Mano a Mano:Action

Rounds

A round of action represents one to two seconds of game time - enough time for most characters to perform a single action or quick combination. Each character has one turn during each round. Rounds can be measured from the beginning of any character's turn until the beginning of their next turn (or from the end of their turn until the end of the next.) Characters with ¼ speed must skip three out of four turns. After one turn of moving and performing actions, the character cannot move or perform actions on his next three turns. Characters with ½ speed must skip every other turn. Characters may skip more turns than they are required to skip. At the end of a character's turn, the character recovers one stun if they have any.

Stealth and detection abilities are used for surprise attacks. If two characters are mutually stalking each other, do two separate rolls. If both fail, combat doesn't happen. If a character successfully surprises another without being surprised himself, the character with the advantage of surprise gets to go first. If both succeed, they fight without either having the advantage of surprise. If there is no surprise attack, characters may choose to start out either evading (+4 defense modifier until the character's first turn) or ready to counter, and who goes first is decided by the circumstances (whoever throws the first punch in the story,) or random die rolls if there is a dispute. Characters with longer weapon range usually have the opportunity to attack first. Characters typically take turns in the order their players are seated, going around the group of players clockwise. To move in formation, characters may delay their turns until they are sequential.

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. A character can only do a combo when he is healthy.

Hit Points

Hit points determine how much a character can move and endure damage.

Total Hit Points (HP) - Each character's two best athletic ability modifiers are added together to determine their hit points. (See Abilities/Athletic Abilities.) If the character has no athletic abilities, they have 1 hit point by default. In other words a character's hit points are the sum of his two best athletic ability modifiers, or 1, which ever is higher.

Hit Points per Round (HP/Round) - The character's hit points per round (HP/round) is 1/2 of their HP (rounded up).

Hit Point Pools - Hit points are used to perform actions. A character's total number of hit points (HP) does not change during action, but hit points can be moved between various pools. A character's hit points can be represented by counters placed in the pools marked around the edge of the character sheet: (See Characters/Character Sheet.)

• Ready - At the beginning of a character's turn, some of the character's non-stunned and non-damaged hit points (no more than their HP/round) are moved into its ready pool. The character can still have hit points in his ready pool at the end of his turn. The character's turn is over when his player stops using (or chooses not to use) the character's ready hit points (or when the character runs out of ready hit points.)

• Defense - If the character uses hit points to move, or to add to the modifier of an attack (or attack combo,) those hit points go into the character's defense pool. Hit points in the defense pool count as a modifier to defense rolls (where a character is attacked but is not attacking.) (See Action Rules/Maneuvering.)

• Other Used - Any hit points that are used to perform actions, other than hit points that go into the defense pool, should go to into the other used pool. There are two situations in which a character should always leave hit points in his other used pool (in spite of how many hit points he is allowed to put back into his ready pool at that time.) First, in order to keep carrying his equipment, he must continue to have his Encumbrance in hit points in his other used pool. Second, if he has another character in a choke, lock, or hold that is continuing from a previous turn, he needs to leave the appropriate hit points in his other used pool to continue applying that grappling technique. In the other used pool, hit points being used for grappling can not also be used for Encumbrance, and hit points being used for Encumbrance can not also be used for grappling.

• Stun - Stun is the short-term effect of pain and injury. The hit points added to the stun pool of a successful attack are the attack's attack power minus the target's absorb modifier. Only half of the hit points are moved to the stun pool if the attack is only half-successful.

• Damage - Damage is the long-term effect of injuries that heal slowly, such as cuts, bruises, and burns. The hit points added to the damage pool by a successful attack, are the attack's attack power, plus the weapon's sharpness modifier, minus the target's absorb modifier. Only half of these hit points are added to the damage pool, if the attack is only half-successful. (See Equipment/Armor and Weapons/Sharpness.)

Also, when hit points are supposed to be moved to the stun pool, but all of the character's available hit points are already in the stun pool, then the same amount of hit points that were supposed to be moved into the stun pool are instead moved from the stun pool to the damage pool.

Receiving Stun and Damage - Hit points moved into the stun and lasting pools are taken from specific pools until those pools no longer have hit points. The hit points come first from the ready pool, second from the defense pool, and third from the other used pool.

Rest and Regeneration - Characters recover from damage at the rate of one, plus their regeneration ability modifier, in hit points each week. Rest is a modifier to an attempt to heal the character each week. Each day the character engages in no physically strenuous activity - especially combat, training and travel - counts as a +1 modifier to the roll for that week. If the roll is successful, double the regeneration modifier of the resting character for that week. Opposition to this healing roll would include lack of resources, harsh conditions, poison or infection (up to +5 for each individual opposing factor.)

