Combat

Combat Essentials

Structure: Combat uses a structured format unfolding over multiple rounds, with each round divided into individual turns for every participant.

Duration & End Conditions: Combat lasts as long as participants choose to fight or until one side is completely defeated.

Combat Structure

Combat unfolds in six steps:

1. Step One: Battlefield. The Narrator establishes the battlefield and its salient terrain and environmental factors — its Battlefield Qualities.
2. Step Two: Detection. Determine whether the combatants are aware of one another before blows are exchanged.
3. Step Three: Initiative. Each participant determines their place in the order of action for the fight.
4. Step Four: Action. Participants act in initiative order, performing Greater, Lesser, and Free actions on their turns.
5. Step Five: Repeat. Begin a new round and repeat Steps Three and Four until the conflict is resolved.
6. Step Six: Resolution. Determine the outcome once one side yields, flees, or is defeated.

Step One: Battlefield

Description & Purpose: At the start of combat, the Narrator describes the general appearance of the field and introduces salient terrain or environmental factors known as Battlefield Qualities.

Number of Qualities: Almost every combat encounter includes at least one Battlefield Quality; some encounters feature as many as five.

Scope: A Battlefield Quality is either Broad or Narrow:

• Broad: Affects all characters on the battlefield equally (e.g., thick smoke impairing breath and vision).
• Narrow: Constrained to a specific section or feature of the area (e.g., a raging river).

Mechanical Impact: Battlefield Qualities modify combat conditions by providing bonus or penalty dice to characters exposed to them.

Destiny Point Usage: A character can spend a Destiny Point to augment a Battlefield Quality's effects for one round, creating tactical opportunities to strike an opponent or make a quick getaway.

Boundaries: Physical features that completely halt movement in a given direction (e.g., walls, locked doors, cliffs). Spend a Destiny Point to discover a logical way through or around the boundary (e.g., a hidden passage, a nearby key, climbing vines), subject to Narrator approval.

Obstacles: Battlefield Qualities that slow down movement rather than stopping it entirely (e.g., unlocked doors, pillars, statues, windows). Moving over or through an obstacle costs a separate Lesser Action and is not integrated into normal movement — spending one Lesser Action to reach an altar, and another to climb over it.

Obstacles as Cover: Obstacles shield those who use them:

• Standard Cover Bonus: Standing behind an obstacle grants a +5 bonus to Combat Defense against incoming attacks covered by the obstacle.
• Crouching Cover Bonus: Crouching behind cover and taking no other actions increases the bonus to +10 Combat Defense.
• Destiny Point Effect: Spend a Destiny Point to either traverse an obstacle as part of your normal Movement action or add an extra +5 to the Combat Defense bonus provided by cover.

Bystanders: Bystanders include anyone not involved in the combat — crowds of smallfolk, horses, sheep, and just about anyone or any creature not directly involved in the fight. Bystanders merely watch the combat; they don't participate in the action. While bystanders don't generally find themselves in danger, they can be of use to opportunistic combatants.

Bystanders as Cover: As with obstacles, bystanders provide cover. However, when an attack misses because of the cover afforded by the bystander, the attack strikes the bystander instead, dealing damage as normal. Smallfolk and other minor characters usually do not negate damage by taking injuries; thus, these attacks can be and often are lethal to bystanders.

Destiny: Whenever you are hit by an attack and are standing next to a bystander, you may spend a Destiny Point for the damage to apply to the bystander instead of you.

Things & Stuff: Battlefields are littered with all sorts of things — weapons and shields, carcasses, broken wagons, scorched wood, and countless other miscellaneous items. Even beyond the fields of war, useful and not-so-useful items lay about anywhere you look. A fight in a tavern might have mugs, trenchers, knives, pots of scalding soup, barstools, and more. The Narrator describes the most useful and obvious items present, but spending a Destiny Point can put a useful item directly into your hands.

Destiny: Spending a Destiny Point allows you to find a minor useful object — a broken sword when disarmed, a battered shield when hard-pressed, and so on.

Visibility: Visibility describes the quality of sight on the battlefield and notes the effects of anything that impedes vision — darkness, smoke, fog, rain, and even foliage.

• Lit: Sunlight, torches, or lanterns all provide illumination enough to see clearly. When in lit areas, you take no penalties.
• Shadowy: Shadowy lighting occurs when the lighting is poor — just inside a cave on an overcast day, at the outer edge of light cast by your campfire, in smoke-filled areas, during downpours, snow, twilight, or even in the light of a full moon. When in an area of shadowy light, you take −1D on all Agility, Athletics, Awareness, Fighting, and Thievery tests, and −2D on all Marksmanship tests.

Destiny: You may spend a Destiny Point in areas of poor visibility to slip away from your opponent and make a Stealth test to hide. You may also spend a Destiny Point to remove the effects of poor visibility for you for one round — getting a break in the fog or a momentary respite from the rain.

Darkness: Darkness occurs on moonless nights, in dark rooms, or underground. In darkness, all terrain counts as treacherous (see Treacherous Terrain below). You also take −2D on all Agility, Athletics, Awareness, Fighting, and Thievery tests, and −4D on all Marksmanship tests.

Destiny: If you ignite a light source in an area of no lighting, you can spend a Destiny Point to blind all targets within the radius of the light source for one round. Effectively, these targets do not benefit from the improved lighting until the start of their next turn.

Treacherous Terrain: Any terrain that is difficult to move through — deep water, rubble, extensive underbrush, ice, snow, and so on — is called treacherous terrain. Such terrain decreases the rate at which you move through the area: for every yard you would travel, treacherous terrain costs an extra yard of Movement. So if you move 1 yard over rubble, you must spend 2 yards of Movement. Charging and running are impossible in areas of treacherous terrain.

The effects of treacherous terrain are cumulative — each factor present that would create treacherous terrain costs an extra yard of Movement to move through. If you do not have enough Movement to move even 1 yard, you may spend a Greater Action to move 1 yard.

Destiny: You can spend a Destiny Point to ignore the effects of treacherous terrain for one round.

Other Qualities: There are many more possible Battlefield Qualities than those described here — temperature, the deck of a rocking ship, clouds of biting flies, and more. The Narrator is free to apply modifiers based on these factors, using the guidelines described under Penalty Dice in the Tests & Dice chapter. When spending a Destiny Point to augment these qualities, you could negate their effects on you or increase their effects against a single opponent for one round.

Step Two: Detection

Detection: Hidden characters roll Stealth tests against their foes' passive Awareness to gain surprise. Detection is an optional step that only comes up when one side hides or is otherwise concealed from their opponents. If any combatants attempt to hide, they must test Stealth against a Difficulty equal to their opponent's passive Awareness. Any opponents they beat are surprised by their attacks.

Surprise: When attacking an opponent you have surprised, you gain +1D on your Fighting and Marksmanship tests during the first round of combat.

Step Three: Initiative

Initiative: Initiative sets the order of when each combatant takes his turn. Each combatant (or group of similar combatants) tests Agility (bonus dice from Quickness apply). The Narrator then arranges the results from highest to lowest. The character with the highest result goes first, followed by the next highest, and so on until every combatant has a turn to act.

Ties: If there's a tie, compare the bonus dice from Quickness. If there's still a tie, the characters test Agility again to see who goes first. The result of this second test doesn't change the order in the initiative as it relates to other combatants; it only determines which combatant who had the tie goes first.

Delaying: The Agility test result describes the earliest a character may act in the round. You may always wait until later in the round to act, but you cannot interrupt another character's turn. You may only take your action after another character has completely finished his turn.

Step Four: Action

Action: During the first round, each character acts, in order of highest initiative to lowest, taking one Greater Action or two Lesser Actions.

Combat lives in actions. The choices that the combatants make, the success or failure of their rolls, and how they interact with the battlefield all work together to simulate the thrill and danger of battle. Your imagination is the only limit on what you can attempt in battle, but this extensive section covers the most likely and most successful actions a character might attempt.

Greater & Lesser Actions: When it's your turn to act, you may perform a variety of actions. You have two Lesser Actions, or you may combine them for one Greater Action. A Lesser Action could be moving, attacking, standing up, or diving for cover. A Greater Action includes dodging, charging, knocking a foe to the ground, pulling a rider from his horse, and so on. As a rule of thumb, a Lesser Action takes about three seconds of time, while a Greater Action takes six seconds. So if you want to try something not described in this chapter, your Narrator will judge how long the effort will take and whether or not your action qualifies as a Lesser or Greater Action.

Attack — Action Cost: Varies

The attack is obviously the most common action in combat. Anytime you are armed with a weapon, unarmed (but feisty), or when wielding an improvised weapon, you may attack an opponent.

