Combat in the Midian is designed to be essentially simple for anyone familiar with any game involving a 20-sided die. This is a rather long chapter of concepts that should be quite simple once you have the hang of it, and much of the length comes from this being something of a catch-all chapter for different guidelines. There is also a bit of repetition, but this is to ensure that you understand what we are getting at with these guidelines. Like the other (non-martial) skills, this is an open system that allows your character the potential to attack her foes in a grim and gritty duel in the rain & mud, or in a rapid bouncy combat just like your favourite anime character, with equal effectiveness and enjoyment.
Midian's combat engine is, in many ways, a specialised refinement of the skill system. The chief exception is that there are different applicable modifiers for the various aspects of battle, moreso than normal skill use. That is, there is no specific attribute that provides bonuses to martial skills, as there is with other varieties. To attack you roll a d20, add in the skill level, and attribute or other modifiers (martial skills having a special subset of attribute bonuses), and still have to roll over a certain number to be successful, just as with most proficiencies. Apprenticeships & basic martial skills work exactly as they do for social, technical, or mystic skills—the effects are stated in the text, and the exact results may be modified by the Game Master. This also means that other skill types can be made more like combat…
Most of the systems presented in this chapter can have applications outside of battle. For example, two people talking about something that neither knows about could both contest the other's skill checks of Distinguished Expertise by "parrying" each other's arguments. The mechanics are the same, each person would receive a "parry" for every two levels of that skill. This argument could be divided into rounds (likely longer than six seconds, admittedly), with only the initiative bonus for a high Wits applying to the initiative check, as quickness of arm won't help much there. The Conversational Dominance skill could be used for an interrupt, retests can be gained from a high Grace, et cetera. In another example, a carpenter and her assistant could both apply their Carpentry expertise for a bit of woodworking. The assistant's help would grant an increase of one skill level (or a +3 if a proficiency were used) for "flanking" the problem.
I have always found examples of play to be more helpful than the text that they were illustrating… that is, when the examples don't cause further confusion. That said, I would begin with a story of gameplay first and have the guidelines section later. Emphasized/italicised terms are explained after the story. If you want to skip straight to the guidelines (i.e. you already know what initiative means), go ahead a few pages.
"A monkey walks into the room—social challenge… I mean… I pick the lock."
"Are you sure we can't wait until morning?"
"Positive."
"All this because you're too cheap to pay for the armour you commissioned. Jesus Tim, you are one cheap bastard."
"Roll for it," this bit from Kenny, the GM, who finally wakes back up.
"Stupid effing die. I haven't made a skill check yet tonight. Can I use my luck to retest?"
"No, Tanya has very lucky; you have strange luck. There is a difference. She gets the 2 free retests. You are about to get hosed."
"What?" Tim.
"What?" Tanya.
"All of the noise you two have been making has alerted the city watch. They are coming around the corner now."
"Wait; one of my contacts is the captain of the guard," said Tanya.
"That's in another city, dumb bitch."
"While you were arguing, you got surrounded—lock pick in hand."
"Who's the dumb bitch now? I'm going to try and talk my way out of this mess."
"O.K. what exactly are you going to say, Tanya…"
"Screw this—I'm throwing my lock pick at the eyes of the closest one," Tim said, interrupting Tanya before she can even begin to speak.
"Tim, you prick."
"Do you have the skill 'throw pathetically small weapon at large angry armoured person'?" asked Kenny.
"no…"
Well then, roll a D20 at minus 5 to attack."
"Why -5?"
"Standard penalty. You don't know anything about throwing, and it's a ranged weapon. Plus, it's a lock pick. Wait, make that -8 since you are throwing it and -10 since your weapon is pathetic."
"Screw you, Kenny. It's sharp, balanced, and perfect for attacking someone's eyes."
"It's flexible, curved, light weight, and it's not sharp."
"Damn, that means I have to get a critical hit since they have an armour class of 12 from their chain mail. I got…a 19! Yes! Do you know what this means, Tanya?"
"It means that you are a pathetic loser, Tim. A 19 minus 10 is only 9. You still can't hit anything."
"No dummy, a 19 is a critical hit. I hit any armour class with that. Plus I do double damage; plus special results—Kenny?"
"Well, since you were aiming for the eye; I'm going to judge that he is blinded and in shock enough to be out of the fight for now. Since Tanya was talking to them, I'll give you this first attack for free. Now roll a D10 for initiative."
Tanya: "I rolled a 6.
Tim: "I got a 5, plus I'm wicked quick. That gives me a +3 on initiative for a total of 8. Take that, Tanya."
Kenny: "Well, since the guards have a speed penalty for the claymores, they have a 7 for initiative and will go between both of you. Tim, what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to kick the next nearest in the nuts. This time I do have the skill for it."
"You actually have a 'kick in the nuts' skill?" Tanya asked.
"No, stupid, I have high kick at 2nd level which makes him sing soprano for a while."
"O.K. Tim, roll to attack."
"Rolled an 8 plus 2 for my skill and another +1 for my agility, so I got an 11."
"Clang! You hit his heavily armoured codpiece. No damage."
"Screw you Kenny."
"Hey, you rolled it. The armour class is 12."
"The guards are drawing their swords. What are you going to do, Tanya?"
"Well, I'm going to try and look for an escape route before this dumb bastard gets my character killed. Again."
"The guards have drawn their weapons now. Tanya, you are completely surrounded. You will have to get past at least one of them in order to run down the alleyway and hopefully to safety. O.K. that was the first round, and since no one did anything to affect initiative; roll again."
Tanya: "Damn; 2."
Tim: "Yes! 9! That plus the 3 gives me a 12. I get 2 attacks this round!"
"The guards also got a 2, but since your Wits is higher, you get to act before them, Tanya."
"I'm going to…"
Kenny: "Don't you want to see what they are going to do first? One of the advantages of having initiative is that you get to react to what your opponent is doing. You do have that option." Usually there's no reason to wait, but Tanya recognises this is something from Kenny's Game Master bag o' tricks.
"In that case, I'm going to wait."
"O.K. the guards are advancing closer, but not attacking just yet. They seem like they are attempting to take you prisoner."
Tanya: "In that case, I'm going to shove past the one that's in my way and let idiot-boy here get killed."
"Thanks a lot, dumb bitch."
"Don't call me that."
"Anyway, I'm going to go for the nut-shot again. I rolled an 18 this time that plus bonuses gives me a 21."
"Alright, Tim. That's not a critical hit since it wasn't a natural 19 or 20, but each number above 20 adds to damage."
"I got a 2 plus 1 for my strength and another for the high roll, so I did 4 points between his legs."
"Not exactly. 4 points doesn't penetrate the damage reduction of his armour. You did no damage."
Tanya: "Hah!"
"Now it's your turn, Tanya. Roll to see if you can shove past the guard."
"Damn, I rolled a 2. Catastrophic failure. Wait a minute—I have a retest from being very lucky. This time I got a 9."
