Combat Actions

Characters may take many actions in Combat. These are listed below.

The type of an action determine how much of your turn it takes. A character may take two Lesser actions or one Greater action during their turn.

You may only take one attack action on a turn.

Action	Type	Subtype	Description
Standard Attack	Lesser	Attack	Use a Lesser Action to attack a target in range. Test vs. Opponent's Combat Defense
Divided Attack	Greater	Attack	Make an attack against two or more targets. Roll a test as usual, and divide your test dice at your discretion to test against each target's Combat Defense.
Two-Weapon Attack	Greater	Attack	Add your off-hand weapon's modifier to your damage, should you succeed on your Fighting test. If your off-hand weapon has the Defensive quality, it loses that quality until the start of your next turn.
Combining Attacks	Greater	Attack	Combine a Divided and Two-Weapon attack. Divide the test dice as with a Divided attack, but add your off-hand weapon modifier to all successful damage.
Cautious Attack	Lesser	Attack	Reserve some effort for defense. Take -1D to your attack test, but gain +3 Combat Defense until the start of your next turn.
Charge	Greater	Attack, Movement	Charge at an opponent up to twice your usual movement distance away. Take -1D on the attack, but increase damage by +2 if you hit.
Counterattack	Greater	Attack	Immediately end your turn and set a condition for attacking an opponent. A counterattack will interrupt the target's action. Set for Charge: If an enemy makes a charge attack against you during a round wherein you've taken a counterattack action, and you are armed with a Fighting weapon, increase your weapon's base damage by +2 if you land your strike.
Disarm	Greater	Attack	Attempt to disarm your opponent; test your attack against their passive Fighting difficulty. If you succeed with 2+ DoS, they are disarmed. If you roll a critical failure, you are disarmed. If you have a free hand and Fighting 4+, you are able to grab the weapon out of the air. Otherwise a lost weapon lands 1d6 yards away in a random direction.
Mounted Attack	Varies	Attack	Take an attack action from your steed, with the following benefits: Use your mount's movement in place of your own Gain +1B on all Fighting tests against opponents on foot Increase your damage by +2 if your mount is trained for war and hasn't moved this turn
Pull from Mount	Greater	Attack	If you are armed with a Grab weapon or a Polearm, you may attempt to pull a rider from his steed. Test your Fighting against the rider's passive Animal Handling (Ride applies). On success, he is pulled from the saddle and lands prone on the ground.
Pin	Greater	Attack	If, at the start of your turn, you are Grabbing your opponent, you may make an opposed Athletics test to Pin him to the ground. You may maintain the Pin with a Greater Action each round. A pinned opponent can take no action but attempting to break free with a Fighting Test.
Aim	Lesser	Misc	Gain +1B on your next Fighting or Marksmanship test. Aim actions cannot stack.
Assist	Lesser	Misc	You may assist an ally on their test so long as you are adjacent to them (and their target, if they are making a Fighting test). Add 1/2 of your score in the relevant Ability to theirs. Multiple assistances give cumulative bonuses. If assisting on Fighting or Marksmanship, this counts as your attack for your turn.
Catch Your Breath	Greater	Misc	Take a quick rest to catch your breath. Roll an Automatic (0) Endurance test - each degree of success removes 1 point of damage.
Distract	Lesser	Misc	Roll a Cunning test against your opponent's passive Will. Upon success, he loses his Awareness from his Combat Defense until the end of his next turn, or until he is attacked.
Dodge	Greater	Evasion, Movement	Roll an Agility test (Bonus Dice from Shield count, if you are armed with one). Take that result as your Combat Defense for the next turn, even if worse than your normal defense. Add any Defensive bonuses from weapons to your test result. Move up to 1/2 of your normal movement.
Interact	Lesser	Misc	Manipulate an object, retrieve a stored item, climb a mount, etc. Items stored in bags may take longer than a Lesser action to retrieve. Can be combined with a Movement action to draw a weapon, but attacks made the same round take -1D
Move	Lesser	Movement	Move a number of yards equal to your Movement at a brisk walk. If you take two Move actions in the same turn, you may move up to twice your Movement.
Sprint	Greater	Movement	Move a number of yards equal to your Sprint.
Stand/Drop	Lesser	Misc	Take a Lesser action to either drop prone or stand up from the ground. If your Armor Rating is 6 or higher, Standing requires a Greater Action.
Ride or Drive	Varies	Misc, Mounted	Your mount's action is spent moving or attacking. If your steed is trained for war, you must spend a Lesser Action to control it. If it is untrained, this is a Greater Action. An injured steed needs a Greater Action regardless.
Pass	Greater	Misc	Take no action on your turn, but gain +2B on your next test, subject to the normal limit on bonus dice. Multiple passes are not cululative.
Use Ability	Varies	Misc	Use a non-combat specific ability. This may be an action like looking for an exit, swinging on a rope, etc. Some abilities may require more than one round of effort.
Use Destiny Point	Free	Misc	Spending Destiny: Gain +1B, ignoring normal limit on bonus dice Convert +1B into +1D Remove -1D Bestow -1D on an opponent Take an extra Lesser Action Ignore Armor Penalty for one round Negate another character's Spent Destiny Point Add a minor detail to a scene Activate an environmental quality Ignore an environmental quality Burning Destiny: Convert all Bonus dice into Test dice Add +5 to test result Automatically succeed on a test with 1 DoS Remove all damage and Injuries (but not Wounds) Decide the consequences of your own defeat Transform another character's successful test into a failure Negate another character's Burned Destiny Point Add a significant detail to a scene Avoid certain death
Yield	Greater	Misc	You may sacrifice your entire turn to yield, placing yourself at the mercy of your foes. You may re-enter the combat, but it is considered dishonorable, and you will take -1D on Persuasion and Status tests made to interact with anyone who witnessed your treachery. This persists until you improve their disposition to Friendly or better.

