Combat Mechanics

There are basic pieces to working out combat. Non-combat encounters are done entirely by RPin.

Start of Combat



Combat begins by all participants making an initiative roll. Each player gets a random number between 1 and 100 (this can also be referred to as a d100, as in a 100-sided die, a reference to traditional roleplaying) and adds twice their Agility score, also referred to as (Ag * 2). The participant with the highest result goes first. Followed by the next highest score until everyone has gone. This turn order is established once at the beginning of the fight and stays consistent for the duration of the battle.



Range and Battlefield Placement

Unlike other systems the battlefield in Tides of Ichor is a 1D plane, or line. Which can be represented any number or ways. One such example is below. Notice how each "range" is a block or chunk of space. Attacks and Actions can only be performed if they are in range. Well how far is far? The ranges are as follows.


Distance	Range
0	Melee
1	Short
2	Medium
3	Long
4+	Very Long



Keep in mind that some attacks will target all enemies or allies in a specific range. This is also referred to as a "zone".


This is a sample battlefield where the PCs described above are fighting some nasty orcs.



Goblin	Orc Orc	Troll		PC
_______	_______	_______	_______	_______	_______


Actions - So now that we have a battlefield, and know who is going one might begin to wonder what can I do? Characters can be perform any of the basic actions below or any actions granted to them from their skill choices.



Action	Effect
Move	Move one range
Dash	Move 2 ranges.
Attack	Perform an attack against a foe within weapon range
Charge	Move one zone and make a basic attack


Now you know how to move and make an attack. But what is involved in making an attack? A lot unfortunately. It may seem complicated at first but I assure you it isn't that bad once you get the hang of it. Every physical attack consists of 3 parts. Spells are a little different but we'll get to them later. The breakdown is as follows.

Attack Roll - This is to see if you hit the target.
Wound Roll - This is to see if your hit pierces the flesh or hide of your foe.
Damage Roll - This is the total amount of damage you deal.

Let's "attack" each of these in sequence.

The Attack Roll

The attack roll is actually fairly simple. First make sure the attack is within range. Second a random number between 1 and 100 is selected and is plugged into the basic formula below. If the random number is higher than the number from the formula you succeed.

Random Number (1-100) > (Defender's Stat - Attacker's Stat + 50)

Complicated? It may seem a little bit but the concept is pretty basic although it may not be apparent at first glance. Basically if the attack and defender have equal statistics there is a 50% chance the attack will succeed. Every statistic point the attacker has over the defender increases this likelyhood by 1%. The inverse is also true. Every statistic point the attack is below the attacker decreases the chance of success by 1%.

*Note keep in mind these odds can never fall below 5% or rise above 95%. You always have at least a 5% chance of success and failure.

**EDIT** Important! - The default number has decreased from 50 to 40. This is due to the high amount of failed attacks and abilities people were experiencing since many attacks require 2 rolls. This raises the base chance of success (assuming equal stats) from 25% (50% * 50%) to 36% (60% * 60%).

But which numbers or statistics do you plug in? Each player has a lot to choose from. To explain I'll use another table!

	Attacker	Defender
Melee	Ws	Ws
Ranged	Bs	Ag


This should make sense. If you are attacking in close combat you use your weapon skill and if you are attacking at range you use your ballistic skill. On the defenders side, they use their weapon skill to parry or block the attack if in close combat or their agility to avoid the attack if it comes from a distance.

That's all there is to it. Roll higher than the number of the other end of the formula to hit successfully. Once you hit move on to the Wound roll. If you miss the attack ends.

Wound Roll

The wound roll is almost identical simple. We select a random number between 1 and 100 and use the same formula below.

d100 > Defender - Attack + 50

This should look disturbingly familiar. The only difference is that we always use the Attackers Strength score and the Defenders Toughness score. If the attacker succeeds move on to the damage roll.

Note- This applies for both ranged and melee attacks. The only trick to this roll is with ranged attacks. For ranged attacks you use the weapons Strength score and not the attackers but the physical formula and method does not change. It doesn't make much sense for bulky biceps to make bullets deal more damage .

The Damage Roll.

Damage Dealt = Attackers Weapon + (Attackers S- Defenders T)/5* - Defenders Armor.

*Drop any decimals off this number

This is less complicated than it seems. It'll all make sense in the example below. The basic idea is that your weapon deals a certain amount of damage minus the amount of armor the defender has. The complicated part is the middle section : the (Attackers S- Defenders T)/5*. The basic idea is that for every 5 points the attacker possesses over their opponents toughness they deal an additional damage and vice versa. This should make sense as Stronger people tend to lay down more pain and Tougher people take less damage.

If any of this doesn't make sense the example below should help.



Combat Keyword:
% Based Keyword: These keywords each require another roll on the 100-sided die. If the roll is lower than the % chance of success it triggers.

