Battle system (Bonds of Blood)

The new battle system only affects the very first round of battle called the surprise round. The surprise round is only in affect if either the party or the enemy has initiative.

The battle system is based on four skills, one ability, a few feats, and a few spells. The skills are spot, hide, listen, and move silently. Dexterity, Improved Initiative, and Superior Initiative are taken into consideration when determining initiative. Spells like Invisibility, Camouflage, Clairvoyance, etc can increase a party’s chances of success in the Surprise Round. The party’s average skills are taken into consideration when determining the battle scenario.

The only way a player may include his hide and move silently skills in the battle calculations is he must be in stealth mode prior to battle. If the player’s hide and/or move silently skill is less then 0 then by activating stealth mode the player will raise their hide/and or move silently skills to 0, which is a generous boost if the player has -17 in both skills.

Sanctuary and Hide In Plain Sight are not calculated in the Battle System. But they may provide an advantage after the start of the Surprise Round.

There are 13 different scenarios, which are determined by the rolls of the four skills and the dexterity roll.

The battle scenario affects the entire party. So if one player has very low hide points its possible that the party may get spotted more often.

Combat Skills
Spot is opposed to hide and listen is opposed to move silently. Before a battle begins both enemy and party spot checks are made versus the enemy’s and party’s hide skill. If the enemy and/or party wins the spot check then the battle begins. If either group does not spot each other then both parties are invisible to each other for the entire surprise round.

Next listen and move silently checks are compared. If the enemy and/or party wins the listen check then the battle begins. If either enemy or party is heard or seen then a visual effect is placed at their location to represent where the sound came from. If both enemy and party fail both spot and listen checks then both sides are startled, and the battle begins. *The highest, not average, enemy/party member's spot/listen is used in the calculations.

Initiative
Battle Initiative is determined by the scenario, which is defined by the previous skill checks. The different types of initiative are: Party Initiative, Enemy Initiative, No Initiative, Party Auto Initiative, and Enemy Auto Initiative. The first two initiative types are determined by which group has the highest total dexterity. If there is a tie then there is No Initiative thus no surprise round. In some cases a group may get Auto Initiative. This may happen in the case when a party spots an enemy, but the enemy does not spot or hear the party. Therefore the party gets Auto Initiative.

Encounter Scenarios
The 13 battle scenarios are listed below. Startled and Normal Encounter are the only two scenarios that cannot go either way for the enemy or the party.

Normal Encounter
Group 1 and group 2 spot each other - This is a normal battle with a standard dexterity roll to check who gets initiative.

Group is Overpowered
Group 1 and group 2 spot each other - This is a normal battle with a standard dexterity roll to check who gets initiative. Also the overpowered group may flee.

One Group Spots and the Other Group Hears
Group 1 spots group 2 and group 2 does not spot group 1 but hears group 1 - a standard dexterity roll is done to determine who gets initiative. A visual effect determines the location of the party that was heard or seen.

Both Groups Hear Each Other
Group1 and group 2 do not spot each other but they hear each other - a standard dexterity roll is done to determine who gets initiative to investigate the cause of the sound. A visual effect determines where the sound came from.

Only One Group Hears The Other Group
Group1 and group2 do not spot each other but group1 hears group 2 - group 1 gets auto initiative and a visual effect determine where the sound came from.

Both Groups Startled
Both groups do not spot or hear each other - a dexterity roll is done to determine who gets initiative.

Sneak Attack
Group 1 spots group 2 and group 2 does not spot or hear group 1; group 1 has a hide check 10 greater then the group 2 spot check - group 1 gets Auto Initiative, +4 to AB (morale bonus), and group 2 gets -4 to AC.

Surrounded or Cornered
Group 1 spots group 2 and group 2 does not spot or hear group 1; group 1 has a hide check 5 greater then the group 2 spot check - group 1 gets Auto Initiative and +4 to AB (morale bonus).

Encounter Positioning
Enemies will position themselves based on the scenario. If the enemy hears the party they may come running. If the enemy surrounds the party then they will be positioned close to the party in a circular formation.

Encounter Spawn Distance
In underground terrain, the distance that an enemy spawns from the party is decreased by half due to echoes, narrow corridors, dust, and low light.

Encounter Special Effects
Red Circle - Signals the start of an encounter and appears at the center location of the party.

Gold Circle - When a gold symbol drops around a player or enemy it means, “GO” for that individual. This also represents the end of the surprise round for that individual therefore they can move freely in real-time.

