Combat Rules

During combat STs can and will declare effects happening due to the environment of the combat. If you’re on a ledge fighting, you may fall when hit.

Character sheets and item cards must be in your hands at all times during a combat. If you have to get either out of your pocket, you either lose your action or take an action getting the item out.

If you feel that a Storyteller has made a bad ruling, you may make one concise appeal at that time. Otherwise, please wait until the end of the scene to bring the matter up again.

An ST must be present for character death/torpor. Otherwise, players may agree to run/narrate small combats/contests among themselves if they both agree to abide by the outcome. This does not apply to anything permanent and binding, such as death or Conditioning (Dominate). A narrator or ST should be present if there is any disagreement.



Combat Basics

No more than five Characters are capable of attacking a single person per action phase. This is in order to allow for viability of the character defending him/herself.

A combat round lasts three seconds.

Turn order is determined by the highest traits according to declared actions. (A player with 9 traits attempting to Dread Gaze will act before a character with 7 traits attempting to stake.) Use the traits relative to the action that you plan to take. Weapons and specializations add traits to your totals at this time.

Healing via Blood expenditure *does not* require a combat action in Central New York by Night.



Movement

During an action you may move then act, or act then move. If you use a mental or social power then you may move and act. Standard movement is three steps per action.


Order of Combat

1) Pre-empt actions (replaces normal action for those who utilize them)
2) Normal actions
3) Swiftness actions
4) Legerity actions
5) Off-hand attack
6) Other additional actions

Actions 3-6 are considered Follow-Ups for the rule stated below.



Retests

You may only use one retest per source in a challenge. Sources include Abilities, Disciplines, Willpower, Merits, and overbids. During any one challenge you may retest with all of the following, but only one of each: one Ability, one Discipline, one Willpower, one Merit, and one overbid. Thus, you cannot attempt to retest a Dread Gaze with Leadership and Intimidation. To shorten the length of combat, you may cancel a retest of an opponent with a retest of your own. This only affects someone you are currently in a challenge with. i.e. If you win a test against John the Malkavian and he attempts to retest with Dodge, you may cancel with your Brawl. If you cancel a retest with an ability, both players lose their respective abilities.

Willpower is the last retest against a mental or social discipline for the individual using it, not for the entire challenge. You cannot use Willpower to retest on a physical challenge.

If you remember that your character has something that would have altered a challenge after it has been resolved, you are not allowed to ret-con the scene/challenge afterwards. Take effort to be aware of your character’s capabilities, powers, and retests.



Specific Combat Rulings

Follow-Ups – Follow-Up actions must be physical actions. You may not activate a power or take a social/mental action on follow-ups. The only exemption to this is Dual-Thought. There may be other exemptions by ST discretion.

Damage – Whether it is a punch, stab, kick, choke, slash, shoot, push, head butt, bite, impale, or throwing a grenade, an attack does damage and only damage unless an ST declares differently. Environmental circumstances may provide additional effect, at ST discretion. For example, fighting on a ledge may result in a combatant being knocked off.

Attacking for effect – You may declare an effect other than damage during any action. This may be a grapple, a trip, or something else you could think of. These will mostly be handled on a case-by-case basis.



Attack Effects (in place of damage)

Called Shots in Combat – Only non-lethal (i.e. no killing people in one hit) called shots may be attempted. These are resolved in the same manner as a staking test.

Grapples – If you use an action to declare that you are grappling/holding another character and the action is successful, then the character is considered grappled. While grappled the character cannot move unless moved by the grappler. The victim cannot attack anyone that is not within his reach, within reason. Arm movement is restricted so some actions that require specific arm movements may fail. The victim may take an action to initiate a strength-related physical challenge to break free of the grapple during any of his physical actions.

Touch Attacks – An action that requires you touch your target can be initiated as soon as the touch is established in a round. For example, Cauldron could be activated as soon as you acquire physical contact (which requires a physical challenge).

