Kenzer have produced this free "Illustrated Example of Play" to highlight how their HackMaster RPG is played.

1. An illustrated example of play
Sometimes a rule can seem confusing until you see it in play. With
that in mind let’s take what we’ve learned and see some of the rules
used during an actual game session.
For this example we’re going to have a little fun and see how the
KNUCKLES characters from the popular gaming comic book, Knights of the
the ninth Dinner Table handle themselves playing HackMaster.
Player: Bob B.A. will be stepping behind the screen as the Gamemaster. He’s
prepared a special adventure to introduce his players to this edition
Race: Dwarf Dagger
Class: Thief
and they’ve shown up with new characters for the occasion.
Level: 1 Note: the characters listed here are abbreviated representations of
Size: Medium
7 (5) 0 player characters used in the adventure — reduced to only the essential
Movement: 5 +3 information needed for that purpose (i.e. primary
Alignment: CN ability scores, quirks, flaws etc are not listed).
Luck Points: 21 +6 S 2
Honor: 15
Fatigue: -1 2d4p 6
THRESHOLD
Hit Points: 25 0’ 6
Noir Lotus
Equipment: leather armor, Light Crossbow
small shield, dagger, light Player: Brian
crossbow, 5 bolts
20 0 Race: Dwarf Staff
Proficiencies: shield +3 Class: Mage
TIP: Spell Points: 140
proficiency. light crossbow
Knights of the +2 2 Level: 1 13 +2
Dinner Table is the +3
award winning
Size: Medium
NOTES: Knuckles pur- 2d6p 6 Movement: 5
monthly gaming chased the shield profi-
magazine/comic 0’
THRESHOLD
6 Alignment: LN +3 / 1
ciency. He is also proficient
published by Honor: 10
with light crossbow but he 2d4p 7
Kenzer and RANGE (ft) ATK DIE Fatigue: 1
Company.
couldn’t afford one during
Hit Points: 26 7’ -2 THRESHOLD
character creation. He ob- 5-60 d20p 8
In addition to the
tained his weapon in the 61-100 d20p-4
characters and
early stages of the dungeon 101-140 d20p-6
Equipment: thick robes, Spells: (A) Feat of Strength,
strips, KODT pres- from a fallen foe 141-180 d20p-8
staff (A)Springing (J) Aura of Protection,
ents a monthly dose (1st) Scorch
of gaming articles
— including official
HackMaster mon-
sters, NPCs, new
rules and articles
useful to both play-
ers and gamemas-
ters. For more Justinia VII El Ravager
information go to the fifth
www.kenzerco.com Player: Sara
Player: Dave
Race: Human Longsword
Class: Cleric (The True) Race: Human Battle axe
Level: 1 Class: Fighter
Size: Medium
10 3 Level: 1
Movement: 10 +1 Size: Medium 11 1
Alignment: LG Movement: 10 +4
Honor: 16 +1 2 Alignment: N
Fatigue: 2 Honor: 12 +7 M 2
Hit Points: 29
2d8p 7 Fatigue: -2
-3 THRESHOLD 4d3p 7
3.5’ 8 Hit Points: 30 +3 THRESHOLD
3’ 9
Equipment: Leather
Spells: Know North, Cure Trifling
armor, longsword Equipment: leather armor, NOTES: El Ravager has specializa-
Wound
medium shield, battle axe tion of +1 Attack, +1 Damage &
-1 Speed with his battle axe
244

2. The Goblin Caves of Dak Skeer
hoping to shave a day off their TRAVEL TIME to the town of GILOREALON (perched on the sleepy shores of
RANDDOR LAKES), the KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER table decided to take a SHORT CUT through the KALALI FOREST.
unfortunately, a THUNDER STORM soon set in and the party quickly found themselves lost as a HEAVY FOG
set in. after many hours fighting their way through the twisty-gnarled undergrowth they stepped into a
small clearing — where the dark, inviting maw of a LARGE CAVE stood. as four GOBLIN guards drew
swords and shouted an alarm the party found themselves engaged in an unexpected fight for their lives...
okay — your SEARCH of say what...? that little bit of NOTHING was it?
the cavern turns up
nothing else of value. just FOUR stinkin’ GOBLINS and a few silver pieces?
b.a. dance oh no... there’s hrrmmph..
you SEARCH gotta be MORE to it. they did
the side a VICTORY JIG!!
seem to be hardly
passageways those guys FOUGHT FIGHTING worked up
but to no AVAIL. how many
BOLTS were in tooth and nail. dearly to a SWEAT.
that POUCH? guard
it appears where’s the “something” complete
they lead GOOD STUFF, b.a.? waste
nowhere of our TIME.
but to
DEAD ENDS. kewl
there
beans!
are
FIVE bob.
