Combat

RULES :

No-return is a turn-based combat, using dice rolls to define the success or the failure of the attacks.

The main objective is to make an enemy's life points drop under 30/100. At this moment, only drugged or very highly motivated fighters will continue the fight. If a fighter loses all his life points, he's dead.

The fights in No-return are violent and, usually, must be avoided as much as possible. Since there is no level system, every single human being, no matter his experience, if stabbed in the heart by a drunk peasant, will die. Also, the fights tend to be short, since as soon as somebody is badly hurt, he stops fighting. Which usually happens after very few combat turns.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IF A FIGHTER, PLAYER INCLUDED, FALLS UNDER 30/100 LIFE POINTS ?

Unless he's on drugs or if he can explain why he'd risk his life (we count on you for being fair play on that. Wishing to risk his life because of an argument is not a valid point. A revenge for a loved one's death is, for example.), the fighter, if he wishes to continue to fight, must roll both constitution and mental strenght dices. If the two are successful, the fight may continue until the death.

The player can spend one point of adrenaline if he wishes to continue to fight but has failed the dice rolls. Also, drugs allow the fighter to ignore the dice rolls step.

ORDER OF THE ATTACK

It depends of the situation. Basically, the one who throws the first punch, the one who initiates the fight, is the first to roll the dices. Unless his opponent succeeds a reflex dice roll, in which case he will dodge the punch and may immediatly counterattack.

Each attack failure leads to an immediate successful counter attack from the NPC you fight. If he's the one who fails his attack, you can counterattack immediatly but you still have to roll dices. Some situations may give you bonuses, however.

If several fighters are in the fight, the order of the actions are calculated on the reflex skill of the opponents. If two opponents have the same reflex skill, they both roll dices. The winner hits first.

FIST-FIGHT

The opponents throw a fist-fight dice roll. A success lead to the counting of damages OR the opponent trying to block the attack.

All attacks, bitch slaps excepted, have a damage rate of 50 max (count them as weapons of 100 damages, then divide the result by 2). All damages beyond aren't counted, but we considerate that at this point, your opponent is automatically thrown to the ground, in a more vulnerable position. If such impact makes his remaining life points drop under zero, he hits something hard with his head, which kills him.

Considerate that a failed punch simply caresses the opponent's skin, whereas a successful one may knock him out as well. As such, a critical success may just kill him by throwing him on a deadly element of the background, as a critical failure may just broke your bones. Just like in reality, right ?

If your result of your fist-fight dice roll isn't exceptionaly big (in other words, if you make a 40 or more), your opponent is allowed to throw the same dice roll. If he makes a better score than you, he blocks your attack.

If the life points of a fighter drop under 30, he's knocked out for two minutes and can't fight anymore. By "anymore", we mean he won't be able to even eat salad for several weeks.

If you aim any part of the body protected by bones (the head or the torso), and if you fail your fist-fight dice roll, you will probably broke some of your own bones. Throw a luck dice. If you fail, you break your fingers or your wrist and can't use this arm until it's healed. If you succeed in your fist-fight dice roll, aiming for the torso, and if you make quite good damages, the opponent is out-of combat for one minute. His lungs have compressed and the poor guy is on his knees, gasping for air, totally vulnerable.

Breaking the arm of the leg of an opponent requires you to have immobilized him first, somehow, or to have the "military training" perk.

MELEE WEAPONS

The rules are exactly the sames, except that your weapons have no damage limits anymore. In fact, they even have a minimal damage rate of 20. Even if it's a failed attempt of killing you, getting a hammer right in the shoulder is never something nice.

Check out the Melee weapons list to have the details of each weapon's characteristics.

The rules concerning how to block an attack remain the same, as long as both of the fighters have a melee weapon to do so. Also, don't forget, a knife simply cannot block a hammer strike. Be fair play about it.

If you aim for the articulations, you have a malus of -25 in your "melee weapons" dice roll. But if you succeed, the enemy throws a luck dice. If he fails, his limb is broken. If he succeeds, his limb cannot be used for the next turn anyway.

PRIMITIVE WEAPONS

Primitive weapons include all modern warfare guns, rifles and light artillery.

To succeed in shooting somebody, a "primitive weapons" dice roll is necessary. If you succeed, the enemy is hit.

Most weapons make 1D100 damages. However, each weapon has its characteristics, including special rules with bullets. Also, many heavy weapons penetrate through armors and protections, making them useless ; they also require you to multiplicate the damage rate by 2. No wonder why they're associated with the "don't fuck with me" stereotype.

Most of the primitive weapons leave the target the opportunity to throw an armor dice roll. It consists in the accumulation of elements that may slow down or stop the bullet before it hits him, including bulletproof vests, natural elements, hostage etc. Depending on their size and state, their rate vary from 1 to 2. If the enemy succeeds in this dice roll, the damages he takes are divided by 2.

Also, don't excect anyone to stop firing before they hit the 30 life points. Taking a bullet is no big deal in the moment, many people don't even feel it and it doesn't prevent them from moving and fighting until the blood loss gets too important.