• Engaged: When armed with a Fighting weapon, you must be adjacent to your opponent. This situation is called being engaged.
• Reach: When armed with a Reach Fighting weapon, you can attack foes up to 3 yards away.
• Close Range: When armed with a Close Range Marksmanship weapon, you can attack foes within 10 yards at no penalty.
• Long Range: When armed with a Long Range Marksmanship weapon, you can attack foes within 100 yards at no penalty.

If you meet the conditions, roll a Fighting or Marksmanship test and compare the result to your opponent's Combat Defense. A successful hit deals base damage × degree of success. Once you have totaled the damage, your opponent reduces the damage by his Armor Rating and applies any left over to his Health. There are several forms of attack as follows. You may make only one attack in a round, regardless of the action it requires; to attack multiple opponents at once, use the divided attack or two-weapon attack options.

Standard Attack — Action Cost: Lesser

The standard attack is the default and most common attack in combat. It involves a simple conflict test.

Divided Attack — Action Cost: Greater

When facing several opponents, you may switch your tactics to battle all your enemies at once, making attacks against each foe. When doing so, you may divide your Fighting test dice in any way that you wish between your opponents. You may also need to split your bonus dice, if any, as your bonus dice can't exceed your test dice. Resolve each attack separately as normal.

Two-Weapon Attack — Action Cost: Greater

Whenever you wield a weapon in your main hand and an Off-hand weapon in your other hand, you can combine them to make a more powerful attack. Simply add the weapon's Off-hand modifier to your primary weapon's damage. You deal this damage on a successful Fighting test. If your Off-hand weapon has the Defensive quality, you lose that quality until the start of your next turn.

Combining Attacks — Action Cost: Greater

Although divided and two-weapon attacks all require Greater Actions, you can combine them into a single attack as follows. You may split your Fighting dice between multiple opponents. Resolve the attacks as normal, but increase your damage on each attack by your Off-hand weapon.

Mounted Attacks

A mounted attack occurs whenever you attack from the back of a steed. Fighting from horseback provides a variety of advantages, including enhanced mobility, the advantage of height, and — if the mount is trained for war — the steed's own hoof and bite attacks. When riding a steed, you gain the following benefits:

• Mounted Movement: Use the mount's Movement in place of your own.
• Height Advantage: Gain +1B on Fighting tests made to attack non-mounted opponents.

When riding a steed trained for war, you gain the following benefits:

• War Steed: If your mount doesn't move during your turn, increase your damage on a successful Fighting test by +2.

Attacking Steeds

Although deemed dishonorable to attack a rider's steed, your mount is always at risk of injury when you ride it into battle. Enemies attacking you may choose to attack your steed. Should your mount's Health fall to 0, it dies. However, you may spend a Destiny Point to give your steed an injury or wound to remove this damage as normal (see Injuries).

Slain Steeds

Should your mount die while you're riding it, you must immediately succeed on a Formidable (12) Animal Handling test. If you succeed, you leap clear of the collapsing steed and land within a yard of the poor beast. If you fail, you take damage (ignoring AR) equal to the mount's Athletics rank from the fall and are trapped beneath the dead animal. Freeing yourself requires a Greater Action and a Challenging (9) Agility or Athletics test (bonus dice from Contortions or Strength apply). Other characters may assist as normal by succeeding on an Athletics test against the same Difficulty. While trapped, you take a −5 penalty to your Combat Defense.

Pulling a Rider from a Mount — Action Cost: Greater

In addition to a straight attack, you can also try to pull a rider from his mount. You may do so only if you are armed with a Grab weapon or a pole-arm. Roll a Fighting test against your opponent's passive Animal Handling result (Ride applies). If you equal or beat the Difficulty, you pull your opponent from his mount, and he lands prone on the ground, adjacent to his steed.

Pin — Action Cost: Greater

If you are grabbing an opponent at the start of your turn (see Grab), you can pin your opponent to the ground by beating your opponent on an opposed Athletics test. If you succeed, you can maintain the pin by spending a Greater Action each round.

A pinned opponent can take no actions other than to try to break the pin. As a Greater Action, the pinned opponent must beat you on an opposed Fighting test (Brawling applies). A pinned opponent counts as helpless (see Helpless Targets).

Other Actions

In addition to attack, there are a number of other actions you might perform in combat.

Assist — Action Cost: Lesser

As described in the Tests & Dice chapter, you can assist when another ally would test an ability. To do so, you must be adjacent to the ally (and the ally's opponent if you are aiding a Fighting test) and the ally must usually be able to see and hear you (Narrator's discretion). You grant the ally a bonus to his next test result with a particular ability equal to one-half your rank in the ability you're testing. In the case of multiple assistants, the bonuses to the test results are cumulative.

For the purposes of limits on attacks, assisting on a Fighting, Marksmanship, or some other action counts as your attack for your turn.

Catch Your Breath — Action Cost: Greater

You can take a quick rest as a Greater Action to catch your breath. Roll an Automatic (0) Endurance test. Each degree of success removes one point of damage.

Charge — Action Cost: Greater

Throwing caution to the wind, you surge forward to destroy your enemies. Charging allows you to combine Movement with an attack. You can charge any opponent that's up to twice your Movement away. At the end of your charge, you make a standard attack. You take −1D on the attack, but you increase the weapon's damage by +2 for the round.

Dodge — Action Cost: Greater

In the face of overwhelming odds, sometimes it's best just to get out of the way. When you take the Dodge action, you may move up to half your Movement if you choose, usually to reach cover. Roll an Agility test (bonus dice from the Shield specialty apply if you are armed with a shield). The result replaces your Combat Defense (even if worse) until your next turn. Add any Defensive Bonuses gained from weapons to your test result.

Interact — Action Cost: Lesser

Manipulating an object includes picking something up from the ground, moving an object, retrieving a stowed possession, drawing a weapon from a scabbard, and so on. It also includes opening doors or windows, pulling levers, and anything else you would move, shove, or pull in the environment. Interact also allows you to mount a horse or climb inside of a vehicle. Some hard-to-reach items, such as a small item at the bottom of a pack, may require more time as determined by the Narrator.

You can draw a weapon while moving, but you take −1D on all attacks until your next turn.

Move — Action Cost: Lesser

A move is a brisk walk, and you may move a number of yards equal to your Movement. If you spend both Lesser Actions to move, you can move up to twice your Movement.

Sprint — Action Cost: Greater

You may sprint by taking this action, allowing you to move at four times your Movement, modified by Bulk. Additionally, you subtract a number of yards from your Sprint movement equal to the number of Bulk points you possess.

Stand Up/Fall Down — Action Cost: Lesser

You can drop to the ground or pick yourself up as a Lesser Action. If your Armor Rating is 6 or higher (before any Qualities or Benefits), it requires a Greater Action to stand.

Ride or Drive — Action Cost: Varies

When mounted on a steed, your mount's action is spent moving or attacking; however, you must spend a Lesser Action to control your beast if it is trained for war, or a Greater Action if not. If your steed is injured, regardless of its training, controlling the animal is a Greater Action (see Animal Handling in the Abilities chapter).

Vehicles drawn by animals work much in the same way. Driving a vehicle requires a Lesser Action each round. If the driver is slain or leaves his post, the vehicle moves as long as the animal is inclined to pull it, usually in the direction it was pointed last. Other characters on the vehicle may move about normally, but the vehicle counts as treacherous terrain. If moving would carry a passenger out of the vehicle, he or she may take damage from the fall. A fall from a slow-moving vehicle deals 1d6−3 points of damage, while a fall from a fast-moving vehicle deals 1d6+3 points of damage.

Pass — Action Cost: Greater

You opt to wait and see what develops. You take no action on your turn but gain +2B on the next test you take, subject to the normal limits on bonus dice. Any excess bonus dice are lost. Multiple rounds spent passing are not cumulative.

Use Ability — Action Cost: Varies

You may use other abilities not directly related to the combat. You may use Athletics to break down a locked door, Awareness to look for an exit, Agility to catch a swinging rope, and so on. The test's Difficulty depends on the action intended. The Abilities chapter presents useful benchmarks for abilities, but some tasks may be harder given the distractions of the combat.

In addition, many abilities can be used in one round, but some are far more involved and may require several rounds to complete, indicating you have to spend several rounds working toward completing the task while the conflict rages around you.

Use Destiny Points — Action Cost: No Action

Destiny Points grant you a bit more control over your fate and allow you to modify circumstances in minor and major ways. Spending or burning a Destiny Point in combat is not an action. For details on using Destiny Points, see the Destiny chapter.

