Physical Combat

Combat is dangerous, fast, and driven by fiction — not turns on a board. There's no initiative order, no grid, no action economy. A fight is a scene, resolved the same way everything else is: you say what you attempt, and the GM says what happens.

What the GM weighs

For every meaningful moment in a fight, the GM considers your relevant stat + relevant skill + position + equipment + injury + circumstance.

• A trained fighter usually dominates an untrained person.
• A stronger character has the advantage in grappling and overpowering.
• A faster character has the advantage in dodging, positioning, and reacting.
• Weapons matter. Armor matters. Numbers matter. Surprise matters.

The world doesn't create balanced fights. A Power 8 farmhand with Fighting 2 can still lose badly to a Power 5 soldier with Swordsmanship 8. If you're outclassed, you're outclassed — and that's real.

What each stat does in a fight

• Power — raw force, grappling, breaking holds, heavy weapons, endurance.
• Speed — dodging, initiative, footwork, precision, reacting quickly.
• Senses — noticing attacks, ambushes, openings, hidden threats.
• Willpower — continuing through pain, fear, exhaustion, and pressure.

Your combat skills — Swordsmanship, Boxing, Street Fighting, Firearms, Wrestling, Martial Arts, whatever you've actually trained — are what turn those stats into a real fighter.

Your actions are attempts

When you say "I grab his wrist, twist the sword away, and drive him into the wall," that's what you attempt — not what happens. The GM resolves each meaningful part according to your abilities, the opponent's, and the situation. You control intention; the GM controls outcome.

When rolls happen

Not every punch gets a roll. The GM rolls when the two sides are reasonably matched, the situation could genuinely go either way, and an important attack, defense, escape, or maneuver is uncertain. If one side massively outclasses the other, it's resolved naturally.

Injuries are real

Damage is fictional, not a pool of hit points. You can take minor cuts, bruises, sprains, deep wounds, broken bones, concussions, burns, and blood loss — and they matter. A broken hand fights differently. Heavy bleeding weakens you. Exhaustion slows you down. Injuries carry forward into later scenes; they don't reset because the scene changed.

You can't die — but the fight can still hurt

Your character cannot die, ever. But they can be badly wounded, knocked unconscious, captured, scarred, left for dead, hospitalized, imprisoned, or permanently injured. The danger is real; the one outcome that's off the table is death. NPCs have no such protection.

Numbers matter

Three average fighters can overwhelm one skilled fighter. Ten armed soldiers are a serious problem even for an exceptional warrior. The GM won't quietly weaken a group because you chose to fight them — think before you pick that fight.

Retreat is always an option

Running away is a legitimate outcome. Fights don't have to end with someone unconscious. You can flee, surrender, negotiate, hide, call for help, or break contact. Knowing when to leave is a combat skill too.