Spirit Combat and Parrying

[Opiyel]

Today I ran my first Spirit Combat with a Bane Spirit. The question of parrying to minimize damage came up and I wasn't quite sure what to do. In physical combat, if you successful parry an attack and your weapon/shield size is of a greater size than the attacker, it can halve or even negate damage. Does something like that exist for Spirit Combat? Thanks for any help.

[Raleel]

While parry exists (p137 Mythras) I don’t think that weapon size does. My assumption is that successful defense blocks all damage, as it specifically calls out a successful attack which is not parried does damage. 

[Pete Nash]

As Raleel says, there is no such thing as Spirit Combat 'Size' when parrying. As it stands, a successful parry blocks all damage. 

You could come up with your own house rule to mimic attack-parry size based on the comparative Intensity of the spirits involved, but it would make spirits of Intensity 4 and above exceedingly dangerous to player characters.

[Matt_E]

...like they aren't already... 😄

When Pete says to another GM that something's "exceedingly dangerous to player characters", watch out.

 

[Bilharzia]

I have thought about making spirit combat use opposed rolls instead of differential, making a successful defence give a special effect.

[Matt_E]

I'm not sure I would do that...  I think it might yield too many SEs.  Try it in a few sample fights and see what you think, I suggest.

I have contemplated that, for simplicity, if I were to eliminate one type of roll from the mechanics, it would be plain Opposed Rolls.  I would just make everything a Differential Check.  I haven't though it all the way through, though.  For example, it's not easy to reckon the case of Success with Stealth and Success with Perception; what actually happens?  Hmm.  I guess I would just give it to the higher roll within the Success category of result--as we do with Evade in combat.

 

Edited September 22, 2018 by Matt_E

[Bilharzia]

The SEs is the point!

Personally I've thought of doing this for general combat as well, it's how Call of Cthulhu runs combat. It would mean one side will always gain a SE as long as someone succeeds their roll. I would do it for speed, it's not realistic but it solves the "stand-off" problem when you have two skilled combatants attacking and parrying off each other with nothing happening.

[Opiyel]

Thanks for the clarification everyone. I'll be running another game with possible spirit combat, so this will definitely help!

[Matt_E]

On 9/22/2018 at 5:39 PM, Bilharzia said:

The SEs is the point!

Personally I've thought of doing this for general combat as well, it's how Call of Cthulhu runs combat. It would mean one side will always gain a SE as long as someone succeeds their roll. I would do it for speed, it's not realistic but it solves the "stand-off" problem when you have two skilled combatants attacking and parrying off each other with nothing happening.

Oh.  Well, if your goal is straight-up to get more SEs, then I would say, "Mission accomplished!"