Running a Fight#
Never fight what you can talk to. Never talk to what's already biting.
Running the other side
Creatures fight by the players’ rules with a few numbers of their own: their AC is their Defense, they add a fifth of their level to hit, and they bite for the die their entry gives. This page has how they fight, how to size one up, and the words the game uses for a blow.
A creature’s numbers#
Every creature on the Creatures pages gives its health, its AC and the die it bites for. In a fight:
- To hit
- A d20 and a fifth of its level, rounded down, against the target's Defense.
- Defense
- Its AC. Its hide, its speed and its guards are all in that number.
- Damage
- Its bite die, nothing added. One that wields a weapon uses the weapon's die.
- Swings
- One a turn. A creature that fights as a class uses that class's abilities too.
- Natural 20s and 1s
- The same as a character's: a critical for double the die and a feat, or a roll on the fumble table.
Gentler deaths
By these rules a creature’s blow kills a character outright at 0 health. If your table would rather have a chance to drag a friend clear, let a creature’s blow defeat a character the way a beating does, and let the next blow on them kill.
Sizing one up#
A character can look a creature over before they fight it. Work out its difficulty: 2 for every level it has over the character, or 2 off for every level under. Then divide its health by theirs, take 1 off, and add 5 times that. The first line of the table it’s under is the verdict.
| Difficulty | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Under -10 | It would be a trivial fight. |
| -10 to -6 | It looks like an easy kill. |
| -5 to -3 | It should be a fair fight. |
| -2 to 1 | It is an even match. |
| 2 to 4 | It would be a challenge. |
| 5 to 9 | It looks dangerous! |
| 10 to 14 | It would probably kill you! |
| 15 or more | It would ANNIHILATE you! |
When the creature is 3 or more levels away from the character, add a line on that too.
| Levels apart | And |
|---|---|
| 6 or more under | They appear far less experienced than you. |
| 3 to 5 under | They seem less experienced than you. |
| 3 to 5 over | They seem more experienced than you. |
| 6 or more over | They appear much more experienced than you. |
How creatures fight#
Most creatures fight the same way. Below 50% of its health, one that can heal itself does. Otherwise it uses a damaging ability 60% of the time, if it has one, and swings the rest. Below 15% of its health it tries to flee.
Some fight their own way, the way their class does: a monk-like creature takes its tiger stance before anything else, and a page-like one turtles up behind its shield once it’s lost a third of its health.
How a blow sounds#
The game words every blow by how much damage it does. Use the same words at the table and your players will hear a fight the way the game tells one: the wolf’s bite grazes you, your broadsword mauls the wolf.
- 0misses
- 1 to 2scratches
- 3 to 4grazes
- 5 to 8hits
- 9 to 12wounds
- 13 to 20mauls
- 21 to 30devastates
- 31 to 50MUTILATES
- 51 to 75DISMEMBERS
- 76 to 100*** DEMOLISHES ***
- 101 or more=== ANNIHILATES ===
Rulings#
When the rules don’t cover it, make a ruling and keep the fight moving. Give 2 more or 2 less for whatever helps or hurts: cover, high ground, a slick floor, a target that never saw it coming. A round is two seconds in the world, and a turn at the table shouldn’t take much longer than a minute.
