Tavern Battle Rules


These rules are a test we will adjust them if needed.



"Fighting does not determine who is right "
- only who is left.
-Bertrand Russell


Quick Reference table:

 

Status Time Dice Abuse Max Spell Recover Time
Cipher under 2 weeks 1 Six Sided 50 points level 2 2 x chart
Cipher under 3 months 2 Six Sided 100 points level 2 2 x chart
Cipher under 6 months 2 seven side dice 150 points level 3 1.5 x chart
Doyen under 1 year 3 six sided dice 200 points level 4 1.25 x chart
Doyen Under 1.5 years 3 seven side dice 300 points level 5 1.25 x chart
Prime Under 2 years 3 eight sided dice 400 points level 5 Even
Prime Under 2.5 years 4 seven side dice 500 points level 6 Even
Elder Under 3 years 4 eight sided dice 600 points level 7 .75
Elder Under 3.5 years 4 nine sided dice 700 points level 7 .75
Ancient Under 4 Years 5 eight sided dice 800 Points Level 9 .50
Ancient Under 4.5 years 5 Nine sided dice 900 points Level 9 .50
Ancient Under 5 years 6 eight sided dice 1000 Points Level 9 .50
Krawl Under 5.5 years  6 nine side dice 1200 Points max  .25
Krawl Under 6 years 7 eight sided dice 1300 points max .25
Krawl Under 6.5 years 7 nine sided dice 1400 Points max .25
Mesto Under 7 years 8  eight side dice 1500 points max .25
Mesto Under 7.5 years  8 nine sided dice 1600 points max .25
Mesto Under 8 years 9 nine side dice 1700 points max .25
Dayo Under 8.5 years 10  nine side dice 1800 points max .10
Davo Under 9.0 years  10 ten sided dice 1900 points max .10
Davo Under 9.5 years 11 eleven side dice 2000 points max .10
Davo Under 10  years  12 Twelve sided dice 2100 points max .10
Odion Under 15 years  15 thirteen sided dice 7000 points max .05


Battles with in the Realm

These are the rules of combat as set forth in the Tavern Combat Code and the guides that the Keepers of the Dead use in passing judgment.            
All combat and healing must be done with dice using their character sheet and the charts above
Statement of Combat


You must recognize the foe. By calling his/her name, looking at him/her. Honor would dictate that you tell them you are angry and wish to retain your honor, Do remember not all in this realm have honor. So a statement of Combat may be little more then a Look in your direction.

                                                       Ignoring an attack is impossible 

Each line of attack must be descriptive The amount of attack or defensive moves you have depends on your dice.
If you have one Die then you can make either a line of attack or defense.
Two dice you can have one of each or if you choose only one, then you have a much larger chance of completing your move.

For example : Sheep:" With all his might he drives the sword towards Wolves shoulder."
Having only one dice he rolls it now
He rolls a five

This is a single attack line.

                                                                                                 Defense


When attacked you must react, defensive moves require a correct defense. Ducks, bends, leaps, runs, are not excepted. Since you are defending unless there is more then one, you do not have to use their name

For example

Wolf: "with a quick and balanced move he spins under the attacking sword"
          Wolf: "Drives his sword deep into the belly ripping as he enters"

Wolf rolls his two dice, the first dice is the defense the second is the attack.
The first dice is a 3 the second a 3 as well.
The attack strikes him because he had less number then the sheep, but his attack strikes the sheep because he only had one die.
If he had just defended and used both dice the attack would not have hit him, because the number is higher.

It is possible to use an offensive move as an defense and offense then using the entire roll to strike and defend "sweeping his feet under the sword knocking sheep on his ass" 

How Do I get more Dice?

Within the game as a character ages it grows in knowledge and power
This is our table of age and power. In an effort to balance it to our Realm this is the Rule of thumb

              See the chart above, you can go on special quests, get special weapons . Besides actual time played you  get bonus time this bonus time can make a character who has only played for 3 years have the dice of 5. You can earn up to 4 times your actual time by play time. 

                  To kill someone you must use all their hit points first, that would be follow the chart below .

 

                                            Exception to this rules

GEV and Raven are the founder of the Isle they are very powerful, being that they are the Isle any where on it is their domain they will always have the extra die. They also have 2 more sides. 

Also the Council of the Elders, each on that Council have been bestowed an extra side for their assistance on the Isle. The Council exist of GEV, Raven, Shadow Lord, Lady Jamie, Lady Enchantress, Angelique Vadalia, Alyianna Diabolique. 

The Council of the Elders, They watch over the Isle and attempt to make sure that all on the Isle are treated fairly. 

