COMBAT
======
-- {CB} Combat Basics
-- {RC} Ranged Combat
-- {TT} Timing Table
-- {EF} Exploring and Fighting
-- {AR} Armor and Resistances
-- {FP} Fatigue Points
-- {SB} The Strength Bonus
-- {CR} Critical Hits
-- {AO} Attacks of Opportunity
-- {RE} Reach
-- {LE} Leaving a Threatened Area
-- {TO} Tactical Options
-- {2W} Two-Weapon Combat
-- {MC} Mounted Combat
-- {CH} Charging
-- {WT} Weapon Table
-- {AT} Armor Table
-- {MM} Return to Main Help Menu
Combat in Incursion is resolved in much the same way as it is in its parent OGL system, but with the distinct differences caused by the percentile speed and movement rates, and the lack of initiative or round-based ordering of actions.
COMBAT BASICS {CB}
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Whenever one character attacks another in Incursion, the game makes an attack roll to determine if the attack is a hit, miss or critical hit. The attack roll is the sum total of the attacker's base attack bonus in the relevant category (archery, brawl, melee or throwing), any modifiers due to weapon, magic, feats, ability scores or circumstances, and the result of a single twenty-sided dice. If this value is equal to or higher then the opponent's Defense Class, the attack is a hit. If it is lower, the attack is a miss.
Timing: A single attack at 100% speed takes 30 segments to complete. This value is modified by the percentile speed exactly as one might expect -- a character with 200% speed requires 15 segments to perform an attack, while one with 50% speed requires 60 segments. In comparison, it takes 10 segments for a character with 100% movement rate to move ten feet (one square), seven segments for a character with Dexterity 10 to pick up an object, and ten segments for a character to cast a spell or use most special abilities.
Actions occur on a timeline scheme. If you perform an action that takes six segments, your next action will occur six segments further down on the timeline. One consequence of this is that if you have a faster speed then another character, they will never be able to attack you more then once in combat without you having an action in the interim.
Natural Attacks: Monstrous creatures have natural attacks -- claw rakes, fanged bites, tentacles that lash and ensnare, and so forth. Often, they will have more then one form of attack. Creatures can make all of their natural attacks in a single sequence at the same time -- for example, many creatures have a bite/claw/claw pattern. The first attack is at no penalty, but all the latter attacks suffer a -5 penalty to hit, or -2 if the creature has the Multiattack feat. All of these individual attacks occur at the same time, and the whole sequence costs segments only as per a single attack.
RANGED COMBAT {RC}
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Ranged combat is handled in largely the same way as melee combat, with a few notable exceptions. Running into a monster with arrow keys obviously always represents a melee attack. To make a ranged attack, you can either use the 'f' command, or the [SHIFT]+Arrow Key keyboard shortcuts.
Cover: When making a ranged attack -- with a bow or crossbow, a thrown weapon or a ray spell -- it becomes more difficult to hit targets who are behind cover. The game considers this to be the case whenever there is a solid stone block directly beside the intended target in the horizontal or vertical direction that points closest to the attacker. For example, the hill giant below receives cover against the adventurer's archery:
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A target that has cover is assigned a miss chance of 50%. This means that the attack has a 50% chance of simply having been determined to have missed without the attack roll even having been made. The game will notify you of a miss that is due to a percentile miss chance by telling you that you missed 'wildly'.
There are some magical effects that also grant a percentile miss chance, such as the blink spell or a Cloak of Displacement. If more then one miss chance applies, each is rolled separately.
COMBAT TIMING TABLE {TT}
===================
Action Timecost
Move One Square (10 x Mod) segments
Use the Jump skill 20 segments
Disarm a trap or pick a lock 50 segments
Use Animal Empathy 50 segments
Turn or Command Undead 30 segments
Open or close a door 10 segments
Make a Melee Attack (30 x Spd) segments
Mave a Natural Attack Seq (30 x Spd) segments
Make a Two-Weapon Attack (30 x higher Spd) +
(30 x lower Spd) / 2
Perform a Grapple Maneuver 30 segments
Get an item from your pack (15 / Dex) segments
Cast a normal spell 30 segments
Cast a quickened spell 12 segments
Use an innate spell ability 20 segments
Read a scroll 30 segments
Drink a potion 30 segments
Activate a Wonderous Item 30 segments
Fire a wand or staff 20 segments
Wield / put away an item (20 / Dex) segments
Pick up an item (15 / Dex) segments
Drop an item (10 / Dex) segments
Insert/remove item from pack* 50 segments
Reload a Crossbow 30 segments
(with Rapid Reload) 10 segments
Use a Breath Weapon 30 segments
Perform a Great Blow or Kick (50 / Spd) segments
Perform a Whirlwind Attack (50 / Spd) segments
Perform a Coup de Grace 30 segments
Perform a Touch Attack (20 / Spd) segments
Make an Attack of Opportunity 0 segments (free)
Stand up from being prone (15 / Dex) segments
* Placing items in or taking items out of other containers has a timecost in segments that varies with the container. Special purpose containers, such as the ivory scroll case that mages begin play with, are often much faster in this regard then the leather backpack.
EXPLORING AND FIGHTING {EF}
======================
Your character's first status line on the status panel always reads either 'Exploring' or 'Fighting'. This describes the character's state of combat readiness in relation to the situation around him. As soon as a character is either attacked, or attacks another character (with a spell or weapon), the status will change from Exploring to Fighting, and will remain that way for several rounds thereafter -- the exact number of rounds a character remains alert is based on his Wisdom score.