Yield — Action Cost: Greater

On your turn, you may sacrifice your entire action to yield, placing yourself at the mercy of your foes. Most knights and other honorable opponents recognize surrender and call off their attack. Others may not. You take this risk when you surrender.

You may re-enter the conflict, but doing so is a dishonorable action. You take −1D on all Persuasion and Status tests made to interact with anyone who witnessed your treachery. This penalty remains until you improve the target's disposition to Friendly or better.

Step Five: Repeat

Combat proceeds over a number of rounds, each participant acting on his or her turn until the combat ends. Each round gives each combatant a new set of actions and an opportunity to spend them in whatever way they wish. Repeat this step until there is a clear victor.

Step Six: Resolution

Once one side has fled or has been defeated, the combat is at an end, and the victors determine the fates of the losers.

Homebrew Rule — Playtest Content: The fleeing and opportunity attack rules below are homebrewed and currently being tested. They are not part of the published system and may be revised or removed in a future update based on player feedback.

Fleeing

There are no official rules for fleeing combat in the published system — use the following procedure when a character attempts to disengage and run:

• Versus melee opponents: Fleeing while engaged is resolved as an opposed Athletics test (Run applies) against each engaged pursuer who chooses to chase. If the fleeing character wins, they break engagement and may continue moving away; if they lose, they remain engaged and their movement ends.
• Versus ranged opponents: A fleeing target is harder to track. Ranged attackers suffer penalty dice on Marksmanship tests against a running target, with the severity set by the Narrator based on distance, speed, cover, and battlefield conditions.

Opportunity Attack While Fleeing

A character who turns to flee while within an engaged opponent's attack range grants that opponent an attack of opportunity:

• The engaged opponent may make one attack as a Free Action against the fleeing character before the opposed Athletics test is resolved.
• If this attack hits, the flee attempt fails and the runner remains engaged. If it misses, resolve the opposed Athletics test normally.
• The Narrator assigns +1B or +1D to the opportunity attack at their discretion, based on the fiction. A lightly armed thug might gain only +1B, while a knight with a longsword — or a skilled knife-fighter finding a gap in armor — might gain +1D. Armor weight, weapon reach, skill, and positioning should all inform the choice; the bonus reflects how exposed the fleeing character's back is in that moment. The Narrator may also grant no bonus or a different bonus if the fiction warrants it.

Rounds, Turns, & Actions

Rounds: A round represents approximately six seconds of game time (ten rounds equal about one minute).

Turns & Initiative: Each player and opponent receives a turn during the round to perform actions. Characters act in order of initiative, with earlier turns resolving their choices before characters going later.

Action Types: On a turn, characters perform choices categorized into three main types: Greater, Lesser, and Free actions.

Action Types Overview

Greater Actions: Consumes your entire turn (e.g., a furious series of sword blows, running across the battlefield). Resolving a Greater Action finishes your turn until the next round.

Lesser Actions: Faster activities where you can perform up to two on your turn instead of a Greater Action. Examples include aiming, firing an arrow, reloading a crossbow, and moving. Unspent Lesser Actions cannot be saved for future rounds.

Free Actions: Minor tasks consuming negligible time (e.g., shouting orders, drawing or dropping a weapon). You can perform as many as you like, though the Narrator may limit overly complex dialogue or search tasks.

Movement

Base Distance: Most unarmored and unburdened characters travel 4 yards when taking a movement action.

Low Athletics Penalty: Having only 1 rank in Athletics reduces your base movement to 3 yards.

Penalty Negation: A single bonus die in Run negates the 1-rank Athletics movement penalty.

Run Bonus: Every 2 bonus dice in the Run specialty increases your movement distance by +1 yard:

Run Specialty	Movement Bonus	Modified Movement
0B–1B	+0 yd	4 yd
2B–3B	+1 yd	5 yd
4B–5B	+2 yd	6 yd
6B–7B	+3 yd	7 yd

Sprint Distance: When taking the Sprint action, you move (Modified Movement × 4) − Total Bulk yards — never less than 4 yards.

Effects of Bulk: Heavy gear slows you down. Armor, large shields, and certain Unwieldy weapons all carry Bulk, and its weight tells on the battlefield:

• Standard Movement Reduction: Reduce base Movement by half of total Bulk carried.
• Sprint Rate Reduction: Reduce Sprint rate by full Bulk carried.
• Calculation Order: Apply bonus Movement from the Run specialty before reducing Movement for Bulk.
• Common Sources: Armor, large shields, and certain Unwieldy weapons.
• Minimum Movement Limits: Bulk cannot reduce standard Movement below 1 yard or Sprint speed below 4 yards.

Damage & Defeat

Objective & Conditions: The goal of combat is to defeat enemies. Defeat does not always mean death; it can be achieved if an opponent yields, flees, or is knocked unconscious. Yielding is often practical, as healing and recovery can be difficult and uncertain.

Dealing Damage: Damage is primarily inflicted through conflict tests using Fighting or Marksmanship against an opponent's Combat Defense.

Damage Calculation: A successful hit deals damage equal to your weapon's damage rating multiplied by your degree of success.

Armor & Health Reduction: The opponent's Armor Rating reduces incoming damage. Any remaining damage is subtracted from the target's Health.

Resolving Defeat: Reducing an opponent to 0 Health defeats them, allowing the victor to determine the consequences of their defeat.

Damage

Whenever an opponent hits you in combat, you are at risk of taking damage. Any damage taken in excess of your Armor Rating applies to your Health. Damage doesn't reduce your effectiveness in any way unless it reduces your Health to 0 or less, at which point you are defeated.

Damage & Lesser Characters

Outside of player characters, only the most important Narrator characters accumulate injuries. Common soldiers, brigands, and the like don't usually pick up injuries and are defeated once their Health is reduced to 0.

Reducing Damage

Although you have a small pool of Health, there are many of ways to remove damage, enabling you to avoid defeat. Reducing or removing damage in any of the following ways does not count as an action. Furthermore, you can reduce damage at any time, even if it's not your turn. These methods are in addition to the Catch Your Breath action.

Injuries

An Injury is a minor, rarely fatal wound. Anytime you take damage, you can accept an injury to reduce the damage taken by an amount equal to your Endurance rank. Each injury you accept imposes a −1 penalty to the results of all of your tests. You cannot accept more injuries than your Endurance rank.

Wounds

Some attacks are so brutal and so deadly that the only way you can overcome them is by accepting a wound. A wound removes all damage taken from a single hit in exchange for taking −1D on all tests. If the number of wounds taken equals your Endurance rank, you die.

Recovery

The wounds you sustain in combat heal—eventually. The rate at which you recover depends on the type of injury you sustain. Damage to Health vanishes rapidly. Injuries take longer, sometimes as long as a week or more. Wounds can plague you for months, such are the perils of battle.

Damage

Damage is a minor injury, little more than a few cuts and scrapes. At the end of the combat, you remove all damage to your Health.

Injuries

Injuries are more significant than damage and, thus, take longer to heal. One day after gaining an injury, you may roll an Endurance test. The Difficulty depends on your activity level.

Activity	Example	Difficulty
Light or No	No fighting, riding, or physical activity	Routine (6)
Moderate	Travel, some physical activity	Challenging (9)
Strenuous	Fighting, riding, hard physical activity	Formidable (12)

Each degree of success removes 1 injury. A failed test, however, means you don't recover at all. If you roll a Critical failure, you gain another injury. If you cannot accept another injury, you gain a wound instead.

Wounds

Wounds are the nastiest injuries, the ones that take the longest to heal and can cause the most lasting harm. One week after gaining a wound, you may roll an Endurance test. The Difficulty depends on your activity level.

Activity	Example	Difficulty
Light or No	No fighting, riding, or physical activity	Challenging (9)
Moderate	Travel, some physical activity	Hard (15)
Strenuous	Fighting, riding, hard physical activity	Heroic (21)

A successful test removes 1 wound. You may remove an additional wound for every degree of success. If, however, you roll a Critical failure on the Endurance test, you gain another wound. If you cannot accept another wound (your wounds equal your Endurance rank), you die.

Healing

The best way to recover from an injury is to receive Healing. The Healing ability can help speed recovery from injuries by allowing the healer to substitute his or her Healing test result for the Endurance test. Since injuries impose a penalty on all tests, the presence of a healer can greatly improve a character's chances for recovery.

To use Healing, a healer must devote at least 4 hours per day of treatment to the injured character. When the character would roll an Endurance test, the healer instead rolls a Healing test. The result of this test is taken. A failed Healing test does not result in the worsening of injuries.

