Ogre:CharacterCodex:Combat:Maneuver
Combat
This section describe all the rules to be use to resolve combat in the game.
- Combat Statistics
- Combat Sequence
- Combat Exhaustion
- Combat Modifiers
- Combat Maneuver
- Injuries and Death
Contents
Combat Maneuver
When fighting you can do more than simply hurt your opponent with your combat skills. While some maneuver ask you to develop a different skill, you can make some interesting things with your basic fighting skills.
Melee Maneuver
Charge
Charging is a Long action that allows a character to move more than his or her speed and attack during the action. However, there are tight restrictions on how and when a character can charge.
Movement during a Charge: The character must move before his or her attack, not after. The character must move at least 10 feet and its maneuverability must allowed charge attack. All movement must be in a straight line, with no backing up allowed. The character must stop as soon as he or she is within striking range of his or her target (the character can’t run past the target and attack from another direction). You cannot charge if your movement is hampered in any way, so you cannot charge if there is any speed penalty from terrain or wounds.
Attacking after a Charge: After moving, the character may make a single melee attack. The character gets a +2 bonus on the attack roll. The character also takes a –2 penalty to his or her Defense during the Long Action.
Parrying
When you attack in melee, you can take a penalty on your attack roll and add the same number as a dodge bonus to your Defense. This mean that you use your weapon to parry incoming attack during your action. This number may not exceed your Melee rank. The Defense bonus is in effect between your attack declaration and your attack resolution. You cannot parry an armed strike when making unarmed attack except if you have the Improved Parrying feat.
Sunder
You can use a melee attack with a slashing or bludgeoning weapon to strike an object in order to break it.
If you’re attempting to sunder an object that your opponent is holding, follow the steps outlined here.
First, you provoke an attack of opportunity from the target whose object you are trying to sunder. You must beat the defender Defense if you want to hit something held by an opponent. If you are using a slashing weapon, you suffer a -4 penalty to your check and a -8 penalty for piercing damage. You also have modifier depending of the size of the item you want to hit. If your skill is successful, you roll damage normally for the object.
| Size | Sunder Modifier |
|---|---|
| Fine | -8 |
| Diminutive | -4 |
| Tiny | -2 |
| Small | -1 |
| Medium | 0 |
| Large | +1 |
| Huge | +2 |
| Gigantic | +4 |
| Colossal | +8 |
See equipment section for an explanation of damage done to equipment.
Grapple
Grappling means wrestling and struggling hand-to-hand. Grappling is an unarmed attack. You can’t grapple any creature more than two size categories larger than the character. However, such a creature can attempt to grapple you.
There are three stages to grappling: grabbing, holding, and pinning.
Grabbing Normally, a grab is just the first step to starting a grapple and allow you to make contact with your opponent. You damage your opponent as an unarmed attack and you automatically hold your opponent.
Holding Once you grab your opponent, you both are now holding each other. While holding an opponent, your actions are more limited.
Pinning Getting the opponent in a pin is often the goal of a grapple. A pinned opponent is held immobile and cannot act.
Starting a Grapple
To start a grapple, you first needs to grab and hold your opponent. Attempting to start a grapple is the equivalent of making a melee attack. Follow these steps.
- Attack of Opportunity: You provokes an attack of opportunity from the opponent you are trying to grapple as with normal unarmed attack. Each point of damage received from the attack of opportunity is a penalty to your grab attempt.
- Grab: You make a melee attack to grab the opponent against his Defense. If you succeed, you damage your opponent and proceed to step 3.
- Hold: As a quick reaction, your opponent can try to break free from your grapple. The opponent must beat your Stability to break free with a Melee, Strike, Sweep or Escape Artist check. If your opponent check failed, he his hold and may lost his current action if they are restricted by the hold. If successful, the opponent break the hold, continue his current action and you are not grappling anymore.
- Maintain the Grapple: To maintain the grapple, you must move into the target’s square as an instantaneous reaction. Moving, as normal, provokes attacks of opportunity from threatening enemies, but not from the grappled opponent.
If you can’t move into the opponent’s square, you can’t maintain the grapple and must immediately let go of the target. To grapple again, the character must begin at step 1.
Grappling Consequences
No Threatened Squares: You and your opponent doesn’t threaten any squares while grappling. This mean that you can only attack the opponent you are grappling or is grappling you. Stability: Instead of using your Defense against an opponent you are holding, you use your Stability to avoid being controlled by the opponent.
No Defense: You and your opponent are considered as No Defense from opponent not participating in the grapple,
No Movement: You and your opponent cannot make move action while grappling.
Limited Action: While your are grappling, your actions and the actions of your opponent are limited.
If you are Holding an opponent
Attack with natural Weapon: You can make an unarmed attack against the opponent using it's Stability as the DC.
Pin: You can make a trip attack against your opponent. If successful, your opponent is prone and pin. A pinned opponent suffer a -4 penalty to Defense and Stability and cannot make any action other than trying to escape from the pin.
Draw a Light Weapon: You can draw a light weapon.
Attack with a Light Weapon: You can attack with a light weapon while grappling but because you need at least one arm to hold the opponent, you can only attack with your primary weapon and suffer a -4 penalty.
Escape from Grapple: You can try to escape the grapple by beating your opponent Stability with a Melee, Strike, Sweep or Escape Artist check.
Make Move Attack: You can make any move attack.
