STAR WARS COMBAT SYSTEM FOR BASIC ROLEPLAYING

Following is a description of the combat system and the combat options available to
characters in the Star Wars game using the Basic Roleplaying system.

Initiative
When a combat round begins, the GM will announce which individual or group of
combatant(s) has the upper hand. This can be determined through situations (i.e., one
group is armed and ready while the others are scrambling for weapons), or through a
skill roll (i.e., a character uses their Stealth skill to attack someone from ambush). The
side with the advantage rolls a d6 and adds that total to their Dexterity attributes. These
numbers are called Dexterity Ranks. The character with the highest Dexterity rank is
able to act first, then the next highest, etc.

 After the first round, Dexterity ranks are not re-rolled, but instead go in order of
the characters’ unmodified Dexterity attributes, from highest to lowest.
 Any character can “hold” an action to see how others will react. In case they
chose to do so, their action will take place on the same Dexterity rank,
simultaneously. If there is a reason to determine who goes first in that fraction of
a second, the character with the higher skill percentage is assumed to go first.

Actions
Each round, a character has one “free” use of any appropriate attack or physical
action, and one “free” use of either their Dodge or Parry skill, but not both. These
skills are attempted at their unmodified skill total. The only exception to this is if a
character is trying for a Full Evade (described below).

Attacks
To attack, a player simply rolls percentile dice, attempting to roll beneath their
character’s skill level. If they succeed and the attack is not parried or dodged, then
damage is rolled. Additionally, if the roll is 20% or less the amount required to
succeed (i.e., a 14 or less for an 80% skill chance), then the result is a special success.
Any dice rolled for damage are rolled twice in this case, with the bonuses doubled. If
the character has a damage bonus due to STR + SIZ, this amount is applied as per
normal and is not doubled. For example, a character with a +1d4 damage bonus, using a
Vibro-ax (2d6+1 damage), with a special success will roll 4d6+2+1d4 damage.

Multiple Attacks
If the player chooses to have their character perform another attack in a round:

 The player must announce the number of attacks they will make, then divide
their total Initiative total by this number and have the character move on those
numbers Fractions are rounded up (but down for NPCs), and the amount. For
 example, a player announces the character will make three attacks – so their Initiative of
16 is divided to give them actions on Dexterity ranks 16, 11, and 6.
 A character opting to make additional attacks forfeits any Dodge attempts that
round. They must instead rely on parrying to deflect attacks.
 Any attack after the first “free” one is at a –20% to the initial chance,
cumulative. For example, the character above, with a Hand Weapons skill of
80%, will make his Dexterity rank 16 attack at 80%, his Dexterity rank 11 attack at
60%, and his third attack at Dexterity rank 6 at 40%.
 The cumulative negative modifier is applied to any attacks – regardless if they
are of a different type or with a different weapon.

Parrying and Dodging

A character must choose to parry or dodge in a round. They have a “free” parry or
dodge at their full skill percentage chance. Dodges or parries do not need to be
announced at the beginning of the round – they are reactive to attacks and are used as
required. Dodges and parries must be attempted before GM rolls dice for the attack
they are in response to. If the skill roll succeeds, the character has blocked the attack (in
the case of a parry) or successfully gotten out of the way (for a dodge). Energy weapon
fire can only be parried by a lightsaber.

If a character rolls 20% or less their skill percentage chance on a parry, they are possibly
able to Riposte the attack (described below). The 20% is based on the modified chance
of success of that particular attack – not the actual skill level.

Multiple Parries and Dodges

 A character may attempt any number of parries or dodges they have the skill for,
with the –20% cumulative modifier applying. Players do not have to announce
parries or dodges at the beginning of the round as with attacks, instead they can
only announce them when they are going to attempt them
 Parries and dodges are not interchangeable – to parry, a character must have a
hand weapon suitable for parrying an attack (or in hand-to-hand combat, have
an Unarmed Combat skill of at least 50%), and to dodge, a character must not be
parrying during that round.
 The –20% modifier for attacks and parry/dodges does not apply across the board
– i.e., a character can have a –40% for their third attack in a round and still be
able to dodge at full chance, if that situation arises.

Full Evade
A character who is spending the entire round trying to evade being struck in combat,
whether melee or ranged, can attempt a Full Evade. This simply means that they
substitute their attacks that round for dodges, in addition to parries (if they are so
attempting). If they are not parrying, they can attempt to use a physical skill such as
Acrobatics, Balance, Climb, Jump, Riding, Swim, or Throw in place of their attacks.
Riposting
If a character successfully parries an attack with a hand-weapon and rolls a Special
Success (20% or beneath their modified chance of success), they may riposte. This gives
them a free attack on their opponent at their current skill level (including multiple
attack modifiers). This free attack does count as a new attack in terms of the –20%
modifier, but does not otherwise add to the number of attacks or modify Dexterity
ranks.