Interfering

Actions can keep other actions from succeeding. These actions are known as interfering actions. Multiple interfering actions may be used to interrupt a single action. For each interfering action, a roll is made against the targeted action. If any of these interfering rolls are successful, the target action fails. (See Rolling Dice/Multiple Opposing Actions.)

• An interfering action can take place on any players turn. If a mad scientist tries to activate his doomsday device and a hero tries to tackle him and a henchman tries to block the hero's tackle, then all three actions (activation, tackle and block) happen on the mad scientist's turn.
• When a character uses an interfering action against an attack aimed at their self, the interfering roll replaces their defense roll.
• For an attack to successfully interfere with an action, the attack must successfully stun, damage or manipulate.
• The number of hit points used by an interfering action can be no more than the number of hit points used by the action being interrupted.

Parrying - A parry is a one hit point action to interfere with an attack. Any special parry modifier that the character or his equipment may have is added to the parry roll, in addition to the character's passive modifier. (See Action Rules/Maneuvering and Equipment/Armor and Weapons/Parry.)

Maneuvering

The best defense is usually a good offense, but sometimes getting into a safer position is the best or only option.

Evasion

By moving defensively, a character can get a +2 passive defense bonus until the end of the character's next turn. Evasion is only used once per turn, but the bonus applies every time the character is attacked before the end of their next turn. (This bonus does not apply to counter-attacks.)

Defense

Defense is evasion combined with a quick attack.

Drop

The character drops to a low crouch, sitting, kneeling or prone position on the ground. While a character is on the ground, they move more slowly (-2 movement, -2 to all hand to hand combat rolls except for grappling) but they are harder to hit with missile weapons (+2 to avoid a missile weapon, even without cover, unless the attack comes from above.)

Stand

Standing up is a single quick action.

Instant Stand

Instant stand is evasion combined with standing, but it requires an success roll: agility + acrobatics vs. difficulty zero. (If a character's agility + acrobatics ability is greater than 5 they automatically succeed.) If the roll fails the character stays on the ground. If the roll is half-successful the character stands without the defense bonus.

Manipulation

Manipulation - The attacker gets his size as a modifier to manipulate, plus 1 for every hit point he uses to manipulate. The total modifier is then compared to the target's size. The difference in favor of the attacker is subtracted from the target's next combat roll in either this round or the next. In addition a successful manipulation attack can be used to disarm, hold, choke, wrench or throw an opponent.

Manipulation with Missile Weapons - Most missile weapons (such as thrown weapons, slings, bows and guns) cannot be used to hold, choke, wrench or throw. When using a missile weapon to manipulate, use the weapon's attack power minus 5, ( instead of the attacker's size and hit points used to manipulate,) to determine the attacker's manipulation modifier.

Disarm - disarms an opponent if the opponent is armed with a weapon not attached to its body.

Hold - A hold attack can hold an opponent. The attacker must use as many hit points to maintain the hold each round as it originally used to manipulate the attacked character at the beginning of the hold. Each round the hold is maintained, the character being held gets the manipulation modifier from all of his combat rolls.

If a holding attack is half successful, the attacker must use the same amount of hit points to maintain the hold, but the hold only gives half of the manipulation modifier.

Choke/Wrench - A choke or wrench is an attack that acts like a hold. The large half of the attack power of the choke/wrench adds a manipulation modifier, and the small half of the attack power acts like a normal attack (using any appropriate modifiers if equipment used to perform the choke/wrench.) These effects are applied each round that the choke or wrench is maintained. If a choke or wrench is half successful, the attacker must use the same amount of hit points to maintain the choke or wrench, but the choke or wrench only gives half attack power and half of the manipulation modifier.

An example can be seen in a dispute between Mr. A and Mr. B, two unarmed clones. Mr. A successfully chokes Mr. B with 5 hit points used for attack power, so that Mr. B has a minus 3 to all his rolls, and is hit by an attack with +2 attack power, from Mr. A. These two effects on Mr. B are repeated every round Mr. A maintains the choke.

Throw - The thrown character ends up in a lying down or "prone" position (or crouching "semi-prone" position if half-successful.) The thrown character takes the appropriate stun or damage from any weapons or other objects they are thrown into. Most objects and surfaces are considered blunt weapons. The thrown character can also be considered a blunt hand to hand weapon in the hands of the attacker while being thrown. The thrown character's size is the power modifier of this weapon. The total reach of this weapon is 3/4 of the thrown character's height (or length or wingspan, whichever is longest,) plus the thrower's reach, all added to the product of the thrower's stride, times the number of hit points the thrower used to move during the throw.

