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Battle:
Dice, Detailed


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Detailed Dice Battle Style

Read this version if you are not familiar or comfortable with the dice system.

Not many situations will call for players to battle, but many quests will also have players facing off against
NPC enemies, so knowing the basics of how to battle could keep your characters alive!



Attributes ("Stats")

Characters have four Attributes which determine their ability to perform actions in quests, battles, and events. At registration, characters will distribute a set amount of points into the four Attributes as they desire, keeping in mind Class and Race requirements. Each time a character reaches a new level, they have the chance to increase their stats by spending Skill Points; five (5) SP will raise an Attribute by one (1) point. You'll want to build your character's stats according to their strengths and weaknesses: want to wield powerful magic? Invest in Aptitude. Want to be a strong warrior? Invest in Vigor. It's up to you how you build your character. The Attributes are defined as follows:

Vigor (Strength/Power):

Vigor is mainly used during actions of power, such as close combat (called 'Melee') or feats of strength such as carrying heavy objects. Any tasks that require strength would involve the character's Vigor.


Agility (Nimbleness/Speed):

Agility refers to a characters ability to move, and how quickly they do so; most often used for dodging or far combat (called 'Ranged'.) It is important for certain Races and Classes to have a high Agility.


Influence (Manipulation):

Influence refers to several different things, but it's primary usage is related to spell effects. Charming, lying, and over-all manipulation of others uses this stat. Characters that wish to play off their looks would also want to have a high Influence to try to get their way (whether that be in attractiveness, or to intimidate.)


Aptitude (Mental Ability/Magic Attack):

There are two primary uses of Aptitude: Mental Ability, and Magic Attacks. How intelligent your character is, and how well they learn and use spells will involve Aptitude. When fighting off a spell effect, Aptitude would be used to 'see through' the trick.

Attacking

There are several factors that come into how to battle, but we will just focus on the basics on this page. Don't be intimidated, if you don't understand it right away, our staff will be more than happy to help you step by step as long as you ask. It's not as hard as it looks, and once you've got down the basics, the rest will fall into place with ease.


The dice involved in fighting breaks down to adding together your stats. There are different styles of battle (Melee versus Ranged for example) which each have their own unique roll. Each style is explained in a little more detail below, but they all work off the same basic structure.


Explained: The first stat (often referred to as the Primary stat) is added to the second stat (called 'Secondary stat') which has been cut in half. The reason for this is because the "Primary" stat is considered the main focus of the attack (such as power/vigor in Melee) at full force, while the "Secondary" stat is simply the support (such as speed/agility in Melee) which we use at half strength. For example, when you swing a sword, you are going to put all your strength behind it for the most damage, but you also want to be quick enough that the person doesn't avoid the strike.


When attacking, we also use a "Base" in the roll. This is the foundation of the roll, and even if your Attributes for some reason are reduced/hindered, you'll still have your Base to back you up because it wont be effected. Base is only used in attacking however, so you'll need to decide if investing in making it higher is worth it for your character or not. If you battle/attack a lot, it would be very helpful. If you don't, investing in an Attribute directly may be better for you.


Lastly, you'll have additional factors to your attack roll if you have bonuses. Skills are one of the biggest "bonus" factors in the game that can effect your attack rolls. It's not required that you use your Skills, if you don't wish to have a bunch of extra math to do and care little for battle. Though if you are a player that will wish to engage in many battle scenarios, you'll want to keep track of your Skill (and other factors) bonuses for the best rolls.

Melee Attacks

Melee Base: 5
Primary Stat: Vigor (10)
Secondary Stat: Agility (10)

Example Melee Attack: d20
(10 + 5 + 5)
(VIG + Half AGL + Base)

Let's break down the above example piece by piece. There are three main styles of fighting: Melee, Ranged, and Magic. In this example, we are using Melee which means Close Combat, typically within arms reach such as when swords are used.


Our system uses attributes, and what is called a "Base." The base number starts off the same for all characters at 5. There are ways to improve that number later on, but for now we wont discuss that. Each style of fighting has a different base, but may usually remain the same number.


