Combat is a very important aspect of Sword World 2.0. The PCs will often find themselves fighting off powerful foes. Combat is when actions like Accuracy, Evasion, and Spellcasting come into play.
This section describes the flow of combat and the conditions that can arise as the PCs fight.
Combat Order[]
In combat, all characters involved follow the combat flowchart.
1. Beginning of Combat[]
Combat begins when the GM declares a combat scene.
There are two sides in any combat: characters fighting with the PCs and those fighting against them. The GM declares which participating NPCs are on which side when combat begins.
The GM also determines the terrain and size of the battlefield, as well as the distance the parties begin combat at. The GM determines the state of each participant and the terrain and obstacles on the field as described below.
If the combatants begin too close together, some PCs may be unable to use their abilities. On the other hand, if they begin too far away, some PCs won't be able to take meaningful actions. The GM should take the PCs' needs and the circumstances into account and try to begin combats at a distance between 5m and 30m. Once combat begins, PCs and NPCs may move around as normal.
Combat Opening Distances Guide[]
| Situation | Distance (m) |
|---|---|
| Enclosed space | 5m |
| Relatively large space | 10m |
| Crowded space, such as a forest | 10m |
| Open space, such as flat plains | 20m |
| Moving, such as on horseback | +10~20m |
| Fighting a large monster | +5~10m |
Monster Knowledge at Combat Open[]
When combat begins, any characters who don't already know about an enemy monster can make a Monster Knowledge check against it. Each character must make their own check.
2. Initiative, and the Leading and Following Parties[]
Next, both sides of the combat make Initiative checks to determine turn order. Every character in combat is entitled to an Initiative check.
To determine the leading party, use the highest of the monsters' Initiative rolls as the target for the Initiative check. If any PC beats this target, the PC party becomes the leading party and the monsters are the following party. If every PC fails the check, the monster party is the leading party.
If the PCs fight other characters, the Initiative roll is a contested roll.
3. Beginning of Round[]
Combat is divided into rounds. One round is ten seconds. The first round begins after Initiative is rolled.
Each character in combat is entitled to one turn in each round. Once each character in combat has taken his turn, play proceeds to phase 8: End of Round, and then the round is over.
4. Leading Party Turns Begin[]
The characters in the leading party now take their turns. These turns may proceed in any order within the party.
The flow of a single turn is detailed in the "Turns" section.
Durational Effects in Combat[]
The duration of a spell or ability that applies a lasting effect is determined at the time of casting. If the ability is labelled with a duration such as "one round", the effect lasts until the beginning of the next phase when the affected creature's party acts. If a durational effect is cast in the leading party's action phase of the first round, it would remain in effect until the beginning of the leading party's action phase in the second round.
Effects cast in the following party's phase last until the next following party's phase.
5. Leading Party Turns End[]
After all characters in the leading party have taken their turns, the following party may act.
6. Following Party Turns Begin[]
The following party acts after the entire leading party has ended their turns. Like the leading party, the following party may act in any order.
7. Following Party Turns End[]
After all characters in the following party have taken their turns, the turn ends.
8. End of Round[]
After the entire leading and following parties have taken their turns, the round ends. After each round ends, ten seconds have passed.
9. Combat Continues[]
Even after the end of the round, if there are units still willing to fight on both sides, combat proceeds to a new round. Repeat steps 3 through 9.
If one side has been wiped out or refuses to continue fighting, proceed to phase 10: End of Combat
10. End of Combat[]
If all members of either side in a combat have been defeated or are otherwise unable to continue fighting, combat ends. Likewise, combat ends if one side surrenders or ceases to chase fleeing enemies, or otherwise refuses to engage.
When combat ends, all combat conditions and afflictions immediately end. At the GM's discretion, if he feels that combat may soon begin again, he may decide that any such effects remain.
Spoils of Combat[]
If any of the monsters in combat had spoils, the PCs may claim them at the end of combat. The GM rolls 2d and consults the defeated monsters' Drop entries against the results to see what rewards were earned.
If the defeated monsters had Sword Shards, the PCs may claim those as well.
Collecting spoils takes 10 minutes.
Combat Flowchart[]
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Turns[]
Each combatant takes one turn per round. This section describes what can be done in a turn.
