Herein lie some MOSAIC Strict rules for combat and recovery, with a free form 'stunt' system to cover combat maneuvers, grappling and most other 'how do I do X in combat' questions. If there is interest, I will do a commentary post but as things stand I don't have the word count to include such commentary within the document itself.
Turn Order in Combat
In a fight, combatants should be divided into sides. Sides take turns in a fixed order (GM decides which) and when a side's turn comes up, they nominate a combatant on their side to take a turn for that side. Where possible, avoid letting characters take more than one consecutive turn for their side; rotate between characters on that side until everyone has acted at least once in the fight. Do not let the players divide into more sides in order to get more actions - if two characters are working together toward a goal, they are on the same game mechanical side.
Combat Actions
On their turn, a combatant may do a few things for free: move up to their move speed, speak a few sentences and roll their weapon die. Then, they must declare their intent for the turn: what outcome they hope for their actions to have during their turn. Any opposing combatant may thwart this intent by spending as many vigor as the weapon die (plus relevant bonuses) indicates, but if no opponent is willing or able to do so, the combatant may narrate how they accomplish their intent. Events go as described. Intent is restricted by three major rules:
- Plausibility: Intents can only accomplish feats that are plausible for the combatant (and any other cooperative characters) to accomplish in under a minute. If a character has no way to fly, an intent flap their hands and rise into the air does not matter.
- Limited Scope: If an intent disadvantages multiple opposing combatants, it costs two vigor per additional combatant to attempt. For opponents thwarting such an effect, the first person saved costs full price (and must all be paid for by a single character) while each additional person beyond that only costs two vigor, payable by anyone.
- Willingness: If an intent requires purposeful action from another character, the player of that character may refuse, forcing the combatant to pick a different intent. For example, if a bandit says "Your money or your life!" and intends for everyone on the carriage to hand over their gold, anyone unwilling to be let themselves be robbed can insist on the 'or your life' half of that equation, making a proper fight of it.
Suggested weapon dice include 1d4 (concealed or improvised), 1d6 (one hand), 1d8 (two hands), 2h6 (two weapon fighting). For firearms, triple damage at point blank, double within ten meters and half (round down) beyond that or when someone is behind cover.
The table is encouraged to codify (either collectively or through the use of other rules) specific conditions which can be referenced when declaring intents in combat. This shared frame of reference for the mechanical impact of specific injuries makes the stakes clear and the choice to accept or reject a specific intent more meaningful.
Vigor and Vigor Recovery
Vigor reflects a character's ability to avoid lasting harm. A character with no remaining vigor is at the mercy of their foes and can be maimed or even killed out of hand. Most characters should flee combat well before reaching this point. Lost vigor is regained in one of three ways:
- Rest: When a character rests for the night, they roll 1d6 for each that they possess: food, water, warmth, a roof overhead and servants attending to them. Compare the total against their current vigor. If both the character and their resting place are clean, their new vigor is set to the higher of the two numbers. If either the character or their environment is unclean, they take the lower of the two instead.
- Water: If a character spends a whole turn drinking water, roll 1d6. On a 4+ their canteen is drained. Otherwise, they may stop or keep rolling next turn as they wish. Characters with a current vigor of ten or more cannot recover further vigor this way, nor can characters who have become unclean in a way that water cannot wash away.
- Vice: Indulging in a vice for at least an hour allows a character to roll 3d6 and set their vigor to the sum, if the new number would be higher. Character may indulge multiple vices if they wish, but each extra vice in a given day needs an extra hour. That is, if you indulge two vices in a night, you enjoy three hours of both vices. Three vices takes six hours, four vices takes ten and five or more would be just ridiculous.
Side Note: Cleanliness
A character is assumed to be clean as long as they haven't engaged in hard labour, gotten into a fight, handled something unclean without precautions, rested or been intentionally made unclean since the last time they washed. Characters who are sick and/or poisoned are unclean until they recover. This is in addition to the symptoms of the disease or poison are outside of rest penalties.
Locations become unclean if they are physically unsanitary, but also if people visit the location to indulge in vices; if supernatural evil resides there or if the place has an unwholesome moral character for other reasons. Casinos, brothels, pawn shops, demon lairs and sewers are all unclean for one reason or another. Outdoor areas are usually clean, due to natural rain.
Vices
Characters living in unclean places or who have been made unclean through sickness or sinister magic have few good ways to recover vigor. Fortunately for them, there are bad ways to recover vigor. This is not a comprehensive list of vices. Anything that fits into the general format of imposing a consequence on the character in exchange for creature comforts could reasonably be taken as a vice and allow vice recovery.
- Alcohol: Those indulging in alcohol are unreliable. Anything said, heard, seen or done while drinking alcohol (and for an equal amount of time afterward) can easily be discredited or disavowed by the sober. It is socially acceptable to 'bribe' gods and spirits by offering them an alcohol libation; wealthy individuals with a bottle of wine and a crowd of people (of any social rank) by buying them a round cheap swill.
- Gambling: Those indulging in gambling must find strangers who also wish to indulge and then put up an ante. Flip two coins: for each heads, the gambler doubles their ante, but on double heads or double tails, they make an enemy after being cheated or being accused of cheating. Gambling with lesser stakes is not a proper vice. It is acceptable to brawl in support of a friend (but not a stranger) in gambling disputes.
- Opium: Those indulging in opium become lethargic and indifferent. Those who have taken opium in the past twelve hours are not allowed to look at weapon dice in combat and must decide their intents and whether to spend vigor trying to thwart an opponent blindly. Such characters can go into the negatives on vigor, but immediately fall into a stupor on doing so and do not awaken until nursed back to health by outside parties.
- Religion: Those indulging in religion must find a religious community to join and/or a spiritual leader to follow. For the next lunar month, the character will lose one vigor per ten minutes when doing things that their community and/or leader are likely to disapprove of. Unlike most other vices, sincere religious faith does not make places in which it is practiced grow unclean. Religious hypocrisy has no such protection.
- Tea: Those indulging in tea must be outwardly clean and socially decorous to obtain any benefit. For the next lunar month, the character must thwart attempts to humiliate them if at all possible, spending vigor and other sources to do so if necessary. Those who are unable to do so immediately drop to zero vigor and faint on the spot. It is socially awkward to refuse a tea invitation, even if not actively indulging in it.
- Tobacco: Unlike most vices, tobacco is not indulged in hours-long binges. Instead, treat smoking a pipe or cigarette the same as drinking water (see above) except that it takes a minute per roll; a character continues rolling on a 1-4 instead of a 1-3 and a lack of cleanliness is no obstacle to recovery. Tobacco turns the clothing and living spaces of smokers unclean over the course of a lunar month of regular use.
