Tomboys and Troublemakers Part V: Zut Zut Zut and a Bottle of Bordeleaux

[MrAbdiel]

Current MrAbdiel Patch Beta, please read and comment if anything seems too good/too nerf/too incomprehensible. Some of it, like the Infighting mechanic, is just an explication of something that is implicit in the rules about adding difficulties in circumstances. Having a swordfight in an outhouse should penalize the guy with the zweihander. But it needed to be made explicit because of my adjustment of the grapple mechanics, etc etc etc. It looks like a lot, but I think it's not too bad. Don't let it scare you off!

Spoiler: MrAbdiel’s WFRP2e Weapons and Combat Rework

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Problems:

Best Quality Axes are the objectively best Melee Weapon because Impact is amazing.
Two Handed Weapons become pointless after Best Axes are available.
Two Handed Weapon drawbacks make them undesirable.
Blunderbuss and Duckfeet provide too little guidance and do wildly erratic damage.
Many weapons, with the rules as presented, provide little or incentive for use at all. They include: Buckler, Dagger, Flail, Halberd, Main Gauche, Spear, Sword Breaker
Fate spiral sucks
Buying skills outside of career sucks


New/Revised Mechanics

Infighting:
Fighting in restricted conditions dramatically reduces one’s ability to wield weapons - especially those designed to be used at a safe remove from the enemy. In Partial Infighting conditions (skulking through a low ceilinged cave, brawling through a cramped slum corridor), Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill tests may be at a penalty from -10% to -30%. In Total Infighting conditions (fighting in the middle of a crushing press of a melee, inside a drainpipe, or inside of a grapple), it becomes impossible to use weapons of any length or heft at all. Weapons with the Compact quality ignore these penalties.

Grappling:
Instead of inflicting damage, a character can attempt to grapple and immobilize an opponent. A character can attempt a grapple with either a charge attack or a standard attack. This is resolved as follows. First, the character must hit with an unarmed attack, then (if successful) the
opponent must take an Agility Test. If he fails, he is grappled. Both characters are incapable of dodging or parrying for the duration of the grapple, and any outside melee attacks against them gain a +20% Weapon Skill bonus. A grappled character can attempt to break the grapple, (a full action, Opposed Strength), or grapple his opponent (so that they are both grappling each other!), but is otherwise in Total Infighting conditions and can only move himself and his opponent by use of the Maneuver action. On the grappling character’s turn, he can take a full action to simply maintain the grapple (this requires no roll) or he can attempt to damage his opponent, by attacking in Total Infighting conditions; or by an Opposed Strength Test. If the grappling character wins this, he inflicts normal unarmed damage. If his opponent wins, no damage is inflicted but the character is still grappled. A grappling character can voluntarily end the grapple on any of his turns. This is a free action.

Two Weapon Fighting:
A character with a melee weapon in each hand, a melee weapon in one and a shield in the other, or any credible combination of two weapons wielded simultaneously are considered to be engaging in Two Weapon Fighting. They may attack using the weapon in either hand. Weapons in the secondary hand suffer a -20% WS or BS penalty, as appropriate. A character who is dual wielding gains a ‘free’ parry attempt once per round, which does count as their single parry attempt for the turn.

Dire Straits: Sometimes you don’t get to dictate the way you fight - you just play the hand you’re dealt! When improvising a weapon, if the improvised object is appropriate, it may do 2 less damage in exchange for the Pummelling or Compact qualities. Thus, an improvised shiv does SB-6 (Compact); and an improvised bludgeon does SB-6 (Pummeling).

A character can attempt to wield a normally two-handed weapon in one hand, but doing so means they take a -30% to their attacks, and the weapon loses the Impact quality if it had it while used this way. This may be better than fighting unarmed, but it will almost always be better to change weapons!

Shooting at Groups:
When firing at groups of enemies, if the shooter has no preference of which enemy is hit, they gain ‘gang-up’ bonuses to their accuracy. Therefore, to hit one of two enemies marching shoulder to shoulder would be at +10% BS to hit, as would firing indiscriminately at a mount and rider. Firing into a mob of three or more goblins scrambling over each other to attack you would be at +20%. Note that these bonuses can offset the ‘Shooting into Melee’ penalty - it is much easier to avoid hitting your friends when they are covered in your enemies!

