Combat
Combat is generally not the most important part of Ars Magica stories, but when it occurs it is both dramatic and deadly.
Combat Scores
Characters have five combat scores: Initiative, Attack, Defense, Damage, and Soak. If a character is just using one weapon, the weapon modifiers can simply be read off the weapon table (see below). If the character is using a weapon and a shield, add together the modifiers of the weapon and the shield to get the final modifier.
Initiative Total
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Quickness + Weapon Initiative Modifier – Encumbrance + Stress Die
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Attack Total
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Dexterity + Combat Ability + Weapon Attack Modifier + Stress Die
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Defense Total
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Quickness + Combat Ability + Weapon Defense Modifier + Stress Die
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Damage Total
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Strength + Weapon Damage Modifier + Attack Advantage
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Soak Total
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Stamina + Armor Protection (+ Form Bonus, for magi)
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In addition, the Attack Advantage, calculated during combat, is central to resolution.
Attack Advantage
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Attacker's Attack Total – Defender's Defense Total
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Attribution
Content originally published in Ars Magica: Definitive Edition, ©2024, licensed by Trident, Inc. d/b/a Atlas Games®, under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license 4.0 ("CC-BY-SA 4.0)