Conflicts

While most of a session may play out in a flowing narrative fashion interspersed with skill tests, when the friendly dialogue ends and there is a need for coercion or combat, a conflict will begin. In Clockwork Dominion, while conflict may be primarily physical or social, these conflict types interrelate and may overlap. A physical conflict fought with fists, blades and guns will often include social attacks such as distractions, intimidations, and feints. A social conflict of negotiation or trickery can sometimes come to blows.

1. Calculate relevant Conflict Traits (see below)
2. Roll Initiative (typically Focus + Tactics for Physical Conflict, Focus + Composure for Social Conflict, with no Difficulty). = either an automatic top initiative slot, or free Maneuver before conflict begins. Reminder: a Wounded character must add their equivalent Wound Penalty to this roll.
3. On your turn (take in any logical order): 1 Move, 1 Action, 1 Maneuver
4. Social Conflicts only last 3 Rounds; if it remains unresolved you may have to continue the argument in a subsequent Encounter (though characters are free to change their Dispositions). Social Conflict will also be ended by the initiation of physical conflict.

You may move ~10'. In open areas, this allows you to re-center your ZoC (see below). If Zones are defined by location, you may move to an adjacent zone. You are automatically engaged with other characters within your ZoC. If any part of a move takes place while an opponent is in your ZoC, they may interrupt to React (below).

• You may trade your Action to perform either an additional Move or Maneuver during your turn.
• Perform any task that requires a trait test. This usually means attacking an opponent or acting to secure an advantage. You may move freely within your ZoC during your Action, attacking or interacting with anything within its boundaries.
  • Physical Conflict: Attacker typically tests Grace+weapon skill vs defender's Vigor+Athletics (may instead use ranks in a weapon skill if they are wielding the appropriate weapon). See chart below for typical trait combos.
  • Social Conflict: Attacker typically tests Presence+social skill vs depender's Will+Composure. See chart below for typical trait combos.
  • Attack Results:
    • = reduce opponents Guard or Disposition by 1, 1 more for every additional . If Guard/Disposition is already at zero/Favorable, and you could reduce it further, you may place an Outcome of your choice on the target (1 per attack). In Physical Conflict, it is typically a Wound; in Social Conflict it is typically convincing the opponent to agree with you (see Conflict Outcomes below).
    • = on a successful attack, if guard is up/Disposition above Favorable, roll on the Standard Conditions table z times (z = Weapon Potency - Armor). If Armor is equal to Potency or higher, no Condition may be placed (but on a penetrating attack, the attacker may place the standard Condition 'Disarmed' on the target's armor, thus opening them up more outcomes). You may spend additional to increase the number of rolls on a crit table, or to increase Weapon Potency.
    • = On a successful attack while Guard is up, it ignores Guard and becomes a penetrating attack. On a successful attack while Guard is already down, the opponent may become Incapacitated.
    • = The attacker loses one Guard/Disposition for every .
    • = The defender may choose to add a setback to the attacker's next check.
    • = The defender may place a Standard Condition on the attacker. Roll once on the Standard Conditions Table, +1 roll for each additional
    • = The defender may place an Outcome (see below) on the attacker.

Any task that would not require a trait test, but uses a moment of attention or effort. Standard options:

