Chapter 8: Combat

Hit Points

Hit Points (HP) are what the game system uses to determine how much damage a character can take before they are dead or dying. A base amount gained per level is determined during character creation. (Other factors, such as the Toughness Feat can add a onetime bonus to Hit Points.)

Current and Maximum

Hit Points can be broken down into two further subcategories:
Current Hit Points and Maximum Hit Points.

Maximum Hit Points normally only change when a character gains a level. For example, a character going from 2nd to 3rd level might increase their Maximum Hit Points from 14 to 21.

Current Hit Points are the maximum amount of Hit Points a character has minus all the damage they have taken. This number can be negative. A character with 21 Maximum Hit Points who takes 10 damage has 11 current Hit Points. Most Players will mark this down as 11/21.

Effects of Damage

As long as a character has 1 or more Hit Points, they can keep taking actions as normal. They are likely in pain, but no in-game penalties apply (some Non-Player Characters may choose to give up if they have been hit for a large amount of damage).

Unconscious (0 Hit Points)

When your current Hit Points drop to exactly 0, you are unconscious. Unconscious characters can take no actions until they receive healing that brings their Hit Points to 1 or above.

Dying (-1 to -29 Hit Points)

When a character’s current Hit Points drop to between -1 and -29, they are dying. A dying character immediately falls unconscious and can take no actions. A dying character loses 1d4 hit point at the end of every round (damage is rolled by the controlling Player). This continues until the character dies or becomes stable (see below).

Dead (-30 Hit Points or lower)

When a character’s current Hit Points drop to -30 or lower, they are dead.

(A character can also die from suffering an ability drain that reduces their Constitution to 0.)

Related Topic: Player Character Death

Becoming stable

On the turn after a character is reduced to between -1 and -29 hit points and on all subsequent turns, make a Fortitude check (DC 22) to see whether the dying character becomes stable. A result of 22 or higher means that the character stops losing Hit Points from bleeding (but remains unconscious until they receive healing that brings their current Hit Points to 1 or more.)

First Aid: You can keep a dying character from losing any more hit points and make them stable with a DC 15 Heal check. If the necessary material is at the ready, binding the wound is normally a standard action.

Magic: If any sort of magical healing cures a dying character of any amount of Hit Points (even 1 point of damage), he becomes stable. The most common form of quick healing is the Swift Healing Spell.

A character who becomes stable by succeeding in their Fortitude check recovers 1d3 (roll 1d6 and divide by two, rounded up) Hit Points per day while unconscious. Few people gain back enough Hit Points by themselves to become conscious (current Hit Points of 1 or more) before starving to death, dying of exposure or falling victim to a natural predator.

Extraordinary Hit Points

Some Spellchrome armour provides Extraordinary Hit Points (EX-HP). This is additional shielding that protects your character. Damage is dealt to Extraordinary Hit Points before it is dealt to character Hit Points. Extraordinary Hit Points replenish automatically at a base rate per hour. See Armour in the equipment chapter for more details.

The Extraordinary Hit Points of empowerable armour are designed to protect the user whenever possible, and function as normal in crashes and falls. Known flaws: Extraordinary Hit Points provide no protection against the death spell Steal Life.

An armour’s other protective qualities (deflection, damage reduction) continue to function even after its Extraordinary Hit Points are depleted.

Related: Repair Skill, Repair Calibrator

Healing

After taking damage, you can recover Hit Points (HP) by being aided by a spell, a skilled healer, natural healing, or a combination of the three. In any case, you can never heal Hit Points past your normal Maximum Hit Points.

Healing Spells

Precise Healing is the most common spell used to heal damage. This spell takes several minutes to cast and is more effective if the caster is a skilled healer.

Swift Healing is the most common healing spell used while in combat or when healing must otherwise be applied immediately. This spell takes only seconds to cast.

Medical attention

A skilled healer can heal a patient’s damage, although this occurs more slowly than through the use of magic. From the Heal Skill:

• Treating an injury: If a person is hurt, the healer can help with their wounds. Salves, painkillers and other supplies are typically needed. The DC for a Healing check is average to challenging, depending on the condition of the patient (treating yourself adds significantly to the DC). Success heals 1d10 Hit Points. A Healing check takes from several minutes to around an hour, depending on the situation. The hurt character typically needs 24 hours before they can be healed again using the Heal Skill.

Natural healing

Given enough time, a body will heal most injuries. On the road or in an unfavourable environment, a person can heal up to 1d3 (roll 1d6 and divide by two, rounded up) Hit Points per day; although the same harsh environment may do more damage from exposure and other hazards in a given day. If in a warm, comfortable and clean environment, a character can heal up to 1d4 plus their Constitution Modifier in Hit Points per day. In addition to natural healing, a character may benefit from medical attention (see above).

