Fights & how to avoid them
Time, distance, and action
Macchiato Monsters is more concerned with creating descriptive, fun action scenes than with playing a tactical mini-game. This doesn't mean that you shouldn't have interesting choices to make during a fight! Remember: these situations are dangerous, so try to stack as many odds in your favour as possible before putting your character's life on the line.
Turns: fast and loose
Each player character gets a turn, until everyone has had one. Then every hero still standing gets another turn and so on. Turn order depends on who's doing what (see below). On your turn, your character can attack, move, cast a spell, reload a gun: anything feasible in a few seconds. Monsters and NPCs do not get a turn, unless their actions weren't resolved during the characters' turns.
Be clear: establish what monsters are doing before asking the players how their characters react. Make sure they are aware of who is attacking them, how it is happening, and what they risk by rolling the d20.
Initiative, schminitiative
Use common sense: a readied crossbow always shoots at a charging enemy before they can attack, a character drinking a potion while in mêlée is hit before the potion takes effect, the longest weapon attacks first, etc.
No square grids
Your character can move a few paces during their turn. If all you’re doing is running, then you can go farther. How far? Ask the Referee. Have them draw a map if the situation is unclear. If there a lot at stake getting somewhere in time or before someone else, then this becomes the focus of your turn and you'll have to check DEX.
Fighting for your life
Each turn, you roll your d20 once—it's all or nothing—use STR in mêlée and DEX when attacking with missile weapons. The situation may call for another stat: INT to find the best place to hide, WIS to call a spirit to aid you, CON to run despite the poison in your veins or CHA to attempt intimidation. The Referee decides the stat depending on your action.
- If you succeed, and you are attacking, roll damage for your attack.
- If you fail, you are hit by whoever was attacking you and take damage.
Damage dealt is always subtracted from the victim’s hit points, unless they’re wearing armour (see below).
If you’re attacking with a weapon with damage higher than your hit die, you have disadvantage on the damage roll. On a failed check, the Referee is within their right if they want to put you in a tight spot.
Advantage and disadvantage in combat
Remember: traits do not usually grant advantage in a fight. But sometimes, things like cover or shooting at an unsuspecting enemy might. Disadvantage, though, is very common. To reflect a monster’s combat skill, you roll with disadvantage when facing an opponent with more hit dice than you have. To avoid this, you have to gang up. Add up the HD of everyone fighting the same opponent or opponents. If the total is at least equal to the monsters' number of hit dice, you roll normally. This doesn't apply to missile attacks.
Example: Grym, a level 2 shieldmaiden with 3 HD, wants to charge a 4 HD ogre, ignoring his three goblin retainers (3 HD in total). The Referee warns the player that she will get disadvantage, and be subject to a lot of damage if she fails her check since everyone will be swinging at her. She could attack with her two spearmen (worth 2 HD) but the goblins would still tip the scales against her. The player decides for caution, and her party will throw spears at the goblins.
Armour
Each type of armour has a Risk Die (see the equipment tables, p. 11) that absorbs damage like hit points. You only roll the Δ when first hit, as you never know in advance whether your next opponent will be able to find the fault in your armour. The result of the Δ is how much damage your armour can soak during this fight. You’ll roll again for your next fight.
As usual with Risk Dice, if you roll 1-3, your armour die is stepped down. This means it has been damaged and needs to be attended to by a smith (unless it is magical, so an enchanter is required). The repair cost is usually in the metal below its purchase cost: for example, SP for platemail (see prices p.13).
The Referee can give you disadvantage when attempting certain things in armour (like swimming). If you’re wearing armour above your hit die type, you have disadvantage to all physical and magic checks—including in combat. Donning armour takes Δ turns. Cut this time by half if you are assisted.
Stunning blow! When armour or shields protect characters from damage that would have brought them to 0 hit points, make a CON check to avoid being knocked out. Check your CON again after a few turns or if someone helps you to your feet.
That's all for the basics! You do not need any more rules to resolve combatsituations in the game. In the next pages are a few optional rules that you can use to add more tactical depth to you fights. Use them sparingly.