Critical: A critical hit deals double weapon damage. This is represenative of a particularly devastating hit, like a blow to the head, or nutshot.

Dodge: Dodging allows a character to avoid the effects of an attack that would normally hit. Roll this after a confirmed hit.

Block: Blocking is identical to dodging except it cannot be used to avoid spells and several abilities react to it different than dodging. An easy way to boost your block % is to equip a shield.

Powerful: A lot of abilities are very powerful. They represent a tremendous amount of power, stamina, or craftiness that are very difficult to use multiple times. Powerful abilities can only be used once an encounter.

Sotek a saurus warrior and his skink companion Quetlz ran into two orcs and a sneaky goblin in the jungle.

Sneaky Goblin		Orc Orc
	___		Sotek	Quetlz	___

Start off combat! Roll initiative!

	Ag	Ag * 2	Roll	Result
Sotek	20	40	93	133
Quetlz	35	70	40	110
Orcs	12	24	16	40
Goblin	30	60	46	106

Looking at the results we can determine that this is the order of combat.
Sotek
Quetlz
Sneaky Goblin
Orcs

Lets run through the first round of combat so you can get an idea of how it works. As a reminder the battlefield looks like this. Enemy participants are on the top row. Allies on the bottom.

Sneaky Goblin		Orc Orc
	___		Sotek	Quetlz	___

Sotek decides since he is only 1 range away from the orcs to pounce! Sotek initiates a charge! He moves one range to the left and makes an attack against the first orc.

Attack
Roll > 50 + OrcsWs - SoteksWs <- Basic formula
Roll > 50 + 30 - 45 <- Plug in values!
Roll > 35 <- Perform 2nd grade math magic

Sotek rolls a 76. He hits!

To Wound
This should be feeling repetitive.
Roll > 50 + Orcs T - Soteks S <- Basic formula
Roll > 50 + 40 - 45 <- Plug in values!
Roll > 45 <- Perform 2nd grade math magic

Sotek rolls a 47. He successfully wounds the target!

The Damage roll.
Sotek is wielding his large blade of badassery. It deals 2d10 damage. The orc is clad is light furs and hide offering an armor value of 1.
Weapon Damage + (S-T)/5 - armor <- Formula
2d10 + (45-40)/5 - 1 <- Plug in values!
13 + 1 - 1 <- Compute!

Sotek deals 13 damage! This is subtracted from the Orc's current wounds of 10. This reduces the Orc to 0 hp slaying him outright. Sotek roars with victory! Quetlz gets ready to go. The battlefield looks like this currently.

Sneaky Goblin		Orc
	___	Sotek	____	Quetlz	___

Quetlz readies his bow knowing his bow has medium range (or 2 ranges). He knocks an arrow and lets it fly at the orc.

Attack
Roll > 50 + OrcsAg - SoteksBs <- Basic formula
Roll > 50 + 12 - 39 <- Plug in values!
Roll > 23 <- Perform 2nd grade math magic

Quetlz rolls an 8 which is less than 23. Clearly skinks are not as good at combat as the mighty saurus! The arrow lands with a thud into a nearby tree. Quetlz's turn is over.

Will the greenskins slay our mighty heroes? Why is the goblin so sneaky? What is he hiding? You'll have to roll a character and jump into the fray to find out.

At this point you should understand the basic principles of combat. If you still have questions myself, or another member of the board can assist you.

Spellcasting can be a little trickier but if you understood what was going on above it shouldn't be too difficult to grasp.

Overall casting a spell involves only two steps. The first is the casting roll, the second is determining the spells effects.

Casting Roll - When casting a spell you need to roll above the casting value on a 100.

The Casting Value
The base number is 40
Then you add 10 for each spell level.
Then you add another 5 for each time you have successfully cast that spell this combat.
Finally you subtract your Wp score.

or in formula form

50+ 10*Spell Level + 10* Previous successful casts - Wp < Die Roll

If the Die Roll is higher than the formula you cast the spell and move onto the next step. If the spell targets an enemy a spell power roll is required to test to see if the spell was powerful enough to harm your opponent.

*Additional Casting Penalties*
Casting in light armor -5.
Casting in heavy armor -10.
Number or missing W -X.
Number of other spells successfully cast 5* Num spells.


SpellPower Check

The roll is pretty simple.

Defenders Stat - Your Wp + 50 + Misc penalties (Armor etc) < Roll

The spell should indicate which statistic of your opponent to use. In the majority of cases it will be Wp but there are a few exceptions.


Miscasts and Irresistible Force.

Spells are fickle and many are not cast as they are intended. This brings to two possibilities that sometimes occur while spellcasting. These are Miscasts and Irresistible force. Let's go over the latter first.

