Physical ConflictsCopy link
A Physical Conflict is a struggle fought through repeated Exchanges. Engage the enemy, resolve a Clash when both sides can respond, then read the resulting Position to determine each side’s consequence.
Weapon Power contributes to the Clash. Shields protect Position. Armor blocks Wounds until it breaks. Combat uses these direct consequences instead of drawing from an Impact or Wear bag.
Engage the enemyCopy link
Describe who is involved, what each side wants, and how the confrontation begins. Establish the combatants’ current Position and equipment before drawing.
Use Clash when both participants are aware and able to contest the attack. An unaware character does not defend or Clash until they can respond; use an unanswered attack instead.
The combat ExchangeCopy link
1. Engage. Confirm the target, the action, and whether both sides can participate.
2. Hero draws. Resolve the Hero’s attack Performance and add their Weapon’s base Power once.
3. Enemy draws. If able to Clash, the enemy draws and adds its Weapon or Attack base once. Compare the two totals; do not add a Shield’s Power to either total.
4. Resolve armor breaks. A drawn Hero Momentum trigger damages enemy armor by 1 condition step, at most once this Exchange. A drawn enemy armor-break symbol damages Hero armor by 1 condition step. These triggers apply even when their side loses.
5. Shift Position. A margin of 1–3 shifts Position 1 step toward the winner; a margin of 4 or more shifts it 2 steps. On a tie, hold Position. An available Shield may prevent 1 step of its bearer’s Position loss.
6. Apply the consequence. Read each side’s resulting Position, then resolve any Wound protection from armor that has not broken. Apply each result once.
7. Continue. Reset the draws and begin the next Exchange, or end combat when the situation is resolved.
Weapon — ClashCopy link
Clash is the normal opposed combat action. Both combatants participate in the same Exchange; it is not an attack followed by a separate automatic counterattack.
Each participant adds their Weapon or Attack base Power once to their own resolved draw. Shields add no Power, including when their bearer is defending or initiated the fight.
Prowess supplies the Hero’s physical approach and Keywords. Other Abilities and actions remain available when justified by the fiction; they do not require the old separate Shield Defense or Armor Endure procedure.
Momentum and armor breaksCopy link
When at least one Momentum trigger appears in the Hero’s draw, reduce the enemy’s armor by 1 condition step. Multiple Momentum triggers do not increase this damage: the maximum is 1 step per Hero draw in the Exchange. This trigger does not require winning or a separate Reserve spend.
The enemy’s armor-break symbol, !, reduces the Hero’s armor by 1 condition step when it appears during the check, even if the enemy loses. Stronger enemies may have more marked tokens in their pool, making the trigger more likely.
Resolve both sides’ armor-break triggers before resolving Wounds. Winning a Clash does not cause an additional automatic armor break without a trigger or an explicit effect.
Shield — protect PositionCopy link
An available Shield prevents 1 step of its bearer’s Position loss, once per combat. Choose whether to use it after comparing totals and before applying the Position result, then mark it Used.
A 2-step loss becomes a 1-step loss; a 1-step loss becomes no loss. The Shield does not add Power, block a Wound directly, or prevent an armor-break trigger.
Shield protection is part of the Exchange, not a separate defense draw. Refresh its availability when a new combat begins, not at the start of every Exchange.
Armor — block WoundsCopy link
Armor has three conditions: Intact, Damaged, and Broken. Losing 1 condition step moves Intact to Damaged, or Damaged to Broken. Broken armor cannot provide Wound protection.
When an incoming Wound would be applied, equipped armor that has not broken blocks 1 instance of that Wound and loses 1 condition step. Damaged armor can block that instance and then become Broken.
If an armor-break trigger has already made the armor Broken, the following Wound is eligible and applies normally. Armor does not convert that Wound into Wear or Fatigue.
Fatigue and the existing Health spillover procedure still apply normally. Armor does not block Fatigue or the internal spillover caused by exceeding a Health capacity.
Position and consequencesCopy link
Track the opposing sides on one shared, mirrored Position track: Overwhelmed faces Dominant; Pressured faces Advantage; Neutral faces Neutral. Resolve the net shift once, including any Shield protection, rather than moving once for the winner and again for the loser.
Resulting Position | Combat consequence |
|---|---|
Overwhelmed | 1 Wound, or an agreed concession |
Pressured | 1 Wound |
Neutral | 2 Fatigue |
Advantage | 2 Fatigue |
Dominant | 1 Fatigue |
Read Position after the shift and any Shield protection. Both sides receive their listed consequence, even the winner. At Neutral, both receive 2 Fatigue. The track cannot move beyond Overwhelmed or Dominant.
Overwhelmed and concessionCopy link
At Overwhelmed, the combatant faces 1 Wound or may offer a meaningful concession. The WorldKeeper and the participants agree what the concession costs and whether the opposition accepts it. It may end the combat when the terms settle the struggle.
Concession is not automatic death, an automatic escape, or a guaranteed accepted bargain. If no concession is agreed, resolve the Wound, including any remaining armor protection.
Unanswered attacksCopy link
If a target is unaware or otherwise unable to respond, only the attacker draws. The WorldKeeper establishes the Difficulty and the consequences of a hit before the draw; do not invent an opposing Clash draw for an unaware target.
Apply any drawn armor-break trigger before an incoming Wound. Unbroken equipped armor can still protect against the Wound. An unanswered attack does not shift opposed Position or apply the two-sided Clash Fatigue costs.
Once the target realizes what is happening and can respond, subsequent Exchanges use Clash. If the target remains unable to participate, continue to treat the attack as unanswered.
Training and other responsesCopy link
Weapon, Armor, and Shield benefits require at least Trained Prowess unless a specific rule says otherwise. Carrying equipment alone does not grant its mechanical benefits.
A Hero may still flee, hide, take cover, exploit terrain, protect someone, or use another appropriate Ability. Describe the action and its stakes; do not force every physical action into a Clash.
Ending combatCopy link
Combat ends when a side yields on accepted terms, escapes, is overcome, achieves its goal, or the scene changes enough that the struggle no longer applies.
Example ExchangeCopy link
At Neutral, the Hero totals 8 and the enemy totals 5. The margin is 3, so Position shifts 1 step toward the Hero: Hero Advantage, enemy Pressured. Without Shield protection, the Hero receives 2 Fatigue and the enemy faces 1 Wound.
If the Hero’s draw showed Momentum and the enemy’s armor began Damaged, it becomes Broken before that Wound and cannot block it. If it began Intact, Momentum makes it Damaged; it can block the Wound, then become Broken.
Optional Combat Styles Copy link
Groups that want a declared trade-off can use Combat Styles in Heroes. Choose at most one before either side draws. These optional playtest choices do not replace the ordinary Clash or its core armor, Shield and Position rules.