(TFT) Here they are - HTH Rules (long)

[ErolB1@aol.com]

Here is the latest version of my HTH house rules (broadly defined - including 
the rules for broken ground, moving into or through an occupied hex, and pins 
and throws.) 


BROKEN GROUND
"Broken ground" consists of various obstacles: Rubble, low brush,
shallow water, fallen bodies...

A character who moves into a hex of broken ground must either pay an
extra point of MA or else roll three dice against adjDx. On a failed
roll, the character must pay one extra point of MA for each point by
which he failed the Dx roll. If the character doesn't have enough MA
left to pay the extra cost, he trips and falls down. Note that
characters who move into a hex of broken ground as their end-of-turn
shift, or as "free" movement, must attempt the roll against adjDx and
will automatically fall down if they miss the roll.

If a prone or kneeling (i.e. crawling) character fails the Dx roll and
can't pay the extra MA cost, he simply cannot enter the broken-ground
hex.

If a character moves through a series of broken ground hexes, he must
either pay an extra point of MA for every other hex he enters (i.e.
first, third, fifth,etc. hex), or else roll against adjDx with a -1
penalty for every hex of broken ground beyond the first: E.g. roll at
-3 Dx to move through a set of 4 broken-ground hexes.

Characters who stop in a hex of broken ground to attack have a -2 Dx
penalty. This penalty does not apply if the character is kneeling or
lying down, or if the character is making an attack against an
opponent in the same hex.

ENTERING AN OCCUPIED HEX
A character can treat an occupied hex as "broken ground" (above) if
the occupant is no more than one-third the character's size. A
kneeling figure counts as being one-half its normal size for the
purpose of occupying a hex, and a prone figure counts as being
one-quarter its normal size. Thus a prone one-hex character counts as
"one-quarter hex"- small enough for a standing one-hex character to
treat as broken ground.

If the character entering the hex is large enough to treat the
occupant as broken ground, then the two figures may fight in normal
melee, with each figure acting as if he were in one of the other
figure's front hexes.

If the occupant is too large to be treated as broken ground - larger
than one-third the entering character's size - then the entering
character must automatically pay two points of Movement Allowance to
enter the hex.

In addition, the character entering the hex must either attempt a
*shove* against the occupant, or else must make a *Hand-to-Hand
attack.* If the entering character is large enough to treat the
occupant as broken ground, he may *choose* to shove or make a
Hand-to-Hand attack, but doesn't have to.

A character who makes a successful shove may continue his movement. A
character who makes a Hand-to-Hand attack must then immediately
retreat back to the hex he entered from unless he manages to *grapple*
his target. This retreat counts as free movement for the character,
does not draw opportunity attacks, and is separate from the
character's end-of-turn shift.

Opportunity Attacks:
The occupant of a hex does not get an opportunity attack if another
figure enters from one of the occupant's front hexes. However, the
occupant may take his normal action early, just before the figure
enters the hex. Afterwards, the moving figure may move into the hex,
shove or make a Hand-to-Hand attack, and otherwise continue his turn.

The occupant may also take his action early by making a Hand-to-Hand
attack of his own, striking *after* the moving figure entered the hex
but *before* the moving figure attempts his shove or Hand-to-Hand
attack.

If the occupant hasn't taken his movement yet that turn, he may turn
in place before the moving character enters the hex. This forces the
moving figure to enter from one of the occupant's front hexes and
allows the occupant to take his action early, as above. This turning
in place counts as the occupant's Movement Phase for the turn.

Note that the occupant does not *have* to respond to a figure moving
into the hex. He may wish to save is action for later in the turn,
instead.  

An occupant of a mutually occupied hex may make an opportunity attack
against an opponent *leaving* the hex only if the attacking occupant
is small enough to count as "broken ground" to his opponent. Note that
this is the only way that a prone figure can make an opportunity
attack at all. 

A third figure standing in an adjacent hex may make opportunity
attacks normally against a character entering or leaving an occupied
hex.

Shoving:
When a character attempts a shove, he suffers a -2 Dx penalty to his
next action phase (this turn's if he hasn't acted yet, or next turn's
if he has) and to any Dx roll until then.