Damage

Damage is a nearly unavoidable consequence of combat. Damage taken to your health is minor - scrapes, small cuts, or bruises. Your health is restored at the end of every combat. Damage can be reduced by taking Injuries and Wounds. This is most commonly done when an incoming blow would reduce your health to 0.

Injuries

Injuries are more significant than damage to health, and each injury a character sustains imposes a -1 penalty to all rolls. Taking an injury reduces incoming damage by your Endurance rank. You may have as many injuries as you have ranks in Endurance. If you're maxed on injuries, you must then start accumulating Wounds.

Wounds

Wounds are major damage. Each wound a character sustains imposes a -1D penalty to all rolls. Taking a wound completely negates damage from an incoming attack. If you ever sustain as many Wounds as you have ranks in Endurance, you will die.

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Recovery

Healing

The best way to recover from an injury is to receive Healing. The Healing ability can help speed recovery from injuries by allowing the healer to substitute his or her Healing test result for the Endurance test. Since injuries impose a penalty on all tests, the presence of a healer can greatly improve a character’s chances for recovery. To use Healing, a healer must devote at least 4 hours per day of treatment to the injured character. When the character would roll an Endurance test, the healer instead rolls a Healing test. The result of this test must be taken. A failed Healing test does not result in the worsening of injuries.

Defeat

If at any time your Health drops to 0 or lower, you are defeated and removed from the combat. The opponent that defeated you decides what happens to you. Common choices include any of the following. Remember, defeat by an attack using a Vicious weapon always results in death.

Consequence	Description
Death	This outcome is the most common when defeated. You are dead. Depending on the era in which you play as well as where you died, your corpse might stir into unlife… if you believe in that sort of thing.
Maimed	Your opponent might leave you alive but gives you something by which you will remember him. Examples include a wicked scar across the face or the loss of an eye, thumb, or some other body part. Permanently reduce one ability of your opponent’s choice by one rank.
Ransom	Your opponent holds you or some possession for ransom. In tournaments, ransom usually means the victor gains the loser’s armor and horse. In war, it might mean captivity until the loser’s family can offer up sufficient coin or a valuable hostage of their own.
Take the Black	Those who see honor in service to the Night’s Watch may allow their enemies to take the black and join the rangers on the Wall. For many, this is a fate worse than death, as it means being stripped of status, family, and worldly possession. For those who value life above such minor things, taking the black offers a chance to live.
Unconscious	You are knocked out and left for dead. You awaken 2d6 hours later. While unconscious, you are helpless and may be killed or eaten by someone or something else. This fate is often the same as death.

Yielding

You may choose to yield in order to choose the outcome of your defeat. If you fear imminent defeat, you may, on your turn, offer the Narrator terms by which your character will go down to defeat, including the outcome. So for example, you can offer to have your character defeated and left unconscious or taken for ransom. The Narrator has the option of accepting your terms, making a counter-offer, or rejecting them. If you reject the Narrator’s counter-offer, you cannot yield.

Destiny & Defeat

You may also burn a Destiny Point to choose a fate other than the one your opponent chooses for you. If your family is particularly poor, you might choose maiming or death over a ransom. Similarly, if your opponent would see you dead, you might opt for unconsciousness instead.

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Critical Successes

A critical success occurs when your Fighting or Marksmanship test doubles your opponent's Combat Defense. For example, if your opponent has a combat defense of 10, you would need to roll 20 to critically hit.

If a critical is the result, count the number of 6s rolled, and compare to the table below.

Sixes	Result
1	Solid Hit: You land a solid blow. Increase the base damage of your weapon for this attack by +2.
2	Powerful Hit: Your attack leaves your opponent reeling. Increase the base damage of your weapon for this attack by +4.
3	Bloody Wound: Your attack leaves a bleeding wound. In addition to the damage dealt, your target gains 1 injury. This injury does not reduce damage. If your opponent cannot take another injury, he takes a wound. If he cannot take a wound, he dies.
4	Crippling Wound: You cripple your opponent with a dreadful wound. In addition to the damage dealt, your target gains 1 wound. This injury does not reduce damage. If your opponent cannot take another wound, he dies.
5	Killing Blow: Your attack kills your opponent instantly.
6	Terrible Blow: Not only does your attack kill your opponent instantly, but you deal your base damage (unmodified by degree) to all opponents adjacent to the victim of the terrible blow.
7	Impressive Death: Your killing attack is so impressive, all your allies gain +1B on all tests for the duration of the combat.
8	Horrible Death: You kill your opponent with such force that you sicken all who witness the act. All characters (allies and enemies) that witnessed the attack must succeed on Challenging (9) Will tests or take –1D on tests for one round. For the duration of the combat, you gain a +1B on all tests.