"Since you were only shoving past you didn't need to get past his armour so as to damage him, then that 9 connects. Now we roll for a contest of strength to see if you can shove past him or if he stands fast. Roll 2D20 and try to get as close as possible to your Strength without going over."
"I got a 7. That's 4 under my strength."
"O.K. the guard rolled a 25. Failure. He would have had to roll under his strength, and over your roll of 7, to stop you. Since he rolled over his strength score he automatically loses, so you automatically win. Tim, it's time for your second attack."
"Left nut in the corner pocket—I got a 14. So I did…"
Kenny rolls; "doesn't matter; he blocked it."
"What do you mean?"
"The guard rolled a 17 to parry your kick. Apparently he knows something about footwork, too."
"Damn. Why don't you help out instead of running away?" Tim whined.
"Because I know a lost cause when I see it."
"You're the lost cause, dumb bitch."
At this point Tanya throws a nearby brass candelabrum at Tim's head. Tanya in real-life throws better than Tim's character does and hits Tim dead between the eyes. Critical hit. God deems that this causes unconsciousness—or at least Tim has suddenly gained the wisdom to play dead. She then proceeds to pick the candelabrum back up again to finish the job. Fortunately, Kenny—although far from being either large or strong—is quite fast and stops her from making a mess on his carpet that he would rather not explain to the authorities.
And now the explanation of terms used in the story:
Skill check: attempting to do something, usually not involving combat—see the Skills chapter for details
Lucky, very lucky, strange luck: these are traits—see the Traits chapter for details on each
Retest: this enables someone to re-roll the dice to try to come up with a more favourable outcome; the results of the retest are final—unless you have another retest available
Contacts: people you know; since Tanya doesn't have guard contacts in this city, her being acquainted with the other captain doesn't help here—see the Interaction chapter for details of contacts
Throw pathetically small weapon at large angry armoured person & kick in the nuts: Tim doesn't actually have these martial skills, nor will you find them on the skill list, Kenny & Tanya were making fun of Tim (which is entirely too easy to do)
Roll a D20: the standard die used to determine how well your character does in combat is the 20-sided icosahedron die
Attack: rolling the 20-sided (D20) die to determine whether or not you actually connected with your target; sometimes referred to as "to-hit"
Ranged weapon: anything that attacks from a distance: an arrow, thrown knife, or in this case—a lock pick; weapons are either ranged or melee (up-close and personal)
Critical hit: rolling either a 19 or 20 on a D20; also called a natural 19 or natural 20 because critical hits are only when the number actually rolled (before bonuses) is either number; when you get a critical hit you always connect regardless of penalties or armour class and you do double damage plus any extra goodies the Game Master grants such as disarming, crippling, unconsciousness, or blinding; in addition any amount rolled above 20 (after bonuses) adds to damage done; as an extra bonus critical hits cannot be defended against (such as with a dodge or parry)
Armour class: this is the number that you must roll at or above in order to attack your target; being agile or wearing armour add to your armour class
Initiative: this is how you find who attacks first in combat and whether or not you can do so multiple times; the highest roll on a D10 acts first. If you have a result of more than 10 then you get to have multiple actions—just keep subtracting 10 after each to determine how the multiple actions fit in with the pacing of everyone's actions. Kenny didn't have anyone roll for initiative on the first round because no one was expecting a lock-pick to come flying towards anyone's eye (this is called being surprised). Actions made during one round (such as receiving damage) can affect your initiative in the next.
Wicked quick: another trait; this one was the result of bribing the Game Master with Canadian whiskey
High kick: a skill that Tim does know; each level of a martial skill adds to the attack roll; in this case, Tim gets to add +2 on his attack roll for having the skill at 2nd level
Wits: a mental attribute; Wits measures how quickly your brain operates
Natural 19 or 20: when the actual result of the 20-sided die is a nineteen or twenty, before bonuses & penalties; this is a critical hit; natural one or two is a catastrophic failure
Damage reduction: armour not only protects with increased armour class, but also reduces the amount of damage done per attack
Catastrophic failure or critical fumble: just the opposite: this is when you roll a natural 1 or 2; you miss regardless of bonuses and something nasty can happen such as your weapon breaking or being dropped or you may trip and fall, as examples; also sometimes just called a fumble
Contest of Strength: or other attributes—in order to determine who wins an outcome that is directly resisted (for example an arm-wrestling contest) you roll 2D20 (as in an attribute check) and the winner is the one that rolls highest without going over her attribute; if both fail to roll under their attributes or the result is a tie, then the contest is unresolved for this round—try again the next round
Parry: blocking an attack with a weapon, shield, or body part. If you have an appropriate martial skill (such as melee weapon) then you may parry for free as many attacks per round as you have levels in that skill divided by 2 (round up). If you do not have any appropriate skills, then each parry counts as your action.
Kenny was kind of a dick for making Tanya roll to attack first to shove past the guard, but it does work as another example of attacking.
Roll 1D20 (a 20-sided die). If you the number rolled was equal to the enemy's armour class or higher, then you hit. Roll damage.
The complicated way is simply adding bonuses to the two rolls mentioned above. Add in any attack bonuses to better your chance of successfully connecting with the target (i.e. putting the smack down). If the number rolled (before bonuses) is a "1" or "2", then the roll is a critical fumble or critical failure. The Game Master will then ruin your day in an unpleasant way. If the number rolled (before bonuses) is a "19" or "20," then the result is a critical hit or critical success. You do double damage (yes, after everything else has been added in) and possibly have something cool happen like knocking your foe out or crippling them in a gory manner (Game Master decision as to what exactly happens). The Game Master may even decide that the result of a critical hit is instant death in an unfortunate manner regardless of the number of hit points remaining to the victim. Of course, instant death should only be used for minion type non-player characters; it's a really crappy thing to do to a player character.
Any amount rolled above '20' (after bonuses) adds to the damage done. So, having a +4 to attack and rolling a natural 19 means that you do 3 extra points of damage—before the result is doubled.
Let's look at each part of the game mechanics individually.
I. Pre-round chaos: combat usually starts when someone states that he or she is doing something stupid—like Tim throwing the lock pick. The players then tend to shout out their intentions simultaneously, much to the chagrin of the Game Master who usually simply smiles evilly and says, "Roll initiative."
II. Initiative: this determines who goes first and when. Initiative is rolled on a 10-sided die. Add in any initiative bonuses and subtract any penalties such as weapon speed. If double-digit numbers result, then the character has multiple actions in this round. Subtract 10 and the result is when you get to go again. Continue to subtract 10 as long as the result is still a positive number. Example: when Tim rolled an 11 for initiative he goes before everyone else who rolled less than 11 and his second action takes place as though he rolled a 1. Had he rolled a 23, then he would act at 23, 13, and 3. Another example: if someone rolled a 28 for initiative they would get to go twice before anyone else (3 times before those that rolled under 8).
