Combat in this system is governed by three active ratings and two defensive values. Together they cover every physical interaction between combatants — from a precise rapier thrust to a Giant hurling a Fighter across a room. Understanding how these ratings relate to each other is the foundation for everything that follows.
The Three Combat Ratings #
Hit Roll (HR) A weapon attack or unarmed strike. Roll d20 + HR bonus vs. target AC. A result equal to or greater than the target’s AC is a hit.
HR bonus increases through:
- Class Skill slot investment
- STR modifier
- Magic bonuses from weapons, enchantments, or effects
HR governs all attacks that involve a weapon or trained strike — swords, axes, bows, daggers, unarmed strikes, and shield bashes. It represents refined technique applied through a tool or trained body.
Force Rating (FR) Raw physical power unassisted by tools or technique. Roll d20 + FR bonus vs. target Force Defense. A result equal to or greater than the target’s FD is a success.
FR bonus increases through:
- Class Skill slot investment (identical progression to HR)
- STR modifier
- Magic bonuses from items or effects
FR governs Shove, Wrestling, Trip, and all interactions where raw physical force determines the outcome rather than weapon technique. A character with enormous STR and heavy investment in FR can devastate opponents through physical dominance even if their weapon technique is modest. FR and HR represent two distinct combat philosophies — refined technique versus raw power — and characters who invest in both become genuinely dangerous across multiple dimensions of physical conflict.
FR replaces the Wrestling Rating from the standard rules. All wrestling interactions that previously used Wrestling Rating now use FR.
Force Defense (FD) A character’s physical stance and resistance to displacement. FD is not rolled — it is a static target number that FR attacks must meet or exceed.
FD Formula: 10 + STR or CON modifier (whichever is higher) + Size modifier + Armor FD bonus + Mastery bonus (during Defensive Stance)
FD represents how difficult it is to move, displace, or uproot a combatant through raw force. A heavily armored Fighter with high STR is extremely difficult to shove. A small lightly-equipped Halfling is easy to move but may be surprisingly difficult to pin if their CON is exceptional.
The Two Defensive Values #
Armor Class (AC) How difficult a character is to hit. A high AC is good. A low AC is bad.
Base AC: 11
AC is determined entirely by shield, DEX modifier, and active defensive techniques. Armor type does not affect AC. A Fighter in Plate Mail and a Fighter in Leather have identical AC if their DEX modifier and shield are the same. AC represents agility, positioning, and active defense — not passive absorption.
AC Components:
| Component | Effect |
|---|---|
| Base | 11 |
| Shield bonus | +1 to +4 depending on shield type |
| DEX modifier | + or – per ability score table |
| Active defensive techniques | Variable — see Combat Maneuvers |
Shields:
| Shield | AC Bonus | Cost (sp) | Encumbrance (cn) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Shield | +1 | 5 | 50 |
| Medium Shield | +2 | 10 | 100 |
| Large Shield | +3 | 15 | 200 |
| Tower Shield | +4 | 25 | 300 |
Armor Value (AV) How much physical damage a character’s armor absorbs when a hit lands. AV is a damage reduction value — it does not make a character harder to hit, only harder to injure.
AV Damage Resolution: When a character wearing armor is struck by a physical attack one point of damage always penetrates regardless of AV — representing the unavoidable impact or penetration of any successful strike. The remaining damage is then reduced by the armor’s AV value. Minimum damage after AV is always 1 (the guaranteed penetration point).
Example: A character in Chain Mail (AV 4) takes a hit dealing 9 damage. 1 point penetrates automatically. Remaining 8 minus AV 4 equals 4. Total damage received is 5.
Example: A character in Plate Mail (AV 6) takes a hit dealing 5 damage. 1 point penetrates automatically. Remaining 4 minus AV 6 equals 0. Total damage received is 1 — only the guaranteed penetration point.
AV applies to all physical damage including melee hits, missile hits, Wrestling damage, and Shove damage. Magic damage follows the rules established in the Motes and Ley Line sections.
Armor Type and Armor Value Table: #
| Armor Type | AV | AV vs. Missiles | Cost (sp) | Encumbrance (cn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leather | 2 | 1 | 20 | 200 |
| Thyatian Leather (Cuir Bouilli) | 3 | 1 | 200 | 250 |
| Scale | 3 | 1 | 30 | 300 |
| Chain Mail | 4 | 2 | 40 | 400 |
| Banded | 5 | 2 | 50 | 450 |
| Plate Mail | 6 | 3 | 60 | 500 |
| Suit Armor | 7 | 3 | 250 | 750 |
| Elven Chain | 4 | 4 | 400 | 200 |
| Dwarven Plate | 7 | 4 | 600 | 600 |
Thyatian Leather (Cuir Bouilli) is hardened boiled leather — stiffer and more protective than standard leather but heavier and less flexible. The crafting tradition and regional availability of this armor are documented in Anvil content.
Elven Chain provides missile AV equal to its melee AV — a unique property reflecting elven metallurgical techniques that create armor equally resistant to all physical impact. Dwarven Plate provides the highest total protection available combining maximum melee AV with exceptional missile resistance.
Armor FD Bonus: Armor contributes to Force Defense even though it does not affect AC. Heavy armor makes a character harder to displace through sheer mass and rigidity:
| Armor Type | FD Bonus |
|---|---|
| None | +0 |
| Leather / Thyatian Leather / Scale | +1 |
| Chain Mail / Banded | +2 |
| Plate Mail / Suit Armor | +4 |
| Elven Chain | +2 |
| Dwarven Plate | +5 |
| Shield (any) | +2 |
Note: Shield FD bonus applies to FD calculation but carries an FR penalty during wrestling — see Wrestling rules.