Knocked Unconscious

Under the Hit Points section above, it was explained that a character with 0 or less HP goes unconscious. It is also possible for a character with 1 or more Hit Points to become unconscious.

A character being knocked unconscious has less to do with a good roll or combat than it does with the situation and the advancement of the story. For example: if a Player character gets the drop on a henchman and clubs him on the back of the head, the GM can rule that he goes unconscious.

The GM should use the following guidelines when ruling on these situations:

• This happens outside of combat. If initiative has been rolled, determining whether a character goes unconscious should be resolved using the normal combat rules and Hit Points. This means that a lone sentry could be taken out if a character approaches and gets into position undetected. Likewise, an already restrained target may be knocked out to prevent an early escape.
• A suitable blunt object is typically required. The strike to the head is not without consequence – the minimum damage from any blunt object is 1d4 lethal damage.
• A character cannot usually knockout another character who is a higher level than themselves.
• The GM can give the target a Fortitude Save, DC 20, to resist becoming unconscious from the blow to the head.
• Player Characters are not immune to being knocked unconscious. In this situation, the GM might inform the Players that they wake up and find themselves washed up on a beach. The last thing they remember is the storm violently rocking the ship. Think of it as a cut scene to move the story along.
• A character that drinks far too much can end up unconscious.
• It is rumoured that some secret cults can conjure potent sleeping poisons or drugs.

The Game Master must decide how long a character remains unconscious based on the situation. Typically it is a few hours, or until medical attention is provided.

Non-lethal Damage

The GM may rule that a punch attack (or other appropriate non-killing blow) that reduces an opponent to -1 to -29 Hit Points only results in unconsciousness. (The hurt character automatically makes their DC 22 Fortitude save, shifting them from unconscious and dying to just unconscious.)

All attacks that can cause damage have the potential to be lethal in Spellchrome. Damage from unarmed attacks is healed like any other damage; hopefully the damage will be less than if a melee weapon was used.

Saving Throws

Generally, when you are subject to an unusual or magical attack, you get a saving throw to avoid or reduce the effect. Like an attack roll, a saving throw is a d20 roll plus a bonus based on your Ancient Sign, level, and an ability score. Your saving throw modifier is:
Base Save Bonus + Ability Modifier

Your Base Save Bonus is determined in step 9 of character creation.
At later levels you'll want to jump to your Ancient Sign's Save Table:
Armoes, Burgon, Calmen, Danar, Etherami, Feylore

Saving throw types

The three different kinds of saving throws are Fortitude, Reflex, and Willpower:

• Fortitude: These saves measure your ability to stand up to physical punishment or attacks against your vitality and health. Apply your Constitution modifier to your Fortitude saving throws.
• Reflex: These saves test your ability to dodge area attacks. Apply your Dexterity modifier to your Reflex saving throws.
• Will: These saves reflect your resistance to mental influence as well as many magical effects. Apply your Wisdom modifier to your Will saving throws.

Saving throw difficulty class

The DC for a save is determined by the attack itself. The DC is typically listed in the spell description (by spell stage) or in the equipment description.

Automatic failures and successes

A natural 1 (the d20 comes up 1) on a saving throw is always a failure.
A natural 20 (the d20 comes up 20) is always a success.

Speed (Movement)

Your speed tells you how far you can move in a round and still do something, such as attack or cast a spell. Humans (the majority of Eldlandrians) have a speed of 30 feet (6 squares). Some skills, spells, and equipment can increase your base movement. Lugging around some heavy equipment without adequate strength can slow movement.

See also: Type of Actions, Move Actions

Moving farther

If you use your attack option as a move action, then you can move again - effectively doubling your movement for the round.

Running

A character that uses both actions towards movement and has a fairly straight path ahead of them (no sharp turns) can make a running test (using the run skill or untrained). Add the result of the test to the character’s total movement in feet for the round. Each 5 feet adds one square. Difficult terrain and obstacles may subtract from the run result.

For example, one character is chasing another. Both have a base movement of 30 and move twice. The path is fairly straight, so both will make run tests well. Each character on their turn will move 30 + 30 + the result of their run test.

Withdrawing

Withdrawing in the Spellchrome RPG is a move action that allows a character to safely leave melee combat. Withdrawing from combat reduces a character’s current move action to one third speed (minimum 5 feet).

