CHAPTER 8: COMBAT “Man by nature is an animal; he can be cruel and callous. Where diplomacy fails, combat is the only choice left to resolve differences. Often swift and merciless, fighting is his way to establish dominance, or to simply terminate the opposition all together. By conscious decision and intent, man is able to assert himself against the world and face aggression in kind.” - Father Victor, monk Tactical skirmishes amidst a torrential downpour, vicious back alley knife fights, honorific duels to the death and horrifying battles against dire abominations makes up several situations your Character will be drawn into. However, some may be more raucous and less deadly, such as with a barroom brawl or fisticuffs erupting between a swindling pedlar and his customer. Combat can be fun and entertaining, but in a grim & perilous campaign world, death can come at the drop of a hat to Characters. While exciting and offering the opportunity for players to roll dice, the risk of death is always the foremost element within combat. No amount of planning can truly prepare the unwitting against the strategic leadership of those born within the crucible of combat. Even the most well-orchestrated plans can go terribly awry as combat is so fast paced, as numbers frequently prevail. Unlike other role-playing games, Characters in ZWEIHÄNDER aren’t given a vast pool of “hit COMBAT TERMINOLOGY points”, allowed to instantly recover from their Here are the three common terms you’ll reference wounds and get right back up. Combat is savage often throughout the combat chapter: and unrelenting, handling confrontation with all the excitement you’d expect to have in a fantasy TURNS adventure - but not without danger to one’s self Equal to a minute of in-game time, Turns are an and sanity. abstraction, reflecting each Character’s time to catch their breath, pause, jockey for position and DIFFICULTY RATINGS & GM FIAT set themselves up to render decisive blows. During Because of the wild and varied nature of combat, a Turn, Characters can take a set number of there may be situations that crop up from time to Actions, dictated by their reserve of “Action time that aren’t covered in these rules. Points” (also called AP). Even though all Additionally, some Actions in Combat may have Characters get a Turn, all Actions are assumed to fixed Difficulty Ratings. Much like any other be taking place at the same time narratively. ruling in ZWEIHÄNDER, the Gamemaster will make the final call as arbiter and ultimate ACTIONS IN COMBAT authority, empowered to make changes to Actions are formalized choices Character make to Difficulty Ratings and otherwise to fit the change the outcome of combat. Each Action situation. possesses a relative cost in Action Points which must be expended before a specific Action may be taken. Providing a Character has enough Action Points, they can execute attacks against foes, get around the battlefield, hamper their enemy’s STEP II: INITIATIVE LADDER ability to gain ground and set aside a reserve to After a Surprise Turn has ended, Characters will defend against attacks. These “Actions In determine the order in which they may take their Combat” are described in further detail in the Turn. Each Character will roll 1D10 and add their oncoming pages. All Characters in Initiative to the result. ZWEIHÄNDER have the same options for STEP III: TAKE TURNS attacking, defending and the use of Actions In Once a Character’s Turn comes up in the Combat, regardless if they’re played by players or Initiative Ladder, they may spend Action Points the Gamemaster. to select specific Actions In Combat. Characters receive 3 Action Points to dedicate to defend, THE INITIATIVE LADDER move, attack or take other special actions as their The Initiative Ladder decides the order of which Turn begins. all Characters resolve their Actions In Combat. Whenever the Gamemaster announces combat is about to unfold, all Characters will generate their STEP I: SURPRISE TURN own Initiative Ladder results by rolling 1D10 and A Surprise Turn affects the very beginning of adding their Initiative from their Character Sheet combat. It allows Characters to gain advantage to the result. The end results are tracked from over one another and take a Turn before the highest to lowest, displayed openly for everyone to Initiative Ladder proceeds. Ultimately, it is the reference. province of the Gamemaster to determine if the players or their enemies gain a Surprise Turn. This FURY DICE call is based on specific sets of circumstances or Throughout this chapter, you’ll see mention of a special preparations Characters have made in 1D6 Fury Die to generate Damage with melee order to ambush one another purposefully. and ranged weapons. Anytime you roll for Outlining these circumstances goes above and Damage, if it generates a face “6” on the Fury Die, beyond the scope of this discussion, but the add an additional 