Example of Combat

Louis LeBlanc’s weapon is a shortsword. He is
standing two yards from his foe, Filthy Pierre. On his
turn, Louis takes the Attack maneuver, steps one yard
toward Pierre, and strikes!
Louis has Shortsword-15, and there are no adverse
conditions that would give him a skill penalty; there-
fore, he needs to roll 15 or less to hit. He swings and
rolls a 13, so he hits.
Pierre has a Dodge of 8, Shield-12 (giving him a
Block of 9), and Shortsword-11 (giving him a Parry of
8). His Block is his best defense, so he’ll use it when-
ever he can. Pierre’s small shield gives a +1 Defense
Bonus (see Shields, p. 287); this increases all of his
defenses by 1.
Pierre’s Block defense is therefore 9 + 1, for a total
of 10 . . . or 11, if he retreats. If he blocks and retreats,
and rolls 11 or less, he can defend against the accurate
blow that Louis just threw. But he gets a 12. Too bad!
He’s hit.
Although the combat calculations may seem com-
plex at first, they are simple in play! The attacker rolls
against his skill, as shown on his character sheet. The
defender adds up his defenses, as shown on his char-
acter sheet, and rolls against the total. That’s it!