Chapter 5: Combat Rules

[Technoquantify]

Eventually, negotiations are going to break down. You're going to need to fight. How does that work? Combat in Shattered Hearts is relatively simple. In fact, melee combat can be summarized into four easy steps.

1. Roll initiative at the start of combat. (1d20+Agility)
2. On your turn, select a target and roll a d20, adding the relevant attribute to attack that target.
3. Compare the resulting number to the target's Dodge stat. If it is equal to or greater than their Dodge, you hit
4. On a hit, roll your weapon's damage. It is subtracted from your target's Hit Points (HP)

In practice, say Rolf, a heavy armored swordsman, aims to attack a Neoshadow that threatens his village. Rolf's player rolls initiative. His Agility is a 1, so already he is at a disadvantage since the lithe, fluid movements of the Neoshadow hint that he is much more agile. Rolf rolls a 1d20+1 and gets a 13. Not bad. The Neoshadow rolls poorly, getting an 11. Rolf gets to act on the first round of combat.

Now, let's see how attacking works
He charges the creature and swings his sword with practiced precision. Rolf's player rolls 1d20 and adds Rolf's Strength, which is 4. He rolls a 17, more than enough to strike the monster. Rolf wields a longsword, which does 1d8+Strength(4). Rolf rolls and deals 10 damage. Not a bad shot, but it wasn't enough. The creature stands, but now it knows Rolf is serious.

Actions in Combat
On their turn, characters can move their Speed in yards and take a single action. You can also break up your movement like so;
Rolf wishes to bait the Neoshadow into coming into range of an exploding barrel. Using part of his move, he moves 5 yards to the barrel and uses his action to prime it. Then, he moves six yards, the rest of his move action, to get away from the blast. Now, he waits to see if his trap works.

Breaking up your move can be a useful tactic in a variety of situations.

Below are a list of common actions.

Attack
Sprint: Move twice your speed in yards. Also uses your move action.
Activate: Pull a lever, open a door, unsheath a weapon, etc

Death
Characters can and will die. When reduced to 0 HP, you will fall unconscious and die after a number of turns equal to your Defense. Any kind of healing will bring you conscious and stable with 1 HP no matter how much HP would be restored. If your character dies, they will fall into the Realm of Darkness. If they are not rescued within a year, they will be overcome by the darkness and vanish. After that, nothing short of a miracle can save them.

Combat Numbers

Dodge: Your chance to dodge attacks. Calculated by adding 10 to your Agility.
Speed: How far you can move in a round in yards. Also calculated by adding 10 to your Agility.