Ситуативный                        Check Modifier

Spell is of a different school                2

Spell is of the same school,               +2 but not the same spell

Spell is of a higher level than the +1/level above spell being countered

Spell is the same as the spell being countered       +10

 

ДУЭЛЬНОЕ УВОРОТ

Each participant in a duel can take a special action called a дуэльное Уворот. This special maneuver gives a дуэлянт a temporary bonus to his КБ and on Реакция испытание s, but leaves him vulnerable to other attacks until the start of his next turn.

 

Whenever a character participating in a duel is the target of a melee attack, a ranged attack, a superестественная броня ability, or a spell or spell-like ability from another participant of the duel, he can declare that he is making a дуэльное Уворот as an прерывающее действие. This grants him a

+4 ситуативный бонус to his КБ and on any Реакция испытания he must make as a result of the attack. This bonus only applies until the attack that triggered the прерывающее действие is resolved. If the attacker can make more than one such attack, all subsequent attacks are resolved as normal. This прерывающее действие must be declared before the attack is resolved. If the attack does not require an attack roll or a Реакция проверка испытания, the прерывающее действие is still spent, but with no effect.

Once the attack is resolved, the creature that attempted a дуэльное Уворот takes a –2 penalty to his КБ and on all Реакция испытания until the start of his next turn (even if the duel ends).

 

ДУЭЛЬНОЕ PARRY

Each participant in a duel can take a special action called a дуэльное parry. This special action allows the дуэлянт to deflect a blow from a melee or ranged attack directed at her. A дуэльное parry cannot deflect spell or firearm ranged attacks.

Whenever a character participating in a duel is the target of a melee or ranged attack from another participant of the duel, she can declare that she is attempting to parry the attack as an прерывающее действие. She must then make an attack roll with whatever weapon she is currently wielding, using her full base бонус атаки but with a –5 penalty. If this attack roll is equal to or greater than the attack roll being made against her, she parries the attack and it is considered a miss. If the дуэлянт attempting the parry is unarmed, she takes a further –2 on the attempt. If the дуэлянт possesses the parry классовая черта, she can attempt this дуэльное parry once per round without spending an прерывающее действие if she is using her parry классовая черта.

This дуэльное parry only applies to one attack. Other attacks made by the same attacker are resolved normally. If the attack is a hit and a critical threat, but would be parried by the дуэлянт, it is still a hit, but no confirmation roll is made and damage is rolled normally.

 

ДУЭЛЬНОЕ RESOLVE

Once per duel, a character can use a special action called дуэльное resolve. This special action allows a дуэлянт to keep on fighting deозлобленность a crippling spell or terrible injury.

Whenever a character participating in a duel fails a Стойкость or Воля проверка испытания, or is reduced to fewer than 0 пункты здоровья, he can use дуэльное resolve as an прерывающее действие. If he failed a Стойкость or Воля проверка испытания, he can attempt another проверка испытания, using the same bonus.

If this second проверка испытания is a success, the spell or effect prompting the проверка испытания does not take effect until the end of his next turn (even though its duration begins immediately). If he is reduced to fewer than 0 пункты здоровья (but not slain), he does not fall без сознания or gain the ошеломление condition, and can act normally until the end of his next turn, at which point he becomes ошеломление or без сознания based on his current пункты здоровья.

If, by the end of the character’s next turn, the spell or effect ends or he is brought to above 0 пункты здоровья, he is утомление, but otherwise suffers no ill effect. A character can only use this ability once per duel.

 

DUELS AND ПОСТАНОВОЧНЫЙ БОЙ

If you are using the duel rules within a постановочный бой (see pages 153–157), successfully исполнение a дуэльное counter, дуэльное Уворот, or дуэльное resolve all allow the combatant to make a постановочный бой check as a свободное действие. Since the дуэльное counter, дуэльное Уворот, and дуэльное resolve action are all прерывающее действиеs, and are usually not done on the character’s turn, this means that the combatant using one of these дуэльное actions must spend a victory point to make the постановочный бой check (not an action).