Armor Wrestling Penalties: Heavy armor hinders offensive FR during grappling because leverage and positioning are compromised by bulk:
| Armor Type | FR Penalty (Wrestling) |
|---|---|
| None | +0 — Slippery: +2 to Escape rolls |
| Leather / Thyatian Leather | +0 — Supple: No penalties |
| Scale | -0 |
| Chain Mail | -1 — Mesh Grip: +1 to Maintain holds |
| Banded | -2 |
| Plate Mail | -3 — Immovable: Cannot be Thrown by same-size foes |
| Suit Armor | -4 |
| Shield | -4 — Cannot initiate Grapple while shield is equipped |
The Plate Advantage: While Plate imposes -3 FR during wrestling its +4 FD bonus makes the wearer extremely difficult to move. A Plate-armored Fighter is a clumsy wrestler but an immovable target.
The Naked Advantage: An unarmored character gains +2 to Escape rolls — representing the difficulty of maintaining a grip on someone with no equipment to grab.
Size Categories #
Size determines Force Defense modifiers, Shove die size, Shove Resist baseline, and maximum displacement distances. All FR interactions reference this table:
| Size Category | Examples | FD Modifier | Shove Die | Shove Resist Base | Max Displacement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiny (under 2ft) | House Cat, Sprite | -2 | d2 | 1 | 2 feet |
| Small (2-4ft) | Halfling, Kobold | -1 | d4 | 2 | 5 feet |
| Medium (4-7ft) | Human, Orc | +0 | d6 | 3 | 5 feet |
| Large (7-12ft) | Ogre, Horse | +2 | d8 | 4 | 10 feet |
| Huge (12-25ft) | Hill Giant, Elephant | +4 | d10 | 5 | 15 feet |
| Gargantuan (25ft+) | Dragon, Kraken | +8 | d12 | 6 | 20 feet |
Size and FR interaction: For every size category a target is larger than the attacker apply a -4 penalty to FR rolls. A Medium character attempting to Shove a Huge Giant takes -8 FR before any other modifiers. This penalty is reduced by Mastery rank as described in the Wrestling and Shove sections.
The Force Multiplier #
FR is not merely a flat bonus to displacement rolls — it actively scales the damage and effectiveness of Force attacks through the Force Multiplier framework.
FR adds directly to the attack roll for all Force interactions. Additionally for every 3 points of FR bonus the attacker’s Shove die increases one step (d4 → d6 → d8 → d10 → d12 → 2d6 → 2d8).
Example: A Fighter with FR bonus +6 attacking a Medium target uses a d6 Shove die by size. With FR +6 the die increases two steps to d10. Their d20 + FR roll also includes the full +6 bonus.
Forceful Defense: If a defender’s FR bonus exceeds the attacker’s FR bonus the attacker cannot achieve a Double Success result (the 10ft displacement and Prone result) regardless of the final roll total. The defender’s superior raw power limits the maximum displacement possible.
Example: An Ogre with FR +8 attempts to Shove a Fighter with FR +6. The Fighter’s FR does not exceed the Ogre’s so the Double Success threshold remains available to the Ogre. If the Fighter had FR +9 the Ogre could only achieve standard Shove results regardless of how well they rolled.
Terrain Modifiers to Force: #
The environment actively shapes FR interactions:
| Terrain Condition | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Attacker on higher ground | +1 to Shove die |
| Defender on higher ground (shoving uphill) | +2 to defender’s Resist |
| Defender near hazard (cliff, fire, pit) | Defender may Save vs. Death Ray to catch edge or stop at threshold |
| Defender near wall or solid object | If pushed into wall take Shove Die damage per 2 points of attacker’s FR for unused travel distance |
| Slippery surface (ice, wet stone) | +2 to all displacement distances on successful Shove |
| Difficult terrain (rubble, mud) | +2 to Resist for all creatures in affected area |
The Pit-Stop Rule: If a Shove would push a defender into a hazard — fire, a cliff edge, a spell effect — the defender gets an immediate Save vs. Death Ray to catch the ledge or stop at the very edge before the hazard triggers. This save is in addition to any normal saves the hazard requires.
Combat Ratings Quick Reference #
A condensed reference for all combat rating formulas:
My HR bonus: Class Skill slots invested + STR modifier + magic bonuses = ___
My FR bonus: Class Skill slots invested + STR modifier + magic bonuses = ___
My AC: 11 + Shield bonus + DEX modifier + active technique bonuses = ___
My FD: 10 + STR or CON modifier (higher) + Size modifier + Armor FD bonus = ___
My AV: Armor type AV value (melee) or AV vs. Missiles = ___
Insight Defense (vs. Feint): 10 + WIS modifier + Level or HD = ___
Shove Resist: Size base + 1/2 HD or Level + STR modifier + FR bonus = ___
Design Note — Why AC and AV Are Separate #
The separation of AC and AV creates meaningful choices at every level of play. Two characters with identical AC can be very different in practice — a lightly armored DEX-focused character and a heavily armored STR-focused character are equally hard to hit but respond to hits very differently. The DEX character avoids most damage by being hard to hit. The STR and armor character absorbs what gets through.
This separation also means that abilities that lower AC (Smash’s -5 HR penalty against the attacker, Linear style’s AC Penetration reducing target AC) and abilities that bypass AV (Magic damage, certain special effects) are mechanically distinct rather than redundant. A Grand Master Lancer who reduces a Dragon’s effective AC by 5 makes the Dragon easier to hit — but the Dragon’s hide still absorbs damage when hits land.
