Close Combat Maneuvers
Close Combat Maneuvers
Bite
Unless possessed of a muzzle/snout, you must first successfully perform a Clinch, Hold, or Tackle maneuver before using Bite.
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl
Difficulty: 5
Damage: Strength +1/ B or L
Actions: 1
Blinding
Scratching an enemy’s eyes, throwing dirt in his face, spraying him with chemicals or using some similar attack, the brawler tries to render her opponent sightless. If she succeeds, the enemy gets blinded for one turn per success and loses two dice from his dice pools until he recovers.
Roll: Dexterity + Subterfuge
Difficulty: 9
Damage: Special
Actions: 1
Body Slam
Lifting his opponent up over his head, a strong fighter can use brute strength and momentum to burst various important innards. This maneuver requires a successful grappling attack.
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl/B or L
Difficulty: 6
Damage: Strength +2
Actions: 2
Claw
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl
Difficulty: 6
Damage: Strength +1-3/ L or A
Actions: 1
Curbstomp
An ugly way of rearranging someone’s face involves propping said face against a curb or other hard surface (sometimes with the mouth open, for extra effect) and then kicking or stomping down on the back of his head.
A curbstomp attack requires a stunned or immobilized target, plus one turn to place his face into position. After that, the brawler stomps and physics does the rest. The attacker rolls his Strength for the attack. This assault inflicts lethal damage and may inflict lasting and horrific injuries (broken teeth, shattered jaw, ruined face, etc.) at the Storyteller’s discretion.
Roll: Strength + Brawl
Difficulty: 6
Damage: Strength +2/L
Actions: 2
Disarm
Striking at the opponent's weapon in an attempt to knock it out of their grasp.
Roll: Dexterity + Melee
Difficulty: +1 / 8/ 7
Damage: Special
Actions: 1
Flank or Rear Attacks
By attacking an opponent’s flank, an attacker reduces his difficulty by -1; by attacking from the rear, he reduces it by -2.
Roll: Normal
Difficulty: -1 / -2
Damage: Normal
Actions: 1
Grapple
Grabbing hold of her antagonist, the attacker tries to either immobilize him (a hold) or crush him (a clinch).
To grapple another character, the attacker needs to make a successful Strength + Brawl, Martial Arts, or Do roll. If she wants to bring the pain with her attack, the player can roll her Strength to inflict damage, beginning on the next turn and continuing until her opponent breaks free. That foe may try to soak that damage as usual. If, instead, the attacker wants to hold her opponent still, he’s stuck in her grip until his next action.
To escape a grapple, the opponent has two options: he can break free by successfully beating his attacker in a resisted Strength + Brawl roll, or he can reverse the hold by doing the same thing and then scoring two successes more than his attacker has scored. At the Storyteller’s option, an agile character can use Dexterity instead of Strength to escape; if he’s got Acrobatics, Martial Arts, or Do, he can use either of those Traits instead of Brawl.
Grappling attacks normally inflict bashing damage. A character who’s got barbs, spikes, or claws – and who tears into her victim with them while he’s held – inflicts lethal damage instead.
Roll: Strength + Brawl
Difficulty: 6
Damage: Strength or none/B
Actions: 1
Haymaker
The brawler winds up, spots an opening, and hurls everything she has into a jaw-cracking punch. If she’s successful, this blow typically knocks the opponent back a yard or so unless he makes a Strength roll (difficulty 8) to resist its effects; if he botches that roll, he hits the ground.
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl
Difficulty: 7
Damage: Strength +2/B
Actions: 1
Head Butt
In a close-clinch situation, the attacker can smash her head into the face or stomach of an opponent. Obviously, this move works only when both antagonists are within head’s reach of one another – the attack’s main benefit comes from surprise, backed up by a sudden thick skull in the teeth.
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl
Difficulty: 6
Damage: Strength +1/B
Actions: 1
Kick
Lashing out with a leg or two, the character hits an opponent where it hurts.
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl
Difficulty: 7
Damage: Strength +1/B
Actions: 1
Low Blow
Going for the takedown, a brawler aims a shot at some location – kidneys, septum, genitals, etc. – that’s sure to hurt a lot.
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl
Difficulty: 7
Damage: Strength + Stun/B or L
Actions: 1
Pistol Jab
Jamming a firearm directly into his opponent’s body, the attacker blasts a rather large hole in her. Risky and messy, this move forces the attacker to get as up close and personal as it’s possible to get. A successful roll gets inside the opponent’s reach. Because the gun’s being used hand-to-hand, the maneuver employs Brawl instead of Firearms. Only pistols can be used this way.
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl
Difficulty: 6
Damage: As per firearm +2
Actions: 1
Pistol Whip
Adding emphasis to injury, the brawler cracks his opponent across the head or face with a gun or other small, hard, heavy object – a crowbar, brew mug, laptop, etc. This blow inflicts lethal damage and may stun the opponent for one turn if she fails a Stamina roll (difficulty 8)… and for two turns if she botches that roll. In real life, this sort of thing can bust a person’s skull.
Roll: Dexterity + Melee
Difficulty: 7
Damage: Strength +2/L
Actions: 1
Strike/Punch
Your standard punch. If the ST really feels like it, they may adjust diff and damage based upon type of punch, but unless the person is a pro boxer, I don't see much reason for that.
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl
Difficulty: 6
Damage: Strength/B
Actions: 1
Reading an Opponent
With the Storyteller’s permission, a hand-to-hand combatant may try to read an opponent’s intentions with a roll of Perception + either Brawling, Do, or Martial Arts. This becomes a resisted roll, pitting the observer’s Perception + combat Trait against her opponent’s Wits + combat Trait. If the observer succeeds, she adds one die per success to the dice pool to perform her next action. The character may attempt to do this only once per combat scene for each dot she has in Wits.
Roll: Perception + Combat Trait
Difficulty: 6
Damage: N/A
Actions: 1
Sweep
Using your own legs to knock your opponent's legs out from under them. May also be performed with staves, chains, or similar implements. If hit by this attack, target must roll Dexterity+Athletics vs 8 or suffer Knockdown.
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl or Melee
Difficulty: 8
Damage: None/B
Actions: 1
Tackle
Think American football. You rush the person and slam into them with your own body, attempting to bear them to the ground. A tackle requires at least two yards of distance to achieve effective momentum. Each combatant must make a successful Dexterity + Athletics roll (difficulty 6 for the attacker, difficulty 6 + the attacker’s successes for the target), or else wind up sprawled on the ground afterward.
Roll: Dexterity + Brawl
Difficulty: 7
Damage: Strength/B or L
Actions: 1