Tactical Combat

Tactical Combat #

When starting an action scene, the GM can decide to start a tactical combat, where each combatant is represented by a miniature on a square or hexagonal grid. Tactical combat offers players more ways to deal damage, so GMs can design enemies to be more challenging. All rules for rolling are the same.

If using a square grid, you can move and target orthogonally and diagonally. Miniatures must face an orthogonal direction. If it’s not obvious which way the character is facing on the figure itself, please mark its base with a direction.

Regardless of the following rules, the narrative sense of the story comes first. For example, if a player cannot justify how they are making a ranged attack in the story, then they cannot do so.

This page has the following sections:

Combat Sheet #

Download or print a combat sheet and fill it out with the following information:

  • Speed: The number of spaces you can move per turn, ranging from 4-8. Your speed is equal to your AGI + 3. If you begin your turn adjacent to an enemy, your speed instead becomes 1 until the end of your turn.

  • Range: The number of spaces away from your target or point of interaction you can be, ranging from 1-5. Your range is equal to your PER.

  • Attack: The base modifier for all your offensive rolls, plus any tags or drive, ranging from 2-6. Your attack is equal to your COM + 1.

  • Defense: The base modifier for all your defensive rolls, plus any tags or drive, ranging from 2-6. Your defense is equal to your TOU + 1.

  • Tactics: The number of times per combat you can use the following extra actions on a failed or successful attack to deal damage. You cannot use the same tactic twice in the same attack. Your tactics are equal to your PRO.

    • Backstab: If your target is facing directly away from you, deal one damage.
    • Corner: If an ally or obstacle is adjacent to and directly behind your target, deal one damage.
    • Charge: If you use all your movement in a straight line, orthogonally or diagonally, to move adjacent to your target before attacking, deal one damage.
    • Line Up: If your target is at your maximum range before you move, deal one damage.
    • High Ground: If you have a clear height advantage, deal one damage.

  • Effects: The number of times per combat you can use the following extra actions on a failed or successful attack to affect the enemy. Your effects are equal to your special stat.

    • Move: Move the target one space in any direction. Once per turn, if you move the target into an obstacle or another combatant, instead deal one damage to both.
    • Splash: Deal the base amount of damage to all targets adjacent to your target, excluding yourself.
    • Weaken: Reduce the star rating of the target’s strongest tag by 1✦ for the rest of combat.
    • Hinder: Reduce the target’s speed or range to one until the end of its next turn.
    • Stun: The target can’t take the next enemy turn, unless no other options remain.

  • Support: The number of times per combat you can use the following extra actions on your turn. Your support is equal to your WIS.

    • Heal: Recover one of the target’s stress.
    • Recover: Recover one of the target’s tags. Costs two support instead of one.
    • Buff: Grant the target one drive. Costs two support instead of one.

  • Analysis: The number of times per combat you can ask the following questions on your turn. Your analysis is equal to your INT.

    • What is their remaining health?
    • What is their difficulty and tags?
    • What abilities do they have?
    • What is their speed and range?
    • What weaknesses do they have?

  • Reactions: The number of times per combat you can use the following actions. Your reactions are equal to your CHA.

    • Help: When a target ally makes a roll, increase the modifier by 1✦.
    • Bolster: On a target ally’s turn, increase their speed or range by one.
    • Protect: When an adjacent ally takes stress, take any amount of those points of stress instead of them.
    • Taunt: At the start of a target enemy’s turn, they must attack you this turn if able.
    • Command: When selecting which player to take the next turn, you can remove the exhausted condition from a target ally.

Your GM can grant you one or more Abilities, which give you additional options and bonuses in combat, at different points in the campaign.

Turn Actions #

On your turn, you can take one main action, one move action, and as many extra actions as you can:

As a main action, you can do one of the following:

  • Roll: Attempt any kind of roll
  • Dash: Move up to your speed
  • Recover: Recover a tag
  • Ready: Prepare a main action to perform at soon as a condition is met (for example, shoot the enemy as soon as they enter your line of sight)

As a move action, you can move up to your speed. You can split this movement up and perform it before or after your other actions.

