Martial Arts: Wait

Wait requires you to name a particular event and declare your response in advance. The event can be as general or as specific as you wish. You could specify, “I'll Attack Otto with my rapier if he steps into reach on my right and utters so much as one word." However, it would be equally legitimate to declare, "I'll Attack Otto with my rapier if he steps into reach," or, "I'll use my rapier to Attack the first enemy who steps into reach."

Your response must be more specific. You must name the maneuver and weapon you plan to use; e.g., "I'll Attack with my main-gauche" or "I'll All-Out Attack (Strong) with my rapier." You don't have to name particular combat options or techniques, though; you can decide these when you act. For instance, when you Attack with your rapier, you could choose to disarm, stab to the vitals, make a Rapid Strike, etc.

The new maneuvers, Committed Attack and Defensive Attack, are both valid responses. If you choose Committed Attack, you must specify in advance whether it will be Determined or Strong.

Stop Hits

It has often been in vogue among swordsmen to attack an opponent as he attacks or prepares to attack, the idea being to stop his blow and hit him while he's committed to attacking. There are many variations on this tactic, known as "attack on preparation," "stop cut," “stop thrust," and "time thrust." Such gambits aren't limited to swordplay; Bruce Lee was an advocate of the “intercepting fist." For game purposes, the collective term for these moves is Stop Hit – if only to distinguish them from the "stop thrust" on p. B366.

To try a Stop Hit, take a Wait and declare that you intend to attack your foe. Instead of simply attacking first, which allows him to parry and continue with his attack, you attack into his attack in an effort to hit him while he's on the offensive and less able to defend. Since you're on the offensive, too, this is a gamble: your skill against his.

You and your opponent both roll to hit normally. If you both miss, nothing happens. If one of you hits and the other doesn't, the struck fighter defends at -1...or at -3 if he tries to parry with the weapon he used to attack. If you both hit, the one with the largest margin of success defends normally while the other has the penalty above – but in a tie, you both suffer this penalty!

You can do this with an unbalanced weapon (one with a "U" in its Parry statistic) or even one that becomes unready after an attack – and if you do, you can try to parry your foe's weapon. This is because your Stop Hit and parry are a single move, not two distinct actions. You cannot parry after your Stop Hit, however.

See Counterattack and Riposte for two related ways to take advantage of an attacker.

Cascading Waits

When multiple fighters trigger Wait maneuvers simultaneously – or nearly so – it's crucial to know who goes first. This can arise in many situations, the most common of which are:

• One combatant's actions trigger another's Wait, his response triggers somebody else's Wait...and so on.
• Two or more fighters with Waits wish to attack one another.
• More than one person with a Wait wishes to affect the same target (grab an object, count coup, etc.).

The GM could rule, "He who shouts first, acts first," but that would be unfair to timid players who play aggressive fighters. This is a roleplaying game, after all! Below is a fairer method.

First, determine which of the waiting parties wishes to commit to action immediately. The only choices here – for PC and NPC alike – are "I proceed" or "I continue to wait." No qualifiers are allowed!

Then roll a Quick Contest. Each fighter rolls against the score he intends to use: DX to grab an object or activate a simple control (e.g., press a button), a combat skill to attack, a DX-based roll against a technical skill to operate complex controls quickly, etc. Not everyone needs to use the same kind of skill. For instance, if one convict is trying to stab another, his would-be target is so close that he can grab the knife, and a guard is standing by a button that will close a door between the prisoners – and all three have a Wait – the first would make a Knife roll, the second, a Wrestling roll, and the third, a DX roll.

Modifiers: +1 for Combat Reflexes; a bonus equal to Basic Speed (drop all fractions); +2 for fighters who needn't move at all, +0 for those who need only take a single step, or -1 per yard of distance for those who must move further (to All-Out Attack).

Those who succeed act in order of decreasing margin of success, then those who fail act in order of increasing margin of failure. Tied fighters act truly simultaneously; if they attack one another, they cannot parry with the weapons they're using to attack! If a faster fighter's action renders that of a slower fighter impossible, the slower one loses his action (and his Wait).

If, at any time during the sequence of actions determined by this Quick Contest, the conditions become right to trigger the Wait of a previously uninvolved fighter, he can try to interrupt – but this isn't automatic! He rolls exactly as above, but with an extra -2 for jumping in late. He enters the sequence where his margin of success or failure indicates. If this is before the person he's trying to interrupt, he successfully interrupts him. If not, he just has to wait and risk losing his action if it becomes impossible.

'Enhanced Time Sense: If one or more of those involved has the Enhanced Time Sense advantage, resolve their actions first using the method above. Then settle things for those without this trait. Individuals with ETS and a Wait can interrupt those who lack ETS at any time.