Combat System for Exalted: Second Edition

About the dice

Target Number: The Target number on each roll is defaults at a 7 unless otherwise noted. Difficulty Rating: The Difficulty rating of such actions means that at least that many successes are required to perform that action. Difficulty Rating 1 2 3 4 5+ Degree of Difficulty Standard Difficult Challenging Nearly Impossible Legendary

Failure: A Failure is bad in its own right but not devastating. Botch: When a character botches an action, something catastrophic happens to said character with regards to whatever action he/she was trying to perform. A botch happens when there are no successes in a dice pool and at least on of the dice show a number 1.

On Combat
Join Battle: Anyone who wishes to battle makes a reflexive Wits + Awareness roll. The character with the most successes sets the Reaction Count, and goes on Tick 0. All other characters subtract their own successes from the Reaction Count, and go on that Tick. No character can go later than Tick 6. Actions: On your tick you must choose an action. That framework is that each action has a Speed and a Defense Penalty. Speed is a tick counter - after your action, you must wait a number of ticks equal to the Speed of your action before you act again. The Defense Penalty, as its name suggests, is a penalty applied to your defenses for taking the action. This penalty lasts until your next action.

Name of Action Activate Charm/Power/Combo Aim Attack Dash Flurry Guard Inactive Move Drawing Weapons, Rising from Prone, Jumping

Speed Defense Penalty and Special Descriptions Varies Varies (Depends on charm, etc) 3 -1 (adds 1 die for each tick spent aiming, can abort after the first tick) Varies -1 (Launches a single attack at an opponent) 3 -2 (The Character sprints up to Dex + 6 wound penalties AC mobility penalties yards per tick) Varies Varies (Speed rating equals the highest speed rating of the attacks used, the character gains a -1 Defense penalty for each attack made) 3 0 (Can abort on any tick, does not refresh the DV penalties etc) 5 Players cannot choose (Characters in this action are usually unconscious etc) 0 None (Character can move up to her Dex rating in yards per tick wound penalties AC mobility penalties yards) 0 -1

Attack: Attack has a speed rating equal to the weapons speed rating or the method of attack being used. Armor: Armor adds its hardness and soak ratings to the characters. Armor has a aggravated soak equal to its lethal soak.

Combat: There is a 10 step list for each attack.

Action

Dice Pool A character rolls their Accuracy pool, usually equal to their Dexterity + Relevant Ability + Specialties + their weapon's Accuracy. Step 1 charms can be used. The defender stipulates how they'll respond either accepting the attack (rarely chosen) or defend using whichever of their Dodge and Parry DV is best. At this point, they must declare and pay for any Step 2 defense charms they wish to use (virtually any charm other than a reroll or counterattack). The Character Attacking rolls his accuracy pool against a difficulty of 1. Stunts can be used for extras. This only pertains to characters that have access to special abilities that let them reroll dice. The attackers character applies valid external penalties to his attack roll successes. Usually the total of his opponents DV after modifiers are calculated. If there are any successes left the character hits with his attack, if there are none left the character misses or his blocked etc. If the defender's DV was insufficient, and they can use a reroll charm, they may activate it at this step to modify their DV. Usually this provides a small bonus rather than actually rolling any dice. If the attack hits, the raw damage is calculated at this step. Some effects can be activated at this step to manipulate raw damage. Many soak enhancing charms can be activated in Step 7 or Step 8, making them very useful - while they can't stop you from being hit; you only need to activate them when you really need them! Figure if damage is Bashing(B), Lethal(L), or Aggravated(A) Hardness is granted by armor, charms, etc. Figure total hardness which is usually resembles (?)B/(?)L. If the raw damage is under the number of the characters hardness the attack is negated. If not then the defender resorts to soak, which appears (?)B/(?)L. Soak is calculated by adding natural soak (stamina and active charms etc) and armor soak (soak provided by armor). Some defenders have artifacts, charms, or other abilities granted them access to a counter attack. At counter attack is resolved as a normal attack launched by the victim at the aggressor. The attacker plays rolls the remaining raw damage dice which equals: excess successes from the attack (i.e. those successes you had over the other guys defense value) + strength + weapon damage - soak of the victim (if any)

