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Tactics

Discworld Player Help

Tactics

Name

tactics - the options of combat

Syntax

options combat tactics
options combat tactics <attitude|response|focus|attack|parry|unarmed_parry>
options combat tactics attitude = <insane|offensive|neutral|defensive|wimp>
options combat tactics response = <dodge|neutral|parry>
options combat tactics focus = <upper body|lower body|head|neck|chest|abdomen|arms|hands|legs|feet|none>
options combat tactics attack = <left|right|both>
options combat tactics parry = <left|right|both>
options combat tactics unarmed_parry = <on|off>

Description

There are a number of combat options that you can set to determine your tactics in a fight - you can change these settings at any time, even during the middle of a fight, to change your tactics. The first option is your attitude: you can be on the offensive (in which case you get a bonus to attacking, but a penalty to dodging and parrying), or on the defensive (in which case you get a bonus to dodging and parrying, but a penalty to attacking) or you can take a neutral attitude (in which case there are no bonuses or penalties).

In dealing with an attack, you can choose your response: you can always dodge or you can always parry or you can be neutral in your response. When using neutral response there is a slight bonus since your opponent doesn't know if you will dodge or parry.

For parrying, you can choose whether to always parry with the weapon, or shield, in your left or right hand or always attempt to use the weapons, or weapon and shield, in both hands.

If you are fighting unarmed, you can choose to attempt to parry with your arm or hand (this special manoeuvre can be disabling if you are not skillful enough, but would prevent an attack from reaching your more vital areas).

You can control your mercy: always accept surrenders, never accept surrenders, or ask whether or not to accept surrenders.

Note: Surrendering might not be possible currently.

You can focus on a specific part of an opponent's body. While this makes it more difficult to hit the opponent, it may enable you to cause a greater degree of injury if you do get the hit(s) in. With different races the part you have chosen to target will be mapped onto that race's body.

It is important to realise that for best results, the tactics that you choose should depend on your armoury, your opponents and the armouries of your opponents - no two fights will ever be quite the same.

Note

The distance and mercy options are currently disabled, they may be enabled in the future.

Examples

> options combat tactics
Your combat options are:

Attitude - defensive.
Response - dodge.
Mercy - ask.
Focus - none.
Target distance - none.
You will use both hands to parry.

You will not attempt to parry unarmed.
Combat tactics:
attack = left <left|right|both>
attitude = neutral <insane|offensive|neutral|defensive|wimp>
focus = chest <upper body|lower
body|head|neck|chest|abdomen|arms|hands|legs|feet|none>
parry = right <left|right|both>
response = parry <dodge|neutral|parry>
unarmed_parry = on <on|off>

> options combat tactics attitude=defensive
Your attitude is now defensive.

> options combat tactics response=neutral
Your response is now neutral.

> options combat tactics parry=left
You will now use your left hand to parry.

Character Profiles

Alice the Assassin wears typical assassin's clothing, but carries around rather a lot of the hardware typical to the trade. After a successful inhumation, she wields a rapier and a dagger and attempts to make good her escape from the scene. Since she is mostly interested in getting away, she sets her combat attitude to defensive; given the weight of the tools that she carries, she sets her combat response to parry and chooses to always parry with the dagger in her left hand in order to protect her more delicate rapier.

Birzig the Barbarian wears the standard leather garment, a cloak made from the wool of Hublandish sheep and a pair of fur-lined boots. He carries little beyond a small satchel and his trusty bastard sword. Since his goal is to defeat his enemies, he sets his combat attitude to offensive and his response to neutral, since given the little he carries he can either dodge or parry with his bastard sword.

See also

consider, fighting, mercy, accept, reject, surrender, options