makapatag - DIVINE VIOLENCE

A treatise on Violence, KILL THE BUDDHA and revising Violence for 10,000 Swords Against Heaven, now including DRACONTINE Spoilers, which will be included in the 2.1 Core Rulebook.

On Violence in 10,000 Swords Against Heaven

The major reasoning for the revision of the dice pool attack system and the "combat system" as a whole was twofold:

Firstly, a burning desire to expand on the opposed Dice Pool system to try and model The Raid, Dead Fantasy, and even real life martial art drills and engagements.

Secondly, a similar design goal to write something different. One that is wholly unfamiliar to how modern D&D framed how Combat should go down. There is an inherent assumption and predisposition when it comes to combat: that there will be turns, there will be enemies of equal strength, that there will be an attritional encounter, that there will be HP that must be brought to 0 or at least to half, that there will be Actions to keep track of and to optimize, that there will be reactions, that there will be a turn order that must be followed, that there will be squares to be counted, and so on and so forth.

To me, this style of combat has largely been brought to its highest standards with games like Lancer RPG, Draw Steel, and Pathfinder 2e. Now I wanted something else. I wanted to do something crunchy, but not in the way the aforementioned games do crunchy. Those games create their crunch in service of game feel and game design. The game design of those games is to model a particular feel or genre (which is sometimes the feel and genre of a video game). Its game design wishes to model a game.

For 10,000 SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN, the goal is to go with a game design that tries to model a world. And not in a super simulationist sense but rather, in an aspirational sense. I'm not trying to model the physics of a world, but rather the required scaffolding to transport the players into the world. The game-y mechanics aren't in service to a "balanced" gameplay or a "balanced combat encounter" but rather are in service of modeling how something works in the world through supposedly engaging mechanics.

There's a particular predisposition to consider mechanics to be things that are combat focused or in a sense "game" focused. That mechanics are things that "rip you out of the roleplay" to "remind you you're playing a game." This is a common sentiment among the 5e crowd I've observed. So the goal with much of 10,000 SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN'S design, starting with the Violence, is to create mechanics that remind you to roleplay.

To this end, I wanted much of 10,000 SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN's mechanics and systems to necessitate a paradigm shift. I don't want people to come into the game with the assumptions and predispositions they have from other games and find it understandable. I want the game to be a break, a rupture, immanent though it might be. Violence becomes a game to be won but a struggle to be survived. The mechanics exist to put you into the world not make you the master of it.

With the KILL THE BUDDHA rules, much of the crunch is moved away from trying to create a separate slice of gameplay (that is the combat minigame) and rather moving a lot of the crunch into the Attack Roll, which explodes into a chaotic and frenetic back and forth exchange when done in the Melee.

Then SHOOT GOD IN THE HEAD is a separate subsystem under it that models just how different it feels to fight with ranged weapons at long ranges. The Sect featured in this post is not exactly a defensive Sect so they don't have any special defensive Technicks, but rest assured that other Sects will have Technicks that'll let them defend more handily against range weapons, with some even being able to forcefully turn a SHOOT GOD IN THE HEAD into a KILL THE BUDDHA against them.

The goal here is to build a baseline that is Mortal, and then have the Cultivators break them. This is the same game design behind earlier versions of Exalted, and this design to me is a lot more compelling and grounded in simulationist tradition than just straight up designing the entire game around the experience of Cultivators just because they're what the players are playing. At times, player-centric design feels like a microcosmic expression of greater liberal and neoliberal ideology suffusing the majority of Arts and Literature.

The shift from Health Levels to Body Parts is a shift I've been meaning to do for a long time now. The main worry has always been the fact that Body Part tracking might seem too much for GMs. However I had this assumption with the conjoined assumption that fights require the enemy units to be depleted of their HP.

This is no longer the case with the Body Part system. Now since dealing enough Damage to the Arm is grounds for a person to succumb to the pain, combat is now not a matter of attrition but of subjugation. It helps that this very accurately manages to model what one sees in The Raid: Rama deals significant damage to many of the goons within, but many of them are not even dead. Just completely maimed with broken arms and ribs and cut open thighs.

