Part 9: Combat

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Part 9 - Combat!

Combat in NEMISIS is very simple and easy to understand. No, you don't have to figure out EXACTLY
how fast each character can attack and apply that number to a ratio table dependant upon the weather.
No, you don't have to choose from a list of some 1,000 plus combat manuvers that your character must
learn individually (who's ever gonna use the wrestling move "quick beefcake backflip triple-decker disco
dance hop-on-pop machine gun takedown" in real life, anyway? .......HELLO???). And no, it's not as simple as say, "Play roshambo to determine who gets to whack each other first. Roll damage. Whoopee.".

For all Nemisis combat scenes, each player needs three things:

1. Character n' Sheet.
2. One (Yeah, that's right ONE, what's the world coming to?) 20-sided die.
3. Dice for each weapon that the character wishes to use.

Let's face it, combat rules! You can't ever have a successful RPG campaign without the bad guys gettin'
whacked up a bit. But, the problem with most combat systems in RPGs is that they're TOO SLOW!
"Let's see.... I roll add all bonuses, then opponent can choose to evade adding all bonuses, then I figure in the bonus of defender's cover, then I decide the EXACT ammount of ammo used up in .5 seconds of fire, then multiply by damage rate of the gun. Now all characters repeat this process in order determined by adding their last 6 attributes, then divide by distance..." And after, oh say, 1 HOUR, only 15 seconds of combat has passed! Why make it so friggin' complicated?!?!?

When I set out to create a combat system for Nemisis, I decided to make it something simple, something that could keep the heart pounding adrenaline rush of a good action movie. That is, without just saying, "All players-DUKE IT OUT!!!". So, here is the reward of all my hard work, I hope you approve...

ROLLS- All combat rolls, except damage, are made on a d20.

Hand-to-Hand damage- punch-1D6 (1D4 without training)
kick-1D6 (1D4 without training)
martial arts chop/quick strike-1D4 (requires MA train.)
toss/throw-1D8 (requires training)
twist limb-1D8
takedown/tackle-1D8

Special Manuvers-
chop/quick strike- A trademark of martial arts, after being used, the Character can respond in ANY way
to an attack against her without surrendering her next attack.

hold- Does no damage in itself, but puts an opponent into a hold, helping to restrain him. It also opens
up several attacks which can only be used after a hold. Roll to attack as usual. Hold remains until
released, opponent escapes, or you attempt to evade attack.

escaping hold- Roll to dodge minus assailant's highest hand to hand attack skill level. Remember, you
can still attack in a hold, even your assailant.

pin- If a second successful hold is rolled by assailant, a pin occurs. The victim of a pin cannot escape as in a hold. A pin also induces a +3 roll to all manuvers performed from the pin. It also doubles all damage from a toss/throw or twist.

toss- Can be performed from a hold or pin.

twist limb- Can be performed from a hold or pin, or during other circumstances.

Round Time- Each combat round is meant to represent 10 seconds.

Attacks per round- Attacks per round depend on the Character's speed rating:

Speed # of Attacks

1-3 1

4-6 2

7-9 3

10+ 4

Also, everytime a fighting skill is advanced to level 3, 6, or 9, the character gains one more attack. This can be used only once per each of these levels. (eg. When Karate is advanced to L 3, you gain one attack. However, if you then advance Advanced fighting to L 3, you DO NOT gain another attack. However, if either Advanced fighting or Karate was advanced to L 6 (not both), you would gain another attack.) These attacks can be used ONLY when fighting Hand-to-Hand.

Also, when using a weapon, a skill matching the weapon being used will provide the same effect as
stated above.

Actions- Each attack a character has per round can also be used to perform an action. These include:
reload weapon (takes a full round if not trained in that weapon), use ability/power, move up to 3 feet per
speed point, take aim (weapon, +3 to attack roll using it next round), etc.

COMBAT PROCEDURE

Each round of combat consists 5 easy steps:

Step 1- Determine order-
Order is determined by adding each character's Speed attribute to the level of their highest (if any) skill
using the weapon they have ready or plan to use. Highest number goes first, lowest goes last. In the
case of ties, roll 1D20, highest goes first.

In the case of a surprise attack, the assailants automatically get one attack that cannot be defended
against. They determine order among themselves, following this order. Then a normal round starts,
however, the defenders determine their own order for this round, which is placed after the assailant's
order. After this round, determine order as before.

Step 2- Character attacks-
Based on the order determined from step 1, the first character can either perform an action or attack an
opponent of his choice.

When attacking, roll 1D20 and add the Level of the skill associated with the weapon you are using (if you
have a skill in this area, or the highest), you can NEVER add more than 5, even if the skill is higher. This
number is the attack roll. This determines how good of a strike you have performed.

Step 3- Defender, well, defends-
If defender wishes to, she can defend against her assailant's attack. There are two ways to defend:
Block or Dodge. Only ONE may be performed.

Block- This can only be used against hand-to-hand attacks, or physical attacks. When used, roll 1d20
and add the appropriate skill (still at a limit of 5). This number is the block roll. If the block roll is equal to
or greater than the assailant's attack roll, the attack has been successfully countered.

Dodge- This causes the defender to jump, duck, or otherwise evade the attack. When used, the defender gives up her next attack. If used, roll 1D20 and add half your Dexterity attribute, round down. This is your dodge roll. If the dodge roll is equal to or greater than the assailant's attack roll, the attack has been successfully evaded.

Step 4- Damage!-
If the defender does not defend, and the attack roll is greater than or equal to the defender's Defense attribute, then the attack is successful. The attack is also successful if the defender attempts to block or dodge, but fails (Defense attribute doesn't matter in this case.).

When the attack is successful, roll a number of dice for damage stated with the weapon. This number is
subtracted from the defender's HP.

If the defender's HP drops to 0 or below, they pass out. They must also roll once against their Endurance for each damage point beyond 0. If ANY of these rolls fail, the character dies. Otherwise, they are in a coma, and must reach medical facilities IMMEDIATELY and be stabilized, or they will most likely die.

Step 5- Repeat-

Repeat Steps 2-5 for the next character in order (from step 1). If a character is out of attacks for this
round, or has dodged after their last attack, skip them. Once all characters are out of attacks, start over
from step 1. 10 seconds have passed, time for the next round.

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