Mano a Mano:Actions

List of Actions

On his turn, a character can prepare a counterattack, move and do one action, or move and do a combination of actions (combo).

To counterattack the character waits to move and perform actions until someone attempts to attack them. If no one attempts to attack the counterattacking character until their next turn, then they have effectively skipped the turn where they prepared a counterattack and continue with their next turn as normal. The counterattacking character moves and performs their action or combo before the attacker's action or combo, but after any movement the attacker does before acting. This gives the counterattacking character a little more control over positioning. After the counterattack, the attacker can change his action or combo, but cannot reuse any movement he used up before the combo.

Counterattacking delays a single turn, but does not change the order of characters turns. For example, suppose three characters are fighting. The first character prepares a counter attack. The second character, his ally, attacks the third character, their enemy, and misses. The third character decides to attack the first character, but the first character gets to counterattack first. The third character finally gets to attack after the counterattack. Now it is the first character's turn again even though he just counterattacked in the middle of the third character's turn.

In a combo a character can perform one quick action for each point of speed (rounded up, so a character with ¼ or ½ speed can perform one quick action), plus an extra quick action if the combo includes actions with multiple weapons. Quick actions include quick strike, throw and shot, aiming a bow or gun, drawing a bow, loading or unloading a gun, push, hold, dropping to the ground and standing up. A character can only do a combo when his damage plus stun is no more than his healthy. (Healthy is half of his toughness rounded down).

Attack power can be half power or full power. Full power attacks include all bow and gun attacks, powerful strikes, powerful throw, wrench and choke. Half power attacks include quick, strategic and cautious strikes and quick throw.

The character sheet lists the half power and full power of equipment and natural defenses. (See Character Development/Inventory Management.)

Strenuous actions can only be used when a character's stun plus damage is not more than his healthy value. Strenuous actions include strategic, cautious, powerful strikes, powerful throw, heave, reload, trip, slam, choke, wrench, disarm and instant stand.

Standing actions, which cannot be used when the character is on the ground, include evade, strategic, cautious and powerful strikes.

Hand to Hand Attacks

Hand to hand attacks use natural weapons or hand weapons such as clubs and blades.

quick strike

A quick strike is a quick half power hand to hand attack.

strategic strike

A strategic strike is a strenuous half power standing hand to hand attack which cannot be used while grappling and has a +2 attack bonus.

cautious strike

A cautious strike is a strenuous half power standing hand to hand attack which cannot be used while grappling with +2 defense until the character's next turn.

powerful strike

A powerful strike is a strenuous full power standing hand to hand attack. A couple of quick strikes has a better chance of hitting at least once, but a powerful strike does damage quickly and hurts larger and armored characters more easily.

Thrown Weapon Attacks

quick throw

A quick throw is a quick half power thrown weapon attack. The maximum range of a quick attack with a thrown weapon is the character's throwing ability modifier and the difference between the character's power and the weapon's heft. A heavier weapon cannot be thrown as far as a light weapon. Unwieldy weapons cannot be thrown quickly. Quick throwing is useful when speed or precision is important, such as knife and hatchet-throwing competitions or throwing sand in an opponent's face.

powerful throw

A powerful throw is a strenuous full power thrown weapon attack.The maximum range of a powerful attack with a thrown weapon is twice the range of throwing the weapon quickly. Unwieldy weapons cannot be thrown this way. Powerful throwing is useful when distance or damage is important, like throwing a javelin.

heave

Heave is a strenuous full power thrown weapon attack. Any object the character can lift can be thrown by heaving. Heaved objects are wildly imprecise, so the character has a -6 modifier to hit the target. The maximum distance the character can heave an object is the sum of the character's throwing ability modifier and the difference between the character's power and the weapon's heft.