HAAA! for YOU alright, alright... ’m on it.
losers maybe!!
stand back - gimme some room.
SCORED a frickin’ by the way, B.A... dave’s RIGHT,
LIGHT CROSSBOW ’m makin’ sure bob. there’s
off that ONE this thing is in GOT to be
dude’s body!! WORKING ORDER. more to
this place...
can scratch
THAT off
my wish list..
b.a. ’m gonna check the
WEST WALL of this chamber...
looks suspicious.
okay,
roll
-snicker- hrrmph -- well it for it.
would be NICE shooka
sh shooka
if you did yer JOB... o
sh oka
oo
c’mon, MISTER THIEF. ka
how ‘bout searchin’
for SECRET DOORS?
T HE P L AYERS E XA MPLE OF P L AY L EGEND
A shows the exact “Count” in seconds
ACTION COUNT: 1 1 during combat.
Player character token. Combat ring — indicates target
is being engaged in an attack.
Combat Rose: this a tool
Monster token to present all the combat
essential data for PC, NPC
or Monster at a glance.
Also used in the Hacklo-
pedia and the new
Dead Monster or PC.
HM character sheets.
245

3. ONE SCRUTINY CHECK LATER
CHECK FOR SECRET DOORS
okay, KNUCKLES and WHY whoah,
good job, bob! will take POINT... exactly am DOWN, cujo.
dave -- you playing TORCH
KNUCKLES get my BACK. BEARER again? bob’s got a
discovers part Bob used his CROSSBOW now.
of the cavern Scrutiny Skill here
wall is FAKE and got a SHIELD.
-- it actually to search for secret
SLIDES back. doors. CUJO...?
Bob rolled against a
revealing difficulty set by the
a hidden
CORRIDOR GM.
behind it.. you got it,
dude. SARA
See Skills, page 186 hold that
TORCH up
high!!
A SHORT DISTANCE LATER... oh boy..
and certainly uh huh... HERE we
can’t be carryin’ you enter another NATURAL CAVERN. just what go guys..
a TORCH around. THOUGHT...
your TORCHLIGHT reflects DEAD END
need BOTH hands off the damp stone walls... my ass...
to cast my SPELLS.
revealing two passages,
okay, fine. one to the right
and one on the left,
whatever.
both areas appear to
open into OTHER CHAMBERS.
NOW WE’RE TALKIN’. there are
several
TORCHES on the TORCHES!
wall here -- bad guys
casting EERIE must be
SHADOWS... CLOSE!
SKILL CHECK: LISTENING
Here BA asks the players to make a Listening check aside from the sound of water
to see if they can hear the goblins waiting to ambush dripping from ceiling somewhere
everyone
in the distance, the room is QUIET. hrrmph...
make the PCs in the other room.
a LISTENING
SKILL CHECK. This is a real skill check, but it could easily be a decoy QUIET
from a clever GM simply trying keep his players on indeed.
their toes.
Bob’s Listening skill is 50. He rolls an 42 on d100p
for a total of 92. alright, dave keep an eye on the right tunnel.
B.A. rolls a Sneaking check for the Goblins, getting ’ll check roger
sh an 89 and adding the goblins’ Sneaking skill of 17 for a out the left. that!
let’s
o do it
sh oka total of 106.
oo
ka sara yer
with me. keep those
Since Bob’s roll is lower than the Goblins’ total, he fails. weapons at
Dave, Sara, and Brian do the same thing, but all fail as the READY..
well.
See Opposed Checks, page 155
ok, dave, PEERS into the right hand tunnel. bob you and
sara VENTURE into
it opens into a dark foreboding chamber that the OTHER tunnel --
SWALLOWS up the LIGHT from the torches. the light from your
TORCH reveals an
IRREGULARLY shaped
you hear the chamber.
