LoreWeaver

This is an abbreviated unarmed combat system The striking rules have been simplified and wrestling has been omitted entirely, but this should be enough for the DM to referee a rousing brawl. Note: The Disarming Procedure described below is new. If Brutus and his thugs find the characters armed, they can make use of this maneuver.

Striking

Besides potentially doing real damage, strike attacks may have one of two effects: Stun or Knockout. Creatures with less than 4 HD (or experience levels, in character terms) cannot do a knockout without a blunt object in hand.

A strike has no effect if the defender is twice or more times the size of the attacker. Normal initiative and hit rolls are made by a striking character, after declaring the intention to strike. If the strike hits, the base damage inflicted is zero. If there are strength bonuses to add to this, they will in effect do actual damage.

A victim hit by a Strike must roll 1d20 and subtract his Constitution score (assume 11 for the thugs in this chapter) from the result. If the total is 1 or more, the victim is Stunned for 1 round. The victim must also make a Saving Throw versus Death Ray with a + 4 bonus to the roll, or suffer a Knockout. The duration of the Knockout is simply the result of the previous roll of 1d20 minus Constitution, in rounds.

Stun: victim cannot attack or concentrate (and thus cannot cast spells, use magical items, etc.). Movement is possible, but at 1/3 normal rate. In addition, a + 4 penalty to Armor Class applies when Stunned.

Knockout: This is simply a short sleep. The victim is unconscious and completely helpless.

Objects in Hand: A small, heavy object may be held while striking. If the defender is hit, a - 2 penalty applies to the Saving Throw. Furthermore, a creature of less than 4 Hit Dice is able to knock out an opponent when striking with an object in hand.

Disarming

Unarmed combat may be grand, but what if your opponent doesn't bother to set down his sword before throwing a punch? The disarming maneuver gives unarmed characters an opportunity to reduce their opponents to the same level.

To disarm, a character first makes a hit roll. This hit roll is modified not by strength, however, but dexterity instead. (Force here is not the trick, so much as maneuvering one's hands to the right place.) If successful, the opponent will be denied his next attack. On the subsequent round the character can actually attempt to wrest the weapon from his opponent's hands. Both attacker and defender must make a regular hit roll (adjusted by strength, but not adjusted by any magical bonuses of the defender's weapon) versus the armor class of the other (excluding shields, if any).

Consult the following chart to determine the result:

    Attacker    Defender
    Roll        Roll        Result
    ---------------------------------
    Miss        Miss        Undecided
    Hit         Miss        Defender disarmed
    Miss        Hit         Attacker thrown off
    Hit         Hit         Undecided

"Undecided" means the combatants are still grappling over the weapon at the end of the round, and the process will have to be repeated the next round.

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