 A riposte may be parried, and that parry also has a chance of becoming a riposte.
 A character does not have to riposte if they roll well, it is their choice.
 Riposting can be done with a different hand-to-hand type of attack, i.e., two
combatants dueling with vibro-blades might use their ripostes to try a kick, or to
club their enemy with their weapon hilts.
 Characters armed with lightsabers and parrying energy weapon fire can use their
ripostes to send the blaster bolt back into an attack – they must decide which
target the blast is deflected towards. See Lightsaber Combat for more details on
this.

Special Attacks
Following are quick rules for a variety of special attacks or unusual situations which
might arise during combat:

 Point Blank Range. A character attacking someone within their Dexterity in feet
can double their normal percentage chance to hit.
 Targeted Shots. A character’s chance to hit a specific item (an enemy’s weapon, a
blaster door control, etc.) or part of the body is a halved in hand-to-hand combat,
and a quarter the normal chance for missile fire. Parrying is useless because the
weapon is itself the target – to avoid having one’s weapon struck by a targeted
shot, the character must dodge.
 Disarming. A character can attempt to disarm an opponent in hand-to-hand
combat with a roll of half their normal attack chance. This attack doesn’t do any
damage to the intended victim of the disarm attack.
 Drawing a New Weapon. If the character needs to draw a weapon or switch
weapons, their Initiative is halved.
 Fighting While Down. A character who is prone on the ground is at a –20% to
hit, and a +20% to be hit. Additionally, they do not gain their damage bonus and
cannot use a two-handed weapon other than a rifle.
 Knockout Attacks. A character can attempt to knock out an enemy in hand-to-
hand combat – to do so they must declare that they are doing so and be equipped
with an appropriate weapon. Damage is rolled normally but not applied – if it is
equivalent to half the target’s current Hit Points, then the target is knocked out
for 10+1d10 rounds. If the damage is not enough to knock the target out – then
the target takes the minimum damage the weapon can inflict and is still awake.
  Pulled Attacks. A character can “pull” the strength of their attack by announcing
their intention – if so, the damage is then halved, without the damage bonus
being figured into the total.
 Knockback. A character wishing to force another character back with a hand
weapon must roll a normal attack, which must be parried (and not riposted), or
must roll a targeted attack against the enemy’s weapon (which cannot be
riposted – and can only be dodged). If successful, the attacked may then roll their
STR+SIZ/2 vs. their opponent’s STR+SIZ/2. The victim of the Knockback is sent
back a distance in yards equal to the difference between the two scores.
 Two Weapon Use. This does not allow any more attacks than regularly
permitted, but does give the character more options for attacks or parries. Any
second-handed attack is at the usual –20% cumulative modifier.

Fumbles
A character who rolls 95-00 on percentile dice during a combat has fumbled. Have the
character roll their Luck chance, and if they succeed, they manage to hold onto the
weapon, though it jams, is disabled, or has some momentarily malfunction which will
clear by the next round (or might require a suitable use of the Repair skill). If the
character fails their Luck roll, then they have either inadvertently dropped their
weapon or jammed it to the point where it requires considerable work to restore to
operative status.

Lightsaber Combat
Obviously, lightsabers are pretty deadly, and the fierce combat of the movies is a far cry
from what’s generally possible in a game system. Characters using lightsabers in
combat must have the Combat Force Specialty (which allows the Jedi to add their
Force skill to their lightsaber attack chance). They do not have to be using the power
each time they go into combat with lightsabers, but must have the specialty. The rules
for multiple attacks, ripostes, parries are all applied to lightsabers. Additionally, the
following applies:

 Normally, to deflect a blaster bolt, a Jedi must roll a special success and the
reflected blaster fire becomes a Riposte, with the chance equal to the character’s
modified lightsaber attack chance, with the damage being that of the weapon. If
they specifically announce they are attempting to block blaster fire – the chance
is equal to half the character’s modified lightsaber combat roll.
 Jedi tend to mix up their attacks, throwing in kicks, dodges, use of Force
specialties, targeted shots, attempts at disarming opponents, and even pulled
attacks.
 Jedi often choose to spend parts of rounds simply sizing up their opponents,
rather than attack in a less-effective flurry of assaults which might end in their
enemy able to Riposte.
Hit Points, Death, and Healing
 A character who loses half of their current hit points in a single attack is stunned
– they must roll their CON x 5% or less to snap back to awareness. They can roll
for this once per round,.
 At 3 hit points, a character is unconscious, and will be so unless they can roll a
CON x 1% each round, on the Dexterity rank equal to their DEX score.
 At 0 hit points, a character is dying. They will die in a number of rounds equal to
their CON score if they are not brought to a positive number of hit points
through direct and immediate medical intervention.
 At –1 or below hit points, a character is basically “dead,” but is revivable if given
medical attention to bring them to 1 or more hit points in a number of rounds
equal to their CON minus the number of hit points in the negative.
 A character heals 1d3 hit points naturally per week of relative rest.
 Use of the Medic skill allows a character to heal 1d3 per injury, if successful. If
the skill roll fumbles, it does an additional damage. A special success restores
2d3 in hit points.
 Use of a medpack adds another +1d3 to any use of the Medic skill, in total (this is
not applied to each injury – just a blanket +1d3).
 Immersion in a bacta tank heals 1d6 hit points per complete day of use.