Dynamic Combat Action:
This is a variation on the “Action, Action, Action” suggestion on page 131 of the WFRP2e rulebook. In that suggestion, all combatants have three half actions, instead of two. In this one, combatants get a third half action that is restricted in its use to certain avenues. Your Dynamic action is always taken at the end of your turn, after any other actions you take that turn. The following actions can only be performed as dynamic actions.

Follow-Through: A character who is Two Weapon Fighting, or wielding a halberd or quarterstaff, can make an additional attack, provided they have taken one of the Swift Attack, All Out Attack, or Standard Attack actions this turn. In most cases, this attack is made with the character’s Secondary Hand weapon. This attack is at a penalty of -15% WS or BS as appropriate. In most cases, this means the attack is coming at a total of -35% (with the normal Off Hand penalty of -20% folded in). For halberd or quarterstaff users, this attack is made using the quarterstaff or the butt of the polearm. In either case, the attack uses the quarterstaff profile as if it were wieldied in the Off Hand.

Zone Control: A character wielding a two handed weapon in melee (Great Weapon, Flail, Halberd, Quarterstaff) can sweep their weapon about in threatening arcs, using the reach and momentum of their assault to control the flow of combat. A character can only use Zone Control in a turn they have one of the Swift Attack, All Out Attack, Standard Attack, or Full Defense actions. An enemy attacking a character using Zone Control takes a -10% penalty to their attacks, and cannot benefit from outnumbering the character that round.

Compensate: A character wielding a missile weapon may use their dynamic action to compensate for wind, enemy movement, or any number of factors transpiring since their last shot. If they have taken the Swift or Standard attack actions this turn, they may Aim and apply that bonus to an attack as their first action in the following turn. This may be a Standard Attack, or the first attack of a Swift Attack. If the character elects to do anything other than attack on that following turn, this bonus is lost.

Rechannel: A spellcaster may use their dynamic action to wrangle and cycle the winds of magic. If the caster successfully channeled and failed to cast a spell, or failed to channel and successfully cast a spell, or failed both, they may spend their dynamic action capturing the unused winds of magic before they dissipate. This is an additional, secondary use of the Channeling skill at a -15% penalty. If successful, the caster can make their Channeling skill roll next turn at a +15% bonus. If the caster had successfully channeled and cast this turn, they have used the winds so efficiently that they cannot Rechannel any this turn. If they successfully Rechannel, but elect not to channel as their next action, this bonus is lost.

Drive/Ride: A character who is driving a vehicle or riding a mount can use their dynamic action to control their vehicle or mount beyond the normal operation integrated into the turn. This may involve ramming, matching another rider’s speed, or regaining control of the vehicle or mount; or any other use the GM considers valid.

Generic Uses of Dynamic Actions: If none of these actions apply, a character still use their dynamic action in a variety of ways. Any character may use their Dynamic Action to Ready, Reload, Dismount, Drop Prone, or else interact with the combat environment in some way like opening or closing a door, snuffing a candle, or performing a Perception test at -15% as a matter of general combat awareness.

Weapons

New/Updated Qualities

Compact: This weapon is small enough that it can be used even in tight, desperate combat conditions. Compact melee weapons can be used in Partial Infighting and Total Infighting conditions without penalty. Compact weapons of all kinds can also be concealed, providing a -20% to any Search or Perception tests to find or spot them on a character, or hidden in an area.

Bold: This weapon is too big and obvious to ever be concealed on a person, or even ‘put away’ in a scabbard, boot, or sling. Bold weapons cannot be placed in bags or slung on the back with the Ready action; they must be carried in at least one hand, usually at rest on the shoulder, or else dropped. It’s not all bad news: most people in the Old World are used to the sight of a guard with a halberd on his shoulder as a reassuring beat of normal life, when a drawn knife may trigger alarm. Under most conditions, Bold weapons can be carried at rest and are already at hand if combat breaks out. They do not need to be drawn, and outside of areas where weapons are prohibited completely, they are unlikely to be perceived as a threat in the same way a smaller weapon will be.