Next listed is the attack roll. In the example, the "Melee Attack" is listed to be d20. Below that explains why the roll is d20. The Vigor (VIG) is listed as 10, the Agility (AGL) is listed as 10 which is cut in half and becomes 5, and as you already saw, the Base is listed as 5. Melee attacks use VIG and AGL as the attributes for battle because VIG refers to strength, and AGL refers to speed. So naturally, a melee attack would use both of these. We add the two stats to the Base of 5, which adds up to d20. That is your Attack Roll! The objective in battle is to have a higher roll than the other person you are fighting.

Ranged Attacks

Ranged Base: 5
Primary Stat: Agility (10)
Secondary Stat: Aptitude (5)

Example Ranged Attack: d17
(10 + 2 + 5)
(AGL + Half Apt, Rounded Down + Base)

In this example, we are using Ranged which means Distant Combat, typically out of arms reach such as when bow & arrows are used.


Just like with the Melee example, Ranged starts with a Base of 5. Different from Melee battle however are the Attributes used. As you can see under the Ranged Attack listed at d17, the Attributes are Agility, and Aptitude. When aiming a ranged attack, you have to make calculations and judgments on how far it will go, thus Aptitude is used.


Since the attack is going out of arms reach, it involves speed and accuracy which involves Agility. Add your AGL with your APT and then the Ranged Base. That is your Ranged Attack! Weapons will always list what type of attack they can be used for (Melee or Ranged.) Whenever cutting the secondary stat in half, it will be rounded down. Since in this case APT was 5 (an odd number) it was rounded down to 2 from 2 1/2 (we don't use decimals or fractions in rolling.)

Magic Attacks

Spell Attacks:
Magic Base: 5
Primary Stat: Aptitude
Secondary Stat: Agility

Spell Effects:
Magic Base: 5
Primary Stat: Influence
Secondary Stat: Aptitude


Magic requires spells to attack instead of weapons, but magic also uses a Base. Spells that do physical damage to another use the same stats (APT & AGL) as Ranged Attacks, but spells that cause effects (illusions for example) use Aptitude and Influence to trick the other person. So if your spell causes external damage, use APT and AGL, plus your Magic Base; if your spell uses effects, use INF and APT, plus your Magic Base. Spells will each list if they are an effect spell or a damage spell.

Damage


If an attack is successful (attack roll higher than opponent's defense roll), then damage will be rolled. Damage is determined by the weapon, item or spell used when attacking. For example, if your sword does d6 damage, upon successful attack you will roll d6 and the result of that roll will be deducted from your opponent's Life Points (LP). The person who gets their opponent to zero (0) LP first is deemed the winner. In a quest, your character will attack on their turn (see 'Init' below) to take down an NPC enemy controlled by the GM until the NPC's are defeated.

NOTE: This information will be listed on your character sheet for you to find once registered, so that you do not have to return to this page very often in the future. The type of attack (Melee, Ranged, etc) stats will be noted below your attack roll for easy reference.

Defending

Now we'll explain defending. Obviously people can attack each other through the whole duel, but you'll be defending yourself too! So how do we do this?

First you need to know that you only defend after your opponent has made an attack. The rounds go:
1. Character 1's Attack/Action
2. Character 2's Defending an Attack
3. Character 1's Damage roll if applicable.
4. New Round, Character 2's Attack/Action
Sometimes an action will be made such as creating distance, healing, or using an item in which you wont need to always defend. This means that your defending is not needed, and the turn will advance straight to the next round.

Let's assume for now now though that your character was attacked and has to defend themselves. You have a few options to do so:

Option 1: Dodging. You can use your Agility (AGL) to get out of the way of an oncoming attack. This means you will roll your AGL stat and hope you get higher than your opponent's attack roll. If you successfully dodge, you take no damage. This style of defending is useful if you have a high AGL, because your opponent's character would be likely to cause less damage by landing less hits. Also, max dodging rolls (see below for more info) are automatic dodges even if your opponent's roll was higher. Though Dodging can sometimes be a less reliable way of defending, it is the only defense option that results in no damage taken if successful.

