I have a question on Full Defense and Multiple Foes. When Fighting Multiple Opponents and using the Full Defense option, does the +10 get added before dividing or after? The book states that the +5 from Mounted Combat vs multiple foes happens AFTER dividing one's weapon skill, but makes no mention of other bonuses or the like. I originally ruled that it happens after the division, but that +10 can really allow a Knight to hold off a bunch of trained Guardsmen if he wanted to which seems... somewhat odd (as in, cool and heroic but also against the rough and tumble nature of Pendragon combat).

Is there an actual criteria as to what kind of bonus happens after a skill is divided or is this another "Rule Zero" moment?

Mounted vs. Unmounted is a circumstantial modifier. Hence, since the circumstances apply to both opponents, both of them get the +5/-5 modifier applied. Or if one of them is mounted and the other one is not, the modifiers are different for both of them.

Full Defense is a tactic that modifies the DEFENDER'S skill. You can't pick multiple tactics, one against each opponent, even if it is the same tactic. Hence, Defensive +10 modifies ONLY the defender's skill BEFORE the division.

Same with something like a darkness penalty, or being tired, or being inspired or melancholy. These all affect the base skill, before the division.

That all makes sense, thanks.

I would like to say that as the 6th edition slowly rolls into existence, I'd like to request that some kind of standardization of nomenclature be adopted. Circumstantial Modifiers vs. Skill Modifiers would be a good way of looking at it... that way it's clear what the system treats as something that is added after splitting or before. It'd be very easy to argue that a Tactic could be a circumstantial modifier like being unhorsed (as my PK did)... having the system spell it out explicitly with standardized nomenclature helps head off such confusion.

That all makes sense, thanks.

Happy to help. :)



I would like to say that as the 6th edition slowly rolls into existence, I'd like to request that some kind of standardization of nomenclature be adopted. Circumstantial Modifiers vs. Skill Modifiers would be a good way of looking at it... that way it's clear what the system treats as something that is added after splitting or before. It'd be very easy to argue that a Tactic could be a circumstantial modifier like being unhorsed (as my PK did)... having the system spell it out explicitly with standardized nomenclature helps head off such confusion.

That's a very good point.

By the way, it is very nice to see new posters and players making comments/asking questions. Some of us old hands have been at it so long that it is hard to sometimes see things from the perspective of the new players. Especially when it comes to what was easy to understand or what was difficult.

(Not to mention that it gives me an excuse to talk about Pendragon, something which I very much like doing. :) )