled can simply roll Initiative and be added to the Initiative Ladder at such time as their characters become involved in the Combat.Step 3: Each Turn, every Character has 3 Action Points, or APs, to spend. This will determine how many Actions they may take each Turn. There are five types of Actions, each having a cost of 1-3 APs. You can spend all of your APs on your turn, or you may hild.some back, to be used in reaction to other characters' actions. Any APs not spent at the start of your next turn are lost.The Actions your Character will spend APs to take are:-Movement Actions, divided into Charge, Get Up, Hustle, Maneuver, Run, and Take Cover. Some of these, like Charge (2AP), will add a Fury Die to your Damage from a subsequent Attack. Some, like Get Up, Run, or Take Cover, will allow you to move in certain ways, but can also open you up to an Opportunity Attack, which is a free (0 AP) Attack on someone who is moving out of an Engagement (I.e., moving away from someone they are actively fighting with). Run, for example, allows you to move at three times your Movement in yards, while gaining 3 Damage Threshold, but opens you up to an Opportunity Attack if you are moving out of an Engagement.Zweihander's attention to balance of play is evident here, as the benefits of each type of Action are offset by its cost in APs. I like appreciate the almost tactical play style that is encouraged by such rules. We are also reminded here not to forget that Traits and Talents act as "riders" to Skills (which will come into play often as we take Actions), altering or increasing their effects.-Attack Actions: Called Shot, Cast Magick, Melee Attack, or Ranged Attack. Melee and Ranged cost 1 AP, Called Shot costs 2, but cannot be Dodged or Parried, and Magick Varies. Ranged Attacks cannot be made while Engaged (e.g., toe-to-toe and fighting), unless the attacker is using a Weapon with the Gunpowder Quality.There are a list of effects for various conditions in Combat, such as Attacking Larger Foes, Attacking Helpless Foes, Mounted Combat, and the like. And again, we see Zweihander utilizing small variances, or combinations of them, to provide quite a variance of effects while at the same time not wandering too far from simplicity and efficient abstraction. This game's strategy comes not from being painstakingly simulationist, but from a few simple rules whose application manages to be surprisingly deep yet manageable. That "Sweet spot" I mentioned? This is pretty much it for me. The Combat Actions all fit on one page. Easy to refer to, or just straight up remember.Note: Characters may only make ONE Attack Action per Turn. This is true whether an attempted Attack is successful or not.-Perilous Stunts: Each of these costs 1 AP. These include Chokehold, Dirty Tricks, Disarm, Knockout, Splinter Shield, Stunning Blow and Takedown. Each of these costs 1 AP, and requires a successful Skill Test in order to burden your opponent with some complication or hindrance. In each case, your foe must then make a successful Skill Test to avoid said complication. Dirty Tricks, for instance, will Blind an opponent for a turn ("Pocket sand!"). As with Attack Actions, only one Perilous Stunt may be attempted per turn.-Special Actions: 0 to 2 AP. These include Channel Power (this can lower the Difficulty Rating imposed by the GM as you gather all of your Magickal energies to aid your spellcasting), Inspiring Words (a "pep talk" that gives allies a temporary boost to Damage and Peril Thresholds), Litany of Hatred (the reverse of Inspiring Words, an attempt to Intimidate or "face" your opponents that will leave them with lowered Damage and Peril Thresholds should you make a successful Intimidate Test), Load (as in your Weapon), Subdue, Take Aim (increase chance to hit at the cost of 1 or 2 AP) and Wait (hold APs for use lower down the Initiative Ladder). Special Actions generally confer some benefit to other Actions.-Reactions: 0/1AP. These include Assist (another's Action), Counterspell, Dodge, Opportunity Attack, Parry and Resist. These are Actions which you can take during other players' turns.Next, we get a detailed walkthrough of Using Attack Actions. There are seven steps to this process:-Step 1: Which Weapon?-Step 2: Total Chance For Success-Step 3: Make The Attack-Step 4: Enemy Defends-Step 5: Roll Damage-Step 6: Determine Damage Condition-Step 7: Determine Injury.Which Weapon? gives a recap of the various Weapon Types. It also delves into handedness. Any Character who uses a Weapon in his "off" hand must Flip to Fail. There is an Ambidextrous Trait which will negate this.Ranges are also discussed, as well as the penalties for using Ranged Weapons at distance. Distances are Short, Medium and Long, in ascending order of Difficulty Rating. At ranges greater than Long, no Fury Die is added to the Weapon's Damage, and in any event, the Range may not exceed four times the SHort Range listed for that Weapon. Again, we see simple, sensible abstraction that provides challenge without undue complication. I like it.Total Chance