SM COMSYS Personal

## One, Two, Done

Most fights in the real world are over in a matter of seconds.  One or two swings standing up, somebody tackles somebody else, etc. An average martial artist is, in fact, going to be obliterated by the average brawling offensive lineman in a bar fight, no matter what the movies might have you believe (don't forget the first rule of entertainment: suspension of disbelief).

Be it fist, foot, knife or club, this addresses hand-delivered violence. A branch of COMSYS resolution, the task DoD in this case is another person (or people). That means skill is important, of course, but the physical package has a strong influence.

To keep it simple, Speculation reduces the process to a worthy summary instead of detailing the individual punches, kicks, and bites. Higher skill levels already account for combinations, feints, and power moves.

### **The Tools and the Talent**

The keys to the personal/melee COMSYS are the character's skill level and their Conglomerate/Movement (CM) Trait Mod. If the CM total is 80, their CM mod (what is added to the skill), is "8." Add the situational and environmental modifiers, add luck, then compare. The higher wins, while the point difference between winner and loser determines damage multiplier to whatever weapon was used, be it knife, sword or fist.

*Note:* hand-to-hand methods and techniques don't have to match between combatants. A boxer boxes, a wrestler wrestles.

## **COMSYS Personal Core:** Combat and Damage

Whether a street fight or an organized bout, COMSYS Personal breaks down Hand-to-Hand combat into discrete rounds.

1. **Combine HTH or Weapon skill with CM mod (trait).**
	* This is the combatants base fight number (**F#**) for that first round.
	* Within a combat scenario, each round is defined by a single committed *and described* action.
	* In the event of an armed mismatch, where one combatant is armed and the other isn't, the unarmed combatant is assumed to take ***Defensive Posture*** unless specifically stated otherwise.
	* *The player (or NPC) responds in roleplay according to the situation and the Ref translates that. In most situations, the actual, specific actions will be determined by the skill of the character, not necessarily the command of the player, but the player provides the specific intent, which may affect how the mods and luck manifest.*
	* *Intent is a critical distinction, where a common street fight engages to subdue/incapacitate an opponent (demonstrate dominance while avoiding murder charges, etc.), while battlefield combat techniques are designed to incapacitate/kill an opponent.*
2. **Add concentration, friction, and luck mods.**
	* Intent determines if this is a normal strike, a sacrifice (including tackles), assuming a defensive posture, or an alternate strike: sweeps, throws or grappling.
	* Concentration note: intoxication makes effective focusing difficult. The intoxicant itself will determine the effects. Alcohol, for instance, produces a lack of motor control and a tendency to overcommit. The Dust of Broken Hearts may alter who the characters sees as a threat.
	* Friction mods are listed below. Luck is determined normally (d10), and applied per round.
3. **The higher number has the successful tactic.**
	* In the rare natural tie, or in the case of some specific defensive tactics, both combatants may damage each other during a given round.
4. **Damage is dependent on the tactic (***intent***) and weapon (***if any***).**
	* Non-weapon damage base is difference between the F#'s. This assumes the normal conflict of two reasonably matched people, both with harmful intention for the other.  The difference is subtracted from the losers CE.
	* A win that is more than 15 points of blunt damage in a single round will leave the loser stunned.
	* Unarmed combat conveys blunt damage. Weapons, if any, augment the damage number (Dx rating) and may modify the damage type with additional effects (bleeding, etc.).

### **Intent**

#### **Normal strikes**

* Normal strikes follow normal HTH rules. This includes punches from any style of martial art (from American boxing to Kung Fu), chops, backhands, palms, elbows, forearms, feet, shins, knees, and all other forms of impact damage.

#### **Sacrifice**

* Launching a whole-body-committed "all-out" attack. This includes "haymakers" on the conservative, punching-only end, to forms of tackles and certain whole-body kicks.
	+ In trained fighting, this is usually indicative of special or circumstances. The sacrifice practitioner either knows that the opponent is far better (and this is their one chance), they are facing more than one opponent and will use the tacklee as an entangling shield against other opponents, or the opponent is either not paying attention or assessed as unlikely to mount an adequate defense.
* This may deliver enough force in a single blow that it provides stop-hit: *subdue/incapacitate* an opponent before they can respond.
* This also eliminates the chance for a quick turn around should it fail.

* Expressed in numbers: Instead of the 10% CM mod, up to 25% of CM can be used, but if it fails (the fight continues), the exact CM mod added for the first round is subtracted for the second.

