Combat

Turn Order: Who Goes First

To determine who goes first, roll a D20 plus your Initiative total. Whoever has the highest score (roll + Initiative) goes first, followed by the second highest player, and so on. In some cases, your opponent will go first.

What Counts As An “Action”

You have a limited number of actions available per turn — usually, only 1 per turn. An “action” is any time you do one of the following:

Use a super power, weapon, armor, or other item.
Move more than 5 feet in any direction.
Talk for more than 5 seconds.
Do anything for more than 5 seconds.

The Story Master can override any of the above rules when necessary. For example, he/she may allow you to talk longer, complete a task, or do other things for more than 5 seconds, without it counting as your turn.

You can also “delay” your action. This temporarily skips your turn and lets everyone else go ahead of you. Once they have all completed their turn, you may take your action then. If you do not, you lose your opportunity to do an action until your next turn.

When being attacked, you may use one power or equipment of your choice that has the Prevent Damage stat, as a defensive action to reduce (or eliminate) the incoming damage. This defensive action does not count as a standard “action”. However, you may only use one defensive power or equipment per attack. And that power/equipment can only be used to reduce the incoming attack damage.

If you want to use multiple powers or equipment to further reduce incoming damage, the additional power(s)/equipment(s) used each cost 1 additional action. If you haven’t taken an action yet this turn, you can use it now. When your actual turn comes, if you have no remaining available actions, you will just be skipped until your next turn.

Using Powers / Equipment

You may use any power you have already created/added to your character, provided that your total Power stat is equal to or greater than the power’s individual Power Required. You do not need to spend additional energy to “use” a power once it’s been created. Activating/using a power costs an action, nothing more.

Using or activating any equipment (weapon, armor, or other) also counts as an action.

Team Attacks

You can work together as a team and attack a higher level opponent at once, combining your total collective damage as one single attack. Team size is limited based on character levels. Subtract the highest level of the character in the team attack, from the level of the opponent being attacked. The difference is the maximum number of team members allowed to attack together.

For example, there are four players in your group, levels 3, 4, 5, and 7 respectively. You’re facing a powerful level 10 monster. The highest level player in your team is 7. Subtract that from the level of the monster, 10. The difference is 3: up to three people can simultaneously attack the level 10 monster together.

The team attack counts as one combined singular attack, adding the total damage from all participating team members. Individual team members may still roll for critical hits. One person may roll again for the team attack, to see if collectively the attack is a critical hit or not. Be careful — if the team attack is a critical fail, the total combined damage applies to all attacking team members individually.

Critical Hits and Critical Fails

Every time you attack, roll a D20 to check for critical hit/critical fail. If you roll a “20″, it’s a critical hit. Your attack is guaranteed to be successful (it cannot be resisted or dodged) and all of your power/weapon variable totals (including damage amount) are doubled for that action.

If you roll a “1″, it’s a critical fail. All of your power’s/weapon’s variable totals (including damage amount) are halved for that action. In addition, you’ll also need to roll a D4: If you roll a “1″, you attack yourself instead of your target. If you roll a “2″ or “3″, it hits a random target (ally, enemy, or otherwise). If you roll a “4″, you hit your intended target (but remember, with half its normal effectiveness).

By default, all players have a critical hit range of “20″ to “20″, and a critical fail range of “1″ to “1″.

Certain races, classes, and specials can increase or decrease the range of these rolls. A critical hit range could be increased to, for example, “18″ and “20″; a critical fail range can be increased to “1″ to “3″. It’s also possible to decrease a critical hit or fail range outside the possibilities of a D20 roll (example: “21″ to “20″ to critical hit; or “0″ to “1″ to critical fail), making it impossible to perform a critical hit or critical fail.

Rising Criticals

When you attack or heal a target, if you roll a critical, the total amount is doubled. However, you have the option to try to roll for another critical hit a second time in a row. If you succeed, your total is doubled again (4x the original value). You can try rolling for a critical hit a third time. If that also succeeds, your total is doubled a third time (8x the original value). You can keep doing this an unlimited number of times, doubling your total each time you consecutively roll a critical hit, as long as you roll a critical hit each time. If at any time during this process you roll a critical fail, your current total is halved and all other normal critical fail rules apply (meaning, you may end up hurting yourself or an unintended target).

Trying to Dodge

If you’re being attacked and want to try to dodge or avoid it, you can attempt a “dodge”. This is optional — and only available if it’s plausible within the context of the story, environment, and circumstances. (Example: If you’re trapped inside a small holding cell, you probably can’t dodge. But if you’re outside in a wide open field, you definitely have that option.)

The defending player, if he/she wants to dodge, must roll a D20 and add his/her Evasion total. The attacking player may try to compensate by rolling a D20 and adding his/her Accuracy total. If the defender has a higher score, the attack is successfully avoided. If the attacker has a higher score, the attack is a successful hit. Certain races, classes, and specials can add or subtract bonuses to these rolls.