ECHOES of okay - ’m not
dripping water going any FURTHER.
and the odor of it’s about 25
foul rotting ’ll just STAND
FEET in WIDTH
meat waifs there and keep watch.
and FIFTY to SIXTY
through the air. somethin’ feet in length...
must’ve
DIED.
eeew.
24 6

4. the CHAMBER bends to more torch light got a 4! drats! a 9
the LEFT at the other end huh? well, ’m being BA has ruled
Initiative
-- toward what APPEARS REAL quiet and... right behind
since the
to be a LARGER cavern. you with a 5 -sigh-
wait -- did you players were on 9 here
the flickering say BEADY EYES...? guard and as well.
GLOW of TORCH LIGHT prepared for
comes from that area. GAAA!! “something”
everyone
and BACKLIT roll for a that they can
WE GOT
just at the INITIATIVE!!
GOBOS!! roll 1d10 for
entrance...? initiative. Note: BA doesn’t have to roll initiative
Knuckles, being for the goblins! They were lying in wait
three small make it to ambush the PCs (having heard the
hunkering forms a D-10. a thief, will roll
with BEADY 1d8 instead. previous combat in the other room).
yellow EYES.. Since they were ready they can attack
See Initiatve, right away at 1!
page 216
See Ambushes, page 218
okay guys... GOBLIN
you’ve got THREE
goblins armed
Size: Small ONE!
CROSSBOWS... Movement: 5
got my readied and Hit Points: 20 BRING IT
CROSSBOW aimed at YOU!! SCREEN
at the
Crossbow
MONKEY¡¡
READY, b.a.
here
comes the 20 3 BA has ruled the goblins have been aiming since the PCs
COUNT UP!! +3 arrive in this area and can fire immediately on one.
Had they not been aiming they would have been subject to
+2 / 2 either a penalty for firing without aiming, or forced to wait 4
seconds to take aim.
you DO by
2d6p 8
Note that B.A. has ruled, Bob did not load the crossbow he
realize
DOH!! weapon -1
THRESHOLD
it wasn’t
6 took from the dead goblin — in this case the GM was looking
LOADED...? for a specific called action stating this had been done.
ACTION COUNT: 1 Sara the THIRD
CRAP -- only got a 15
on my FIRST defense roll,
goblin has
bob the FIRST GOBLIN YOU in his sights...
rolls a 17 to hit on you, and a 19 on the SECOND.
crossbow
the second fires at bolt comin got a SMALL -sigh-
you and rolls a 12! at ya --- a 16! SHIELD however - rolled a
12 - ’m HIT!
what IS this...? so have a chance to
KA’CHUNK!! PICK ON BOB DAY? BLOCK that FIRST bolt.
roll
DEFENSE! sh
o sweet!
sh oka
oo
just give ka
me some
DEFENSE
rolls.
COMBAT: SHIELD HIT
nice try bob -- but you said you had
the bolts hit, but
your CROSSBOW AT THE READY —
neither is serious.
so no shield block roll for you! Normally, when a character is struck by a mis-
you were gotta sile weapon, they may roll against their shield's bob you take a
take the whopping 3 points.
ahh, ROBBED dude.
hit, bob. cover value to see if they block/catch the projectile.
man. Unfortunately, Bob didn’t have his shield ready sara yer
and Justina doesn’t have one at all. tapped for 5.
See page 219
Since both Bob and Sara were struck with mis-
COMBAT: Ranged
siles, BA now rolls 2d6p for each bolt to see how
Ranged fire is treated a bit differently than melee much damage their characters sustain. BA rolls a mark
combat. Bob and Sara roll d20 but don’t add their ‘em off.
2 and a 1 for the damage on Knuckles for a total
defense bonus! Since the goblins are within 60’ of 3, and a 2 and a 3 on Justina, for a total of 5.
BA rolls d20+3 (the goblin’s Attack bonus) to
determine his total attack rolls See Ranged Attacks, page 218
See Ranged Attacks, page 218 1 247

5. my DR and my DR brings
heh! dude alright...
my damage taken
COMBAT: Damage
reduces it to that’s a continuing
ONE POINT, BA down to THREE. Once hit both Bob and
PAPER CUT. the count...