• Aim: (Physical Conflict only) Eliminate the “unaimed' penalty for ranged weapons (primarily firearms and bows): if you don't aim a ranged weapon, increase the difficulty once. For thrown weapons and shorter range weapons, the aim maneuver adds a boost instead. You cannot aim if an opponent is in your ZoC
• Elicit Aid: Before you perform an Action, you may spend a maneuver to invite one or more allies (who have not yet taken a turn this round) to help in your current action. All aiding characters will roll a trait test to accomplish the same goal in lieu of their future turn in the current round. They may use different types of trait combinations at the approval of the Narrator. This shared action is resolved by choosing only the best result (though if a is rolled in any result, a Pontus Event occurs). The advantage is that all participating characters only use up one Avenue of Attack (see “Other Definitions” below).
• Interact with the Environment: (usually Physical) Opening a door, flipping a switch, pushing a button, or drawing/storing a weapon may be accomplished as a maneuver
• Passive Trait Test: Any task your abilities allow you to attempt as a passive skill test may be performed as a maneuver (ie Difficulty </= (Skill + Aptitude)/2 = simple success). A common passive trait test is Riding a horse.
• Sidestep: (Usually Physical: in Social Conflict this would be a faux-pas) Remove an Avenue of Attack (see below) until your next action. This may mean putting your back against a wall or moving erratically; also stepping into a neighboring ally's ZoC and removing their Avenue of Attack (covering their back). If two characters do this concurrently, they fight back to back and remove an avenue of attack from each other. Remember, if you reduce your Avenues of Attack to 0, you remove your own ability to attack others.
• Take Cover: (Physical Conflict) If a logical object is available within your ZoC, you may spend a maneuver to use it to create cover, which adds to incoming checks (see below). E.g. - flipping a table, or pulling two potted plants together to shield your flank.
• Attract: (Social Only) Ensure a single character is paying attention to you. Since a social check requires the target to hear you, in a noisy environment or active social scene, you may need to spend a maneuver to gain the attention of your target.
• Defensive Stance: Refresh 1 point of lost Guard, up to your maximum Guard. You concentrate on defense, trying to anticipate your opponents' attacks. This adds to your next attack.

In the case of a successful ambush (Competitive check: Attacker's Reason+Tactics vs the intended victim's Focus+Tactics, modified at the Narrator's discretion by the availability of suitable terrain), the attackers all go first, and the defenders cannot raise their Guard until after the attack. This can be very effective…

• Defense is calculated as 1/2 of your highest rank (either Aptitude or Skill, rounded up), upgraded by the full amount of your lower rank. So Vigor 3 with 2 ranks in Athletics = ; Will 5 with 1 rank in Composure = ; 1 Rank in Vigor with 5 ranks in Fencing (while holding a rapier) = ; Will 5 with Intuition 5 when targeted by trickery in Conflict =
• Social attacks during physical conflict may be used to lower the target's Guard or Morale, but it cannot create Outcomes (persuasions, convictions/affinites, Wounds, etc)

A successful attack check that hits when the defender's Guard is down is a penetrating attack, and places an Outcome on the defender:

• Standard Conditions: (Physical and Social) The attacker may choose and apply any Standard Condition when the target's Guard/Disposition is down.
• Wound: (Physical Only - and Weapon Potency must exceed Armor) While bumps and scrapes are more narrative, a Wound is a debilitating injury that requires quick medical attention, and requires recovery time outside of combat. Mark 1 Wound on your character sheet. Every Wound upgrades the Difficulty of all checks, and counts as a -2 Wound Penalty. See Health and Healing for more details.
• Subdue: (Physical Only) Typically a grapple, hold, or lock that immobilizes the opponent - they must remain adjacent to each other. Neither character may raise their Guard until they are separated. The attacker must spend future Actions to maintain the subdual or attack the defender or they are released. The defender may only attack the subduing character (typically Grace+Athletics/Melee). + to all attack checks by either character. A successful attack by a subdued character releases them, a successful attack by the subduer can be used to place another outcome or Condition (but the defender is released)
• Convince: (Social only: Weapon Potency must exceed Armor) You believe the information you are told is true, and will continue to believe it until you are given reason to doubt. * Persuade: Social only: Weapon Potency must exceed Armor) You desire to perform an action that you did not previously wish to do. Find the easiest, safest, and most convenient way to enact this intention. If the opportunity to take action does not present itself in the current session, you may have time to think better of the choice (see Recovery).
  • A player character may always spend Purpose to avoid this outcome, remember that everyone has momentary lapses of reason, makes errors of judgment, or succumbs to temptation. You need not believe you're doing the right thing in order to be persuaded to take action - the proper motivation or temptation makes many an honest person do dishonest things. Furthermore, just because you're persuaded to take an action, doesn't mean you won't feel regret later.
• Other Outcomes: A Narrator has freedom to allow any logical outcome that makes sense for a given penetrating attack.

There are 4 Traits specifically used during conflicts and calculated at the beginning of a Conflict: Guard and Morale in primarily physical conflict; Disposition and Esteem in Social Conflict. Armor and Potency are two more traits that are used in both Physical and Social Conflict to determine Outcomes.

