Combat Round
Contents
Surprise and Ambush
When combat begins, the first thing that must be tested is to see if either side is Surprised or if one side has been Ambushed.
Surprise vs. Ambush
Surprise occurs in situations where one party or both have caught the other unaware - for example if a party exploring a dungeon runs into a random patrol, both sides roll Surprise. If the party is already aware that a room contains bandits who are drinking and gambling and they then barge in, the DM might call for only the bandits to roll Surprise.
Ambush only occurs if one side has decided to actively attempt to surprise another. This may occur if a party has hidden themselves, by using terrain to their advantage, by a character with Hide in Shadows coordinating them, through use of the Camouflage skill or otherwise. The party must be able to perceive the locations of their opponents in order to ambush them - they cannot be Flatfooted or Unaware of them. A character who is personally Hiding in Shadows or Moving Silently does not need to test for Ambush - their attack is automatically considered an Ambush.
If only one side is aware of the other but cannot accurately perceive them, it is Surprise. If they can perceive their opponents, it is an Ambush.
In either instance, a Surprise Roll is made.
Surprise Roll
When a side is unaware of others, be it a Surprise or Ambush, they must make a Surprise Roll. This consists of 1d10 + Agility, using either the Agility of the party's nominated Scout or the party's average Agility. The characters must then roll against Surprise Chance to see if they are caught off guard.
Surprise Chance defaults to 3 but is modified by Tags such as Stealthy.
In the case of Surprise, a party or individual is Surprised if they roll less than the Surprise Chance - if they roll greater than this, they are not Surprised. In the case of Ambush, the Ambushing party must roll 1d10 + Agility + any modifiers such as Stealthy. This determines the Surprise Chance. Opponents caught in the Ambush must roll to see if they are Surprised. If they roll less than half the Surprise Chance, they are Ambushed - if they roll between this value and the Surprise Chance, they are Surprised.
A roll of 1 by someone testing for Surprise means they are Surprised - if testing for Ambushed, they are Ambushed. A roll of 1 by someone setting the Surprise Chance in an Ambush means their Ambush has failed and all opponents act normally. A roll of 10 by someone testing for Surprise or Ambush means they act normally. A roll of 10 by someone setting the Surprise Chance increases the effective Surprise Chance value by 5.
Initiative
At the start of each combat round, each side makes an Initiative Roll to represent the ebb and flow of the battle. The Initiative Roll consists of 1d10. The highest initiative rolls go first, followed by lower rolls.
For example, a party of player adventurers step into a brawl going on between two rival mercenary companies in a fortress. There are three effective sides here - each mercenary company and the adventurers. The DM rolls 3 and 6 for the mercenary companies, the players roll 4. This means that, in each phase, one mercenary company acts first, then the players, then the other company.
A roll of 1 causes a side to go last in order and delay all actions by one phase - including Spell Casting. A roll of 10 causes a side to go first in order and move all actions up by one phase - including Spell Casting. If one or more sides tie they must immediately re-roll. A Combat Event occurs for each re-roll forced in this manner.
Combat Events
Below is listed a series of possible Combat Events that may occur when initiative is tied. If something cannot occur, re-roll.
| Combat Events | ||
|---|---|---|
| D20 | Result | Effects |
| 1-2 | Armour Trouble | Select Random Combatant. Roll 1d6.
1-2 - Helmet Damaged 3-5 - Shield Damaged 6 - Armour Damaged |
| # | a | b |
| # | a | b |
| # | a | b |
| # | a | b |
| # | a | b |
| # | a | b |
| # | a | b |
Combat Phases
The combat round is divided into several phases.
Starting Phase
Lightning Fast
Extremely Fat
Very Fast
Fast
Average
Slow
Very Slow
Extremely Slow
Glacially Slow
End of Round