Non-Conflict Damage

Certain situations may result in injuries that do not directly result from conflict. For example, a captured character noted for his skill at swordplay might have his sword-hand severed (like a certain famous member of the Kingsguard). Such a loss would have repercussions throughout the character's life, possibly across a wide number of abilities, more than would normally result from a permanent injury. In these cases, the character burns a Destiny Point and gains a flaw.

Aside from lasting injuries, any damage a character takes in or out of combat can be reduced using the normal rules for resolving damage. A character who catches fire, for example, could reduce the damage by taking one or more injuries (burns) or wounds (severe burns). Likewise, a character who falls from a height could reduce the damage by breaking a bone (injury) or shattering a leg (wound). If damage exceeds the character's Health, the character usually dies — nature isn't forgiving. As damage is removed at the end of the encounter, any damage sustained out of combat has no effect unless it results in an injury or wound.

But some threats are so deadly that not even a wound is enough to avoid death. A fall from several hundred feet, being dipped into a pool of lava, and drinking a tankard full of wildfire are events so lethal that surviving them requires the intercession of fate. Whenever you are faced with certain death, you can only escape your fate by burning a Destiny Point.

Defeat & Consequences

If at any time your Health drops to 0 or lower, you are defeated and removed from the combat. The opponent that defeated you decides what happens to you. Common choices include any of the following. Remember, defeat by an attack using a Vicious weapon always results in death.

Death. This outcome is the most common when defeated. You are dead. Depending on the era in which you play as well as where you died, your corpse might stir into unlife… if you believe in that sort of thing.

Maimed. Your opponent might leave you alive but gives you something by which you will remember him. Examples include a wicked scar across the face or the loss of an eye, thumb, or some other body part. Permanently reduce one ability of your opponent's choice by one rank.

Ransom. Your opponent holds you or some possession for ransom. In tournaments, ransom usually means the victor gains the loser's armor and horse. In war, it might mean captivity until the loser's family can offer up sufficient coin or a valuable hostage of their own.

Take the Black. Those who see honor in service to the Night's Watch may allow their enemies to take the black and join the rangers on the Wall. For many, this is a fate worse than death, as it means being stripped of status, family, and worldly possessions. For those who value life above such minor things, taking the black offers a chance to live.

Unconscious. You are knocked out and left for dead. You awaken 2d6 hours later. While unconscious, you are helpless and may be killed or eaten by someone or something else. This fate is often the same as death.

Destiny & Defeat

A defeated character may burn a Destiny Point to avoid death or another unwanted fate, subject to Narrator approval — even defeat by a Vicious weapon can be averted this way. See Destiny for burning.

Weapons

A sword is only as good as the arm behind it — but the arm is only as good as the steel. A weapon's reach, weight, and edge decide how it must be used, and the training it demands before it will obey you. Every weapon of the realm is cataloged among the equipment records; your sheet records the ones you carry in the Weapons list, with the ability they test, the damage they deal, and the qualities that set them apart.

Damage

The damage a weapon deals comes from both its construction and the ability of its wielder. The base damage is equal to your rank in the weapon's listed ability — most Fighting weapons use Athletics, and most ranged weapons use Agility, though there are exceptions (a lance tests Animal Handling, a thrown knife Agility). Many weapons carry a modifier as well, added to or subtracted from that rank: a Warhammer is Athletics+3, a Dagger Agility−2.

When your attack lands, multiply this base damage by your degree of success on the attack test — the more thoroughly you beat the target's Defense, the harder the blow. Only after the damage is totaled does your opponent's Armor Rating reduce it. The order matters: the armor is a final barrier, not a per-die discount.

Training

Not every weapon is easy to pick up. A weapon marked 1B or 2B under training demands a minimum of specialized practice in its specialty before you can wield it properly. Wielding a trained weapon without the required specialty rank costs you the indicated number of bonus dice from your Fighting or Marksmanship tests with it — and if the penalty would drop your bonus dice below zero, or you had none to begin with, you take a penalty die on your tests for each additional −1. A man who has never trained a lance rides at a bitter disadvantage against one who has.

Weapon Grade

Beyond their construction, weapons carry a grade — the measure of the craft that made them. There are four grades: Poor, Common, Superior, and Extraordinary. A grade's modifiers apply to every Fighting or Marksmanship test made with the weapon, in addition to your own ability and any other bonuses.

Grade	Modifiers
Poor	−1D on Fighting or Marksmanship tests
Common	No modifiers
Superior	Add +1 to the result of all Fighting or Marksmanship tests
Extraordinary	As Superior, plus increase the weapon's base damage by +1

Poor weapons are most often used by poor smallfolk pressed into battle, broken men, or desperate outlaws — a farmer's sickle sharpened for war, or a hastily made blade spotted with rust.

Common weapons are produced by smiths of common skill, found in any village and by the score in cities of any size. Most city guards, hedge knights, and footmen of well-equipped armies carry Common quality weapons.

Superior weapons are made by renowned master weapon smiths from the highest-quality materials. Often called castle-forged, their prized smiths find a warm welcome in the halls of the great lords. Superior weapons may be branded with a maker's mark — a personalized symbol — and the mark of a famous smith often significantly increases the value of the weapon.

Extraordinary weapons are forged of Valyrian steel, far finer than even castle-forged steel.

Valyrian Steel

Valyrian steel originated in the Freehold of Valyria and is one of the few remnants of that earlier era. It is smoky, darker than normal steel, and rippled, and no other metal can hold as sharp an edge. It also tends to be very light — no other metal can be hammered so thin and still retain its strength. It is oft said to be spell-forged and folded hundreds of times in the making, and few smiths in Westeros know how to handle the metal.

Although extremely rare, thousands of Valyrian steel weapons survived the Doom of Valyria — perhaps two hundred or more being in the Seven Kingdoms. Most Valyrian steel weapons are storied and highly prized; considered priceless even by impoverished houses, a minor lord is far more willing to sell off a daughter than a family weapon.

Qualities

Qualities are what make one weapon different from another — the group of functions that make a particular steel stand out. Some are advantages, granting a tactical benefit in combat; others are drawbacks that balance out improved damage or a gift. Most weapons carry at least one, and their names are printed on the weapon itself.

Adaptable. Designed for use with one hand or two. When you wield an Adaptable weapon in two hands, increase the weapon's damage by +1.

Bulk. Some weapons are heavy or awkward, and they slow you down in combat. A weapon with a Bulk rating applies it toward your total Bulk for the purpose of reducing your Movement (The Abilities).

Close Range. A Close Range weapon has an effective range of 10 yards: attack an opponent within that distance at no penalty. Beyond it, you take −1D for every 10 yards — an opponent 11 yards away imposes −1D on your test.

Defensive. Defensive weapons serve a dual function. If you are armed with one and do not attack with it, you add the weapon's Defensive rating to your Combat Defense. Many Defensive weapons also carry the Off-hand quality, which lets you wield them and a primary weapon at the same time — but if you choose to add your Off-hand bonus to your damage, you lose the Defensive Bonus until the start of your next turn.

Entangling. An Entangling weapon contains your opponent. A foe struck by an Entangling weapon reduces its Movement to 1 yard and takes a −5 penalty to all tests. The target can free itself by spending a Greater Action and succeeding on a Challenging (9) Athletics test (bonus dice from Strength apply) or Agility test (bonus dice from Contortionist apply). You cannot make further attacks with an Entangling weapon so long as the target is contained by its effects.

Fast. A Fast weapon is designed to slip past your opponent's defenses and enable its wielder to strike rapidly. When you make a divided attack using a Fast weapon, you gain +1B on each test. Bonus dice gained from the Fast quality can exceed the normal limits.

Fragile. Whenever you get two or more degrees of success with a Fragile weapon, it automatically breaks.

Grab. A Grab weapon lets you seize and hold onto an opponent, preventing them from moving away from you. Whenever you successfully hit an opponent with a Grab weapon and also equal or beat that opponent's passive Fighting test result (Strength applies), you may, if you choose, grab that opponent. A grabbed opponent cannot move until you release him (a Free Action) or until that opponent beats you on an opposed Fighting test (Brawling applies; a Lesser Action). A grabbed opponent can only make attacks using Brawling weapons or short blades. Finally, grabbed opponents take a −5 penalty on their Combat Defense (minimum 1). While you grab an opponent, you cannot move, and you may only make attacks against that opponent using a Grab or Off-hand weapon.

