Fighting in Poor Conditions

When fighting in poor conditions, participant skill matters less and more is up to chance. The most common causes for poor conditions are low light and darkness, weather conditions, and magical abilities. During an opposed roll, the GM should assess whether each side faces a moderate or severe impairment from the conditions. For example, a moderate impairment may be caused by low light or heavy mist, while severe impairment may be caused by darkness or fighting on a ship in a storm.

After a fixed or opposed roll occurs in which either side is impaired, an involved player rolls a d6. If the player’s character is moderately (severely) impaired, on a result of 1 (or 2), the player’s category or success is reduced by one. If the target of an opposed check is moderately (severely) impaired, on a result of 6 (or 5), the player’s category of success is increased by one.

For example, if you attack an enemy on a ship in a major storm, both characters are by default severely impaired by the ship’s movements. After accounting for your opponents defensive combat maneuver, you have Succeeded on the attack. To check for impairment, you roll a d6. On a 1 or 2, you Fail while on a 5 or 6 you Critically Succeed instead. However, if you are instead fighting a pirate who is used to these conditions and is therefore only moderately impaired, you would still Fail on a 1 or 2, but you would only Critically Succeed on a 6.

Severe asymmetric impairment may also result in different ranges. In situations where the attacker is impaired and the defender is unimpaired, the impairment d6 is rolled before the defender declares their reaction (if any). In situations where the effect of the impairment is strongly asymmetric or particularly severe, the GM should apply disadvantage or prohibit certain actions instead or in addition to these rules. For example, severe wind buffeting two characters in melee combat may call for an impairment check as the effect is symmetric and most combat actions are still possible. However, a character trying to shoot a bow may end up doing so at double disadvantage rather than using the impairment rules.