1. Declaration of Attack 2. Defender Declares response

Mechanics and Resolutions Note dice pool

Note total DV

3. Attack Roll 4. Attack Reroll 5. Apply Special Defenses

Note successes, Reroll the accuracy pool Successes opponents DV = hit or miss

6. Defense Reroll

Recalculate the Successes opponents DV = hit or miss Str + Base damage of weapon + Number of successes left from attack roll = Total Raw Damage

7. Calculate Raw Damage

8. Apply Hardness and Soak

1. Hardness: Raw damage < Hardness = Attack negated. 2. Soak: Raw damage total soak = remaining damage rolled Follow steps 1-8

9. Counterattack 10. Roll damage/ Apply results

All successes are recorded in the opponents health boxes. Bashing as (/), Lethal as (X),

against the difficulty of 1. Unlike other rolls this cannot be botched and 10s count double. If a counter attack was made calculate that as well. They damage marked starts in the first column and moves down; this is repeated for each column. Greater injuries replaces the lesser injuries pushing them further down the chard

and Aggravated as (*).

Defense Value or DV: In combat, there are two types of DV, Dodge and Parry. Dodge DV is equal to half of (the character's Dexterity + Dodge + Specialties) - Armour Mobility Penalty. Parry DV is equal to half of the character's Dexterity + Ability + Specialties + their weapon's Defense. Most characters will use the higher of the two. Defense Value or DV Penalties and Bonuses: These are acquired by taking actions and last until your next tick of action, after that the penalties are cleared until you choose your next action. DV Bonuses Type Buckler Target Shield Tower Shield 25% Hard Cover (Shoulder and leg protected) 50% Hard Cover (Half Body Protected) 75% Hard Cover (All but shoulder, arm, and face) 90% Hard Cover (All but eyes protected) Hand-to-Hand Cover +1 +1 +1 None +1 +1 +2 Ranged Cover None +1 +2 +1 +2 +3 +4

Other DV Modifiers Situation Modifier Taking Actions -(Varies) Wound Penalties -(1-4) Wearing Armor -(Varies)* Onslaught Penalty -1 per successful attack** Unstable Terrain -(1-3) Shield +(Defense) Steps/Gentle Slope/Mounted +1*** Steep Slope/riding in Howdah +2*** Too Steep to climb without hands/Scaling ladder +3*** * Reduces only Dodge DV ** Applies only against single attacker, unless a group makes a coordinated attack *** Height modifier applies in close combat only and may be negated by attacks with long weapons. Apply as a DV penalty to characters with lower height in the designated situation.

Onslaught Penalty: If you are attacked multiple times by the same character in a single tick, you suffer a cumulative -1 penalty to your DVs for each attack after the first. Stunt Dice: Are bonus dice awarded to a player for doing something over the top, a stunt in performing a said action. Knockdown: If you suffer more raw (pre-soak) damage than your Stamina + Resistance, you will suffer Knockdown - being knocked prone - unless you succeed on a reflexive {Dexterity or Stamina} + {Athletics or Resistance} roll of difficulty 2 (that is, requiring 2 or more successes to succeed). Being prone incurs penalties to most actions and DV, and it requires a Rising from Prone action to get up. Knockdown is applied at the end of the attack action. Stunning: A character who suffers more health levels of damage in a blow than their Stamina may be stunned. The character makes a reflexive Stamina + Resistance roll at a difficulty of (damage - Stamina). Failure levies a 2 dice penalty on all non-reflexive actions until the tick when the attacker next acts. Bleeding: Any character who has taken lethal or aggravated injuries will bleed. A bleeding character will suffer an unsoakable lethal health level of damage every (Stamina) in minutes. Stopping bleeding requires a Wits + Medicine action for each wound, at a difficulty of the number of health levels inflicted in the wound. On any tick upon which they can act (or every five seconds outside of combat), Exalted may make a reflexive difficulty 2 Stamina + Resistance roll to close any and all wounds, stopping them from bleeding.