A character who is attacked while Exploring is said to have been caught flat-footed. Such a character loses their Dexterity bonus to their defense class, as the attack caught them partially unexpectedly and they did not have time to fully ready themselves for combat. Essentially, a minor advantage goes to whichever characters strike the first blow in a given combat, and against those who are struck before they can strike.
This may seem like a trivial penalty, and usually it is. It can be much more deadly when fighting rogues or other characters with the Sneak Attack ability, however, as they gain significant amounts of bonus damage when attacking flat-footed characters.
SURPRISE ATTACKS {SA}
================
When a character attacks another character, and the victim is cannot percieve the attacker -- as a result of invisibility, hiding in shadows, the victim being blind or any other cause -- an opposed Move Silently versus Listen check is made. If the victim succeeds, she hears the attacker and negates surprise. If the attacker succeeds, however, she has scored a surprise attack. Any attack made against a sleeping creature is also considered a surprise attack.
Surprise attacks recieve a +4 surprise bonus to hit, and the attacker can substitute her Dexterity for Strength when determining damage, if doing so benefits her. The victim is also denied her Dexterity bonus to defense, as with being flat-footed above -- thus allowing a rogue to gain Sneak Attack damage. Obviously, setting up surprise attacks is very valuable especially to rogues, but also to any high-Dexterity character.
ARMOR AND RESISTANCES {AR}
=====================
In Incursion, armor reduces damage rather then just adding a set value to defense that must be beaten on the attack roll. Every type of armor has three ratings -- resistance to slashing, piercing and blunt damage. Similarly, all weapons inflict one of these types of damage, determining which armor value is used against them. Some weapons inflict two types of damage -- slashing and piercing, for example. In this case, whichever damage type is more beneficial to the attacker is used.
The amount of damage a given armor type removes is calculated based on an internal table by the game. In practice, you can quickly get a feel for how much damage armor of a given type will protect you from. Note that armors of lower ratings are less effective against greater amounts of damage -- an armor level that takes 50% of the damage off of a 27-point hit might only take 30% off of a 46-point hit.
Resistances are gained from magical items. They work exactly the same as armor ratings, but instead of applying against slashing, piercing or blunt damage, resistances lower damage from the elemental types: fire, cold, acid, lightning, toxic damage or sonic damage. Resistances are typically a little higher then armor values, simply because elemental damage is usually doled out in larger amounts at once, coming from sources such as a wizard's spell or a dragon's breath weapon, and thus needs a higher value to protect against it effectively.
Stacking Armor: Armor and resistances can be gained from multiple sources in Incursion -- for example, a lizardman in a chainmail hauberk has both his natural armor rating and the armor values of the chainmail. Similarly, a mage might have fire resistance both from an amulet he wears and from a spell he just cast. In these cases, the final applicable value is determined by taking the largest armor or resistance value and adding to it half of the second largest value, a third of the third largest, a fourth of the fourth largest, and so forth.
Note that like all things in Incursion, values from similar sources overlap, rather than stacking. Specifically, resistances may benefit at most from A) one permanent item granting that resistance, and B) one spell, potion or scroll granting that resistance. Thus, the fire resistance of a Ring of Fire Resistance does not stack with a second ring, but it would stack with a Resist Fire spell.
Coverage: Coverage is an addition to defense class that describes the amount of the body covered by armor. Every suit of armor has a coverage rating, and coverage can be increased by wearing protective items such as armored helmets and boots. If an attack roll exceeds the sum of the armor wearer's defense class and coverage, that attack has bypassed the armor completely, and the armor ratings from physical armor are ignored when calculating damage. Natural armor and other sources of resistance to physical damage still apply normally, however.
Penetration: While energy is energy, weapons are driven by their wielder's strength, and a powerful blow can cleave through armor's protection. In game terms, a positive secondary Strength modifier reduces armor's effective protection by its magnitude, to a maximum reduction of half. For example, if a character with 20 Strength (secondary modifier +4) strikes a character with 5 points of armor rating against the relevant type of damage, that character has an effective armor of 3 after Penetration is factored in.
Certain weapons are able to penetrate armor (natural or otherwise) more effectively then most. These weapons grant a +2 bonus to Penetration, and this bonus is applied after the half-only cap is applied, meaning that such a weapon can negate more than half of an enemy's armor rating.
Armor vs. Special Attacks
If a physical attack (a claw or sting, for example) carries with it a special form of damage or deleterious effect (such as poison, experience or attribute draining or so forth -- but not elemental damage), the victim will only suffer that damage if the attacker's attack roll is higher than the victim's Defense Class + (Coverage - 4). If the attack roll is higher than DC but not DC + (Coverage - 4), then the attack will inflict only hit point damage.
If a character has armor with the sacred quality, that armor will block touch attacks with special effects the same way it blocks claws and other physical attacks.
FATIGUE POINTS {FP}
==============
Adventurers consistently attempt difficult and tiring actions, not the least of which is brutal combat. Some activities strain the body and spirit even more than these trials, however. The berserk fury of a barbarian, a priest's ability to channel sacred energies from the positive material plane through his own body to drive off the undead, or even the titanic strike of a warrior praying to down a terrible foe with a single mighty blow -- all these things place strain on an adventurer far beyond what they normally experience.
