Quickstart rules questions

[Metalzoic]

Ah, I just saw they released un updated quickstart at Gencon. Just downloaded it and it looks like they removed the word "opposed" so now it seems to be written correctly and not contracdict itself. I still think the wording was clearer in 4th, but at least it's fixed!

 

Quote

The limit of one action per Combat Round is therefore a loose one, with several notable exceptions. A roll required of a knight as a reaction to another is not considered their action for that round, but a “free action.” For example, a character whose Knockdown value is exceeded must make a DEX roll that round, but this roll does not count as the knight’s action.

 

Might sound silly, but that probably alone would have kept me from buying 6th edition, ha! Glad it's fixed.

[Metalzoic]

1 minute ago, Hzark10 said:

Your bolded statement means that you still can fight and do your action.

Except if you fight (exchange blows), then that was your Action already and you can do no others, just these secondary "free actions"

But it's fine. They fixed it by removing the word opposed.

 

[Grimmshade]

Another few questions after playing the scenario:

You can use a Passion roll success to increase a skill or trait. If mounted your combat skills are capped to horsemanship. So if I get a passion success the +5 can only be added to the combat skill or horsemanship skill, right? (Which limits the effectiveness of passions in charges.)

Also, is the rebated weapon damage halving done before or after checking knockdown? It's pretty hard to knock down an enemy? The PC's have to roll almost max damage to unseat the NPC's if it's done before.

Does armor protect against the damage from a fall? (in which case nobody in the scenario takes fall damage)

Does it require an entire combat action to pick up a dropped weapon? (and is an attack roll against the unarmed person unopposed?)

Edited September 3, 2022 by Grimmshade

[Morien]

1. Base skill is capped by Horsemanship. Bonuses and penalties (situational modifiers, passions, magic weapons) are added afterwards.
EDIT: OK, the wording could be better: "No effective Weapon Skill value may be greater than the rider’s Horsemanship Skill value, although all Combat
Modifiers still apply and may boost the limited value above the Horsemanship cap." The problem with using 'effective Weapon Skill value' here is that 'effective skill' in KAP 5.2 means the skill you roll against, AFTER modifiers (see Ambrut's fight example p. 143). I think this question has come up before, though, and it was confirmed that a passion should boost your Weapon skill even above your Horsemanship. Hence why I prefer the wording 'base skill', cap that by Horsemanship, and then add everything else.

2. Knockdown is calculated first and then damage is halved.
EDIT: [The Adventure of the Sword Tournament, p. 6] "the base damage—i.e., the damage dealt before the victim’s armor or other factors reduce it—is compared to their Knockdown value, which is the same as their SIZ Characteristic." Other factors include, IMHO, the rebated weapon damage halving.

3. Armor does not protect against falling damage.
EDIT: I don't think this is explicitly said in the Quickstart, but it is the way it has been in KAP forever. I doubt it has been so dramatically changed and not mentioned.

4. Quickstart is silent on rearming IIRC. You can certainly read rearming as a full action, in which case the opponent gets to roll an unopposed attack. Or use the 5.2 combined action rules. Or even make it a free action. Or maybe allow the knight to defend himself (Ie opposed roll) but not cause any damage if he wins. You'd normally defend with your shield anyway. 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Morien

[Grimmshade]

5 hours ago, Morien said:

1. Base skill is capped by Horsemanship. Bonuses and penalties (situational modifiers, passions, magic weapons) are added afterwards.
EDIT: OK, the wording could be better: "No effective Weapon Skill value may be greater than the rider’s Horsemanship Skill value, although all Combat
Modifiers still apply and may boost the limited value above the Horsemanship cap." The problem with using 'effective Weapon Skill value' here is that 'effective skill' in KAP 5.2 means the skill you roll against, AFTER modifiers (see Ambrut's fight example p. 143). I think this question has come up before, though, and it was confirmed that a passion should boost your Weapon skill even above your Horsemanship. Hence why I prefer the wording 'base skill', cap that by Horsemanship, and then add everything else.

2. Knockdown is calculated first and then damage is halved.
EDIT: [The Adventure of the Sword Tournament, p. 6] "the base damage—i.e., the damage dealt before the victim’s armor or other factors reduce it—is compared to their Knockdown value, which is the same as their SIZ Characteristic." Other factors include, IMHO, the rebated weapon damage halving.

3. Armor does not protect against falling damage.
EDIT: I don't think this is explicitly said in the Quickstart, but it is the way it has been in KAP forever. I doubt it has been so dramatically changed and not mentioned.

4. Quickstart is silent on rearming IIRC. You can certainly read rearming as a full action, in which case the opponent gets to roll an unopposed attack. Or use the 5.2 combined action rules. Or even make it a free action. Or maybe allow the knight to defend himself (Ie opposed roll) but not cause any damage if he wins. You'd normally defend with your shield anyway. 

Thanks! Very helpful. 

[RandomNumber]

On 8/20/2022 at 11:54 PM, Brown said:

Regarding the squire skill: good catch! I don't think this adventure actually tells you what the squire skill is haha. In past editions, the squire skill is equal to their age. So a new squire will start at 14, while an older one nearing knighthood would have a 20. Squires can be full player characters, nothing prevents that, but the rules dont give too much support for how they differ from playing knights. A 5.2e supplement "Book of the Entourage" gives more mechanics for playing a squire, but not a whole lot.

Thank you. I'm running the Adventure of the Sword this weekend and came here looking for an answer to this question.

On the offchance, did I read the scenario right that there will only be 2 combat rounds in the tournament (as they are in the Valorous Posture and there is only one Battle turn) ? So, the chances of capturing even a single knight whilst using rebated weapons are slim at best.

[Morien]

3 hours ago, RandomNumber said:

On the offchance, did I read the scenario right that there will only be 2 combat rounds in the tournament (as they are in the Valorous Posture and there is only one Battle turn) ? So, the chances of capturing even a single knight whilst using rebated weapons are slim at best.

Correct. There is just one Battle Turn, and "In a regular Encounter, a knight with the Valorous Posture must fight for two Combat Rounds before the Encounter ends."