Combat Guide

A quick guide on Combat in our system for those using +rolls.

Attack or Defense

Attack and defense are all set up on the same attribute. It comes down to the limit you have described in your power when making an attack, decide before you +roll (either roll the ability, or +roll yourname=Lower # dice pool). Some people have actions skills set higher than they want to attack or plan to 'grow' into via character development; some are purely for defensive purposes.

Note: BG skills do not bolster or replace your action skills. They are supplementary outside of combat.

When you use a power to attack or defend in any manner, you roll the action skill most closely associated with it.

If you summon a storm to zap with lightning, you roll energy, not your storm summon ability. You have probably used your storm summon ability to change the weather from pleasant and clear to dark and overcast already, but to attack someone (deadly or subdoing, or in anyway designed to 'hit' or affect another), you use action skill.

+roll yourskill vs name=#

If it is a PC, you could '+roll energy vs john=energy' and the system would use the stats from both sheets.

It will draw from the appropriate attribute, Reaction in this case. Unless you specify otherwise. If you have a reason to think another is good in a situation, by all means use another attribute in its place. The energy vs someone who may be insulated, and you want to use mind, '+roll energy+mind vs john=energy'.

If the 'name' portion of a roll doesn't match any character, it will look for the number after the = sign to work. You can assign anything here. Thus, NPCs do not have do not have numbers (some FS3 games set up bots to use for quick combat). When assigning a difficulty, think of both attribute and skill when rolling the number. 2 dots should be an average attribute. Every human out there has at least 2 dots.

The base difficulty for anything should simply be 4 to assume some skill in some context for the challenge at hand.

For fighting supers or something of an equal level to the students. A base number of 7 should be used as the difficulty, this assume 3 dots in the attribute and a skill of 4. If they are good at the task, or its their primary ability and skill set, assume 9 as the difficulty (4 dots in attribute, 5 in the skill). If its a regular adult super, 10 on average. and 12-13 for the really big supers.

Always use the npc name=# for the opponent, it should use opposed dice pools. The base +roll skill only counts successes, and will most always succeed.

Defending Others

This is part of the game, this is a primary reason why everyone is limited to 2 action skills. Work in pairs, on teams, collaborate. Decide how you want to defend, make a quick '+roll ability' to see if its successful (see if you get the defense up to provide it). If successful, you defend using your action skill.

Example: John the psychic is attacked by Brutus the Brick. Titan Tammy has energy constructs that stop physical damage (she has energy and physical as her action skills), she makes an energy construct roll and is successful in putting a construct around John, so when Brutus goes to clobber John, he rolls his physical against Tammy's physical now.

Damage

The standard damage is about 4 solid hits between equal competitors will incapacitate them. We have four different types of attacks.

If the defender has the same action skill as the attacker, they can easily take four hits, a few more on marginal victories. A few less for greater successes.

If the defender does not have the same action skill, they take double damage. Two solid hits will incapacitate someone.

If the attacker tries something they don't have (a punch by someone without any physical) and the defender has it, they deal half damage, it will take a good solid 8 hits for normal Joe to give the Hulk a beating, assuming he isn't clobbered before he luckily manages 8 whole hits.

Sort of Examples:

Two Bricks fighting, the first to land four solid hits wins.

John the Pyschic vs Brutus the Brick: If John makes two solid psychic attacks against the charging Brutus, he mind blasts him or takes control or whatever his psychic abilities do. If Brutus is upon John and punches him twice with his MeatHooks(tm), its lights out for John.

John and Brutus, John wants to punch Brutus; he can roll physical against him. It uses body, so he still has a tiny dice pool and may hit. Just most of his blows won't do much damage this way. If he manages to not be hit by the giant Brutus (2 times), and sneaks in a bunch of little swats, Brutus may feel the effects.

Initiative

Simply, follow pose order, we should be more focused on PvE in general, players should go, NPCs should react. Roll as you go. Determine target number as above and roll then pose if you like. In the case of PvP for any reason and to see who 'goes first', there are several ways to determine.

First is to keep following pose order, as each roll is opposed to the others stats. However, this may not be fair as one person may be rolling energy and reaction based, to someone who has no energy defense but could easily do something in return like punching with super strength or mind zotting with psychic abilities. The next two methods would account for this. One being to use opposed Alertness to see who does their ability first. The second is to roll the two opposed to each other (ie, energy vs psychic) and the one who won that roll has gotten off their action first, and successfully. The latter will negate appropriate defenses on one level, such as energy vs energy, but its already accepted they lack defense and are trying to get in their own level of first punch during the round.

There are options, just make sure everyone is aware. Base rules is alertness to see who goes first for the round, then appropriate rolls.

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