Category: Rules

Starter resources summary for Mythras GM

Here is a starter set of resources for a Mythras GM. This is a subset of all resources available at NotesFromPavis blog.

Extended Table of Contents for the Rulebook

Setting up the optional rules for Mythras Campaign

Combat

Combat – special effects

Combat – others

Encounter generators

Other sources

Combat Flow Chart and Quick Reference for Mythras

I made a small interactive quick reference for combat flow in Mythras.  It contains brief descriptions of actions in combat and points to more detailed description page in the rules.  Not all the document links (that refer to the charts in the Mythras Charts page are working yet but they will eventually. It could be useful already. How I use it myself: mark the page as a favourite in iPad browser and during combat if I do not recall the rule option, click the link.

Below is an example from mid page – what attacker can do.

..and here is the content of the Falling link

You can find Mythras combat flow page here

Crunch Mode in Mythras – Combat Effects of Weapon / Shield Sizes and Reach

Here are some crunchy bits from Mythras. The optional rules for weapon range effects on combat can produce additional tactical choices. To help the tacticians among you to do some optimizing without doing mathematics here are some tables for you

I combined experimentally all the weapon size and reach information to provide easy look up tables for what weapons are effective for closing to short distance or opening to longer distance. The tables should contain all the weapons in Mythras, Monster Island, AiG and the Eastern Weapons charts.

So for example from the “Shorter Weapons Reach” table you can see that if attacker closes in with one handed mace to inside the effective reach of long spear – the long spear user cannot parry and its size is considered to be small (drops two sizes) so the long spear in defense will only stop half the damage.

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In addition when the long spear user tries to attack it will give max 1d3+1 damage and its size is reduced by 2 – so even a small weapon will stop all the damage and mace is medium in size. Normally mace could only stop half the damage from long spear.

But if the attacker can keep the attacker at its long range (“Longer Weapon Reach“)  – mace can only attack the spear itself while long spear user could use the long spear normally.2018-12-01_21-24-36

This can be quite interesting when attacker closes in to unarmed combat.

I also created a “parry and passive blocking to stop Damage” table to show how various defenders’ weapons are effective in blocking the attackers weapon – either in a parry or in passive blocking.2018-12-01_21-25-45

These are included also in the Mythras Charts page

Narrow Spaces and Fighting in Mythras

Inspired by discussion on the forums about oversized weapons I added the rule mentioned in Matt E:’s Old Bones adventure Secrets of the Blood Rock to my weapon charts for Mythras. The rule that was mentioned coming up during the editing of Blood Rock adventure handles the fact that some weapon fighting styles are unwieldy in narrow spaces. This mostly has come up in indoor / city scenarios and would come up more often in classic dungeon crawls.

The rule is in 2.5-3 meter wide corridor.  Characters may walk two abreast in most places. Large swung weapons are at a disadvantage: Except for thrusting weapons like spears, each step of Reach above Medium penalizes Combat Style by one grade. Interpretation is that above Medium reach – you need wider than 3 meter per character to fight unhindered. All weapons that have only Impale special effect are thrusting weapons. Weapon that has more special effects mentioned than Impale – can use Impale as a special effect with no penalty – character is basically using the weapon as a thrusting weapon. If character wants to use for example Bleed – it requires to use the fighting style of slashing etc and that comes with penalty.

This is even more true if there is space less than 1.5 meter. Then each step of Reach above Short penalizes Combat Style by one grade.

For some this may be too crunchy for others an elegant addition to counter the illogicality of using great axes or mauls in narrow spaces with equal skill than shortswords and broadswords.

This has been incorporated into the weapon tables so you do not have to remember the rule – you just pick it up with your weapon and mark it to your character sheet.

and close combat situational modifiers

These rules are not in the Rules as Written but can be an elegant addition – consider them optional.