Xceptional Combat

COMBAT SEQUENCE

Initiative

Combatants roll Initiative on 1d5. (Roll one six-sided die and count the six as a zero.)

Combatants take turns in order from highest to lowest Initiative roll.

In the event of a tie, Player Characters act before GM controlled NPC's (Non-Player Characters.)

Movement

On their turn a character can move up to their Initiative roll in inches on the tabletop.

If a 0 was rolled for Initiative the character can still move 1 inch.

Following Movement a character can attempt an Offensive Action.

Offensive Action:
MAKING A HIT!

After moving a character can attempt an Offensive Action (Strike, Aim, Focus) if they have a legal target.

To succeed at an Offensive Action, the player must roll:

"Combat Rank in Offensive Action" X "Ability Score relative to the Combat Rank" or less with a 5x5 roll.

Success is referred to as Making a Hit.


For example: To Make a Hit with a Strike Rank of 2 and a Rage Ability Score of 3, the player would need to roll (2 x 3 =) 6 or less on a 5x5 roll.

Once an attacker Makes a Hit, the target must roll to Control the Hit.


Defensive Action:
CONTROLLING THE HIT!

Controlling the Hit is a Defensive Action. Defensive Actions (Parry, Dodge, Resist) are attempted after an enemy has successfully Made a Hit against a character.

To succeed at a Defensive Action, the player must roll:

"Combat Rank in Defensive Action" X "Ability Score relative to the Combat Rank" or less with a 5x5 roll.

Success is referred to as Controlling the Hit.

For Example: to Control the Hit made against them with a Focus Offensive Action, the player with a Resist Rank of 1 and a Precognition Ability Score of 2 would need to roll (1 x 2 =) 2 or less on a 5x5 roll.

Defensive Actions are paired with their Offensive Action counter parts. Defenders must use the Defensive Action relative to the Offensive action that Made the Hit when attempting to Control the Hit.

Use Parry to Control the Hit from a Strike attack.

Use Dodge to Control the Hit from an Aim attack.

Use Resist to Control the Hit from a Focus attack.

ASSIGNING DAMAGE

A character who has been the successful target of an Offensive Action has Taken a Hit. A character that has Taken a Hit must reduce one of their three Ability Scores by 1. An Ability Score reduced by Taking a Hit is: Damaged. If any Ability Score is reduced to 0 the character is rendered Unconscious.

When a character succeeds in a Defensive Action, they Control the Hit. If the Defender Controls the Hit, they choose which of their Ability Scores to Damage.

If the Defending character fails in their Defensive Action, they do not Control the Hit. If the Defender does not Control the Hit, the Attacker chooses which Ability Score the Defender must reduce.

ATTACK SUMMARY

Attacker rolls to Make a Hit.
Is the attack roll equal to or lower than:
Offensive Rank X Ability Score?

NO: The Attacker's turn ends and the turn passes to the next player in the initiative order.

YES: Defender rolls to Control the Hit.


Defender rolls to Control the Hit.
Is the defense roll equal to or lower than:
Defensive Rank X Ability Score?

NO: Attacker selects which of the Defender's Ability Scores to reduce by 1.

YES: Defender selects which Ability Score to reduce by 1.

CRITICAL SUCCESSES

If an Offensive or Defensive Action is successful AND the 5x5 roll shows DOUBLES (both dice show the same number) the action produces a Critical Success.

Offensive Critical Success

If the result of an Offensive Action is a Critical Success, the Attacker has Made a Double Hit.

The Defender of a Double Hit must attempt two Control the Hit rolls as though they were the target of two simultaneous successful attacks.

Defensive Critical Success

If the result of a Defensive Action is a Critical Success, the Defender has Blocked the Hit.

If a Defender has Blocked the Hit, the Hit is completely eliminated and no Ability Score is reduced; no Damage taken.

The Effects of Damage

When an Ability Score is reduced by a Hit, this immediately impacts the Damaged character's effectiveness in combat. When rolling Offensive and Defensive combat actions always multiply the Combat Rank by the character's current (damaged) Ability Score.

UNCONCIOUSNESS AND DEATH

If an Ability Score is reduced to a value of 0, the character is rendered Unconscious.

If any single Ability Score is reduced to a value of less than 0, or if any two Ability Scores are ever both equal to 0 at the same time, the character is Dead.

Instant KO

If any one Ability Score suffers the Damage of two Hits from a single Offensive Action, the defender is rendered Unconscious even if no Ability Score has been reduced to 0.

COMPLETING THE COMBAT

After a character has made an Offensive Action, and the target of that action has had an opportunity to perform a Defensive Action in response, the current player's turn ends, and play is passed to the next character in the turn order.

After all characters in the turn order have had an opportunity to take Offensive Action as described above, the Combat Round ends and a new round begins.

Return to the top of the Combat Sequence and roll new Initiatives for all participants. Continue this pattern until all combatants on one side or the other have been eliminated from the combat.

Once the Combat Encounter has ended all participants on the WINNING side of the conflict gain an immediate Victory Rush.

Victory Rush
Characters (Not Unconscious) getting a Victory Rush instantly regain 1 point to a Damaged Ability Score of their choice.



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That covers the basics of combat. Next is Healing and Recovery.


Regards,






Jeff Moore