Area of effect/radial attacks cannot be dodged, unless you can somehow explain and justify it. Your Story Master has to agree.

Trying to Resist

Not all powers or equipment are designed to simply do damage to your stats/skills. Some have “other effects”, such as teleporting, shape-shifting, flying, reading minds, etc. If one of those effects is being used on you in an unwanted way, you can try to “resist” it.

Roll a D20 and add your Resistance total. The other player will do the same, attempting to resist your resistance. If your Resistance + D20 is higher than theirs, you successfully resist the unwanted effects of their power/equipment. If their Resistance + D20 is higher than yours, your resistance failed, and their power/equipment works as intended. Certain races, classes, and specials can add or subtract bonuses to these rolls.

Calculating Damage

Once an attack is successful, damage is calculated. If the defender has armor or a defensive super power, he/she can use it to reduce (or hopefully eliminate) any incoming damage. Subtract the armor’s Prevent Damage total from the attack damage total. The remaining damage is applied to the targeted stat.

Any stat can be attacked; any stat can be protected. That’s defined when customizing a power, weapon, and/or armor. If an attack targets Health, and an armor protects Power, you cannot use the armor to reduce the incoming damage. That armor would only protect against attacks against Power. If there is no armor to protect the stat, the stat takes the full attack damage amount.

Powers and armors can only protect one stat each. Powers and weapons can only attack one stat each. However you can have as many powers and equipment items as you want and can afford.

It does NOT cost an action to defend (using Prevent Damage only) with any equipment that is easily accessible or already brought out. However, if your equipment is “put away” somehow, it does require an action to bring it out and use it, even if only defensively. For example, armor that you’re wearing or a shield that you’re carrying is readily available to defend with. However, a special force field generator that’s currently in your backpack would require an action to grab and activate.

Elemental Attacks

Powers and equipment can use elemental magic. Each element has one opposing element. For example, Fire is opposed to Ice. If a Fire-based attack hits an Ice-based target, it deals double the normal damage. However, damage is only doubled towards opposing elements. For example, a Fire-based attack against an Earth-based target would have no special effect; damage would be calculated normally.

If you attack a target of the same element, any damage is instantly converted into healing. For example, using a Fire-based attack on a Fire-based target would heal it, not harm it.

Defensive Actions

Normally you can only take actions on your turn, but if someone is attacking you, you have a few options available.

Option 1: If their attack causes damage, you can try to “dodge” it. Roll a D20 and add your Evasion total. Your opponent will roll a D20 and add his/her Accuracy total. If your total is higher than theirs, you successfully dodge the attack and avoid taking damage.

Option 2: If their attack has some other effect (such as moving, transforming, applying a status effect, etc), you can try to “resist” its non-damaging/non-healing effects. Roll a D20 and add your Resistance total. Your opponent will do the same. If your roll + Resistance is higher than theirs, you successfully resisted the unwanted effects of their power or equipment.

Option 3: If you have defensive equipment (such as body armor or a shield; anything that has points in Prevent Damage) and that equipment is already out and/or immediately accessible, you can use it to reduce (and hopefully eliminate) incoming damage from an attack. The same applies to a super power that has Prevent Damage — but only its Prevent Damage applies. If your equipment or power can also cause damage or has other features/effects, those do not apply when using them defensively.

Please note that Prevent Damage only applies to one stat/skill. It does not protect any other stats/skills. So if someone’s attacking you with Mental damage, and your armor only protects your Health, it can’t be used defensively and won’t shield you from any Mental damage.

Heal/Damage vs Buff/Debuff

Powers and equipment can heal/buff as well as damage/debuff a specific stat or skill. If reasonable for your particular power/equipment, you have the option each time you use it to decide if it heals or buffs; if it damages or debuffs. What’s the difference?

Buffs and debuffs are limited by the Turn Duration. Their bonus/penalty disappears when the Turn Duration expires. Damage and healing, however, are permanent.

Damage can be blocked by armor/protective powers using Prevent Damage.
Debuffs ignore Prevent Damage, but can be potentially be resisted with Resistance.
Healing can only restore a damaged stat up to 100%.
A buff can put any stat above 100%, temporarily.

When attacking or healing, you decide (if possible/plausible for your power or equipment) if the roll is a temporary “buff/debuff” or a permanent “healing/damage” roll. You must decide this before rolling.

On Death and Dying

If your Health goes below “0″, your character falls unconscious. You remain unconscious and unable to take any actions until your Health is somehow restored to “0″ or higher. If your health goes below -100% of its normal total, your character dies. For example, if your total Health is normally “50″ at full Health, you would be knocked unconscious at “-1″ Health, and die at “-51″ Health or worse.