As extra actions, you can take any of the above actions listed under Tactics, Effects, Support, Analysis, and Reactions, up to the maximum amount in each category determined by its corresponding stat. For example, with an Analysis of 4, you can only ask up to four questions from the list each combat.

After taking your turn, you gain the exhausted condition and are not eligible to take another turn. Once every member of a side is exhausted, remove the exhausted condition from them.

Non-Player Combatants #

Enemies in tactical combat must have speed and range in addition to all normal statistics. They can also have one or more abilities. By default, enemies cannot take extra actions. However, whenever they fulfill the criteria for one or more Tactics, they gain one difficulty for that roll for each.

In tactical combat, the GM gains an additional bane option: for one bane, they can move any combatant one space. When inflicting banes on a player, stress should ideally come from one of the enemy combatants in range, though not necessarily the target of the roll.

NPC combatants have the same statistics as enemies. When attacking each other, the GM selects a tag for each, and whoever has the highest difficulty inflicts one damage on the other. Upon reaching zero health, the GM can decide whether that NPC becomes OUT or dies.

If a side sheet uses the standard stat system, the GM can choose to fill a combat sheet for them.

Maps and Special Rules #

When introducing a map, the GM can designate any of the following zones to the areas or objects depicted on the map:

  • Difficult Terrain: A space with difficult terrain costs an extra point of speed to enter. For example, a muddy patch, a crowd of people, or a steep mountainside can all be difficult terrain.

  • Obstacle: A space with an obstacle blocks line of sight and cannot be entered unless the GM makes an exception. For example, a wall, a pile of boxes, or a dining room table can all be obstacles.

  • Hazard: A space with a hazard causes one stress or damage whenever a combatant enters it or starts their turn in it. For example, a pit of fire, a spike trap, or a poisonous bog can all be hazards.

Additionally, each tactical combat, the GM can decide to adjust the rules in any way to reflect the unique challenges of that combat. For example, in a tactical combat where heavy mist has overtaken the battlefield, the GM can decide that, for this combat, all combatants must reduce their range by one, to a minimum of one.

Abilities #

The GM can give players and other combatants one or more abilities that grant special bonuses or rules in tactical combat. The following are thematic example abilities for a medieval fantasy campaign.

A gunslinging rogue might have the following abilities:

  • Deadeye: No target is too far. When making a ranged attack, you can increase your range by one or two.
  • Into the Shadows: You’re hard to pin down. Once per combat, on your turn, you can enter stealth to become invisible and untargetable by enemies until the start of your next turn.

A herbalist witch might have the following abilities:

  • Potion Seller: You keep your party well-stocked with potions. Gain +1 support. When you support an ally, you can spend their support in addition to your own.
  • Vengeful Hex: You should know better than to mess with a witch. Once per combat, when an enemy deals stress to you, you can hex it to deal one damage to it, regardless of range.

A combat medic might have the following abilities:

  • Miracle Worker: You’ve brought your friends back from the brink of death. Gain +1 support. Once per combat, on your turn, you can recover one stress for an adjacent OUT ally. They are no longer OUT.
  • Combat Gurney: You know how to get someone out of trouble (or into it). When you move, you can drag a willing ally adjacent to the space you were just in into that space.

An arcane artist might have the following abilities:

  • Runic Tattoo: Your rune glows with power. Once per combat, on your turn, you can mark a target ally with a powerful tattoo to grant them +1 attack and +1 defense for the rest of combat.
  • Still Life: Your art is so realistic it leaps off the page. Twice per combat, on your turn, you can place down an illustrated piece of terrain that functions as an obstacle. Any combatant can spend their main action to remove it.

A barbarian might have the following abilities:

  • Knockback: Your blows send tremors through the ground. Whenever you deal damage to an enemy, you can move them one or two spaces directly away from you. Once per turn, if you move the enemy into an obstacle or another combatant, instead deal one damage to both.
  • Rage: Now you’ve made me angry. Once per combat, when you take stress, you can enter a rage to gain +2 attack for the rest of combat.