Certain actions may mandate that initiative take place in a certain order rather than rolling the dice. For example, if you surprise your opponent, then you get in a free shot; or if you are charging someone who has set his or her weapon to receive a charge, then whoever has the longest reach hits first. The Game Master will determine these special cases. The Game Master will also decide if there is an initiative penalty or bonus for an action—or even require more than one round to accomplish the task.
III. State Actions: the Game Master then asks each player what he or she is doing in order from highest to lowest initiative ("okay, did anyone get higher than 9? All right Tanya, what are you doing? Okay, 9, 8, 7…"). The Game Master states what non-player characters are doing in the appropriate order of initiative. To keep the flow of play moving resolve each action as it comes up.
If you change your mind about your action after you state it, then the Game Master may require that you make a Wits check to pre-empt someone—this only applies if you have higher initiative than your opponent. Some actions are easy to change after the fact: if you are alone and committing arson, you simply put the flames out; if you decide that you would rather use a different attack in the middle of combat you have a greater problem. The Game Master also determines the length of time that it takes to change your action—if any. As a default, it takes place 4 places behind where it was originally: if you rolled a 12 initiative—but decided later you wanted to do something else—then your effective initiative for the new action is now 8 (which means you no longer get your second attack). The Game Master may choose to only require the Wits check or a Wits challenge to change actions, or automatically allow someone with higher initiative to change an action that would pre-empt someone else's attack. What this means is that having a higher initiative may enable you to react faster than someone with a lower result.
IV. Attack Roll: roll 1D20 (plus any bonuses such as weapon skill or high agility)—If the total is higher than your opponent's armour class, then you hit. Against unarmoured opponents, a result of 5 or better hits with close weapons and 8 or better hits with ranged weapons—effectively everyone has an armour class of 5 for melee and 8 for ranged attacks. If you don't need to get past the opponent's armour (such as a grapple attack, or in the story above with Tanya), then you only need to roll a 5 (or 8 for ranged attacks) to attack. If the total is higher than 20, the amount over is added to damage. Don't forget about critical hits and fumbles: 19—20 always hits & does double damage, 1—2 always misses & fumbles catastrophically.
V. Defence: you have the option of trying to stop an attack from successfully hitting you. This is covered in more detail in Part II: Ow, that hurts…
VI. Damage: add together weapon and strength damage plus the amount rolled over 20. If you are using a weapon with 2 hands (assuming the handle is large enough), your damage is your normal strength bonus plus 1/4th your strength score. Additional damage—such as from a flaming weapon or a jagged edge—causes additional damage, if applicable. The doubling for a critical hit does apply to additional damage.
VII. Resolution: This is where the Game Master determines special results such as effects of critical hits. Any damage taken during a round is a penalty (as shock) to all actions made for the remainder of this round & the initiative for the next (yes this does stack up).
Each round is about 4 to 6 seconds long—figure 10 per minute if necessary. Note that there is a difference between game-time and real-time. A battle may last less than a minute in game-time, but take several hours in real-time. Game-time may also move much more quickly than real time. For example, the Game Master may state, "You spend the rest of the month healing your wounds and tending to your estates," which moves the story up to the action quickly. In other words, just because you stopped playing in the middle of a battle, you don't get 7 hit points back just because the next time you play is a week later.
The first time you witness combat you suffer from certain penalties. The first time you actually participate in combat, you suffer a different set of penalties. If you have never seen battle before, you are at: -6 initiative, -4 attack, & -2 damage. If you have observed, but never actually fought, the penalties are halved: -3 initiative, -2 attack, and -1 damage.
One important note on battle; the Game Master is free to assign penalties and bonuses as she sees fit during game play based on the players' stated actions. These bonuses could offset the penalties noted elsewhere. The purpose of these bonuses—up to a total of +5 to the attack roll—is to encourage greater role-playing. For simple descriptions greater than, "I hit;" such as "I'm aiming for his head with a wide swing of my axe," you could get +1 to your attack roll. This bonus is doubled to +2 for a truly graphic description of your actions. Taking the actions of others into consideration is good for an additional bonus point, such as, "Since he jumped over my sword, now I'll aim high." A fourth point may be gained by incorporating your environment, i.e. jumping on tables, swinging from chandeliers. One final point may be gained from having an advantageous position, such as higher ground, greater reach, or a defensive position. These modifiers can be applied to situations other than just combat, such as social encounters or skill use.
This is an oft-used game mechanic to determine whether you are smart enough, strong enough, convincing enough, etc. You attempt to roll under the appropriate attribute on 2D20 for an ability check. Any bonuses or penalties are applied to the ability score, not the number rolled. For example, if you have the heightened smell trait & are required to make an awareness check to see if you smell something, you make the roll as if your awareness was three higher than what it actually is.
Ability challenges are similar, but two or more people are making the roll—opposing one another—to determine who is stronger, quicker, etc. Make the ability check as normal, but the winner of the challenge is the one who rolls highest without going over their effective ability score. If neither makes a successful roll, or the result is a tie, then the challenge is undetermined; try again next round.
The standard penalty for repeated actions is -2 for each additional time that you attempt something. The Game Master is, of course, free to assign additional penalties, or to not assign any penalty at all (or even give a bonus). As an example, if you are trying to force open a stuck door, then you try to roll under your strength attribute on 2D20; if you fail the first check, each additional checks are as though your strength were two less.
Retests allow you to reroll the dice when you fail at a certain task. Even when a retest does not state how frequently it may be used (i.e. "once per day or game session"), each retest may only be used ONCE per situation. However, you may have more than one applicable retest. For example, let us say that you possess the traits Inner-strength and Divine Blessing. If you are dying in battle, you may retest your system shock roll with Survival Instincts. Should you fail that roll, you get one more try with Divine Blessing. Neither trait may then be used to reroll further system shock rolls during that battle. The result of the second attempt is the one used, even if the original roll was better. That is, regardless of how many retests you use, the final roll is the one that counts.
Ambush situations can often eliminate the enemy before they can retaliate. If the Game Master determines that one side has surprise over another, the ambusher's get in a free round of attacks without rolling for initiative while those surprised don't have any active defence (i.e. no parries or doges) and cannot counter-attack until next round. If both parties are surprised you all stand there with dumb looks on your face for one round, then roll initiative normally. The Game Master may allow an Awareness check to notice a potential ambush ahead, or may automatically grant surprise if an assault came from out of nowhere (Dwarven artillerists are notorious for their night-time catapult "deliveries"). If no one is surprised, proceed with combat normally.
If you choose to wait for something—for example to see what your opponent will do—then you voluntarily lower your initiative one 'step' at a time until you use your action. This may prevent you from having multiple attacks if you reduce your initiative until it is 10 or lower. The Game Master counts each initiative step (10, 9, 8…) until you decide to act. If you had initiative over someone, but waited to see what he or she will do, you must make a wits challenge with your opponent to see if you can act first. This assumes that the Game Master allows the possibility that you can pre-empt your enemy.
