Chapter VI: Combat, Damage & Movement
There are two types of leaps, running and standing. In a running leap, the character sprints up to his Movement Characteristic x 2 in yards (or Movement in squares). The character must move at least 4 yards (2 squares) in a straight line leading up to take off. The maximum distance leaped is equal to Movement plus Strength Bonus in yards. This is the distance of the leap if a successful Strength Test is made. For each degree of failure of the test, the distance leaped is reduced by 1 yard (minimum 1 yard). If the character has the Performer (Acrobat) skill, he may use that instead of Strength at the player’s option. Example: Our friend Sven is back on the rooftops. To get onto the building he wants to rob, he must make a leap of 6 yards. Sven F lying is not a common occurrence in WFRP games, as it is confined to certain creatures and a small number of magic spells. Adding flying monsters to the game requires you to think more three dimensionally, which can present some challenges. The following rules provide a fairly abstract system for dealing with flying in the WFRP game. f lyIng T ypes and m oVemenT Flying creatures and characters are broken up into two categories, each of which is a talent (see Chapter 4: Skills and Talents ). A hoverer can move through the air but is incapable of gaining more than 2 yards of altitude. A flier can go high into the sky, just like a bird. Each flying creature or character also has an additional Characteristic called Flying Movement. This works just like the Movement Characteristic, but only applies when flying. A creature’s Flying Movement can be found in parenthesis after the normal Movement Characteristic. For example, a creature with Movement 3 (8) would have a ground Movement of 3 and a Flying Movement of 8. Flying spells specify the Flying Movement they impart. When flying, a character must take at least one move action on his turn each round or he will fall. Hoverers simply land, which causes no damage. Those at low altitude take damage from a 15 yard fall, while those at high altitude take damage from a 25+ yard fall. See the Falling rules on page 138 for details. The charge attack and run actions also count as movement (though players may want to think of running as soaring in the case of fliers). a lTITude There are three levels of altitude above ground level, hovering, low, and high. They affect play as follows: • Hovering: Skimming above the ground, no higher than 2 yards up. Characters can move over obstacles or pits with ease, but attacks work as normal. Characters can both attack and be attacked like a character on the ground. Low: Flying at an altitude of 15 yards or less. The character cannot attack or be attacked in melee, but ranged attacks and spells are possible. The character suffers no penalties for shooting downwards, but those firing up at treat the target as 16 yards (8 squares) further away and suffer a –10% penalty to their Ballistic Skill. High: Flying far above the ground, out of range of all attacks (even those coming from low altitude). The character can only attack or be attacked by other creatures flying high. • •
has Movement 3 and Strength Bonus 4, so his maximum leap is 7 yards (3+4=7). With Strength 42%, Sven makes his Test and rolls a 63%. Sven fails by 21%. This is two degrees of failure, so Sven reduces his distance by 2 yards. He has only leaped 5 yards so is just shy of the mark. Sven once again learns about falling. A standing leap is similar, but takes no run-up. This is adjudicated the same way, but the final distance is halved (rounded up). The vertical distance of a leap (if important) is equal to M–2 in yards. Just as with horizontal distance, the vertical distance is reduced by 1 yard for each degree of failure (minimum 1). A result of zero or less means the character gained enough altitude to leap, but not enough to clear any obstacles. A character can change altitude by one level (up or down) during each move action taken. If using the charge attack or run actions, the character can change altitude by two levels. Example: Garmond, a Celestial Wizard, casts the wings of Heaven spell, which grants him Flying Movement 6. On his next turn he takes two move actions. On the first he goes from the ground to hovering and moves 12 yards (6 squares). On the second he ascends from hovering to low altitude and moves another 12 yards (6 squares). Should an archer 24 yards (12 squares) away now shoot at Garmond, the range would be 40 yards (20 squares) because flying at low altitude adds 16 yards (8 squares). a erIal C ombaT Characters and creatures at low or high altitude can engage in melee combat but it works a bit differently than ground combat. Fliers must keep forward momentum going or they’ll fall to the ground. They thus can’t stand still and go toe to toe with an opponent in melee. To engage an opponent in aerial combat, characters must be at the same altitude (either low or high). Then they must take the charge attack action with one important difference. With an aerial charge attack, the character can make his attack at any point of his movement. This simulates flying by the opponent and delivering a blow in passing. Example: Garmond and a Harpy are both flying at low altitude. Garmond decides to attack the Harpy in melee so on his turn he uses the charge attack action. With his Flying Movement 6, he can move up to 24 yards (12 squares) and make an attack at any point of his movement. Garmond moves 16 yards (8 squares), which puts him next to the Harpy. He then makes his attack and moves his remaining 8 yards (4 squares) after it’s resolved. Flying creatures at the same altitude can attack each other with ranged Rather than damaging an aerial opponent, a character can try to drag him down to earth. This requires a charge attack action. If the character hits no damage is inflicted. Instead both combatants make an Opposed Strength Test. If the attacker wins, he drags his opponent down one level of altitude and may continue if he has any movement left. If the opponent wins, the attempt fails and the attacker may continue on if he has any movement left. In the case of a stalemate, the combatants become entangled and both plummet to the ground and take falling damage based on altitude. attacks or spells as normal. f orCe d own
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