This strain is represented by fatigue points. A number of different actions cost fatigue, as shown on the table below. If a character drops below 0 fatigue points, they are considered to be fatigued, and will suffer a reduction in effective Strength and Constitution. If they continue to expend fatigue until they reach negative fatigue points equal to their normal positive maximum, they are considered to be exhausted. Spending any further fatigue points when exhausted entails a risk of passing out for several turns, leaving the character effectively helpless. If this risk is accepted, a Fortitude save is made to determine whether the character can remain conscious whenever more fatigue points are spent.
Recovering Fatigue: Normal magical healing does nothing to restore lost fatigue; the primary way to recover it is simply to rest. A character who is not fatigued when they rest regains all of their fatigue points immediately. A character who is fatigued recovers all of their fatigue points only if the night passes uneventfully; in the case of an encounter, only a portion of the fatigue points lost will be recovered. An exhausted character recovers only one fatigue point when resting, requiring several nights to fully recover from the effects.
Fatigue Costs: The following actions all cause a character to expend fatigue. Actions marked with an asterisk are not currently implemented in this version of Incursion, but will appear in a future release.
Action Fatigue Cost
Turn or Command Undead 2 FP
Use Berserk Rage 3 FP
(as an orc) 2 FP
Cast a metamagicked spell (MM Levels) FP
Perform a Great Blow 1 FP
Being Stunned 1 FP
Being Poisoned 1 FP
Being Diseased 1 FP
Using the Tumble skill 1 FP
Going to negative HP and living 3 FP
Moving under Extreme encumb. 1 FP / 20 squares
Using a Breath Weapon 2 FP
Suffering a critical hit 1 FP
Digging a Tunnel 1 FP / square
Sprinting 1 FP
Climbing up/down a chasm * 1 FP
THE STRENGTH BONUS {SB}
==================
All attacks gain an attribute bonus to hit -- by default, melee and brawling attacks are modified by Strength, whereas archery and thrown weapons are modified by Dexterity. (The Combat Finesse feat allows characters to substitute Dexterity for Strength on most brawl and melee attack rolls).
However, normally only Strength grants a bonus to damage, and this bonus is granted on nearly all types of attacks. There are several factors which influence exactly what bonus is granted based on Strength, however:
* If a character wields a weapon in both hands, they are able to place greater force behind their attacks, and receive 1.5 times their normal strength bonus to attack.
* If a character is fighting with two weapons, the weapon in their off hand receives only half of the character's normal Strength bonus to damage.
* When making a natural attack sequence, creatures receive their full Strength bonus to damage on the first attack and only half their Strength bonus to damage on the remainder of their attacks.
* Characters using a bow receive their Strength bonus to damage only if their bow has the Mighty quality. Characters using a crossbow never receive a Strength bonus to damage.
* A normal punch by a humanoid character receives full Strength bonus; a kick receives 1.5 times the normal Strength bonus, but also has the attack time in segments increased from 30 to 50.
CRITICAL HITS {CR}
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Every attack in Incursion has the potential to be a critical hit. When the attack roll scores very high before any modifiers are applied to the roll, and hits the creature's defense class, a second identical attack roll is immediately made to see if the attack is a critical hit. If the second attack roll also hits the creature's defense class, the attack is considered to be a critical hit.
Threat Range: The threat range of a weapon or attack determines what must be rolled on the first attack roll before any modifiers are applied for that roll to be a potential critical hit, or a threat. For example, the long sword has a threat range of 19-20, meaning that it scores a threat whenever the 1d20 rolled for the attack roll comes up as a 19 or 20. In other words, 10% of all attacks rolled with a long sword will be threats. Unless otherwise noted, all attacks have a threat range of 20 -- normally only weapon attacks benefit from an increased threat range.
Several factors can increase the threat range of an attack. The keen weapon quality and the Improved Crit feat are the most common. Both of these abilities double the threat range of an attack. Multiple doublings triple or quadruple rather than growing exponentially, however; thus, the threat range of a keen long sword in the hands of a character with Improved Crit is 15-20, or three times the base threat range of a long sword.
Crit Multiplier: All attacks also have a crit multiplier; if not noted elsewhere, the default crit multiplier for an attack is x2. This is the figure by which the damage the attack inflicts is multiplied by on a critical hit. Since the battleaxe has a x3 crit multiplier, it inflicts three times its normal damage when a critical hit is scored.
The damage multiplier affects all the damage a weapon inflicts, including damage bonuses due to skill, magic and Strength. The only exception to this is that bonus dice of damage -- such as those from a flaming sword or a rogue's sneak attack ability -- are not multiplied by a critical hit, though they are added in once normally.
Crit Immunity: Critical hits most often depend upon striking a vital area or landing a particularly solid blow. Creatures with no discernable anatomy -- golems, oozes and jellies, elementals and similar beings -- are immune to critical hits for this reason, though they still suffer normal damage from an attack that would have been a crit. Undead are immune to critical hits only from piercing weapons, as they have no functioning internal organs to puncture.
