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Guess what section I'm in now?

So being the newbie I am to this material I have a question... I love the combo system, very cool allows for flexibility in combat and can allow for special moves that most RPGs don't accurately portray...

So, forgive me if this is a silly question but I have to ask...

Blocking combatants...are immune to getting hurt?

What if your combo is BLOCK BLOCK BLOCK?

In the real world, you cannot block everything. If the faster combatant sees the slower combatant blocking his head, he will go for the legs or torso.

Blocking should only work if your character wins initiative...then he would know what to block, otherwise its ineffective...

I guess blocking body parts would slow down the system too much, if you have to define WHAT your blocking BLOCK[Head], Block[Leg]. But a block should have all the flexibility of an attack in choice of targets.

OR if thats not desireable...

Could an attack break a block? This would occur if the faster combatant is so overpowering that the defender (slower combatant) cannot sufficiently block the attack.

The close combat system is not supposed to accurately represent fighting. Even in controlled martial arts sparring (I've done a bit in my younger days) there is a lot of flailing around. Instead, Icar gives a game system that gives people something that can be moulded in interesting ways. Realism? I went with fun instead. Once fun was decided, simplicity was the next choice. A mix of simplicity and cinema brought out this system.

On with your question...

Combat is not about speed (Shift attribute), it's about proficiency (Battle attribute). Average human is 3. Therefore, the average person can create Block Block.

If you have two average people fighting and one is doing Block Block and the other is doing Punch Punch then no damage is done and that fight will go on until someone dies of old age. In practise, that never happens because it's not much fun.

Normally, PCs have a Battle of 5 or more, which give three in a combo. In a Punch Punch Punch against Block Block, the last punch goes through. That will still take a while to knock someone out.

Normal people fighting is a comical exhaustion (I chose not to model) so most people take something extra into a fight, be it something blunt (chair) or something bionic.

An NPC that blocks all the time isn't much fun, so I would advise any GM to mix it up a bit.

Hope that explains it a bit.

Yep makes sense, thanks for the clarification.

Knowing that PCs have skills beyond a normal NPC helps rationalize the whole Block Block issue. That way I can easily throttle that unruly person in the street who refuses to give me directions to the local pub. BLOCK BLOCK PUNCH PUNCH.

Juan my PC I mention before because of being a Born Warrior and Brick Shit House can have Combo up to 7 moves and if I have to "improvise" I can get 4.

Yeah mere Mortal can get hurt really bad.. Right Randoplh

What makes Close Combat lethal is when you start adding Skills, bionics and hand weapons into the mix. A bionic fighter with a Meat of 10 can crush a human skull with a single punch. To do that, you need to be bionic (so you have metal fists, counting as blunt weapons) and be able to choose a location (which requires Street Fighting at a certain level).

Although this seems like a balance problem, there is normally an arms race in RPGs where the bad guys get tougher along with the good guys. The innocent general public? They just get in the way more often!

Ah so you CAN choose location if you have enough skill.

Does this translate into the firefight rules...if not..why?

Also, this makes the argument for AR based by location stronger as it makes no sense if you hit a guy in the head and hes not wearing a helmet.

In fire fighting I think it is listed as Called Shot (don't have the rules to hand) and is a modifier.

Thanks Doc, I should have guessed at it, really!