Irresistible force
Some spells are cast with such power they crush and overwhelm opponents magical defenses. When this happens it is called casting with Irresistible force, or IF. When you cast a spell with IF you do not need to make a spell power roll. You are automatically assumed to have passed the roll. Roll to determine bonus damage as normal. There is a chance when you cast any spell successfully that it is cast with IF.
The chance is as follows.

Amount you succeed casting roll by.
Less than 20 = 10% chance
Less than 40 = 20% chance
More than 40 = 40% chance

Miscasting
Spells are the matter and energy of chaos. It is a fickle power which waxes and wanes when its wielders need it the most. This can have dire consequences and can even lead to the caster's death. There is a chance when miscasting whenever you fail a casting roll. If you do miscast you must roll on the table given below to determine the effect. A random number between 1 and 6 will be rolled and the level of the spell you were attempting to cast will be added to this roll. More powerful spells are more dangerous to cast, keep this in mind.

The chances to miscast are as follows.

Fail casting roll by
Less than 20 = 10% miscast chance
Less than 40 = 20% miscast chance
More than 40 = 40% miscast chance

As you can see failing or succeeding in a spell is not all there is to it. The amount you pass or fail by is very important.

There are other factors such as skills, equipment, or abilities, that can alter these percentages.



Miscast Table Roll 1-30

Roll	Effect
1	The spell pours forth from you in a torrent, your words being forgotten as they spill from your lips. The spell succeeds as normal, but you cannot cast it again this encounter.
2	Magic slips through your fingers but you are able to retain some. The spell fails but you gain a +10 bonus on your next casting roll.
3	The spell slips through your fingers, but you avoid any lasting ill effects. The spell fails to cast, but nothing else happens.
4	The warp pours into your body, filling you with power - if you can control it. For the rest of the encounter, you suffer a -20 casting penalty, but a +20 spell power bonus.
5	Your spell fails to go off as intended. The spell goes off as normal, but targets a random member of the encounter, including the caster. (If this result would be nonsensical for the specific spell cast, the spell simply fails.)
6	Your mind is briefly overloaded by the touch of the warp. You cannot cast a spell on your next turn.
7	You cut off your spell power quickly to avoid suffering from horrible side-effects. You cannot cast spells with Irresistible Force for the duration of the encounter.
8	A sliver of the warp slips through your defenses and taints your mind. You suffer a -10 penalty to casting for the rest of the encounter.
9	The energy you were attempting to harness manifests as bright emerald fire, covering your body. Take one wound per level of the spell miscast.
10	Your body is wracked by arcs of orange electricity, weakening you. Reduce all stats other than W by half for the encounter.
11	Your body becomes a vortex for magic power. You cannot cast spells for the duration of the encounter and all spell effects, good and bad are transferred to you.
12	The magic flows through your body draining your strength away making your weakness your greatest strength. All your stats are lowered to your lowest total stat (except W) for the duration of the battle.
13	Seeing an opportunity to escape the Realm of Chaos, a daemon hijacks your spell. You accidentally summon a single Daemon with 10W and 10* the miscast spell's level in all other stats, who begins attacking the caster immediately acting just before the casters initiative. The daemon will not attack any other member of the group and vanishes back to the warp at the end of the battle or if the caster dies.
14	Your grasp on the winds of magic slips. You suffer -15 to spell power and casting rolls for the rest of the encounter.
15	You accidentally open a rift in the warp. Daemons pour from the gap and start slaughtering everyone present. 2-4+Spell level daemons are summoned. They have the stats of Pink Horrors.
16	You accidentally draw your power from the Lore of Light. It strips away your protections, magical and otherwise. You lose all armor, DR, block, and ward saves for the duration of the encounter. If you know the Lore of Light this surge of magic heals your wounds and restores you to full hp.
17	You accidentally draw your power from the Lore of Beasts. Your mouth turns to a feral snarl as your inner beast comes out and you drop your weapons attempting to claw and bite your opponents to death. You may only make basic melee attacks or charges for the duration of the encounter and may not use weapons. If you know Lore of Beasts you gain +5S and whenever you make a basic melee attack you may instead make two attacks.
18	You accidentally draw your power from the Lore of Metal. Your body becomes a giant magnet, ripping off pieces of metal and causing them to fly towards your body at high speeds. You take an automatic 1 damage per point of armor possessed by all targets within 1 zone. If you know the Lore of Metal you gain 1 armor for each person who dealt this damage to you. (Apply this after the initial damage).
19	You accidentally draw your power from the Lore of Fire. It explodes around you causing you to take an automatic 2 fire damage each round until the end of the battle. If you know the Lore of Fire this also affects all enemies within a zone.
