By Night Studios: Basic Combat System Overview

Transcription

1 By Night Studios: Basic Combat System Overview System Basics: An evolution from the previous rules, there are many aspects of By Nights Studio s system that are at once familiar, and also at the same time surprisingly unfamiliar. At it s core, the By Night Studios (BNS for short) system uses two types of systems to determine challenges: Static Challenges, and Opposed Challenges: Static challenges are tested against the Storyteller. Opposed challenges are tested against another player. Both require tests to be made based on character traits and using the Rock Paper Scissors system. Rock beats scissors and ties with rock, scissors beats paper and ties with scissors, and paper beats rock and ties with paper. If the player loses in a static challenge, or if either player loses in an opposed challenge, a willpower can be spent to re test. This can be done only once per test. This is the basis for the entire system, but obviously it does not end there. But we will cover the mechanics for each test in turn first before going into further detail. First though, to continue you will need to know what your test pool is. The test pool is as follows for all challenges: Test Pool: Attribute+Skill+Wildcard Attributes are simple, and broken into Physical, Social, and Mental. Skill is the appropriate skill for the test.

2 Wildcard is the bonus you receive from elsewhere. This includes equipment, merits, other characters, disciplines, etc. Static Challenges: As stated previously, a static challenge is a test made against the storyteller. The storyteller will set a difficulty rating for the challenge, and then the player will throw a test against the storyteller. Depending on the conditions of the test, it will have some outcomes: Outright win: the player succeeds and compares his traits to the difficulty rating to check for an exceptional success (more on this later). Tie: traits are compared. If the player has more traits than the difficulty rating, they succeed. It is not possible to score an exceptional success on a tie. Lose: The player loses. They may spend willpower to re test once. Automatic Success: If you have twice the test pool of the difficulty rating of a static challenge, the Storyteller may opt that you succeed to speed up play. So a simple formula for Static Challenges are: Check Difficulty Rating Test Compare Traits See Results Opposed Challenges: Opposed challenges are made against other players, and they use the same formula as before to resolve the challenges. There are some differences in trait comparisons: instead of a target difficulty to compare traits to, the aggressor will test his his offensive traits against his opponent s defensive traits. The first step of an opposed challenge comes with declaring a victory condition. Make sure this is something your character is capable of doing, such as using a discipline or punching my opponent. After this, you check your test pool, which is the same as listed for Static Challenges, against the opponent s defensive pool. Physical Defense Pool: Physical Attribute+Skill+Wildcard

3 Mental/Social Defense Pool: Mental/Social Attribute+Willpower+Wildcard After determining your pool and the defender s pool, go to rock paper scissors. Retests: Willpower: In the case of losing a challenge, the loser of a static challenge, or the loser of either side of an opposed challenge may call for a retest. In both cases, you can spend a willpower to force a retest. This can be done once per challenge. Overbidding: In the case of an Opposed Challenge, if your test pool is twice of your opponent s defensive pool, you can call for an overbid. This can be in addition to a Willpower retest, and they do not have be taken in a specific order. Exceptional and Untrained: Exceptional Successes: Exceptional Successes come from winning every test (including retests) in a challenge and also having more traits than either the difficulty or your opponent. This usually means you succeed spectacularly in some fashion. This exceptional success is described in the book under the power used, unless it is general damage in which case the attacker adds one damage to his total done. Untrained Tests: If you fail a test and do not have the proper skill, you fail spectacularly. Exactly what happens will be up to the Storyteller. Note, if you tie and do not have enough traits, you simply fail. Combat: In any setting, combat becomes a reality at some point or another. It s important to remember that the basic system for combat is essentially a series of Opposed Challenges. As combat starts, all players should be aware of their Initiative and the duration of the Turn. Initiative: Equal to a character s physical or mental attribute, whichever of the two is greater. If two or more characters have the same initiative then the one with the highest mental traits goes first, if those are the same then the one with the highest physical traits goes first, if those are the same than the one with the highest social traits goes first. If all traits are the same than the order is chosen randomly. Turn: Roughly 3 seconds of time. They are broken down into the Everyman round and Celerity Rounds. Everyman Round: The round everyone can act normally.

4 Celerity Rounds: Extra actions allowed by characters who can act more than once per turn. Actions: A character can take two types of actions in a turn, one Simple and one Standard action. Simple Action: An action that does not require an opposed or static challenge. Examples include using a discipline on yourself, drawing a weapon, or running around a corner. Standard Action: Any action requiring any form of challenge. Examples are attacking someone or picking a lock. Movement: How a character can move in a given turn of combat. A single action, either simple or standard, can move a character 3 steps. If they use both, they can move 6 steps in total. Advanced Movement: this would include jumping, climbing, swimming, and usually has a static challenge associated with it, and is a Standard action rather than a Simple. Fair Escape: You may attempt to fair escape any time you may take an action, even in Celerity Rounds. To fair escape, make your intent clear on your initiative. If for the remainder of the round (not turn) you are not subject to a Challenge against your Physical attribute, including Mental or Social challenges which would target it. If no such Test occurs, you fair escape. If you are subject to a test, even if it fails, your fair escape is unsuccessful. If it is not possible to physically attack the character, the fair escape succeeds automatically. Now that we ve gone over the types of actions and the basics needed for combat, let s look at the steps to take for combat. Stages of Combat: Step 1: Mediation Sometimes, to help move along the story, players can come to an agreement that allow all of their characters stories to progress. This is an agreement that the Storyteller approves and that both players agree to. If no agreement can be found, then the scene moves to Challenges. Step 2: Storyteller Assessment At this point the Storyteller freezes the scene to see who will be involved and what is happening with the players. This will only usually occur in larger combats when their are many moving pieces. Step 3: Order of Action