On occasion an role player will prove they are way beyond their age and maybe sent to the pool of test and gain up to 1 dice and a side per test, this can only happen once every three months. The party must petition IC, GEV he will then call together the council of the elders. They will look at your performance and if you are worthy allow you passage into the pool. If it to finds you worthy you will come out stronger then before.  

So as you can see, attacking an Elder as Cipher, you had best have a great deal of luck...

But yes You can always run, you must use it as your defense move and roll but you can always run away.

But you say what will stop the power monger Ancients from just killing everyone. Well this is to help stray that, if an older character attacks a younger one, his dice count is cut by two on each die. Unless in his own domain.

In your own domain you have all your dice, if attacked you gain two dice with the sides equiv to what you have on the others. If attacked by multiple targets, each target will loose one side to their dice. In your domain you always can control the battle flow and always can choose dice (this last is being removed because dice is the only choice now)

Death

Death happens after the killing blow or death blow, in this realm the head, heart or drained of all blood. When final death happens it results in the complete and rapid disintegration of the body, and within minutes all that is left all that is left is a pile of ashes

A vampire that suffers final death may not be returned to the same physical body as before. Once dead you can not return. A mortal maybe raised as a Zombie, but not my idea of a good time. Your character  new character can recieve 50 percent of the time it's previous had. 

Role Play

Remember, this is role playing, When we read a scroll we visualize it picture it step by step I close my eyes and see the combat . When It is done right I can picture it like a movie all played to perfection. This means there are two of you like a dance, moving and reacting to one another the best fight I ever had the privilege to read the scroll ended in a non death. They reacted to each other moved with grace and style. Make it realistic make it proud. All creatures can die. That is the first rule. So If you can not fight or do not wish to then state it and walk away.


Balance of Power

Again in the game as a character ages it grows in knowledge and power
This is our table is when final blow can take place.
It will keep things fair and balanced.


The Cipher 50 to 150 Points before Death blow can take place
The Doyen 200 to 300 Points before Death blow can take place
The Prime 400 to 600 Points before Death blow can take place

The Elders 600 to 800 two points before Death blow can take place
The Ancient 800 to 1000 before Death blow can take place
The Krawl  Fourty  1200 to 1400 Points before Death blow can take place

The Mesto 1500 to 1800 Points before Death blow can take place

The Davo  1800 to 2100  Points before Death blow can take place

The Odio  7000 before Death blow can take place only GEV, Raven and NPC Boss's will have this

The Patriarch/Matriarch

The Leader/Head of each Family/Group, is a respected elder. He/She may be a great warrior, an intellectual, or simply a great leader. They are recognized by the majority of their clan as the Patriarch/Matriarch. and leader they wish to have Represent them at council meetings and be the decision maker. To defeat the Leader/Head in a battle does not make you a Patriarch/Matriarch, That is decided by the clan. A Patriarch/Matriarch. can be replaced if the Majority of the clan feel someone else would better represent them and that is the only way to replace a standing Patriarch/Matriarch. ( A word of warning an attempt to do this that is unsuccessful would probably end in your and those who opposed him/her.

Patriarch/Matriarch to qualify for hit table must be in a recognized clan with over five recognized members and established in realm, (Families/Group) for more then three months.


Time Tables

In this realm.... This is a rule of thumb. Two hour = A day, Two days= a month, Two Weeks= 6.25 Years, A month= 12.50 years, A year= 150 years.


In your own Domain/home You receive an extra Dice
Pre-approved Enchanted weapons can gain 1 dice (limited use)
Max Dice at any time is the chart You can not obtain more the one extra except in you own domain and then in that case it may be used only for defense. 

Time Tables -vs Death

These are character tables, not the typist tables. In the case of a Character dying, there is no way the typist is going to forget all the knowledge they have credited through death. To be fair, If your character dies, and you create a new one it retains 50% of the previous characters, Status. Example your character was 600 years old they are now 300 years old.

Yes, a Patriarch/Matriarch can be of any age, Patriarch/Matriarch will take which ever hit points are higher. Not Both.

Spells and Magic

Some magic spells give the player an additional die, that can only last a short term and can not exceed their one die add rule. Also you can not use more then the one die add rule for casting ritual spells. Ritual spells are when you have to roll a large amount of number example 1000 to enact or a large number like 30 in a single roll. These are usually preformed alone and the target is not present. These are very difficult to do and should be Rp'd as such. 


The Elders

In our realm to become an elder you must reside in the realm for over One Year, Establishing some sort of name and history, they are not of any certain faith or beliefs. They are bond to the same rules as the rest of the realm.

Elders, according to Vampire Tavern..... are vampires who have existed for 300 or more years. They have mastered many magical powers during this time; most elders are deadly and formidable creatures. Elders tend to be scheming, ruthless and paranoid beings; they will do anything to hold onto their power structures, oppress or manipulate the younger "upstart" vampires, and destroy their rivals.


