Reference: Combat Round

[Vutall]

Definition of Terms
c Action – What a character does when it is their Turn during a combat Round.
c Initiative – A measure of how quickly a given character reacts compared to other participants in a skirmish.
c Round – A unit of time, 3 to 10 seconds in length, during which all participants in a skirmish have an opportunity to take Actions.
c Turn – The opportunity for an individual character to take Actions during a combat Round. Under normal circumstances, every participant in a skirmish has one Turn, which takes place on their Initiative.

Sequence of Events
A combat Round unfolds in the following stages:

c Stage 1: Initiative – During the first Round of a skirmish, all participants make an Initiative Roll, rolling Refl exes and Insight Rank (see Book of Fire for information on Insight Ranks), keeping Refl exes (noted as Insight Rank / Refl exes). The result of this roll, called the Initiative Score, determines the order in which all characters will act. An Initiative Roll is only made on a character’s first Round of participation in the skirmish, and the resulting Initiative Score is used for the remainder of the skirmish. However, in subsequent Rounds, Initiative Scores may potentially change as a result of different character abilities or situational modifiers. During the first Round of combat, characters also select their Stance immediately before they make their Initiative Roll.

c Stage 2: Turns – The bulk of a combat Round involves each individual participant taking their Turn. When this stage begins, the character with the highest Initiative Score takes their Turn first, and may take any legal Action. A character may choose to delay taking their Turn, and instead allow the character with the next highest Initiative Score to take their Turn. After that, the character who delayed their Turn has the chance to take it or delay again, and so on. Delaying a Turn has no effect on a character’s Initiative Score the following Round, and Turns cannot be “saved” from one Round to the next. If every participant Delays their Turn, when the participant with the lowest initiative score is reached he must take his Turn, then the Round ends. After the first Round of a skirmish, characters may change their Stances at the beginning of their Turn, before taking any Actions. A character only ever has one Turn per Round, regardless of how many Actions he may take during the Round.

c Stage 3: Reactions – At the end of a Round, when all characters have taken their Turn, there are certain abilities that take effect as a result of the events of the Round. For example, spell effects that have expired end during the Reaction Stage. All such effects happen simultaneously during Stage 3. Reaction effects, typically generated by Techniques, Spells, or Advantages, are always clearly labeled as such.

Attack & Defense
Any attack a character makes against an opponent requires a roll, typically a Skill Roll that includes a Weapon Skill as one of its components. Attacks may be melee or ranged in nature, depending upon the weapon being used. These rolls are made using the rules included for Skill Rolls above, and the result of an attack roll is compared to the opponent’s Armor TN. All characters have an Armor TN that is calculated by multiplying their Refl exes Trait by 5, adding 5, and adding any bonuses that apply to the Armor TN (typically from Stances or from the character wearing armor of some kind). If the result of the attack roll meets or exceeds the target’s Armor TN, then the attack was successful and the opponent was struck with the weapon in question. Damage must now be rolled.

Penalties or bonuses may be applied to attack rolls for a variety of reasons. The most obvious and frequent penalty is for being injured (see the discussion of Wounds immediately following this section). Any ranged attack made against an opponent who is within melee range also suffers a penalty of -10 to the total of the attack roll, due to the awkwardness of fi ring at someone who is a direct threat. Additional bonuses and penalties are discussed under Stances and Status Effects, and the GM can apply bonuses or penalties based on specific circumstances (a character trying to attack while balancing on a railing would probably suffer a penalty, for example).

For melee weapons, a character using a particular weapon adds his Strength to the number of rolled dice in the weapon’s DR. For example, a Crab bushi with Strength 3 using a dai tsuchi (DR 5k2) would roll 8k2 damage following a successful attack with the dai tsuchi.

For ranged weapons, the character’s Strength is not always added to the DR of the weapon, depending upon the weapon used. The most common ranged weapons, bows, have a Strength rating of their own that is added to the rolled dice of the projectile’s DR. A yumi has a Strength of 3, for example. Using a yumi to fi re a standard arrow would roll a total of 5k2 (Strength 3 plus the arrow’s DR of 2k2) for damage from a successful attack roll.

Another kind of damage roll is the unarmed damage roll. A character that has made a successful attack against an opponent using only his bare hands inflicts unarmed damage. Unarmed attacks normally have a DR of 0k1, which means the character rolls a number of dice equal to his Strength, and keeps one.


Ambush & Other Surprises
Under certain circumstances, it is possible for one group of combatants to surprise another. If the GM rules that one group is unaware of another’s presence, the hidden group may attempt to make a surprise attack. They make a Contested Stealth (Ambush) / Agility roll opposed by the unaware group’s Investigation (Notice) / Perception before the first Stage of the skirmish begins. This roll may either use the Cumulative Skill Rolls rule or, if the GM prefers, be made by the group leader.

If the ambushing party wins, all characters in the surprised party suffer a penalty of -10 to their Initiative Score for the duration of the skirmish. If the party being ambushed wins the Contested Roll, then nothing happens and the skirmish immediately proceeds to Stage 1.