20	You accidentally draw your power from the Lore of Shadow. Your body twists and contorts as it turns to shadow. You have a 50% chance each turn of turning completely to shadow. If you do so you cannot take any actions this turn. If you know the Lore of Shadow you are immune to all damage and effects while turned to shadow.
21	You accidentally draw your power from the Lore of Heavens. A giant comet is summoned and uses you as a beacon for its landing. The comet strike you and all characters within 1 zone. All characters struck by the comet suffer a S(30+10*Spell Level) hit that deals 5 damage. You are automatically wounded by the attack. If you know the Lore of Heavens you may make a free casting roll each turn (with the standard +10 per successful cast) to delay the comets arrival by 1 round. Regardless of the delay it always arrives in your current zone.
22	You accidentally draw your power from the Lores of Necromancy and Death. Your soul is drained and you lose 50% of your current health. All necromancy summons gain +10 Ws, S, and T and are restored to full Hp. You also make a Wp roll against all non-necromancy summons on the battlefield. If you succeed that target loses 50% of their current W, if you fail they only lose 25% of their current W. If you know the Lore of Death or Necromancy you gain +5 Wp for each target you succeed your Wp against. This bonus fades by 5 Wp per round.
23	You accidentally draw power from the Lore of Waaaggghh. The great green foot of Gork, or possibly Mork descends from the sky and steps on you for 2 damage per spell level, ignoring armor. After you are struck, Mork or Gork has a 40% chance of striking a random enemy, a 30% chance of striking a random ally (including yourself), and 30% chance to walk away. If you know the Lore of Waaaggghh Mork or Gork has a 60% chance to strike an enemy, 20% chance to strike an ally, and 20% chance to wander off.
24	You accidentally draw your power from the Lore of High Magic. All casters suffer a -20 penalty to their casting rolls. You are bound to the flow of all the winds. Whenever a wizard fails a casting check, you take damage equal to the level of the spell. If you know the Lore of High Magic, you heal equal to the level of any successfully cast spell.
25	You accidentally draw your power from the Lore of Dark Magic. For the rest of the encounter, you gain access to the Dark Bolt spell at Rank 1 and you suffer double the normal penalty for missing W to your casting roll. Each round you fail to harm an opponent with a spell you suffer 2 damage. This damage increases by 2 for each round you fail to cast a spell. If you successfully harm an opponent with a spell this damage resets itself to 0. If you know the Lore of Dark Magic you gain a bonus to your casting roll equal to the number of W you've lost instead of a penalty.
26	The Eye of Slaanesh falls upon you. For the rest of the encounter, enemies hit and wound you automatically, as you lose interest in avoiding being hurt. Pain is good and your addiction to pain grants you DR 5. If you know the Lore of Slaanesh, you gain an additional +10 Ws, S, T and Ag for the encounter as the pain fuels you to greater exploits.
27	The Eye of Nurgle falls upon you. Your flesh begins to blacken and fall away, as Nurgle's Rot ravages you. You lose 1 wound. On your next turn, you lose 2 wounds. On your next turn, you lose 3 wounds, and so on, until your death or the end of the encounter. None of this damage can be mitigated by armor or prevented in any way. If you know the Lore of Nurgle, you increase your max Wounds by 10 for the encounter and immediately heal 10. If you end the encounter with less than 10 wounds, the end of this effect kills you.
28	The Eye of Tzeentch falls upon you. For the rest of the encounter, all spells cast successfully (by anyone) have Irresistible Force. All spells that fail to cast cause a miscast. In addition, you suffer a -20 casting penalty for the encounter. If you know the Lore of Tzeentch you gain a +10 bonus to your casting instead of a penalty.
29	The Eye of Khorne falls upon you. You cannot cast spells for the rest of the encounter, and all wizards take a -10 casting penalty. The magic you relied upon overloads your mind, and you begin to lose control of it. Each turn you struggle to keep it contained: Each round you must pass a casting check to keep the magic under control with the usual +10 difficulty for each successful cast. Failure to cast results in an automatic miscast. (Reroll additional Eye of Khorne results.)
30	You catastrophically lose control of the warp energy remaining in your body, causing it to detonate in a massive explosion. All players on the field suffer 5*Spell Level damage. This damage cannot be reduced by armor or otherwise prevented (Ward saves still apply). If you, the casting wizard, manage to survive the attack you are immediately reduced to 1W and have a 50% chance of dying instantly.

Resolving damage: Spells never need a hit or wound roll. They hit and wound automatically assuming the casting roll is a success.

Spell Keywords:

Spell Level- This is a level 1-6 which indicates how powerful the spell is. Higher level spells are more difficult to cast and require that the wizard possesses several lower levels at max rank. The number of spells is given in the requirements for each spell but it is as follows.

2-3: 1 spell max rank
4-5: 2 spells max rank
6: 3 Spells max rank

Personal Spell: Personal spells affect you only. They can be cast at any time.

X Ranged Spell: Ranged spells can be cast anywhere within the range, except for melee. You cannot cast ranged spells at anyone within the same zone.

Projectile: Projectiles are ranged spells that are hurled at the target. These spells can be dodged.