Combat

From Hmwiki

Contents 1 Combat Summary Chart 2 +Dice 3 Etiquette 4 Initiative 4.1 Ambush 5 Attacking 5.1 Modifiers 5.2 Complications & Unique Dice Situations 5.3 Wound Penalties 5.4 Weapons charts 6 Damage 6.1 How to Record Damage 6.2 Incapacitation 7 Healing 7.1 Werewolf healing 8 Other Notable Combat-related Actions

< Return to 'New Player's Guide'.

< Return to 'Rules and System' Main index.

Combat doesn't always happen in role play, but when it does, it's best to know how to move quickly through it so that you maintain the dynamic drama of the scene and don't get bogged down in the mechanics of dice.

Below, you'll find a quick guide on how to operate things in the confines of the MUSH.

The World of Darkness corebook lays out all the specifics nicely. If you haven't bought this book yet, you should. The guidelines below reference page numbers so you know where to look for more info.

Combat Summary Chart

See WoD core, 154, for a summary of how combat works in the new WoD, as well as the most common rolls and modifiers.

+Dice

Familiarize yourself with how to use the +DICE system.

See +HELP DICE and, particularly, +HELP DICE-2 on the MUSH.

Etiquette

1. Decide with other players involved whether to call for a Judge or to handle combat without one. A Judge isn't always necessary, particularly if you know and trust the other players involved.
2. Typically agree beforehand whether the combat will be stopped at a certain point. For example, two players can agree to end the combat when one appears seriously wounded (i.e. begins suffering wound penalties) or one character falls unconscious.
3. If you're going to the death, you should have a Judge present. See +NEWS PCDEATH and +NEWS CONSENT on the MUSH for more.
4. Feel free to coordinate with each other using OOC posts or pages. Ask questions when you need to. Don't spam unnecessarily though, and keep OOC chatter to a minimum, as usual. (Players should not needlessly bog down a scene by debating rules.)
5. Move swiftly through the +DICE portion of combat. You don't want to bog down dynamic RP in dice mechanics.
6. Log your combat scenes. Save the unedited log, just in case there are questions later.

Initiative

Initiative marks the start of combat by determining the order of actions. To roll Initiative, type "+INIT". To clear your Initiative, type +init/clear.

See WoD, 151.

Note: The nWoD does not require all players to declare actions at the beginning of a turn. The result is a more organic and natural combat process.

Ambush

See WoD, 151-152, for variables determined by surprise attacks.

Attacking

Your dice pool for attacks is determined by the type of attack. Roll this using the +DICE command. The command differs slightly based on, among other things, the type of attack:

• Unarmed Combat: Strength + Brawl
• Armed Combat: Strength + Weaponry
• Firearms: Dexterity + Firearms
• Throwing Objects: Dexterity + Athletics

(Note: Certain merits can alter these in certain situations.)

See WoD, 152.

Modifiers

All modifiers should be factored in on +DICE rolls. If a player forgets to factor in a modifier that would hurt him or help his opponent, the opponent may call for a reroll if it's within the same turn. Alternately, they may agree to simply subtract the neglected modifier from the roll's successes.

See +HELP DICE-2 on the MUSH.

Sample modifiers include:

• Aiming: See WoD, 162.
• All-out attack: See WoD, 157.
• Armor: Se WoD, 166.
• Charging: See WoD, 164.
• Cover: See WoD, 162.
• Defense: See WoD, 155.
• Dodge: See WoD, 156.
• Going Prone: See WoD, 164.
• Specified Targets: See WoD, 165.

See WoD, 122-123, for more details on modifiers.

Complications & Unique Dice Situations

• Autofire: See WoD, 160 or 161.
• Grappling: See WoD, 157 or 159.
• Falling: See WoD, 178
• Fire: See WoD, 180.
• Poison: See WoD, 180.
• Stun, Knockdown, Knockout, Immobilization: See WoD, 167-68.
• Touching an opponent: See WoD, 157.

Wound Penalties

Each player is responsible for tracking his own wound penalties and including them in a +Dice roll. The +Dice command does not automatically factor in wound penalties. See WoD, 171.

If a player does not factor in wound penalties in his action, another player may call for a reroll if it is within the same turn.

Weapons charts

• Firearms: WoD, 169
• Melee: WoD, 170
• Armor: WoD, 170

Damage

The number of successes on an attack roll equals the number of Health points worth of damage done.

See WoD, 153.

How to Record Damage

If you're doing combat without a Judge, players should track their own damage on their honor. You set your damage with the command: +SELFDAMAGE.

+selfdamage <bashing|lethal|aggravated>=<amount>

Example:

+selfdamage lethal=3

You inflict 3 lethal damage to yourself.

Any Judge/Staffer can set damage on your character.

See WoD, 171-3.

Incapacitation

If all your health boxes are filled and the last box is bashing, immediately +DICE a reflexive Stamina roll to maintain consciousness. See WoD, 173. This comes prior to any supernatural regeneration of wounds or any action taken during your turn. (For werewolves, Death Rage rolls come first though.)

If your last box is filled with lethal damage, you get no Stamina roll to maintain consciousness. You fall unconscious and are bleeding to death. Each minute that passes upgrades 1 lethal to aggravated. If they all go agg, you're dead.

On the flip side, once you heal your rightmost health level, you regain consciousness.

Healing

See WoD, 175 for standard mortal healing rates. If you're doing combat without a Judge, players should track their healing on their honor. If they're using supernatural healing, they should make clear that they've spent the Essence, Blood, etc. to do so.

Werewolf healing

Werewolves regenerate wounds with the following command:

+Regen (bashing|lethal)

This command regenerates one point of bashing or lethal damage. There is no re-use timer on it as turns can go by very quickly. Use it responsibly.

+Essence/heal

This command will heal lethal damage only. It spends one Essence and heals one lethal box of damage.

For more info on werewolf healing and regeneration, see WtF, 168.

See also +Werewolf Essence on the MUSH.

Other Notable Combat-related Actions

Quick reference for other actions:

• Jumping: WoD, 67.
• Climbing: WoD, 64
• Foot chase: WoD, 65
• Throwing: WoD, 67
• Vehicle pursuit: WoD, 69
• Breaking objects: WoD, 136
• Improvised weapons: WoD, 136
• Car crashes: WoD, 144