Hellebores Hellebore s Magnificently Mighty Melee & Missile Modus.

With specific contemplation of, though not exclusive to, the multifarious methods and means to enact a fantabulous fracas (or the underhanded elusion thereof). (21/7/06)

During Combat characters may make a variety of Actions chosen from those they know. Combat Actions are separated into Basic and Advanced Actions.

Standard Attack, they gain a +10% bonus to Weapon Skill for melee, or Ballistic Skill for ranged attacks. ALL OUT ATTACK (Full Action) The character makes a furious melee attack, exposing him to danger in order to land a forceful blow. The characters melee attack gains +2 to Damage, but the character may not perform a Dodge, Block, or Parry until his next turn. BLOCKING STANCE (Half Action) The character readies to block and incoming blow. Block is a simple form of parry, where very little finesse is involved. The blocker is attempting to stop an attack through brute strength buy simply putting their weapon in the way of the attackers. Any time before the characters next turn they may attempt to block one successful melee attack against him as long as he is aware of the attack. Blocking Stance ends at the beginning of his next turn, regardless of whether he blocked or not. Should a character have a weapon in their other hand, they may block once per round as a free action. (Note: a character may either Block OR Parry in a round, not both). CAST (Varies) The Character unleashes a magic spell. If a character spends an extra half action the Casting Roll can be augmented with a Channelling Skill Test. See Chapter 7: Magic

Basic Actions
These require little in the way of skill to perform, and are the simplest combat manoeuvres a character can learn. All Characters may use these as standard, and do not need to learn them.

Advanced Actions
Only characters that have trained extensively in the more esoteric combat techniques can use these. There are many martial schools that teach certain styles of combat, and each has its own unique method of performing these actions. In order to use ANY Advanced Action, the character must first purchase it with 100 XP. This allows the Action to be performed using half the appropriate statistic. A further 100 XP can be spent to use the entire value of the statistic. Advanced Actions can also be Mastered- it costs 200 XP to gain +10% proficiency in an Advanced Action. It costs a further 300 XP to gain +20% proficiency in an Advanced Action.

BASIC ACTIONS
AIM (Half Action) The character takes extra time to set up a melee or missile attack, increasing the chance to hit. If the characters following half action is a

for more information. Casting can be an extended action. You cannot cast more than one spell per round. CHARGE ATTACK (Full Action) The charger rushes up to an opponent and delivers a single attack. The opponent must be at least 4 yards (two squares) away from the character, but within the characters charge move (see Table 6-1: Combat Movement in Yards). The last 4 yards (2 squares) of the charge must be in a straight line so the charger can build up speed and line up with the target. The charging character gains a +10% Weapon Skill bonus. DELAY (Half Action) The character waits and watches for an opportunity. When the delay action is used the characters turn ends immediately, but a half action is reserved for later use. Any time before his next turn, the character can take his half action. If two conflicting characters are both trying to use a delayed action simultaneously, make an Opposed Agility Test to see who acts first. If the prepared action is not taken before the characters next turn, it is lost. JUMP/LEAP (Full Action) The character jumps down or leaps across something. For details on jumping and leaping, see page 138 of this chapter. MOVE (Half Action) The character can make a short move (see Table 6-1: Combat Movement in Yards). Difficult terrain like rubble or underbrush reduces distances moved by half (rounding up).

READY (Half Action) The character can unsheathe a weapon, or pull an item out of a convenient pouch or pocket. The character may also put away an item already in hand at the same time. So, for example, a character could sheathe a sword and unsheathe a dagger as one action. The character can also use this action to take a flask or other container and drink a draught. RELOAD (Varies) The character can reload a missile weapon. See Chapter 5: Equipment for the time taken to reload different ranged weapons. Reload can be an extended action. RUN (Full Action) The character runs at full speed (see Table 6-1: Combat Movement in Yards for distances). This makes the character harder to hit with missile weapons but easy prey for melee attacks because he isnt actively defending. Until the characters next turn, ranged attacks against him suffer a 20% Ballistic Skill penalty, but melee attacks gain a +20% Weapon Skill bonus. Characters cannot run in difficult terrain. STAND/MOUNT (Half Action) A character can get up if currently on the ground, or mount a riding animal like a horse or pony. STANDARD ATTACK (Half Action) A character can make one melee or ranged attack.

