fatal

Chapter 10: Combat
Surprise
The beginning of each combat may be unannounced
by the attacker, such as in an ambush.
In fact, it often is not. If a character is unaware of
a foe, then the foe may attack once and the victim is
unable to retaliate that round; a foe who attacks with
surprise gains a free attack. After the single surprise
attack, initiative must be rolled by all parties involved
who are able to respond.
When a foe surprises a character, a bonus
of 3d10 is applied to the skill check for the first, and
only the first, attack. Thereafter, provided the initial
attack did not debilitate or kill the character, the
character may respond normally or without penalty,
voiding the bonus to the attack skill check.
Initiative
At the beginning of each round, an initiative
roll is made for each attack to determine the
order of attacks. A high initiative roll is desirable,
allowing a combatant to react before those with
lower initiative. Consult the Reaction Speed subability
(see Chap. 3: Abilities) to obtain a modifier.
Depending on the scale of the combat, the Aedile
may opt for each player to roll separately, or for 1
roll to be made for each group of combatants. If
group rolls are used, then individual modifiers are
not included. Normally, each player rolls for their
own character, adjusting their initiative according to
the Skill Modifier listed under the Reaction Speed
sub-ability, Breadth, and the Delivery Penalty (DP)
for their weapon. Breadth is only for melee weapons
and first attacks in combat:
Initiative = (1d100) +/- (Reaction Speed Skill
Mod.) + (Breadth) - (DP)
The results of all initiative rolls are announced,
and those with the higher initiative act first.
Weapons are usually not as fast as fists or one’s own
body, so a Delivery Penalty (see Chap. 9: Equipment)
applies negatively to an initiative with a weapon.
Regarding movement, each 10% of a character’s
Sprint speed traveled before an attack incurs a - 10
modifier to initiative.
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Intentions
The intentions of a character may change
each second in combat. However, some actions take
longer than a second to perform. Once an action
has been started, a character must pass a Reaction
Speed skill check at TH 17 to immediately change
their intentions. Otherwise, the Aedile may declare
that their intentions cannot change until the next
second or round, depending on their discretion.
For example, a human may intend to attack
a kobold, but 1 second into the round a bugbear
kills the kobold. At this moment, the human may
attempt to change his intentions and instead attack
the bugbear. The player of the human character
rolls and fails their Reaction Speed check. Therefore,
the human’s mental reactions are slow enough
that they are unable to stop their attack on the
kobold.
Life Points
A character’s Life Points (LP) are a measure
of how much damage the character can sustain before
falling unconscious or dead. As characters increase
in occupational level, they do not gain additional
LP. Upon character creation, the LP Modifiers
from Strength, Health, and Drive (see Chap. 3:
Abilities)are applied directly to the Base LP, which
are determined according to race (see Chap. 1: Race
and Gender). The result is the LP of the character.
When a character is reduced to 20% of their LP,
they are unconscious; upon being reduced to 0, the
character is dead.
MEMENTO.MORI
Remember that you die.