114
somethin’ worse. In small dos-
Talgar’s Tears
20
1/2 Hour
118
es it ain’t so bad, but I’ve seen
those green flames swalow
Zerrikanian Fire
17
15 Minutes
97
towns whole.–Rodolf Kazmer
148
149
Combat in
Don’t Be
The Witcher
Discouraged
You may be frustrated get-
ting to this point if you’re not
playing a witcher. Don’t be.
Witchers are bonafide killing
“The witcher’s right hand rose, as fast as lightning, above his
machines but they are far
from the only deadly peo-
right shoulder while his left jerked the belt across his chest, making
ple out there. We see many
the sword hilt jump into his palm. The blade, leaping from the scab-
others including the dwarf,
bard with a hiss, traced a short, luminous semi-circle and froze, the
Yarpen Zigren and lordly
knight, Eyek of Denesle who
point aiming at the charging beast. At the sight of the sword, the mon-
have taken on and not only
ster stopped short, spraying gravel in all directions. The witcher didn’t
survived but come out vic-
even flinch.”
torious against some of the
most dangerous monsters
-Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish
out there. That’s without
even taking into account the
sociopathic mercenary Leo
Bonhart, who is rumored to
have killed three witchers in
single combat.
Combat in the Witcher is deadly, bloody, erwise ruin your day. The fact of the mat-and punishing. When blades start swing- ter is, you need focus to fight and it’s hard ing and arrows start flying it’s best for you to focus on more than one person at once.
to keep an eye out and plan your moves There are ways to help in that situation: put carefully. You can go running into battle, all your opponents in front of you, wield a hacking and slashing hither and thither shield, keep your opponents at a distance.
but that likely won’t help you too much in All of these approaches help but none of
a real solid fight against anything tougher them eliminate the core problem. Keep this than a mugger in the local tavern. Always in mind when you face bandits and lesser
keep in mind that damage can be pun- monsters like nekkers. One of these enemies
ishing and death is never too far away. A is easy to kil . But how will you fare against tactical warrior will always make it farther four—when, every time you swing at one, than a savage madman.
three more attack you from behind?
Don’t Fight Groups
Use Your Advantages
Even the most skilled warrior in the world You should also always exploit every advan-
is in trouble if they have to fight more than tage and vary up your fighting where possi-
one opponent at a time. While you engage ble. Are you in a swamp with a boggy pond
one person, more enemies attack you from nearby? Throw your enemy into it and attack
behind, dog-pile you to the ground, or oth- while they try to swim out. Can you back
150
your opponent up against a wall or corner
Fighting Monsters
them so they can’t escape? Do it. Fast attacks Fighting Monsters
not landing enough damage to get through Keep in mind when you’re going up against
Without Silver
armor? Try a strong attack, or pin them so a monsters that fighting a monster is very dif-
Most people who encounter
buddy can stab in between the plates of their ferent from fighting a man. Monster have
monsters are forced to fight
armor. Keep your opponents on their toes.
special abilities and defenses that can make
them without a silver weap-
fighting them hellish. To start with, mon-
on to help them. They are
Critical Wounds
sters are resistant to conventional weapons,
also usualy forced to fight
There are wounds and then there are criti- taking much less damage from a non-silver said monsters with no mag-cal wounds. Both will kill you but a critical weapon than a regular person would. If you ical or alchemical aid. Com-wound is a hundred times worse. Regular run into a battle, say with a griffin, and are
mon folk fighting mon-
wounds represent cuts, bruises, scratches unaware of its damage resistance and stun-
sters tend to poison them
and such—smaller problems that can all ning shriek, you will probably have some
with bait or to get a whole
add up to your death. Obviously the more very fatal issues. Of course on the other
bunch of people together
damage you take from the wound the more hand, if you enter a battle with a fiend aware
with spears and sharpened
impressive it is.
loud noises can stun them, you might come
branches and pin the mon-
Critical wounds, on the other hand, away with victory despite the amazingly un-
ster down so the bravest
represent structural damage to your body— fair odds. The key to fighting monsters is
and strongest young lad can
wounds that not only drag you closer to knowledge. If utilized properly, solid knowl-
behead it with an axe. This
death’s door but also break down your body’s edge can turn a monster from unbeatable, to
works on smaller monsters
ability to fight and function. These can be survivable.
