Wait

Do nothing unless a particular
event you specified in advance
occurs before your next turn; e.g., a
foe moves into range. If that hap-
pens, you may transform your Wait
into an Attack, Feint, All-Out Attack
(you must specify the option before
acting), or Ready maneuver. If you
are reacting to someone else, this
interrupts his turn, but he can
resume it after you’ve acted.
You must specify exactly what your
action will be when you take the Wait
maneuver, and what will trigger it. For
instance, “I’ll make an All-Out Attack
(Determined) with my sword on the
first orc to move toward me.”
You may take a Wait with a ready
ranged weapon; this is known as “cov-
ering” a target or area. If so, you must
specify the zone that you are covering
with that weapon. There is no penalty
to cover a one-yard area. For larger
areas and additional rules, see
Opportunity Fire (p. 390).
You can use the Wait maneuver
for any “reflex action” you want to
plan in advance, provided you speci-
fy both the response and the action
that will trigger it. This can include
holding a knife at a hostage’s throat,
or even a noncombat action (e.g., “If
Dora sees any orcs, she will pull this
rope immediately – otherwise, she
does nothing.”). An action only qual-
ifies as a “reflex” if you could do it in
a single motion. The GM’s decision is
final.
Finally, you can use Wait to coor-
dinate actions with slower friends.
Stop Thrust: If you have a ready
thrusting weapon, you can use a
Wait to brace your weapon to receive
a possible enemy charge. Simply
state, “I brace for a stop thrust.” You
can convert your Wait into an Attack
or All-Out Attack against any one foe
that moves one or more yards
toward you to make a melee attack
(armed or unarmed, including a
slam or a grapple) or evade (see
Evading, p. 368). You strike first if
you have the longer reach. If you hit
and your foe fails to defend, add +1
to thrust damage for every two full
yards your attacker moved toward
you.
Movement: None until your Wait is
triggered. At that point, you may move
as allowed by the maneuver you spec-
ified (Attack, Feint, All-Out Attack, or
Ready).
Active Defense: You may defend
normally while you are waiting or
after your Wait is triggered. But if you
defend while taking a Wait, you may
not transform your Wait into an All-
Out Attack; you must convert your
Wait into an Attack instead.