ATTACKS OF OPPORTUNITY {AO}
======================
In certain circumstances, creatures are allowed to make bonus attacks on other creatures, usually due to those creatures taking some action that leaves a hole in their defenses. Holding a sword, an adventurer can keep the pointy end leveled at his adversaries and hold them at bay on risk of impalement. However, if the adventurer instead decides to ready his longbow and shoot an arrow while a monster is standing right next to him, that choice leaves him open to attack, and the monster is allowed to make a free bonus attack against him. This attack is called an attack of opportunity, and such attacks can be distinguished from normal attacks because the attack message that results is usually (but not always) prefixed with 'Seeing an opportunity, '. Both the player character and the monsters are allowed to make attacks of opportunity. The following situations provoke these attacks:
* When a character casts a spell, he provokes an attack of opportunity from any creature that has him in their threatened area. The Defensive Spell feat can be used to negate this.
* When a character makes a ranged attack, either by firing a bow, sling or crossbow, or throwing something, attacks of opportunity are similarly provoked.
* When a character is within another creature's threatened area and attempts to leave that area by fleeing, they provoke an attack of opportunity from each creature whose threatened area they are leaving.
* When a creature is held or paralyzed, they provoke one attack of opportunity from every creature whose threat range they are in every round.
* When a creature without the Martial Mastery feat (or the monk's Unarmed Strike class feature, which supercedes the feat) punches or kicks an enemy, they provoke an attack of opportunity from that specific enemy.
* When a creature uses certain tactical options (such as Bull Rush or Disarm) and does not have the feat that improves their skill with those, they provoke an attack of opportunity.
* When a creature invokes an innate spell-like ability, they provoke an attack of opportunity from all creatures threatening them, unless they have the Guarded Invocation feat.
* When a creature attacks an enemy who is wielding a weapon two or more size categories larger than her own, the enemy recieves an attack of opportunity -- it is hard to fight a sword-wielder with a dagger! This does not apply if the attacker uses a martial arts weapon, or the defender is surprised, caught flat- footed or unable to percieve the attacker. Note that Incursion is slightly nicer about attacks of opportunity then its parent system: using magic items generally does not provoke an attack of opportunity, nor does moving around within another creature's threatened area, so long as you aren't leaving it.
Making the Attack: Attacks of opportunity are in most ways exactly like any other attack. They are always a true single attack - creatures with a natural attack sequence make only their first attack as an attack of opportunity, not the whole sequence. Similarly, when wielding two weapons, creatures do not get an offhand attack on an attack of opportunity, and feats like Cleave do not affect opportunity attacks. In Incursion, opportunity attacks are always normal attacks -- you can't perform a disarm or other tactical option as an attack of opportunity.
There is a set limit to the number of attacks of opportunity that a character can make in one round (60 segments). For most characters, this limit is a single attack; for characters with the Combat Reflexes feat, the limit is 1 + the character's Dexterity modifier.
Threatened Area: When a creature does something that provokes attacks of opportunity, usually only creatures that have the character in their threatened areas can make an attack of opportunity on him. A character's threatened area describes the area where other creatures must be standing in order for him to be able to make melee attacks on them. For most character, this is the eight squares immediately surrounding the character's current location. For characters with reach, the threatened area may be larger, as described below.
REACH {RE}
=====
Some weapons are longer then others. Reach weapons are long enough to allow characters to attack opponents who are one square distant from them, rather then those that are right beside them. Usually, this means that the wielder of a reach weapon can only attack creatures at this range -- once they have slipped closer, his current weapon is useless and he must first wield something else or move back if he wishes to make an attack. Some rare weapons, such as the spiked chain, allow a wielder to attack creatures both close up and up to one square away.
Closing: Reach weapons can be used to prevent a creature from closing to normal melee range. When a creature attempts to move up beside an enemy who wields a reach weapon, they must make a Reflex saving throw against a DC equal to 10 + half the wielder's BAB (melee or brawl, as suitable), plus her Dexterity modifier, plus the parry modifier of the weapon used, if any. If the save is successful, the movement is completed normally. If the save fails, however, the movement is halted, the creature attempting to move is delayed for 30 segments and provokes an attack of opportunity from the creature he was attempting to close with.
Natural Reach: Some creatures -- usually giants -- are born with natural reach as a result of the length of their arms. They can attack as if with a reach weapon regardless of what (if anything) they are wielding. Creatures with natural reach can always attack creatures right next to them as well, in a manner similar to spiked chain wielders.
LEAVING A THREATENED AREA {LE}
=========================
Creatures (including the player) threaten the space around them, meaning that attempting to leave their vicinity can be dangerous. (Creatures with reach weapons, special abilities or different feats may threaten a larger area.) When you make a movement that would take you out of one or more creature's threatened areas, the game offers you three options:
* Disengage -- You try to withdraw from melee tactically without exposing yourself to danger. If you win an opposed contest with each threatening creature of your Base Attack Bonus + 1d20 (Brawl or Melee bonus, whichever is higher), you are able to complete the movement action without provoking an attack of opportunity. If you fail, you both provoke an attack of opportunity from each creature you failed against, and you don't move at all.
* Flee -- You automatically escape melee and complete the selected movement action, but provoke an attack of opportunity from every creature whose threatened area you leave.
* Abort -- You elect to re-think things, and do not move at all. Use this option if you didn't realize you were threatened, and want to do something other than retreat.
Note that disengage, if successful, gives you a slight head start as you distract the enemy, but flee does not. Thus, flee is useless if the enemy is has a faster Mov than you -- you give them an attack of opportunity, and they'll just close with you again immediately after your move.