5 Moving from the action that initiated the combat, all following actions follow the Initiative Order. Players may act on or after their Initiative. Some factors to consider are as follows: Surprise Action: When a player starts a combat, their character takes a single action, either simple or standard, outside of the initiative order. This action will be resolved before anyone else can respond. All remaining actions are resolved normally on the character s initiative. Delayed Action: A player may choose to delay their action until later in the turn, either after another character or if certain events happen. If they delay until another character acts, then the character on their natural Initiative resolves their action first. If two or more characters delay to the same point, the higher Initiative modifier goes first. Step 4: Celerity Rounds Actions taken after the everyman round, but by characters who have supernatural speed in some fashion, may act in an order of Celerity rounds. They follow as previously stated in Initiative Order until all Celerity actions are finished. After all Celerity rounds (if any) have finished, the next turn begins. Types of Attacks: The following is a list of attacks a character could utilize Unarmed Attack: Physical Attribute+Brawl vs. Physical Attribute+Dodge+Wild Card Melee Attack: Physical Attribute+Melee vs. Physical Attribute+Dodge+Wild Card Thrown Attack: Physical Attribute+Athletics vs. Physical Attribute+Dodge+Wild Card Firearms Attack: Physical Attribute+Firearms+Wildcard (Athletics can replace Firearms for bows and crossbows, and if you are Wits Focused, you can replace Physical with Mental) Mental/Social Attacks: Mental/Social Attribute+Appropriate Skill vs. Mental/Social Attribute+Willpower. Mental/Social vs. Physical Attack: Mental/Social Attribute+Appropriate Skill vs. Physical Attribute+Dodge+Wild Card Mass Combat: Mass combat involves more than two characters, rather than one on one fights. It has several points that must be remembered at all times, but for the most part works exactly like normal combat otherwise.

6 Maximum Attacks per Round: A character can only be targeted by so many challenges in a round. 2 Physical 1 Mental 1 Social These apply even if any of the above challenges fail. Mixed Challenges: A mixed challenge is any challenge which compares two different attributes. Such as a Physical Challenge against a Mental Challenge. To determine maximum attacks in a given round, use the defender s attribute. Mass Combat Tactics: In a mass combat, there are two actions that can be taken in lieu of one of your own actions. Assist Attacker Assist Defender Assist Attacker: Declare which attacker you are assisting, and how you are assisting them. This will allow a combat maneuver to be used without the expenditure of Willpower. This requires an expenditure of the assistant s Standard action. Assist Defender: Declare which character you are assisting, and how you are assisting them. Doing so makes you the target of the attack, instead of the intended target. This tactic may be used even if the character has already been subject to two attacks in the round. In such a circumstance the character may be subject to an additional attack that round beyond the physical attack maximum. Health: A measure of how much damage your character can take. By default, there are three levels of injury, each with three levels of damage that can be sustained. Merits or other abilities can increase the amount of health levels, but the three categories of injury are always consistent. The levels of damage are as follows: Healthy Injured Incapacitated (When Incapacitated the character loses their simple action every round until no longer Incapacitated)

7 Stamina Focus: If you are stamina focused, you gain an extra level of health per tier of damage, and also ignore wound penalties for being incapacitated. Staking: If a vampire is in the incapacitated wound level they may be staked by a weapon with the staking quality. The aggressor must use the Pierce the Heart combat manuever, but if successful the target falls into torpor. A ST, in certain situations such as torpor, sleep, or helplessness, may allow a staking action on a target above the incapacitated wound level. Damage Types: Damage is broken into two kinds of damage: normal and aggravated. Normal Damage: Damage that simply bashes, pierces, or slashes your character. Aggravated Damage: Damage that your character is more susceptible too, such as Fire or Sunlight for vampires or the claws and teeth of other supernaturals. Characters who lose all levels of damage fall into several categories, depending on what they are. Living characters die when they lose all levels of health and take three (3) or more points of damage. If they are knocked unconscious from damage they will die in 5 turns instead. Vampiric characters do not die when losing all health levels, but instead fall into torpor. From there, a greater effort must be undertaken to either destroy the vampire s body or remove their head. Examples include: Taking a simple AND standard action to remove the vampire s head Spending 3 turns to destroy a vampire s body with blunt trauma Throwing a vampire off something high enough that they fall for 3 turns Lighting a vampire s body on fire and letting it burn for 3 turns. Willpower: Willpower can be spent as a resource for a variety of factors. Each character starts with 6 points of Willpower (Unless it possesses the merit Unyielding ). You may use willpower in the following ways: Retests: Spending a point of willpower will allow a player to retest a single challenge, either Static or Opposed. However, it may only be used once per challenge by the losing side. Combat Maneuvers: To perform a combat maneuver from the book, it usually requires an expenditure of Willpower.

8 Resistance: You may add your *current* willpower in challenges to resist mental and social attacks. Regaining Willpower: Willpower can be regained in two fashions, Storyteller or Player acknowledgement. Player Acknowledgement: Acknowledging a player for excellent roleplay will allow them to refresh a single point of Willpower. Storyteller Acknowledgement: When a Storyteller acknowledges a player, they can be allowed to refresh some or all of their spent willpower, up to the Storyteller discretion. This is the basic summary of the By Night Studios ruleset. By no means it is exhaustive, but it should help you be familiar enough to perform at game. Enjoy your time and go out there and RP! The Combat Mechanics can be found in By Night Studios s Mind s Eye Theater: Vampire the Masquerade book which can be purchased from Drivethru RPG: Eye Theatre Vampire The Masquerade. Some materials are copyright 2014 and trademarked by By Night Studios.