To see if the shove succeeds, roll 3 dice against the character's St
score, with a -1 St penalty for each point of St the target has above
St 10 (e.g. -2 to shove a St 12 opponent). If the target has a St
score below 10, the roll to shove gets a +1 *bonus* for each point
below St 10. Both figures get a bonus to their effective St from any
Unarmed Combat talents they have (+1 St for UC I, +3 for UC II, +6 for
UC III), and a bonus from their shields (+1 St for each point of armor
the shield normally provides). 

A successful roll pushes the target into one of the shoving
character's front hexes (shoving player's choice), and gives the
target a -2 Dx penalty to *his* next action phase and to all Dx rolls
until then. (Note that this movement counts as 'free' movement for the
shoved figure and does not draw any opportunity attacks.)

A failed shove allows the target of the shove to either shove back
with automatic success (no roll against St required), to shift one hex
in any direction as free movement, or to *grapple* to initiate
Hand-to-Hand combat.

A character may attempt a shove when entering an occupied hex, or when
he finds himself in an occupied hex at the start of his movement
phase. A character who is grappled after attempting a shove may choose
to attempt a second shove at once, at the cost of forfeiting both the
rest of his movement phase and his action phase for the turn.

HAND-TO-HAND (HTH) COMBAT
Hand-to-Hand combat occurs when two figures fight in the same hex. It
usually consists of biting, scratching and gouging while trying to
draw a dagger for a stab, but can also include such things as
wrestling or judo pins and throws.

INITIATING HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT
As noted above, a character entering an occupied hex must either
attempt a shove or make a HTH attack. If the character makes an HTH
attack, he must immediately retreat back to the hex he entered from
unless something allows him to *grapple* his opponent.

A character entering a hex to make a HTH attack against the occupant
of the hex gets a +2 Dx bonus if entering from the occupant's side, or
+4 Dx if entering from the occupant's rear. These bonuses do not apply
after the first turn of HTH combat.

Grappling:
Grappling allows a character to stay in an occupied hex and continue
to make HTH attacks. A character may grapple his opponent if...

o He falls prone (or is already prone)

o He is small enough to count as "broken ground" to his opponent

o His opponent attempts a shove against him, and fails

o His opponent makes a Hand-to-Hand attack against him

o His opponent grapples him
A grapple is automatically successful, provided that the character can
grapple at all.

Once a grapple is in place, neither figure may leave the hex until he
breaks his opponent's grapple and lets go of his own. (Special case: A
character with at least a 4 point St advantage can drag or carry a
weaker opponent against the opponent's will, and a character may
always allow himself to be dragged or carried by his opponent.)

To break a grapple, a character may attempt either a St roll to shove,
or a Dx roll to escape, at the beginning of his Movement Phase. The Dx
roll to escape a grapple is made on three dice, with all the usual
modifiers for making an unarmed attack against the grappling figure.
If the character fails to break the grapple, he may immediately
attempt another roll, at the cost of forfeiting his Movement and
Action phases for the turn, whether the second roll succeeds or not.
(Note: the character may not attempt the second roll if he saved his
Movement Phase until after he acted - i.e. if he already used his
Action Phase and doesn't have it to forfeit.)

If the character succeeds in breaking the grapple, he may leave the
hex in any direction, and move and act normally that turn.

Throwing an opponent with a wrestling or martial-arts style throw will
also break a grapple, as will breaking a wrestling or martial-arts
style pin. And of course the opponent can always just let go. Breaking
the grapple in any of these ways will allow the character to move out
of the hex as his end-of-turn shift that turn.

A grappling character may only take HTH actions, and may only attack
the target of his grapple. A character who is *being* grappled may
only fight in HTH unless he is large enough to treat his opponent as
"broken ground" - in which case he may continue to make normal melee
and ranged attacks while his opponent makes HTH attacks against him.

HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT ACTIONS
The possible HTH actions include:

o HTH Attack: Unarmed attacks, and daggers or other small weapons
"suitable for HTH combat" hit normally in HTH combat. Larger melee
weapons hit normally but do half damage. Ranged weapons cannot be used
at all, unless they are small, one-handed missile weapons (e.g. a
pistol or crossbow-pistol). These hit normally and do normal damage.

