Scope of Skirmish

Up to this point, focus has been mostly been about melee combat. However, there are several range attacks that should be discussed as the details of these attacks have several aspects and potentials for confusion. The next section will discuss ranged fighting and the expanse of how it works.

Throwing Things
Cover
Obscurement
Friendly Fire

Throwing Things

Items like globes of acid splash, molotov cocktails, and vials of holy water are somewhat routinely thrown at enemy targets. How does that work in a system that uses weapon styles? And didn’t it say in Combat Skills that “those without a trained combat skill have no dice to roll for an attack?”, so how does that work?

Let's address these one at a time. The trained combat is discussing thrown items that are themselves weapons and can inflict physical damage on their own merit. Items like acid and holy water do not inflict damage because of the force and skill to strike with the “pointy end” or something. They inflict damage because of special properties they possess which when coming in contact of the recipient creates an effect. As such, these items are permitted a d20 for nearly anyone, so long as the one hurling has the physiology to throw the item. For example khaasta would not. If the raw score of the d20 strikes the opponent's AC, then the throw was successful enough to activate the effect in the description of the item.

However, skilled persons can throw “any item” better than untrained. Therefore, a person with ranged fighting is permitted to add an extra d20 to the roll. This does not adjust the damage of the affect in anyway. In fact, it is akin to rolling a single d20 at advantage in such that should either die score a hit, the effect happens. Further, if a person has hurling as a skill, then 3d20 is rolled, but likewise, it is only for the determination of contact with the opponent's AC.

There are a few thrown items that do not follow the rules above. These are ones that create an area of effect, even if that area is only one hex, effecting only one target. This uses the “close-enough” guideline, which means the thrower gets in into the area desired, then the effect (usually smoke) fills the area and subjected those to some sort of a save.

These combat skills can improve accuracy on even magical effects. For incantations like guiding bolt or axioms like fire dart where a magical energy is hurled towards an opponent on a d20 and tested against its AC, then many spells will describe how modifiers work. However, if there is no explanation, the default rule for “throwing magic” is the spell provides the d20. Then if the caster has ranged fighting, then any Agility bonus can be added to the to-hit value. If the cast further has a hurling skill, then the total Agility score is added in lieu of the bonus. Again, these adjustments do nothing to change the damage or power of an effect.

Cover

Cover is a physical barrier which can play a factor against ranged attacks by directly aiding the target's AC. There are three variations of cover: half cover, three-quarters and full.

A target with half cover gains +2 to his or her AC as well as Agility preservation saves against area of effect attacks; other sub-attribute saves gain no bonus. The protection used must cover at least half of one’s body, such as a low wall, a piece of furniture, a narrow tree trunk, or even another creature’s body. In most cases, this does not enact the rule of friendly fire (see below). Of course, the GM could override for abnormal circumstances.

A target with three-quarters cover has +5 added to his or her AC and a like bonus for Agility preservation saves against area of effect attacks; as with the lesser, other sub-attribute saves gain no bonus. Examples might be at a building corner, a large tree trunk, or a portcullis. Due to the target being smaller than normal or only occasionally available, by default if there are others in the vicinity, then the rule of friendly fire happens by default when firing at a target with three-quarters cover.

Finally, full cover protects the target from being aimed upon from range attacks, making the target effectively immune from range attacks. This also means magical range spells which rely on line of sight have no viable target. However, spells that attack the area can be used against a target with complete cover; a fireball would be an example. In such a case, a +5 bonus to Agility preservation saves is granted to the target. Further, a target in full cover may not take an action involving the direction from which the complete cover protects. An example would be a character behind a corner, could drink a potion but not look back around the corner to return fire. Finally, while a target in full cover cannot be struck, if firing upon that target anyway, the friendly fire rule would be used.

Obscurement

The difference between obscurement and cover is where the modifier is placed. Cover adds AC to the target, but obscurement places a penalty on the character taking an action. The action is usually an attack, but in some cases it could be a penalty for another feat, such as a Perception check. Many spells, fog of war for example, have the penalties in the description. However, lighting conditions might be ruled by the GM as a “minus X penalty” for attacks.

Friendly Fire

Firing at range into an area where other targets might be struck instead is the definition of friendly fire. Despite the minor misnomer of the term, the rule of friendly fire permits striking unintended opponents and neutral parties as well as allies. A blind shot, when a target in known to be in an obscured area but exact visual confirmation is not possible, would be one example of when the friendly fire rule would be used. Other circumstances might include cover, a blind effect on an archer, or fighting an invisible creature.

When friendly fire is used, then the normal modifiers for the condition (blind, invisible, cover, etc) are calculated into the shot. If the attack is a miss, then there is a chance other targets (friendly, neutral or hostile) might be struck instead. The GM will determine the hexes that could be potentially hit. This will be all adjacent hexes surrounding the original target, as well as the hex 10-feet in front and behind the target in direct line of sight. The GM will then count all the other potential targets, assigning them numbers 1 through 8, then add two additional “empty” slots. A random roll on a d10 will be made to determine what other might be “hit.” The empty targets (9, 10 and unoccupied hexes) indicate the shot hit nothing. However, if another creature is subject, then the GM compares the same score used against the target, adjusts the raw dice forward by 2 points and checks the new target’s AC. It is important to understand “adjust the dice forward” instead of just using a modifier because this means an 18 or 19 on the dice will become a “natural 20” against the alternate target. Also “natural 1” would become a “raw 3.”

Lastly, it is important to remember what an attack indicates with range. Unless under an effect or using a skill to “split the dice” then multiple d20s are still firing only a single attack. Thus, all attacks would have to miss the target when firing blind to have a chance to hit an alternate target. However, if this occurs, all the d20s are rolled forward for the comparison and are used against only one new alternate target. If the dice are “split” for any reason, then each target uses the same rule with the set number of dice, which means more than one alternate target could be harmed.