7c) Combat -- Starting a Fight

Starting a fight

The Face-Off

Often it comes down to a showdown between the one side and another. Sometimes it ends with one side backing down, and sometimes it ends in killing.

A Face-Off is any face-to-face confrontation between two or more characters. Any of the characters on either side in a Face-Off may attempt to do either one of three things: intimidate their opponent(s) into backing down, make the first move, or goad them into attacking you or someone else.

Intimidation

Trying to make someone back down involves 'staring them out' or intimidating them verbally. It's all about making the other guy believe that you're not worth messing with. In game terms it involves an opposed Nerve + Reputation + 1D10 check. The attacker is the one who is trying to make the other back down. The Intimidation skill for may me used in place of Reputation.

If the roll succeeds, the other person backs down. If the attempt fails, the opposing character may try in turn to make the first character back down. Each character may make a maximum of three attempts to make another character back down in any Face-Off, unless they fumble the attempt (roll a one on D10), in which case they have temporarily lost so much face that no-one is intimidated by them.

Making the first move

Making the first move in a Face-Off is not easy. It's easier to shoot someone in the back than, and so no checks have to be made in an ambush situation. But it takes a lot of nerve to throw down on an armed man orwoman who's looking you straight in the eyes, especially if they have a reputation as a stone-cold killer. To make the first move (throw the first punch, make the first knife lunge, draw your gun and fire), a character must roll 1D10, adding his Nerve, and score more than the sum of his opponent's Nerve and Reputation. If the character fails the roll, they may try again up to a maximum of three attempts, unless they fumble an attempt, in which case the have temporarily chickened out and will not make the first move in that situation.

When dealing with Face-Offs between groups, average the Nerve and Reputation/Intimidate scores of everyone in the group. If one group outnumbers the other, apply a positive or negative modifier equal to the difference in numbers, up to a maximum of +/-10. It takes Nerve indeed to face down a mob alone, but any coward amongst a multitude can 'cast the first stone'.

Face-Offs should be role-played as much as possible. The referee should give players a suitable bonus to their roles if they come out with a good line or move.

Once someone starts shooting, the spell is broken and everyone can blaze away as they wish, even if they fumbled a first move. The encounter then enters the first combat turn.

Goading

A character in a face-off situation can try to provoke their opponent(s) into attacking them, by insulting them or otherwise doing or saying something to wind them up. This is the kind of school playground stuff that we've all seen and done.

Goading is an Opposed Task, pitting the Wit skill plus INT or GEN stat of the instigator, minus their Reputation, against the Wit or Insight skill plus NRV stat of the target, minus their Reputation.

Notice that Reputation acts as a negative modifier for both characters when Goading. A character with a fearsome reputation will find it difficult to draw anyone into a fight with them, but will equally find it difficult to back down without losing face.

There are several situational modifiers that can be applied to the goading character's score:

Situation	Mod.
Trying to goad target into a:
Fistfight	0
Knife fight	-2
Gunfight	-3
Illegal car race	-1
Dance-off	3
Police or other authority present	-3
Knows something personal about target	+1 to +3
Target intoxicated	-3 to +3
Target already angry or stressed	+1 to +3

If one character tries to goad another into attacking and fails, the target can then try to goad them in return, if they wish.

One character can goad another into attacking a third, often by misrepresenting their intentions, words or actions. The rules are the same.

On the other hand, one character can attempt to counteract a goading attempt against another by appealing to the target's good sense and better nature. They roll D10 plus their Wit skill and INT or GEN stat, adding their score to the target's to resist the goading attempt. Only one character can do this to another at one time (otherwise the babble of voices becomes confusing), although several characters can take turns at it.

When one player character is trying to goad another, the encounter should be role-played and not rolled for.

The Ambush

Haven't got the guts to stand up to your enemy in a fight? Why not just bushwack him from some hiding place?

On a successful ambush, the ambusher automatically wins initiative, and gains a +5 modifier to hit against their target.

To determine the success of an ambush, make an opposed task between the Concealment/Evasion skill of the ambusher and the Awareness skill of the person being ambushed. Situational modifiers for darkness and other factors which affect the senses work in favour of the ambusher. If the potential victim is aware of the possibility of an ambush and is trying to move stealthily through the area in order to avoid it, an opposed task between their Sneak skill and the ambusher's Awareness is made first to determine whether the ambusher spots their quarry. In this case the modifiers work in favour of the character being ambushed.

When one group of characters are trying to ambush another, the character with the lowest combination of Concealmeant/Evasion and Intelligence from ambushing group rolls against the character with the highest total Awareness and Intelligence from the ambushed group.