Option 2: Blocking. Similar to absorbing (see option 3), you can block some of the damage aimed at you. This means you'll take the hit, but kind of deflect it to reduce the damage you take. You will roll Vigor (VIG) to do this, and what you roll will be deducted from what your opponent rolls for damage next. If your block is higher than the damage rolled, you take no damage. If it is lower, you will subtract. (If the damage was 7 and your block was 5, the damage taken will be 2 LP.) This is a particularly useful way to defend if your character has no armor and the attack roll made is higher than a Dodge roll you could make. Shields increase your Block rolls if used, and will only be destroyed if an Aimed Shot is done directly at the shield.

Option 3: Absorbing. Armor is useful in battle because it can endure damage instead of your character having their life points reduced. Armor uses DP (durability points) and can protect your character from harm, as long as you don't let the DP reach 0 (at which point it becomes useless until repaired.) If you wish to Absorb damage, you'll state so on your defending turn and the GM will note it. If armor becomes useless during battle, you will begin to take damage, and have to get your armor repaired after the event is finished. In the event the damage taken in a single turn is more than half your character's LP and you still choose to Absorb, your character will take no LP damage, but the armor will be destroyed beyond repair (despite it's DP) and no longer be usable; a great option to save your character in dire situations, but costly.

Option 4: Counter Attack. If you have little regard for taking some damage, you can forfeit defending and do a counter attack instead. This means your character will take the full damage of the attack, but will get to deal some damage to the opponent too. An attack has to have been made by your character's opponent to counter-attack. If an action (see below) is used in place of an attack round, your character cannot counter attack. If you decide to counter attack, announce it at the defense stage to the GM, then once the opponent has rolled their damage, your character will do a counter attack. You'll then roll the damage for your weapon (roll the normal damage roll, the result will be cut in half *rounded down*) and the only option the opponent has to defend a counter attack is Absorbing since they wont have reaction time for Blocking or Dodging! Counter attacks must be done in the same way you were attacked that turn distance wise. If you were attacked melee, you must counter melee, ranged vs ranged, and magic vs either since magic can be melee or ranged depending on the spell. Then a new round starts and it's your turn to attack again! This method of "defense" (or lack of) is perfect for the warriors who can afford to take some hits and want to deal as much damage to their opponent as they can. It also makes for quicker battles.


Turns & Special Dice Rolls

Initiative ("Init")

Since this is a structured RPG, most battles are turn based. One person will take their turn to do an action in battle or on a quest, then the next person and so on. We determine the order by Initiative (Init) rolls. This means everyone rolls the dice to see who goes first. The highest roll goes first, and goes down the results to the lowest who goes last. What you roll is based off your Agility and Aptitude stats. Just like Ranged and Magic Attacks right? Wrong.
There is a little difference with Init rolls: there is no Base. Only your two stats are added together for Init. The two stats you use are both used at full strength too (meaning you don't half the second one like when attacking.) You can find several other things in the game that effect Init however, so keep an eye out on the site for things that improve your chance to strike first.


Max Rolls ("Criticals")

Dice results are important to keep track of, for a few reasons. One of those reasons involve Max Rolls (called a Critical.)
Max attack rolls (E.g. 25 on a d25) are auto-hits and cannot be dodged (but CAN be endured with armor.) Your opponent also has to halve their next Attack roll.
As long as a Critical attack has not been rolled (in which case you cannot defend) you also can have a Max defense roll. This only applies if you are Dodging (Defense 1) or Blocking (Defense 3); if you Max your roll, you take no damage and get to double your next Attack roll.

Skills

Rolls that require an Ability or Skill often use d100 rolls. In these cases, the roll will be based both off your stat, and the following chart:

Click Here

You will need to roll higher than the percentage you are set to according to that chart. The higher your Attribute, the lower your percentage difficulty and the easier it is to achieve your skill. See individual skill's for any further information needed, such as damage.