Attacking

Charging Attack

If a character travels more than 5 meters in a straight line before attacking, all in a single turn, the distance traveled (in meters) minus 5 is added to the power of the attack.

Readying Weapons

Unless surprised, characters will usually draw their weapons before the beginning of combat. If they have to ready the weapon during an action round, drawing the weapon from it's sheath, holster, scabbard, belt, or other convenient location is a quick action.

Attacking from a Distance

The difficulty of hitting a target depends on distance and the weapon's range. The difficulty of hitting the target increases by 1 for every 5% of the weapon's maximum range between the attacker and the target. 5% of the maximum range can be found by multiplying the maximum range by 0.05 or dividing the maximum range by 20. For example, if a weapon has 140 m range, then the difficulty of hitting targets with the weapon increases by 1 for every 7 m between the attacker and the target (140 / 20 = 7). The difficulty of hitting a target less than 7 m away would not be affected. The difficulty of hitting a target 7 to 13 m away would be increased by 1 (14 = 7 × 1), The difficulty of hitting a target 14 to 20 m away would be increased by 2 (14 = 7 × 2), The difficulty of hitting a target 70 to 76 m away would be increased by 10 (70 = 7 × 10), and so forth.

Attacking in the Dark

A lack of sufficient lighting can add to the difficulty of an attack if the attacker is not blind. Total darkness can increase the difficulty by +3 for a grappling attack, +4 for a striking attack and +5 for an attack from a distance. Very dim light rather than total darkness only increases the difficulty of grappling attacks by +1, striking attacks by +2 and attacks from a distance by +3.

Random Damage (Optional Rule)

Double power attacks only have double power if the attack roll is 13 or better before adding modifiers. If the attack roll is 12 or less before adding modifiers, the attack has normal power instead of double power.

Critical Hit (Optional Rule)

When an attack is automatically successful, increase the power of the attack by the weapon's power. In other words normal attacks have double power when they are automatically successful and double damage attacks have three times normal power when they are automatically successful.

Armor and Weapons

Sharpness

Sharpness determines whether the attack power that gets through the target's armor becomes stun and damage.

Armor

Any equipment with more than 0 cover (Cvr) is armor. Every piece of armor equipped has a chance of blocking an attack. Sort the armor from the highest absorption (Abs) to the lowest. For each piece of armor in that order compare the character's unmodified defense die roll (the number on the die before adding any modifiers) to the cover of the item plus the cover of all of the items before it. If the total cover is greater than or equal to the the roll, then the attack is blocked by that armor, and no other items should be checked.

When a piece of armor blocks an attack, the armor's absorption is subtracted from the attack's power.

For example, if a character has armor with a cover of 3, and he rolls a 4 when he defends against an attack, then his armor does not absorb any of the power of the attack, and he is damaged by the full force of the attack if that attack is successful (because 3 < 4.) For another example, if a character has armor with a cover of 2, and he rolls a 1 when he defends against an attack, then his armor does subtract its absorption from the power of the attack if that attack was successful (because 1 > 2.)

Sometimes armor is worn in layers. A brigandine (vest lined with metal plates) is often worn over a gambeson (padded coat) or chainmail. If one piece of armor is completely overlapped by another, add the absorption of the armor with more cover to the absorption of the armor with less cover, and subtract the cover of the armor with less cover from the cover of the armor with more cover.

Thrown Weapons

Quick Throwing

The maximum range of a quick attack with a thrown weapon is the reach of the throwing hand multiplied by the sum of the character's throwing ability modifier and the difference between the character's power and the weapon's heft. Add the reach of a sling or spear thrower to this range. 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 Throwing

The maximum range of a powerful attack with a thrown weapon is twice the range of throwing the weapon quickly. Add the reach of a sling or spear thrower to this range. Unwieldy weapons cannot be thrown this way. Powerful throwing is useful when distance or damage is important, like throwing a javelin.

Heave

Any object the character can lift can be thrown by heaving. Heaved objects are wildly imprecise, so the character has a -3 modifier to hit the target. The maximum distance the character can heave an object is the sum of the reach of the throwing hand and the weapon's reach modifier multiplied by the sum of the character's throwing ability modifier and the difference between the character's power and the weapon's heft. Heaving a weapon which is not unwieldy is a powerful action. Heaving an unwieldy weapon takes two turns.