but proves difficult on things
literal structural damage, such as broken
like griffins and grave hags.
or cracked bones, but they can also be less Fighting with Magic
obvious things like brain damage and inter- Mages are the artillery of the world of The
nal organs rupturing. All of these wounds Witcher. They wield power greater than any are grievous and many of them cause major other person on the planet, but they have
haemorrhaging or some other form of on- limits and often require people around them
going damage as well as negatives to stats or to help them operate best, or to defend them
abilities.
from attack. The worst situation for a mage
While you can keep fighting for is to be in melee range of an opponent or,
quite a while with a few minor wounds, a God forbid, multiple opponents. Keep this
critical wound puts a finite timer on your in mind whether you are a mage who will be
life. Until healed you are hampered in com- in combat often or you’re facing off against
bat and getting closer and closer to death. mages.
These types of wounds are too complicated
Many mages don’t wear heavy ar-
to just put a bandage on or suture yourself mor because it interferes with spell cast-
up. You can stop the bleeding or close the ing, and thus many weapons can pierce a
wound, but you’re going to need full-on in- mage at close range. This combined with a
vasive surgery and for that you’re going to lack of weapon training leads most mages
need a doctor. If you can stagger to a doctor, to stay at range by use of teleportation, or you’ll make it but it’ll be a while before you have allies act as a barrier between them
heal. Luckily these critical wounds are based and the enem
y. However, if a mage stays at
on how skilled you are compared to your range and manages Stamina well they can
opponent, and on how lucky you both are.
bring tremendous effects to the battlefield.
Just remember, staves and amulets are your
friends, and spel s can be fickle.
151
Combat
Actions
The Basics
Attack
Rounds
Actions
You can make an attack (see Combat Resolution).
Initiate Verbal Combat
Before you begin playing the In one round, you have enough
You can begin Verbal Combat with an opponent (see
Witcher TRPG you’ll have to time to move a distance equal to
Verbal Combat).
know the ins and outs of rounds. your SPD in meters and perform
Cast Magic
A round is a time block of about 3 one action. Speaking is never con-
Depending on the casting time, you can cast or begin
seconds. Rounds signify the order sidered an action except during
casting any form of magic (see Magic Resolution).
in which things happen in game. Verbal Combat.
Use a Skill to do Something
Rounds primarily are used during
You can use a skill (see Skill Resolution).
combat but GMs also use them to Line of Sight, Vision
Run
keep track of screen time, AKA Cone, & Facing
You can move up to your (SPD x 3) by taking your
how long people get to be the To perform most attacks against a
whole turn to run.
center of attention in the game. In target, you must have line of sight
Pick Up/Draw an Item or Weapon
and out of combat, during a round to the target and be within range.
You can pick up or draw a weapon or item.
every person in the scene has a Line of sight means having noth-
Actively Dodge
chance to act. These actions are all ing between you and your target
By taking your turn to actively dodge, you impose a -2
taken simultaneously within the that obscures your view of the
penalty on anyone trying to strike you in melee range
space of 3 seconds.
target. If there is nothing between
for that round.
you and your target, you have
Aim
Initiative
clear line of sight. If there is some-
By taking a full turn to aim, you can raise your ranged
Initiative measures how quickly thing solid between you and your
attack by +1. You can aim for up to 3 turns in a row,
giving you a +3 to your attack.
the participants, usual y in a com- target, you don’t. See Using Cover
bat, react to the situation around for cases when solid objects partly
Take a Recovery Action
them. Before going into rounds, obscure your target.
By taking your turn to catch your breath, you can gain
back an amount of STA equal to your REC stat. Out
you put the players and NPCs
Your vision cone deter-
of combat recovery actions can be used to recover HP.
