House Rules: Combat

Combat overview

In general, a combat round proceeds as follows:

• Initiative is determined.
• Combatants perform actions. Some of these actions might be attacks.
• If attacks are made, the target can dodge in one of two ways.
• Damage is determined.
• Any further complications are taken into account.

Initiative

So, suppose that Jim has a DEX of 16. At the beginning of a round, he rolls 1D10 to determine his initiative. If he rolls 6, then his initiative is 22. He will get one action at 22, one action at 12, and one action at 2. He may, if he wishes, hold all his actions until the end of the round and use them at initiative 3, 2 and 1. However, with the exception noted below, Jim cannot act twice before 12, nor act three times before 2.

Actions

Unless something is specifically called a free action, however, it is assumed to be simply an "action" and must be performed in accordance with the initiative rules above. Typical actions include:

• Attacking
• Moving (5 yards or less)
• Drawing or preparing a weapon
• Blocking or (actively) dodging an attack

Attacking

Damage Bonus

If you are especially large and/or strong, you do more damage in hand to hand combat. Conversely, if you are especially small and/or weak, you do less. At character generation, you should have noted if you have a damage bonus. If you have a damage bonus, be sure to take it into account when calculating damage.

Crits and Fumbles

If you roll double digits on a successful attack roll, you made a crit. Similarly, if you roll double digits on an attack roll that you fail, it's a fumble. Also, a roll of 01 is always a crit, and a roll of 00 is always a fumble. The effect of a crit or a fumble is up to the GM, but some sample consequences of a crit include:

• Double damage
• Attacker gets to choose the amount of damage
• Attacker knocks target unconscious
• Target is disarmed

Likewise, some sample consequences of a fumble include:

• Gun jams
• Weapon breaks
• Weapon gets dropped
• Attacker gets off balance, loses next action

Martial Arts

The Martial Arts skill presents another way to get a crit. All Martial Art skills have an area of specialty; unless otherwise noted, a Martial Arts skill is assumed to be in the area of hand-to-hand combat. If an attack roll is also under the level of the Martial Arts skill, and the attack was in that skill's specialty, then the attack is automatically a crit.

Grapple

Grapple is a special type of hand-to-hand attack, described below.

Dodging and Blocking

Passive Dodges

Any attack (except a grapple) can be passively dodged, and passively dodging requires no action. However, only one attack per initiative can be passively dodged.

A passive dodge is rolled against your Dodge skill. For every decile by which you succeed, subtract 1 HP from the attack. However, any attack passively dodged will do at least 1 HP of damage. There is no penalty for failing a passive dodge.

Active Dodges

Any attack can be avoided with an active dodge. Active dodges are rolled against the Dodge skill; if the roll succeeds the target avoids all damage. If the roll fails, the target takes full damage.

Active dodges require an action to perform. However, one can use an action to perform an active dodge even before one would normally have been able to use that action. In other words, you can "borrow" actions from later in the round if (and only if) you are using them to perform active dodges.

Blocking

Weapons can be used to block other weapons. This requires an action, and is rolled against your skill in the weapon. (However, a rifle used to block an axe would be considered a club for the purposes of blocking.) A success means that the weapon takes the damage instead of you. A crit on the block means that neither you nor the weapon take damage. (You can get a crit on the block either through double digits, or use of a Martial Arts skill of the right specialty.)

The Grapple

Once someone is grappled, the grappler can do one of four things:

1. Throw the target to the ground (automatic success).
2. Immobilize the target-- target may try to escape by a STR v STR roll, once per action (of the target's), or
3. Break the target's bones. 1D6 + Damage Bonus per attacker's action. Again, target may attempt STR v. STR roll once per action to escape.
4. Strangle the target. Proceeds according to Drowning rules: target must make CON * 10 first action (target's), CON * 9 second action, CON * 8 third, etc. If target fails any roll, target falls unconscious. Again, target may attempt STR v STR roll each action to escape.

Damage

• DOS = Degree of Success
• DB = Damage Bonus
• Standard Call of Cthulhu rules apply for firearms and ranges.