1D6 Fury Die to Total Damage Gamemaster will use common sense when value. Every time a Fury Die generates another determining which sides gains the advantage of a face 6, it continues to “explode”, generating Surprise Turn. additional 1D6 Fury Dice. Calculate all results together to determine Total Damage. Whether either side gains a Surprise Turn, the Gamemaster will always explain in narrative terms why. It’s important to consider what sort of COMBAT OVERVIEW preparedness your Character may have elected to Below is a brief overview to follow whenever adopt, even before the fight begins. Kicking in the combat is about to begin: door and expecting your foes to simply fold before your might may be an acceptable option in some STEP I: SURPRISE TURN games, but in ZWEIHÄNDER it can get you Whenever combat is about to begin, the killed. Gamemaster will individually determine whether players or their foes individually get the jump on SURPRISE ADVANTAGE one another. If either party manages to catch their Those who gain the advantage of surprise may enemies unaware they’ll act first during a Surprise take a free Turn while all Attack Actions and Turn. Perilous Stunts gain a +20 Base Chance to succeed. Additionally, Attack Actions made with piece of paper for both the player and melee or ranged weapons add a 1D6 Fury Die to Gamemaster’s reference. Each name is written Total Damage results. Once a Surprise Turn down, with the resulting Initiative Ladder finishes, combat proceeds as normal according to indicated beside it with a hyphen. This determines the Initiative Ladder, and all benefits for the the order that each Character will act in until the Surprise Turn are lost. fight is resolved. It also allows players to help the Gamemaster keep everything straight during DEFENSELESS DURING SURPRISE TURN combat, as most veteran players can generally Foes who are surprised are temporarily left attest - things can become hectic. All in all, Defenseless to all attacks. While Defenseless, they whoever goes first tends to get the upper hand - cannot use any Reactions. This includes and speed can lead to a more favorable outcome. Counterspelling a Magick’s effects, Dodging ranged weapons, using Opportunity Attacks, It’s time to roll Initiative. There are six players - Parrying melee attacks, Resisting Perilous Stunts Edwin Mortani, Graf von Bek, Leopold or Resisting Casted Magick. Coventry, Mercutio Salvatore, “Patches” and Danziger Eckhardt. The Gamemaster is ROLE-PLAYING & COMBAT controlling several enemies - a Footpad, a Bounty Although Turns introduce a more uniform way to Hunter and a Guttersnipe. Both the players and handle Actions, it should never stymie role- Gamemaster roll Initiative, placing their names playing. You should feel encouraged to describe on a marker board that can be referenced by your Character’s Actions with flourish. everyone. The results follow, dictating the Representing adrenaline-packed scenes of fierce Initiative Ladder. Under this example, Danziger attacks and daring stunts using your own personal will go first, whereas the Thug will go last. Once descriptions is both exciting and enjoyable. Role- everyone has taken their Turn, Initiative begins playing should never take a backseat during the again with Danziger again until combat ends: format structure of combat. Danziger Eckhardt - 24 Patches - 23 STEP II: INITIATIVE Bounty Hunter - 21 LADDER Edwin Mortani - 20 In any role-playing game, there must be a structure to the order of which events unfold - Guttersnipe - 17 particularly in the case of combat. For every Leopold Coventry - 10 Character, each determines their Initiative individually. Using 1D10, every Character will roll Graf von Bek - 9 and add their Initiative from their Character Sheet Mercutio Salvatore - 8 to the result. But those who burden themselves with equipment tend to react slower, as their Thug - 8 senses are dulled beneath the weight of their harness. Overage from Encumbrance Limit always Remember, ZWEIHÄNDER is a cooperative penalizes Initiative results, even if a Character game and while the Gamemaster will be decides to toss aside their equipment during controlling your enemies (potential allies), you combat. The result is then ranked from highest to should work to help keep things tracking right. lowest, displayed openly on a marker board or combat can sometimes grow confusing as you oscillate between each other’s Turns. The chaos of battle, for in battle there is no law. These Gamemaster has to worry about positioning, secret events may be repetitive (such as the blazing tactics, track conditions and plot out your enemy's of a fire) or a one-time event (such as the strike of strategies. All players should do their part to help lightning upon the top of a building). track combat, working in concert with the Gamemaster to progress the Initiative Ladder A raging fire erupts around everyone, threatening correctly.