Active Defense

ACTIVE DEFENSE

MODIFIERS

When performing a dodge, block, or

parry, figure your active defense roll by:

1. Taking your calculated Dodge,

Block, or Parry score. (The Combat

Reflexes and Enhanced Defenses

advantages increase these values

above their base.)

2. Applying the relevant condition-

al modifiers below. All modifiers are

cumulative.

A roll of this number, or less,

means you avoid the attack.

Defender’s Equipment

Parrying with dagger or knife: -1 to

Parry

Parrying with kusari or whip: -2 to

Parry

Parrying with quarterstaff: +2 to Parry

Shield or cloak: +DB of shield (see

Shield Table, p. 287), except vs.

firearms

Unarmed parry vs. weapon: -3 to

Parry (+0 vs. thrust, or w. Judo or

Karate)

Defender’s Maneuver

All-Out Attack: no defense possible!

All-Out Defense (Increased Defense):

+2 to one of Dodge, Block, or Parry

Move and Attack: dodge or block only;

you cannot parry

Defender’s Posture

Crawling or lying down: -3

Kneeling or sitting: -2

Defender’s Situation

Above attacker: +1 if 3’ difference, +2

if 4’, or +3 if 5’

Affliction (cough-

ing, retching,

etc.): see

Afflictions

(p. 428)

Bad footing:

-1 or

more

(GM’s option)

Below attacker: -1 if 3’

difference, -2 if 4’,

or -3 if 5’

Can’t see attacker: -4,

and a block or parry requires

a Hearing-2 roll

Close combat: only reach “C” weapons

can parry

Distraction (e.g., clothes on fire): -1 or

more (GM’s option)

Encumbered: penalty equal to

encumbrance level to Dodge, or

to Judo, Karate, or any fencing

Parry

Mounted: penalty equal to differ-

ence between 12 and Riding

skill (no penalty for Riding at

12+)

Stunned: -4

Nature of Attack

Attack from behind: no defense possi-

ble (defense at -2 w. Peripheral

Vision)

Attack from side or “runaround”

attack: -2 (no penalty w. Peripheral

Vision)

Attacker used laser sight: +1 to Dodge

if dot is visible

Deceptive Attack: -1 per -2 the attack-

er took to his attack

Dual-Weapon Attack: -1 if both attacks

strike the same target

Flail: -4 to Parry/-2 to Block (-2/-1 vs.

nunchaku); fencing weapons can’t

parry at all

Successful feint: penalty equal to

attacker’s margin of victory

Thrown weapon: -1 to Parry, or -2 to

Parry if small (1 lb. or less)

Other Actions by Defender

Acrobatic Dodge: +2 to Dodge if

Acrobatics roll succeeds, -2 if it

fails

Dodge and Drop: +3 to Dodge vs.

ranged attack

Feverish Defense: +2 (costs 1 FP)

Multiple parries: -4 to Parry per parry

after the first, cumulative (halved

for fencing weapons, and for

Trained By A Master or Weapon

Master)

Off-hand parry: -2 to Parry (no penal-

ty w. Ambidexterity)

Retreat: +3 to Dodge, or to Boxing,

Judo, Karate, or any fencing Parry;

+1 otherwise

Defense roll to defend against the attack

If the Target is hit, and they’re able, they roll one of their Active Defense options:

Rolling a 3 or 4 = always defended

Rolling a 17 or 18 = Always fails

If you are stunned all Active Defense rolls are made with a -4 penalty.

Shields and Defense Bonus

If you have a ready shield, add its Defense Bonus (DB) to any Dodge, Parry, or Block roll against an attack that came from in front of you or from your shield side. 

• Defense Bonus is 1 for a small shield, light cloak, and most improvised shields

• Defense Bonus is 2 for a medium shield or heavy cloak

• Defense Bonus is 3 for a large shield or force shield

• Shield spells may also give a DB

Dodging

Only possible defense against projectiles, usable multiple times per turn.

Dodge = Speed +3 (minus encumbrance penalty)

• Acrobatic Dodge

If you have at least one rank of Acrobatics you may, once per turn, opt to make an Acrobatic Dodge.  