TACTICAL OPTIONS {TO}
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Incursion offers the player a number of different possible options in combat. Simple melee or unarmed attacks can be performed by running into a monster, while ranged weapons can be fired by pressing SHIFT and an arrow key. However, there is also a menu of more involved combat maneuvers that can be accessed by pressing 'c'. These choices are as follows:
Attack: Use this option to perform a normal attack against a creature who is not yet hostile to you (Walking into these characters will normally just displace them) or is invisible or otherwise imperceptible.
Break Grapple: You attempt to break out of an enemy's grab or grapple with a grapple check. If successful, this maneuver takes no time to complete, giving you an opportunity to get out of melee range, but if failed it takes up a full round.
Bull Rush: You attempt to force an opponent back one square by charging into them. This is resolved with an opposed Strength roll modified by +4/-4 for every difference in size category between you and your opponent. A bull rush normally provokes an attack of opportunity from the target.
Called Shot: You aim an attack at a specific part of an opponent's body, hoping to inflict a debilitating injury rather then just going for the kill. Not implemented yet.
Charge: You run in a straight line, accumulating plusses to hit and damage due to momentum as you move. See below for more information.
Charge, Automatic: As Charge above, but whenever you change directions you automatically start charging in the new direction if an enemy is visible that way (the Ride-by-Attack feat helps here). You will not be asked confirmation questions about breaking off charges and starting new ones. This option is handy, but dangerous, for mounted combatants.
Coup de Grace: You deliver a killing blow to a paralyzed or sleeping living humanoid opponent within 10 feet of you. The attack is an automatic critical, and even if the foe survives the damage they must make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + half of the damage dealt) or die anyway. Performing a Coup de Grace provokes attacks of opportunity from every non-paralyzed or sleeping enemy within 1 square.
Disarm: You cause an opponent to lose their weapon. An opposed attack roll is made, modified by both Strength and Dexterity, as well as +/- 4 for weapon size differences, and using the weapon's parry modifier instead of its accuracy. Success causes the opponent to lose their weapon; failure means they are allowed to make an immediate Disarm attempt against you, without it costing them an action. A Disarm attempt normally provokes an attack of opportunity.
Fight Defensively: By devoting your full attention to defense, you can gain a +4 circumstance bonus to your defense class at the expense of suffering a -4 circumstance penalty to attack rolls, -2 to damage, 75% normal movement rate and a -20% spell success chance. Once fighting defensively, you can stop by using the 'x' command.
Grapple: You grab your opponent and initiate a grapple with him. Grappling is resolved with grapple checks, which are opposed contests of Brawl attack bonus plus Strength modifier plus or minus 4 for every divergence in size category, favoring the larger character. To begin grappling, however, you must hit your target's DC as per a normal attack. Initiating a grapple provokes an attack of opportunity from your target.
Great Blow: You execute a titanically powerful blow with your weapon, allowing you to double your Strength modifier to attack and damage, and lowering the threat range of your attack by 3 (i.e., 19-20 becomes 16-20). However, a great blow takes 1 1/2 times as long as a normal attack, costs two Fatigue points and leaves you off-balance and Exposed for a full round after you finish it.
Sprint: You put on a desperate burst of speed, and increase you movement rate by 50% for [1 + Constitution modifier] rounds (minimum 1) at the cost of two fatigue points. Since you are running full out, Sprint also decreases your defense class by two.
Sunder Weapon: You strike an opponent's weapon (or, at your option, any unattended object) and attempt to damage or destroy it. This provokes an attack of opportunity from the person using the weapon. Weapons with a magical plus can not be destroyed by any weapon with a lower magical plus then their own.
Throw: You throw an enemy you are grappling with already one or more squares away from you. You must succeed in a grapple check against them, and this action ends the grapple. You inflict your normal unarmed damage value in subdual damage, plus one point per square the enemy is thrown.
Trip: You attempt to knock an opponent prone. You must first make a successful attack roll against his DC, and then you make a Strength check opposed by his Strength or Dexterity, whichever favors him more. Success knocks the target prone. Failure allows the target to make an immediate, free attempt to trip you in return. Some weapons grant a bonus to trip attempts, such as the quarterstaff.
Note that if you have them, the Spring Attack and Whirlwind Attack feats also appear on this menu.
TWO-WEAPON COMBAT {2W}
=================
Characters in Incursion can fight with two weapons at once. To do this, wield one weapon in your ready hand slot and the other in your weapon slot; you'll then automatically fight in two-weapon style. This means that you get to make one attack with each weapon, using up total segments equal to a single attack with whichever weapon in slower plus half the segments of a single attack with the faster weapon. However, you also suffer penalties to the attack rolls with each hand, starting at -4 / -6. These penalties are reduced, however, by taking the Two-Weapon Style and Ambidexterity feats, and if the weapon in your offhand is one or more size categories smaller then the weapon in your primary hand.
MOUNTED COMBAT {MC}
==============
Incursion allows characters to ride horses and stranger creatures, gaining a combat advantage by so doing. A creature must be allied to be a suitable mount; to mount a creature, select the Mount verb from the Yuse ('y') command menu. Characters built around mounted combat might find it beneficial to bind a Quick Key to this verb. The Dismount command is also found on the Yuse menu, or you can dismount using the Cancel ('x') command
Some weapons (e.g., the heavy lance and great lance) cannot be used unless mounted (or unless you are really huge). Paladins start with mounts and eventually gain sacred mounts. Mages can summon them with, for example, the 1st level spell 'Mount'. Druids can eventually summon animal companions that will serve as mounts. A very handy (and very dangerous) command for mounted players is the 'Charge, Automatic' command in the Combat Options menu. The Mounted Combat feat tree allows characters to make the best use of their mount in combat.