 

DUEL RESULTS

While duels can be treated as another form of combat, they are usually undertaken to resolve a dispute between colleagues or rivals and are not usually intended to end in death. As a result, duels are usually fought with a specific prize in mind.

Arcane academies are known for having duels to determine important faculty positions and as competitions between students for social standing and prizes. In some places, duels are so common that special areas are constructed specifically for duels. Such дуэльное yards are sometimes made with special Очарованиеs that can be turned on for дуэльное competitions. Such fields typically convert all damage to nonlethal damage and prevent magic that instantly slays a foe or does permanent повреждение. That is not to say that accidents don’t happen, and more than one student has lost a limb or even her life while within such “safe” fields.

Воинs, паладинs, рыцарьs, and other characters that primarily rely on weapon attacks usually engage in duels to settle points of honor, but can also be rather particular in choosing their дуэльное space.

Regardless of the conditions, most duels are serious affairs, with each side putting pверховая езда, honor, treasure, and even their lives on the line to win the day. While villains might try to cheat the rules and exploit every advantage, nobler дуэлянтs see the competition as a chance to prove their superiority on the field of battle using only their skills and wits, rather than chance or superior numbers.

 

ПОСТАНОВОЧНЫЙ БОЙ

Not every fight is for выживание. Combatants sometimes find themselves in contests where the crowd’s reaction is at least as important as the outcome of the fight itself. Whether a bar brawl with the goal of rousing the local populace to rise up against a band of bullies or a sun-drenched and bloody gladiatorial contest where life and death actually hinge on the favor of the crowd, постановочный бойs are fights in which showmanship and flair can be more important than ruthless fighting efficiency.

The following rules for постановочный бой allow you as the GM to Бегун an encounter, or even a series of combat encounters, in which the combatants must not only win the battle, but also win over the crowd.

 

TYPES OF ПОСТАНОВОЧНЫЙ БОЙ

When creating a постановочный бой, it is important to determine the goals and rules of that combat. The following are the major examples of постановочный бой, but you should feel free to mix and match some of these general categories to create a постановочный бой that fits the story of your campaign.

Стук out Bout: Frequently as brutal but not as bloody as battles to the death, a стукout bout does not end in the death of one side, but still requires a clear and crushing victory. As long as both sides in the постановочный бой remain standing, the fight continues. Many стукout bout combats require that their participants deal nonlethal damage.

Stage d Combats: Staged combats are less dangerous than стукout bouts. In these contests, combatants typically arrange to have blows that just barely land, so the hits are not registered as either nonlethal or lethal damage, but crowd reaction is determined in the same way as for normal battles. Staged combats often require advanced training (see the Stage Combatant черта on page 121). Those without advanced training can attempt to participate, but take a –6 penalty on attack rolls in order to make it seem like their attacks hit without doing real damage.

To a Number of Woun ds: Not all blood sports end in death. It is often costly to train боецs for arenas big and Небольшой, and those who finance such enterprises are protective of their investments. In societies that value life but still love the spectacle of a good fracas, fighting to a number of wounds is an excellent compromise. A fight to first blood or to a certain number of wounds is often enough to appease a crowd.

To the Death: Only the death of one side ends these bouts. Sometimes the crowd’s reaction is secondary to the desperate battle on display, but other times the crowd’s reaction can have an effect on the actual outcome of the fight. Some blood sports требование that combatants hold off on the killing blow until the crowd gets a chance to voice its pleasure or displeasure, usually with a roar of applause or with a thumbs-up or thumbs-down gesture. A thumbs-up gesture allows the vanquished combatant to live and fight another day; a thumbs-down gesture ends the melee with a grotesque spray of blood.

Towar d a Goal: Often these are elaborate affairs that may reproduce a historical battle, or just pit combatants against terrain and challenges that чертаure a variety of hazards and traps. These types of battles can be races (maybe mixing them with the rules for vehicular combat presented in Chapter 4), or may present capture-the-flag-like objectives, but all test the ability of the combatants to achieve a predetermined goal.