A character's turn ends when he declares it, whether or not he takes any actions.
A turn is broadly divided into moves and actions. Each turn proceeds according to the Turn Progress Chart.
Movement[]
A character can move on his turn. The three types of movement are full movement, normal movement, and short movement. Each one imposes different restrictions on what actions can be taken afterwards.
On his turn, each character declares what type of movement he is taking, then moves up to the limit that movement allows.
Types of Movement[]
Full Movement (3 times Agi m)[]
The character breaks into a full sprint. Full movement is very long, but imposes severe limits to what actions can be taken afterwards. After taking full movement, the character incurs a -4 penalty to Evasion until his next turn.
After taking full movement, you can take the following actions.
- Free actions
Normal Movement (Agi m)[]
The character moves quickly, paying attention to his opponents' actions and ready to deflect attacks. You cannot take normal movement and then make a ranged attack or cast a spell.
After taking normal movement, you can take the following actions.
- Free actions
- Melee attack (Accuracy check with a melee weapon)
- Any action that takes less than 10 seconds
- Anything allowed by the GM
Short Movement (3m)[]
The character moves slowly, fully aware of his surroundings and ready to take any other action. If the character's Agility score is reduced to below 3, his short movement rate is reduced to his Agility score.
After taking short movement, you can take the following actions.
- Free actions
- Any action you could take after normal movement
- Ranged attack (Accuracy check with a ranged weapon)
- Casting a spell
Standard Actions[]
You may only use each of your turns to make one action that requires a check. These actions are called standard actions.
A standard action may be used to make a melee or ranged attack or cast a spell. Any complex action or time-consuming check also consumes your standard actions.
Free Actions[]
You can take a free action at any time during your turn.
You can take one before or after any other action, but you may not take one during another action (for example, when attacking with a weapon, you calculate damage after confirming that the attack hit).
Using a Combat Feat[]
You may activate a declared combat feat before making an Accuracy or Spellcasting roll.
You may only activate one such combat feat per turn.
Entering a Brawl[]
You may initiate a brawl or enter one that already exists.
Casting as a Free Action[]
Certain Magitech and Divine spells specify that they can be cast as a free action. This includes spells that magically enhance bullets. You may cast as many such spells as you wish during your turn.
However, this is still casting a spell, thus you may not do so after taking full or normal movement.
Standing Up[]
You may stand up from prone after being knocked down or falling asleep. Until the end of the turn in which you stand up, you suffer a -2 penalty to Fortitude and Willpower checks.
Change Weapons[]
You may change weapons as a free action only before you have taken a standard action. You may store a Sword or a one-handed Gun in a scabbard or holster and retrieve it on your next round. You must drop any other weapon or shield where you stand to equip another weapon.
End of Turn[]
When a player ends their turn, they pass control to the next player.
Turn Progress Chart[]
Brawls[]
Being in a Brawl[]
As characters move around and take actions, they may enter "brawls". Characters in brawls remain near each other and may attack one another or block one another's actions.
Entering a Brawl[]
A character can declare a brawl when he moves to an enemy or when an enemy attempts to move adjacent to him. The GM decides if the brawl is legal when declared by a character being approached.
A brawl is initiated as soon as the player or GM declares it. Only one participating character need declare a brawl for the brawl to start.
The Brawl Zone[]
When characters initiate a brawl, it forms a brawl zone.
A brawl zone is the zone where the brawling characters can strike and intercept others. All characters involved in a brawl are in the same brawl zone.
The brawl zone is centered around the character who initiated the brawl. The brawl remains in place until it is released.
Once a character enters a brawl zone, he can only leave using the rules for escaping a brawl zone.
A single brawl zone can hold up to 20 fighters. Rules for brawl zones with 21 or more fighters are planned for an upcoming rulebook.
Entering a Brawl Zone[]
A character can join a brawl zone after it's formed. The player or GM moves to the center of the area and declares he is joining the area, thereafter being treated as a participant.
Changing a Brawl Zone's Size[]
A brawl zone can change size depending on the number of participants, terrain, and other factors. As new characters join the brawl and characters in it are knocked out, the number of participants can fluctuate and change the area's size.