* Tackles are essentially whole-body sweeps. The loser (no matter who made the attempt) will always end-up prone.  Winning by less than ten will leave the practitioner prone as well, but the loser receives all the damage.  Winning by 3-18 leaves the practitioner upright.  Winning by 19+ knocks the wind from the opponent (leaving him stunned).

#### **Defensive posture**

* This means the person is standing his ground, trying not to get hurt, but not trying to harm or subdue his opponent either.  Do not confuse this with aggresive defensive arts like aikido or judo, nor should you confuse this with a passive presence (which is merely turning the other cheek).
* Winning a round defensively means the practitioner takes no damage.  He is good at blocks, parries, and evasions like bobbing and weaving.
* Winning by more than 10 points gives the practitioner the chance to execute a "catch".  If he desires to go on the offensive after catching (and holding) an opponents limb, he may do so with a 15 point bonus.
* Winning by more than 15 points will cause the attacker to stumble off and take another round to come back and fight (and such prowess may intimidate the attacker into rethinking whether he wants to piss this person off).
* Losing means the defensively inclined fella didn't duck fast enough.

#### **Sweeps**

* An alternate form of attack, this halves damage but leaves victim in prone position. That alone may be enough to dissuade some from continuing the fight.

#### **Throws**

* An alternate form of attack, it's a type of inverted sacrifice.
* Subtract the CM mod on the figuring out the winner.  If the practitioner still wins, he doubles the CM mod before figuring out the total damage (in addition to leaving the opponent prone).  This reflects how it leaves one open while setting it up, but winning with it can be devastating.  Winning by more than 15 points leaves the victim stunned.

#### **Grappling**

* An alternate form of attack, this is engaging in sustained contact rather than a strike with intent to utilize leverage and position to bodily control the opponent.
* Holds: similar set-up to throws, but the winner winds up a limb or two of his opponent in a lock.  Depending on the limb entrapped, the winner may subsequently cause damage (break bones), or cut circulation to induce unconsciousness.  Obviously, a winner may follow up with a normal strike attack, and if does so, is given a 25 point bonus.
* ***NOTE:** a CM difference of more than ten makes complications. If the loser is stronger, the littler winner can't do much more than hold on for dear life (if the loser is more than 25 CM more, he will break out on the next round). Only if the winner is 10 CM points greater, or if not and he still somehow won by more than 30 points, can he execute a lethal coup de gras.*

### **HTH Friction Modifiers**

#### **Untrained Wield: -(size)**

* Someone may wield a weapon despite being untrained. This lowers the chance of impact but will still enhance the damage of a hit.
	+ **Small** (1-12 inches): **-5**
	+ **Medium** (13-24 inches): **-10**
	+ **Large** (24+ inches): **-15**

#### **Stunned: -50**

* Most stunned individuals won't be able to carry on fighting, but a trained fighter (HTH over 20) can continue, even if "punch drunk."

#### **Prone position: -40**

* Combat from the ground is a severe disadvantage for most attacks short of certain sweeps or grapples.

#### **Attack from lower ground: -25**

* 2' or more, does not include alternative attacks.

#### **Attack with non-dominant side: -20**

* This is why jabs carry less power than full punches.

#### **Wounds**

* If the PC or NPC Conglomerate Endurance (CE) is reduced (i.e.; they've taken damage):

 89 to 80%
 79 to 60%
 59 to 40%
 39% and under

### **Luck**

* Luck is applied through the normal d10 process, including 1/10 cascading rules.

### **Damage**

* Damage is dependent on the tactic used, including any weapon wielded.
	+ **Unarmed Damage** **= the difference between the higher and lower F#.**
	+ **Armed Damage** uses the Damage Modification table (the same as ranged combat). Weapon-inflicted damage should reference blunt and/or penetrating tables for additional roleplay wound specifics.
* ***Speed play may assume all non-specific soft-tissue injuries*.**
* For abrasion wounds and beyond, there is a possibility of infection. Abrasion wounds will cause blood loss but are unlikely to cause blood loss to the point of shock and death.
* For incision wounds and beyond, bleed damage will continue until the wound is closed and dressed.

 Incision/avulsion
 Puncture
 Cavitation
 Evisceration

**For more specific roleplay results:**

**Blunt Damage**
 10+
 15+
 20+
 25+

**Penetrating Damage**
 0-5
 6-15
 16-30
 31-45
 46+

## Right of Way

* Check **Personal Combat Weapons**
* Check **Ranged Combat guidelines**
* Return to **Combat System overview**
* Return to **System Mechanics**