Combat

Introduction

Combat in Cairn is fast, hectic, and often lethal. In addition, the rules of combat are unique in a few key ways:

• Side Initiative: With the exception of the first round (when PCs must first save DEX to secure their turn), both the PCs and their opponents take turns acting together. The results of a side’s individual actions occur simultaneously.
• Attacks Automatically Hit: Combatants typically deal damage to their targets automatically, without rolling to see whether an attack “hits.” When multiple attackers target the same foe, only the highest dice result is used in the attack.
• Hit Protection and Scars: Hit Protection acts as a measurement of skill, stamina, resilience, and luck. It also refills automatically when the PC is safe and comfortable. If damage reduces a PC’s HP to exactly 0, they receive a Scar, which can yield both positive and negative consequences.
• Critical Damage: Damage that reduces a target’s HP below zero is subtracted from their STR by the amount of damage remaining. The target must then immediately make a STR save to avoid taking Critical Damage, using their new STR score. On a fail, the target is defeated.

Example

After days of stepping through endless muck and gloom, the party has finally found the barrow belonging to the Cutlass King, the notorious bandit of a bygone age.

Warden: “Finally, you reach the point marked on your map, and in the early morning light, the barrow’s entrance becomes visible through the thick mist. But as the rolling fog begins to clear, you see a flash of colorful movement near the tomb’s entrance.”

Freya: “Nothing is ever easy, is it? That must be our dear friends from the Ursine Conclave, trying to steal our thunder!”

Lucius: “Come now, we don’t know that there is an immediate danger. Right?”

Wolfram: “It doesn’t matter; we must be prepared for whatever comes next. Keep your weapons down, and I’ll a shout. Perhaps we can avoid bloodshed yet.”

Warden: “You bark a traditional warning in the direction of the barrow. There is no immediate response, then only a snicker. They appear to be laughing at you! Moments later, three figures step out of the mist and directly into your line of view, each brandishing a weapon. The largest of the three grins as he wields a two-handed war ax, and the other two (a man and woman who are clearly siblings) carry identical swords. Everyone roll a DEX save to see if you can act before they do.”

Wolfram, Lucius, and Freya each save DEX to see whether they can take a turn in the first round. Wolfram and Freya succeed, but Lucius does not.

Lucius: “Well, shoot. I guess I fumbled my cane sword in all the excitement?”

Warden: “Indeed. Alright, Wolfram and Freya, each of you can move and take one action this turn. Assuming they survive, your three opponents will then have a chance to retaliate. Then it will be the PCs’ turn to act, including Lucius.”

Wolfram: “I don’t have my crossbow ready, so I’m going to go after the big one with my silver knife. If we can take him down, the others might flee.”

Freya: “Hey, that was my plan as well! Why don’t we both go after him?”

Wolfram and Freya each make individual attack rolls, but only the highest number counts as damage against the large man [8 HP, 15 STR, 7 DEX, 9 WIL, battleax (d10)]. Wolfram rolls a 4, and Freya a 5 and a 1 for each dagger respectively.

Warden: “You each rush the man with the war ax. He easily sidesteps Wolfram’s initial jab but nearly isn’t quick enough for Freya! He is nearly eviscerated as her twin daggers slice the air where he stood only a millisecond before. That was a close one!”

Freya: “Thanks. That isn’t much comfort though.”

It is now the opponents’ turn to attack or take an action. Although the description of these events is delivered consecutively, the results happen roughly at the same time. The Warden rolls an attack die for each enemy combatant, targeting each PC only once. The large man rolls a d10 but deals only 3 damage against Freya, while his associates each roll a d6, dealing 1 and a 6 damage against Wolfram and Lucius respectively. As the Warden narrates the results, each player records any lost HP or STR on their character sheet.

Warden: “Now your opponents will get a crack at it. The large man swings his ax at Freya, but it misses, leaving a wide gap between her and the ax edge. You don’t know if you’ll be so lucky next time, however. Next, the shorter man stabs at Wolfram, who is the closer of the three. Luckily, the man’s blade only glances off his armor. Now on to the man’s sister, who nearly takes Lucius’s head off with her blade. Somehow the blade doesn’t draw blood but instead knocks him back so hard he nearly keels over, and his vision is filled with bright lights and sparkling things.”

Lucius: “Ouch. I think that takes me to exactly 0 HP. I should check the Scars table, right?”

Warden: “Yes, and you’ll need to reference how much HP you lost in the attack. Now let’s see… You had 6 HP but no armor, and you took 6 damage in the attack. That means you should receive a Reorienting Head Wound!”

Lucius: “You sound a little too excited about this. OK, it says I need to roll 1d6… I got a 3, which indicates DEX. Now I need to roll 3d6, and if the total is greater than my current Dexterity score, I get to keep it, right? Alright… hey, a 14! That’s slightly higher than what I have already! Maybe getting knocked in the head isn’t all that bad?”

Warden: “Perhaps. One point fewer and you’d have been diseased, and one point greater and you’d lose your hearing for a while. Write down your new DEX score. You really are lucky, you know that? Anyway, it’s now time for the PCs to act again.”

Wolfram: “I shall riposte against the shorter man!”

Freya: “I’m going to take another swing at the big fella.”

Lucius: “I am going to try and stab that woman with my cane sword.”

Wolfram rolls a d6, dealing 2 damage to the shorter man, who has enough HP to absorb the attack. Freya rolls a d6 for each of her daggers, dealing a 1 and a 3. She keeps only the higher die, and the large man is able to absorb the damage, taking his HP down to 0 (but only PCs gain Scars). Lucius rolls a 6 against the woman [5 HP, 11 STR, 8 DEX, 14 WIL]. She loses 1 point of STR in the attack and so must then roll a Critical Damage save using her new STR score.

Warden: “Wolfram, you stab at the shorter man, but he deftly avoids your attack! Freya, your daggers slice at the large man with impressive speed and intensity, and it’s clear that you’ve put him on the defensive, as you can see the sweat begin pouring down the sides of his head. He is running out of steam! Lucius, your cane sword pierces the woman in the stomach! She makes a STR save to see if she can stay in the fight. She rolls a 13, a fail! She goes down!”

This is the first casualty of the fight, so the woman’s allies must make a WIL save to continue or flee. The Warden rolls using the leader’s WIL, and he fails!

Warden: “The short man sees his sister fall and screams a cry of anguish. He drops his sword and commands the larger man to drop his ax. ‘Please,’ he begs. ‘I don’t care about whatever is in that barrow. I beg of you: have mercy. Save my sister, if you have the means.’“

Wolfram: “My order takes mercy on all folk willing to forge a new path. If we save your sister with our skills and resources, will you vow to pledge yourself to a life of piety, poverty, and kindness?”

Warden: “The shorter man nods, then rushes to his sister. The larger man only smiles, then says, ‘I ain’t swearin’ nothin’. But I do what he says, so long as he pays. Just let me keep my ax.’“

The party bandage up the woman, stabilizing her. Had they not, she would have bled out within the hour. Now out of danger, the PCs take a quick swig of water and regain their lost HP. Lucius tries to impress Freya by showing off the new battle scar on his eyebrow, but it doesn’t work.

Wolfram: “Alright, that’s all sorted then. You lot make your way back to town, and we’ll convene later. For now, we’ve got business with this Cutlass King I’ve read so much about.”