If you are Pinning an opponent
Automatically Damage the Opponent: You can deal normal grappling damage automatically as a normal unarmed melee attack. If you are pinned by an opponent
Escape from Pin: You can try to escape the pin by beating your opponent Stability with a Melee, Strike, Sweep or Escape Artist check. Escaping the pin does not mean that you have escape the grapple, you are still holding your opponent. You are still prone after escaping a pin.
Range Maneuver
Providing Concealment
If your weapon have multishot or spread capacity, you can grant concealment to one of your ally by shooting at opponents and force them to defend instead of attacking efficiently. Concealment is provided during all the range attack resolution. Note that if the opponent have a total failure while attacking the ally your are defending, you make the opportunity attack against your opponent, not you ally.
Multishot Concealment
Concealment provided from multishot is considered a one-quarter concealment. You can only provide concealment against one chosen opponent this way.
Spread Concealment
Concealment provided from spread attack is considered a one-half concealment. You provide concealment against all opponent that would normally be the target of your spread attack.
Charge
As melee charge maneuver except that can only be used with thrown weapon.
Sunder
As melee sunder maneuver except that you deal only half damage to object. You range increment is also reduces to ¼ for this maneuver.
Strike Maneuver
Charge
As melee charge maneuver.
Grapple
As melee grapple maneuver.
Parrying
As melee parrying maneuver except that you can parry armed attack, but you need to take a -2 penalty to get +1 defense bonus.
Sweep maneuver
Grapple
As melee grapple maneuver.
Parrying
As melee parrying maneuver except that you can parry armed attack, but you need to take a -2 penalty to get +1 defense bonus.
Offensive Maneuver
Bull Rush
When you make a bull rush, you attempt to push an opponent straight back instead of damaging him.
First, you move into the defender’s space. Doing this provokes an attack of opportunity from each opponent that threatens you, including the defender. For any attack of opportunity made by anyone other than the defender against you during a bull rush, you have the benefit of a half-cover from your opponent. If the defender’s attack of opportunity deals any damage, your bull rush attempt suffer a penalty equal to the damage you have received.
Second, you make a Move Attack against the Stability of the opponent. If you succeed, you push him back 5 feet. If you wish, you can move with the defender. If you fail, you move 5 feet straight back to where you were before you moved into his space. If that space is occupied, you fall prone in that space.
Disarm
You may attempt to disarm an opponent. Doing so provoke an attack of opportunity from the target you are trying to disarm. If the defender’s attack of opportunity deals any damage, your disarm attempt suffer a penalty equal to the damage you have received.
Make a Disarm check against the Wit resistance of your target. If you succeed using a weapon, you knock the opponent's weapon out of his hands and to the ground within 5 feet. If you succeed the disarm while unarmed, you end up with the weapon in your hand.
You can use a disarm attack to snatch an item worn by the target. If you want to have the item in your hand, the disarm must be made as an unarmed attack. If the item is poorly secured or otherwise easy to snatch or cut away the attacker gets a +4 bonus. This otherwise functions identically to a disarm attempt, as noted above.
Feint
You can mislead an opponent in melee combat so that it can't dodge your next attack or offensive combat maneuver effectively. Make a Feint check against the Wit resistance of your target. If your check is successful, your target suffer a No Defense and a No Reaction status for your attack.
Feinting against a non-humanoid is difficult because it's harder to read a strange creature's body language; you take a -4 penalty on your Bluff check. Against a creature of animal Intelligence (1 or 2) it's even harder; you take a -8 penalty. Against a non-intelligent creature, it's impossible.
Overrun
With an overrun, you attempt to plow past or over your opponent (and move through his square) as you move. Doing so provoke an attack of opportunity from the target you are trying to overrun. If the defender’s attack of opportunity deals any damage, your overrun attempt suffer a penalty equal to the damage you have received.
Opponent Avoids: The defender has the option to simply avoid you. If he avoids you, he doesn’t suffer any ill effect and you may keep moving (You can always move through a square occupied by someone who lets you by.)
Opponent Blocks: If your opponent blocks you, make a Move attack against the defender’s Stability. If you succeed, you knock the defender prone and you can continue your movement as normal. If you fail, you have to move 5 feet back the way you came, ending your movement there. If that square is occupied, you fall prone in that square.
Mounted Overrun (Trample): If you attempt an overrun while mounted and you knock your opponent prone with the overrun, your mount may make one attack of opportunity attack against your opponent.
Switch
A switch attack is done by grabbing your opponent and push him around so you end up in his space and your opponent end up in yours. Doing this provokes an attack of opportunity from each opponent that threatens you, including the defender. For any attack of opportunity made by anyone other than the defender against you during a switch, you have the benefit of a half-cover from your opponent. If the defender’s attack of opportunity deals any damage, your switch attempt suffer a penalty equal to the damage you have received. If you succeed a Move attack against your opponent Stability, you have switch place. If you failed, you stay in the exact same spot as you were before.
Trip
You can trip your opponent so it end prone by making a Move attack against the target Stability resistance. Doing so provoke an attack of opportunity from the target you are trying to trip. If the defender’s attack of opportunity deals any damage, your trip attempt suffer a penalty equal to the damage you have received.
Tripping a Mounted Opponent: You may make a trip attack against a mounted opponent. If you succeed, you pull the rider from his mount.
Tripping with a Weapon: Some weapons can be used to make trip attacks. In this case, you make a melee touch attack with the weapon instead of an unarmed melee touch attack, and you don’t provoke an attack of opportunity.
