The Prophecy has been realized! The Goddess Suria has sent The Five Pendants of Power to Andora, sparking a war between the peoples of Suria and the Great Nosferatu Houses. Once again the Vampire Lord Dragul stalks Andora, gathering the legendary Hunters of Yeld to restore his dark empire. Now the High Elves of Elderon stand with the Imperial Legions and the free people of Korinath against Draguls Nosferatu armies. You must choose a side in the Battle for Andora. More...
	Living by the sword and dying by the sword doesn't necessarily mean just that, it could be death from an axe, or by the arrow, or simply with bare hands. No matter what the weapon of choice, there are those who have chosen to hone their skills in the area of direct combat, as opposed to skills of guile or magical prowess; a direct road to travel which yields direct results, yet only one choice among many. Anyone can pick up a sword but it takes a trained individual to wield it well. In fact some are so attuned with their weapon, that they can deal incredible amounts of damage with only a small amount of strength exerted. Combat skills aid in bolstering the combat potential of many warriors while others rely on pure brute strength. The system itself employs a mechanic of opposed rolling and action vs. reaction, which draws combat into a much more real time feel, and not simply a slug fest of hitting one another until someone dies. Weapons in this system are quite lethal, no more hammering away at an unarmored target for several rounds before seeing effects. A relatively small amount of damage can easily sever a limb, or even a head. Great amounts of damage can cut a man in half, and it is quite feasible to achieve. The best defense is a good offense, some say, yet there are those who no matter how hard you hit them will be skilled enough at parrying the attack and returning it to you with very little effort. Skills and attributes combine to provide the best overall defense which insures that you'll be able to turn the tables on your foe. Ranged combat takes on a whole other feel with a large number of beneficial rules which make ranged combat very worthwhile. Extra armor penetrating capabilities over melee attacks, ability to deal higher base amounts of damage with equally high potentials for high damage maximums for skilled archers, and all from the safety of a ledge or rear ranks of a group. Not limited however to distant attacking, ranged weapon users can find themselves in the fray with their weapons, parrying and bludgeoning with their crossbows and bows, just like a blunt weapon, and firing off a round or two when possible at close range. Additional combat skills unique to ranged attacks allow for increased aim and damage potential, while also bolstering one's ability to fire quickly among other things. The ferocity of combat takes its toll if not in casualties, then in exhaustion. It is very easy to overexert yourself and pass out, so combat is usually quick and taxing. This initiative based system allows for everyone to get a hit in with only a fleeting "first strike" opportunity for the attack initiator, an opportunity which highly tuned skills will help to make a one strike kill a real possibility. The Mechanics The combat system uses a D20, and is an initiative based combat system with opposed rolls. Skills and attributes provide bonuses to the combat rolls (Strike, Parry, Dodge, Initiative, Counter and Block) that determine what sort of actions can happen in combat. The highest initiative character goes first, chooses an action such as to strike a target, rolls a D20, and adds their strike bonus provided by skills, weapon proficiencies and their speed attribute. The target can then choose to dodge (jump aside, duck etc), Parry (block with their weapon, which also gives a chance to counter attack if successful), or Block if they have a shield or another blunt object like a chair or a table (if they are strong enough to pick it up that is). Failed defense rolls mean that someone's gonna get their ass handed to them, so armor is very handy, it doesn't nullify damage, but it does significantly reduce it. The natural D20 roll to strike (without bonuses) is the armor penetration value (AC = Armor Class), any roll equal or more than the armor's rating will damage the armor as well as the wearer. if not above it, the armor deflects it, but the wearer still takes impact damage. light armor like leather only reduces damage by 25%, while plate armor reduces it by 75%. Ranged combat works similarly, but employs a percentage based aim value to hit the target and is much better at breaking through armor, so adds bonuses to the AC penetration and always deals full damage to the target if the AC is exceeded. If AC is not exceeded, no damage is dealt because the arrow/bolt deflects off. The combat is action based on initiative, and those who have higher initiative have a better chance of surviving. Highest initiative gets the jump on the action, or they can choose to hold their action and intervene on any action they wish. Intervention works with lower initiative characters as well, who can roll observation and attempt to take their action earlier by intervening and rolling observation higher than the current character's initiative that is performing an action. Changes in the situation such as environmental changes, defeated characters or new characters joining the battle means for new initiative rolls and chances for people to recoup what they lost by having bad initiative rolls during the previous round of combat.