Sara record the wounds
on their character TWO!!
okay. sheets, reducing their
Hit Points by the ap-
propriate number.
However, it’s important
that they record each
wound separately since THREE!
it factors into how
Each time a PC, NPC, or monster is struck for damage they reduce the rolled wounds are healed.
damage by their DR (Damage Reduction) from their armor or natural pro-
See Damage, page 222
tections. In both cases Knuckle and Justina are wearing leather armor which
has a DR of 2. See Damage, page 222
go on THREE! ACTION COUNT: 3 save the
Movement: Speed
me too! PCs can start moving with a one on the
moving at a
JOG on
right behind walk or a jog, but not a run or RIGHT for
you bob!! ME, sara --
this COUNT! sprint.
he’s MINE!
Since Knuckles is a dwarf he
can jog 5’ a second.
Justina, being a human, can you
begin moving 10’ a second. GOT it!
Since the goblins are 15’ feet
Bob’s initiative is 4 and Sara’s is 9, however since both away they will close the gap
were struck by a weapon (on count 1), they can act 2 rather quickly, unless the gob-
seconds after being struck. On 3 both can move and lins start hauling ass.
attack. See Movement, page 218
See Mitigating Surprise, page 217 3
two goblins
ACTION COUNT: 4 DROP their
crossbows and
sara you REACH In the heat of the DRAW DAGGERS!
your gobo
this round!!
moment, Bob has sara you
FOUR!! apparently lost his have REACH.
bob you will
arrive on 5. focus. Had he
declared he was
moving from a
Jog to a Run he
it’s could have moved
on!’m
ATTACKING
10’ and reached
b.a.!! his opponent this
count.
See Movement,
page 218
4
GOBLIN Dropping an item takes no time at all and 4 got a NINE
REACH
Size: Small the goblin can do so without taking any ad- and that’s
on my ATTACK GOOD
Movement: 5 ditional time. Furthermore, drawing a small ROLL, b.a. ENOUGH
Hit Points: 20 weapon takes 0 seconds. As Justina closes the to hit!!
Dagger goblin draws his dagger waiting for combat.
See Movement/Action Rates, page 218
DROPPING WEAPON
8 3
+3 Goblins are small creatures (like dwarves
and halfings) and essentially have a 1-foot
+2 / 2 penalty to their reach. Since they are using
daggers both Justina and Knuckles will strike
by
2d4p 8 first in combat when they arrive because their
weapon -1
THRESHOLD
reach is longer.
6
See Reach, page 223
24 8

6. go ahead Sara rolls 2d8p and adds (or subtracts) her Damage
DAMAGE
For this attack Sara rolls d20p and ROLL bonus (-3) to the roll to determine the total amount of hit
and adds her Attack Bonus (+1). yer DAMAGE damage. him
She rolls an 8 and adds 1 for a for 13!!
Her first roll is a 7, but her second roll is an 8.
total of 9.
Since Sara rolled the maximum on one of her dice (i.e.
BA rolls d20p-4 and adds the a penetration roll), she can roll that die again. All addi-
PENETRATION
goblin’s Defense Bonus (+2 with- tional rolls must subtract 1 from the result. However, get-
out a shield) to see if the goblin ting the max value a 2nd time permits a 3rd roll and so on.
successfully evades the blow. See Dice Penetration, page 8
BA rolled a 3 and adds 2 for a Sara rolls 2 on her second roll. Subtracting 1 from this
total of 5. Since 5 is lower than 9 bonus roll yields 1 extra point of damage.
Justina successfully hits the Her damage is 7+8+1 = 16. She then subtracts 3 points
goblin and can now roll damage. (on account of her poor strength) for a total of 13 points
of damage.
See Melee Attacks, page 223
4 See Damage, page 222
4
TOP CHECK
NICE JOB, sara. sara, your HAA!!
BA first reduces the dam- attack strikes take that!!
he’s DEFINITELY age from 13 to 11 because the goblin so CREEP!
gonna FEEL that. hard he is
goblins have a DR of 2. KNOCKED BACK
However, goblins are small and is in a stupor!
creatures; thus any amount of NEXT!!!
damage more than 10 points -snicker-
results in a knockback.
