Conflict

Conflict is an essential part of any story. The world would be dull without it.

Challenge Levels

The following table should give The Adversary some guidance on assigning challenge levels.

The numbers above assume that the character has the necessary tools for the job in question - i.e., if a thief is trying to pick a lock, then he is using a standard lockpick. If the thief was trying to pick a lock with something nonstandard, like a dagger, then The Adversary should make the challenge level higher. If the character has an exceptional set of tools at his disposal, The Adversary should lower the challenge level a notch or two.

The numbers also assume that the character is taking a normal amount of time to perform the task. What this amount is depends upon the task - perhaps six seconds for picking a lock or six days for smithing a weapon.

Characters can obtain bonuses for extra time taken or penalties for rushed work.

Frex, one can get +3 to the trait check for taking twice as long as usual or +6 for taking four times as long. If the character tries to rush, The Adversary should increase the challenge level by 3 for for each halving of the required time.

Perception

Perception is used whenever The Adversary wants to see whether a character notices something, such as images, sounds, or smells that are hard to detect because they are small, faint, or far away. It is used to determine whether a character will notice subtle sensory input, like someone sneaking up behind him.

Various factors can affect a perception check. Bright light or pitch darkness can hamper vision. Loud noise can hamper hearing. The challenge level for any situation is up to The Adversary.

Unconscious characters get no perception checks - they are senseless. Being asleep is not the same as being knocked out, however; sleeping characters get normal hearing checks when unusual noises occur in their presense. If successful, they awaken. If the noises are very soft, such as someone sneaking toward the sleeper, the perception rolls are more difficult.

Perception is also used when The Adversary wants to see whether a character notices something subtle that is right in front of them, such as an enemy wearing a disguise or someone following them through a crowd. Anything that distracts the character from paying careful attention to detail could cause a penalty (a higher challenge roll).

Intuition

Intuition functions as supernatural perception.

This is a catchall for supernatural abilities used to learn the unknown. A mystic may hear the whispers of spirits, read the future in the stars, or simply know things without reason. It allows one to sense the presence of nearby disembodied spirits and to communicate with them on a primal level. One does not receive coherent thoughts from ghosts, only urges, feelings, and desires.

Intuition can be used by The Adversary as a plot device. He can allow a character to sense danger, receive visions of the future, or anything else that adds to the game.

Combat Values

Adventurers have a number of combat values based on their traits, skills, gifts, and equipment.

• Movement is equal to 10 + Athlete. The character's encumbrance and armor penalties are subtracted from this.
• Offense is based on the type of attack.
  • Missile weapons use Archer.
  • Hand-to-hand attacks and thrown weapons use Warrior.
  • Mage spells use Intellect.
  • Sorcerer spells use Presence.
• Dodge is equal to 7 + Athlete - encumbrance and armor penalties.
• Parry is equal to 7 + Warrior + weapon defense bonuses.
• Defiance is equal to 7 + Intellect or Intuition, whichever is greater.
• Protection is equal to Fortitude + armor.

Initiative

At the beginning of each battle, characters roll Perception to determine who acts first. This roll is the character's initiative. High initiatives act before low ones. The order will remain for the battle unless someone chooses to Haste. The Adversary should add 7 to each enemy's Perception rather than roll.

Environmental factors (such as surprise) or minor actions (such as darting a single space or drawing a weapon) may give bonuses or penalties to initiative.

Any trait bonuses or penalties that result from a character's actions last until the next round.

Action

The next step is the action phase. Characters take their turns in order of initiative, highest to lowest. A character disabled before his turn gets no actions.

Some actions, such as drawing a weapon, shouting to a comrade, or moving a single space, take little time and require no trait roll. if such actions must be done before more important ones, the character might have a penalty to Initiative.

Other actions do require a trait roll or take significant time. A character may take two such actions per round of conflict. For example, a character can move and attack, attack and move, move twice, attack twice, open a door and run down the hallway, jump off a ledge and tackle someone, etc.

Some actions may require more time to complete. Casting a spell takes a full round.

Round Zero

Round zero marks the beginning of any conflict. Whoever acts first automatically gets the initiative. This usually applies to a single individual, but can apply to a group in cases of ambush. After the initial round zero activity, conflict progresses to round 1 and participants roll initiative.

If the initiating individual or group has taken their opponents completely by surprise, then the opponents may take no actions at all on round zero - not even defensive ones. This simulates situations such as ambushes or knives thrown by hidden assassins.

Surprised characters get no trait added to their defense. The challenge level to hit an unaware character is a flat 4 plus any range modifiers. Sneak attacks can be deadly - the only defense is not to be caught unaware.

Movement

A character may move a single space per round without using an action. He may move a number of spaces equal to his Movement by expending an action.

Other moves - standing from a prone position, mounting an animal, making a leap, etc - take one action.

A character who is sitting or lying down is prone - he gets +3 defense against ranged attacks, but can move only 1 space per round. Others get a +3 to hit him with melee attacks and +3 defense against his attacks. Falling prone is a free action.

A mounted character uses the mount's movement in place of his own. Horses and such generally have twice the movement of a humanoid, or even more.

If the ground is not level, The Adversary may give a character bonuses or penalties to his movement. If the terrain is treacherous, The Adversary may require an Athlete roll (on foot - a rider may need to roll Ranger to control his mount).

Individuals may sometimes need to jump over things. The Adversary should require an Athlete roll with a challenge level of 4 * the number of spaces.

Charging characters may add their momentum to the damage of an attack. This works both ways, however - a charging character will take the same additional damage from any enemy melee weapon that hits him on that round. Momentum gives (and takes) +1 damage for every 3 spaces of movement. Whether to charge in with momentum or slow down and stop before attacking is up to the player.

Combat movement is automatic. When finer detail is required - for races or chases - participants should roll Athlete. Each level of mox gains the victor one space of distance.

Range

The further away a target is, the harder it is to hit. Ranged abilities have challenge numbers based on distance (zero at point-blank range). These numbers are added to the defense of the target.

Ranged abilities are either Short or Long. Short-range abilities suffer a +1 to the challenge level for every space between the adventurer and the target. Long-range abilities suffer a +1 for every five spaces.

Senses are also limited in range. Olfaction is Short. Hearing, vision, and intuition are Long.

Abort

A character with actions remaining who is attacked may sacrifice actions for bonuses in response to the attack, even if it happens before the target's initiative. This intent must be declared before the dice are rolled.

Wait

A character is not required to act on his initiative. He can wait to see what others with lower initiatives will do.

A waiting character may take its action at any time, even within the action of another character.

A waiting character may also hold action until the next round, in which case that character gets +10 to initiative for that round. He gets no extra actions, however.

The Waiting Game

This rule simulates scenes in books and movies in which two opponents stop and stare one another down, taking no actions, in the middle of a fight.

If two characters both decide to wait for the other to act and there are no other characters with actions left, then the action passes to the next round. This can even involve more than two characters. All characters involved in the waiting game get the initiative bonus over characters who acted in the previous round.