For Success restates the rules for determining one's Base Chance of Success, with or without complications (in the form of ignored Skill Ranks) from Peril. Once this is tallied, the GM assigns a Difficulty Rating (which, you'll remember, is the "point of no return" for players- no backing out now), and the Total Chance For Success, or target number the player must roll under is set.Make The Attack tells us to roll a number equal to the Total Chance For Success or less. Remember: if your tens and ones dice have the same number, that's either a Critical Success or a Critical Failure. Some Attacks allow an attacker to trigger a special effect when a Critical Success is rolled. If the Action being attempted is an Attack Action or a Perilous Stunt, the target is left Defenseless, as described above.A Critical Failure rolled while attempting an Attack Action or Perilous Stunt will result in the acting Character taking an automatic 2d10+2 Physical Peril (Peril will be described in greater detail in Chapter 9: Hazards And Healing).Enemy Defends details how a defender may Dodge Ranged Weapons or Parry Melee Weapons, and explains how the GM may determine a Difficulty Rating for these tests by taking into account the relative size of the weapons involved in an Attack and Parry.Roll Damage instructs the reader to apply (usually but not always) the attacker's Combat Bonus+1d6 Fury Dice (and any other Damage factors determined by Weapon Qualities, Traits, etc.) as Damage in the event of a Successful Attack. Unlike Perilous Stunts, Attacks cannot be Resisted, they must be Dodged or Parried. The amount of Damage inflicted is compared to the Character's Damage Threshold. In the case of Guhm, his Damage Threshold is 5 (equal to his his Brawn Bonus of 5- if he were wearing armor, it would increase thisnumber), extrapolated to determine the Damage Condition Track:Less than 5: Unharmed5: Lightly Wounded11: Moderately Wounded17: Seriously Wounded23: Grievously WoundedSlain!Eschewing the familiar "hit point" model of Character Injury and Death, Zweihander instead uses a Damage Condition Track, which works as follows:If a Character takes Damage in excess of his Damage Threshold , they move one step "Down" on the Damage Condition Track, that is to say, from Unharmed and towards Slain! If a Character takes Damage in excess of their Damage Threshold +6, they move two steps down, and so on. Therefore, if Guhm were already Seriously Wounded, and sustained 9 points of Damage from a new Attack, he would move 1 step Down to Grievously Wounded. And if he had taken 14 points of Damage from that same attack, he would have moved two steps down, being immediately Slain! Likewise, any time a Character suffers Damage greater than their Base Damage Threshold + 18, they are instantly Slain!In addition, whenever a Character moves DOWN the Damage Condition Track to Moderately Wounded or below, they must roll to see if they sustain an Injury. Roll a 1d6 Chaos Die, if it comes up 6, you are possibly Injured, and must roll d100 against an Injury Table. There are three Injury tables (Moderate, Serious, Grievous), each with 12 possible results, including Fortune's Mercy! (no injury). Some Talents, Traits or Weapon Qualities will make injuries more or less severe. Each Injury has a specific penalty or restriction. Some may be permanent or have permanent effects. All will require time and medical attention to heal. No napping to relieve stab wounds in Zweihander!Note: Fate Points, determined in Chapter 3, can be used to ignore any 1 injury, or save your Character from being Slain! Once a Fate Point is used, it is gone forever. Your Character can earn more, as outlined in Chapter 3, but it is a long slow slog and far from a given. Use fate points wisely!Another wordabout Injuries: whenever an unarmored Character sustains an Injury, they start to Bleed. While Bleeding, Characters cannot move UP their Damage OR Peril Condition Tracks. If Bleeding continues for a number of Turns greater than your Brawn Bonus, you are Slain!Final thoughts on Zweihander's combat: it looks fun and quite manageable, without sacrificing variance or granularity, no mean feat. In addition, although there are several options for Actions (Combat and otherwise), terms such as Charge, Chokehold, Ranged Attack, Subdue, and Dodge are intuitive. Even new players should be able to navigate the Combat system by referencing the one page of Actions.As I said previously, I hope to get this to the table soon, to see if it is as smooth and fun in play as it looks on paper.As with the Chapter 7: Trappings, this section of the book gets it right, striking a nice balance between being colorful and concise. The confusion of the first few Chapters is starting to make way for a better. more streamlined presentation of the game's systems, and that's a good thing. Overall, Chapter 8 gets high marks from me.Stay tuned, there are 5 more Chapters to go! We're not even halfway there!NEXT UP:CHAPTER 9: HAZARDS & HEALING</blockquote>

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