Below is a guide to determining the size of a brawl zone. When the area is formed, the GM decides how big it is.
Brawl Zone Size Guide[]
| Number of Fighters | Size Guide (m) | Indoor Size Guide (m) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Radius 2 | 5 x 5 |
| 3-5 | Radius 3 | 3 x 3 |
| 6-10 | Radius 4 | 7 x 7 |
| 11-15 | Radius 5 | 8 x 8 |
| 16-20 | Radius 6 | 10 x 10 |
GM's Guide: Adjudicating the Size of a Brawl Zone[]
Normally, any character can enter a brawl zone until it reaches its limit of 20 characters. However, the GM may decide that this doesn't make sense, like if it can't fit inside the battlefield. For example, if the fight took place on a 5 meter wide path, the maximum size of a brawl zone would be only five characters. The sixth character just wouldn't be able to join. Brawl zones can also be restricted by the physical size of the room and other terrain conditions.
Movement Restrictions in a Brawl Zone[]
Characters in a brawl generally may not move outside the brawl zone. They must use the rules for leaving a brawl zone to escape.
Passing Through a Brawl Zone[]
Normally, a character may not pass through a brawl zone. An exception is if that character's allies dominate a brawl and can help him move through.
The character declares that he is attempting to pass through the brawl zone. Compare the number of allies in the brawl zone with the number of enemies. If the number of enemies in the brawl is less than half the number of allies, the character can pass through the area.
If there are more enemies than half the number of allies in the brawl, the enemies may start a brawl with the character trying to pass through (or may allow him to pass if they wish). If the character gets brawled this way, he is pulled into the existing brawl and ends his movement for the turn.
If the brawl is already at its maximum participants, it's impossible to pass through the area at all.
Size of Characters in the Brawl Zone[]
If a monster in the brawl zone has multiple body sections, each section counts as a character for the purpose of fitting in the brawl zone. For example, if it's a monster with three sections, count it as three characters and determine the brawl zone's size and movement blocking accordingly.
If one character's body sections outnumber its opponents entirely, it can break through a brawl zone without being dragged into a brawl. This means a single character could not start a brawl with a monster with three body sections.
Brawl Zones and Areas of Effect[]
A character attempting to cast spells like Spark or Whisper Heal into a brawl zone must include the center of the area within the spell.
Abilities with areas of effect have a statistic that determines the maximum number of targets they can affect. If such an ability is used into a brawl zone, select targets randomly up to that number.
If the spell's area is a line, then its maximum targets is marked as "special". In this case, the ability's user can choose one target. All other creatures within the brawl zone roll 1d, and creatures who rolled 3 or less are also targets of the line ability. The originally targeted creature is targeted without a roll.
Fusing Brawl Zones[]
As a brawl zone gains combatants, it may expand to envelop the center of another brawl zone, causing the two zones to fuse into one large brawl. The new brawl zone's center is between the two original centers, and all participants of either are now included.
Leaving a Brawl Zone[]
A character who has entered a brawl cannot escape with normal movement, no matter how few enemies remain in it.
A character must declare a special action to leave the brawl zone. This is a standard action and applies a -4 penalty to Evasion until the character's next turn.
On the turn after the character declares he is leaving the brawl zone, he may take normal or full movement to move outside the zone. He begins this movement from the center of the area.
Ending a Brawl[]
If all characters in one party leave a brawl, or all combatants in a brawl have fallen unconscious, the brawl ends and the brawl zone disappears.
Movement, Action, and Brawl Example[]
Wolf wants to attack a goblin 10m away from him with his bastard sword. The bastard sword is a melee weapon, so to attack with it, Wolf has to move 10m towards the goblin and initiate a brawl. A melee attack can be made after normal movement, so Wolf can close the distance and then make his attack.
Wolf can easily reach the goblin with his 18m movement rate. He moves straight up to the goblin and declares that he's entering a brawl zone. Then he makes his attack.
Melee and Ranged Attacks[]
When a character makes an Accuracy roll to damage an opponent with a weapon, he is making either a melee or ranged attack. An attack with a melee weapon is a melee attack, and an attack with a projectile weapon is a ranged attack.