Proven (X): This weapon is a reliable damage dealer, and even awkward blows leave terrible wounds. When a Proven weapon deals damage, the D10 rolled for damage has a minimum value of ‘X’. Thus, a weapon with Proven (3) will treat a 1 or a 2 on the damage dice as a 3.

Armor Piercing (X): This weapon is designed to penetrate armor and hide, or else to deal crushing blows in spite of it. When an Armor Piercing weapon does damage, it ignores a number of points of armor equal to the value of ‘X’. Thus, a weapon with Armor Piercing (2) would ignore 2 points of armor. Any ‘leftover’ Armor Piercing value has no effect - that enemy is about as pierced as they’re going to get.

Defensive: A defensive weapon is designed, weighted, and wielded to protect as much as attack. It gives the wielder +10% on parry checks. This is cumulative: for example, a warrior with a best quality sword in one hand, and a shield in the other, gains +20% to his parry.

Shrapnel (X):A shrapnel weapon looses a volley of broken glass, metal scraps, or lead balls in the direction of its firing. It requires no Ballistic Skill check to fire (though an operator who lacks the appropriate proficiency talent takes twice as long to load it, and causes a shot they have loaded to become Experimental). Instead, measure the weapon’s range in a line one yard wide and consider everyone in that line a valid target. Starting from closest to the weapon, targets take Agility Tests to throw themselves aside from the line of fire. Failure means they are hit, and this process continues until (X) number of targets are hit, or there are no more in line. Roll damage individually for each target struck.

Updated Melee Weapons
Weapons that require two hands marked with *. Unchanged weapons not listed here, and I haven't bothered with the specialist weapons like the White Wolf Hammer and so forth. Those will be a negotiation down the track, if they become relevant. Elements that have been changed are Bolded.

Name	Cost	Enc	Group	Damage	Qualities	Availability
Dagger	1GC	10	Ordinary	SB-3	Compact, Special	Common
Demilance	20GC	75	Cavalry	SB	Fast, Impact, Tiring, Bold	Scarce
Flail*	15GC	95	Flail	SB+1	Impact, Tiring, Bold	Scarce
Gauntlet/ Knuckle-Duster	1GC	1	Ordinary	SB-3	Pummeling, Compact	Common
Great Weapon*	20GC	200	Two-Handed	SB	Impact, Slow	Average
Halberd*	15GC	175	Two-Handed	SB	Special, Bold	Common
Lance	40GC	100	Cavalry	SB+1	Fast, Impact, Tiring, Bold	Rare
Main Gauche	4GC	15	Parrying	SB-3	Balanced, Defensive, Compact	Scarce
Quarterstaff*	3s	50	Ordinary	SB-2	Defensive, Pummeling, Bold	Common

Updated Missile Weapons

Name	Cost	Enc	Group	Damage	Range(Yd)	Reload	Qualities	Avail.
Sling	4GC	10	Sling	3	16/32	Half	Compact	Common
Pistol	200GC	25	Gunpowder	4	8/16	2 Full	Compact, Impact, Unreliable	Very Rare
Hochland Long Rifle*	450GC	70	Engineer	4	48/96	2 Full	Bold, Impact, Unreliable	Very Rare
Blunderbuss*	70GC	50	Gunpowder	3	32/-	3 Full	Shrapnel (4), Unreliable	Very Rare
Duckfoot	500GC	30	Engineer	3	16/-	4 Full	Special, Shrapnel (4) Experimental	Very Rare

Special Weapons:

Dagger: A dagger gains Armor Piercing (2) when the wielder is attacking an opponent that has grappled them, or whom they have grappled.

Halberd: At the beginning of the turn, the wielder of a halberd decides whether to wield the weapon using the profile of a Great Weapon, or a spear. In both cases, it requires both hands to use effectively.

Duckfoot: Instead of measuring in a straight line, the duckfoot targets everyone to its range within a 45 degree arc, striking closer targets first as normal. The agility test to avoid this weapon is Challenging (-10%).


