OtherSpace: The Farthest Star: Combat

This combat system is used to resolve conflicts involving violence when a set source of arbitration is needed. Most of the time, a staff member will be called in to adjucate modifiers, guided by the examples set forth in this article. This information is meant to update and replace the information found in the +sinfo/+skills files on the MUSH itself.

How Attributes are Used In Combat
Reaction: At the beginning of some combat, judges (or players) can use reaction rolls to determine who makes the first move such as in a face-to-face pistol duel. If the characters start on even ground, the modifier is 0. If one character has a distinct advantage or disadvantage, modifiers may be applied.

Strength: The strength statistic partially determines a character's ODF. It may also come into play in shoving matches and other contested actions where brute force is a factor.

Agility: For combat purposes, agility is the basic measurement of a character's ability to get out of the way. In most cases, raw agility is at a disadvantage when pitted against trained skills, such as martial arts (to the tune of a -1 mod), or against weapons.

Constitution: Constitution partially determines a character's DDF and capacity for enduring punishment. It may also be used to test a character's ability to function in the face of poison, disease, succumbing from wounds, etc.

Perception: Perception represents the ability to see a trap before it springs, sense an attacker behind you before you're stabbed in the back, identify a concealed weapon or locate useful cover in the middle of a firefight, among other things.

Willpower: Willpower could be tested to see if a character can keep fighting when outnumbered or injured and struggling to retain consciousness, for example. However, it most often comes into play in psionic combat. A character with no psionic ability can roll Willpower at -2 to defend against such an attack.

Intelligence: Intelligence is not normally rolled in combat.

Charisma: Charisma is not normally rolled in combat.

How secondary attribute are determined
Secondary attributes are those stats that are relevent in combat, but are not raised directly. They are determined by other variables.

Total DDF is determined by a character's constitution, divided by 2 and rounded up, plus the stated DDF of any armor being worn and the effects of natural armor, if applicable.

Total ODF, in melee is determined by a character's strength, divided by 2 and rounded up, plus the stated ODF of a weapon being used. In ranged combat, total ODF is the stated ODF of the weapon in use.

How combat progresses
In general circumstances, a fight will start with requiring the involved characters to make reaction rolls. Most of these are at 0. However, if characters have a distinct advantage or disadvantage modifiers may be applies. Ties are rerolled between those who tied. The turn order for the combat scene is then considered to be the character with the highest reaction roll down to the character with the lowest reaction roll.

How combat skills work
Combat skills work differently depending on whether the skills are ranged or melee.

Ranged Weapons
Range weapons are fired, and, depending on their range from the target, have a modifier applied. These modifiers are different for each weapon, and the skill rolled depends on the nature of the weapon. Each weapon has a different set of range modifiers. OS considers five major ranged categories of weapons. When burst fire weapons are involved (as in weapons that may fire more than one shot a round), they must all be fired at the same target.

1) Projectile pistols: These are your small guns that fire lead in the air, so to speak. Items that fall under this category are the Revolver and Flechette Pistol.

2) Projectile rifle: These are larger guns that fire lead into the air, similar to the pistols, but larger. Rifles, shotguns, and the tangler gun fall into this category.

3) Energy pistols: These are the small guns that fire energy based attacks into the air. The stun gun and the pulse pistols are examples of these.

4) Energy rifles: The larger guns that fire energy. The pulse assault rifle and the RNS Mk7 Rifle are examples of these.

5) Archaic ranged weapons: This group is for those ranged weapons that are derived from weapons that existed prior to the use of gunpowder. Bows are the major member of this group, but blow darts and slings could also fall into this group.

6) Throwing: This skill covers, well, throwing. Not always a combat skill, but with items like throwing knives it can definately serve as one.

Combat ranges defined
For ranged weapons, in their help file, they give modifiers for range, the modifiers are defined as:

Close: 0-3 feet.

Short: 4-20 feet.

Medium: 21-100 feet.

Long: 100-1000 feet.

Extreme: 1000+ feet.

Melee Combat Skills
Melee combat skills are the skills that fight in close quarters.

Modifiers for close quarters combat are based, mostly, on what skill is being used to attack, and which skill is being used to defend with.

Tier 1 skills are large melee weapon skills, most often having some ranged advantage on their counterparts. Tier 1 skills have a +1 modifier defending against everything when concerned with a Tier 2 skill, and a +2 modifier defending against all Tier 3 skills. Agility may also dodge these attacks at a -1 modifier.

Tier 2 skills are small weapons (like knives) and most intensely trained unarmed skills. Tier 2 skills have a -1 modifier defending against all tier 1 skills, and a +1 modifier defending against all Tier 3 skills. Agility may dodge these skills at -1.

Tier 3 skills is reserved for Brawling and other skills like it. Tier 3 skills gain no advantages against other tiers (and is superceded by the other tiers since they receive skill modifiers). They defending against Tier 1 skills with a -2 penalty, and Tier 2 skills with a -1 penalty. Agility dodges this skill at 0.

Tier 1 skills: Polearm weapons, Swordmanship, Armed Martial Arts

Tier 2 skills: Boxing, Knife Fighting, Martial Arts, Wresting

Tier 3 skills: Brawling, Clawed Combat, Impromptu Weapons

Defending
A defender will defend with either agility, or they may defend with a relevent combat skill. The modifiers for defending are determined, as above, by which skill is being used against other skills. Multiple instances of defending after the first attack in a round suffer a cumulative -1 penalty. Thus, the second defense in a round suffers -1, while the third suffers -2, and so on.

These negative defense modifiers may be negated by forgoing an attack for the round and assuming a 'full defense' like position.

If someone defends a melee attack with four or more levels of success above the attacker, they may take a 'free action' counterattack at their normal modifiers. This does not negate a full defense position.

In the case of ranged attacks with multiple attacks in a round, such as assault weapons, there is no penalty for dodging each salvo at once. However, if a second salvo is fired in a round, the dodge penalties would be at -1. The third salvo at -2. The attacks from multiple attack weapons do not incur penalties for each multiple shot burst. If a weapon has three attacks a round, all three attacks may be made without additional penalty for quantity of attacks.

Combat modifiers
In addition to the above listed modifiers, some other modifiers may be applied to a situation. Listed below are some examples of modifiers.

Dual Wield
Dual wielding is the act of using two weapons at once, most often guns. However, since this has a detrimental effect on accuracy, the first weapon is at a -2 modifier, while the second is at a -3 modifier.

Movement
Movement is a part of combat: Ducking, dodging, positioning. Those are included as part of the skills. However, substantial movement, as in changing firing location, and trying to attack incur penalties as well. Walking and firing a gun, for instance, is a -1 penalty. Running while trying to fire that same gun is at -2.

Cover
Trying to hit someone behind a substantial amount of cover incurs penalties as well. The person behind cover will roll defense like normal. The attack will be at a penalty for the attack.

25% cover: -1 penalty

50% cover: -2 penalty

75% cover: -3 penalty

90+% cover: -4, or, in this case, it may be deemed that the target cannot be hit from the current location of the attacker.

Blind
Shooting blind with only a minimal idea as to a target's location incurs a -6 penalty.