You may use your interrupts to defeat someone's actions in combat. Instead of going at your normal place (based on the initiative roll), your action takes place just barely before your opponents—thus ruining their attempt. For example, an alchemist (who has the higher initiative) is attempting to throw a canister of a flaming substance at the player characters. The rogue with a high wits score chooses to interrupt the alchemist's actions by flinging her sword at his face. If her attack roll is successful, the alchemist is too busy dodging (or bleeding) to throw the canister. His attack is ruined for this round. Had she missed, the alchemist would be sending a sticky, fiery doom towards the group instead of possibly being covered in his own flaming goop.
Interrupts do not add actions; they simply cause those actions to happen sooner than the normal initiative roll indicates. For example, if your opponent has a 27 initiative and you only rolled a 9, interrupting his action at 27 still only allows you one action this round.
Some tasks take time to accomplish. Obviously long actions, such as putting on armour, require more than one round to complete. Other actions, like most combat actions, can happen within a fraction of a second. Success in trying to stop someone when you do not have an interrupt depends on the initiative roll. An action that gets a bonus for initiative happens too quickly to be stopped without an interrupt. Actions that have an initiative penalty take longer to accomplish and may be stopped in progress. Figure that an action begins with the base (or natural) number rolled, and end with the initiative penalty added. For example, lighting and throwing the flaming canisters in the example above has an initiative penalty of -4. If your opponent rolls a natural 7 on the initiative check, his attack begins at 7 and ends at 3, when he throws it at you. If your initiative is between 3 and 7, you stop him mid-attack. This guideline is only important in cases when it is important whether you stopped your opponent before or during his action. In the 'fiery goop of doom' example, the canisters explode on contact. If your attempt to stop the alchemist breaks them, or causes him to drop them, the explosion still occurs. If you stopped him before he lit the canister (i.e. your total initiative roll exceeded 7), they do not explode.
Always a big question in life, much more important in combat, "What do I do with my hands?" Each option has benefits and flaws that must be weighed to determine what best fits your character's style.
Both hands free: the option of both bad-assed martial artists and the totally defenceless; if you encounter someone without obvious weapons, they tend to fall into one of these two categories almost exclusively
While some may argue that having two weapons should grant an initiative bonus (your opponent doesn't know which way the attack will come from, increased initiative will integrate multiple attacks better into the combat engine), some argue that there should be substantial penalties to using 2 weapons simultaneously in combat (harder to coordinate, cannot change-up grips easily). The reality is that being untrained makes using multiple weapons difficult to use for fighting while having the necessary training gives you additional options in combat. The multiple weapons penalty is -3 to attack plus an additional -3 for off-hand use. Ambidexterity reduces the penalty to -3 for both weapons and having appropriate skill for 2-weapon style (such as Florentine style) negates the penalty altogether. The shield skill includes the necessary training in using both weapon and shield and so has no penalty for using both at once. Obviously, you cannot use a weapon that you couldn't hold and use one-handed for 2-weapon attacks. If you don't have proficiency in a weapon, there is an additional -5 unskilled penalty for a possible total -11 penalty.
Either both weapons must be light encumbrance or lighter, or one weapon may be medium weight if the other is light. See the section on Weapon Encumbrance in Part II for details.
Using 2 weapons at once in combat grants you a few options: strictly for attack, for attack and defence, defensive attack, or total defence. Note that initiative is based on the initial attack; using your second action for a (slower) follow-up attack occurs at the normal initiative point for your second action unless otherwise mentioned.
These guidelines also apply to using shields. In most circumstances, the shield counts as the secondary weapon. See Shield Use below.
If you can slay your opponents before they close to attack you, then you will have few worries in this world. Each ranged weapon has a 'range increments' notation listed in its description in the equipment chapter. Each time that the distance to the target surpasses the range increment, there is a cumulative -2 penalty to the attack roll. For example, a throwing spike has a range increment of 10 feet. If the distance to your enemy is 34 feet, you have a -6 penalty to attack. In this example, the penalties accrue when the range passes 10 feet, 20 feet and 30 feet. You are not penalized if your target is within the first range increment. Longer-range weapons tend to be more accurate at long ranges. Any weapons that are very accurate—but have short ranges, or any weapon that is lethal for a great distance—but has poor accuracy even at close range, will have range modifiers detailed in the descriptions of those weapons. Ballistic ranged weapons—such as arrows or any thrown weapon—require a ceiling of at least 1/4th the linear distance. For example, if you fire an arrow down a corridor at a target 80 feet away, you need at least a 20 foot ceiling. Line-of-sight weapons—crossbows and firearms—do not have this requirement; they have less ballistic flight paths.
Weapons that are not designed for ranged attacks that are hurled will have their range increment set by the Game Master. Generally, this will be 5—10 feet based on how good of a projectile it is. Unless otherwise noted in the weapon description, hurled weapons have a maximum range of 5 range increments, and device-propelled weapons have a maximum effective range of 10 range increments.
Often the exact distance to the target is not needed. This is especially true for longer range weapons, such as bows. Rather than give the exact distance, the Game Master may instead give a "close enough" range, such as two range increments. If the encounter is far enough away that it will be resolved entirely by long range attacks, penalties to the roll are really all that are needed. That is, if your opponent is too far for you to reach them on foot & too far to throw something, the two of you instead just pepper each other with arrows; in these cases knowing you have a -4 to attack & damage is sufficient. Another example of this is someone is escaping from a crossbowman. With every attack the target increases the distance by one range increment. A better method, but one with more dice rolling, is for a Wits versus Speed challenge with the fleeing foe winning with their Speed attribute to increase the range increments.
Firing ranged weapons into melee requires that you have a line-of-sight to your target. A body in the way (whether friend or foe) provides about 40% cover. An aware obstacle can modify this percentage by 10% either way. That is, they can try to protect your target, or they can try to not get themselves hit. If your attack roll fails because of the cover provided by someone being in the way, you may have struck him or her instead of your intended victim. If the attack roll was good enough to strike the obstacle, then they were hit instead.
Most of the time there are no penalties when attacking a specific target; i.e. "I'm swinging my axe at his neck." However there are times when a target will be especially difficult to hit, because it is small, fast, etc. The Game Master assigns a penalty to the attack roll; -2 for something relatively easy, such as stabbing someone in the eye; or -5 or more for something more difficult such as cutting a rope with an arrow at 100 feet, or shooting into a crowd without hitting an innocent bystander. There are times when the penalty for a called shot is worth the additional effort. For example, if your opponent is so heavily armoured that you need a critical hit just to connect, then you could go for the eyes instead.
The converse is true when your target is substantially easier to hit. Swinging you sword indiscriminately through a tightly-packed crowd will get many people hurt. Another example would be a bonus to hit a building with a melee weapon (damaging it however…) of at least +1 unless your Game Master is in a pissy mood—more, (as in automatic—it is a building) if you bribe her with pizza.
