EQUIPMENT⏷

 

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How combat works

A combat plays out over a number of turns: a unit of time during which each of the participants has the opportunity to act. Each participant makes an initiative roll at the start of combat to determine in which order their actions will be resolved.

Once all participants have completed their actions, a new turn begins, until one side wins.

In brief Define initiative: Determine combat order with an Instinct roll (Secrets). Performing an action: Each participant performs their action according to initiative order. Once all participants have completed their actions, the round ends. New round: Repeat the previous steps until one side has eliminated its opponents. Don't hesitate to end a fight if it's dragging on: The agents or their opponents can flee, be captured or take any other action that suits the situation.

 

How can I make combat into something more memorable? Make sure it's worth fighting for: A fight should always happen for a reason, whether the players are trying to get something they need, or escape from something. Be sure that your players understand the stakes at hand. Make it intense: Tense fights are more important than fair fights. Combat is often unbalanced, and always to the players' disadvantage. If a fight seems too easy or your players are bored, feel free to add enemies or events to keep things interesting. Make your agents aware of their own mortality: Combat forces your players to face the possibility of the death of their alter ego, and in their struggle to survive, they may forget about their mission. Remind them that their objective matters more than their lives. However, should they attempt to bite off more than they can chew by taking on something too powerful, make sure they understand the risks. Hide your dice rolls: As Exarch, you control the final outcome of every roll. Feel free to change the result of an action if you feel it serves the narrative. On the other hand, you can also choose to make certain rolls in the open if a player's action could change the course of a fight. Above all, remember that the system serves the story, not the other way around.

 

 

INITIATIVE

Summary⏶

At the start of the fight, each agent makes an Instinct (Secrets) roll, and the number of successes obtained determines the order in which they will act. The Exarch can make a single roll for all the agents' opponents, or roll for them separately if they wish. In the case of a tie, player characters (PCs) always act before non-player characters (NPCs).

Example: Jeremy is being attacked by two cultists of The Ruin. He makes an Instinct roll (Secrets) and obtains 3 successes. Flore, the Exarch, rolls the dice for the cultists, who get 3 and 2 successes respectively. Therefore, Jeremy will go first, followed by the first cultist, and then it will be the second cultist's turn.

 

COMBAT ACTIONS

Summary⏶

Once the Initiative order has been defined, each participant can perform an action on their turn.
Players describe and interpret the action they wish to perform, then roll the dice according to their chosen action.

• Move: a character can move once per turn for free, in order to reach an opponent or object close to them.
• Run: If they need to reach something further away, the character can spend their action to make a Skill test using Strength (Fear).
• Make a Skill test: rolling a test takes 1 action and tests can be prolonged, in which case the character can roll one test per turn to continue their action. If a character ends a prolonged test, then all accumulated progress is lost.
• Attack: the character rolls a test according to the weapon used. Attacking takes 1 action.
• Use an Art: Using an Art takes 1 action, unless the Art states otherwise.

ATTACKING

Summary⏶

Attacking an opponent triggers combat. The attacking player rolls a Skill test according to the weapon used (see Weapon Table, p. XX), opposed by a Defense roll from their target. Whoever wins the opposing test inflicts damage. In the event of a tie, both players inflict damage on their opponent.

Ranged Attack

When using a ranged weapon, the player rolls a Marksmanship (Fear) test, opposed by a Defense roll from their target. If their test is successful, then they inflict damage. If not, they miss, but the Marksmanshiper takes no damage.

Defense

A character's Defense represents their ability to avoid their opponent's blows. A character's armor (if they are wearing any) can affect their Defense.

A character always rolls a minimum of 1 die in Defense, unless they are defenseless.

Defenseless: When a character is in this state, their Defense falls to 0. All attacks targeting them automatically hit. A character is considered defenseless if they are unconscious, or are unaware of the incoming attack.

CALCULATING DAMAGE

Attack damage

To determine how much damage is inflicted by an attack, add the number of successes rolled to the damage of the weapon being used, and subtract the target's Armor value.

Example: Jeremy attacks the first cultist with his sword, and rolls Combat (Fear) against the cultist's Defense. Jeremy rolls 4 successes, whereas the cultist only gets 2. Since he rolled the most successes, his attack hits its target: he adds the 3 damages dealt by his weapon to the successes obtained, inflicting 7 damage on his opponent. Despite their 2 points of Armor, the cultist loses 5 points of Health, a devastating blow.

In brief Initiative: each participant rolls an Instinct (Secrets) test, and the number of successes obtained determines Initiative order. Attacking: an opposed test between the Combat (Fear) Skill and the target's Defense. In the case of a tie, both parties take damage. Calculating damage: Number of successes + Weapon Damage - Armor value. Critical hit: If one of the combattants obtains two 12's or more on their test, they automatically win the opposed test and inflict a Wound (1 Severity). Each additional 12 adds a Severity point to the Wound.

 

HEALTH AND WOUNDS

Summary⏶

A character's Health represents the damage that they can take before suffering consequences. At the end of combat, a character immediately regains all of their Health points.

Dropping to 0 Health

The damage inflicted by attacks cause a character to lose Health points. If their Health reaches 0, the character dies.

If that character wishes to stay alive, or does not wish to lose their Health points, they can choose to take a Wound instead.

Example: Loriane's character takes a particularly violent blow, taking 9 damage. As she has 9 points of Health, she chooses to take a Wound rather than die.

Taking a Wound

Taking a Wound allows a character to continue fighting, in exchange for a disadvantage over time. A Wound absorbs 3 damage, and each point of Severity absorbs a further 3 damage. All damage taken from an attack must be absorbed by a single Wound.

