From: Psychedelic Goblin Subject: Combat Rules. 1)Untrained Use of Specialist Weapons. At present anyone using a weapon they don't have the specialist skill for attacks at a base 10%. This is ludicrous because most people can hit someone with anything more than 1 time in 10 attacks. It's really silly if you consider an experienced warrior (WS65) is also stuck at the same level. - Solution: Halve the WS (round down) when using specialist weapons untrained. This still gives a strong modifier and reflects the abilities and talents of each person. 2) Toughness vs Damage We all know about naked dwarf syndrome by now, but even in more mundane cases it takes 3 average sword blows to critically wound the average human. In my opinion it should take no more than 2. - Solution: use half T (round up). this means even Mr Hard the Dwarf with T9 takes 1 or 2 points of damage from the average sword blow. Another good point is this encourages characters to parry attacks. This rule is applicable to all creatures including dragons. More will become apparent below. I also use a slight variation of clay luthers excellent scale rules. 3)Armour. As it stands there is no difference between chain or plate, and 1 AP is nothing really. In conjuction with the lowering of T vs damage, the effectiveness of armour should be increased as follows: Leather - no change Chain Mail - 2AP Plate Mail - 4AP Shield - 1AP (if not actively parrying), 4AP with a parry. I think these rules portray armour slightly more realistically than before. For example: the average human wearing full plate can take effective damage upto 6 points, which just protects him from the average sword blow. The differentiation between plate and chain also avoids situations when players choose to wear chain simply because it's lighter than plate and provides the same protection. Animals with natural armour have it beefed up as follows: Hide - as leather Shell/carapace- 2-3AP Dragon Skin - 4AP. Bear in mind that I use a slight variation of clay luthers excellent scale rules as well. Armour should be subtracted BEFORE Toughness, not after as it states in WFRP. After all the armour is meant to intercept the blow before it reaches your flesh. 4) Specialist Weapon - 2 Weapon Gives +1 attack/parry with a secondary weapon. The secondary weapon must be no larger than a shortsword in length. the wielder suffers penalties of -10%WS to the primary weapon, and -20%WS to the secondary weapon (halve these penalties if the character possess Ambidextrous). The extra attack/parry must be with the secondary weapon. Characters with the SW-Parrying skill can parry with the secondary weapon at no penalty. 5) Specialist Weapon - Parrying This gives the character +10% to all parry attempts with a parrying weapon. 6) Specialist Weapon-Fist At the moment this skill covers knuckle dusters, garottes and meat hooks! There are several problems: Firstly, it doesn't take any real skill to use knuckle dusters or gauntlets because all they do is essentially 'harden' the fist of any punch attack. Anyone who can punch, can use them at no penalty, which is why thugs favour them. Secondly, there is a world of difference between punching someone, slashing them with a hook, and strangling them with a cord. - solution: anyone can use knuckle dusters and gauntlets at no penalty. Strangling weapons are now covered by SW-Garotte (see below). SW-Fist now only covers slashing fist weapons such as meathooks and warclaws. 7) Spec Weapon - Garotte Covers the use of garottes, scarves, knotted cords and the like. the attack is usually from behind and with surprise. damage as follows: The victim can struggle for T rounds but suffers a cumulative -10% penalty beyond the first. After T rounds have elapsed the victim falls unconscious. Thereafter the attacker can inflict S damage per round until the victim dies (using the sudden death critical table), OR can leave the garotte around the neck of the victim, keeping the air supply cut off, in which case the victim dies in T rounds. The struggling is an opposed S test. 8) Dodge Blow The character with this skill can dodge attacks at their full Initiative score. Characters without the skill dodge at half their Initiative score (round down). For either, each successive dodge in the same round incurs a cumulative -10% penalty. 9) Unarmed Combat As it stands, all characters suffer a -20%WS penalty when fighting unarmed and -3 damage. I agree with the damage penalty but not the WS penalty. It is much easier for a human to kick or punch than wield a sword effectively without training. Unarmed is our natural state and I think reducing the average human to WS23 unarmed is stupid. At least 1 in 3 blows should connect. - solution: characters fighting unarmed do so with no WS penalty. Street Fighting - this now implies a seasoned unarmed fighter, who adds +10%WS unarmed (except grappling) and has the damage penalty reduced to -2nl, for all attacks except grappling. Wrestling - this works as Street Fighting but applies to grappling only. >Combat Modes Mode Init To Hit Damage Unarmed* - - -3nl Gauntlet/Knuckle Duster* - - -2nl Warclaw/Meat hook - SW -1 Grapple -10 -10 -3nl nl - non lethal. These attacks are always Strike to Stun, and only 25% of the damage is real (has an effect on the Wounds). * - means the attack is effected by the unarmed vs armour rules. 10) Missile Weapons At the moment a throwing knife does the same damage as a throwing axe or normal sword attack! In fact, a few of the missile weapons are overpowered. Solution: see table below. Weapon S L Ex ES Load/Fire Sling 24 36 150 -2 1rd Staff Sling 24 36 200 -2 1rd/1rd Dart* 4 8 20 -2 1rd Throwing knife 4 8 20 -2 1rd * - a dart in this case refers to the war dart as used by the greeks and romans. They were about 16" long. 11) Clays Scale Rules I use them with only 1 minor modification: instead of 1 dice per scale difference for damage, I just add 1 for each scale difference. In clays example the dragon according to his rules would have done 9+4d6 damage (an average of 23!, which I feel is a little too high). With my modification it would be 12+d6 (for an average of 16, which is more than enough to eviscerate the average human). Grishnag!! You'll Never take me Alive!! Goblinoids of the World Unite!!