Combat in Vain the Sword; d12 Battle Cries

Vain the Sword, my ongoing roil of a GLOG hack, seeks simple and evocative combat. Drawing from the varied rulesets of people I've had the pleasure to learn from, I have something I'm happy with. Currently, it is akin to many GLOG combat systems, but with the following distinctive features.

Marius Kozik

At the start of a combat in which the order of turns is not obvious, each character gives a battle cry or flytes, then rolls a d20 and adds their entire charisma score. A bonus may be given for especially significant cries or incisive taunts. Combat proceeds in descending order.

(When relevant, a band of people acting together using their leader's charisma. If there is no leader, they go last in the round.)

Each character has a "dodge" and "block" score, either of which gives alters a foe's chance to hit them. Dodge is essentially your dexterity modifier. Block is determined by armor. This system replaces normal AC.

Some attacks will only be affected by one or the other, but often which is used will be based on just how the attacker strikes at someone and just how the defender acted on their last turn. Since these scores will usually be different, characters are constantly trying to get the edge to strike at their opponent's weaknesses in melee.

Since a combat round can last up to a minute, you have time to make an attack roll and attempt some kind of maneuver. This can be another offensive action like grappling, aiming, or disarming, but you can instead maneuver to go against your foe's block or dodge score. Major effects require an additional non-strength roll of some sort, while maneuvering to improve your strike always works if you can explain how it should.

If attacking someone who has much greater reach than you, either from the size of your foe or the size of their weapon, they get a free attack against you. If they miss, you are stuck-in and they cannot effectively attack you until they can create distance or switch to some closer attack.

-

d12 Types of Battle Cries or Flytes

1. Name-drop of your liege or hometown
2. Bagpies, bugels, and/or conches
3. Shouting that you slept with your enemy's sister
4. Inarticulate war dance
5.  Onomatopoeic nonsense sounds
6. A curse of sickness
7. Imitating the call of a wolf, raptor, dragon, or bear
8. Eerie fighting song about how much you love killing
9. Political slogan or religious motto
10. Inviting the afterlife's attention
11. Swashbuckling or otherwise smashing your gear together
12. A heraldic slogan