Combat

There is no live action combat in Gateway. We have rules for arena fighting but those battles are performative (the winner is decided in advance and the result is played out in slow motion combat with safe foam latex prop weapons). These rules are for the combat that will take place on Expedition and are run tabletop style.

When combat happens during an Expedition your Moderator will help you through the steps required to resolve the encounter quickly. The procedures for moderating an Expedition are explained in more detail in the appropriate section.

Setting Up

When a group opens a Portal, the Moderator should take the following items with them to whatever space they choose to run the Expedition - at least 3D12 (preferably several sets of 3), a bag of chits and an Initiative Deck (there will be three copies in the back room).

At the start of the combat, the Moderator should set out the supply of dice and chits where everyone can reach them then give the party the Player Icon cards from the Action Deck. These cards are marked with simple, evocative icons. There are two of each card. Each player should pick a symbol (Significator) to represent them and add two of these cards to the encounter deck (so a party of 4 means the encounter deck starts with 8 cards - 2 for each player).

After they collect up the player’s significators, the Moderator will add one Edge card for every player in the party. That completes the Base Encounter Deck for that Expedition no matter how many combats there are (after each battle strip back down to this).

Before each battle, the Moderator will add Opposition cards to the deck. Which cards and how many will be determined by how powerful they are and the kind of actions available to them. Tough battles will involve more Opposition cards in the encounter deck and therefore more opportunities for the opponent (or opponents) to take action.

Advantage Chits and the Reserve

During the battle, Advantage Chits may be added to and spent from a common Reserve shared by all the players. The Reserve usually starts empty but there are Feats and other abilities that will start you off with a chit or two.

Chits may always be used by any member of the party to add 1 per chit to one of the dice they rolled but there are Feats and other abilities that can use them for a wide variety of effects.

For example: Teamwork (when your card comes up and it is your turn to act, spend two Advantage Chits to designate another player to act instead).

Shuffle up and Draw

To begin a combat the Moderator shuffles the Encounter Deck and turns one card up one at a time, resolving each card in turn.

When the deck is exhausted the cards are are reshuffled and the Moderator keeps turning and resolving until the combat is over.

When one of your character’s cards is drawn, it is their turn.

Player Turns

On a character’s turn, they can do any combination of the following - simple movement (a short distance - we won’t be using a battle map), a simple action or two (such as opening a door, standing on a table or readying a weapon) and making and action (making an attack, casting a spell or drinking a potion).

Attacking

To attack make a Combat Test.

The Moderator will tell you the Difficulty of the test, which will usually be determined by your opponent. For every die that succeeds, you inflict 1 damage on your target which means you will do 0 to 3 damage).

Some Feats and abilities will increase your damage under certain circumstances. For example (Crit: Inflict +1 damage when you score an Exceptional Success).

UNARMED COMBAT: You may attack without a weapon, but you can never inflict more than 1 damage while unarmed. There are Feats (Brawling, Brawler) that mitigate this limitation.

A NOTE ABOUT EQUIPMENT: Your character’s weapons and armor have no effect on their Attack and Defense values. It is assumed that their gear loadout is optimized for their fighting style. The only issue would be if for some reason they had to use unfamiliar weapons and/or equipment in which case the Moderator may impose a penalty.

Ranged (and Ranged Spell) Attacks    

Any character who wants to make a Ranged Attack is assumed to have the weapon they would need to do so. It is up to the player what the weapon is. 

IMPORTANT: When you intend to make a Ranged Attack another player must commit to making a Melee Attack during their next turn. This is so there is a "front line" keeping Opponents at bay. Yes, this means that a character fighting alone can't use Ranged Attacks. You travel with a party for a reason ;)

Spells that attack Opponents at a Range have this same restriction. 


Edge Cards

When an Edge Card comes up, one chit is added to the Reserve.

There are Feats and other abilities that can be triggered an Edge card is drawn. For example: Rally (When an Edge card is drawn instead of adding a chit to the Reserve you may heal one of your wounds). Only one player may take advantage of this opportunity each time it happens.

The Manuever Action

Any time a character takes an action intended to help but that is not a direct atttack, it is a Manuever. The Skill used and the Difficulty are determined by what it is. Every success adds 1 chit to the Reserve.

This is a “catch all” that will cover most of the shannaigans PCs tend to come up with. Distract the opponents with a Persuasion Manuever. Jump on a giant serpent to set it up for a proper stabbing by making an Athletic Manuever.


Enemy Turns

The black bordered cards the Moderator added to the deck will determine what action is taken when each card is drawn.

For example: Certain opponents add 1 or more Heart cards. when a heart card is drawn that opponent recovers 1 (or more) Wounds.

When an enemy acts, the Moderator will tell you what rolls are required and what the effects are. Attacks are simple. They have a fixed damage value and a difficulty. The target makes a Combat test. Every die that succeeds reduces the damage you would otherwise take by 1.

When you take damage move a red bead from left (the side with the white beads) to the right (the side with the black beads). When you have no more red beads on the side with the white bead, your character loses consciousness until they are healed.

Going to 0 Wounds

After combat, any character who was taken to 0 Wounds and has fallen must make a “Death Save” by making a paper/rock/scissors test against whoever is moderating the Expedition.

  • If they win, their character recovers 1 Wound and revives on their own.

  • If they tie, they are unconscious but stable.

  • If they lose, they have a mortal wound (see below).

Mortal Wounds

If your character has a Mortal Wound, you have three options.

First, you may decide that the character will die. If the situation will allow it, you may have a “death scene” where you can speak some dying words to your companions.


Second, you may decide that your character is “dying”. This allows you to be revived long enough to get back to the live play area so you can have your death scene there. You are unconscious until healed but can’t have more than 1 Wound and can’t do much of anything but be led around by someone strong enough to support you. There are powerful magics that can stop you from dying but they are rare and risky.

Lastly, you can choose to be “Shadowed”. This means that the next time your character receives a Mortal Wound, they die immediately. Shadowed characters often have an acute sense of their mortality and many eventually retire but the choice is yours. If you choose this result, the word “Shadowed” will be added to your badge.

Death is usually permanent. Spells that can raise the dead exist but they are expensive and often exact a terrible cost. It is often better to simply accept the fate of the fallen.