(Non-Player Characters) in order mines what you can see around
from the highest initiative to the you. Anything outside of your
lowest. This is the order in which vision cone is invisible to you.
the GM asks for your action that When targeting something out-
Extra At acks & Defense
round. When the person with the side of your vision cone you take
You can spend 1 point of STA to make one extra at ack
lowest initiative has gone, go back a -3 to the attack and cannot aim.
against a target at a -3. Similarly, if you are forced to take
to the person with the highest in- An enemy outside of your vision
more than one defensive action during a round (repo-
itiative.
cone gains a +3 to their attack
sitioning, blocking, etc.), each action costs 1 STA. How-
To get your initiative, roll against you.
ever, if you chose to use your action to actively dodge,
1d10 and add it to your REF stat.
Normal y your vision
you do not suffer STA drain for defending.
If players roll a tie, remember the cone includes everything in front
number they rolled. Have them of you from one shoulder to the
roll again. The players go at their other. When wearing a helmet
original initiative, but in order by with restricted vision your view is
their second rol . Though there are limited to a cone directly in front
some ways to temporarily change of you, and a witcher’s Awareness
your initiative (see Fast Draws), bonus and Scent Tracking are dis-
you usual y keep the same initia- abled.
tive for the entire combat or scene.
152
Attack Modifiers
Common Cover
Vision Cones
Normal
Restricted
Modifiers
Cover
SP
(Add to Attack Roll)
Mod
Target immobile
+4
Stone wal
30
Target dodging
-2
Large tree
30
Moving target REF >10
-3
Brick wal
25
Fast draw
-3
Wooden wal
5
Ambush
+5
Heavy wooden door
15
Ricochet
-5
Steel door
20
Human Damage Location
Blinded by light or dust
-3
Cart
10
Target silhouetted
+2
Tent
5
Location
Roll
Penalty
DMG
Firing while running
-3
Thatch roof
7
Head
1
-6
x3
Aiming (per round)
+1
Wooden barrel
10
Torso
2-4
-1
x1
Brambles
7
R. Arm
5
-3
x1/2
L. Arm
6
-3
x1/2
Ranges & Target DC
R. Leg
7-8
-2
x1/2
Ranges
Target
L. Leg
9-10
-2
x1/2
DC
Mod
Point Blank
The weapon
Monster Damage Location
is very close
or physical y
10
+5
Location
Roll
Penalty
DMG
touching the
target.
Head
1
-6
x3
Close
Torso
2-4
-1
x1
¼ the listed
range of the
15
+0
R. Limb
5-7
-3
x1/2
weapon
L.
Limb
8-9
-3
x1/2
Medium
½ the listed
Special
10
-2
x1/2
range of the
20
-2
weapon
Long
Light Levels
The listed
range of the
25
-4
Light Level
Effect
weapon
Extreme
Bright Light
2x the listed
(Desert sun or
-3 to Awareness and -3 to
Ramming Size Modifiers
range of the
30
-6
sun reflecting off
Attack and Defense if facing
weapon
snow)
the sun.
Size
Mod
Daylight
Small
(Daylight)
No penalties
(Cat or nekker)
+2
Critical Levels
Dim Light
Beat Defense Critical
Bonus
(Moonlight)
-2 to Awareness
Medium
(Man-sized)
+0
By...
Level
DMG
Darkness
7
Simple
3
(New moon
-4 to Awareness and -2 to
Large
night or a deep
Attack and Defense
(Troll or horse)
-2
10
Complex
5
cavern)
Huge
(Fiend)
-4
13
Difficult
8
15
Deadly
10
153
Final y, your facing is just what di- Fast Strikes Versus Strong
rection you’re facing and thus what direc- Strikes
Holding Action
tion your vision cone is facing. Changing When making an attack you can make ei-
You can choose to act later in
facing as part of your movement is consid- ther a fast strike or a strong strike. A fast the round by holding your
ered a free action.
strike allows you to attack twice in one
action. If you choose to hold
round without penalty. These attacks don’t
Ambushes
your action, the initiative or-
have to be made against the same target as
der continues as normal but
You gain bonuses against enemies by sneak- long as both targets are within range. Fast
you can jump in and act be-
ing up on them. You must be the one to in- strikes can be very useful when you are sur-
fore or after someone further
The Witcher Pen & Paper RPG Page 34