Casting a spell with somatic gestures while mounted requires 15 phases extra, since the character must control her mount. This does not apply if the spell is Stilled, or the character has a Balance skill of 20+.
Mounts and Terrain
Difficult terrain will pay attention to whether you are mounted or not. If you are mounted, your mount makes the balance check on grease or ice. Your mount takes the fire damage from brimstone. If your mount has the Woodland Stride ability, it carries you through safely even if you don't. Note that some magical items (e.g., girdles of the inferno) specifically say that they protect both you and your mount. If your mount is a paladin's sacred mount or a ranger or druid's animal companion, spells you cast on yourself (e.g., resist fire, resist water) will also affect it, which may make some terrain easier.
If you would be knocked prone while you are mounted, you can made a Ride skill check (DC 20) to keep steady on your mount. Otherwise you fall off. If your mount would be knocked prone while you are mounted, you can make a Ride check (DC 40) to keep your mount from falling. Otherwise you also fall off.
Deep (or turbulent) water is the only truly complicated case. Both of you have to survive the water somehow. If you are OK with water but your mount is not (e.g., lizardfolk riding a horse), your mount will still need swim checks and may drown out from under you. If your mount does not need to breathe air but you do (e.g., human riding a giant shark), you can still drown. If you both don't care about the water, however, everything is fine (e.g., graveborn necromancer riding a zombie warhorse). Finally, if your mount carries you completely above the water (e.g., because it is flying or has water-walking) then you don't even need to make the swim checks and will not drown.
CHARGING {CH}
======== Characters can charge in combat using the Combat Options panel, allowing them to inflict greater damage as a result of gained momentum. Some weapons double or triple the damage bonus that charging grants, and being mounted also increases the effect. You can only charge if you have a visible opponent in the direction you wish to charge in -- you can't charge at hypothetical enemies.
As you charge, you accumulate a Charge Bonus shown at the bottom of the screen in the Status Window. This bonus increases the more squares you charge. When you make an attack at the end of a charge, you will recieve a flat +2 bonus to hit; if you do hit, this charge bonus will be added to your damage.
While charging, you can only move in the direction you started the charge in and the two directions immediately next to that direction -- for example, if you charge north, you can only move north, northeast or northwest; any other direction will cause you to break off the charge and lose any existing charge bonus.
While you are charging you move at 150% of your normal rate, but suffer a -2 penalty to Defense. You can Charge and Sprint at the same time, but thde higher Sprint movement bonus replaces the Charge movement bonus rather than stacking with it. You are considered to be exposed while charging, and for one turn thereafter.
As you charge, you accumulate a damage bonus determined by your movement rate and the combined mass of you and your mount. The bonus per set is calculated internally from a table inside the game, and ca become quite substantial with a long charge on a heavy, fast mount.
While you are charging you do not get to make attacks of opportunity. You are denied your dexterity bonus to your defense class. You are subject to sneak attacks as if you were flat footed or flanked. After your first step, every step you take while charging provokes an attack of opportunity (movement) from all nearby foes. If you attempt mounted archery, your penalty is doubled while charging.
If you have the Power Charge feat, your threat range is increased by one third of your charge bonus. If you hit with a lance, spear or polearm while charging you do double damage. If you have the Spirited Charge feat and you are mounted, you do triple damage instead (or double damage with a non-lance). On one in four successful hits, your weapon takes blunt damage equal to your charge bonus.
Notably, this means that if you charge with a non-magical (or even weakly magical) lance it will eventually break. Read up on actual jousting if this seems unrealistic to you. Realism aside, the game balance reason is that charging is quite powerful, especially at low levels, and should not be undertaken lightly or used constantly. That said, the 'Charge, Automatic' option in the Combat Options menu makes it much easier.
Closing with an opponent that has a reach weapon normally requires a Reflex save. If you are charging, you generally close automatically. However, if when you close with something while charging that thing gets a free attack of opportunity (movement) against you. If you take any damage in that attack you must DC 30 Reflex save to avoid tripping. If any part of this stops you from charging, you fail to close.
An opponent making a movement-based attack of opportunity against you while you are charging also adds your charge bonus to damage against you (and deals double damage with an appropriate weapon) -- momentum is symmetric. The Guarded Stance feat provides bonuses in this area. Charging into a set of braced polearms is not a good idea.
WEAPON TABLE {WT}
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The following table summarizes the traits of the various weapons found in Incursion. Type specifies the type of damage inflicted; [S]lashing, [P]iercing or [B]lunt; weapons that can inflict multiple types of damage are always treated as inflicting the most favorable type. SDmg is the base damage against creatures of Medium size or smaller; LDmg is the damage against Large or larger creatures. Acc is a modifier to the attack roll, while Parry is a modifier to the wielder's Def against attacks made with slashing weapons. Speed is a percentile multiple to attack speed, while Threat specifies what range must be rolled on an attack roll naturally before any modifiers to score a threat. Crit is the damage multiplier on critical hits. Traits specifies any special qualities possessed by the weapon. Exotic weapons are marked with an asterisk.
