Combat rules

Basic abilities

Every player character (PC) in Breaking Worlds starts with the following abilities:

• 3 Hits: You have three global Hits. You lose one Hit each time you are struck, unless modified by a call.
• 90 second bleed count: If you reach zero Hits, you become Dying, and you should start counting to 90 seconds. If you get to the end of the count without being healed, you become Marked for Death.
• Catch breath: If you are in a safe situation, you can spend 30 seconds of appropriate roleplay to recover all your Hits and heal any limbs ruined by CLEAVE. Whenever you heal a limb in this way, you take a Wound.
• First aid: You can pause a dying character’s bleed count with continuous appropriate roleplay. If you do this for 60 seconds uninterrupted, you may call CURE 1 on them.
• Weapon proficiency: You are proficient with short and one-handed weapons (up to 42” long), and can use one weapon at a time.
• Armour use: You can wear any armour to gain an additional Hit. If you have a Mana pool it is reduced by 3 while you are wearing armour.
• Magic item use: You can use up to two magic items at any time.
• Searching: You can spend 30 seconds of appropriate roleplay to search another willing or unresisting character. You must be close enough to touch the person you are searching, but should not actually touch them without the physrep’s explicit consent.
• Spirit pact: Living humans and fay only. You can have one spirit of the least degree bound to yourself at any time. A (non-exhaustive) list of the effects that can be gained from least spirits can be found here.
• Undead resilience: Revenants only. Once per fight, when Dying, you may spend a few moments’ roleplay of obvious, dramatic recovery to call CURE 1 on yourself (and stop Dying).
• Sacrifice: You can make a sacrifice to a spirit that is physically present in summoned, manifested, or bound form. You cannot sacrifice to yourself even if you are able to benefit from sacrifices.

Injury and death

Hits

Hits are your character’s measure of health.

• A PC starts with three hits.
• You can gain more Hits by wearing armour or buying certain skills.
• You lose one Hit each time you are struck, unless modified by a call. Some ranged calls can also cause you to lose Hits.
• Hits are non-locational: no matter where a blow lands, you lose Hits from the same single pool.
• Hits can be recovered during a game by using skills or items. If you are in a safe situation, you can spend a short period of appropriate roleplay to recover all your Hits.

Dying

A badly beaten character can become Dying.

• When you are reduced to zero Hits, you become Dying. You must fall to the ground (as soon as it is safe to do so).
• While Dying you cannot move, defend yourself or use skills.
• While Dying your character is still conscious (unless you choose to roleplay otherwise) and can talk or scream.
• A PC starts with a bleed count of 90 seconds.
• You can pause a dying character’s bleed count with continuous appropriate roleplay. If you do this for 60 seconds uninterrupted, you may call CURE 1 on them.
• You stop Dying immediately if you regain any number of Hits.

A Dying character who is not healed in time is mortally wounded. In Breaking Worlds, this is called ‘Marked for Death’.

• If you are Dying and you reach the end of your bleed count, you become Marked for Death. You may be healed, but will die if you are reduced to zero hits again or at the end of the session (whichever is sooner). If you are Marked for Death you may also choose to die at a dramatically appropriate moment.
• A human or fay character who dies may, at the player’s option and only if their body is safe, be resurrected as a wight at a future session.

You may execute a Dying character with five seconds of appropriate roleplay including a fatal blow to the victim.

Complications

If one of your limbs is hit by the CLEAVE call, it is ruined and cannot be used until it is healed.

• If your arm is ruined, you cannot use that arm to carry anything.
• If your leg is ruined, you cannot walk (or hop) or stand unaided.
• Ruined limbs can be healed using the RESTORE LIMB call. Wood Channellers and characters with the Surgery skill can use this call.
• The Dissection skill can be used to sever limbs. In most regards this is the same as being ruined, but it is much harder to heal; RESTORE LIMB on its own is not sufficient to regenerate a severed limb.

Wounds are serious injuries that add complications and difficulties to the sufferers’ lives.

• Wounds are represented by cards given to a character by a Ref.
• Each wound has a roleplaying effect and may also have a mechanical effect.
• Under most circumstances Wounds can only be healed using the Surgery skill, or by visiting a healer in downtime.