I'm learning the rules for the game. Sorry if this question is so basic. If a knight while engaged in combat needs to do something other than fight, say, draw his dagger after losing his sword, or shout orders to a friend, is his opponent rolling his attack unopposed against him? Or can the knight dodge or do the defensive tactic to hold off the attack while he draws the dagger, etc. I guess I'm just trying to understand if when a knight doesn't actively attack another, if his opponent's attack goes unopposed. I hope I'm making sense. I did some mock combat and it was very deadly to do anything except try your hardest to kill the other man, which is realistic, I know. I just want to make sure I'm doing it right. Thanks.

Hello Sir Widenheim and welcome to The Round Table.

Typically, whenever a character is engaged in combat and is not directly attacking or defending against an opponent, that attack will be unopposed. This holds true for your examples. There are optional rules for combined actions, but I do not use them. They do, though, mention re-arming while fighting: "Arm or re-arm while fighting: with a –5/+5 reflexive modifier applied to your and your opponent’s weapon skill, respectively, for the round."

I would expect dishonourable opponents to take every advantage, but you might consider that combat with knights (especially once chivalry comes into play) would often allow for pauses in the combat so opponents can prepare themselves to face one another honorbably. A dropped weapon in a duel might result in a pause in sword slinging; the same event in the heat of mass battle is not so likely.

Shouting orders to friends while fighting can also be done simultaneously, perhaps a -5/+5 modifier for the round, as in drawing a new weapon.

Thanks for the warm welcome! You've answered my question. I'm feeling more confident now.

I did some mock combat and it was very deadly to do anything except try your hardest to kill the other man, which is realistic, I know. I just want to make sure I'm doing it right.


Note also that the deadliness varies with campaign period.
At the start of the game, when everyone has 10-11 point armour, suffering unopposed attacks can inflict serious damage. Even here, though, if you have to survive an an unopposed attack and you're facing a human with 4-6D6 damage, the injury itself is less important than the DEX roll to stay standing.
Later on, when people have 14-16 point armour, even 5d6 blows pretty much glance off, and knights can survive much more of a battering. Knights can be knocked over several times, stagger to their feet, being pelted on all the time, and then wade back into the fray.