MST-2: Melee Fighting Overview In a hand-to-hand fight, there are several attributes that matter: * Skill (+0 or higher) * Reach (close, mid, or far) * Power (1d6 or higher) * Evasion and Protection (determined by armor) * Wounds (starts at 0) * Hit Dice (1d6 or higher) An Attacker rolls d20 and adds their skill. If this total exceeds the evasion of their target, the attack hits. Then the attacker rolls their power dice. For each die that exceeds the target's protection rating, the target takes one wound. When a character is wounded, roll their hit dice to check for shock. If the total exceeds their wounds, they are able to keep fighting; otherwise they succumb to their wounds. Skill A character's skill represents a combination of technique, quickness, strength, and experience. The skill for an unexceptional civilian would be +0 and for the most fearsome combatants it might be as high as +10. Weapons This table provides stats for some common types of medieval weapons: Weapon type Hands Reach Power ------------ ----- ----- ------- Unarmed 1 close 1d6 Dagger 1 close 1d6 Club 1 mid 1d8 Mace 1 mid 1d10 Battle Axe 1/2 mid 1d8/2d8 Sword 1/2 mid 2d6/3d6 Spear 1 far 2d8 Quarterstaff 2 far 1d8 Polearm 2 far 2d10 The hands column shows whether the weapon is wielded with one or two hands. In the case of axes and swords, the weapon may be used with one or two hands, which changes its power. Power determines how many dice to roll for damage. Each die has the potential to cause a wound, so a sword hit with power of 3d6 can cause at most 3 wounds per hit. Extra power dice may be given to particularly large or powerful combatants. Reach and counter-attacks The reach determines the weapon's optimal range. If an attacker with shorter reach attacks a defender with longer reach, the defender gets a free counter-attack. If the counter-attack hits then the original attack is prevented, even if the counter-attack deals no damage. Otherwise the attacker has successfully closed the distance and may attack with their shorter reach weapon. Similarly, if an attacker with longer reach attacks a defender with shorter reach who has already closed the distance, the defender gets a free counter-attack. If this counter-attack hits then the original attack is prevented. Otherwise the attacker has successfully disengaged and may attack with their longer reach weapon. Armor This table provides stats for some common types of medieval armor: Armor type Evasion Protection ---------- ------- ---------- None 15 0 Leather 13 1 Chain mail 11 2 Brigandine 9 3 Plate mail 7 4 Shield -1 +1 The evasion score represents how hard the character is to hit. Particularly nimble characters may receive a bonus to evasion, especially if they are unarmored or wearing light armor. An attack needs to exceed the evasion score to succeed. The protection score provides a chance to prevent wounds. When rolling damage, each die that exceeds the protection score causes a wound. An unarmored target will always be wounded by a successful attack, whereas a target wearing plate armor has a good chance of escaping harm. Hit dice Hit dice represent the ability to withstand pain and injury. To determine a creature's hit dice consult the following tables: Role or Species Die type ----------------------------- -------- Child, Kobold, Halfing d4 Civilian, Wizard, Goblin d6 Adventurer, Orc, Giant Spider d8 Fighter, Gnoll, Yeti d10 Barbarian, Ogre, Zombie d12 Owlbear, Dragon, Manticore d20 Tenacity rating Die count --------------- --------- Standard 1 Veteran 2 Elite 3 Heroic 4 Legendary 5 Larger die types should be used for creatures that are larger or more difficult to kill. Most creatures should have standard tenacity. Players may be able to increase the number of hit dice they have over time, and some character may receive a bonus to hit dice (+1 or +2) if they are especially tough. Wounds Wounds represent cumulative injury from the battle. Each wound has a chance to disable a combatant, and players are encouraged to describe each wound received. However there is no other mechanical penalty for wounds besides increasing the chance that the character is incapacitated due to a failed shock check. When a character succumbs to their wounds, they may be dead, unconscious, or just unable to continue the fight. Groups that want a high lethality game may decide that every failed shock check results in death. Groups that want a more forgiving game may decide that most failed shock checks do not result in immediate death, creating opportunities to save victims through first aid or healing magic. An optional system to resolve this works as follows: * After a failed shock check roll a second shock check. * If the second check succeeds, the character is incapacitated but still alive. * If the second check fails but exceeds the first, the character is dying but not yet dead. * Otherwise, the character dies instantly. Healing In low fantasy settings, wounds should take significant time to heal. Every day of rest, a player may roll their hit dice. If the result is less than their wounds, they heal one wound. Medical attention may increase the rate of healing somewhat. In high fantasy settings, wounds should heal quickly. Every day of rest, a player may roll their hit dice and heal that many wounds. With medical attention or healing magic, even faster healing may be possible. Disengaging and retreating If a character wishes to disengage from an opponent and flee, the opponent gets a free counter-attack. After that, the character may move to reposition themselves or to escape. If a character is out of reach of an opponent's weapon, that opponent does not get a counter-attack Other actions in melee Characters engaged with an opponent in melee combat cannot take non-combat actions without opening themselves up to a free counter-attack. Examples of non-combat actions include spell-casting, drinking a potion, taking an item out of a pack, and so on. To take non-combat actions safely, a character must first disengage from their opponent. Ranged attacks Ranged attackers roll d20 + skill (the same roll as melee). Even die rolls that exceed the evasion of their intended target hit; damage is rolled normally. On an odd roll, every combatant that is near the intended target has a chance to be hit. Determine the actual target randomly, then check against that target's evasion to see if the attack hit. If a target has no one else nearby this check can be skipped. Missile weapons have a power stat as melee weapons do. Missile type Power ------------ ----- Dagger/Dart 1d4 Axe/Spear 1d6 Sling bullet 2d6 Arrow (Short Bow) 2d8 Arrow (Long Bow) 2d10 Crossbow Bolt 2d12 These rules assume the attacker is in range of the target, but not already engaged in melee. Attempting a ranged attack while in melee grants any engaged foes a counter-attack; successful counter-attacks will prevent the ranged attack. Other types of damage and wounds Characters may also take damage or wounds from sources than melee attacks: * Falling: 1 wound per 10 feet * Poisoned: 1 to 3 wounds depending on toxicity * Burned: 1d12 damage * On fire: 1d12 damage per round Sources which can be mitigated by armor or additional layers should roll dice to determine damage, but sources which ignore armor should deal wounds directly. Sometimes additional factors can add to weapon power: * Helpless opponent (+2d20) * Sneak attack (+2d12) * Critical hit or powerful blow (+1d12) * Magical or holy weapon (+1d10) * Battle frezny (+1d8) * Superior weapon quality (+1d6) (If several factors apply only the largest should be used.) ------------------------------------------------------------ MST-2: Melee Fighting © 2021 by Eiríkr Åsheim licensed under CC BY 4.0. Questions or comments? Email mst@poly.hedron.club. Back to the index