Chapter VI: Combat, Damage & Movement
— I nITIaTIVe — I nitiative determines the order in which participants act during each round. To determine Initiative, 1d10 is rolled and the result is added to the character’s Agility Characteristic. The GM is responsible for determining the Initiative of any NPCs and monsters. Once everyone has rolled, the GM makes a list and places each character or creature in Initiative order, from highest to lowest. This is the order the combatants will act in each round until the combat is over. If more than one character has the same Initiative, they act in Agility order (from highest to lowest). Example: Wilhelm, a soldier with Agility 35%, must roll for Initiative when his group is attacked by Goblins. Wilhelm rolls a 6 on a d10, so his Initiative for this combat is 41 (35+6=41). His companion Gertrude gets a 39 and the three Goblins have a 30. Wilhelm (41) will thus act first, followed by Gertrude (39) and then by the Goblins (30). GMs can make one Initiative roll for each group of like characters. For example, if there are 3 Goblins in the combat, all of which have the same statistics, it isn’t necessary to roll Initiative separately for each Goblin. One roll will do for all of them and they’ll all act at the same time in the Initiative order. Most combats last for multiple rounds. You only need to determine Initiative at the start of the combat, however. Once the Initiative order has been established, it remains the same from round to round. To continue the previous example, at the start of each new round, Wilhelm will act first, followed by Gertrude and then the Goblins. If new combatants join in the midst of the encounter, simply roll Initiative for them and add them to the order. The GM determines on which round new combatants arrive. Example: The previous combat has been going for three rounds now and one of the Goblins has been slain. An Orc arrives to aid them so the GM rolls Initiative and gets a 32. In the new round, the revised Initiative order will be Wilhelm (41), Gertrude (39), the Orc (32) and finally the two remaining Goblins (30). — s urprIse — S urprise only affects the first round of a combat. It is up to the GM to decide if any of the combatants are surprised. This boils down to a judgment call on the GM’s part, based on circumstances and the actions of the various combatants leading up to the encounter. The GM should take the following into account when determining surprise: • Is anyone hiding? Successful use of the Concealment skill before the combat may mean that some characters are hidden. Extremely wary opponents may oppose this with a Perception Test. Is anyone sneaky? Successful use of the Silent Move skill may have positioned some characters for an ambush. Extremely wary opponents may oppose this with a Perception Test. Are there any unusual circumstances? This can cover nearly anything, from pouring rain to noisy cobblestones to magical effects. Are there any distractions? It’s possible that something quite distracting is going on. A cultist’s attention may be so fixated on the frenzied dancing of the high priestess that he doesn’t notice his attackers, for example. • • •
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