Guard = 1/2 Focus rounded up, +1 for weapon

Guard is the ability of a defender to correctly identify and respond to attacks without overextending, losing balance, or creating gaps in defensive posture. Highly observant fighters anticipate attacks and knock them aside; once Guard has been reduced to 0, the defender is vulnerable to Wounds and persistent conditions.

• Any weapon solid enough to deflect a blow may be used as a parrying weapon for a +1 bonus; a ranged weapon like a rifle must be used in a shifted grip, which requires a maneuver to be used to switch between an attacking grip vs parrying grip.
• Firearm attacks bypass Guard - no warrior can block bullets. A character may also not use Guard against a surprise attack.

The equivalent to Guard, but in social combat where the goal is to convince (through coercion or persuasion). Each character may choose their own Disposition level based on how strongly they feel about getting their way or resisting change (ie. the more resistant, the more successes needed to “lose” the conflict).

• Hostile (Rank 5) indicates a character that refuses to listen/engage with an argument. In most circumstances, being openly Hostile is a social faux pas (and may result in a negative Reputation).
• Guarded (Rank 4) indicates mistrust and will challenge the position, but is willing to listen to strong arguments.
• Indifferent (Rank 3) indicates no particularly strong feelings, and is willing to be persuaded either way.
• Agreeable (Rank 2) indicates sympathy and growing agreement that could come around to the position with some mild persuasion.
• Favorable (Rank 1) indicates general agreement, and only needs a bit more certitude to determine how best to put the position into practice.
• A character's Disposition is moved one step towards Favorable for each successful attacker's check. Any successful attack on a Favorable character penetrates social defenses and creates a social outcome (usually a conviction or persuasion)

Essentially a character or group's Disposition towards fleeing combat. Players choose their starting Disposition unless a special circumstance dictates their Morale. Allies/Antagonists have a Morale based on their Threat level from their stat block (starting at Favorable, moving up 1 level per rank of Threat)

• Move 1 level towards Favorable when the character suffers a Wound, or witnesses an allied character flee, surrender, or become Incapacitated. If already at Favorable, the character surrenders or flees.
• Morale may also be directly targeted by a Presence+Command check to intimidate a foe, or rally Allies to strengthen their Morale (move towards Hostile).

Esteem = Status (Class or Means) - Tenor +/- 1/2 relevant Reputation

• Esteem represents the Disposition of the current social gathering towards a character. It's calculated the first time it's needed in an Encounter, and persists as long as the social event continues, sometimes across multiple Encounters.
• Calculation:
  • Narrator declares the Tenor for the gathering: either a rank of Class or of Means, whichever is most important to the invited guests of the gathering (Higher class gatherings tend to care more about Class, the working classes tend to care more about Means).
  • Subtract the Tenor from the character's equivalent Trait.
  • Check a character's Reputations: add 1/2 of the Rank of positive Reputations, subtract 1/2 Rank of negative Reputations - round down. (eg. A Rank 3 Reputation, “Honorable soldier in Her Majesty's service” would increase Esteem by 1 at a Military gathering, but lower Esteem by 1 in a den of thieves)
  • Disposition of the social gathering begins at Indifferent towards a character; positive Esteem moves the Disposition towards Favorable, negative Esteem moves the Disposition towards Hostile.

Weapons in both Social and Physical Conflict have 3 qualities: Potency, Special Conditions, and Reach.

Armor reduces Potency of a weapon, and if the Armor rank is >/= Potency, the weapon may not place Wounds, Convince or Persuade the defender; if Guard is up, the attacker may not spend to inflict a Condition. If Guard is down, however, the attacker may choose to place the Disarmed Condition on the target's Armor to remove it, even in Social Conflict (representing confusion or doubt). Subsequent attacks may then place the above Outcomes.

If Potency is > Armor, the attacker may spend on a successful attack to inflict a Condition. The attacker may roll z times on the ”Standard Conditions Table“, where z = Potency - Armor. For every additional , increase the Potency of the attack. The attacker may choose to place any Conditions rolled, or any Weapon Conditions listed in its stat block.