 

A Wound can accumulate up to three Severity points until it turns into a Severe Wound: in this case, it still absorbs the damage from the attack, but the character falls unconscious.

Wound Severity
◊	Wound without Severity: absorbs 3 damage (serious contusion, small gash)
◊●	Wound 1 sev. : absorbs 6 damage (torn muscle, open wound).
◊●●	Wound 2 sev. : absorbs 9 damage (torn flesh, serious gash).
◊●●●	Wound 3 sev. : absorbs 12 damage (abundant bleeding, concussion).
◊●●●◊	Severe Wound: absorbs all damage (broken bones, torn ligaments).

 

Malus

Each Wound taken by a character inflicts a cumulative malus of -1D to all tests taken, unless they are bandaged.

 

SURVIVING WOUNDS

Agents of the MIR may heal faster than the common man, but they are still mortal. Wounds can be healed and disappear over time, but the most severe will leave scars.

Bandaging a Wound

Characters can stabilize Wounds by bandaging them. Bandaging a Wound requires an Easy (2) Healing (Legacy) test.

If the test is successful, tick the "Bandaged" box on the character's sheet. The Wound can now begin to heal. Each Wound must be treated with a separate test.

Until it has been bandaged, a Wound gains 1 Severity per day, until it eventually becomes a Severe Wound. If a character has not treated a Severe Wound by the end of the current day, they die.

Healing a Wound

To get rid of their Wounds, characters must rest.
Each night spent resting removes one Severity from a bandaged Wound. If an agent has several wounds, the one with the fewest Severity points begins to heal first.

If their Wound has no more Severity points to heal, then the player can erase the ticked Wound box on their character sheet: their Wound is healed!

If they are well rested, the character can lose an additional Severity point by rolling a Moderate (3) Resilience (Hope) test. This test can only be made once per day.

Recovering from a Severe Wound

If they have suffered a Severe Wound, bandaging it allows the character to regain consciousness.

Unlike other Wounds, a Severe Wound lasts until the end of the scenario, before disappearing completely.

 

Critical Hit

If a combattant obtains two 12s or more on their attack roll, they automatically win the opposed test and inflict a Wound (1 Severity). Each additional 12 adds a Severity point.

If both the attacker and the target roll a critical hit, then the character who rolled the most 12s inflicts the critical hit. If there is still a tie, then the character with the most overall successes inflicts the critical hit.

Example: After getting rid of his first opponent, Jeremy takes on a less experienced boy. They roll their dice: Jeremy rolls 8 dice and get 5 successes, including a 12, a very good score, but his opponent rolls two 12s and a 6 on 3 dice, a critical hit!
Jeremy should have won the exchange, but his young opponent's attack took him by surprise!

GROUP COMBAT

Summary⏶

Being attacked by several characters

An attacker adds 1 die to their Skill test for each ally fighting with them.

Example: Diane's character is being attacked by 3 guards. As the guards' allies each grant them 1 extra die, the Exarch will be rolling a pool of 6 dice per guard instead of the initial 4. Diane's character is in grave danger…

Attacking several characters at once

A character may attempt to attack several targets within range at the same time. In this situation, the Defense used for the opposed test roll is the highest value of the individuals being attacked, plus 1D for each additional person targeted.

If the attack succeeds, the attacker inflicts damage on each of the targets, otherwise each target inflicts damage according to the all the successes of their opposed test.

Example: Diane decides to attack two guards at the same time. Both guards have 3 Defense each, meaning she will make her opposed roll against a Defense of 4: 3 as their base Defense value, with an additional 1D since she is attacking 2 targets.

Unfortunately, Diane gets 0 successes on her roll. The guards, on the other hand, score a total of 3 successes. Added to their base damage of 3, they each inflict 6 damage, for a total of 12!

If she had succeeded in this attack with 4 successes, she would have inflicted 8 damage on each guard, killing both of them instantly.

EQUIPMENT

Summary⏶

Here are some different types of equipment you can use. Weapons are essential for dealing damage, whereas a good set of armor can mean the difference between a small cut and a mortal wound.

Armor

Armor is the most effective way of protecting yourself against attacks, but it limits your movement. Armor modifies both the Defense and Armor Value of a character.

Armor Value: measures the level of protection given by your armor. The more cumbersome the armor, the higher its Armor Value.

Defense Modifier: represents your armor's bulk. The heavier it is, the more difficult it will be for your character to avoid attacks.

Armor Type	Armor Value	Defense Modifier
Unarmored	0	+1
Light Armor r	2	0
Medium Armor	3	-1
Heavy Armor	4	-2

 

Melee weapon traits

Some weapons have special Traits: attributes which give them specific advantages:

Damage: Value or formula used to calculate the damage inflicted by the weapon.

Protection: A weapon with the Protection Trait increases the armor of the wielder by the amount indicated. The character benefits from the Trait whenever they are using the weapon.

Shield-breaker: These weapons can destroy an target's shield. A character can spend a critical hit against their target to destroy their shield instead of inflicting damage.

Two-handed: These weapons require the use of both hands to be wielded.

Reach: Reach represents a weapon's melee range. If it is above that of your target's weapon, Reach decreases their Defense by 1D, and adds 1D to the attacking character's Defense.

Fast (X): These weapons can be wielded with greater speed. They add X dice to their attack roll.

Concealable: These weapons can be easily hidden, even if the character is being searched. Finding the weapon on their person requires a Difficult (4) Investigation (Secrets) test.

Natural: These natural weapons are little use against armor. Weapons with this Trait double the target's Armor value.

Mutilating (X): the weapon adds X Severity points to Wounds caused by a critical hit.

Reload (X): the weapon requires reloading. It takes X actions to reload the weapon before you can use it to attack again.