Harnmaster/Pendragon Combat Conversion

The Harnmaster combat system is heavily oriented towards intelligent approaches to combat, not hacking at things until they're chopped into small bits. As a substitute for the normal Pendragon combat system, it adds a host of options and intelligent tactics (particularly for the peasant scum who don't need to obey the laws of chivalry), and it also adds a grim realism that serves, in my opinion, as an excellent contrast to the high-fantasy romantic Arthurian mythos.

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Basic Dice Mechanics

To test a skill in Harnmaster, you roll d100, with a 00 being a 100. If you roll your Effective Mastery Level (EML, equal to your ML plus any relevant bonuses or penalties) or less on that roll, you have succeed; if you exceed your EML, you have failed. A roll divisible by 5 (ending in a 0 or 5) is a critical success or failure; other rolls are called marginal successes or failures. They are abbreviated CS, CF, MS, and MF, for Critical Success, Critical Failure, Marginal Success, and Marginal Failure, respectively. Note that a Critical Success in Harnmaster is not the extraordinary triumph it is in Pendragon, nor is a Critical Failure in Harnmaster the disaster it is in Pendragon.

For the purposes of Pendragon-style Experience Checks, a Check is granted for critical successes where the roll was 25 or less (i.e. on a 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25), making it roughly equivalent to the Pendragon 5% chance of a a Check-worthy critical success. It does mean that for extremely low skills, the likelihood of a Check is lower than it is in Pendragon.

Weapons

The relevant Pendragon weapons are given in this abbreviated Weapon Data Table.

Weapon		WT	WQ	A/D	HM	B  E  P
Hand/Arm	-	-	0/3	.	0  -  -
Foot/Leg/Knee	-	-	1/1	.	1  -  -
Head		-	-	0/0	.	1  -  -
Kite Shield	7	14	1/5	.	3  -  (3)
Dagger		1	11	1/0	.	1  2  5
Broadsword	3	12	3/2	.	3  5  3
Battlesword	8	13	5/2	-20	5  8  4
Mace		4	11	3/1	.	6  -  -
Battleaxe 	6	12	4/2	-15	6  9  (6)
Ball & Chain	4	12	4/2	.	6  -  4
Spear (6')	5	11	4/2	-10	4  -  7
Lance (10')	8	11	5/1	-15	8  -  4

The battlesword is roughly equivalent to the Pendragon Greatsword.
The battleaxe is roughly equivalent to the Pendragon Great Axe.
The ball and chain is roughly equivalent to the Pendragon Flail.

A character's OML for the Unarmed skill is normally equal to SB3 of STR, DEX, and AGL in Harnmaster; converted for Pendragon, it becomes the average of STR and DEX, times three.

Armor

All armor is cumulative. Each piece of armor only covers a few specific body parts; the parts covered will depend on the specific type of armor. You can put armor together in any reasonable combination; of course, the more armor you have, the heavier a load you're trying to tote around, and the faster you'll tire and the less agile you'll be.

The standard 12-point Reinforced Chainmail from Pendragon becomes, in Harnmaster terms:

Bottom layer

Quilt Tunic (WT 13.2, protects Ua Sh Tx Ab Hp Gr)

Middle layer

Mail Hauberk (WT 32.5, protects Fo El Ua Sh Tx Ab Hp Gr Th)

Outer layer

Cloth Surcoat (WT 7.8, protects Sh Tx Ab Hp Gr Th)

Accoutrements

• Mail Leggings (WT 22.0, protects Hp Gr Th Kn Ca Ft)
• Mail Mittens (WT 2.0, protects Ha)

Helm (pick one)

• Plate Halfhelm (WT 3.2, protects Sk)
• Plate 3/4 Helm (WT 5.6, protects Sk Fa)
• Great Helm (WT 8.8, protects Sk Fa Nk)

The relevant Pendragon armor materials, and their protective values, are given below.

Material	Blunt	Edge	Point	Fire
Cloth		1	1	1	1
Quilt		5	3	2	4
Leather		2	4	3	3
Mail		2	8	5	1
Plate		6	10	6	2

Part	Materials	Blunt	Edge	Point	Fire
Skull	Plate	6	10	6	2
Face	Plate	6	10	6	2
Neck	Plate	6	10	6	2
Shoulders	Quilt + Mail + Cloth	8	12	8	6
Upper Arms	Quilt + Mail	7	11	7	5
Elbows	Mail	2	8	5	1
Forearms	Mail	2	8	5	1
Hands	Mail	2	8	5	1
Thorax	Quilt + Mail + Cloth	8	12	8	6
Abdomen	Quilt + Mail + Cloth	8	12	8	6
Hips	Quilt + Mail + Mail + Cloth	10	20	13	7
Groin	Quilt + Mail + Mail + Cloth	10	20	13	7
Thighs	Quilt + Mail + Mail + Cloth	10	20	13	7
Knees	Mail	2	8	5	1
Calves	Mail	2	8	5	1
Feet	Mail	2	8	5	1

The Combat Profile

Endurance: Substitute the average of STR, CON and SIZ.

Pendragon takes the attitude that one's hit points are the sum of CON and SIZ, on the philosophy that someone larger can take more punishment. I find this reasonable enough to preserve (and it is in keeping with the Harnmaster 2nd Edition idea of making Endurance the average of several factors). STR is added into the equation because it's part of Harnmaster Endurance, and because it factors into calculating Encumbrance Penalties (which logically should be strength-based).