• Potency is the power of a weapon/evidence to create an Outcome. Physical weapons have a Potency listed in its stat block.
  • Social Potency: Evidence is wielded like a weapon in Social Conflict. Potency is determined by the Reputation rank of the person from whom the evidence originates. A fact from a book written by a famous scholar with a 3-rank Reputation “Knowledgeable Scientist” will have a Potency of 3. If the evidence comes from a source connected to one of the defender's Affinities, the Potency will equal the rank of that Affinity. Multiple sources do not stack - choose the highest one. Social attacks without evidence have Potency 1
    • Physical weapons may be used to threaten in a Social Conflict, and may use the Potency of that Weapon in the social attack (usually Presence + Command). If the weapon is covered in blood or menacing in other ways, the Narrator may increase its Potency.
• Weapon Conditions: Physical weapons have Conditions listed in their stat blocks. For Social Weapons:
  • Overwhelmed: if the credibility can be influenced by an Affinity the defender may hold.
  • Undone: if the evidence is indisputable, like an undoctored photograph, or directly witnessing an event.
• Reach: Again, physical weapons have Reach listed in stat blocks; for Social attacks:
  • Audible: the most common social attack is spoken evidence. Attacker may need to spend an Attract maneuver to get the target's attention in a busy or noisy environment.
  • Visual: Written attacks are typically made through letters, posters, propaganda, or other textual media. They affect everyone who reads (and understands the language).
  • A single piece of writing may make up to 3 attacks, depending on its length. A poster or propaganda typically makes only 1 attack, and usually targets Disposition rather than convincing or persuading. Letters & newspaper articles typically make 2 attacks, while a treatise or essay typically makes 3.
    • When written attacks are composed, the author makes a Simple test, and the readers make a competitive check vs the author's results. A character always has the choice to ignore written material, or may stop reading after the first attack check.

• In conflict, a character's ZoC is usually a bubble that extends approximately 10' around you in all directions (equivalent to a single Genesys range band). That space is easily covered in a few steps and falls within the effective reach of most skilled hand-to-hand combatants, and characters within that area can easily be spoken to. You are presumed to generally be aware of and be able to interact with other characters and objects within your ZoC
• A ZoC may alternatively be defined by the Narrator based on a physical structure or location - smaller parts of a larger space that flow nto each other (eg. at an alehouse, with one ZoC at the bar, and a second ZoC at the tables), or distinct areas that are accessible from one another but separate (eg. a dining room and an adjacent kitchen).

A clear path from the attacker to the target is called an Avenue of Attack. All attacks, close and ranged, require an open AoA. Mechanically, AoAs are conceptual placeholders that are either occupied or open, but narratively characters are considered to be in constant motion throughout their ZoC - so an “opening” may described as a momentary clear shot during a combat sequence.

• Social Conflict: Each individual has only 1 AoA, since it represents a single line of argument. An individual cannot meaningfully focus on 2+ in-depth conversations at the same time. A defender may leave social conflict at any time, though there may be social ramifications for doing so. The only time a character may not leave a social conflict is if they are forced to remain against their will (interrogation or captivity, or with the Entrapped Condition). Pressing a conversation once a character has attempted to leave is view as boorish and rude, and is always a faux pas in polite company.
  • It is possible for more than one attacker to share an AoA, using the Elicit Aid maneuver. This represents working together, playing off of one another in a good cop/bad cop scenario, using peer pressure, or presenting complementary arguments. Only the best roll (chosen by the attackers) is used to resolve that action. The active character who used the Elicit Aid maneuver is considered to be occupying the single AoA for the entire current Conflict.

• Physical Conflict: Each individual has a default 3 AoAs - there isn't enough space for more than 3 people/groups to effectively see or strike at one character per round.
  • Any close combat attacker that moves into a character's ZoC will occupy one of these avenues.
  • Any ranged attackers not within the target's ZoC do not occupy an AoA, but in order to shoot the target there must be at least 1 “open” AoA (ie not taken up by another attacker in the target's ZoC). Multiple ranged attackers may attack through a single open ZoC.
  • Any strategic terrain feature that makes it impossible for an attacker to engage or see an opponent will fill one of the opponent's AoA's. Unless a target is almost completely surrounded, blocking terrain may only fill one AoA.
  • Cover does not occupy an AoA, but rather obscures the target in some way. Light cover represents anything covering about half of the target, and adds to incoming attacks. Heavy cover represents anything that obscures about 3/4 of the target, and adds to incoming attacks.
• If all AoA's are full, an attacker occupying one of these AoA's may take the “Elicit Aid” manuever, as described above.