The Doyen

Below the elders are the Doyen. Doyen are most often vampires who have lived from 100 to 300 years of unlife, though certain ambitious younglings may achieve the rank prematurely. As their name suggests, Doyen often serve as aides and agents for elders or the court; they usually play their own power-games as well, though these are of lesser consequence than the manipulations of the elders.


The Cipher

Lowest in rank are the Ciphers, those vampires created less than a century ago. Though occasionally cherished, Ciphers are often deployed as pawns by scheming elders. This callous treatment, combined with the value recent generations place on individuality, often causes Ciphers to resent their elders. After all, when one came of age during the Summer of Love, it is hard to empathize with a reactionary old tyrant who grew up amid feudal oaths and Divine Rights.

Most beginning characters are presumed to be Ciphers. Vampire elders are usually far more powerful than the characters created through the rules in this kit.
The Ancients

Ask a mortal to name the most dangerous predator on Earth, and he might mention a Bengal tiger, a Nile crocodile or a great white shark. Ask the same question of a vampire, and often one will hear the word "Ancient" leaving those cold lips.

Simply put, Ancients are Old vampires - beings that have survived for over a millennium. Having been undead for so long, Ancients often undergo profound physiological and psychological changes. From a vampire's point of view, the most horrible of these is a predilection for vampire blood - just as vampires stalk mortals, so they are occasionally stalked in turn.

Most vampires prefer to ignore the existence of the Krawl, considering them near-extinct aberrations akin to dinosaurs. It is ironic, then, how many of the plots of the Augury can ultimately be traced to these ancient, shadowy progenitors.


Repose/Healing (for non kindred)

When a being does not die, as is the case with Vampires, the state known as death does not come too easily. However, when injuries to a vampire become too great, the vampire enters into a very deep sleep known as Repose. The character is completely immobilized and unconscious. A more powerful kindred, for example, an Krawl, can still use some disciplines in this state. All characters upon entering this state lose a rating point from their status, dependent on the humanity of the vampire and the severity of injury.

A character may enter Repose voluntarily. When entered this way, Repose does not require any help nor loss of any energy. Many ancient ones enter this state to avoid the risk of frenzy or other dangers.

Repose does not bring a character back from final death. Final death occurs upon removal of the vampires heart, head, or when the body to be burned to death, or drained of all blood. Final death comes quickly. Within minutes all that remains is a pile of ashes. It is impossible to revive or regenerate a body that no longer exists.

The ability for the vampire to regain itself is dependent on Humanity. More humane characters heal faster. So, the less humane your character is, the longer it would be in Repose. This is difficult to gauge in our realm, so in fairness, it is based on Injuries. If you were in a battle and killed your foe, you would still be subject to the table below. This works in disagreements of honor as well, a situation where final death is not the desired result, as it is seen to be more honorable not to take a character's life than to do so. Maybe agreeing in advance over the choices made here is a good recommendation.

Repose is not instant, it happens after the battle. The battle continues until either final death or the point you both choose. One does not slip into Repose during a battle due to injuries. Again it is better to agree before hand.

If attacked and injured by someone, yet you escape or they quit and leave, you still would be responsible to role play the injuries. If the said injuries are severe as per the charts below, enter a state of Repose.

Mortals, Ghouls, Demons, Elves, Garou and other creatures would require time to heal. So to show fair play they would follow same chart. Creatures that do not have ability to regenerate would have to role play it as such.... Maybe get a hook... hearing aid... Bionic limbs let your imagination flow...

Healing 

The max that you can be healed is up to 70 percent of the damage that you have taken, that means you could be brought back from near death. But you will still have pain and recoup time just not as long. It is possible to be healed during battle if your healers spells are approved and they do it correctly. 



Injury chart

Injury's are based on the point difference between your roll and your foe.  The larger the difference the greater the damage inflicted upon your foe. You should Role Play the damage you receive as you battle. The closer you get to your limit the more you should act like you have lost it  in blood etc.  When you loose all your points you have one turn to escape, It must be rp'd "with one great thrust you leap out the window." 
Severe Damage

Severe Damage would happen only if your dice roll is double that of your foe. With this severe damage is done and 3 points of damage happens , if 3 times 6points, if 4 times happens 8 hit points. 


Repose Table

If you take minor damage less then 25 percent of your total points, you will be sore as if in a fight, if between 25 and 50 percent you will be hospitalized for no less then 3 days, if you take more then 50 yet less then 75 percent you will be out of play for 1 week as you recoup from the damage. If you take over 75 percent to 95 percent you will be out of play for 2 weeks.  Over 95 percent you will be out for 3 weeks to recoup.