For melee combat, the attackers can run top speed or just stand there slugging it out—it really doesn't matter. For ranged combat however, movement is definitely a factor. Each point of speed the attacker moves subtracts one from the attack roll. If the target is moving, divide the speed by 5 to determine the penalty. That is an average Human moving (Speed 10) is -2 to attack with ranged attacks, whereas an Elf with a Speed of 20 is twice as hard to hit with a -4 penalty (of course you get +2 to offset the penalty for your bonus to attack something in the back when the pointy-eared bastard tries to run away).
Charging and setting against a charge screw with the normal initiative process. Charging is an act borne of desperation and is often used by those who continually lose initiative and wish to force their opponent to stand in the path of an oncoming maniac on horseback with nothing but a spear and a look of panic to defend with. Whoever has the greatest reach actually hits first whenever some fool chooses to charge. In order to charge, one must first have at least 20—30 feet to build up speed, and run full tilt into one's opponent. Note that this is relevant, so that a charge may be a dive from a falcon or a ninja squirrel jumping down from a tree onto someone's head while biting ferociously. The advantage of charging is that you do double damage on a hit. The disadvantages are that your opponent does double damage as well if they 'set' a weapon against your charge (God bless you, Sir Isaac), and you cannot actively defend (no dodges or parries). Hit or miss, multiple attacks are generally precluded by having to turn around after running past.
'Setting' a weapon against a charge typically involves jamming the end of a spear or other polearm into the ground and angling the business end towards a charging foe. You do double damage if you hit the one charging (and hit first if you have greater reach) but must simply stand there and pray you survive—you also get no active defence. If you choose to defend or attack some other way, then treat this as a regular attack/defence (greatest reach still connects first). Hit or miss—as with the charger—multiple attacks are generally precluded by the one charging having to turn around after running past (follow-up combos are nastily effective, however).
There are no additional attack bonuses or penalties for either the attacker or the defender because of a charge. The speed you are moving may reduce your accuracy, but your inertia helps you get past defences (such as armour).
It is possible for someone to charge against someone who is charging him or her. This is what jousting is all about.
Those untrained in fighting hand-to-hand roll to attack using only their attack bonuses from Agility & traits—hands are natural weapons, so there are no penalties—but damage is only the strength bonus (if any). Untrained brawlers use up an action to parry with their bare hands. Putting your hand in the way of a weapon hurts. It hurts a lot. Damage from a bare hand parry depends on the weapon you are blocking. Even on a successful parry, stabbing weapons do 1 point of damage, and hacking or smashing weapons do 1/4th damage (round down) to improperly untrained brawler.
Successfully grappling with someone requires an attack roll, but his or her armour class bonuses for armour or thick hide do not apply. Damage reduction and resistance from armour or toughness still applies, however. Continuing a hold precludes rolling for initiative for the rounds that you are grappling, and damage done is assessed at the end of the round—after the first. In other words, your first grapple attack does damage just like a strike, but for the following rounds, you do not need to roll for initiative or attack. You automatically do damage—if there is any. Unskilled grappling (i.e. you do not know any holds or throws) has a penalty of -5 on checks to resist or break a hold if you do not possess any grappling skills.
To escape from a hold or joint lock, make an opposed challenge using either Strength or Agility—both combatants get to choose. Add in any applicable bonuses and penalties such as the -5 non-grappler penalty or bonuses from the Escape or Grab skills. The winner gets to choose whether the hold continues or is broken. Note that it is possible to use a grappling move on someone who is holding you. For example if you are wrestled to the ground, you may not be able to bring your sword into play effectively, but you can choke the son-of-a-bitch. Multiple holds are figured separately—you can break free of his hold, but maintain your own.
Joint locks are an advanced form of holds that are painful, but do not cause damage unless the victim struggles to escape, or the grappler uses an action to hyperextend/hyperflex the joint. This can cause a sprain, dislocation, or even a broken bone.
To knock a weapon out of someone's hands, roll D20 and add in any bonuses to attack. The defender also rolls D20 and adds in any bonuses for parries. Whoever has the higher result determines whether the defender keeps his or her weapon; a tie result means that the weapons are locked up—roll again next round. Whoever uses both hands to hold onto their weapon adds in +4 to the roll. If you catastrophically fail (natural 1 or 2), or your opponent critically succeeds (natural 19 or 20), then your weapon is lost instead. The Game Master determines where the fallen weapon lands (unless you are a master of the disarm), but an easy method is 1 foot per point the roll was made by in the direction of the winner's dominant arm.
An immobile or unaware victim of slaughter is an easy hit. If you attack someone from behind, or from an angle that they cannot easily defend against, you receive a +2 to attack. Your opponent cannot block or parry your attacks—dodge is the only active defence possible. In addition, if you successfully sneak up on someone—or they are otherwise unsuspecting of an attack (nudge, nudge), then you gain a round of surprise. An unconscious or immobile opponent is an automatic hit with melee attacks if you are not in a combat situation. Even in the middle of a fierce battle, you get a +4 to strike someone who is already unconscious or tied up. You also gain the +4 attack bonus any time that you strike a helpless or unmoving target with a ranged weapon. Attacking someone from a blind-spot is called "flanking," and is considered a "good tactical move." Let's tell it like it is… you are an underhanded backstabbing bastard. Good work, congratulations.
When you knock people down, not only to you get the +4 to attack them after they are on the ground, but also they are at -4 to hit you.
Ganging up on someone so that you and your companion are on opposite sides of the opponent, gives both of you the bonus. In addition, flanking a target in this way prevents him or her from blocking or parrying all of your attacks. If someone that you are ganging up against turns all of his attention to one of your allies (so that only you get the bonus), then he cannot actively defend against you at all; and cannot tell what you are doing. Other sneaky tactics can more easily be used then. Up to 8 people can gang up against a single target on open ground. Larger victims may face more people, and thousands of tiny opponents can gang up on one target—ants, for example.
Any time that someone rolling to attack gets a natural 19 or 20 (that is if the number actually showing is 19 or 20) then the result is a critical hit. Damage done is doubled & the Game Maser assigns a special punishment for the unfortunate who was just hit so severely. If the attacking character has modifiers to attack that effectively place the roll over 20 then that amount is added into the damage done before doubling. The Game Master has the right to declare that a critical hit causes instant death to speed up combat (especially against unimportant, easy to kill minions). A critical hit chart for this game system would be stupid—i.e. you are trying to drop a brick down on someone from a rooftop but the chart says that their hamstring was severed—instead we will have a list of possible effects. Feel free to add your own.