Weapon Quality Changes/Clarifications

Good Quality weapons, in addition to looking nicer and weigh 10% less, are entitled to a special feature. Typically, this is a small bonus (+10%, typically) to a narrow use of the weapon. If you are commissioning the weapon, you can negotiate this with the GM.

Examples:

A sword with a finely filigreed basket hilt, that adds +10% to Charm in formal settings where it is worn.
An axe with a gleaming serrated edge that adds +10% to Intimidate checks when brandished.
A hammer forged in the classic shape of Ghal’Maraz, adding +10% to Command checks with men of the Empire against Orcs, Goblins, and minions of Chaos.
A pick with a hook on the reverse, adding +10% to uses of the Disarm Talent.A good quality weapon adds +2% to WS or BS as appropriate.

Best Quality weapons are like Good Quality weapons, except the bonus to WS or BS is +5%.

Note: In the case of Melee weapons, this bonus applies also to Parry rolls; though only the best Quality bonus applies. For example, a warrior with a Best Quality Sword and Best Quality Shield has a +5% bonus to attack with either of them; but a mighty +25% bonus to parry - 5% from Best Quality and two instances of Defensive at +10% each.

Best Quality Hand Weapons and Great Weapons

Hand Weapons and Great Weapons have special, individual profiles at Best Quality, as tradition dictates.

Name	Cost	Enc	Group	Damage	Qualities	Availability
Axe	60GC	45	Ordinary	SB	Proven (3)	Scarce
Mace/Hammer	70GC	65	Ordinary	SB	Pummelling, Armor Piercing (1)	Scarce
Pick	90GC	60	Ordinary	SB	Armour Piercing (3)	Rare
Sword	140GC	45	Ordinary	SB	Defensive	Very Rare
Greataxe	120GC	180	Two-Handed	SB+1	Impact, Slow, Proven (3).	Rare
Greathammer/Greatmace	150GC	260	Two-Handed	SB+1	Impact, Slow, Armor Piercing (1), Pummelling.	Rare
Greatpick	200GC	180	Two-Handed	SB+1	Impact, Slow, Armour Piercing (3).	Very Rare
Greatsword	350GC	250	Two-Handed	SB+1	Impact, Defensive, Special.	Very Rare

Best Greatsword: This weapon is perfect for denying your enemy’s approach. When used for Zone Control, a Best quality Greatsword inflicts a -15% WS penalty on attackers, instead of the normal +10%.


Fate Point Rework

Note: In this rework, “Temporary Fate Points” and “Fortune Points” are synonyms.

To determine your number of daily fortune points, consult the following table.

Current Permanent Fate Points	Daily Fortune Points
3+	Equal to Permanent FP
2	3
1	4
0	5

The Fate point system is intended to give a player a level of foresight about his or her character’s impending mortality. Once you reach 0 FP, you are expected to be planning for your character to perish. However, Fortune points are a character’s insurance to offset risk. Characters who begin to lose fate points end up acting less, not more heroic, as they approach their destined end. This change is intended to encourage players to ‘ramp up’ toward their end, embracing riskier plans for a higher likelihood of dying in a satisfying way after accomplishing great deeds.


Roleplay XP Rebate

Buying a skill or Weapon Group Talent out of your class advance structure costs 200 XP, and you may not use this to buy +10, +20, or Talents normally. However, after you take a few opportunities in character to formalize that skill by learning it from someone (ideally within the party), you may have 100XP back. Some common sense applies - you can learn how to speak Arabyan, but you can’t learn the forbidden knowledge of Daemonology this way. Just... be sensible.

Example: Bertelis wants to use a Tilean pike he has found, but can't buy Specialist Weapon Group (Two Handed) for a few careers yet. He spends 200XP to buy it (not in the middle of combat like a psychopath) and writes Bertelis as using the pike somewhat basically for a while; but starts looking for opportunities to train with Gimgroth, who has spent enough time around Tileans to know how to handle a pike. After three such scenes across their adventures, Bertelis appeals to the GM and is granted his Roleplay Rebate of 100XP.