Questions about advanced combat.
 

Last session my game group was trying the advanced combat system… And we end up with some questions…

1) When you make a successful block, does your shield always take damage? Or the shield only takes damage when you pass your blocking test with the help of the shield DB bonus?

2) The basic set say the shield can take HPx10 damage before is completely broken, is this right? A wooden shield could take 440 points of damage before total destruction, or there is a errata and is HTx10?

3) When you successful block an attack, do you suffer knockback?

4) If you make a step to advance 1 hex and attack do you still can take a retreat during your active defense?

5) If you take a step you can change you facing directions as a free action?

6) If you have gigantism and use a spear as weapon you reach goes to 1-3 or 2-3?

7) How do you calculate the penalties for ranged attacks in different heights? If you are attacking from a cliff top someone right bellow you for example…

Tanks for the help…

Re: Questions about advanced combat.
 

1) Shields only take damage when the DB makes a difference. This occurs on any active defense in which this applies.

2) -10xHP (meaning 11xHP total damage) is how much it takes for something to be completely and utterly destroyed. At this point, a shield has been reduced to a few pieces of kindling. However, note that a shield can be disabled at as low as 0xHP (1xHP total damage), at which point it has to make HT rolls to stay "conscious." If it fails, it is disabled and won't work (doesn't give DB) until it's been repaired. At each death threshold (-1xHP, -2xHP, etc) the shield must make an HT roll or be destroyed - again, no DB but either unrepairable or much harder to repair. At -5xHP, it is destroyed automatically. It continues to interfere with your actions even when it is destroyed or disabled, meaning you have to either drop it (a Ready maneuver for most shield, IIRC) or wait until it drops on its own at -10xHP.

3) You suffer knockback if your shield took damage. If not, then you do not.

4) Yes.

5) I think so, yes.

6&7) Not certain about these ones, but someone will likely be along shortly to answer them. If they haven't already while I was typing, that is.

Re: Questions about advanced combat.
 

5) Yes. See B368 ("You may always turn to face a different direction as part of any step") and B386 ("You may change facing freely before or after you move"). Technically, I suppose it's not a "free action" but part of the Step maneuver. That is, there's not a Step + a free action going on, just the one maneuver.

6) 1-3. See B402. SM never changes the lower end of reach except in the special case of increasing C to 1.

7) B407. Add one yard of distance for every yard of elevation above; subtract one yard for every two yards of elevation below (minimum half horizontal distance).

Re: Questions about advanced combat.
 

Let's use for our examples a Medium Shield. DB2, Wt. 15, DR7, HP40, HT12.

It takes damage if you make any defense roll with the help of the shield DB bonus. So with our example weapon if you make my Dodge, Parry, or Block bonus by 2, you take damage to your medium shield
B484: "If your shield's DB makes the difference between success and failure on any active defense (not just a block), the blow struck the shield squarely and may damage it."

A shield is completely destroyed at (-10xHP). So yes, that medium shield can take 440 pts of damage before total destruction. But that is the equivalent of a human taking -HPx5. That isn't the end all be all of damage taking. B484 says to use the Damage to Objects rules for your shield. Looking at B483, under effects of injury. Less thatn 1/3 of HP Left, the GM may reduce the effectiveness of the object by one half. So when that shield reaches 13HP? I could rule that is now only gives 1DB until it gets repaired. When it reaches 0 HP? (That's only 40hp of damage) Then you start making HT rolls every time the shield is used...if you fail that HT roll, the shield is disable...and no longer provides the DB...and is useless until you get it repaired. Then at every multiple of -HP, you start rolling HT checks for it being destroyed. When it is destroyed, it is never going to be repairable. So you don't have to do 440pts of damage to the shield for it to be not useful.

As per B484. If you successfully block, no knockback. However, if your shield takes a blow, and the damage to the shield doesn't penetrate DR, then you suffer possible knockback. For an average person this should be an issue except with Large Shields (or iron medium shields)

Yes.

Yes. See the box on B386

This is in the box on B402. If you have Gigantism, you go to SM1. As per that box, SM1 only allows you to use a Reach C weapon at reach 1 in addition to reach C....there is no other effect. So, your person with Gigantism using a 1,2 Spear, still has a 1,2 reach. If you have a SM2 Ogre, then they have reach 1,2,3. If you have a SM3 Giant, they have a reach 1,2,3,4 with the spear.

This is on B407, under Firing Upward and Downward. You get half the height of the cliff as a bonus to range if you are firing downward, as a penalty to range if firing upward. Person A is on a 10yd cliff. Person B is 20 yds away from that cliff. Person A fires on Person B as if she were 15yds away (20-5)...for a -5. Person B fires on Person A as if he were 25 yds way (20+5) for a -7.

Re: Questions about advanced combat.
 

For example, you have shield nh14 and using a medium shield giving you block 12 (10 + 2 DB), so if you block a bull rushing towards you, in a successful roll of block, your shield only took the damage if you roll 11 or 12 and you don’t suffer any knockback if you roll 10 or less because your shield would not any take damage?

Re: Questions about advanced combat.
 

Yes, that is correct.