Real-Time combat? Sort of...

When The Riddle of Steel refers to "real-time combat," we don't mean that you throw the dice as fast as a trained swordsman swings his sword...we're not even sure if that's possible.

Instead, real-time combat (RTC) refers to non-turn based combat, where the attacker and defender roll simultaneously, and all rolls for a given round are resolved at once--In other words: one round, one roll. Initiative, damage, attack, and defense are all done at once--handled by a single roll made by each participant in a fight.

What about multiple players involved in the same fight at the same time? Doesn't that involve "turns?"

Not exactly. Instead of each player attacking or defending once, then going on to the next player, the Seneschal (Game Master) works with each bout individually for a few rounds. The lethal nature of ROS combat keeps these periods short. Think of movies or books--the author never walks through one attack for each character, only to start over again after a few minutes. Instead, the "camera" focuses on one mini-battle or duel within the larger battle. That's the way The Riddle of Steel runs it.

The following text is an example of RTC in play:

Jim, playing Vhord von Dreider (a Stahlnish knight), finds himself defending his own castle's walls. The first round begins with Vhord standing across from a lightly armored soldier of the enemy army. Both parties square off and begin inching toward one another.

Mechanics

Most every roll in The Riddle of Steel is made with a number of ten-sided dice against a Target Number (TN). Every die thrown equaling or above that TN is a success. In the case of combat, TNs for attack and defense are based on the weapon or defense used.

Initiative

To declare initiative, both parties take a red and white die into hand. The color--not the number--on the die face is what's important. When a player throws a red die, it means attack. A white die means defense or waiting to receive the attacker. If both throw red, then neither party gets any defense (usually resulting in a double kill); if both throw white, then the fighters circle.

Seneschal: "Take your red and white dice, and throw."

The Seneschal, for the raider, and Jim, for Vhord, toss down one die at the same time. Both throw white.

Seneschal: "You both glare at each other, inching closer but not committing to attack. The battle on the walls is getting worse, and soon the two of you won't be alone. Throw initiative."

Both throw again. Jim tosses white, and the soldier throws red.

The First Round

"You hold back for a second, waiting to receive his attack. The waiting pays off, and here he comes. He's cutting (a basic maneuver) for 6 dice (from his combat pool of 11) to your head (zone V, on the character sheet)."

Jim: "I'll parry (a maneuver) for 7 dice (from his combat pool of 12)."

Attacker and defender roll their allotted dice at the same time. Both parties are using longswords (TN of 6 for attack and defense). Jim rolls 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 0, 0…four successes. The seneschal (for the raider) rolls 3, 3, 5, 5, 6, 6…two successes. Jim wins by a margin of 2 dice, and steals initiative.

Seneschal: "You parry his blow aside and move in for your own attack. What's it going to be?"

Jim: "He's wearing light armor-chainmail? I'll cut for his legs (area II on the character sheet). He's unarmored there. I'll use the rest of my pool: 5 dice."

Seneschal: "He's going to attempt a counter (a maneuver that costs 2 dice from his pool, reducing it now to 3) for 3 dice (the rest of his pool)."

They roll simultaneously. Jim rolls 1, 1, 4, 8, 8…two successes. The Seneschal rolls 6, 6, 7…three successes! The raider steals initiative (because he won the contest) and gains the benefit of the counter: an extra die on the next attack for every success Jim rolled on this attack.

Now, at the end of two exchanges (or half-rounds), both pools refresh.

The Second Round

Seneschal: "His counter is successful. He directs his follow-up attack with a diagonal cut to the shoulder. He's putting 8 dice into it, plus the 2 bonus dice from his successful counter (10 total)."

Jim: "I'm going to counter his counter…see how he likes it. I'll use 8 dice as well (plus the two spent to execute the counter)."

They roll simultaneously. Jim rolls 5, 6, 7, 8, 8, 9, 0, 0…seven successes! A great roll. The Seneschal rolls 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 0…four successes. Jim wins by three, allowing him to steal initiative and he gains four bonus dice (thanks to his counter maneuver, as described above).

"Hah! I'll attack for his head, now. All the rest of my dice (2) plus the bonus dice from the counter (4): six dice."

Seneschal: "He's out of options. He'll go for a basic parry with 3 dice (the rest of his pool)."

Jim rolls 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 0…five successes. The Seneschal rolls 2, 5, 7…one success. Jim wins the constest by 4, allowing him to deal damage and keep initiative.

Resolving Damage

Damage is calculated by adding Jim's margin of success (4) to the damage code of the weapon (6, based on Vhord's strength and the weapon type) for a Damage Level of 10. The raider's toughness and armor (a total of 5 on this poor sap's head) is subtracted for a final wound of 5.

Because The Riddle of Steel has no hit points the damage level (5) is cross-referenced on the damage tables for cutting wounds to the head in the Appendix of the book. The result: "Instant Death. Real, real messy."

"Your blow splits his skull just as reinforcements on both sides of the battle arrive. What are you going to do now?"

Commentary

The entire duel lasted about 3 seconds in real-world time. It consisted of 4 rolls total, plus declaration of initiative once, at the beginning. Fast, furious, engaging. The high level of detail and strategy, such as die allotment, maneuver choices, hit location, armor, and realistic wounds were all resolved in half the time it takes to roll initiative, attack, defense, damage, and some sort of damage resistance roll or saving throw (4 or 5 rolls per round) in many games.

Quick, efficient, brutal, and smart…just like fighting used to be.

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