The detailed rules in this section guide you through the various tactical options available during combat. These options, ranging from bare-handed fighting to managing opportunity attacks, enrich possible strategies and enhance the dynamics of confrontations.
Understand and master these techniques to optimize your chances of success on the battlefield.
Fighting Bare-Handed
When a character attempts to strike bare-handed, they must perform a physical attack test (Atq PHY) using their Dexterity bonus. This test is compared to the Physical Defense (Def PHY) of the opponent to determine if they hit their target.
Here is the formula to apply for the bare-handed attack test:
Bare-handed test = D20 + DEX + Level
The damage inflicted during a bare-handed attack is calculated using the following formula:
Bare-handed damage = 1d4 + STR
Fighting with Two Weapons
When a character chooses to wield two weapons simultaneously, they must adhere to specific rules. The use of abilities such as Ambidexterity can make this combat technique much more effective.
Advantages
- Double Attack: The PC can perform two separate attacks (A) instead of one by sacrificing their movement action (M) during their turn. Each attack is performed with a different weapon.
- Diversification of Damage: The damage is distributed between the two weapons, which can be useful for circumventing the resistance of some creatures.
For example, if a creature is resistant to slashing damage but vulnerable to bludgeoning damage, the PC can equip a slashing weapon and a bludgeoning weapon to maximize their effectiveness on at least one of their 2 attacks.
Disadvantages
- Difficulty of Mastery: Fighting with two weapons requires some mastery. The PC suffers a penalty of -2 on attack tests with each weapon due to the complexity of the action.
- Secondary Weapon: During a double attack, the weapon held in the off-hand suffers a penalty of -2 to damage.
Opportunity Attack
An opportunity attack occurs when an opponent attempts to leave a melee encounter without taking the necessary precautions to disengage. This situation offers their opponent the chance to launch a quick reflex attack.
To exploit this opportunity, the attacker must have a direct line of sight on the fleeing opponent, excluding the three squares directly behind them.
They must then succeed in an attack test. If the test is successful, they can perform an attack with their weapon, inflicting appropriate damage.
The victim of the opportunity attack cannot parry or dodge this unexpected strike, reflecting the vulnerability created by their hasty retreat.
Disengaging
A combatant may opt to disengage from combat canceling the possibility for their opponents to perform an opportunity attack.
This action requires the full attention and agility of the combatant, consuming 1 attack action and allowing them to retreat safely using their movement action.
This tactical maneuver allows the combatant to reposition themselves on the battlefield in a secure manner, ready to continue the fight or support their allies from a new strategic location.
Surprise and Ambush
Before the start of combat, the Game Master (GM) determines if one group (characters or enemies) has managed to surprise the other. This may depend on factors such as stealth, vigilance, or tactics employed.
If group A surprises group B, the characters of group B are considered "surprised" at the beginning of combat. This means they cannot act during the first turn of combat, while group A can act normally.
After the first turn of combat, the surprise ends, and the characters of group B can act normally in subsequent turns.
The characters of group B can still react with defensive actions (dodge/block) during the first turn of combat, but they cannot initiate offensive actions or cast spells.