Tactical risks
If you are willing to put yourself in harm’s way for tactical reasons (charging, attacking recklessly, manoeuvring the enemy into a difficult position), the Referee may let you take risks:
- If your combat check is successful, you (or an ally) get advantage next turn.
- If it is a failure, you have disadvantage or other unpleasantness next turn.
Complex turns
If you attempt several actions in the same turn, the Referee may ask you to roll a d20 for each action, listing what stats are involved. Roll all the d20s at the same time, then assign each result to a stat to decide what works and what doesn't.
Doing this can slow the game down, but it's a neat trick to increase tension during these critical, all-or-nothing moments at the end of a session. In a complex turn, advantage or disadvantage adds one d20 to the pool and the worst or best result is discarded before assigning results.
Example. Tueng the thief is escaping a tavern brawl turned murder frenzy. He wants to slide on a table to go through a closed window, while avoiding a pair of thugs trying to stab him. The Referee declares a complex turn: the player rolls three dice. One to jump and slide (a check of his DEX of 15), one to break the window (his STR of 11), and one to dodge the thugs’ knives (DEX again). And since together they have more HD than Tueng has levels, he has disadvantage. The player rolls four d20s and gets 4, 9, 10, and 15. He discards the 4 because of his disadvantage and assigns the 9 to sliding (a success), the 10 to dodging (success again), and the 15 to window breaking, a failure. The Referee is in a good mood: Tueng goes through the window alright, but has to take d4 damage doing so. He's bleeding, but he's outside.
Shooting in a mêlée
Firing, throwing a weapon, or casting a physically damaging spell into a group of people gives advantage to the check but the shooter doesn't choose their target: it is determined randomly.
This rule applies when firing at bands of monsters (yay!), but also when attacking enemies who are fighting your fellow adventurers in mêlée (get ready to be mocked for shooting the barbarian's arse).
There are exceptions, of course. It should be easy to shoot at a giant even if it is fighting a bunch of dwarves. The Referee, as usual, should use their judgment.
Black powder weapons can be one or more of the following:
- deadly: double the damage rolled;
- unreliable: damage is a Risk Die; clean your gun to refresh the Δ;
- noisy: after a fight, roll the Encounter Risk Die (p.19).
Running combat in 6 steps
The one-check-a-turn mechanic may feel weird to tactically minded players and Referees. Here is how I proceed when blood is about to be spilled.
- Start of the turn. I describe the location, the threats, the monsters and what they do (especially who they target, with how many attacks if necessary). The general situation must be clear to everyone.
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The first character gets to act - I ask the player what they would like to do.
- Who acts first often depends on the situation. What's more pressing to resolve before the rest can be reevaluated? Who's in front? Who is shooting a readied crossbow? Who's fallen into the piranha pit?
- Before any die is rolled, the character's circumstances are made absolutely clear, including risks taken and possible consequences.
- The character's turn is resolved with a check. Damage is dealt, consequences described.
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The next character acts.
- This should happen in order of fictional importance. If there's no emergency or obvious priority, I just go around the table or battle mat.
- I describe the character's circumstances, especially if a previous character's turn has changed the situation. They might not be shot at anymore or a spell gone awry could present a new threat.
- Repeat 3 until everyone has had their turn.
- Have all NPCs done something? If not, I describe what they do and give who is affected a chance to react — this can involve an out-of-sequence check, for instance to avoid an attack or spell.
- End of turn. I update the description and start the next turn.
Stealth and surprise
A stealthy monster is undetected by the player characters. Sometimes this is decided by the conversation at the table. Maybe you didn't think of looking up at the ceiling where a slime was waiting for its next meal. If the situation is uncertain, a check may be necessary.
Macchiato Monsters likes to dispense with 'perception rolls' and the like. Instead, the Referee rolls to see if the monster sneaks successfully. Your character can still find them by looking in the right place.
Sneaky monsters get to surprise the characters—they automatically roll with disadvantage when reacting to the attack and their actions may be limited: you don't get to swing your battle axe at the face of an assassin if they surprised you all cozy in your bedroll.
Sneaking chances. Decide on the monster's DEX or INT, and do a normal check — with advantage for darkness, mist, and so on, or disadvantage to account for a character's trait.