 

CROWD ATTITUDES

While combatants do the actual fighting in постановочный бой, the crowd remains an active participant in these bouts. The audience can bolster or demoralize the competitors with their enthusiasm or scorn for what they see on the battlefield, with serious results.

A crowd’s attitude is similar to a nonplayer character’s attitude when a character uses the Дипломатия skill. The СЛ of постановочный бой checks to improve crowd reaction is tied to the crowd’s starting or current attitude. Each time the combatants do something spectacular on the battlefield, they have the внеочередная to parlay that success into a better crowd reaction, but missteps can also create contempt among the crowd.

During постановочный бой, it is important for the GM to keep track of the crowd’s attitude toward each side of the combat. Given that a crowd is filled with many people вопльing, clapping, booing, hissing, or otherwise showing their pleasure or displeasure, the exact crowd reaction changes from moment to moment based on events on the battlefield, but groups of combatants always have a reasonable idea of what the crowd thinks of their performance at any given time.

The following are the general categories of crowd reaction and attitude. They are listed from lowest regard to highest.

Hostile: The crowd does not like what it is seeing. Hostile crowds demoralize combatants in a постановочный бой. In these battles, while the crowd is hostile toward a given side, those combatants take a –2 penalty on all attack rolls, боевой маневр checks, ability checks, проверка навыкаs, and испытания. This is a эффект влияющий на разум.

If the crowd is hostile toward a side of the combat and a member of that side fails a постановочный бой check by 5 or more, that side automatically loses the performance part of the combat. This can be important for the story of the game, or if the PCs are participating in serialized постановочный бойs.

Unfrien dly: While still biased against a side, the crowd reserves its most vocal disdain for failed постановочный бой checks. Unfriendly crowds demoralize combatants in a постановочный бой. In these battles, while the crowd is unfriendly toward a given side, those combatants take a –1 penalty on all attack rolls, боевой маневр checks, ability checks, проверка навыкаs, and испытания. This is a mind- affecting effect.

In different: The crowd is waiting for something exciting to happen. Audience members show little emotion other than anticipation and a desire for daring черты of combat to occur.

Frien dly: The crowd is beginning to be swayed toward one side in the fray. Audience members cheer when that side achieves some impressive черта in the combat, and their reaction grants a +1 бонус боевого духа on all attack rolls, боевой маневр checks, ability checks, проверка навыкаs, and испытания for their chosen side. This is a mind- affecting effect.

Helpful: The crowd loves what it is seeing from a given side. Audience members stand up, chant, cheer, and scream for the combatants to push on toward ultimate success. A helpful crowd grants its chosen champions a +2 бонус боевого духа on all attack rolls, боевой маневр checks, ability checks, проверка навыкаs, and испытания. This is a mind- affecting effect.

If the crowd is helpful toward one side of the combat and a member of that side succeeds at a постановочный бой check, that side gains a victory point.

 

CROWD’S STARTING ATTITUDE

The first thing a GM must do in a постановочный бой is determine the crowd’s starting attitude. Typically a crowd starts out with an indifferent attitude toward each side, but it could start with an attitude that’s a step higher or lower based on other ситуативныйs. Favored champions of a fighting pit or a city may start at a higher attitude step, while потусторонние существа, prisoners of war, or criminals may start at a lower attitude step. If you are Running a series of combats, a crowd may start with a higher or lower starting attitude based on a combatant’s or a group of combatants’ performance in the last bout, which is determined by the number of victory points the individual or group has (see the Serialized Постановочный бойs section).

 

ПОСТАНОВОЧНЫЙ БОЙ CHECK

Whenever a combatant has a chance to affect the crowd’s attitude, she makes a постановочный бой check. The check is a Харизма ability check modified by the base бонус атаки of the character plus any ranks the character has in Выступление (лицедейство), Выступление (шутовство), or Выступление (танец), whichever is highest. Making a постановочный бой check is usually a быстрое действие, triggered when a combatant выступлениеs a trigger action (see the Affecting the Crowd’s Attitude section).

 

Bonus on Performance