Impale. An Impale weapon punches through its victim. Whenever you get three or more degrees with an Impale weapon, you drive the weapon into your opponent. You must immediately succeed on a Challenging (9) Athletics test. A failed test indicates you are disarmed, as the weapon remains in your opponent. If you succeed, your opponent cannot move, but you cannot attack with the weapon, either. To yank the weapon free, you must succeed on an Athletics test as a Lesser Action, against a Difficulty of 3 + the opponent's Armor Rating. A success frees the weapon, and every additional degree deals the weapon damage again.

Pinning an opponent. As a Greater Action, you can use an Impale weapon to pin an impaled foe to the ground, wall, or some other surface. Roll an Athletics test against your opponent's passive Endurance result (Resilience applies). A successful test prevents your opponent from moving until he pulls himself free.

Getting free. An impaled opponent may remove the weapon by spending a Greater Action and by successfully rolling a Challenging (9) Athletics test. Removal inflicts 1 injury — or 1 wound if the victim cannot take any more injuries. An ally may remove the weapon safely by succeeding on a Formidable (12) Healing test as a Greater Action. Failure removes the weapon but deals 1 point of damage for every 5 points by which the test failed (minimum 1 point).

Long Range. Provided you have a clear shot, you can fire a Long Range weapon at targets up to 100 yards away. For every 100 yards of distance between you and your target, you take −1D on your Marksmanship test.

Mounted. A Mounted weapon is too large and bulky to be used on foot and, thus, intended for use while mounted on a horse or some other steed. Using these weapons on foot imposes −2D on your Fighting tests.

Off-hand. An Off-hand weapon can be wielded in your off-hand, allowing you to add your Off-hand modifier to your primary weapon damage on a successful Fighting test. To gain this benefit, you must spend a Greater Action to make a two-weapon attack.

Piercing. A Piercing weapon bypasses armor. Whenever you hit an opponent with a Piercing weapon, your damage ignores an amount of Armor Rating equal to the listed value.

Powerful. Strong characters can put more muscle behind Powerful weapons and, thus, deal more damage on a successful hit. For every bonus die invested in Strength, you can increase a Powerful weapon's damage by +1.

Reach. When armed with a Reach weapon, you can attack opponents that are not adjacent to you. You can roll a Fighting test with a Reach weapon at any opponent up to 3 yards away. However, attacking any foe inside 3 yards with a Reach weapon imposes −1D on your Fighting test.

Reload. A Marksmanship weapon with the Reload quality requires an action to reload the weapon after it has been fired. The weapon's quality specifies what sort of action is required to reload the weapon, either Lesser or Greater.

Set for Charge Only. Too unwieldy for use in normal combat, this weapon functions only when used with the Setting for a Charge variant of the Counterattack action.

Shattering. Designed to smash through shields, parrying weapons, and armor. Whenever you get two or more degrees on a Fighting test made with a Shattering weapon, you reduce the opponent's Defensive Bonus or Armor Bonus by the amount indicated by the quality. The Shattering weapon affects weapons with a Defensive Bonus first. Reducing a weapon's Defensive Bonus or an armor's Armor Bonus to 0 destroys it.

Slow. A Slow weapon is cumbersome and difficult to wield with speed and grace. You may not make Divided Attacks using these weapons.

Staggering. The force of a Staggering weapon's hit can knock a foe senseless. Whenever you attain two or more degrees with a successful Fighting test using a Staggering weapon, you may sacrifice one degree to prevent your foe from taking a Greater Action on his next turn.

Two-handed. Large weapons need both hands to be wielded properly in combat. If you use only one hand, you take −2D on your Fighting test.

Unwieldy. When using an Unwieldy weapon while mounted on a steed, you take a −2D penalty on any test related to the weapon. For melee weapons, the penalty applies to Fighting tests. For ranged weapons, the penalty applies to Marksmanship tests.

Vicious. Some weapons are so good at what they do that fighting with them produces ugly outcomes. If you defeat a foe when wielding a Vicious weapon, the consequences of defeat are always death. A victim can burn a Destiny Point, as normal, to avoid this fate.

Armor

Armor Rating: Reduces incoming combat damage by your Armor Rating value. Damage can be reduced to 0, but never below 0.

Armor Penalty: Heavier armors impose a penalty that subtracts directly from the results of all Agility tests (including passive Agility tests) and from your Combat Defense.

Bulk: Sum your armor's Bulk with any Bulk from other carried sources. For every 2 full points of total Bulk, reduce your movement speed by 1 yard — applied after Run specialty modifications.

Armor of the Realm:

Armor	Armor Rating	Armor Penalty	Bulk
Clothing	0	0	0
Robes, Vestments	1	0	1
Padded	1	0	0
Leather, Soft	2	−1	0
Leather, Hard	3	−2	0
Bone or Wood	4	−3	1
Ring	4	−2	1
Hide	5	−3	3
Mail	5	−3	2
Breastplate	5	−2	3
Scale	6	−3	2
Splint	7	−3	3
Brigandine	8	−4	3
Half Plate	9	−5	3
Full Plate	10	−6	3

Size

Small Targets: Small creatures and individuals (e.g., children, dogs, ravens) gain a +2 bonus to their Combat Defense.

Large Targets: Large entities (e.g., horses, mammoths, giants) take a −2 penalty to their Combat Defense.

Helpless Targets

Definition: Applies to any target unable to defend themselves (e.g., sleeping, restrained, or otherwise incapacitated from taking actions).

Defense Penalty: A helpless target removes their Agility rating from their Combat Defense.

Attacker Advantage: Attackers gain a +1D bonus on all Fighting and Marksmanship tests made against a helpless target.

Tournaments

Of all the diversions in Westeros, none are as beloved by smallfolk and nobles alike as are tournaments. A tournament is a grand event, part spectacle, part sport, an occasion that draws warriors from all over to compete for glory and financial reward. Sponsoring a tournament and offering up the prize are means to improve a house's Glory (see Chapter 6: House and Lands), so in times of peace, there's almost always a tournament somewhere in the Seven Kingdoms. The most common activities include jousting, grand melees, archery contests, and equestrian events.

Jousting

The prime event of the tournament is the joust, which allows knights from across the Seven Kingdoms to compete for glory and honors. Tourney jousting is about unhorsing your opponent, so lances are blunted and meant to shatter on impact with the opponent's shield. Knights wear full armor, but accidents still happen: a fall from a galloping horse might result in injuries ranging from minor to severe, and it is not unknown for a "misplaced" lance to strike a visor, throat, or other vulnerable spot. A crushed breastplate can do real damage, as can the thundering hooves of a panicked horse. Squires waiting off the field move quickly to assist fallen knights in distress.

The lists are arranged in a series of paired eliminations. The loser of each competition is eliminated from the tourney, whereas the winner advances on to the next round. This process halves the number of competitors each round until two are left for the final round. As a large tourney, the event at King's Landing has six rounds, including the semi-final and final, so the first round has room for sixty-four knights, a roster easily filled out by the houses attending.

Rules of the Joust

The rules of the joust are simple. Each mounted knight starts at either end of the jousting field — a picket or fence divides it down the middle, though poorer jousting fields have only a nominal dividing line. Each

Initiative

Jousts are designed for the two opponents to strike at roughly the same time, so characters do not roll for Initiative. Make and resolve the two combatants' attack tests simultaneously; it is possible for both riders to unhorse each other.

Table 9-4: Jousting Results

Test Result	Outcome
Critical Failure	A clean miss or glancing blow
Failure	Lance shatters on opponent's shield but has no other effect
One Degree	Lance shatters on opponent's shield; the opponent takes damage and must succeed on a Challenging (9) Animal Handling test or be unhorsed
Two Degrees	Lance strikes opponent; the opponent takes damage and must succeed on a Formidable (12) Animal Handling test or be unhorsed
Three Degrees	Lance strikes opponent; the opponent takes damage and must succeed on a Hard (15) Animal Handling test or be unhorsed
Four Degrees	Lance strikes opponent; the opponent takes damage and must succeed on a Very Hard (18) Animal Handling test or be unhorsed

Attack

The two jousting combatants make simultaneous Fighting tests as a regular attack (bonus dice from Spears specialty apply). Since a jousting attack is by definition a charge (see page 164), both attackers take −1D on their Fighting tests; chosen maneuvers might increase or reduce this penalty. The Difficulty for the Fighting test is the opponent's passive Animal Handling test result (Ride specialty applies).

Knights can choose one of the following maneuvers when making a pass in a joust. None of these maneuvers are required; if the knight chooses, apply only the standard penalty dice and damage bonus for the charge attack, which is not optional given the format of the joust. You must choose your maneuver, if any, before making a pass and before you roll any tests.

