Combat Bonuses
Special blows for a character past 98 in a weapon skill holding a magical weapon. Tactics sets how often they land.
Once your weapon skill passes 98 and you are holding a magical weapon, a special blow opens up according to the weapon's family. Which tier the weapon is does not matter: the lowest tier, +3, opens the bonus just as well, while plain steel opens nothing.
| Blow | Weapons | Skill needed |
|---|---|---|
| Bleeding, the target loses health over time | Broadsword, Cutlass, Katana, Long Sword, Scimitar, Viking Sword | Swordsmanship 98 |
| Parablow, pins the target briefly | Spear, Short Spear | Fencing 98 |
| Armour break, aimed at the opponent's armour | Club, Hammer Pick, Mace, Maul, War Hammer, War Mace | Macefighting 98 |
| Dismount, throws a rider from the saddle | Heavy Crossbow, Bardiche, Halberd, Spear, Black Staff | that weapon's own skill at 98 |
The heavy crossbow is the one exception: dismounting with it does not require a magical weapon. It is the cheapest answer to a mounted opponent.
Tactics sets the frequency
How often a bonus lands is read from your Tactics. Wielding the weapon asks for Tactics too: ruin 20, might 40, force 60, power 80, vanquishing 100. A character with twenty Tactics cannot even pick up a top-tier weapon; they swing the lowest tier, and land bonuses as often as their Tactics allows.
For a pure mage every one of these chances is a quarter lower.
Timers, not just dice
Dice alone were not enough here: a fist swings several times a second, so even a small chance meant being locked down back to back. Stun, disarm and dismount now answer to the clock as well as the dice.
| Duration | Repeat | |
|---|---|---|
| Stun | 2 seconds | the same person is stunned once every 10 seconds |
| Disarm | — | the same person is disarmed once every 15 seconds |
| Dismount | — | 18-25 seconds, shorter as Tactics rises |
Someone disarmed cannot equip another weapon for three seconds.
The dismount and parablow curve
Both read their chance from the attacker's Tactics and share one curve:
| Tactics | Chance |
|---|---|
| 25 | 5% |
| 50 | 10% |
| 75 | 15% |
| 90 | 20% |
| 100 | 25% |
The curve is flat to seventy-five and steepens after it. Mastery is rewarded in the last quarter.
Parablow follows its own rule: the spear's blow holds the target for five seconds, but damage breaks the hold — including the spearman's own next swing. Parablow is not a lock, it is a gap: a window, once every twenty seconds, to run, to heal, or to finish a spell.
Miss rules
A character with Wrestling below thirty misses a quarter more often when fighting bare-handed. Anyone striking a character with Wrestling and Magery above ninety and both hands empty misses a fifth more often. That second rule is what keeps an unarmed mage standing.
Bleeding is stopped with a bandage. Whoever applies it needs at least 70 Healing and 70 Anatomy.