Any character can make a melee attack, but without the appropriate class levels, he must make them untrained. A ranged attack cannot be made without a projectile weapon.
Melee and Ranged Attack Details[]
Contested Accuracy and Evasion Rolls[]
When making a melee or ranged attack, the attacker makes an Accuracy roll. The target makes an Evasion roll in response, comparing his result to the attacker's. If the Accuracy roll was higher, the attacker calculates damage. If the Evasion roll was higher, the defender dodged the attack and takes no damage.
In this case, the Accuracy roll is an active roll and the Evasion roll is a passive roll. This means that in the case of a tie, the Accuracy roll fails and the Evasion roll wins.
Resolving Melee and Ranged Attacks Within a Brawl Zone[]
A character can make melee and ranged attack rolls against characters in the same brawl zone. Spells with a range of Touch may be used within a single brawl zone. Ranged attacks and spells and abilities with an area of Shot do not risk crossfire.
A character within a brawl zone may also make ranged attacks and cast Shot abilities and spells at characters outside the brawl zone.
Resolving Melee and Ranged Attacks Into a Brawl Zone[]
A character outside a brawl zone cannot make a melee attack at a character in a brawl zone, nor can he use spells or abilities with a range of Touch.
Characters making ranged attacks and using Shot abilities into a brawl zone treat the center of the brawl zone as their target for calculating range. Spells with an area of a Target Point and individual targets must target the center of the brawl zone, but the caster can choose which target creatures are affected.
A character making a ranged attack or casting a Shot spell or ability risks crossfire.
Brawl Zones and Line of Sight[]
A brawl zone provides cover like a wall or thick brush. A character without the Hawkeye combat feat cannot target any object on the opposite side of a brawl zone.
Casting Areas of Effect Into a Brawl Zone[]
Spells and abilities with areas of effect expressed as a radius, when cast into a brawl zone, affect random targets up to their maximum number of targets. Use the center of the brawl zone to determine range. Consult "Brawl Zones and Areas of Effect".
Melee and Ranged Attack Chart[]
Damage[]
Damage refers to any way a character can lose HP or MP. Characters can take damage by being hit by a melee or ranged attack or being subject to a damage-causing spell or ability.
Calculated Damage and Direct Damage[]
The two kinds of damage are calculated damage and direct damage. Calculated damage is determined by rolling Impact and adding bonus damage or magic damage. Direct damage is simply a reduction applied to HP or MP.
When a character takes damage, follow these steps.
1. Determine if Damage is Physical or Magical[]
When a character takes damage, you must determine if the damage is physical or magical in nature.
Physical damage is dealt by melee weapons and projectile weapons other than guns. If a source does not say otherwise, assume it deals physical damage. Physical damage can be reduced by a character's Defense.
Magic damage is dealt by spells, gun bullets, and the abilities of certain monsters. It is not affected by a character's Defense.
2. Calculate Impact Result[]
Impact is a measure of how effective a weapon or spell is at dealing damage. The higher the weapon or spell's impact, the more damage it can deal. An Impact result is how you translate Impact into a concrete number. It's determined using 2d.
If damage is given as "X Impact + Y", that means you have to get an Impact result.
Each weapon has its own Impact numbers. Spells and abilities don't, but they use the Impact Table in the character sheet.
When you need an Impact result, roll 2d and check your result against the appropriate table. The number on the table is the Impact result.
For example, on the table below for 20 Impact, if your 2d result rolled a 5, the result would be a 3. If you had rolled a 10, your result would be 8.
Impact result checks always use 2d. It's possible for an Impact result check to critical.
20 Impact Table[]
| Roll | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 20 Impact | - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Automatic Failure on Impact[]
If you roll for an Impact result and the dice show 2 (both 1's), the roll is an automatic failure. This awards the character 50 xp, but the original action deals no damage or healing, and any spent MP or items are wasted.
Healing with Impact[]
Healing spells and items have their own Impact rolls. Roll Impact and add Magic Power or any other bonus just as with damage.
Impact rolls made to heal cannot critical.
