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Combat

Combat in Hack100

Combat in Hack100 uses the same task resolution system that was described in the previous blog posts. A Ranged Task Roll is used to determine whether an attack with a missile weapon is successful. An Opposed Hand-to-Hand Task Roll is used to resolve close-quarters combat.

In addition to these Task Rolls, for a workable combat system we also need to introduce:

A system for deciding the order in which combatants act – i.e. an initiative system.
A means of calculating the damage inflicted by a successful attack, factoring in the effects of different weapon and armour types.

Releases

Hack100 – Release 0.02

Here’s Release 0.02 of Hack100. It includes a new chapter on “Task Resolution” based on the most recent blog posts.

If anyone has any comments, questions or suggestions, or spots any typos, then feedback would be most welcome.

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Tasks

Opposed Tasks

Situations will arise in which there is a need to pit an Ability of a character against an Ability of an adversary. For example:

A character attempting to sneak past a guard would pit their Stealth Ability against the guard’s Perception Ability.

Tasks

Criticals and Fumbles

A successful roll that is also a double (e.g. 11, 22) is a “Critical” and the protagonist concerned receives some extra benefit. This might mean that the task is performed particularly well or quickly, or that it brings some additional (but related) benefit. In combat, this typically means inflicting additional damage or causing an opponent to drop their weapon (see Chapter 4). Non-combat examples might include a critical Influence roll leading to the target divulging additional important information, or a critical Arcane roll leading to a spell’s effects being magnified in terms of its range, duration or power.

Tasks

Task Roll Difficulty Modifiers

Post author By Stanage
Post date 23 May 2020
No Comments on Task Roll Difficulty Modifiers

Sometimes the Referee may decide that a certain Task Roll is either easier or more difficult than usual. This could be for a variety of reasons including the prevailing local conditions, the specialist nature or complexity of the task, or the fact that someone (or something) is actively trying to disrupt the undertaking.

For example, when an Agility Task Roll is used to determine whether a character successfully climbs a surface, the Referee might rule the Task Difficulty as “Hard” if the surface is particularly smooth or slippery, and modify the Target Percentage accordingly.

Other examples of situations that might make a given task either easier or more difficult include:

Tasks

Task Resolution

In Hack100, a Task Roll is required for any action that has a non-negligible chance and consequence of failure. A routine activity such as walking up a flight of stairs would not require a Task Roll. Running down a flight of stairs whilst pursued by an enemy probably would – there would be a chance of stumbling with the possible consequence of injury. Another consequence of failing a task might be lost time, e.g. repeated failures to pick a lock.

The procedure for performing a Task Roll is as follows:

Releases

Hack100 – Release 0.01

As a summary of all of the blog posts to date, here is a draft of the first two chapters of the Hack100 rulebook, covering a general introduction and character creation.

If anyone has any comments, questions or suggestions, or spots any typos, then feedback would be most welcome.

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Player Characters

Encumbrance

Most games have some sort of encumbrance system to determine the upper limits of what a character can carry, as well as any penalties associated with being overloaded. Traditionally, this involves adding-up the weight of each item carried and comparing the total against a character’s carrying capacity. Penalties for exceeding this capacity might include a reduced movement speed or negative modifiers to movement-based tasks.

Player Characters

Equipping Characters

The final stage of character creation is to decide upon an adventurer’s starting equipment. In Hack100, there is no “shopping list” of standard goods for new characters. Rather, it is recommended that the player and the Referee agree upon the equipment a given character might reasonably expect to own based upon the campaign setting and the character’s Specialism, background and motivation. Of course, the Referee’s decisions in such regards are final.

Player Characters

Character Backgrounds and Motivations

Post author By Stanage
Post date 10 April 2020
No Comments on Character Backgrounds and Motivations

So far in discussing character generation in Hack100, we’ve focussed solely on the numbers that define an adventurer. Whilst these are essential from a game mechanics perspective, they are, nevertheless, rather dry. Apart from each character’s Specialism, they tell us little about their wider background and motivations.