Even if the goblin’s DR had he’s
TOPPED!
reduced the damage under 10
KNOCK BACK
he still would have been
knocked backwards 5 feet!
See Knock-Backs, page 231
Not only has Sara knocked the goblin
okay next count...
ACTION COUNT: 5 b.a. can
backwards, but she has also forced a trauma start
MOVING
check by doing more than 8 points of FIVE!!! move
this count...
damage to it. See Trauma, page 235. over to
that THIRD
start off
Goblins have a Trauma Save of 6 so BA goblin...
at a JOG
rolls a d20. If he rolls 6 or less the goblin re- YES! b.a.
and move
mains standing and can retaliate. Anything ENGAGE HEY! save up to HELP!
the GOBLIN some
more than a 6 and the goblin is incapacitated. on the RIGHT. for me!
BA rolled a 16 and the goblin thus missed
his check by 10 points. It is traumatized for
a lengthy period of time (10x5 seconds = 50
seconds!)
See Trauma, page 235
HEY hot to hack!! sorry, dude.
don’t have Brain asks Dave to assist him by mitigating sur-
you forgettin’ time -- prise. Brian is clearly acting on knowledge his
something? NEEDS me character shouldn’t have — something most GMs
some GOBO frown upon.
can’t go ACTION!
til ELEVEN. Until Brian’s initiative comes up at 11, he is
momentarily stunned by the action with his thumb
up his butt — unable to do anything.
MITIGATE SURPRISE
come
MITIGATE JERK!! yer
gonna
Dave can choose to assist Brian by stopping and
my SURPRISE.
leave the pointing out the danger.
SPELL LOBBER
unprotected?!!
In this latter instance, they would split the ini-
tiatives by averaging the count in which Dave
helped Brian (5) and when Brian can act (11) –
making both Brian’s and Dave’s initiative 8.
5 See Mitigating Surprise, page 217
24 9

7. sara, the
GOBLIN you were
MOVING toward 5 ’m gonna rule he
moves into the SPACE
Certain aspects and actions which occur dur-
was moving his BUDDY just got
to ENGAGE KNOCKED BACK from. ing the course of the game (and especially
you as well... combat) will require GM arbitration.
since you were he mutters a
In this instance, BA has made two important
preoccupied with GROWL and SPITS decisions.
killing his buddy intent on
the second First he has ruled that the second goblin
AVENGING
before... his comrade. (despite being 5’ away) is currently ‘engaged’
with Justina. This means both Justina and the
goblin are already locked into the count and
weapon speeds won’t be reset as they engage
one another. This decision was made because
BA had already determined the goblin was
going to attack Justina!
Goblins are small creatures (like
Secondly BA has ruled sara you’re got REACH on your
dwarves and halfings) and essentially
that since both Justina and GOBLIN so you can attack first. have a 1-foot penalty to their reach.
the goblin are attempting Since they are using daggers both
to move into the vacant bob, yer usin’ a
Justina and Knuckles will strike first in
square between them, the DAGGER same as combat when they arrive because their
goblins arrives first. your OPPONENT reach is longer.
with the SAME
There are a number of penalties... Justina will get to attack first, but
ways to determine who Knuckles and the goblin will go at the
arrives first in such situa- you two will same time since they both have a -1 to
tions, but BA has decided ATTACK
simultaneously.
Reach and are wielding daggers.
the goblin took advantage Sara takes her attack but misses —
of the extra time he had giving the goblin an opportunity to tak
while Justina was killing his e his attack.
comrade.
See Reach, page 223
Near Perfect Defense
the GOBLIN
now attacks rolled a 5 BA rolls an 11 for the goblin’s attack and
adds his Attack Modifier of +3, for a total of eh... my
his ATTACK NATURAL 19 --
NEAR
on you, sara. 14. Since Sara’s roll is higher (19-4+1 = 16) PERFECT
for a she successfully defends the attack. Sara re- DEFENSE
with a 14!! modified 16!
ceives a -4 to her defense roll because she is misses, b.a.
not using a shield. In addition, since she
roll that’s a rolled a ‘natural’ 19 AND beats her attackers
for a NEAR PERFECT
DEFENSE.
roll she gets a Near Perfect Defense result.