Green Visual Effect - This shows the position of the enemies if they are seen or heard.

Surprise Round Invisibility - If group 1 does not see group 2 then group 2 will be invisible for the surprise round.

Encounter Frequency
Creature encounter probability increases the further away a party moves from its last encounter location. Encounter probability is also higher at night. If a party stays within 30 meters (edge of the screen if using top-down camera mode and zoomed all the way out) of its last encounter then the party will not get a new battle.

Old Encounters
On occasion you may retreat and get a new encounter. If creatures from a previous encounter are following you they will be included in the calculations of the new battle scenario. The difference is that the old creatures are already “spotted” and “heard” so they will not be invisible.

Grapple
Grappling allows a player to grab a target and stop it from attacking.

A small creature can grapple a target from 2 meters away, a medium creature can grapple a target from 3 meters away, a large creature can grapple a target from 4 meters away.

A grapple check is the grapplers [Base Attack Bonus + Strength Modifier + Size Modifier (-4 if small, 0 if medium) + 1d20] versus the target’s AC. Then a second check is made between the grappler’s [Base Attack Bonus + Strength Modifier + Size Modifier (-4 if small, 0 if medium, + 4 large) + 1d20] versus the targets [Base Attack Bonus + Strength Modifier + Size Modifier (-4 if small, 0 if medium, +4 large) + 1d20]

Whenever a grappler makes an attempt or is currently grappling a target he loses his Dexterity AC for the duration of the grapple.

All victims of a successful grapple take a 0 to -4 Dodge AC penalty for the entire duration depending on the grapple technique.

If grappling with a weapon or shield in hand the grappler takes a -10 penalty to his grapple roll.

Grapple Pin
A pinned target can be held down for a long duration because the grappler will be on the ground with the target to pin it. This is equivalent to tackling. A target can only be pinned if the grappler has the knockdown feat.

Consequences of Pinning: If a grappler attempts to pin a target and fails, he will be knocked down for a long duration. If a grappler pins a target he will be vulnerable to attacks from other creatures.

Grapple Hold
Holding is similar to pinning except that both the grappler and target are standing. This is equivalent to a bear hug. Holding has a medium duration.

Consequences of Holding: If the grappler misses a Hold attempt he will be vulnerable to attacks from other creatures for a medium duration. If the grappler successfully holds a creature he cannot defend himself for the duration.

Grapple Hit
Hit holds the creature for a short duration and attacks it once before it is freed. This is equivalent to holding the target and giving it rabbit punches. Hit can only be done if the grappler is unarmed.

Consequences of Hit: If the grappler fails he will be vulnerable to attacks for a short duration.

Grapple Break Free
Breaking Free is used to free an ally from a grapple.

Select a grappled ally to free it from a grappler.

Retreating
There are several different methods that you can use to retreat from battle. Use invisibility, let the enemy attack your summons as you retreat, use darkness, use sanctuary, run through an area transition, use expeditious retreat, use hide in plain sight, use a summon to distract the enemy, use the new feature called Improved Stealth Mode to hide around corners, etc.

Spawns
Monster spawns are based on the area’s terrain type, the area’s challenging rating, and the time of day.

The amount of monsters spawned is based on the area’s challenge rating and the size of the party (players only). It has nothing to do with the party’s level.

Switching Items
Unequipping an item during combat takes about 1 action to complete (PC temporarily loses 20 AB). The more attacks per round a player has the shorter the swap delay will be.

There are a ton of exploits that can be used if this was not in place.

Weapon Disarm
If a creature disarms a player then the item will be at either the creature’s or the player’s feet.

Withdraw
A player may attempt to withdraw from battle by using the withdraw device.

Withdraw can only be attempted if the player is in combat. In combat means that the rest icon is yellow and an enemy has attacked the player in the last round.

To withdraw from a battle the [Dexterity modifier of the player + 1d20 must exceed the Average Dexterity modifier of the enemies + 1d20] or the player can Divert the enemy’s attention by making a [Bluff rank +1d20 roll versus the Enemy’s HD + Wisdom Modifier + 1d20]. The player will only be given 1 round to escape from the enemy’s line of sight.

A withdraw can only be attempted once ever [40 rounds minus 1 round per Constitution modifier of the player] with out the risk of getting fatigued.

Fatigue is a standard D&D feature. Fatigue is -2 strength, -2 dexterity, and slowness. This effect lasts 1 hour.

Stealth mode may work well in conjunction with the withdraw feature.