Aggressive

You focus on the ferocity of your attack, giving less heed to your own defenses, perhaps even lowering your shield more than is wise. Apply a bonus of +1 or +2 (your choice) to the result of your Fighting test, and subtract the same amount from the result of your passive Animal Handling test.

Braced

You focus on bracing yourself against the impact of the charge, at the cost of blunting your own attack. Subtract 1 or 2 (your choice) from the result of your Fighting test, and add the same amount to the result of your Animal Handling test to remain in the saddle if you are struck.

Defensive

You angle your body and shield to lessen your profile and better deflect your foe's attack, weakening your own in return. Apply a bonus of +1 or +2 (your choice) to the result of your passive Animal Handling test to determine the Difficulty for your opponent to hit you, and subtract the same amount from the result of your Fighting test.

Eyes Fixed

A knight normally turns his head away from his opponent a moment before impact, mainly to avoid having splinters from a broken lance fly into the slits of his visor. You can choose not to do so, and fix your eyes on your opponent, instead. Apply a bonus of +1 to the result of your Fighting test. However, increase the base damage of your opponent's attack by 1 point (increased by degree of success as usual). If your opponent defeats you, he can choose severe consequences, such as death or maiming (losing an eye).

High in Saddle

You ride high in the saddle, which gives you a slight advantage in height and momentum but makes it more difficult for you to keep your seat if you are struck. Apply a bonus of +1 or +2 (your choice) to your Fighting test, and subtract the same amount from the result of your Animal Handling test to remain in the saddle if you are struck.

Jousting Results

The result of the Fighting test in a joust determines the outcome, as shown on Table 9-4: Jousting Results.

A tourney lance inflicts (Animal Handling +3) base damage and is a Powerful weapon, which adds +1 damage per rank of Strength specialty a wielder has. Since a tilt with lances involves a charge, the lance does an additional +2 base damage. Apply any modifiers from the knight's chosen maneuvers (previously) before determining the final damage based on degree of success.

A combatant knocked from his saddle falls and suffers damage equal to the jousting attack's base damage. Armor does not reduce this damage.

A combatant can defeat his opponent by reducing his Health to zero. It is possible for both combatants to unhorse each other in a jousting pass, in which case their squires assist them back to their mounts for another pass, or in the case of a formal challenge, they continue the conflict on foot.

Between Passes

Between passes, squires assist their knights by knocking dents out of their armor, unlocking jammed joints, or removing damaged pieces, and they replace their knight's shattered lance and corral the knight's horse (if necessary). It allows the knight a short breather, sufficient for a Catch Your Breath action. Roll an Automatic (0) Endurance test; each degree of success removes 1 point of damage. Although Catch Your Breath is a Greater Action, each knight can take only one in between passes.

Defeat and Yielding

An opponent knocked from his steed loses the match to one who manages to retain his mount. If the knights make three passes and neither unhorses the other, the knight with the greatest total degrees of success can be counted the winner.

The loser forfeits his steed and armor to the victor, but he can buy them back, provided he can meet the ransom price. The ransom is usually equal to the value of the armor and steed combined, but some tournaments might have steeper fees, whereas others might have less. Etiquette deems it poor form to charge more than a reasonable market amount as a ransom price.

Opponents defeated by taking damage in excess of their Health face consequences determined by the victor. For competitions, such outcomes usually mean unconsciousness or potential embarrassment, though maiming and death can and do occur.

Cheating

A competitor can choose to shift his lance to strike a more lightly armored area of his opponent, or even to strike his opponent's mount.

This attack deals normal damage, as if in combat, potentially killing the rider or mount, though important characters can choose to suffer injuries or wounds to limit the damage and use Destiny Points to evade death.

If the cheating competitor attempts to conceal his duplicity, make a Deception test, and use the result as the Difficulty for an Awareness test to detect that the attempt was anything other than an unfortunate accident. Of course, even if caught red handed by someone, a determined cheater can still claim it was an accident.

Being caught cheating in a joust results in immediate disqualification and potentially a fine or honor price paid to the injured party or, if he does not survive, his family. The cheater might also suffer a price paid in Glory as well.

Jousting Knights

Opponents in the second through fourth rounds of the tournament should be capable, after the chaff has been winnowed out from the first. The hedge knight sample Narrator character from Chapter Eleven provides a quick set of game stats, perhaps with slight variations in specialty ranks (additional Ride for Animal Handling, for example, or an extra specialty rank in Spears). By the fourth round, a contender might have as high as rank 5 Fighting, if you want to provide a knightly character with more of a challenge.

The fifth and sixth—or semifinal and final—rounds of the jousting tournament are the most challenging, as the field is whittled down to just four knights in the fifth round. In the sixth round, the two previous winners compete against each other. If a character advances this far, it is against difficult odds, and he faces some of the most skilled combatants in the Seven Kingdoms.

Choose suitable knights as opponents, either Narrator characters from your own series, or named characters from the SIFRP Campaign Guide. The tourney is an opportunity for a player character to face off against the big names of the novels.

If you create your own knight(s) for these rounds of the tourney, they should be Fighting rank 5 and have at least 2B to 3B in Long Blades and Spears, Animal Handling rank 4, and at least 2B in Ride. Some contenders might have even higher ranks. Although, keep in mind rank 6 is truly exceptional and rank 7 virtually unheard of; such a paragon, if not already widely known, soon would be after such an amazing display of ability.

Other Tourney Events

Although the joust and the melee are the main events of the tourney, other events exist for the characters to participate in, if they so desire, including archery and horsemanship, as well as a gathering of maesters hosted by the Grand Maester in the service of the king. These events can serve as background color and opportunities for characters other than knights to show off their abilities, or even as important elements of the plot, depending on how you present them.

The Archery Competition

Compared to the jousting and the melee, the archery competition is relatively simple: the contestants stand in a row, take aim, and fire three shots at a straw target. Missing the target all three times eliminates a competitor from the competition. The targets are then moved back, and another round takes place, repeating until all competitors but one or two have been eliminated. In the final round, the competitor who shoots the most arrows closest to the center of the target wins.

The Difficulty for the Marksmanship test starts at Routine (6) and increases by one level each round, typically reaching Hard (15) in the fourth and final round. The archer with the highest total degrees of success from all three shots in the last round is declared the winner.

Grand Melee

A grand melee is a competition of arms. Usually, the participants gather in teams of seven, but some might involve just a pair of warriors or more than seven warriors, especially in competitions designed to "reenact" a historical event. A grand melee resolves as a normal combat using all the rules found in the chapter. Many melees are fought to the drawing of first blood to give the spectators a bit of color and to add the risk of danger to the fight. The first opponent to take an injury or wound loses.

The Equestrian Competition

Although the primary riding competition at the tourney is the joust, other opportunities exist for riders to demonstrate their skills on a mount without armor, shield, and lance. The equestrian competition involves jumping over pickets, hay bales, and mud puddles, as well as walking, cantering, and galloping along a track before an audience, most of whom hope for an embarrassing fall from the saddle that lands the rider in the mud.

In a series of rounds, the competitors make Animal Handling (Ride) tests. Judges decide the best half of the results, and winners move on to the next round. In the final round, the highest test result determines which rider wins. The competition also serves to show off horseflesh from various parts of Westeros and is of particular interest to breeders, so the owner of a winning horse might receive overtures to breed it.

The Maesters Conclave

Particularly large tournaments may play host to a maesters conclave, usually hosted by the maester attached to the House hosting the tournament. Most of the attending maesters are attached to a house attending the tourney, and it is an opportunity for them to discuss, debate, compare notes and observations, and partake in the sort of long-winded conversations maesters enjoy. The Conclave provides something for maester characters to do during the tourney (apart from treating the occasional combat-related injury). Having a Home House maester attend the Conclave might prove useful to the party later on; the Conclave represents a collection of the best-educated minds in Westeros and offers a wealth of information to someone with access.

Although most people do not consider the maester's Conclave a "competition," it is only because they do not understand the subtle academic infighting of the graduates of the Citadel. The maesters use their Conclave to discuss and debate a variety of scholarly questions, present findings from their own studies and research, and stake out important new discoveries; although, a good deal of what goes on is more political than intellectual.

If a maester character has a particular finding or agenda for the Conclave, feel free to play it out, and allow opportunities for intrigue and the like. For a simple, abstract idea of how events transpire, you can ask the maester's player for a Knowledge test using the appropriate specialty; the result demonstrates how well the other maesters receive his ideas. A particularly good result might garner attention from influential patrons, whereas an especially poor result could lead to censure or loss of standing within the Conclave.