Make an acrobatics roll, the result modifies the subsequent dodge roll:

Success =  +2 to dodge

Failure =  -2 to dodge

• You can combine this with retreat

• Sacrificial Dodge

You throw yourself in the path of an oncoming attack. 

Move one space to impose yourself between the target of the attack and the incoming attack then Roll your Dodge:

Success: you take the hit in place of the intended target 

Failure: you didn’t move in time, the target is responsible for defending themselves normally.

• You cannot retreat this turn.

• Vehicular Dodge

Evasive Maneuvers = Driving skill /2 + Handling Stat.

Blocking

Effective against melee attacks, thrown weapons, projected liquids, and muscle-powered missile weapons

Block = (Shield Skill or Cloak Skill) / 2 + 3

Requires a Readied Shield or Cloak (or similar object)

One attack per turn

Parry

Requires a readied weapon, or an empty hand

Parry = Weapon Skill / 2 + 3

Unwieldy weapons can’t attack and parry in the same turn

Parry ranged attacks if they’re within range of your weapon by hitting their weapon as they shoot

Once you have attempted a parry with a particular weapon or bare hand, further attempts to parry with that weapon or hand during the same turn are at a cumulative penalty after the first:

Parrying With:

Any Weapon

Fencing weapon

Trained by a Master

Fencing Weapon & Trained by a Master

Penalty/Parry

-4

-2

-2

-1

Parrying with the Off Hand

You parry with your “off” hand, or with a weapon held in it, at -4 to skill. Since Parry is calculated off half skill, this gives -2 to Parry. You may ignore this penalty if you have the Ambidexterity advantage.

Parrying Thrown Weapons

You can parry thrown weapons, but at a penalty: 

-1 for most thrown weapons

-2 for small ones such as knives, shuriken, and other weapons that weigh 1 lb. or less.

Parrying Heavy Weapons

You cannot use a flimsy rapier to parry a titan’s tree sized club, the slam of a charging linebacker, or the sword of a giant robot! Heavy weapons are liable to knock your weapon away – or even break it. The same is true for unarmed attacks from high-ST creatures. 

For the purpose of these rules, treat a punch, kick, bite, etc. as a weapon with an effective weight of 1/10 the attacker’s ST. 

Use his full ST if he made a slam, flying tackle, pounce, or shield rush!

Breakage

Your weapon may break if it parries anything three or more times its own weight. (This does not apply to barehanded parries; for damage to limbs when parrying unarmed, see Parrying Unarmed.)

A weapon parrying three times its own weight has a 2 in 6 chance of breaking: it breaks on a roll of 1 or 2 on 1d. 

Add +1 to these odds per whole-numbered multiple past 3 (a 3 in 6 chance at 4 times weapon weight, a 4 in 6 chance at 5 times, and so on). 

Weapon quality modifies these odds: +2 if the parrying weapon is cheap, -1 if fine, or -2 if very fine.

If your weapon breaks, the parry still counts unless the odds of breakage exceed 6 in 6. If so, your weapon offers so little resistance that the parry does not count!

Regardless of the weight of your weapon, if you are parrying unarmed or using a one-handed weapon, you cannot parry a weapon heavier than your Basic Lift - or twice BL, if using a two-handed weapon. Attempts to parry anything heavier fail automatically; whether or not your weapon breaks, the attack sweeps it aside and damages you normally. 

• If your weapon does not break, you drop it

• If you are unarmed, you are knocked back one yard (make a DX roll to avoid falling over)

An attacker can also deliberately break or knock away weapons; see Striking at Weapons (p. 400).

Parrying With Improvised Weapons

You can parry with anything of suitable size and shape, using the closest weapon skill. 

A pole or rifle could parry like a staff, a bow like a light club (parrying just once with a bow will ruin it as a bow – although it may survive for a few seconds longer as a club) Other fragile objects may be similarly ruined. 

• Most improvised weapons count as “cheap” for breakage.

Parrying Unarmed Attacks: 

If you successfully parry an unarmed attack (bite, punch, etc.) with a weapon, you may injure your attacker. 

Immediately roll against your skill with the weapon you used to parry. 