Archery and Marksmanship

Keeping a Bow Drawn

The strength and concentration required to keep a bow drawn prevents a character from performing any other actions until the bow is fired. (A character can perform other actions while holding a crossbow, just like a loaded firearm.)

Drawing a Crossbow

Drawing a crossbow without a lever or crank is the same as drawing other bows. A lever or crank can decrease the heft required to draw a crossbow by increasing the number of turns required to reload. (See Equipment/Features/shots.)

Stance and Position

To simplify keeping track of success roll modifiers, there are only 10 different actions and positions to be aware of. A character can only be in one of these positions at a time. For example, a character cannot do a strategic attack while aiming or grappling.

Standing

This is the position where characters are ready to do most actions, but they are also fully exposed to missile weapon attacks such as thrown weapons, slings, bows and guns. While standing a character can move at normal speed and have no special modifiers from this position. When a character does the instant stand action, he has a defense bonus until his next turn.

On the Ground

While a character is crouching, crawling, sitting, or lying on the ground, they move more slowly (half movement, -5 to all striking attack rolls and defense against striking) but they are harder to hit with missile weapons (+5 defense against missile weapon attacks, even without cover, unless the attack comes from above.) Powerful, strategic and cautious attacks cannot be done from the ground.

Aiming while Standing

When a character aims a missile weapon they have a +5 to hit.

Aiming on the Ground

When a character aims from a sitting or prone position they have a +5 to hit plus the penalties for being on the ground: they move more slowly (half movement, -5 to defense against striking) but they are harder to hit with missile weapons (+5 to avoid a missile weapon, even without cover, unless the attack comes from above.)

Clinch

When a character is grappling and standing up, but does not have the dominant position, they have a -5 to all attack rolls and -5 defense against all attacks.

Ground Fighting

When a character is grappling on the ground, and does not have the dominant position, they have a +5 defense against missile weapon attacks, -5 to defense against other attacks, and -5 to all attack rolls.

Dominant Position (Standing)

When a character in a clinch (grappling while standing) has the dominant position, he has a +5 bonus to attack rolls and defense against the character in the inferior position, and -5 to all other combat rolls.

Dominant Position (on the Ground)

When a character has the dominant position while grappling on the ground, he has a +5 modifier to attack rolls and defense against the character in the inferior position, +5 against missile weapon attacks, and -5 to other attack rolls and defense against other attacks.

Resting, Instant Stand and Special Attacks

The rest action, cautious attacks and instant stand give a defense bonus until the end of the character's next turn, and strategic attacks have an attack bonus. Cautious attacks cannot be done on the ground. (See Action/Actions and Action/Attacking.)

			Standing		On the Ground
	Default		no modifiers		+5 defense vs. missiles -5 striking attack and defense
	Aiming		+5 to hit		+5 to hit +5 defense vs. missiles -5 striking defense
	Grappling		-5 to all rolls		-5 attack -5 hand to hand defense
	Dominant		+5 vs. inferior -5 vs. others		+5 vs. inferior -5 attack vs. others -5 hand to hand defense vs. others
	Strategic		+5 to hit		n/a
	Cautious		+5 defense		n/a
	Resting		+5 defense		+5 defense

Mounted Combat

When the Animal Attacks

When riding an animal, the animal will fight automatically if it is trained to do so. Every time the animal attacks or defends, the rider must make a roll using their riding ability to stay mounted. The difficulty of this roll is 10.

Stopping the Attack

To keep the animal from attacking the rider must make an animal handling success roll every time the animal is attacked, and every round that the animal's attacker is visible. The difficulty of this roll is 10 if the animal is unhurt, or 15 if the animal has stun or damage.

Animals that do not Fight

Animals trained to be ridden but not to fight will not attack if they are being ridden. Instead, they will try to run unless the rider makes a successful animal handling roll. This has a difficulty of 15 if the animal is unhurt, or 20 if the animal has stun or damage.

Charging

Instead of having the animal attack, a rider may use the animal's speed to do a charging attack. (See Action/Attacking.)

Vehicles

Vehicle combat is similar to mounted combat, but most vehicles will not fight or try to run from an enemy.

Ramming

When a driver rams a target, their driving ability modifier or the vehicle's agility - whichever is lower - is used as the attack modifier. A successful ramming attack results in an automatically successful ramming counterattack by the target against the part of the vehicle used to ram (usually the front.)

