UMBRA SUMUS

Combat — draft in progress

Updated 2018-01-06

• Distance in yards (a hex will be 2–3 yards on our typical playing surfaces)
• Combat Rounds are about 12 seconds

Characters are in one of two states:

• Engaged – in close combat; hand to hand with the opposition.
• Disengaged – none of the above…

Turn Order

A combat round is broken into individual characters turns, taken in descending Dexterity order, clashes resolved by a simple die roll.

If a character has multiple actions, whether due to skill greater than 100%, or to weapon capabilities – typically double barrelled guns – the first action happens at Dex, next at Dex –5, and so on.

Minor actions: If a character needs to prepare a weapon to attack that would be similar – draw weapon at Dex and it is available for defence thereafter, but an Attack with the weapon would be at Dex –5.

• Draw and cock a simple gun at Dex, aimed shot at Dex –5; A second barrel might well require a separate action (another –5) to cock.

Actions

In their (Dex) turn within a combat round a character can actively do ONE of these main actions, constrained by whether they are directly engaged, or not (disengaged).

• Move
• Fight
• Do something else
• Wait

Move

If not Engaged move up to 10 yards (~5 hexes), face any direction at end.

If Engaged hand-to-hand at the start, without successfully Disengaging (q.v.), opponent(s) can make a free undefended attack immediately.

• Dash – Move more: 6–10 hexes in a straightish line (close as hex grain permits), face ahead in direction of travel at end. Characters can’t Dash and attack.

Attack

Describe it and roll it

• Step in / Manoeuvre – Characters may move 1 hex to engage, or move 1 hex while remaining engaged, without penalty.

Non-fight actions

Doing whatever, while others are fighting. For instance loading a gun, or picking a lock will take several uninterrupted combat rounds; progress may be lost if the character is attacked.

Disengage

Do not attack. Successfully defend / dodge all attacks by engaged opponents during the combat round – missile attacks don’t figure.

Take a Move after the last engaged attack if successful, otherwise the character is still engaged and vulnerable to the leaving blows mentioned under Move.

Wait

Choose to wait to act until later in the Dex countdown. Call out when the time to act comes. Act at Dex 1 at latest or miss the turn – there is no carry over into the top end of the next turn.

Some special cases

TBA

• Fight Defensively

Reactions

At any time during the combat round characters can:

• Fight Defensively
• Parry or Dodge
• Speak

Weapons

The comabt system properties of weapons common and unusual.

Hand Weapons

Damage Types:

• b – bleed
• c – crush
• e - entangle
• i - impale
• s - strangle
• x - special…

Missile Weapons

Guns

Range effects

For most missiles and guns the chance to hit an individual person-sized target is the normal skill roll up to Range. It is a Difficult roll (half skill) to twice the range and Very Difficult to twice that range (1:2:4).

Employing scatter shot (blunderbuss or sporting loads in other weapons) the chance to hit stays the same out to longer ranges but the damage drops off as the load spreads.

• spreading scatter shot may hit objects or bystanders closely adjacent next to the original target on a difficult skill roll for each such.

Volley fire by specialist weapons may have special rules. ToDo

Damage Bonus:

General rules:

• add Damage Bonus in hand-to-hand combat
• add HALF Damage Bonus for ‘hand powered’ missiles
• guns, crossbows, etc. etc. – do NOT add damage bonus
• special – special rules, probably ToDo

Damage Type

Damage Type indicates special rolls (doubles) results:

• Bleed: lose 1 hp a turn until staunched. Staunching can be a simple and temporary as someone clapping a hand on the bleeding gash to hold it closed. That may impede fighting. Longer term the wound may require to be sewn closed and/or treaded with a preparation.
• Impale: double rolled damage (including damage bonus). Wound may require sewn.
• Impale – special bullet wounds may require probing and cleaning the wound of debris and perhaps of the bullet, then sewn or treated with a proparation.
• Crush: double Damage Bonus, chance of stun, knockback/down
• Entangle: ToDo
• Strangle: ToDo

Guns

Standard shooting skill assumes :

• a carefully pre-loaded gun
• the shooter is standing still and
• taking aim
• in daylight at a
• target in the open
• within the weapon’s close range, listed in the weapon stats.

Changing any of these cumulatively increases the difficulty level of the shot. Each increase in difficulty halves the chance of hitting a specific human-size target.