Shields only protect from HTH attacks for the first turn of HTH
combat, and only if the attacker entered the hex from in front of the
shield-bearer. Other armor always protects.

o HTH Parry: All parries in HTH combat are treated as "unarmed"
parries with the -4 Dx penalty, even if the parrying character holds a
dagger or other weapon.

o HTH Spell-casting: A wizard in HTH combat can only cast spells on
himself or on his opponent, and suffers a -4 Dx penalty due to the
distractions of HTH combat.

o HTH Draw Weapon: Only a dagger or other small weapon "suitable for
HTH combat" can be drawn in HTH combat. Roll 3 dice against adjDx as
usual. On a successful roll, the character can attack with the weapon
that turn. Otherwise, the character uses up his action to draw the
weapon.

o HTH Pin or Throw: This is a wrestling or judo-style throw or pin of
an opponent. Pins and throws are usually (but not always) HTH attacks.
See below for the rules on Pins and Throws.
ATTACKS FROM OUTSIDE THE HEX
Standing characters in HTH combat present an "all side" facing to
figures outside the hex: Melee attacks (but not ranged attacks) get a
+2 Dx bonus to hit. However, a melee attack that misses a figure in
HTH combat has a chance of hitting another character in the hex: Make
a second roll to hit. If this hits, and the attacker *wants* to miss
(e.g. to avoid hurting a friend) then make a third roll against adjDx.
Success on the third roll means that the attacker avoided damaging his
friend.

A ranged attack against figures in HTH combat even worse: When making
a ranged attack into a hex occupied by more than one figure, roll
first to hit and then roll to see *who* you hit. (Shooting arrows into
a brawl is a good way to lose friends, in more ways than one...)

PINS AND THROWS
These are special attacks representing the large number of possible
brawling, wrestling and martial arts moves. The exact form taken by a
pin or throw depends on the player's description of the move, the
character's skill, and the exact Dx modifiers assigned. A throw, for
example, may be anything from "the five-fold lotus of the earth's
embrace" to "I trip him."

A pin or throw is almost always a HTH attack, but can be a melee or
ranged attack with the appropriate weapon. In any case, it requires a
more-or-less normal roll to hit (3 dice against adjDx). If successful,
the attacker then makes a 3-die roll against Strength, rather than a
damage roll. If this second roll also succeeds, the attacker
successfully pins or throws his target.

COMMON MODIFIERS
Dx Modifiers:
A character who gets a Dx bonus to Unarmed Combat attacks gets this
bonus for pins and throws, even if he happens to be holding a weapon.

A character who gets a Dx bonus to attacks with his weapon does not
get this bonus when making a pin or throw with the weapon in hand,
unless the weapon is a whip, lasso, or other peculiar weapon
especially suited for making pin and throw attacks. In fact, a
character holding a weapon in hand suffers a -2 Dx penalty when making
a pin or throw, unless the weapon is a whip, lasso, or something
similar.

St Modifiers:
The roll against St has a -1 penalty for each point of St the target
has above St 10 - e.g. -2 St on the roll to throw an opponent with St
12. Unarmed Combat talents add their St bonuses to both sides. E.g. +1
to the character's effective St for UC I, +3 for UC II, +6 for UC III,
etc.

THROWS
The generic throw starts with both figures standing, and ends (if
successful) with the attacker standing and the target lying on the
ground. The attacker may make the target fall down in either the
target's own hex, or in any hex adjacent to both the target and the
attacker. A character who makes a successful throw may also, if he
wishes, break free from being grappled.


Special situation and "called shot" throws include:

o Sacrifice Throw: +4 Dx, but the attacker also falls down, even if
the throw fails. A character with Unarmed Combat talent may use an
alternate version of the sacrifice throw which gives only +2 Dx, but
which causes the attacker to fall only if the throw succeeds. Of
course, the attacker must start in a standing up position in order to
make either sort of sacrifice throw.

o Bodyslam Throw: -4 Dx. If successful, the target falls down and
takes damage equal to the attacker's base unarmed attack damage
(without damage bonuses for UC talents, sharp teeth & claws, etc.)

o Throw With Follow-up Attack: -4 Dx. If the throw succeeds, the
attacker may make any melee or HTH attack as a follow-up, with the
follow-up also suffering a -4 Dx penalty. The attacker does not get a
follow up if either the Dx or St roll for the throw fails. An attacker
with both the Unarmed Combat and the Fencing talents can attempt this
without the -4 Dx penalties, but doing so uses up both the character's
attacks for the turn.

o Throw Against a Kneeling Target: -2 Dx *instead of* the usual +2 Dx
for attacking a kneeling target. A prone target, of course, cannot be
thrown at all.

o Shield Rush: An attempt to "throw" that uses a shield to bowl the
target over gets a bonus to the *St* roll equal to the armor bonus of
the shield: +1 for a small shield, +2 for a large, or +3 for a tower
shield. Note that this still gets the usual -2 Dx penalty for holding
a "weapon."