USE A SKILL (Varies) The character uses a skill, which usually involves making a Skill Test. See Chapter 4: Skills and Talents. This can be an extended action. BLOCK (Free*) In order to Block successfully, the combatants must make an opposed Strength test. If the blocker is successful, the attack is stopped. For each Degree of Success the Strength test was passed by, increase the chance of the blocking weapon breaking. If a Block was made with 3 Degrees of Success, then the weapon will break on a roll of 1, 2, or 3 on 1d10. A test must be made to break any weapon performing a Block action. *Blocks are only free if the character is wielding a second weapon in his other hand. DODGE (Free*) A character attempting to dodge is literally leaping out of the way of an incoming attack. The dodging character must make an Agility Test. For each Degree of Success the test was made by, the Degrees of Success of the attack is reduced. Thus if a Dodge was made with 3 Degrees of Success and the Attack on 4, the Degrees of Success of the Attack would be reduced to 1. If the attacks Degrees ever reach 1 then the Dodging character has managed to move entirely out of the way of the attack and it misses. A single Dodge may be attempted every combat round the character has not performed an All Out Attack. *A character can always attempt a Dodge. (Note: The Dodge Blow Advanced Skill becomes the Dodge Blow Talent, and it grants +10% to the Agility Test made for a Dodge Action).

ADVANCED ACTIONS
DEFENSIVE STANCE (Full Action) The character strikes no blows this round, preferring instead to concentrate on selfdefence. Until his next turn, all melee attacks against the character suffer a 10% Weapon Skill penalty for every Degree of Success the character passes a Weapon Skill test by (to a minimum of 10%). DISENGAGE (Full Action) The character breaks off from combat and may move away (see Table 6-1: Combat Movement in Yards for distances). Difficult terrain like rubble or underbrush reduces distances moved by half (rounding up). When moving away from one or more melee opponents the character may make an Opposed Weapon Skill Test (in the case of multiple opponents, choose the highest Weapon Skill to oppose). For each Degree of Success the character beats the opposed Weapon Skill the opponents combat movement is reduced by 1yard (to a minimum of 1). FEINT (Half Action) The character pretends to attack in one direction, deceiving his opponent and throwing off his defence. This is resolved as an Opposed Weapon Skill Test. If the character wins, his next attack cannot be blocked, dodged, or Parried. If the characters next action is anything other than a Standard Attack, this bonus is lost. GUARDED ATTACK (Full Action) The character attacks carefully, making sure he is well defended from counter blows. He makes a melee attack suffering a 10% Weapon Skill penalty. Until his next turn the character gains a

+10% bonus on any attempted Parries and Dodges. MANOEUVRE (Half Action) The character uses superior footwork and aggression to force his opponent to move in a direction nominated by the player. Manoeuvre is resolved using an Opposed Weapon Skill Test, and the Degrees of Success equals the number of yards moved (to a minimum of 1). If desired the character can advance up to the distance the opponent was manoeuvred. The opponent cannot be forced into another character or terrain feature (wall, barrel, etc). STANCE PARRYING STANCE (Half Action) The character readies to parry and incoming blow. Any time before the characters next turn they may attempt to parry one successful melee attack against him as long as he is aware of the attack. Parrying Stance ends at the beginning of his next turn, regardless of whether he parried or not. Should a character have a weapon in their other hand, they may parry once per round as a free action. (Note: a character may either Block OR Parry in a round, not both). RIPOSTE (Free*) The character takes advantage of a successful parry, attempting to strike his opponent whilst he is over extended. If a parry stops an attack completely, there is a chance the character can strike his opponent. To do this the character must roll under the combined value of the Degree of Success that reduced the opponents attack past zero. Thus if a parry was made with 5 degrees of success, and the attack made with 3 Degrees of Success, the character may riposte if the roll under 10% (as it required 4 Degrees of Success to negate the attack, leaving only 1). Ripostes are worked out as normal attacks.

SWIFT ATTACK (Full Action) The character can make a number of melee or ranged attacks equal to his Attacks Characteristic. If making a missile attack, a character can only use this action if the weapon can be reloaded as a free action or if the character has a loaded pistol weapon in each hand. In the latter case, the character can make a maximum of 2 attacks (one per weapon). STUN (Half Action) The character may attempt to make a carefully placed attack to stun his opponent. The character makes a single melee attack, and if successful, makes a Strength Test. If that is successful the opponent must make a Toughness Test with a +10% bonus for each AP on his head. The opponent is stunned for a number of rounds equal to the Degree of Success the Strength Test beats the Toughness test by, to a minimum of 1. (Note: Strike to Stun adds +10% to the Strength test in this Action).