Melee Weapon Type S SDmg LDmg Ac Pa Spd Ra Threat Crit Spec
bastard sword S M 1d10 1d12 +2 +3 100% -- 19-20 x2
battleaxe S M 1d10 1d12 +1 +2 70% -- 19-20 x3 P
broadsword S M 2d4 2d5 +0 +2 110% -- 19-20 x2
club B M 1d6 1d4 +2 +1 90% -- 20 x2 S
dire flail* B L 1d8 1d6 +4 +4 100% -- 20 x3 RS2
dwarven wara* S M 2d6 3d6 +2 +2 90% -- 19-20 x3 P
elven thinbl* P M 1d12 1d10 -1 +6 160% -- 18-20 x2 PD
falchion S L 2d4 2d6 +1 +3 120% -- 18-20 x2
fighting stic B S 1d6 1d4 +1 +7 130% -- 20 x2 SD
fullblade* S L 3d6 3d8 +0 +2 75% -- 19-20 x2
glaive S/P L 1d8 1d8 +1 +1 75% -- 20 x3 RC
great lance* L 1d10 1d20 +0 +0 70% -- 20 x3 RKCM
great maul B H 2d12 2d12 +2 +3 70% -- 19-20 x4 SK
greataxe S L 2d8 2d10 +1 +2 80% -- 19-20 x3 P
greatsword S L 3d4 3d6 +0 +2 80% -- 19-20 x2
guisarme S L 2d4 1d6 +0 +1 90% -- 20 x3 RT
halberd S/P L 1d10 1d12 +1 +4 70% -- 20 x3 CT
heavy flail B L 1d12 1d8 +4 +5 70% -- 18-20 x3 S
heavy lance P L 1d8 1d12 +0 +0 70% -- 20 x3 KCM
heavy mace B M 1d10 1d8 +2 +3 80% -- 20 x2 S
huge mornings P/B H 3d8 3d8 +1 +3 80% -- 20 x2 S
knife S T 1d3 1d3 +1 +0 140% -- 19-20 x2
kukri* S T 1d3 1d2 +2 +3 160% -- 18-20 x2
large club B L 1d10 1d6 +4 +2 70% -- 20 x2 S
light flail B M 1d9 1d7 +4 +5 90% -- 19-20 x2 S
light lance P M 1d6 1d10 +0 +0 70% -- 20 x3 KC
light mace B S 1d6 1d6 +2 +4 110% -- 20 x2 S
long sword S M 1d8 1d8+1+2 +3 115% -- 19-20 x2
lucern hammer P/B L 2d4 1d6 -1 +1 70% -- 20 x3 RCP
main gauche S/P T 1d4 1d3 +0 +5 130% -- 19-20 x2 D
maul B L 2d8 2d8 +2 +3 70% -- 19-20 x4 SK
mercurial br* S/B M 3d4 3d6 +2 +3 80% -- 19-20 x3 S
morningstar P/B M 1d8 1d8 +3 +3 80% -- 20 x2 S
nunchaku B S 1d6 1d4 +1 +5 160% -- 19-20 x2 D
orc double a* S L 1d10 1d12 +1 +3 80% -- 19-20 x3 P2
pickaxe* P M 1d8 1d8 -1 +3 70% -- 20 x4 P
punching dag* P T 1d6 1d4 -1 +2 140% -- 18-20 x3
quarterstaff B L 1d8 1d6 +4 +8 100% -- 20 x2 T
ranseur P L 2d4 2d4 +1 +1 80% -- 20 x3 RCD
rapier P M 1d12 1d10 -1 +6 150% -- 18-20 x2 D
sap* B T 1d4 1d2 -2 +2 60% -- 20 x2
scimitar S/P M 1d8 1d8 +2 +5 115% -- 18-20 x2
scourge* S M 1d6 1d6 +3 +5 85% -- 20 x2 ETD
scythe* S L 2d6 1d8 -2 +4 80% -- 18-20 x4 KT
short sword S/P S 1d6 1d6+1+1 +4 140% -- 19-20 x2
siangham P S 1d6 1d4 +2 +3 120% -- 20 x2 D
sickle S S 1d6 1d3 +1 +3 110% -- 20 x2
small long sw S S 1d6 1d6+1+2 +3 115% -- 19-20 x2
spiked chain* S M 2d4 2d6 +3 +7 100% -- 20 x2 RET
stiletto P T 1d6 1d3 +0 +3 170% -- 20 x3 P
tiger claws S T 1d6 1d3 +1 +1 120% -- 19-20 x2
two-bladed h* S/P L 1d10 1d10 +2 +4 70% -- 20 x3 CT2
two-bladed s* S/P L 1d8 1d8 +1 +4 120% -- 19-20 x2 2
voulge S L 2d6 2d6 -1 +1 70% -- 20 x3 P
warhammer B M 1d8 1d8 +0 +3 80% -- 20 x3 SP
whip* S S 1d4 1 +1 +5 130% -- 20 x2 RSTD
Ranged Weapon Type S SDmg LDmg Ac Pa Spd Ra Threat Crit Spec
bolas* S/B S 1d6 1d4 +1 +0 70% 3 19-20 x2 EK
boomerang* B S 1d6 1d4 +2 +0 100% 6 19-20 x2 X
chakram S S 1d8 1d6 +0 +1 115% 3 19-20 x3 X
dagger S/P T 1d4 1d3 +0 +4 135% 3 19-20 x2
halfspear P M 1d6 1d6 +0 +3 100% 2 20 x3 C
handaxe S S 1d6 1d6 -1 +1 120% 1 20 x2 P
hunga-munga S/P M 1d10 1d8 +2 +2 95% 2 19-20 x2
javelin P L 1d6 1d6 -1 +0 90% 3 19-20 x2
longspear P L 1d8 1d8 +0 +1 100% 1 20 x3 RC
rock B T 1d6 1d2 -1 +1 90% 1 19-20 x2
shortspear P L 1d8 1d8 +0 +4 100% 2 20 x3 C
shotput* B S 1d10 1d8 +0 +0 70% 2 19-20 x3 SK
shuriken P T 1d2 1 -1 +0 175% 4 18-20 x3
trident P L 1d8 1d8 +0 +4 110% 1 20 x2 C
Bow/Crossbow Type S SDmg LDmg Ac Pa Spd Ra Threat Crit Spec
arbalest P M 1d10 1d4 +4 +0 135% 12 18-20 x5 P
blowpipe P S 3 3 +2 +0 200% 5 19-20 x2
cranquin* P M 1d12 1d8 +5 +0 135% 14 18-20 x5 SP
hand crossbo* P T 1d6 1d3 +5 +0 135% 8 18-20 x3 P