Beaten senseless/dazed
Blinded (eye lost or from blood dripping down)
Blow to jaw or base of skull (unconsciousness)
Crippled (Achilles tendon cut, knee smashed)
Decapitated
Equipment damaged
Volatile equipment set off
Fingers smashed (hand mostly useless)
Funny bone hit (drop weapon, and arm is numb & useless for 1D6 rounds); Ha Ha
Hit in ear (loss of balance -3 attack & parry, dodge impossible)
Hit in the nuts—this one is just wrong
Knocked down (must spend 2 rounds getting back up)
Knocked back (nothing funnier than watching someone get hit hard enough to fly through the air)
Leg mangled (cut Speed in half & -2 Grace)
Nose broken (possible Appearance loss)
Paralysed
Ribs broken (-4 to Stamina & cannot run)
Severe throat wound (death in 2D6 rounds)
Shocked (just sits there staring straight ahead or acts slow & confused)
Spleen, kidney, or liver damaged (will slowly poison themselves)
Teeth knocked out
Thumb of sword-hand cut (cannot hold weapon in primary hand)
Wind knocked out (-6 to all rolls for (1D8 rounds)
Combos are also called: combinations, manoeuvres, techniques, feats, & stances. Combination moves are not recommended for beginning characters, and as such do not require expending skill points. You must know all of the skills involved and practice using them together in your combo. The Game Master may restrict combos to knowing a specific level of a skill, or having a needed character level. Feel free to create your own combos—the combat engine was designed to allow this. In fact, the Midian game's combat engine was created specifically for such creative, descriptive actions.
Sample combinations:
This is also called a tactical withdrawal. It enables you to continue trying to strike your opponent while concentrating on not being hit yourself. You receive a +2 to parry, but -4 to attack. See also Total Defence below in Part II.
This is the section on those things that can affect your character during combat, as well as ways to prevent injury (other than running away).
The damage you take from each attack subtracts from your hit points. When your hit points are all gone, you are in serious jeopardy. Your life points are taken away next. When your hit points are all gone and only life points remain, you must make a Willpower check to avoid passing out. For example, if you are hit with an axe that reduces you to only 3 life points, you must make a Willpower check. If you succeed—and run away—you need not make any additional rolls; however, should you keep fighting & fall below one life point, the next time you take even a single point of damage, you must roll for system shock to survive.
Each point of damage you take (after reductions such as from armour or toughness) reduces every roll you make for the rest of this round and for the initiative roll next round from the shock of the injury.
When your life points fall to 0 or below you must make a system shock roll each round to stay conscious and avoid slipping into a coma. When you are at negative life points, you take additional wounds equal to the amount below zero each round. These wounds are received at the end of each round. If you are brought to -1 life points at the end of the first round, you take one wound at the end of the round. Now you are at -2 life points beginning the second round, and you take 2 more wounds at the end. For the 3rd round, you are at -4 at the beginning and -8 at the end. As you can see, this adds up quite quickly. Remember that all rolls are made at a penalty equal to the damage received. It doesn't take long for someone to become unable to continue to fight. Even if they still stay conscious, they will soon collapse and expire.
If you receive treatment to your wounds, you stop taking additional damage, but are in a coma when you fall unconscious unless you are at 0 life points or higher. If after having your wounds bound and you are at exactly 0 life points, you may continue to act, but must still make system shock rolls to stay active and conscious. There is a -5% penalty to system shock rolls for each level of damage under 0 life points.
Each time that you take 10 points of damage from an attack you are considered to have a serious wound (bit of an understatement, since 10 points can easily kill someone). Each wound of this calibre you take continues to bleed (even smashing attacks can cause internal haemorrhaging) and cause further hit point damage—one additional point of damage per round. This damage is taken at the end of the round, so if your wounds are tended to you stop taking damage. Conversely, if your wounds aren't bound, then you could dispatch your opponent only to die shortly thereafter from your own wounds. This extra point of damage from each wound also subtracts one from each roll made, just as any other damage causes from shock.
You have the option of parrying, blocking, or dodging an attack. Parrying an attack involves using your weapon or other object to knock aside your opponent's weapon. Blocking is simply a parry using a shield. Dodging is getting yourself out of harm's way. In order to perform any of these manoeuvres, you must roll equal or higher than your opponent's attack roll on a 1D20 (plus any bonuses you might have). If successful, you aren't really hit. Note that a critical hit cannot be defended. A skilled combatant receives a free parry (that doesn't use up an action) for every two levels in the combat skill used for defence (a martial art, or skill in the weapon used to parry, for example).
This is the number you need to roll on a 20-sided die to attack someone. An unarmoured person has an armour class of 5, although ranged weapons don't hit unless the roll is 8 or higher. This is not to say that everyone has a base Armour Class of 8 against arrows; just that it is harder to control something flying through the air instead of in your hand. Armour is listed with both a base number as well as a bonus—these are the same thing—the base number is the bonus +5. This is to reduce the math you have to do… if you are creating a character you add your other bonuses to the base; for characters adding armour later, add the bonus listed to your pre-existing bonuses.
Shields effectively follow the same guidelines as 2-weapon attacks. You receive a +1 per each level for blocks/parries with a shield. Normally every two levels of shield skill allow you to block one attack per round. However, you may use a shield for total defence, normal attack/defence, defence with shield rush or punch, or full-out attack.
Shields add to armour class in addition to usually providing bonuses to block/parry. A block is simply a parry done with a shield—the two terms are interchangeable. Unskilled use of a shield still gives the armour class bonus, but each block counts as an action and has a -11 penalty (only -8 if ambidextrous or using the shield in the primary hand). You have a -5 penalty for unskilled use, -3 for using something in each hand, and -3 for off-hand use. Shield punches may only be performed if the effective encumbrance of the shield is medium or less. The shield may have medium encumbrance if the weapon is of light encumbrance.
Each 2 levels of proficiency with a weapon allow you to parry once per round (rounded up). For example, having Melee Combat V or VI allows you 3 parries per round. You also get a +1 bonus to parry for each skill level. Not having the skill in the weapon used to parry causes a -5 penalty. Dodging counts as an action, the dodge skill merely grants bonuses to the dodge roll. There is no penalty for dodging if you do not possess the skill, however.
If you do not attack, but instead only defend in a round, then you receive twice the normal amount of parries—i.e. one per skill level—and may dodge twice for each action. Anything that takes your concentration prevents this, however, so your mage cannot take total defence each round while still performing magic. Total Defence also grants +2 to Armour Class for that round, but you cannot attack. If you are armed or otherwise able to defend yourself, then these bonuses stack with the +2 to parry from fighting defensively, see above in Part I: Killing & Breaking Stuff.
There are two systems to reduce the damage done to you. There are specific resistances to certain types of damage: hacking, stabbing, smashing, fire, etc. These are listed as a percentage, i.e. 10% smashing resistance. There is also total damage reduction such as from toughness. This reduces damage received from all attacks; that is, each level of damage reduction subtracts one point from the damage received. This is done after damage resistance is figured.