SNIPER RIFLES

Using a sniper rifle is a little bit more complex than using a simple pistol. It needs naturals skills (like an excellent sense of sight) and an intense training in controlling your muscles, waiting in the snow for hours... also, physics (the interaction with the wind, the variation of the bullet depending on its shape, the wind carrying the sound etc.) and the logistic knowledge concerning the weapon, for adjusting the lenses.

A character must have obtained the "sniper" perk if he wants to properlly use a sniper. And even then, he will suffer from a malus of -20 in his primitive weapons dice roll.

Such effect can be cancelled by taking pentazemin pills, which will prevent your muscles from moving when you aim. Be careful though, such product creates an addiction extremely fast.

ROYAL WHIP

The royal whip is extremely complex to use ; only high trained monarchy soldiers can use this deadly weapon without risking their own limbs. The royal whip skill is required to use this weapon.

The whip has two sides : a cutting one and a immobilizing one. Only the effects change, not the rules.

The cutting side penetrates all armors and inflicts 1D100 damages. With effective learned moves, the famous "dance of the wolves" a royal soldier can maximise the damages, multiplicating them by 2. But these moves are extremely hard and grant a -30 to -45 malus in the royal whip skill. When a soldier is highly experienced, these malus are reduced and, one day, finally disappear. Among the concerned characters are Thomas Valentine, Boris Flake, the infallibles, Sam Carter. EulaEudanla Teiteia has these malus divided by two.

The immobilizing side also inflicts damages, but much less and has the advantage to stop an enemy fleeing or potentially getting dangerous. It is based on a regular royal whip dice roll and the damages are calculated with 3D10.

In case of duel between two royal soldiers, the opponent can block an attack if he makes a better score with the dice rolls.

TECHNOLOGICAL WEAPONS

Technological weapons are manufactured by Lunars from Moonshine and are extremely complex for a citizen of the wastes to understand. What would he understand about the "liquid synapse chamber", the "fusion calibration", "the single moving atom" and all that stuff that makes these weapons shoot lightings that makes people transform into a pile of goo anyway ?

Globally, these weapons are used just as any primitive weapon. But even if you play a Lunar born, it still doesn't give you the automatic knowledge of advanced weapon. Unless you have the "technological weapons" skill (which consists in nanomachines in your blood cells that activate the weapon for you), the weapon will be locked down. In fact, their security respond directly to your blood cells, which is why a stolen lunar weapon as no value on earth.

Get on the list of the technological weapons to see the details of each of them. Be careful : some make people explode like balloons, others boil the blood in their veins, some other silently destroy your immune system...

MILITARY TRAINING

Being in an army isn't always fun in a role playing game. If you leave your camp for an adventure, you become a desertor, you spend time in jail just for cursing against a superior...

In the counterpart, being a full time member of any army of the wastes gives you the "military training" perk, which qualifies you as a professionnal of combat.

In the fist-fight combat, you won't break your bones anymore and will be able to break your opponent's limbs without having to immobilize him first. Your moves become more professionnal and you have the ability to unlock many fighting moves, described in the "actions" section.

The maluses in primitive weapons are divided by two and so are the targetting ones.

USING A DIES BLESSING IN COMBAT

You can use a Dies blessing during a fight to get rid of annoying situations and get into two minutes of pure badassery awesomeness. Spending a Dies blessing point allows you to do cinematic fighting moves, like gun-kata, running on walls, shooting at people while sky diving, kicking another guy ski diving next to you etc. for two complete minutes. Each of the fighting actions you take during this time result in a critical success.

Spending two Dies Blessings brings divine indulgence to avoid you death, if your life points came under zero. An incredible coincidence will distract your killer while you'll be able to runaway.

In the video we put as an example, you can witness what a Dies Irae good soldier can do, when he decides to ask some help from "The boss." Dies benedictions are hard to get though, even for highly trained players, so take the time to think about using one in combat. But if you do... enjoy.

MOTORIZED COMBAT

For using a vehicle in offensive ways, wether it is a jet fighter, a tank or a car, you must look at the vehicle lists, since each one of them as its own combat rules, depending on the type and structure of the machine.

GUNFIGHT MYTHS YOU MUST GET RID OF :

-If you use a silencer, don't be surprised if your gun still makes enough noise to cause physical pain to your ears. A silencer doesn't reduce the sound of a weapon, it remove its echoes to make you harder to spot in a noisy area.

-A random automatical rifle gets out of ammo in less than 4 seconds if you shoot in bursts. Usually, soldiers shoot one bullet by one bullet.

-A bullet proof vest only protects you from handguns. Against a shotgun or an automatic rifle, it's not very useful.

-You DON'T need to cock the gun to make it able to shoot. It's ready to fire as soon as it's loaded and off-security trigger.

-Shotgun don't have their bullets spreading all over the place. It only hits one man at a time, no matter what's the distance between the shooter and the target.

-Being hit by a bullet doesn't make you flight or anything. Most of the time, it won't even make you move. Still, your clothes may start to burn if you're very unlucky. Also, if an artery is hit, you have at most one minute before you pass out.

-Also, if you're fighting near a gas station or a truck, remember this : liquid gasoline doesn't explode at all. You simply won't make anything explode, no matter what kind of weapon you use.