long bow P L 1d8 1d4 +0 +0 150% 10 18-20 x3
short bow P M 1d6 1d3 +0 +0 165% 7 18-20 x3
sling S 1d6 1d2 +0 +0 100% 5 20 x3 S
Projectile Type S SDmg LDmg Ac Pa Spd Ra Threat Crit Spec
crossbow bolt P T 0 0 +0 +0 100% -- 20 x2
dart P T 1d3 1d4 +0 +0 150% 2 19-20 x2
flight arrow P S 0 0 +0 +0 100% -- 20 x2
sheaf arrow P S 1 1 -1 +0 100% -2 20 x2
sling stone * 0 0 +0 +0 100% -- 20 x2
R: This is a reach weapon.
S: On a critical hit or great blow, or on 1 in 3 normal attacks, this weapon will stun a foe who fails a Fortitude save for 1d4+1 rounds.
E: On a critical hit, or on 1 in 3 normal attacks, this weapon will entangle a foe of its size catagory or smaller who fails a Reflex save.
K: On a critical hit or great blow, or on 1 in 3 normal attacks, this weapon will knock prone a character of its size catagory or smaller who fails a Fortitude save when struck.
C: This weapon deals double damage when used in a charge attack.
M: This weapon can only be used while mounted unless you are one size larger than it is.
P: This weapon grants a x2 bonus to penetrating armor.
T: This weapon grants a +4 bonus to trip attemps.
D: This weapon grants a +4 bonus to disarm attemps.
2: This is a double weapon, and may be used as if wielding two different weapons at the same time.
X: This weapon returns to the user when thrown.
Weapon Groups Weapons
Simple Weapons club, quarterstaff, light mace, dagger,
knife, sickle, sap, tiger claws, rock,
arbalest, crossbow bolt, dart, sling
Exotic Weapons dire flail, orc double axe,
dwarven waraxe, great lance,
two-bladed halberd, two-bladed sword,
fullblade, elven thinblade,
mercurial broadsword, punching dagger,
kukri, spiked chain, scourge, whip,
scythe, bolas, shotput, boomerang, sap,
cranquin, hand crossbow, pickaxe
Short Blades short sword, falchion, rapier,
elven thinblade
Long Blades scimitar, broadsword, long sword,
small long sword, two-bladed sword,
bastard sword, greatsword, fullblade,
mercurial broadsword, scythe
Axes handaxe, greataxe, orc double axe,
battleaxe, dwarven waraxe, halberd,
pickaxe
Archery long bow, short bow, sheaf arrow,
flight arrow, arbalest, blowpipe
Staves quarterstaff
Impact club, large club, maul, great maul,
light mace, heavy mace, morningstar,
huge morningstar, warhammer
Thrown handaxe, dagger, stiletto, knife, bolas,
shotput, chakram, boomerang, hunga-munga,
shuriken, rock, javelin, dart, sling,
sling stone
Polearms longspear, halberd, ranseur,
lucern hammer, two-bladed halberd, glaive,
guisarme, voulge
Spears halfspear, shortspear, trident, longspear,
javelin
Lances light lance, heavy lance, great lance
Daggers dagger, stiletto, main gauche, knife,
punching dagger, kukri
Martial Weapons quarterstaff, fighting stick, nunchaku,
chakram, hunga-munga, siangham, shuriken,
tiger claws
Flexible light flail, spiked chain, scourge, whip
Firearms
Flails dire flail, heavy flail
Weapon Saving Throws
Some weapons have special effects that occur on a failed saving throw, such as stunning. The formula for calculating a weapon's saving throw DC is 10 + half the wielder's melee BAB, plus either the wielder's Strength modifier (knockdown, stunning) or Dexterity modifier (entangling, reach closing DC). The entangle DC also adds the weapon's Acc modifier, closing DC adds the weapon's Parry modifier and stun or knockdown add a custom modifier based on the weapon's size or weight. Characters not proficient with the weapon have a -4 penalty to this save DC, while weapon focus, specialization, mastery, high mastery and grand mastery each increase the DC by +2, culmulatively.