Specific resistance, hacking et al, reduces a percentage of damage received for that specific type, rounded up. For example, a Dwarf has a racial 10% smashing resistance; if she is hit with a club for 8 points of damage, she only takes 7. If she is hit for 20 points of damage, she only takes 18 points (small concession). In another example, if a character with 30% stabbing resistance is stabbed for 10 points of damage, 3 points of damage are ignored. Specific resistance percentages do stack, so a dwarf which has a natural 10% smashing resistance also has armour with a 20% smashing resistance, has a total 30% resistance to smashing weapons. If you have a 100% or greater resistance then you are completely immune to that type of damage. Having even one percentage point of a resistance protects you from the first point of damage.
This is an easy guide to exactly how effective different levels of Resistance is to reduce damage. For example, for 20% resistance, subtract one point from every 5 points of damage done to your character.
5%: 1:20 points
10%: 1:10 points
20%: 1:5 points
25%: 1:4 points or quarter damage
30%: 1:3 points
40%: 2:5 points
50%: 1:2 points or half damage
60%: 2:3 points
75%: 3:4 points
90%: 9:10 points
100%: total immunity
You may be granted a chance to reduce or avoid the effects of certain terrible things that may befall your character. These are called saving throws, or saves. This is a sort of save-your-ass game mechanic. If something bad is about to happen to you, either because you fell off of a roof or you ate some bad mushrooms or something, roll 1D20 to avoid the danger, in whole or in part, depending on the situation. For example, if your character is bitten by a poisonous insect, the effect may be lethal. The Game Master determines that if a character can make a saving throw versus poison of 15 or higher then he shrugs off the effects of the venom. The Game Master determines the number needed for a success if one isn't already noted. A successful saving throw may either eliminate or reduce whatever would otherwise affect you, depending on the description of the effect or the Game Master's decision.
Types of saving throws include: disease, radiation, poison & other chemicals, fire, heat, cold, crushing attacks, mental attacks, paralysis (or other neural assaults), & petrification (or other shapeshifting assaults). Other types of saving throws are possible, in bewildering variety. The Game Master is free to require a roll for any reason, at any number needed to succeed.
Some examples of saving throws include: saving against crushing at 15 or higher to take half damage from a 30-foot fall, saving against paralysis at 14 or higher to shrug off the convulsions from an electrical attack, ignoring the effects of a body-twisting spell by saving against shapeshift/ petrification at 13 or higher. No, you don't get a save against crushing blows when you are hit by smashing weapons.
You may have more than one bonus (yes, they stack, as do most bonuses in Midian) that applies to a roll. For example, an Elf receives a racial +3 bonus against mental control; this combines with any possible bonus for resisting mental attack from a high Willpower when resisting a hypnotic suggestion, but doesn't help against a psychic knife—only the Willpower bonus applies. Much like attack rolls, a natural roll of 1 or 2 always fails; a natural 19 or 20 always succeeds.
The easiest way to keep yourself from harm (other than not being near someone who wants to hurt you) is to wear armour. Armour increases Armour Class & provides damage Reduction. In addition, many types of armour have their own special Resistances to specific types of damage. Armour is difficult to fight in for the untrained user & gets in the way when attempting actions that require great range of motion; each type of armour has its own skill penalty listed in its description. Armour must be maintained or its quality will downgrade: the Armour Class can drop and the damage Resistance will suffer. Encumbrance is simply how much armour weighs you down. Good quality armour is less restrictive for its weight, & poorly made armour will be harder to fight in—even if it is lightweight. If you are trained in the use of the armour, use the first category (regardless of actual effective encumbrance). Use the second category if you are untrained.
Trained
No Encumbrance: No penalties
Light Encumbrance: Skill penalty (swim, climb, sneak, acrobatics, etc.)
Medium Encumbrance: ¼ Speed penalty, skill penalty
Heavy Encumbrance: -2 Initiative penalty, ½ Speed penalty, skill penalty
Very Heavy Encumbrance: -8 initiative penalty, -8 attack penalty, -5 damagepenalty, 2/3 Speed penalty, -12 additional skill penalty
Heroic Encumbrance: Barely able to move/fight, -12 initiative penalty, -10 attack penalty, -8 damage penalty, skills nearly impossible -20 additional skill penalty, 1 point of fatigue per round
Untrained
No Encumbrance: No penalties
Light Encumbrance: -2 attack penalty, -3 additional skill penalty (swim, climb, sneak, acrobatics, etc.)
Medium Encumbrance: -2 initiative penalty, -3 attack penalty, ¼ Speed penalty, -5 additional skill penalty
Heavy Encumbrance: -5 Initiative penalty, -5 attack penalty, -2 damage, ½ Speed penalty, -8 additional skill penalty
Very Heavy Encumbrance: -10 initiative penalty, -12 attack, -7 damage, 2/3 Speed penalty, -15 additional skill penalty
Heroic Encumbrance: Barely able to move/fight, -15 initiative, -12 attack, -10 damage, skills nearly impossible -25 additional skill penalty, 1 point of fatigue per round
Related to armour encumbrance is weapon encumbrance, although the guidelines are simpler. Training doesn't affect weapon encumbrance. Light weapons may be used in either hand. Medium weapons should be used in both hands, but can be used in one hand with a -2 initiative penalty. If attacking with more than one weapon, only 1 medium weapon can be used (see the section on Attacking with 2 Weapons in Part I). Heavy, Very Heavy, & Heroic weapons must be used in both hands. In addition, very heavy weapons have a -2 initiative penalty & -1 attack penalty. Heroic encumbrance cause you to have a -5 initiative penalty & -3 attack penalty. Heroic emcumbrance weapons do not receive additional damage from two-handed use.
Using a weapon with both hands enables you to bring more of your strength to bear and grants one-fourth of the Strength attribute to damage. This doesn't apply to device-propelled ranged weapons such as bows or pistols. If the handle isn't designed for both hands, then the bonus is only +1. Very strong combatants can damage or destroy weapons by using them in this manner. Anything beyond Heroic encumbrance may only be wielded or worn by someone who is exceptionally strong. For purposes of reduction due to high strength, weapons and armour may be listed as Heroic +1 for one encumbrance level beyond what can be used by a normal person; Heroic +2 for two levels beyond, etc.
Shock is caused when you take damage in combat. Each point of damage you receive (after reductions for damage reduction and resistance) is a -1 to ALL rolls for the remainder of the round and for the initiative roll next round. If you continue to receive damage, then the penalties stack up. For example, if you take 3 points of damage from one attack and 5 points in the next then you are at -8 for attack, damage, initiative, etc.
Also called multiple-dodge, this is usually used against missile fire or when running a gauntlet (but then why are you running & cowering? Wimp). This usually involves running in a zig-zag pattern, bobbing & weaving. Roll once to dodge at -6 and use this single result for all incoming attacks. Some skills will allow evasion in melee. Since evasion is an all-out defence, you may not attack that round.