DEFENSE, sara!
Since Sara gets a Near Perfect Defense she
now makes an attack roll vs. the goblin’s de-
nice! fense. If she hits, she rolls (d4-2 + d4-2) + Str
bonuses for the damage. Near Perfect De-
fense damage ignores DR (unless it’s natural
– such as scaly skin).
See Near Perfect Defense, page 241
okay... good for
Critical Hit
okay, b.a. go ahead you.
OVER HERE!! and ROLL, YEEES!!! Bob rolled a Natural
’m ATTACKIN’ bob. roll yer
this dude 20 on his attack roll. If
a NAT DAMAGE
RIGHT here! his roll is greater than
TWENTY!
the defender’s Defense
RULE!! roll then he not only
hits but scores a criti-
cal hit.
See Critical
Defense, page 241
250 5

8. Also, since Bob rolled the maximum he rolls a penetration he
-sigh- and GOBO
Penetration
roll. In this instance a d20 penetrates to a d6; Bob then rolls COLLAPSES
misses on his in agony,
a 3 on a d6 for a total of 25 (20-1 [for penetration]+3[d6 simultaneous attack. failing his
roll]+3 [his Attack modifier]). TOP CHECK.
looks like he goes
See Dice Penetration, page 8 DOWN with a cut
throat unable to
Since BA only rolled an 8 for the goblin’s Defense roll, Bob WHET his blade.
not only hits but scores a critical!
See Critical Defense, page 241
Simultaneous Combat
Even though the goblin has been critted he STILL gets to
take his attack before going down — since this was simulta-
neous combat.
*For ease and clarity of this example, critical hit results are not HOODY
shown. These charts will appear in the GMG.
See Taking Action, page 216 5 HOO¡¡
ACTION COUNT: 6 BA is asking Bob and Sara make an observation check to notice a second
Observation Check
okay - movin’ along... group of goblins sneaking into the room from area 4.
SIX!! BA could also ask for an opposed Listening skill check, but he has ruled
the noise of combat is concealing the sounds of the goblins movement.
bob, sara... Opposed skill checks are made by rolling d100p and adding the result to
ut oh... the requisite skill value.
make OPPOSED
OBSERVATION now what. In this case Bob has 31 percent in Observation and rolls a 59, for a total of
checks please!
90. Sara rolls a 34 and adds her skill of 27 percent, for a total of 61.
h-huh..? Next BA secretly rolls the Sneaking skill check for the goblins. If Bob or
Sara’s results are higher than the goblins Sneaking skill checks they notice
something!
See Encounters, page 215
6 movin’ up to a Dave can move from a
ACTION COUNT: 7
Coup de Grace
RUN here, b.a.!! jog to a run, and in doing
so increases his move- SEVEN!!
and ’m doing a ment to 15 feet/second.
COUP DE GRACE on that Since Knuckles is a
SPINDLY LITTLE BASTARD
just CRITTED!! thief he performs coup de
grace faster than other
okay, he’ll classes. Most classes re-
be dead on quire 10 seconds to kill a
NINE then. fallen foe, but the time re-
quired for Thieves to per-
form the task is 3!! Note how B.A. keeps the
count moving. Nobody has
See Coup de Grace, any declared actions so he
page 236 moves on.
EL RAVAGER
hey! the
MAGE is Dave has to slow his mo-
ACTION COUNT: 8
is SLOWIN’ feelin’ mentum down else he will
to a JOG EXPOSED
comin’ HERE!!
collide with the goblin.
on SEVEN!!
up on He has the option to slow EIGHT!!
your LEFT,
JUSTINIA..
down two movement incre-
ment rates per second. How-
ever, since he is still 15 feet
away from the combat he
chooses to slow down to a jog
– thus he moves 10 feet and
can cover the last 5 feet and
engage the goblin on 8.
See Movement, page 218
7 2 51

9. unfortunately, brian
you are correct. for on EIGHT --- TWO goblins leap from the SHADOWS
of the HALLWAY where EL RAVAGERhad been keeping watch...