Even if your character dies, he/she can still be revived with an appropriate resurrection super power, or any story-related event or task the Story Master creates to allow you to be resurrected. But the Story Master is not required to provide any such opportunity. And if no one else in your group has the ability to revive the dead, your character is gone. But you can always start over with a new character.

Only damage to the Health stat can permanently end a character. Damage to other stats will cause you to suffer penalties and limit your character in many ways, but they won’t ever kill you.

Your Self-Healing stat remains active even while unconscious, but deactivates upon death.

Damaging the Power Stat

Power is required to create custom super powers. If your Power stat is damaged, it may limit your ability to use certain already-created super powers. Your total Power must be equal to or greater than the Power Required for any given super power. If your total Power is less than your power’s “Power Required”, you can’t use that power until your Power stat is healed or increased.

This can be an effective strategy in disabling certain extremely powerful opponents. For example, if a monster is relying on a super power that requires 200 Power, and the monster only has 200 Power in total, damaging its Power stat by only 1 point will prevent it from using that super power any more.

Damaging Skills

If you damage an opponent’s skill below “0″, he or she suffers penalties to any skill-related rolls. Damage a skill far enough, and the Story Master may make that character temporarily disabled or suffer some other consequence. Depending on the power/weapon used, the specific skill damaged, and other considerations, your Story Master will choose exactly what the significant skill loss means for that character. Options include, but are not limited to:

The character…

falls asleep/goes unconscious.
can’t take any combat actions for so many turns, but is otherwise awake and active.
can’t use certain powers or equipment that rely on that particular skill.
becomes immobilized, paralyzed, unable to function.
refuses to continue mission until his/her skill is healed.
suffers some other consequence.

Normally, damaging a character’s skill total to “-20″ or worse is considered putting that character into a “crisis”. A character in crisis has no motivation, focus, or ability to fight, continue the mission, or deal with any problems or challenges of any kind. The character may be disabled and unconscious, or simply useless and helpless, until that skill is healed or 1 hour per level has passed, whichever comes first. Again, the Story Master ultimately decides what this significant of a skill loss would mean, and if the duration is longer or shorter than normal. However, the Story Master can also decide that no special consequence is necessary at all. It could simply be that the character now has a penalty to any skill-related rolls, but nothing more.

Damaging, Repairing, and Sacrificing Equipment

Instead of attacking a character, you can choose to attack his/her weapon, armor, or other equipment. Simply state which item you’re attacking instead. The character receives no damage, only that item. If you deal more damage to that item than its total Item Durability, you destroy it.

For attacks that cause area of effect/radial damage, normally only the defending character receives damage and not his/her equipment. However, in any attack, the defending character can sacrifice his/her equipment to reduce the personal damage received. The equipment takes the damage instead, up to its maximum Item Durability. Any remaining damage goes directly to the character. The defending character divides the damage between him/herself and the equipment as desired. For example, if an explosion causes 100 damage, a character can shield himself from some of the blast by covering his face with his broadsword; the broadsword takes 20 damage and the character takes the remaining 80. If the broadsword has more than 20 Item Durability, it won’t be destroyed, but keeps that damage and is now easier to be completely destroyed.

This only applies if/when the defending character wants to sacrifice part or all of an equipment item to further reduce the damage he/she receives directly. He/she doesn’t have to sacrifice any equipment at all and can take the normal damage.

Remember, that a power or item’s Prevent Damage first reduces any incoming damage. So, for example, if you have a shield with 50 Prevent Damage and 100 Item Durability, and you’re in the middle of a hailstorm that’s causing 200 area damage, here’s how you’d calculate it: 200 area damage (from hailstorm) – 50 Prevent Damage (from shield) = 150 area damage. If you don’t want to take all that personally, you can sacrifice your shield (up to its 100 Item Durability), reducing the area damage down to 50 points that you personally receive. You lost your shield in the process, but it’s much better than the alternative.

Armors do not take Item Durability damage unless attacked directly or sacrificed.

Equipment can be repaired at any time that’s plausible and reasonable (within story, environment, materials available, character skill, etc) for $0.50 per Item Durability point repaired. However, once an Item Durability is “0″ or less, it is completely destroyed and cannot be repaired — it must be rebuilt/repurchased at its normal full cost, as if created new. Repairing is not instant — it takes 1 or more turns, depending on a variety of factors (item complexity, character skill, tools and materials available, etc). Your Story Master will tell you how long it will take. But most of the time, you probably won’t be able to repair an item in the middle of battle anyway.

Escaping from Combat

You can try to run away and/or escape from combat at any time, provided such an opportunity is possible within your current circumstances and environment. F0r example, if you’re fighting in a small enclosed room, there’s really nowhere for you to run or escape to. But outside in the city streets or wilderness, for example, there’s lots of opportunities to try to run, hide, and get away.