• This roll is at -4 if your attacker used Judo or Karate. 

If you succeed, your parry strikes the attacker’s limb squarely. They get no defense roll against this. Roll damage normally.

Parrying Unarmed

If you are fighting without weapons, or with at least one hand free, you may choose to parry bare-handed. 

• Beings that lack hands (like most animals) can’t parry unarmed – they can only dodge.

You can use Boxing, Brawling, Judo, or Karate skill – or DX, if higher – to parry with one hand. You can also parry with Sumo Wrestling or Wrestling skill, but this requires both hands. 

Your Parry active defense is 3 + half your skill or DX, dropping all fractions.

• There’s no penalty to parry another unarmed attack. 

• You are at -3 to parry weapons, unless the attack is a thrust or you are using Judo or Karate (either way, use full parry).  See individual unarmed-combat skill descriptions for other limitations. 

A failed parry means you are hit. 

If you are using hit locations, a failed parry against a weapon means your attacker may choose to hit his original target or the arm you parried with! If your arm suffers more than half your Hit Points in injury, it is automatically crippled (see Crippling Injury). 

Some unarmed skills (e.g., Judo) give you special options after a successful parry. 

Active Defense Options

You can improve your odds of success with an active defense by choosing one of these options to go along with it.

Retreat

“Retreat” is not a separate defense, but an option you may add to any active defense against a melee attack.

To exercise this option, you must move away from your attacker: at least one yard, but not more than 1/10 your Move – exactly as for a step. 

Retreating gives +3 to Dodge, or +1 to Block or Parry. 

Exception: If you parry using Boxing, Judo, Karate, or any fencing skill (Main-Gauche, Rapier, Saber, or Smallsword), a retreat gives +3 to Parry, as these forms make superior use of mobility.

Your step back takes place immediately. It is assumed to occur as your foe is striking. If it would take you out of your attacker’s reach, he still gets his attack. If he has multiple attacks (e.g., from an Extra Attack, All-Out Attack, or Rapid Strike), your retreat does not put you beyond the reach of his remaining attacks. However, you get your retreating bonus on all active defense rolls against all of his attacks until your next turn. If your opponent attacked you with a maneuver that allows a step, but has not yet taken his step, he can choose to follow you by taking his unused step. In effect, he is forcing you back! 

You can retreat only once during your turn. In other words, once you retreat, you may not retreat again until after your next turn.

You cannot retreat while in a sitting or kneeling posture, or while stunned. You also cannot retreat if you moved faster than your Basic Move on your last turn (that is, if you were sprinting or using Enhanced Move). You can retreat (by rolling) if you are lying down.

Dodge and Drop

When under fire, hit the dirt! 

You may drop to the ground while dodging, earning a +3 bonus to Dodge.   This is a “dodge and drop.” 

It is similar to a retreat, but only effective against ranged attacks. It also has a drawback: it leaves you prone on the ground.

Like a retreat, a dodge and drop applies to all of your defenses against one foe for one turn. Any cover you drop behind does not count against the initial attack that inspired the dodge and drop, but is effective against subsequent attacks directed at you.

Sacrificial Dodge and Drop: 

You can use dodge and drop in conjunction with sacrificial dodge to protect a friend who is no more than a step away from you. 

If you succeed, you both fall prone and you take the hit, unless you succeed by 3 or more, in which case neither of you is hit! 

You can also use a sacrificial dodge and drop to throw yourself on an explosive (e.g., a hand grenade). 

If you succeed, treat the blast as a contact explosion.

Diving for Cover: 

You may also attempt a dodge and drop if you are within the area of effect of an explosion, cone, or area-effect attack and there is cover (such as a trench) only a step away. 

• Success means you reach it in time

• Failure means you don’t. 

Even if there is no cover handy, an extra yard or two of distance from a blast can still help, since explosive damage declines with distance. 

• If you succeed, you are a step farther away

• if you fail, you suffer the effect before you make your step.

Flying or Swimming: 

Dodge and drop is possible only if a step would take you below concealing terrain (e.g., a flyer dropping below a hillcrest). 

You don’t end up prone. 

You can still dive for cover to increase your distance from an explosion, etc.