Current Base Speed	Withdraw Speed
5 Feet	5 Feet
10 Feet	5 Feet
15 Feet	5 Feet
20 Feet	5 Feet
25 Feet	5 Feet
30 Feet	10 Feet
35 Feet	10 Feet
40 Feet	10 Feet
45 Feet	15 Feet
50 Feet	15 Feet
55 Feet	15 Feet
60 Feet	20 Feet

A character can withdraw past an opponent, but not through an opponent. Reduced speed and space available can make this difficult.

Difficult terrain

Some terrain is difficult to traverse and can reduce movement speed to one half, one third, or even to 5 feet per move action.

5 Foot step

A character that makes a full-round attack puts both their standard action and move action towards this. Although the character’s move action was used up, the character can still make a single 5 foot step in any unoccupied direction before, during or after the action.

Similarly, a character that spends their move action without moving, such as picking up an object, can make a 5 foot step before, during or after the action.

A five foot step does not trigger an attack of opportunity.

Moving on a grid

If the GM is using a grid map for a combat situation, movement is counted in squares. Each square is 5 feet, which means that a character with a speed of 30 feet per move action can move 6 squares (or a total of 12 if both move actions are used.)

Moving diagonally in the Spellchrome RPG counts as 1 square, the same as moving one square up or down or left or right.

Moving through a Square

Friend: You can move through a square occupied by a friendly character, unless you are charging. When you move through a square occupied by a friendly character, that character doesn’t provide you with cover.

Opponent: You can’t move through a square occupied by an opponent, unless the opponent is helpless. You can move through a square occupied by a helpless opponent without penalty.

Ending Your Movement: You can’t end your movement in the same square as another creature unless it is helpless.

Tumbling: A trained character can attempt to tumble through a square occupied by an opponent (see the Acrobatics and Tumbling skill).

Designated Exceptions: Some creatures break the above rules. A creature that completely fills the squares it occupies cannot be moved past, even with the Acrobatics and Tumbling skill or similar special abilities.

Accidentally ending movement in an illegal space

Sometimes a character ends its movement while moving through a space where it’s not allowed to stop. When that happens, put your miniature in the closest legal position available, ideally back towards the last legal position you occupied.

Encumbrance

A character that carries a totally unreasonable amount of equipment, treasure, or fallen comrades will move slower than normal, as determined by the situation and the GM.

The Spellchrome RPG does not officially track encumbrance. Players are expected to carry what is reasonable (try not to give the GM a headache if they look at your character sheet). Carrying equipment is discussed in the character creation chapter.

Attacks Of Opportunity

There are some actions that are dangerous to take while near an enemy. Sometimes these actions can result in an enemy combatant getting a free attack called an attack of opportunity. Player Characters also benefit from these situations, if a foe takes a dangerous action.

A character may only take one attack of opportunity per round. The subject of an attack of opportunity may be attacked by more than one attacker who is within range to do so.

Most GMs will tell Players that their action will result in an attack of opportunity and will inform them of other options, such as withdraw at a safe speed. The following will trigger an attack of opportunity:

• Fleeing from a melee combatant who is within melee range. A character who turns their back or otherwise tries to escape combat at full speed can be attacked with an attack of opportunity. To counter this, a character should declare that they are withdrawing from combat. Withdrawing reduces a character’s current move action to one-third speed. Until it is safe not to, the character faces their melee attacker.

• Running past a melee weapon wielding combatant. It is safe to enter melee at a character’s base speed, but not safe to leave at base speed. Trying to move past a melee opponent can be difficult, especially in tight quarters. Once a character has entered a foe’s melee range, they may use their standard action to move again instead of attack. This move still uses the withdraw rules, but the character continues past their opponent instead of backing away. (Some situations may call for Reflex checks on both sides, especially if the attacker's declared action is to block an area.)

• Attacking a melee armed opponent with an unarmed attack. Doing so is dangerous and can get a character stabbed before they land their punch or kick. To avoid this, a character needs to find some suitable melee weapon, or possess the Guarded Unarmed Attack Feat.

• Attempting to use a ranged attack against a melee armed opponent at melee range. Doing so is difficult and can get a character struck before that can line up their shot. To avoid this, a character needs to spend a move action to first withdraw from combat (if there is room to do so), or take a 5 foot step backwards (again, if there is room), or posses the Guarded Ranged Attack Feat.

• Attempting to cast a spell while in melee combat. Casting most spells is quick, but it can then be difficult to not be struck by a melee attack. To avoid this, a character needs to spend a move action to first withdraw from combat (if there is room to do so), or take a 5 foot step backwards (again, if there is room), or stay in combat and make a Concentration check DC 15. (A character can use Concentration untrained.) If they make the check, they cast the spell and do not provoke an attack of opportunity. If they fail the Concentration check, they cast their spell but then provoke an attack of opportunity.