To try to escape from combat, you must roll a D20 three times, adding your Initiative total to each roll. Pick the highest total of the three rolls. Your opponent with the highest level will do the same thing. If your best roll + Initiative is equal to or higher than their best roll + Initiative, you have successfully escaped from combat. You have up to three turns to hide or get far enough away before your opponent can force you back into combat.

Stealing, Trapping, Holding, Hiding, and Other Misc Combat Activities

For a combat-related action that doesn’t specifically involve a power or equipment, such as stealing another character’s weapon, hiding behind a wall, or holding someone’s arms down to prevent them from attacking — those all involve Skill Checks (see below). Both characters roll a D20 and add the relevant, appropriate skill total. The character with the higher score succeeds. Story Master always makes the final call on which skill or skills apply to any given action.

Skill Checks

Sometimes a situation arises that tests your skills, abilities, expertise, and natural talents. These are your “Skills/Aptitudes”. The total points in any given skill is a bonus to a D20 roll. When competing against another player or character, both of you will roll a D20 and add the relevant skill total. Whoever has the highest roll + skill total wins.

For all other situations and skill checks, the Story Master will determine a minimum total you need to succeed. If your total roll + skill is sufficient, you are successful. If not, you fail and/or are unable to do what you’re trying to do. If the Story Master agrees, different skills can be checked against each other, depending on the situation and what each character is attempting to do.

For example, you’re trying to buy a house to serve as the new headquarters for your team. You have a high Financial skill (you know what it’s really worth), but the real estate agent has a high Social skill (and is trying to persuade you to buy it at the higher price). You’d add your Financial total to your D20 roll; the real estate agent would add her Social total her D20 roll.

As another example, you’re trying to intimidate another player (using your Emotional skill to inspire fear), but the other player is highly religious and would turn to his higher power for guidance and courage. You’d roll a D20 and add your Emotional total; he’d roll a D20 and add his Spiritual total.

But often, you’ll compare the same skills. For example, you’re grabbing a bank robber and trying to hold him captive. That’s a Physical action. The thief, trying to wiggle free and escape, is also using a Physical action. In that case, you’d both roll a D20 and add your individual Physical totals.

Fighting Without Powers or Weapons

Sometimes you may find yourself in a situation where you need to fight — but don’t have any weapons or powers available. You can fight without any powers or weapons, but you probably won’t do much damage.

First, decide what kind of fight it is. Pick the most appropriate skill. If it’s a physical fist fight, use your Physical skill. If it’s a battle of wits or mind games, choose Mental. Trying to cut down your opponent with harsh words and insults? Use your Social skill. When in doubt, ask your Story Master which skill is most accurate. However, most “fights” are physical struggles, so most often your Physical skill will be used.

Your opponent will also chose their most appropriate skill, most often the same one as you. (In rare cases, skills will be mismatched. For example, you might be physically attacking a giant hideous monster while it’s trying to scare you with aggressive stances and loud roars, without ever actually physically fighting back. That would be a case of Physical vs Emotional.)

Both people roll a D20 and add their relevant skill, just like doing a Skill Check. If the attack is unsuccessful, the defender wins and no damage is taken by either side. If the attack successful, the attacker deals damage to the defender’s relevant skill equal to the difference between the attacker’s roll total and the defender’s roll total.

For example:

Superdude is in a hand-to-hand combat with Dr Badbreath.
This is a physical fight, and they’re both engaged. They will both use their Physical skills.
Superdude has 12 Physical. Dr Badbreath has only 5 Physical.
Superdude rolled a “8″ on his D20. Dr Badbreath rolled a “12″.
Superdude’s total is 12 Physical + 8 roll = 20 total.
Dr Badbreath’s total is 5 Physical + 12 roll = 17 total.
Superdude won by 3 points (20 – 17).
Dr Badbreath receives 3 damage to his Physical skill, reducing it from 5 to 2.

Once his Physical skill drops to “-20″ total points or worse, he falls unconscious and the fight is over. He will remain unconscious and unable to take any actions for 1 hour per level. So if Dr Badbreath was at Level 5 when Superdude knocked him unconscious, Dr Badbreath would remain knocked out for 5 hours.

No Health damage is received this way. Only weapons or powers can cause permanent Health damage.

Note: Be wary of attacking someone this way. If they still have powers or weapons available, they can attack your Health while you’re busy annoying them with Skill Checks.

Also note: if both characters are opposing Elemental types, damage is doubled here too.

Gaining Experience

After combat ends, provided you won or faced an incredibly tough enemy, you will be awarded Experience Points. Your Story Master will decide how many points are appropriate. You can also gain Experience Points through solving puzzles, completing missions, and a variety of other ways. After you’ve acquired enough Experience Points, you can level up and evolve your character.

Everything Else

For all other rules and questions, including how to apply or interpret the above rules, are at the discretion and final say of the Story Master. This is his/her story; his/her rules.