Common Uses of Impact[]
These are the most common actions that will cause you to roll for an Impact result.
| Name | Additional Bonuses |
|---|---|
| Physical Damage | Bonus Damage (Martial Class + Strength Bonus) |
| Magic Damage | Magic Power (Magical Class + Intelligence Bonus) |
| Magic Healing | Magic Power (Magical Class + Intelligence Bonus) |
| Item Healing | Ranger Class + Dexterity or Intelligence Bonus |
3. Calculating Damage[]
The result of adding bonus damage or Magic Power to the Impact result is called calculated damage. Calculated damage is almost always either X Impact plus either bonus damage or Magic Power.
For physical damage, calculated damage is simply the sum of the Impact result and bonus damage. For magical damage, first add the Impact result to your Magic Power. Then, if the spell is Resist Half and the target succeeded on his Willpower check, halve the calculated damage.
4. Apply Additional Damage[]
Damage can be increased by effects that provide bonuses as it's being dealt. This additional damage can also be physical or magical. Examples of additional damage sources are below.
Examples of Additional Damage[]
- Combat Feats, such as Power Strike or Weapon Proficiency: Sword.
- Spells, such as Enchant Weapon.
- Monster weaknesses, such as Fire Damage + 3 or Magic Damage + 2.
5. Apply Damage Reduction[]
After determining additional damage, it's time to determine what can reduce the damage dealt. This is where the defense from armor and shields is applied. Defense only applies to physical damage. Damage reduction effects can affect either physical or magical damage.
If damage is less than 0 after reduction is applied, the defender takes 0 damage.
Examples of Damage Reduction[]
- Defense from armor and shields.
- Combat feats, such as Taunting Strike and Armor Profiency: Nonmetal.
- Spells, such as Protection.
Damage Types[]
Damage also comes in special types. Types can be added to attacks, as with Flame Weapon, or be built into an attack, as with Energy Bolt.
Energy types can add additional damage bonuses or reductions. Make sure to check the spell or monster ability description.
Using Guns and Damage[]
When a Gunmage uses a spell like Solid Bullet, he is firing a projectile weapon, but the damage is magical damage.
As a weapon attack, the attack misses without dealing damage if the target succeeds on his Evasion check, but if the attack hits, its damage is not halved by a successful Willpower check, nor is it reduced by Defense.
6. Subtract Direct Damage from HP or MP[]
Direct damage is the number that actually gets taken from the target's HP and MP. Calculated damage becomes direct damage after applying all additional damage and damage reductions.
After losing HP and MP based on direct damage, damage resolution is over.
Damage Resolution Chart[]
Criticals[]
Critical Rate[]
Weapons and spells that deal damage almost always have a critical rate. Weapons have their own critical rates. Treat damage-dealing spells as having a critical rate of 10 unless otherwise noted.
Even though guns deal magic damage, each gun weapon has its own critical rate.
Critical rate is abbreviated as crit rate.
Resolving Criticals[]
A critical happens when, while rolling for Impact result, the result of the 2d exceeds the crit rate.
When you get a critical, roll Impact again and add the new result to the old one.
If the second roll also criticals, all the results stack.
No matter how many times you critical, only add bonus damage and Magic Power once.
Each weapon has its own crit rate, so remember what number you're supposed to use.
Exception: If you are casting a magic spell and the target succeeds on his Willpower roll, your spell cannot critical regardless of the 2d result.
Double 1s on Criticals[]
If, while rerolling critical Impact, the dice both show 1s, the entire roll doesn't fail. You use the total Impact result collected up until the 1. However, you don't get 50 xp for the automatic failure.
Adjusting Critical Rate[]
Levels in the Fencer Class reduce your crit rate by 1, making criticals more likely. Using the Lethal Strike feat also lowers your crit rate by 1. However, in SW2.0, no matter how much you stack, you can't push your crit rate down to 7. The minimum crit rate for any attack is 8.
On the other side, weapons such as maces have an increased crit rate, making criticals less likely. A character using the Aimed Attack feat is less likely to critical. A target wearing metal armor increases the crit rate of any attack aimed at him by 1.
This can increase crit rate up to 13 or even higher for that attack. In this case, the attack cannot crit at all.
Accuracy and Damage Example[]
Wolf wants to hit the goblin in front of him with his bastard sword. Wolf's Accuracy is 5 and the goblin's Evasion is 10, so Wolf has to roll at least 6 on his 2d for a total of 11 to hit the goblin.