Optional Tourney Events

Make an effort to let as many of the characters shine in the tourney as possible. If a member of the Home House has a particular area of expertise, include an event for it in the tourney or on the fairgrounds, so the character can show off a bit. Possible additional events include the following.

• Knife or axe throwing at straw targets or posts, with the potential of a throw going a bit awry [Throwing test, modified by weapon specialty].
• Feats of strength such as rock throwing or a caber toss, wherein the thrower balances an entire log on its end before hurling it end over end as far as possible [Athletics test, Strength specialty modifies].
• Various athletic contests such as foot races, wrestling, climbing a greased pole to reach a wreath balanced at the top, log rolls, and so forth [Athletics tests, modified by the appropriate specialty]. Most of these events are likely to be unofficial.
• Various unofficial gambling events, from betting on other contests to floating dice games conducted in taverns and alleyways. Some of these events are rigged scams to bilk visitors out of as much coin as possible [Cunning or Thievery test, depending on tactics and circumstances, modified by specialties involving gambling].

Advanced Combat

Once you have mastered the basic rules of combat, you may find you'd like to add more depth to your battles. The following rules expand the combat options, offering player characters and Narrator characters a variety of tactical choices and techniques to add tactical options to combats. Since these rules also increase the complexity of the game, they are recommended for experienced groups. However, there's no reason why you have to use all of the rules provided here. You can use one, many, or all of them at your Narrator's discretion.

Tests

The following advanced option can be used along with conflict tests.

Critical Hits

SIFRP is designed to reward good rolls with greater success. Degrees of success allow you to speed up a difficult test, perform an act with flair, or deliver an appalling amount of damage with a well-placed hit. Critical Hits provide an opportunity to achieve more with a single test, to defeat a foe with a single hit, to create such bloody results as to turn the tide of battle. While this does create exciting opportunities for players, it also gives their adversaries the same chances at victory, making a deadly combat even deadlier.

Rolling a Critical

A Critical occurs whenever your Fighting or Marksmanship test doubles your opponent's Combat Defense. Thus, if your opponent's Combat Defense is 10, you would need a 20 or higher on your test result to achieve a Critical. If a Critical results, count the number of 6s rolled and compare the total to Table 9-5: Criticals.

Table 9-5: Criticals

Sixes	Result
1	Solid Hit: You land a solid blow. Increase the base damage of your weapon for this attack by +2.
2	Powerful Hit: Your attack leaves your opponent reeling. Increase the base damage of your weapon for this attack by +4.
3	Bloody Wound: Your attack leaves a bleeding wound. In addition to the damage dealt, your target gains 1 injury. This injury does not reduce damage. If your opponent cannot take another injury, he takes a wound. If he cannot take a wound, he dies.
4	Crippling Wound: You cripple your opponent with a dreadful wound. In addition to the damage dealt, your target gains 1 wound. This injury does not reduce damage. If your opponent cannot take another wound, he dies.
5	Killing Blow: Your attack kills your opponent instantly.
6	Terrible Blow: Not only does your attack kill your opponent instantly, but you deal your base damage (unmodified by degree) to all opponents adjacent to the victim of the terrible blow.
7	Impressive Death: Your killing attack is so impressive, all your allies gain +1B on all tests for the duration of the combat.
8	Horrible Death: You kill your opponent with such force that you sicken all who witness the act. All characters (allies and enemies) that witnessed the attack must succeed on Challenging (9) Will tests or take −1D on tests for one round. For the duration of the combat, you gain a +1B on all tests.

Fumbles

A failed Fighting or Marksmanship test in combat is never worse than a simple miss. There are no greater consequences for failure, and a bad roll is just a bad roll. However, some groups enjoy the heightened risks of botched rolls — complications that can be minor setbacks or major mishaps. For those who prefer these sorts of situations, Fumble rules follow. This option favors characters who have greater rank in Fighting or Marksmanship, making it harder for trained characters to have a mishap with their weapons while simultaneously reflecting the ineptness of characters with lower ranks in the same abilities.

Rolling a Fumble

A Fumble occurs whenever the dice come up all 1s on a test roll. Compare the number of 1s rolled (including those from specialties) to Table 9-6: Fumbles. Whenever you get a Fumble result, you may reduce it by one step by spending a Destiny Point.

Table 9-6: Fumbles

Ones	Result
1	Injure Self: Poor handling of the weapon results in a nasty injury. You hit yourself and take weapon damage.
2	Strike Ally: You strike an ally instead of the intended target. If there's an adjacent ally, test Fighting, or if there's an ally in range, test Marksmanship to hit your ally as normal.
3	Drop: The weapon slips from your hand and lands 1d6 yards away in a random direction.
4	Minor Break: The weapon becomes damaged from heavy use. Reduce its damage by 1. If castle-forged or better, treat as 3.
5	Major Break: The weapon snaps or becomes badly damaged. The weapon is worthless and cannot be repaired. If castle-forged, treat as 4. If Valyrian steel, treat as 3.
6	Slippery Grip: Blood or sweat makes the weapon's grip slippery. Take −1D on all attacks until the end of your next turn.
7	Blood in the Eyes: Blood or sweat falls into your eyes, affecting your vision. Take −1D on all tests until the end of your next turn.
8+	Overbalanced: In your eagerness to hit your foe, you lose your balance and give your opponent an opening. Take −5 penalty to Combat Defense until the start of your next turn.

Initiative

The following advanced options pertain to order of initiative.

Interrupting Actions

In the basic rules, whenever a character delays they may act at any time later in the round, but they may not interrupt another character's action, meaning they must wait for the character currently acting to finish their turn. As an optional rule, you can allow a delaying character to interrupt another character if he or she succeeds on an opposed Agility test (Quickness applies).

Battlefield Tactics

You can always forfeit your Agility test to determine order of initiative to direct your allies in combat instead. In place of the Agility test, roll a Warfare test (Tactics applies). The Difficulty depends on the nature of the battlefield, advantages had by the opponents, the numbers of opponents, and so on; The Difficulty is always set by the Narrator, but Challenging (9) is the default. If the test succeeds, you bestow a +1B per degree of success to an ally's Agility test for initiative. You can provide the bonus dice to one or more characters, dividing them as you choose.

Only one character per side can use the Battlefield Tactics option. Because you opted to manage the battlefield, you go last in the round. If multiple characters from different sides used this option, resolve ties by comparing Agility, then Quickness, and then by an opposed Warfare test.

Changing Initiative

If you'd like to reflect the ebb and flow of combat, you can call for Agility tests each round to determine initiative. This process slows game play, but it emulates the shifting fortunes of the battlefield.

Attack Modifiers

Circumstances can affect your chances of hitting your opponent. While many modifiers are the result of Battlefield Qualities, attack modifiers may result from specific choices and immediate changes in your environment. When testing Fighting or Marksmanship, you may apply any of the following modifiers that apply.

Higher Ground

Whenever you stand on ground that puts you above your opponent, such as when you are on a table or on the slope of a hill, you gain a +1B on your Fighting test. Higher ground does not affect Marksmanship tests.

Moving Targets

Whenever you attack a target that sprinted on its last turn, you take −1D on your Fighting or Marksmanship test.

Unarmed Attacks

Some fights involve not armored soldiers with sword and axe, but bare-fisted brawling. This works the same way as any other sort of fighting, using the Brawling specialty. An empty fist does Athletics−3 damage (minimum of 1) while a gauntleted fist does Athletics−2 damage and an improvised weapon, like a chair leg or heavy flagon, does Athletics−1 damage (see Table 9-3: Weapons). Defeat in unarmed combat tends to result in unconsciousness or capture, but can still have more serious results, including maiming and death. Characters can likewise suffer injuries and wounds in unarmed combat to stave off defeat.

Attacking Objects

Sometimes it takes a hammer. There will be times when you need to smash your way through barriers, destroy objects, and batter your way to victory. When faced with such an obstacle, breaking and smashing things may be your only solution.

Break

When you break something, you rely on your raw strength to damage or destroy an object. A good example is when you are shackled or bound. There's no good way to wield a weapon to cut through the restraints, so you might attempt to snap the chains or break the ropes. Whenever you would use your strength to break something, roll an Athletics test (bonus dice from Strength apply). The Difficulty of the test depends on the object you intend to break. Most objects tend to be Hard (15), but fragile things such as glass may be Challenging (9) or easier, while bursting through a stone wall is Heroic (21+). A success reduces the Difficulty on your next test by 5 per degree. Once you reduce the Difficulty to Automatic (0), you break the object.