PINS
The generic pin starts with both figures lying on the ground, and ends
(if successful) with the attacker using both of his arms to pin both
of the target's arms, so that neither character can do anything until
either the attacker lets go or the target breaks loose. 

To break free of a pin, roll 4 dice against either St or Dx (player's
choice). If rolling against St, the roll gets a -1 penalty for each
point of St the pinning character has above St 10, (or a +1 bonus for
each point below St 10). The UC talents add to both sides effective St
scores, as usual.

If rolling against Dx to break a pin, roll at -2 Dx if the pinned
character is kneeling, and -4 Dx if he is prone.

Breaking a pin allows the pinned figure to automatically break any
grapple in effect at the same time.


Special situation and "called shot" pins include:

o Pin while standing: A standing character may attempt a pin against a
standing or kneeling target, but not against a target lying down. To
pin a prone target, the standing character must drop to kneeling or
prone himself.

o Pin against a standing character: When pinned, a standing figure can
still kick, bite, head-butt, at -2 Dx; or attempt a throw at -4 Dx to
the roll. However the standing target may not drop to kneeling or
prone unless the pinning character allows this. Furthermore, the
pinning character may prevent a standing target from kicking, etc. by
taking a -2 Dx penalty to his initial roll to pin.


If the pinned character does makes a successful throw, he breaks the
pin, but other attacks made while pinned will just do damage.

o Pin using one arm only: When using only one arm to pin, the St roll
is made at a -6 St penalty. The pinning character can then attack with
his other arm, at a -2 Dx penalty.

o Pin against a single limb: When pinning a single limb, the St roll
is made at a +6 St bonus. However a figure with only a single limb
pinned can kick, head-butt, bite, and attack with the other limbs.
These attacks are made at a -2 Dx penalty.

o Pin against the throat: -6 or -10 Dx. This pin, if successful, does
normal unarmed damage against the target, in addition to pinning him.
If the pin is made at a -6 Dx penalty, the target cannot bite or
head-butt, but can attack with his arms or other limbs. However, if
the pin is made at a -10 Dx penalty, the pinned character cannot
attack at all.
COUNTERMOVES
A countermove is a "parry" against a throw or pin. It is always
treated as an unarmed parry against an unarmed attack, even if either
or both sides have weapons in hand: Roll at -4 Dx, with +2 Dx for
every level of UC talent the character making the countermove has. A
countermove may be made after the Dx roll to pin or throw, but must be
made before the St roll. If the countermove succeeds, it negates the
pin or throw.

PINS AND THROWS OUTSIDE OF HTH COMBAT
A character using a two-handed weapon can attempt to "throw" an
opponent in one of his front hexes, using his weapon to hook or sweep
the legs of the opponent. This has a -4 Dx penalty to the Dx roll
*instead of* the usual -2 Dx for attempting a throw while holding a
weapon.

A character using a whip or a lasso can "pin" and "throw" characters
at range. This does not suffer the usual -2 Dx penalty for attempting
a pin or throw with a weapon in hand, but does have some limitations.
See the descriptions of those weapons for the specific rules involved.

***************************************************************

Notes: 

o There are references to some of my other house rules in this. In
particular, to my house rule on 'opportunity attacks' (rather than
simply being forbidden to move from an opponent's front hex), and to
my expansion of forcing retreats to a general one-hex end-of-turn
shift.

o I use 'shadowspawn' (demonic beast-form creatures) as common
opponents, and I've found that HTH combat is extremely powerful for
animals and animal-form creatures. This is why I've toned it down. It
no longer gets +4 Dx, foes can still use normal melee weapons in it
(albeit at half damage), and it's easier to escape than under the
standard rules.
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