Combat

Combat References:

• Close Combat and info
• Ranged Combat and info
• Experience Point Expense Chart
• Armour
• Health and Torpor

Stages of Combat

1. Roll initiative (roll 1d10. The direct value is added to your Dexterity and Wits)
2. Declare use of disciplines, mark use
3. Declare use of willpower, mark use
4. Declare if normal action, delayed action, or trigger/interrupt action or defensive*
5. Indicate the poor bastard you intend to do bad things to
6. Roll challenges
7. Roll defensive actions
8. Resolve damage

Stage One: Initiative

• Roll initiative. Everyone declares their actions. The character with the highest initiative performs her action first. Actions can be delayed to any time later in the order of initiative.
• Declare any multiple actions, reducing dice pools accordingly. Declare Discipline activation and Willpower expenditure.

Everyone, player and Storyteller character alike, rolls one die and adds it to their initiative rating (Dexterity + Wits the character with the highest result acts first, with the remaining characters acting in decreasing order of result. If two characters get the same total, the one with the higher initiative rating goes first. If initiative ratings are also the same, the two characters act simultaneously.

All of your character’s actions are staged at her rank in the order of initiative. There are three exceptions to this rule: The first is if your character delays her action, in which case her maneuvers happen when she finally takes action. Your character may act at any time after her designated order in the initiative, even to interrupt another, slower character’s action.

Stage Two: Attack

• For unarmed close-combat attacks, roll Dexterity + Brawl.
• For armed close-combat attacks, roll Dexterity + Melee.
• For ranged combat, roll Dexterity + Firearms (guns) or Dexterity + Athletics (thrown weapons).
• A character can abort to a defensive action (block, dodge, parry) at any time before her action is performed, as long as you make a successful Willpower roll (or a Willpower point is spent).
• In ranged combat, your weapon may modify your dice pool or difficulty (due to rate of fire, a targeting scope, etc. check the weapon’s statistics for details

if your character doesn’t have points in the necessary Ability, simply default to the Attribute on which it’s based (in most cases, Dexterity).

Most attacks are made versus difficulty 6. This can be adjusted for situational modifiers (long range, cramped quarters), but the default attack roll is versus 6. If you get no successes, the character fails her attack and inflicts no damage. If you botch, not only does the attack fail, but something nasty happens: The weapon jams or explodes, the blade breaks, an ally is hit, and so on.

Stage Three: Resolution

• Determine total damage effect (weapon type or maneuver), adding any extra dice gained from successes on the attack roll.
• Targets may attempt to soak damage, if possible.

Damage Types

All attacks have specific damage ratings, indicating the number of dice to roll for the attack’s damage (called the damage dice pool). Some damage dice pools are based on the attacker’s Strength, while others are based on the weapon used. Damage dice rolls are made versus difficulty 6. Each success on the damage roll inflicts one health level of damage on the target. However, the damage applied may be one of three types:

• Bashing:

Bashing damage comprises punches and other blunt trauma that are less likely to kill a victim (especially a vampire) instantly. All characters use their full Stamina ratings to resist bashing effects, and the damage heals fairly quickly. Bashing damage is applied to the Health boxes on your character sheet with a “/.”

• Lethal:

Attacks meant to cause immediate and fatal injury to the target. Mortals may not use Stamina to resist lethal effects, and the damage takes quite a while to heal. Vampires may resist lethal damage with their Stamina. Lethal damage is applied to the Health boxes on your vampire’s character sheet with a “X.”

• Aggravated:

Certain types of attacks are deadly even to the undead. Fire, sunlight, and the teeth and claws of vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural beings are considered aggravated damage. Aggravated damage cannot be soaked except with Fortitude, and it takes quite a while to heal. Aggravated damage is applied to the Health boxes on your character sheet with an asterisk (“*”). Damage dice pools can never be reduced to lower than one die; any attack that strikes its target has at least a small chance of inflicting damage before a soak roll is made. Moreover, damage effect rolls cannot botch; a botched roll simply means the attack glances harmlessly off the target. Specifics on applying damage effects are described on pp. 284-285 of the core book.