Surprise Actions – A surprise action is any action that is taken that the defender cannot perceive. The victim of a surprise action may only bid passive defensive traits. You may not dodge a surprise action. If the aggressor fails the challenge he may gain an additional “Surprise” retest by risking an additional trait. If someone who can perceive the surprise wishes to try and stop the action, he may attempt to do so. Once all surprise actions are worked out then normal combat rounds begin if further actions are to be taken.

Holding actions – You may declare any action you take as held. This action will be held until used or until prior to your next action type (for example, before the swiftness action round, if you’re holding your standard action) at which time you must take the held action or it is lost.



Staking

If staking is done at a distance greater than three steps, it requires winning or tying three simple tests.


Health Levels

Each character has 9 Health Levels, as per LoTN:

Healthy x 2
Bruised x 3
Wounded x 2
Incapacitated x 1
Torpor x1



Wound Penalties

Healthy – you suffer no penalties for damage.

Bruised – the highest number you can call out on ties and overbids for most challenges decreases by one. Being bruised doesn’t affect Virtue tests, Willpower tests, bizarre Blood Pool/Health Level/Discipline level tests, or tests in which your role is “static.”

Wounded – you must risk an extra trait on most challenges (but not Virtue tests, Willpower tests or tests in which your role is “static”), and you lose ties on those challenges as well; incidentally, you still suffer the penalties for being bruised when wounded.

Incapacitated – you are helpless for at least ten minutes, unless you manage to heal out of your state to continue your fight. You suffer the penalties of being Bruised and Wounded as well.

If you are Incapacitated and you suffer Bashing or Lethal damage, you enter Torpor (usually after suffering eight levels of damage). You remain in this state until the condition which placed you there ends (someone finds a way to restore a health level) or until you wake up naturally, which is aided by a high Humanity or Path score. If you are Incapacitated and suffer an Aggravated damage, you suffer Final Death.



Extra Health Levels

• If you have the Merit “Huge Size” or the Nosferatu Merit “Tough Hide”, then you have an additional Bruised.
  
• If you have the Discipline “Fortitude: Mettle”, then you have and additional Healthy.
  
• If you trade one permanent physical trait in for a health level using the Discipline “Vicissitude: Fleshcraft”, then you have an additional Healthy.
  
• If you are wearing body armor, then it suffers damage instead of you when you would normally take damage, effectively granting extra health levels against most types of attacks.
  

Damage Types

If a vampire suffers Bashing damage, it takes only half as much as a human would, rounded up; a Kindred who suffers three bashing damage only records two on his Health levels. Lethal and Aggravated damage are not halved or reduced in this way without specific supernatural powers.



Healing

You may expend one blood trait to heal two levels of Bashing or one level of Lethal damage. You can heal as much as your generational limit allows per turn. Healing does not require actions in combat, with damage healing as the blood is spent during the beginning of each combat round.

Aggravated damage requires three blood points and a full nights rest to heal each aggravated wound. You may spend a willpower trait to heal an additional level of aggravated damage during the same night.

Regardless of type, all damage is presumed to be healed between sessions, unless a character is trapped in Torpor and unable to heal himself.



Torpor

Vampires sent into Torpor involuntarily (including getting assaulted after you enter a voluntary torpor) spend the following amounts of time in torpor:

Vampires sent into Torpor involuntarily (including getting assaulted after you enter a voluntary torpor) spend the following amounts of time in torpor:

Morality/Path

Length of Torpor

5 1 Week
4 2 Weeks
3 4 Weeks
2 2 Months
1 4 Months
Blood will not bring a vampire out of torpor against his will. If they are willing, feed the torpored vampire a trait of blood and make a simple test. If you win, they will come out of torpor. If the blood is vitae and of three generations lower than the torpored vampire, they then awaken automatically without a test.

To end a voluntary torpor, the vampire must win a simple test. If he fails, he must spend the entire time in Torpor, after which he will wake up. If a vampire wants to stay in torpor longer then the chart requires, he will wake up when he chooses with no test.

While in torpor you relent to all challenges. You do not need to spend daily blood while in torpor.