Unlucky 13 Combat Test

James helped me conduct a test of the U13 combat system. This is how it went.

The Player Character

	Player
Fighting	1
Agility	0
Weapon value	Sword 4
Armor value	Leather & Shield 3

This is the PC’s starting health meter:

01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12
A	A	A									☠

The Setup

GM: You’re leaving the city. Lord Crowfield sent you to Syresham manor, about 5-6 miles away to the east. He wants you to see what happened there with the light from the sky.

As you leave the town, you encounter the desert it wasn’t desert a few days ago. You find this disconcerting, weird, and alien. It’s sweltering hot. There is just sand and desert scrub as far as you can see. A river—the Lesser Ooze—is supposed to run between the two towns, but you see no sign of a river. Just sand and sun.

As Crowfield fades away behind you, the lack of any landmarks makes navigation difficult. You are in danger of getting lost.¹

From beside you, you hear the sound of something scuffling in the sand. Looking off you your right you see…

The Enemy

GM: Those pincers are about 4 to 5 FEET apart. It is scuffling towards you. What do you do?

	Player	Scorpion
Fighting	1	1
Agility	0	0
Weapon value	Sword: 4	Claw: 2 Stinger: 5
Armor value	Leather & Shield: 3	Chitin exoskeleton: 4

health:

01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12
A	A	A				☠	☠	☠	☠	☠	☠

The fight begins

Player: I light a torch.

GM: So you’re dropping your sword and shield, removing your backpack, fishing out the tinderbox and lighting a torch?

Player: No. Never mind. I will stand ready and let it come to me. Watching for the tail at all time

GM: It gets within a few feet–almost grasping range but not quite–and stops. You sense that it’s staring at you.

Player: “Hi, Friend , You do not want to eat me.” I hold my sword high.²

GM: It does a side scuffle, like maybe it’s looking for a way to flank you. |

Round 1, attack phase

Player: I try to hit it claw near me.

Rules & Rolls: The player was the first to announce an attack, so he gets initiative.

The player’s attack (1) is higher than the monster’s agility (0), so the player gets a bonus roll. A bonus roll is the highest 2 dice of 3d12. The dice were 5, 7, and 11, so we drop the 5 and the total is 18. Any roll of 14+ is a success.

GM: You got it, but not on the claw.³

Rules & Rolls: The player’s weapon value (4) is greater than the monster’s armor value (3), so damage is the lowest die of 2d12. The roll was 4 and 7. We keep the 4, which is an open slot of the damage track. The scorpion loses its #4 slot.

GM: Your hit bypasses the armor. Your blade slips in and hurts it.

Round 1, defense phase

GM: It reaches out with the claws to grab you…

Player: I’m going to avoid the hit, of course.

Rules & Rolls: In U13 monsters don’t make an attack roll; the players make a defense roll instead. The player’s agility (0) is lower then the scorpion’s attack (1), so the player makes a penalty roll. Rolling 3d12 resulted in (12, 12, 10). That means the sum of the lowest 2 is 22, a success.

GM: You roll to the side and avoid the claws!

End of Round 1

	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12
Player	A	A	A									☠
Scorpion	A	A	A	×			☠	☠	☠	☠	☠	☠

Round 2, Attack Phase

GM: What do you do next?

Player: I’m trying the same thing.

Rules & Rolls: The player still has a bonus roll to attack, and gets a 21—a success. The damage roll is a 2. Looking at the monster’s health meter we see that the 2 is potected by the armor symbol (◊), so there’s no effect.

GM: You bring your sword down, but it bounces off the scorpion’s carapace.

Round 2, Defense Phase

Player: It’s his attack, right?

GM: Technically speaking it’s your defense.

Rules & Rolls: The defense roll is a 13! That’s the “Unlucky 13” that the system is named for. It counts as a failure, but the player has the option to convert it to a success provided he’s willing to accept a Bad Thing.

GM: You rolled an Unlucky 13! You might remember how this goes. You missed the defense, but I’ll give it to you if you’re willing to take a Bad Thing instead. Are you going to take the bad thing? Or are you going to take the hit and hope your armor saves you?

Player: It’s unlike me, but I’ll take the Bad Thing.