Move: Substitute the average of STR and DEX.

Pendragon uses both of these statistics to compute movement rate, while Harnmaster uses pure Agility. I bow to the difference in what Pendragon's Statistics and Harnmaster's Attributes mean. Note that Move is subject to Physical Penalty.

Dodge: Equal to DEX x 5.

The use of DEX here is completely equivalent to Harnmaster's Agility. This is a skill.

Load: Equal to the total weight of items carried.

Inventory control must be done in a much stricter manner than it is in Pendragon.

Encumbrance Penalty: Equal to Load divided by Encumbrance.

This is the same as it in Harnmaster.

Weapon ML: Equal to the character's relevant Weapon Skill x 5.

I have decided not to use the SBs for calculating OML for weapons at all, except for cases where the character is using a weapon that he does not have a skill in. The Attack ML (AML) is equal to Weapon ML + (WAC x 5), and the Defense ML (DML) is equal to Weapon ML + (WDC x 5), as it is in normal Harnmaster.

Combat Sequence

Unlike normal Harnmaster, the Initiative skill is not used. Action declarations go in order from lowest DEX to highest DEX (ties are broken by who has the higher Weapon Skill), Actions are resolved in reverse order of declarations.

Before presenting the available Action Options, it is first necessary to define some terms:

Movement

The number of hexes a character can normally move per round (their Full Move) is equal to the character's Move statistic (average of STR and DEX, minus Physical Penalty). A Half-Move is half of this; a Double Move is double this. A conscious character is always able to move at least one hex per turn.

Engagement Zones

Each character has an Engagement Zone of the hex he is occupying, plus all adjacent hexes. A prone character's Engagement Zone is only the hex he is in (though he may be engaged by non-prone characters in adjacent hexes). Engagement Zones may be restricted by terrain and barriers.

Rest

Do nothing (except tend to wounds and other reasonable small actions). May defend normally if attacked.

Free Move

Move up to a Double Move, as long as you do not enter an enemy Engagement Zone. During the move, weapons can be changed, doors can be opened, etc.

Engage

Make a Half-Move to engage an enemy, then, optionally, conduct a Melee Attack.

Charge

Make a Full Move to engage an enemy, then, mandatorily, conduct a Melee Attack.

Pass

Do nothing (forfeit a Turn). May defend normally if attacked.

Disengage

Move one hex, and then, if now unengaged, make a Half-Move. Movement is terminated if another enemy Engagement Zone is entered, though no attack may be made.

Rise

Get up from a prone position (including getting up after stumbling). As with normal Pendragon, this is normally automatically successful.

Grope

Do something that requires manual dexterity, such as pick up a weapon or string a bow. This is normally automatically successful.

Attacker's Declaration

Target

The target must be within the attacker's Engagement Zone.

Aim

You can aim High, Middle, or Low. Aiming High or Low carries a penalty of -10 to EML, in normal circumstances; this penalty may be adjusted for relative height of the target and attacker. Note that a standing opponent attacking a prone opponent receives a bonus of +20 to his EML, and a prone opponent receives a penalty of -20 to his EML; since there is no opposed resolution in the Pendragon style, this penalty is not reflexive, as it is in Pendragon.

Aspect

You must declare which aspect of your weapon you are using. Normally, this will be the aspect of your weapon with the highest rating, but there will be times when you want, for example, to hit someone with the flat of your sword, doing Blunt rather than Edge damage.

Defender's Declaration

Ignore

Do nothing (making it very likely the blow will hit and do damage).

Block

This is an attempt to parry the blow. You may parry with an object or with a body part (such as a hand or arm). Note that if you parry with a body part, and the attack hits, it will be considered to hit that body part (but having a broken arm may be preferable to having a club smack you in the face, for instance). A Critical Failure here may result in a fumble. Tactical advantages may be earned this way.

Dodge

This is an attempt to get out of the way of the blow. A Critical Failure here may result in a stumble (tripping and falling, effectively). Tactical advantages may be earned this way.

Counterstrike

This is an attempt to launch an offensive of your own. Though you may have the opportunity to deal damage to your opponent, counterstriking favors the attacker. Still, this is particularly useful if you are fighting an unskillful opponent.

Please note that taking advantage of TAs is not unchivalrous! Manuevering yourself into a position where you have a TA is simply fighting intelligently; there's nothing dishonorable about being a good fighter, and it's not cowardly to block in hopes of earning a chance to counterattack. Nothing about a TA implies that you have placed your opponent in an unfair position. Hitting your opponent while he is weaponless or prone is unchivalrous, of course.

Injury

• A charging attack from horseback does an additional die of impact, and the attacker who achieves a successful strike must make a Fumble roll to see if he has dropped the striking weapon.

• Falling from one's horse does Blunt impact (protected by armor) to a random body part, depending on the speed of the horse (1d6 to 5d6 for standing still, walk, trot, canter, and gallop, respectively).

• Any single blunt strike whose Effective Impact exceeds the character's SIZ will cause the character to be knocked back a hex. A character who is knocked back must make an immediate Stumble Roll. A knockback of a mounted character unhorses him.

• An Effective Impact of less than 5 with Edge or Point results in a wound which is a bruise, not a cut or a puncture.