There are two types of cover: hard cover and soft cover—also called concealment. The only difference between the two is whether the enemy's weapons can easily breach through your cover. Cover is especially useful for ranged weapons; otherwise, whatever you use for cover also helps your opponent. Note that you cannot have 100% cover and still be able to attack in that round. 90% is the maximum—this is just your head and weapon sticking out. If you cannot easily see or strike your opponent, a penalty for cover applies. Every 5% of cover subtracts one from the attack roll. For melee weapons, cover applies equally to both combatants. For ranged weapons, as long as you can effectively use your weapon, you suffer no penalty. This is how arrow loops work. The archer moves from total cover (100%) to either of a pair of slits that provide ¾ cover (75% or -15 to attack). 100% cover or concealment means that no part of you is visible to attack. Hard cover can sometimes provide a saving throw bonus in certain situations.
Some examples of cover and concealment:
These are the specific types of damage that can affect your unfortunate character, or can affect him or her negatively in some way.
The amount of damage you take from a fall depends on distance fallen and surface impacted. If you fall onto stone or hard ground you take 1D8 per 10' fallen. If you fall onto soft ground with ground cover, you might only take 1D6 points of damage for every 10 feet fallen. Falling onto rocks could cause 1D10 or more points of damage per every 10'. Of course, landing on spikes & such could cause substantially more damage. Make a saving throw versus crushing blows for half damage. The number you must roll above is equal to ½ the distance that you fall in feet. For very long falls, terminal velocity for a typical person (where dice of damage stop accumulating) is reached after about 2000 feet; at that distance, it takes about two rounds to go from shove to splat. Cruel Game Masters can set terminal velocity for larger characters at a greater distance.
Fatigue guidelines are simple. Any time that the Game Master feels that the character should be tired, she assigns a point or more of fatigue. Each point of fatigue acts as a penalty to all rolls made until the Game Master has decided that the character has rested up properly. Initiative, damage, social skill checks, all rolls are reduced when you are tired. Points of fatigue may be given as a result of combat, environment (either too hot or too cold), illness, lack of sleep, or too long of an extended action. The Game Master may decide that resting for 2 minutes recovers a point of fatigue, that simply having time to catch your breath eliminates all penalties, or that even getting a full nights sleep doesn't completely reduce all fatigue points (we've all had mornings like that). Heroic levels of encumbrance cause one point of fatigue per round.
Some days it seems like just about everything is on fire. When player character types are around, this can happen more often than you might think. Being on fire (such as from Greek fire) or walking through very hot flames (such as being in a buring building) causes 3D6 damage per round; save against heat/fire for half damage. The target for the saving throw is equal to the damage received, but for continuous contact with flame (that is, doused in firey tar instead of just fending off a flaming branch) the target number for the saving throw is equal to the cumulative damage. For flamable things other than flesh, the saving throw is to see if they ignite and spread, rather than for half damage. Again, this is cumulative for continued contact—if you are a liar-liar whose pants truly are on fire, this can ignite your jacket as well. This can cause the flames to spread—from the prior example, the pants alight the jacket, which then sets flame to the unfortunate's hair (especially if they use hairspray to tidy up their loose locks). Burn injuries can cause wounds (per ten points of damage) just as with any other source of injury.
And now, the grand example: The Ogre shaman, Tiger-Tiger, is being attacked as a suspected Highland Orck sympathizer. His Lowlander opponents, the Orcks of the Valley, have set fire to the tree grove he calls "home." The shaman is completely surrounded by burning trees and underbrush, which does 3D6 damage. The burning damage rolled is eight, but Tiger-Tiger makes his saving throw (at an eight) and only takes four points of damage. His clothing must also make a saving throw (equal to the damage, in this case, eight) or become engulfed in flames as well. As Tiger-Tiger rushes towards safety, Orck treachery! They fell a flaming tree in the Ogre's path. As he is still trapped in the blaze for another round, Tiger-Tiger must again take 3D6 points of damage, but this time the saving throw is equal to the cumulative damage from both rounds. This time he fails to save and takes an additional 11 points of damage. 15 hit points lost won't fell the aging Ogre shaman, but his clothes are now ablaze. Even if he escapes the burning grove, he will continue to take 3D6 points of damage per round. That is, at least for a minute or two—eventually either he will successfully smother the blaze, his clothes will be completely consumed, or he will burn to death.
Torches do 1D4 + Strength damage as a smashing attack, +2 points for the flame. Flaming arrows likewise do an additional two points of damage. This is applied to the total, rather than as a separate "attack" for damage reduction purposes.
There are two types of paralysis, magical and neural. Magical paralysis holds a character (or item in some cases) rigid and immobile. Neural paralysis or true paralysis), on the other hand, is the inability of the nerves to send & receive signals from the skeletal muscles. This causes the victim to fall down limp. There are some few instances where neural paralysis causes rigidity, some types of seizures or some electrical shocks, for example.
Regenerating creatures must make a system shock roll if reduced below 0 Life Points to survive & begin healing. The roll is -5% per point below 0 that the damage caused. That does mean that you can keep attacking a regenerating opponent while it is down until it is at least -20 Life Points to keep it dead.
Midian uses a descriptive method of attacks—ideally that is, the reality depends on the role-playing skills of the players and the Game Master. This descriptive method can be used to affect outcomes in combat without the need to consult an immensely complex hit/critical chart (or charts). A normal critical hit or failure will have whatever specific effect the Game Master determines, but other (non-critical) attacks can have similar effects. In other words, if you keep damaging a foe's arm, he won't be able to use it as well—you may even cripple it—even if you never rolled a critical hit (natural 19 or 20). There are no specific rules to determine this, such as 23.86% of hit points per arm, or other such game mechanics. Having such rules in place will unnecessarily complicate combat and character creation, while simultaneously removing options and control from both player and Game Master. If you state, "I'm going for the eyes!" and hit, then no chart or rule need be consulted. Eyes are pretty fragile; one good hit with a sharp pointy implement of destruction tends to hurt a bit. The complexities of combat with regards to how much damage a particular blow causes—other than just the usual hit point/life point damage—is up to the Game Master to determine. She may assign any number of different penalties at her leisure: attack penalty, attribute penalty, blindness, sprained limb, broken bone, severe scarring, permanent injury, internal bleeding that spreads to surrounding tissue, etc.
Keep in mind that this works both ways. Not only is this a more graphic way of depicting violence on an innocent victim, but players may have specific damage applied to them as well. Just because your hit points have all healed, doesn't mean that your arm is no longer broken.
When someone with a negative number of life points fails his or her system shock roll, that's it—all you get, you're done. Only the most extraordinary measures can save a person who has slipped into Death's gentle embrace.
Remember that the maximum system shock roll (at least due to high stamina) is 100%, and the check is reduced by 5% for each point of damage below zero. Additionally, when someone is reduced to 0 or lower life points, he or she cannot regain any hit points until the life points are at least back up to half strength.
Being so close to death is a traumatic experience on the body & causes terrible strain. The Game Master is free to inflict: opportunistic infections, crippling injuries, permanent scars, chronic or recurring pain, or any other indicator that almost dying is not very pleasant.