GM: I would have too. It’s better than taking damage. He tried to get you with his tail but you blocked with your shield.[^tail] The stinger got caught in the shield and yanked it off your arm. The shield goes flying behind the scorpion. You no longer have a shield unless you try to go get it.

End of Round 2

While no one took damage this round, the player did lose his shield, making his #3 slot vulnerable.

	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12
Player	◊	◊										☠
Scorpion	◊	◊	◊	×			☠	☠	☠	☠	☠	☠

Round 3, Attack Phase

Player: So what’s next?

GM: You tell me! What do you do next?

Player: What is it doing? Can I try to cut off its tail?

GM: The last thing it did was try to impale you, but got your shield instead. Now it looks like it’s trying to grab you. It sounds difficult to cut off the tail instead of just hitting it where-ever you can. If you want to do that, I’m taking away your bonus.

Player: No. I keep with what safer without running away.

GM: What I will do is say that if the opportunity presents itself, you’ll favor the tail over other parts. In game terms, if your roll is 20+ you can say it was the tail, otherwise it’s a normal hit.

Player: Cool

Rules & Rolls: The attack dice were (3, 9, 10), for a total of 19—a hit.

GM: You missed the tail by one, but your blade makes contact with the beast’s thorax.

Player: I’m rolling for damage.

Rules & Rolls: The attack dice were (3, 9, 10), for a total of 19—a hit. The damage dice were (6, 6)⁴ so the creature’s 6 slot is now filled.

Player: Does it look like I am doing anything to it?

GM: Your blade slipped between its chitin plates, and thick black ichor starts dripping into the sand. It’s twitching a bit…

Round 3 Defense Phase

GM: …but it reaches out to you with its claw! Make an agility roll to avoid.

Rules & Rolls: The dice were (7, 7, 11) for a total of 14, exactly what he needs to dodge out of the way.

GM: You barely dodge out of the way

End of Round 3

The player is still unscratched. The scorpion took a hot on the #6 slot. That means any hit of 6+ will take it out of the combat.

	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12
Player	◊	◊										☠
Scorpion	◊	◊	◊	×		×	☠	☠	☠	☠	☠	☠

Round 4, Attack Phase

GM: (The scorpion is in rough shape. I decided that it would probably run away. James usually likes to let things run away instead killing if he doesn’t have to, so I decided to prompt him) Do you attack? Wait? Run? Give it money?

Player: I attack!

Rules & Rolls: The dice are (3, 9, 12 = 21), a hit.

GM: I said I would give you the tail if you rolled more than 20, so your blade lands a hit the tail and…

Rules & Rolls: The damage dice are (4, 11).

GM: Your damage roll was a 4. You had already done the 4 slot before, so we move this up to the 5 slot.

	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12
Player	◊	◊										☠
Scorpion	◊	◊	◊	×	×	×	☠	☠	☠	☠	☠	☠

Player: Good! Did the tail get cut off?

Round 4, Defense Phase

I already mentioned that the scorpion already decided to run away this round. The fact that it took another hit only solidifies that choice. Instead of attacking it’s running away. The player doesn’t need to defend.

GM: The stinger is dangling, and the scorpion is backing away from you.

Round 5, Attack Phase

Player: Can I attack as it backs off?

GM: It’s backing off, but sure. You can make an attack if you want.

Player: I do.

Rules & Rolls: The player rolls (1, 12, 12 = 24). A CRIT!

The scorpion doesn’t have any open damage slots, except for those covered by armor. It makes no sense to tell the player that he scored a crit but that the hit didn’t pierce the armor. The only logical thing is to skip the dice and just let it die.

GM: You swing wildly and a stinger drops off completely. More ichor drops to the sand. The scorpion twitches violently, then collapses and stops moving. You are victorious!

Epilogue

I think the combat went well, but it needs more testing. The exchange above actually carried over two days and I did all the dice rolling. I want to try it through Roll20 with the player rolling himself. James wants to try it with multiple combatants on both sides.

How did it read to you?

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1. If this were a real game instead of a combat playtest, a Wilderness Survival check would happen here.↩

2. If this were a real game, I might have given the player an animal handling roll.↩

3. U13 doesn’t do hit locations. It adds too much complication for too little return. Had he rolled 20+, I would have given him the claw. I still could have given him the claw, it just wouldn’t make any difference.↩

4. I’m tempted to make a rule that would give the player a bonus for rolling doubles.↩