LOTUS IS exposed.
with a gutteral WAR CRY they come
RACING toward with MURDER in their eye!!
and is about to FEEL it.
GAA!!! oh dear... huh..?!
8
and TWO more
GOBLINS come
8 oh c’mon, b.a...
RUSHING out of don’t ya think dave
the shadows BEHIND and should have been
the melee to afforded observation
the AID of their check to see
COMRADES.. those goblins?
sorry, BIG
GUY. not
mean was THIS time.
standin’
WE’RE RIGHT THERE
SURROUNDED!! for cryin’
out loud!
dammit, dave!
TOLD you what a
not to leave RIP OFF!
me EXPOSED! ’m gettin’
HOSED here!!
screw it - ’m
usin’ a COMBAT
MANEUVER on BA has ruled that since the goblins were hiding out of sight at the
this GOBO, b.a.
’m ENGAGED beginning of the combat there was no need for an Observation skill
this count. check.
Furthermore, since Brian is still surprised and his attention is likely
drawn to the ongoing combat, he is already looking the wrong way
and thus didn’t get a skill check.
Note: this is purely a GM decision. There’s no right or wrong in
these types of situations and BA has used his best common sense to
rule in order to ensure fair game play.
Despite Brian’s protests and whining — at the end of the day the
GOOD CALL GameMaster is always right and he must ultimately concede the
DAVE...
point.
Combat Maneuver
Dave fumbled his attack roll by
8 Dave has decided to use the damn these dice!
rolling a ‘natural’ 1 on his Attack Roll.
special combat maneuver; Aggressive rolled a ONE,
okay ’m Attack. This enables him to simulate B.A. -- for His attack is calculated as; 1 (die roll)
taking this
a flurry of blows without regard for a total of TEN. + 4 (Attack Bonus) + 5 (Aggressive
dude down!! Attack) = 10.
his defense.
AGGRESSIVE As such he adds +5 to his Attack the goblin only However, since Dave rolled a 1 on his
ATTACK HERE!!
Roll. Unfortunately he also suffers
rolled an 8, Attack Roll he might fumble! If the
goblin’s Defense Roll is higher than his
-2 to his next Defense Roll. so you just miss.
Fumble
Attack Roll, El’ Ravager will fumble.
Should the goblin choose, he could In this instance Dave exceeds the
that’s
Scamper Back to mitigate the dam- just great. goblin’s Defense Roll.
age, but in this instance BA rules the
goblin stands his ground. Despite his success, he still doesn’t hit.
Any ‘natural’ 1 on an attack roll is always
See Special Combat Moves, a miss!
page 228
252 See Misses/Fumbles, page 241

10. ACTION COUNT: 9 my GOBLIN is
dead, b.a.
’m MOVIN’ over
NINE!! to the one SARA
thank gawd...
dave and sara..., FINALLY!!
topped and coup
LOTUS can
de gracin’ his
the two NEW act on NINE!!
ASS as well!!
goblins near YOU
are jogging
TOWARD you.
brian, you’re all
ALONE out in the
passage way with
TWO GOBLINS of
your own --
they are
JOGGING as well.
9
’m castin’
Spell Casting
they’re SCORCH instead!!
readyin’
COMPONENTS JOGGIN? it’ll go off on TEN!
here for damn -- nevermind.
a SPRINGING ’d never get the oh and ’m pumpin’
spell, b.a. SPELL off in time the spell up with
to do any good... 40 SPELL POINTS.
whoah. wait
a second... sorry, brian -- because
you were INDECISIVE and
CRAP!! hesitated going to rule
it takes an ADDITIONAL
second to cast yer spell. huh?!!
it’ll go off on 11!!
9
Typically, in order to cast a
spell a mage must ready com-
ACTION COUNT: 10 dave, sara
the two new
ATTACKERS
ponents for the appropriate move in, one come!
spell beforehand. The spell bob you’ll start your COUP DE on each of ya. let us
GRACE on TEN since you have to move DANCE!!
Scorch however, has no components.
5 feet to get at the TOPPED goblin.
To ready components the mage rolls
d4p to see how many seconds it takes to
get the necessary material components got’cha, b.a.
ready.
TEN!!
He then may begin casting, thus he
adds the appropriate casting time for the
spell in question.