Smash

If you have the luxury of having a weapon on hand, you can always try to chop up or smash an object. Roll a Fighting test (you can't generally smash items with Marksmanship weapons). Again, the Difficulty depends on the object you're trying to smash. Most objects tend to be Formidable (12) but can be Routine (6) or Automatic (0) for papers or glass or Very Hard (18) for stone walls. If you succeed, you reduce the Difficulty on your next test by your weapon damage multiplied by the degree. Once the Difficulty has been reduced to 0 or lower, you've smashed the object.

Some weapons are wildly inappropriate for this work — a dagger is useless for smashing through doors. The Narrator has the final say on what weapons are appropriate.

Advanced Actions

The following actions broaden your tactical options in combat.

Aim — Lesser Action

By lining up your attack, you gain a +1B on your Fighting or Marksmanship test.

Cautious Attack — Lesser Action

While fighting, you reserve some of your efforts to defend yourself. You may pick up −1D to increase your Combat Defense by 3. You may not accumulate more than −1D in this way.

Counterattack — Greater Action

Counterattack allows you to hold back an attack for use at a later point in the round, but you must use it sometime before the start of your next turn. Upon taking the Counterattack action, your turn immediately ends. At any time thereafter, you may make a standard attack against any opponent that engages you or whom you see for Marksmanship attacks. This attack interrupts your opponent's action. If, however, no opponent presents himself before the start of your next turn, the counterattack is wasted.

Setting for a Charge — Variant of Counterattack

If an opponent charges to attack you during a round in which you have used the counterattack action and are armed with a Fighting weapon, you may strike with deadly effect. If your attack hits, increase your weapon's base damage by +2. Like the overall Counterattack action, this is a Greater Action.

Disarm — Greater Action

You may attempt to knock an opponent's weapon from his hands. Resolve as a standard attack except your Difficulty is equal to your opponent's passive Fighting result. If you succeed with at least two degrees, you disarm your opponent. If you roll a Critical failure, your opponent disarms you. If you have a hand free and have Fighting 4 or greater, you are able to snatch the weapon out of the air. Otherwise, a disarmed weapon lands 1d6 yards away in a random direction.

Distract — Lesser Action

Through misdirection and subterfuge, you create an opening in your opponent's defenses. Roll a Cunning test against your opponent's passive Will result. A successful test causes your opponent to lose his Awareness rank from his Combat Defense until the end of his next turn or until he is attacked, whichever comes first.

Knockdown — Lesser Action

Using brute strength, you send your opponent crashing to the ground. Roll an Athletics test against your foe's passive Agility result. On a success, your opponent falls prone. If you combine this action with a move, you add +2 to your Athletics test result. When you are knocked down, you must spend a Lesser Action to Stand Up. Opponents gain +1 Test Die on Fighting tests against you while you are knocked down.

Knockout — Lesser Action

A well-placed blow can send your opponent into unconsciousness. You may only use this maneuver against an unaware foe. Roll a Fighting test against your opponent's passive Endurance result. On a success, you stun your foe, and he takes a −5 penalty to his Combat Defense. If you succeed by at least two degrees, you knock your opponent unconscious. Each round, on his turn, he may attempt a Formidable (12) Endurance test (Resilience applies) to wake up or shake off his stun. A stunned opponent recovers normally after 1d6 rounds, while an unconscious opponent recovers after 1d6 minutes.

Destiny: You may spend a Destiny Point to negate the effects of a successful Knockout.

Maneuver — Lesser Action

By pressing your attack, you can cause an opponent to shift his position. Roll a Fighting test against your opponent's passive Fighting result. On a success, your opponent takes −1D on all tests for one round. As well, you may force the target to move 1 yard per degree in any direction. If a maneuver would force a target into a lethal situation (into a roaring fire, off a cliff or parapet, into the tentacles of a kraken), your opponent is entitled to a Routine (6) Awareness test to notice the danger and move into a different space.

Reckless Attack — Greater Action

Throwing caution to the wind, you hurl yourself at your opponent. Subtract 5 from your Combat Defense to gain +1D on your Fighting test. The benefits of this action last until the start of your next turn.

Trample — Greater Action

While mounted, you can trample over your enemies by moving in a straight line through them. Resolve as a normal attack, except you substitute Animal Handling for Fighting. If your steed is not trained for war, the Difficulty increases by 6. Each target you trample after the first gains a cumulative +5 bonus to its Combat Defense; thus, the second target gains a +5 bonus, the third a +10 bonus, and so on. On a successful test, you deal damage equal to your steed's Athletics rank, with each degree of success providing additional damage as normal.

Advanced Reach

A weapon's length conveys a lot about its function and effectiveness in combat. While a pole-arm offers the advantage of being able to strike opponents from afar, it can also be a liability when an enemy with a small sword, dirk, or even hand axe manages to slip past the blade and deliver a vicious attack. The basic combat rules distil the concept of reach into the various weapon qualities, offering a stripped down method for handling the strategic concerns of weapon length through qualities and weapon damage. While this stripped-down method does make handling this factor easier, it loses some of the granularity between the various weapons, favoring longer and heavier choices. Advanced Reach rules add extra components to highlight the tactical distinctions between these weapons.

Reach

Reach is an exclusive property of Fighting weapons. Thrown weapons may also have a reach, but this condition applies only when the weapon is used as a Fighting weapon. Reach is measured in yards; 0 yards means you must be adjacent to the opponent to attack, 1 means the opponent can be up to 1 yard away, 2 yards means the opponent can be up to 2 yards away, and so on.

Effects of Reach

When attacking an opponent at your reach, you resolve the Fighting test normally. You may still attack a foe inside or outside of your reach up to 1 yard in either direction by accepting −1D on your Fighting test.

Reach & Two Weapons

Most Off-hand weapons have a shorter reach than other weapons. When armed with two weapons that have different reaches, you may attack as normal, but you take −1D on your Fighting test given the disparity of the reaches.

Free Attacks

Free attacks are best used with the optional reach rules. A free attack is a special attack that triggers when one combatant incautiously moves away from another combatant. Any time a character starts inside another enemy's optimal weapon reach and uses an action to move more than 1 yard, the character is at risk of being hit by a free attack. The enemy compares his or her passive Fighting result to the character's Combat Defense. Should the passive result equal or beat the character's Combat Defense, the enemy hits and deals damage as normal. Once the character is no longer inside another combatant's optimal reach, he or she may spend actions to move normally.

Fatigue

Fatigue measures your ability to call upon hidden resources and push yourself beyond your normal limits. At any time during a combat, even when it's not your action, you can accept a point of fatigue to negate specific effects until the start of your next turn. Each point of fatigue you accept imposes a −1 penalty on all test results. You cannot accumulate more fatigue than your Endurance rank. Possible uses of fatigue include:

• Ignore an armor penalty
• Ignore 1 wound.
• Ignore all injuries
• Gain one Lesser Action.

Once you gain fatigue, it goes away on its own. For every four hours you rest, you remove one point of fatigue.

Table 9-7: Fighting Weapons & Reach

Weapon	Specialty	Reach	Weapon	Specialty	Reach
Battleaxe	Axes	0	Arakh	Long Blade	1
Crowbill	Axes	0	Bastard Sword	Long Blade	1
Hand Axe	Axes	0	Greatsword	Long Blade	2
Longaxe	Axes	2	Longsword	Long Blade	1
Mattock	Axes	1	Halberd	Pole-arm	2
Woodsman's Axe	Axes	1	Peasant Tool	Pole-arm	1
Ball and Chain	Bludgeon	1	Pole-axe	Pole-arm	2
Cudgel/Club	Bludgeon	0	Buckler	Shield	0
Flail	Bludgeon	2	Shield	Shield	0
Mace	Bludgeon	0	Large Shield	Shield	0
Maul	Bludgeon	1	Tower Shield	Shield	0
Morningstar	Bludgeon	0	Dagger	Short Blade	0
Quarterstaff	Bludgeon	2	Dirk	Short Blade	0
Warhammer	Bludgeon	1	Stiletto	Short Blade	0
Gauntlet	Brawling	0	Boar Spear	Spear	3
Improvised	Brawling	0*	Frog Spear	Spear	2
Knife	Brawling	0	Pike	Spear	6
Fist	Brawling	0	Spear	Spear	3
Whip	Brawling	3	Tourney Lance	Spear	4
Braavosi Blade	Fencing	1	Trident	Spear	2
Left-hand Dagger	Fencing	0	War Lance	Spear	3
Small Sword	Fencing	0

*The reach of an improvised weapon can vary greatly. The Narrator should use his discretion depending on the circumstances, and item used.