Head-on and Broadside Collisions

If the vehicle and target are moving in different directions (or if only the vehicle is moving) the extra charging damage caused by the speed of both the vehicle and the target is added to the damage taken by both.

Rear-end and Sideswipe Collisions

If the vehicle and target are moving in the same direction then the charging damage is based on the difference in the distances the vehicle and target moved in that direction since the beginning of their last turn.

Combat Example

Basic Hand to Hand Combat - Here is a demonstration of the basic combat system. (See Action Rules.) Modre (see Characters/Character Generation Example) has an clone who is exactly like Modre in every way, except that the clone has not had the time to make an Ice Blade. Modre decides to take out the clone before it can get started on an Ice Blade of it's own. This is what happens, and how it works.

1. Establishing Initiative - Because Modre has a weapon with reach and his clone does not, Modre has a longer reach and therefore goes first.

2. First Round Begins - Both Sabretooth Penguins have 6 hit points (see Character Generation Example.) Modre and the Clone's players put their hit points into their ready pools, because they have no hit points in the other pools at the start. (See Characters/Character Sheet.)

3. First Turn - Because Modre has initiative, the first turn is his.

• In the first phase, he has no hit points in the stun pool, so goes on to the second phase.
• In his second phase, all of his hit points are already in his ready pool, so he goes to the third phase.
• In the third phase, Modre's attacks, with 4 of his hit points being used to add extra damage to his attack (thereby going into his other used pool,) and 2 hit points to add as a modifier to his attack (going into his defense pool.)

The Clone's player decides to react by putting all 6 of the clone's ready pool Hit Points into Defense. Modre's player rolls a 2, plus his Ice Blade combat modifier (of 1,) plus Modre's 2 hit points as a modifier, makes for a total of 5. The Clone's player rolls a 1, plus the Clone's hit points in its defense pool (6,) plus the clones Body combat modifier (0,) makes for a total of 7. Modre's 5 is less than the Clone's 7, and so Modre's attack misses.

4. Second Turn - Now the Clone has initiative because his player is next in the circle.

• In his first phase, he has no hit points in the stun pool, so he goes onto the second phase.
• In his second phase, 3 of the Clone's hit points, (his HP/round,) are put into the ready pool. Those 3 hit points come from the defense pool (leaving the other 3 in defense.)
• In its third phase, the Clone prepares to spring for a big attack, its player leaving all three of its ready hit points in the ready pool.

This is the end of all of the characters' turns and therefore the end of the round.

5. Second Round/ First Turn - It is Modre's turn again.

• In his first phase, Modre still has no hit points in the stun pool, so he goes onto the second phase.
• In his second phase, Modre's player takes 3 hit points out of Modre's other used pool (leaving one hit point remaining in his other used pool,) and puts them into Modre's ready pool.
• In Modre's third phase, he takes a swipe at the Clone, his player putting 1 of his ready hit points into the other used pool to add to the damage of the attack, and putting the other 2 of the ready hit points into defense to be added to the modifier of Modre's attack. Modre's player rolls a 6, plus Modre's 2 modifier hit points, plus Modre's Ice Blade combat modifier of 1 makes a total of 9. (This also leaves a total of 4 hit points in Modre's defense pool.)

The Clone defends with a counter attack, his player putting 1 hit point into its defense pool towards the modifier of this attack, and the other two ready pool hit points into its other used pool to add to the damage of this attack. The Clone's player rolls a 4, plus the Clone's Body combat bonus of 2, plus his one hit modifier hit point makes a total of 7. Modre's attack is successful.

Modre's Ice Blade power is 3, plus his one hit point for added power, make a total attack power of 4. We subtract the Clone's Body absorption (0) from this attack, and find that the Clone has 4 hit points going into stun or damage. The sharpness of the Ice Blade is -2, so that the first two of the 4 stunned or damaged hit points go into the Clone's stun pool, and the rest go into it's damage pool. Since the Clone's ready pool is already empty, these 4 hit points come out of the Clone's defense pool.

6. Round Two/Second Turn - It is now the Clone's turn.

• In his first phase, the Clone takes one hit point out of his stun pool and puts it into his other used pool.
• In the second phase Clone's player moves the 3 hit points from the other used pool into the ready pool.
• In the Clone's third phase, his player put all three of his ready hit points into his defense pool, as the Clone turns tail and runs 3 meters away from Modre.

This is the end of the second round.

7. Third round and beyond - The third round (and following rounds) follows the same general pattern that the first and second round followed, as far as what characters act in what order, while the players continue to control their characters by moving hit points around in the various pools.