See Spell Casting in Combat, page 241
10 brian, those
two goblins always PROTECT
dave, sara -- the
GOBLINS on you
continue to JOG the MAGIC USER! are going to New attackers joining an
toward you... ATTACK first... existing melee usually don’t
it’s going to we’ve TALKED
be CLOSE! go ahead
have to worry about reach to
about this guys...
and make determine who attacks first.
DEFENSE ROLLS!!
Since Dave and Sara are al-
ready engaged with a goblin
and essentially locked into a
count as long as they remained
so the new goblins just attack
when they arrive.
what sam
frick?
’m
TOTALLY See Reach, page 223
HOSED!
10 253

11. dave, the HA HAA! el sara, you take When an attacker hits a shield he will roll the
Shield Damage
goblin on ravager a small wound
YOU, BLOCKS his
appropriate Shield Damage listed in the weapon
of 3 points
rolls 15! attack chart. This is typically a reduced set of dice
with a 16. which are then rolled to see if they get past the
Sara
dave your shield, thus damaging the shield bearer. In this
attacker instance dagger has no listed Shield Damage,
yours AHHHH!! hits your
gets a 9. JUSTINIA shield thus BA doesn’t need to roll to see if the attack
is HIT!! penetrates El Ravager’s shield.
Sara sustained another small wound of 3
points, however, she first reduces this number by
the DR of her armor (2 points). Thus she only
sustains a measly 1 point wound. She will record
this wound on her sheet and reduce her Hit
Points by 1.
10 See Shields and Armor, page 224
ACTION COUNT: 11 you can SMELL
its FOUL breath HEH -- well it SUCKS should get
and hear the SNARLS to be him ‘cuz got a BOTH of em!!
of its WAR GRUNTS 9 for defense…
as its BEEDY remember, put
ELEVEN!! YELLOW eyes 40 SPELL POINTS
close in. into this baby.
my SCORCH
brian, ONE
of the SPELL
GOBLIN goes off!!
reaches 10 ft.
you this area of
COUNT. effect
it stabs at you with ROAST ‘em
its dagger attempting to and TOAST
DISRUPT YOUR SPELL… ‘em, BIG GUY!
and gets a 7. [sigh]
Brian casts Scorch on 11 but since the goblin reached him that sec-
11
Spell Damage
your spell envelopes BOTH goblins
ond (and thus attacks), he has to defend or risk his spell being dis- and blasts into a FIERY MESS!!
rupted. His defense die is limited to a d20p-6. Fortunately the goblin
rolled very low and missed. SCREAMING and clutching at
their eyes they stumble back and fall
Casting the spell costs him 50 Spell Points. Brian has chosen to to the ground, WRITING IN AGONY.
increase the potency of the spell by ‘pumping’ it up with an additional
40 Spell Points in order to increase the damage. heh -- they b.a. start
Scorch does 1d3p+6 points of damage, but Brian’s increased spell HOODY just got a lit- JOGGING
Save vs. Spell
points increases this amount to 1d3p+10. He rolls his damage (no at- HOO!! tle taste of to rejoin
tack roll is needed for this spell) and penetrates on the damage roll 3 LOTUS FURY! the GROUP!
times, for a total of 18 points of damage (3+[3-1]+[3-1]+[2-1] +10).
Scorch allows a Dodge Saving Throw for half damage, but goblins
fail that, plus their Trauma checks! To add insult to
injury, the force of the spell also knocks them backwards 5 feet.
See Spell Casting in Combat, page 241 and
Saving Throws vs. Spells, page 242
ACTION COUNT: 12 the FIRST
Spell Fatigue
oh no.. After his spell GOBLIN you
not until the Noir Lotus is under engaged sara
NEXT count the effects of Spell is attacking
you, an 11 to hit.
there, BRUCE Fatigue for 6 sec- TWELVE!!!
JENNER - and onds (casting time of
no FASTER
than a WALK. the spell + 5). Dur- ROLL
ing this time mages FOR
DEFENSE!
are particularly vul-
nerable and suffer
reduced defense rolls
and limited actions.
-sigh-
See Spell Fatigue, why did even
page 242 BOTHER?
254 11 FUMBLED!