Personal Combat Interface

Personal combat in Pirates and Traders is handled using a simple role-playing combat system.

At the top of the view you will see a small illustration of your opponent(s) as well as their basic information with regards to their current endurance level, their stance, and what weapons they are using. You can touch the illustration of the person to see a summary of your opponent's strengths and weaknesses. Below the status information, you will find the text description of what is happening in the combat.

At the bottom, you will find the status information for your character and any companion(s) that may be assisting you. This is represented by a small icon to represent your character (in the playtest version, this will be your character's flag), a small bar that indicates your current hitpoint level, the character name, and below that the current stance of the person.

Along the left side of the screen, you will find the buttons for the basic options available to your character. These actions are: Strike, Parry, Use Item, Use Skill, and Change Stance. The sixth option - to flee - is activated by using the Back button of your view. Selecting any action will use the turn of that character.

Strike

Selecting Strike will cause your character to try and strike his opponent. If you have a weapon equipped (be sure to check), your character will use that weapon, otherwise he will hit his opponent using his fists.

Fists use the Brawling skill, and do one to four points of damage (plus strength bonuses). However they never do lethal damage - you can not kill a person with your bare hands in this game. You can however break the arms and legs of your opponent.

Combat using weapons can be lethal. A sufficiently devastating critical hit can cripple your character permanently or result in outright death. You should generally not engage in combat unless you are forced to, or feel confident in your abilities.

Striking at an opponent requires a skill roll based on your skill with the weapon used (fencing for swords, brawling for most other weapons). If the strike hits, your opponent may then try to parry the strike (if in parrying mode), or dodge the hit. If that fails, the hit goes in and will inflict damage (minus the armor value of the location of the hit).

Parry

Parry lets your character attempt to parry the next strike against him or her. A parry is a roll against weapon skill. A successful roll will not only deflect a successful hit, but also cause your opponent to be unbalanced. An unbalanced opponent is easier to hit.

Use Item

This allows the player to use any non-melee item that the person has equipped; typically one-shot missile weapons such as pistols or grenades.

Pistols in this era were notoriously unreliable, slow to fire, and difficult to aim, so do not expect too much from your pistol if you are not a crack shot. However, they can be devastatingly efficient - a single shot to the head at point blank range can end any combat in a single action. Just remember that your opponents can be armed with guns too...

Use Skill

This allows the player to use a skill. The only skill currently available is Taunt (Cunning skill check versus opponent's perception). Taunting an opponent will enrage him or her. An enraged opponent must strike as their next action and will automatically be unbalanced after that strike.

Stance

Selecting this will allow you to attempt to change the current stance of your character. There are three stances that your character can change to: aggressive, balanced, or defensive. In addition to these stances, characters can end up in a number of other states due to events during combat.

Aggressive

An aggressive stance means that the character is willing to take some chances in order to hit his or her opponent. The person has +10% chance to hit their opponent, but the opponent also gets +10% chance to hit in return.

Balanced

Balanced is the default stance. No special modifiers apply.

Defensive

A defensive stance means that the character is taking no chances in the duel. The person has -10% chance to hit their opponent, but the opponent also has -10% chance to hit with their strikes.

Unbalanced

A person can lose their balance for many different reasons, but the most common one is getting parried. While unbalanced, the character's ability to hit is reduced by 10% and any opponent's who hit at them has +10% to hit. The person will need to change stance to recover their balance.

Enraged

The person is enraged by something that has occurred during the fight. The next action of this person will be a strike against their opponent, and after their strike, they will automatically become unbalanced. Apart from that, all effects that apply to unbalanced characters also apply to enraged characters.

Dazed

The person has been dazed by something that has occurred during the fight - usually a knock to the head. While dazed, the character suffers a -30% penalty to hit, and opponents get +30% to hit them.

To recover, the person will need to change their current stance. In order for the recovery to succeed, the person will need to pass a perception skill check.

Fallen

The person has fallen down and is now rolling around on the floor. This is usually caused by a critical hit to the legs. It is possible to continue the fighting while lying in the dirt, but the character suffers a -20% penalty to hit, and opponents get +20% to hit them.

To stand uo, the person will need to change their current stance. In order for the recovery to succeed, the person will need to pass a dexterity skill check. Most characters should be able to get up after one or two tries, unless they have broken or damaged a limb. Broken or damaged limbs add a hefty dexterity penalty to your character and will usually doom any recovery attempts.

Unconscious (K/O)

The character has been knocked out. If all your characters are unconscious, you will have lost the fight. Don't be too downhearted, however; at least you are not dead.

Dead

The character is dead. If this happens to your personal character, it will end your game.

Damage in Combat

Every character in combat has an endurance level, usually between 8 to 12 points. This represents how much damage the character can sustain before he or she gets too fatigued and exhausted to defend themselves properly.

Going below 0 hit points does not automatically end the combat, but each additional hit will inflict critical hits or wounds until the character loses consciousness or dies.

Critical hits can result in damage to the head (permanent loss of an eye), arms (a broken arm or the permanent loss of an arm), and legs (a broken leg or the permanent loss of a leg). Broken limbs will heal given time (usually 4 to 6 weeks); other injuries are permanent, although some of the negative effects can be avoided by buying and equipping the appropriate prosthesis.