OKay so how long is this gonna take?
Typically, combat should not take more than 3 rounds unless the situation's severity is emphasized first by the ST.
If the conflict is not resolved in 3 rounds, we assess as a group which side is winning (sometimes neither side wins) and determine the outcome from there.
Who goes first each round?
Everyone will declare what they'd like their characters to do. This includes the ST with NPCS.
Most Disciplines do not take a long time. Unless they are a ritual and they say a span of time, you can do a Discipline roll + Action
Order (I've simplified this for our sake of quick combat):
1. Everyone within close combat range (5-6 feet):
PCs Go first unless they choose to hold their turn.
If PC attacks, NPC gets to either dodge or spend their turn attacking in return.
2. Ranged attacks (Not within melee range up to a sniper shooter):
PCS go first unless they choose to hold their turn.
If PC attacks, NPC gets to either dodge or spend their turn attacking in return.
3. Everything else (This includes disciplines or noncombat rolls)
Close combat:
This system includes talon-to-talon brawling and attacks with hand-held weapons, excluding firearms and other ranged weapons.
The attacker usually rolls Strength + Brawl for unarmed attacks, Dexterity + Melee for one-handed melee weapons, or Strength + Melee for two-handed melee weapons.
The defender rolls as above, or uses Dexterity + Athletics for dodging.
In cases where both combatants are attacking each other, they both roll once, and the combatant who receives the most successes does damage to the other.
Optional: Award the combatant with the better reach (longer weapon) a bonus die in the first turn of combat.
Grappling:
A combatant can attempt to grapple, hold, tackle, or otherwise restrain a foe by rolling Strength + Brawl. If they get more successes than their opponent, they do no damage, but instead restrain the target, preventing them from moving and engaging other opponents, though the target can still act against the grappler as normal. In the next round, the grappler may engage their foe in a contest of Strength + Brawl. If the grappler wins, they can choose from the following options:
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Damage the foe based on their margin of successes, as a normal attack;
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Bite the foe (if a vampire) for two Aggravated damage (see Bite Attacks, p. 213); or
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Hold them in place.
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If the grappled combatant wins, they escape and can move freely the next round.
Bite attacks:
Vampires + other creatures can use their fangs as weapons during a brawl-based attack.
There are two ways to bite. Declare a called shot or succeed in a grapple with 1 success penalty.
A win on the roll lodges the attacker’s fangs into their victim, treating the foe as grappled and dealing them exactly two Aggravated Health damage despite the margin of success or the damage modifier.
The bitten foe can escape through a contest of Strength + Brawl as per the rules of grappling, whereas the attacker may continue biting without the called shot penalty to their Bite Attack pool.
Feeding does one point of Aggravated Health damage to mortals per turn as well as slake 1 Hunger for the feeder. Against a vampire target, a feeding attack increases the target’s Hunger (as per Feeding from Other Vampires, above), instead.
Other creatures are also capable of Bite Attacks, but only Vampires deal Aggravated Health damage
Ranged Combat:
This system includes all manner of ranged weapons, from pistols to crossbows, to vehicle-mounted machine guns.
In a standard guns blazing battle, combatants test Composure + Firearms, but a sniper shot might instead use Resolve, and a “high midnight" showdown tests Dexterity + Firearms, at least for the first shot.
Firing at a target beyond the effective range of a given weapon incurs a -2 dice penalty.
Thrown weapons:
A character throwing a weapon at a target tests Dexterity + Athletics. For some vampires, this includes things not usually considered weapons, like pieces of I-beam or cars. For hunters, this often includes Molotov cocktails.
defending vs. ranged attacks:
Defending against ranged attacks is usually done with Dexterity + Athletics, representing the ability to keep moving and making oneself a hard target using any and all available cover. A pitched firefight between two attackers can also be resolved as an opposed conflict. In both of these cases, modify the roll according to available cover.
Ranged weapons in close combat:
If engaged in hand-to-hand combat, the wielder of a firearm uses Strength + Firearms against the opponent's Brawl or Melee pool. The opponent does not receive a penalty for lacking cover. Instead, the firearm user suffers a -2 dice penalty
if targeting someone outside the scuffle as well as a -2 penalty for firearms larger than a pistol.
Criticals in combat:
To speed up play, if a player rolls a critical for their character in combat against a nameless mortal foe, the human is incapacitated without the need for damage calculation. A messy critical is usually lethal in this regard.
Called shots:
PC or NPC will declare their action and target before rolling the dice for their attack.
ST will say what -modifier they have before inputting it into their roll. Typically a called shot a -2 unless striking at tremendous ranges or is trying to hit a very small target.
The exact effect of a called shot is up to the Storyteller, but it should not simply be more damage, as that is the assumed purpose of a normal attack. Instead, called shots are more likely to aim for less damage, going for non-lethal incapacitation at the expense of effectiveness.
Crippling injuries:
After taking damage while Impaired, roll a d10 on the Crippling Injury table, adding the number of Aggravated damage currently on the track to the roll. This result can lead to further dice pool penalties (or even instant death), tracked independently from the abstract damage on the Health tracker.
Example:
Eric the vampire has Stamina 3, and thus has a Health tracker of 6. He has sustained 4 points of Superficial damage from bullets in a fight against some security guards. As he tries to escape, a guard manages to shoot him again, dealing 6 damage.
As gunshots cause Superficial damage to vampires, this result is halved to 3, and thus the two final boxes on his tracker are filled, making him Impaired. The third point of damage turns a previously Superficial damage box into Aggravated.
Being injured (having received that third point
of damage) while Impaired necessitates a roll on the crippling injuries table. Eric’s player rolls a 5 and adds Eric’s 1 point of Aggravated damage for a result of 6; Eric is temporarily stunned. The player gladly pays a point of Willpower and Eric can continue his escape.
Sample Weapon Ratings:
Add the weapon’s damage rating to the margin on the winning attack roll for the total damage inflicted.
Example:
Adam throws a stone cherub from a fountain at Pauline, scoring two successes. The Stostoryteller places the cherub at +3 damage – it is rather heavy – and thus Pauline suffers five levels of Superficial damage (halved, as usual).
Armor:
Each point of armor changes 1 point of Aggravated damage from puncturing or bladed weapons (per damage roll) to Superficial damage, which is then halved as usual.
This protection is in general only useful to mortals and thin-bloods, as vampires already consider those types of damage Superficial.
