The most basic of all combat scenarios is hand to hand between two combatants. The primary actions you can take are: Attack, Block, Dodge, Cast Spell, Flee. (There are, of course, combinations and variations on these actions which will be explained later.) To help explain, we will introduce two NPCs. Grunthar is an level 2 Orc Barbarian with the following primary Attributes: MIG 52, AGI 34, WIS 22, PSY 30, CON 45, FIG 43, DEX 28, ARM 2, DB 11, Max DP 63, Max SP 24. He also has the Boxing skill at level 2 (for a Rating of 62).
Mutt is a level 3 Hill Dwarf Knight with primary Attributes of: MIG 45, AGI 38, WIS 29, PSY 31, CON 47, FIG 42, DEX34, ARM 0, DB 9, Max DP 58, Max SP 30. He has the Martial Arts skill at level 3 (for a Rating of 57).
Initiative: Assuming both parties are aware of each other (not an ambush), an Initiative roll must be made to determine who acts first. One 10 sided die (10d) is rolled by each combatant. Add 10% (round up) of the characters DEX Attribute to the roll (as well as any Advantages or Spells which increase initiative). Highest value goes first. If it is a tie, they have simultaneous action.
In our example, lets say Grunthar rolls a 3 and Mutt rolls a 8. 10% of Grunthar's DEX is 3 (2.8 rounded up) so his total Initiative score is 6. Mutt gets a +4 to Initiative (3.4 rounded up) so his total roll is 12. Mutt has the highest Initiative so he acts first.
Declaration: Mutt tells the GM what he will do. (If it is sensitive information that Grunthar's player should not know, this can be done through notes or in secret). Since Mutt has level 3 Martial Arts, he can have up to 3 actions. However, a Rating of 57 is not that high so he chooses to take 2 actions, each at -20. Grunthar declares that he will take 2 actions as well (which is his max since he only has level 2 Boxing). In both cases, each action is an attack or block.
Action: Attack/Block: Now is the time for action. Mutt hauls back and attempts to punch Grunthar. He rolls a d100 (2 10 sided dice with one being the 10's digit and the other being the 1's digit) and gets a 53. Since he is going for 2 actions he is at -20 from his Martial Arts skills and thus, has to roll under a 37 to hit. Therefore, Mutt swings wildly and misses. Now, it is Grunthar's turn. He attempts to deliver an uppercut to Mutt's chin. He rolls a 30. Since he too is going for 2 actions, he needs to roll under his Boxing skill -20, which is 42. Therefore, he connects with the punch. The first number (3) tells how much damage he does. Since this is a physical attack, he gets to add in his Damage Bonus (DB) which is 11, of a total of 14 damage. The second die tells where he hit. Area 0 is the head and since this is approximately what he was aiming for in the first place, will not bump it. (See bumping). Now, it is up to Mutt to decide what to do. Since he has declared one more action, he can either choose to attempt a block or save his action and take it like a man (err...dwarf). Mutt thinks he is pretty tough and decides to take the hit. Since Mutt has no armor and has an Armor Attribute of 0, he takes the full 14 damage to this area. Mutt starts with his full Max DP in every area so now, area 0 only has 44 (58-14) points left. Now, Mutt decides it's time for revenge and takes a might swing. This time he rolls 14, a hit! This would do 10 (1 + 9 for DB) damage to area 4, Grunthar's right arm. Since Mutt wants to knock Grunthar out, he can choose to bump the hit location as many adjacent areas as his skill level. Since Mutt has level 3 Martial Arts, he can bump the hit location 3 areas either way. Since areas 5, 6, and 7 are either arms or hands, it wouldn't make any sense to bump it that way. However, area 3 is the stomach and one of the vital areas (0-3 are vital areas) so he will bump it there. Grunthar now has the option of blocking or taking the hit. He opts to attempt a block. He then rolls on his Boxing skill -20 (since he declared 2 actions) and gets a 35. This is under his skill -20 so he performs a successful block taking no damage. The round is now over as both combatants have used both of their actions. Had he failed to make the block, he would have taken 8 damage (-2 because he has an Armor Attribute of 2) to his stomach and the round would be over as he used his second action on a (failed) block.
Action: Dodge: Dodges are used to completely evade an attack and take you out of reach of the attacker. A dodge can be called during the declaration phase or after other actions have been declared but before action is taken. To dodge, the character must roll under his Agility Attribute. A successful roll means your Agility Attribute is subtracted from the attacking players skill to hit.
At the beginning of the next round, Grunthar takes another swing at an already wounded Mutt. Even though Mutt has declared he would be taking 2 actions, he decides he doesn't want to risk another hit. However, he doesn't want to flee yet as he has reason to believe some of his kinsmen will be joining him shortly. Therefore, Mutt opts to dance around a bit, wasting time waiting for reinforcements. (Note, if Mutt has attacked once already, he would not be able to call a Dodge as he has already closed with his opponent). Grunthar is going for 2 attacks again and rolls a 25 to hit which is well beneath the 42 he needs to hit. Mutt rolls a 20 on his Dodge which is also below his Agility Attribute. Therefore, Mutt's Agility of 38 is subtracted from Grunthar's rating necessary to hit (42) for a total of 4. Therefore, Grunthar misses and Mutt is now out of range for the duration of this round. Mutt cannot attack or perform any other action this round. Grunthar can try his second hit but he would need a 04 or lower (62-20 for two actions-38 for the Dodge) to hit.
Action: Flee: If the tide of battle has turned against you, discretion may be the better part of valor. If it is your characters action, you can choose to flee. Movement is determined by your Fighting Attribute. This value is the number of feet you can run per round at top speed. It takes two rounds to reach top speed with 1/2 of the Fighting Attribute reached after one round. If it is not your characters action, making a successfull Dodge roll will remove you from the melee and allow you to flee.
Proceed to the Next Chapter, Weapons in Combat