Combat Skills

All RPG's are just guidelines. Its up to the GM to modify them to his/her campaign world. I get help from my players. In my gaming group, we judge how good a published gaming system is by the number of changes we have to make. The fewer the mods the better the game is. Here are a few for changes and additions for Arrowflight.

Usually the first check is ...... Initiative...
There are two numbers you need for your Initiative. Your Initiative Dice and your Target number.

Initiative Dice = ( AGIL + Perception) / 2 and round up
Target Number = (Awarness + Best Combat Skill) / 2 and round up

(Example: Cedric has an Awareness of 4, AGL of 4, a PERception of 2 and his Ree-Adar is rank 6. His Initiative dice would be (4 + 2) /2 = 3, and his target would be (4+6) /2 = 5). This
 means he rolls 3 dice and has to get a 5 or less to get a success.

Saves...
Just to clarify... A Save check is used when checking for falling unconcious due to a massive blow. The Resist skill is your ability to resist magic, drugs, pain and things like sleep deprivation.

There are two numbers you need for your Save. Your Save Dice and your Target number.

Save Dice = (STRength + WILLpower) / 2 and round up
Target Number = (Endurance + Resist) / 2 and round up

(Example: Cedric has an STR of 5, WIL of 4, an Endurance of 3 and his Resist is 3. His Save dice would be (5 + 4) /2 = 5 rounded up, and his target would be (3+3) /2 = 3). This
 means he rolls 5 dice and has to get a 3 or less to get a success.

Defending Attacks . . .
In the rules it states that you can defend up to a maximum of 2 blows before you have to start dodging, using up your Actions. Instead, at the 3rd blow you drop the Defensive Target Number by 2. If their Skill was a 5 then it drops to 3 for determination of successes. That way you can parry many attacks, but you will soon start to fail and get hit

Evading Arrows and Bullets . . .
Evade is what you do to get out of the way of Arrows and bullets.

Arrows
Evades should be made from an average Dice Pool of the character's Agility and Perception.
For every 1 they roll, they get a success against their opponent's hit. Certain unarmed combat skills, such as martial arts, give a bonus of +1 when reaching levels 3 and 6. Average Evade is a Target Number of a 3 or less..

Of course, for every Evade made after the first, the Target Number goes down by 1 to a minimum of 1.

(Example: Maurice has an AGL of 4 and PER of 2. 4+2 halved is 3. His Evade dice pool is 3. An attacker shoots him with a crossbow with 2 successes. Maurice gets to roll 3d6, and has to have at least 2 natural 1s to evade. If Maurice had an Unarmed Combat skill of 3 he would get a dice pool of 4. This is because his skills are honed enough to give him an extra +1. )

Using a shield against an arrow is what they are made for. They normally get a +1d6 in combat on skill resolutions and they should be used against arrows and bolts as if they were defending vs. a melee blow.

Bullets
Bullets are another matter! They travel a lot faster than arrows.

Against bullets you lower the defenders Dice pool by 1. In the above example, if it was a blackpowder shot that Maurice had to evade, instead of 3d6(or 4d6 if his Unarmed was at 3), he would only get 2d6.

For you mathematicians, the number of your dice pool to throw is as follows.

Evade Arrows is ((AGL+PER) / 2) +1 per every 3 ranks in Unarmed Combat (except Brawling)
Evade Bullets is (((AGL+PER) / 2) -1) +1 per every 3 ranks in Unarmed Combat (except Brawling)

This may seem a bit hard to do, but lets be realistic, lets see you jump out of the way of an arrow or bullet!

Hit Location Chart...
Dwarve or Spriggs fighting a Human would very seldom hit the human in the head, on the same note.. a mounted calveryman would not hit a standing apponent in the leg very often. Here is a more accurate Hit Location Chart.

Armed Combat Styles

Bharata – the Way of the Bow (2)
An exotic style of archery than is commonly used throughout Corvel, Bharata, meaning “Hunter’s Battle” in Ancient, is common amongst the tribes of Akrindor, as well as certain followers of the Bhara, Goddess of the Hunt. Practitioners of Bharata can sometimes be found travelling within Corvel, showing off their talents in exhibitions and archery contests. More so than typical archers, Bharatists prefer the thrill of fighting in close proximity to their foes, supporting nearby allies in melee by unleashing hails of arrows against targets who venture in front of their bow-sights. This skill can be used with longbows and short bows only.

Bharata – the Way of the Bow (2)

Skill Style Bonus	Style Bonus
1	Target (arm/leg: free; head/hands/feet: -1)
2	Quick Draw (may draw weapon/reload weapon and attack in one action)
3	Power Draw (may add STR to damage with bow)
4	Quick String (may draw & string bow in 1 action)
5	Double Arrow (costs 2 actions; allows 2 separate attacks to be made at one time)
6	Trick Shot (target any: free)

Barbarian (3)
A style based as much around intimidation as actual combat, the Barbarian school of fighting teaches little in the way of defense. People who use this style hopes that the opponent will be too busy defending a preemptive strike to make a solid attack. This style covers large two-handed weapons, such as broadswords, greatswords, short polearms, great axes, and gragos.

Ree-Adar (3)
An ancient elven style of armed combat focusing on the use of two blades. This style is very rare and usually only used by ambi-dexterous weapons masters. People who use this style are a whirlwind of flashing steel and can be very frightening to spectators an opponents alike. Some Mages & Monks use a variant of this style with a sword and quarterstaff. (Watch Gandalf fight in "The Return of the King") This style covers single-handed bladed weapons, such as rapiers, shortswords, war sabres and katanas.

To see a demonstration of Ree-Adar, see this excellant home movie "Art of the Saber" by the Ho Brothers!