Archery and Marksmanship Actions

aim

Aim is a quick gun or bow action which cannot be used while grappling. Aiming gives a +4 attack bonus to the character's next attack unless he takes damage or stun between aiming and the attack.

quick shot

A quick shot is a quick full power gun or bow attack.

strategic shot

A strategic shot is a strenuous full power gun or bow attack with a +2 attack bonus.

cautious shot

A cautious shot is a strenuous full power gun or bow attack with +2 defense until the character's next turn.

draw and fire

Draw and fire is a strenuous full power bow attack which does not require the bow to be already drawn.

draw

Drawing a bow is a quick action. A bow must be drawn before it can be aimed or fired. Drawing a bow requires the use of two hands. If the bow's heft is at least double the character's power, the character cannot draw it at all. Bows tend to be lightweight, but the power of a bow comes from its spring instead of its mass. So the heft of a bow reflects the bow's pull and the power required to draw the bow.

reload

Replacing a clip is a strenuous gun action. Replacing a clip of ammunition can be one strenuous action or split into two quick actions (unload and load). If rounds must be loaded individually, each round requires a separate quick action.

unload

unloading a gun is a quick action. Most weapons are designed to be loaded quickly, but unloading them can be trickier. Unloading a weapon is usually a quick action, but then you are either holding the ammunition or let it drop (your choice.) Putting away the ammunition a character is holding requires an extra quick action - assuming that he has a single convenient place to put it. (If he has to load several rounds of ammunition into individual locations, each round of ammunition will take a separate quick action.)

load

loading a gun is a quick action. Some weapons must be loaded before each attack, or reloaded after a certain number of uses. If the ammunition is in a convenient location (a quiver, pocket, pouch, bandoleer, etc.) it can be drawn from that location with a quick action. Then the ammunition can be loaded into a simple weapon like a sling or a bow with another quick action. More complex weapons may have more steps. For example, if a character has to load a revolver one bullet at a time for example, each bullet loaded may be a quick action. Some weapons take several actions to reload. A "Brown Bess" musket can be fired about 3 times per minute with training, suggesting 9 actions to reload and 1 turn to fire. (Each action takes a full turn, so they are not quick actions.)

Grappling Actions

Grappling actions can give the character the dominant position. (See Action/Grappling.)

push

A push, pull or shove is a quick grappling action which puts the target off balance. Successfully pushing, pulling and tripping up a standing opponent forces him to move in the direction the pushing character wants, and puts the pushed character off balance so he must make an roll against a difficulty of 8 using his unarmed or acrobatic ability check or fall down. If the pushing character is standing when his opponent falls down, the pushing character must choose whether to let go of him or follow him to the ground.

trip

A trip is a strenuous full power grappling attack which puts the target off balance. Successfully attacking a standing target's legs puts him off balance so he must make an roll against a difficulty of 8 using his unarmed or acrobatic ability check or fall down.

slam

A slam is a strenuous half power grappling attack which puts the target on the ground. Successfully slamming an opponent causes him to fall automatically. He can still make an additional ability roll to avoid damage from falling but he ends up on the ground. If a throwing character is standing and chooses to fall onto him, the slamming character can cause additional damage as if successfully performing a quick attack, but does not have to roll again. Even if the slammed opponent successfully avoids falling damage, he cannot avoid the extra damage from the slamming character falling on him.

hold

A hold is a quick grappling action.

wrench

A wrench is a strenuous full power grappling attack. The damage and stun of a wrench are determined like the damage and stun of a blunt weapon.

choke

A choke is a strenuous full power grappling attack which only does stun. A choke always causes at least two stun if it is successful, regardless of armor and absorption.

disarm

Disarm is a strenuous full power grappling attack which forces an opponent to release his weapon or other possession. If a character doing a disarm is successful, he takes the weapon from his opponent. If the character doing the disarm has at least two free hands, the difficulty of this action is the target's defense plus 2. If he has one free hand the difficulty is the target's defense plus 4. If he is holding something in each hand, the difficulty is the target's defense plus 6, and the opponent drops the weapon if he is successful.

Other Actions

drop

Dropping to the ground is a quick action.

stand

Standing up is a quick action.

instant stand

Instant stand is a strenuous action which is like standing up normally except that the character using instant stand also gets a +4 defense modifier until his next turn.

evade

Evade is a standing action which gives the character a +4 defense modifier until his next turn.

cover

A character can put himself at risk to protect a target, usually an ally. When the target is attacked, use the covering character's defense plus 2 instead of the target's defense. If the attack is successful it still hits the target. If the attack fails, it hits the covering character.