He takes a deep breath and throws the dice. They show 4 and 2, for a total Accuracy result of 11, which means he hit.
Now that his attack has hit, he has to calculate damage. He's holding his bastard sword in one hand, and the bastard sword's one-handed Impact is 17. He rolls his Impact 2d and they come up 5 and 5. The total of the 2d is 10 and the bastard sword's crit rate is 10, so Wolf scored a critical! He remembers his Impact result of 7.
Wolf rolls again thanks to his critical, adding the new Impact result to his damage. The dice come up 6 and 3 this time for a total of 9. 9 on the Impact table translates to 6 damage. Wolf's calculated damage at the goblin is 7+6 plus 5 bonus damage for a total of 18 calculated damage.
Now it's time to add additional damage. Wolf doesn't have anything that gives him extra damage right now, though.
Then damage reduction is applied. The goblin's Defense is 2, so it subtracts 2 from the calculated damage, bringing it down to 16. The goblin doesn't have anything else that can reduce damage, so it remains at 16.
Finally, direct damage resolves. The final damage ended up being 16 points, so the goblin takes 16 points as direct damage from its HP. The goblin only has 16 HP, which means Wolf cut it down with a single mighty blow.
Losing HP and MP and Unconsciousness[]
Taking damage means a character loses HP. If the damage came from a weapon or other physical source, he reduces the damage by his Defense from armor or a shield.
If the damage came from a spell or special ability, Defense can't reduce it. Certain magical effects can reduce damage from spells and abilities.
If a character's HP drops below 0, he falls unconscious and must begin making Death Checks.
Certain spells and monster abilities can deal damage to MP rather than HP. MP is reduced by damage in the same way HP is.
MP can also be reduced by using it on spells or other powers that consume it. MP cannot be reduced into the negatives by any means, but only goes down to 0.
Nothing happens if a character's MP is reduced to 0.
Special Conditions in Combat[]
Crossfire[]
Whenever a character uses a ranged attack or Shot spell on another character in a Brawl Zone, there is a risk of crossfire.
Each character in the same Brawl Zone as the target are at equal risk of being hit by the shot. For example, if the target was in a brawl with two other characters, there would be a 1/3 chance of the shot striking true and a 2/3 chance of hitting another brawler. Roll a die to determine which character is hit by the shot before making the Accuracy check.
Only afterwards is Accuracy rolled. The character that was ultimately targeted by the shot makes the Evasion roll, even if targeted as a result of crossfire. The shooter cannot refuse to roll Accuracy if crossfire occurs.
Surprise Attack[]
If you notice enemies while they are still unaware of your presence, you may initiate a surprise attack.
To make a surprise attack, your presence must be unknown and you must be able to approach the character you are attacking using normal movement.
All the characters moving into the surprise attack make a Hide check to do so, opposed by the defenders' Danger Sense check. This is a contested roll, and if the attackers win, they may proceed to actually initiate the surprise attack.
If you are surprise attacking a monster, or if a monster is making a surprise attack, use the monster's level as a static target.
When one side makes a surprise attack, their party automatically wins initiative, and the losing side takes a -2 penalty to all actions until their turn.
If the attacking side fails their Hide check, the sneakers are discovered and combat begins. Initiative is rolled normally.
The table below shows some possible penalties on the Hide check to make a surprise attack. Normal modifiers for hindering circumstances or restricted movement can also apply.
Hide Penalties when Surprise Attacking[]
| Condition | Penalty |
|---|---|
| Target within 10m | -4 |
| Target between 11 and 20m | -2 |
| Target 21m or more away | 0 |
| Open space |
-2 |
| Bad terrain, or risk of making noise | -2 |
Falling Damage[]
A character falling from a high place takes damage proportional to the height. The damage is equal to the height fallen in meters times 3. Falling damage is physical damage and can be reduced by Defense.
The Roll skill can be used to absorb the impact of falling and reduce the damage taken.
Actions Disallowed in Combat[]
The following actions cannot be performed in combat.
- Skill checks of more than 10 minutes' duration.
- The use of time-consuming items, such as Lifegrass.
- In addition, any action determined by the GM.