Combat

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I could never warm to WFRP2 combat. When I read the rules, it always seems like a miniature wargame to me. The rules have a short, but steep learning curve. For instance, I have seen more than a couple new players being confused by how the number of actions and the number of attacks are related. Or that have to be reminded that you can only parry or dodge once per round.

I wanted to have a system that made things a bit simpler and that gave more room for narrative in combat. At the same time I did not want to stray too far from the WFRP rules; the game has to stay recognisable. The rules outlined here work for my players and for me.

Many players have also asked for a way to let not all actions of a character appear at the same time. This mechanic provides for that.

Timing

A combat round is divided in phases, with higher phases taking place before lower ones. A character can act twice per round. In order to determine in which phase he acts, roll a d10 twice, and add the agility bonus (agility/10, rounded down) to each roll. So a character with an Ag of 47 would have an Ag bonus of 4. To determine when that character acts, roll two dice and add 4 to each result. Say that the player rolled 2 and 9, then the character would act on phases 6 and 13. If two characters act in the same phase, the one with the higher Agility acts first. The dice are rolled before each combat, or during combat when something important happens (such as a third party entering combat).

At any time during the fight, a player can spend a fortune point to act earlier in the round. He rolls a d10 and adds the result to the phase of one of his actions. So with the character which acts on phases 6 and 13, if the player spends a fortune point and rolls a 6, he can use that to bring up his phase 6 attack to phase 12, or his phase 13 attack to phase 19.

It is quite handy for the GM to write a list with the different phases and the names of people who can act in each phase.

Actions

There is no Swift Attack action anymore; a character can perform only one attack per action. What is more, unless the character has an A of 2, he can perform only one attack per round. Characters cannot have an A score of 3 anymore, but this is compensated with new talents - see below.

It is possible to parry more than once in a round; a character can use all his actions to make parries. If a character carries a parrying weapon in his off hand, he gets an extra action which he can use only to parry. Otherwise, he can parry attacks but has to sacrifice his next action to do so. Once he has done this, he cannot parry other attacks until after the phase of the sacrificed attack.

Example: Bruno the swordsman is attacked by four ruffians. An excruatingly bad roll makes him act late in the round, at phases 4 and 6. All the ruffians act before him.
In phase 9, ruffian 1 attacks and hits. Luckily Bruno has a dagger in his off hand, which gives him an extra action to parry the attack. He succeeds in doing so.
In phase 8, ruffian 2 attacks and hits. Bruno decides to sacrifice his first action to make another parry attempt. He succeeds in the parry, but loses his next action, in phase 6.
In phase 7, ruffian 3 attacks and hits. Bruno cannot use his last attack for another parry attempt, since his action of phase 6 is still pending. He loses 4 wounds.
In phase 6, nothing happens. Bruno sacrificed this action in phase 8.
In phase 5, ruffian 4 attacks. Bruno can parry again, sacrificing his action for round 4.

New skills and talents

Dodge Blow A rewrite of the original skill. This costs one action. You can test against Ag to dodge a blow. If you succeed, you get no damage. You can also use this skill while moving - even while moving away from a direct opponent. The move and dodge cost one action. (thanks to Philip Sibbering for this idea)

Lightning Parry This talent is not used anymore.

Riposte This is a new talent, and can be only used with fencing weapons. You can use a riposte whenever you can parry, instead of that parry. If you use a riposte in reaction to opponent's attack, roll against WS. If you roll under your WS but over opponent's result, you not only parried the attack, but turned the move into an attack towards opponent. This is one action.
If you roll under opponent's result, the riposte fails, even though you rolled under your own WS as well. You don't attack, and you don't parry either.
This skill is available for the Estalian Diestro, Pit Fighter, Champion, Duellist, Judicial Champion, Sea Captain and Veteran.

Swift Fighter With this talent you get an extra action at the end of each round, in phase 1. This only applies if you spent the other two actions doing melee combat (attacking, parrying and such stuff), and you can use the action only for making an attack.
This talent is available for every career that officially has +2 Attack advances. The exception is Ghost Strider, which can choose Swift Shooter (see below).

Swift Shooter With this talent you get an extra action at the end of each round, in phase 1. This only applies if you spent the other two actions doing ranged combat ((re)loading, aiming shooting), and you can only use the action to (re)load, aim or shoot.
This talent is available for Champions, Ghost Striders, Targeteers and Veterans.

Swift Caster With this talent you get an extra action at the end of each round, in phase 1. This only applies if you spent the other two actions channelling magic or casting a spell, and you can only use the action to channel magic or cast a spell.
This talent is available for Master Wizards, High Priests and Warlocks.

Whymme, 2006