Again, if the mechanics force a Culture Shock, that means it fulfills its duty as a Rupture. Now not just the Lore works as a Rupture, but the Mechanics as well. The game needs you to shed the presumptions of balanced encounters and equal force fights. It needs you to shed the presumptions of having to lower HP to 0, or having to use your Abilities to win a fight like an MMO. It needs you to deal with the situation as it is in the world. And the rest of the mechanics act as a scaffolding to help you get to this mindset and paradigm.

Anyroad, that's it for the Design Philosophy yapping for now. Again, it must be noted that the KILL THE BUDDHA Check models a single exchange, not an entire "combat scene." This means you can insert it into any situation where violence breaks out. If more structured violence is required, refer to On Timing below.

Combat Philosophy

All things must follow the established World physics and the fiction. Just because you only have -3 when shooting something outside of Weapon Range does not mean you can shoot the Moon.

Any Wound inflicted is contingent on your weapon, and so is your ability to reach and/or grapple. Generally, you cannot grapple with polearms.

KILL THE BUDDHA covers the space and time of a single attack, not an entire “combat scene.” It is meant to refer to the popular Buddhist koan: “If you meet a Buddha, kill the Buddha. If you meet a patriarch, kill the patriarch. If you meet an arhat, kill the arhat.” These refer to ending or shedding of all mental concepts—even the supposed holy or reverent ones—to find the reality in all things. It might be shocking and visceral, and it is meant to be, and it can be applied in a Marxist sense.

When you try to strike someone in melee down and they can meaningfully respond to your threat and struggle,you must tell the World how. Then, tell the world why. If your reason is enough—and it always will be—KILL THE BUDDHA.

In other games, this is the “Attack Check”. But in 10,000 SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN, a single Attack is a point of multiple dangers and multiple stories. More importantly, KILL THE BUDDHA only models brutal melee exchanges. Anywhere a melee weapon can reach. For ranged weapons, they use SHOOT GOD IN THE HEAD.

When you KILL THE BUDDHA, the length of time an exchange goes is variable. Often, however, it goes for 3 seconds.

Every participant of a KILL THE BUDDHA must make a KILL THE BUDDHA Check. This is usually: Physique + Beast Shrine if they’re moving in a way to commit violence or hurt another physically. Or attempting to defend or parry with their weapon or with their body. The Core and Cultivation might change according to Sect and/or Weapon.

Every Strike has a different rating.

4 result generates Minor Strikes.

5 result generates Major Strikes.

6 result generates Critical Strikes.

This is important to note because after rolling, all in the KILL THE BUDDHA must choose their Options. These are not action lists. Instead, they are allowances. In general:

Minor Strikes allow for quick, reflexive actions.

Major Strikes allow for difficult, longer actions or targeting more specific locations.

Critical Strikes allow for actions that require significant effort, time, and so on.

Keep in mind that these Options will probably change the ongoing Fiction in meaningful ways, meaning you can then use these Fictional changes to gain mechanical bonuses down the line. Even on a bad KILL THE BUDDHA Check where you only roll a single Minor Strike, if it is not Countered, you can use it to grab someone’s clothing or throw a loose weapon that could benefit you on your next KILL THE BUDDHA Check.

Wound Severity (Flesh/Dire/Mortal) is defined by the constraints of your weapon or of a particular Technick or Magick that you perform. Generally, however, most weapons will inflict Dire Wounds.

On Timing

All Minor Strikes happen first, followed by Major Strikes, followed by Critical Strikes. These are the three Strike Ranks. Actions within a Rank happen in a simultaneous flurry of actions occurring closely within each other. This means even if deciding to commit an Option later, that still happens within the same time. Even Countering happens at the same time within a Strike Rank.

Critical Strikes represent greater understanding of a situation, so they can step in to prevent a Minor Strike from happening, or take a read of the situation, or use their own Minor or Major Strikes to set up a devastating blow for their Critical Strike.

On The World

No matter what, it is the fiction, the context, the world that ultimately determines what options are available to someone.

These do not immunize anyone from ordinary physical consequences. The options below describe what a being does, but they do not replace ordinary causality. Distance, gravity, fire, momentum, reach, obstructions, falling, weapon recovery, bodily control, and other physical realities continue to apply.

Additionally, resolved fictional states persist until changed. A controlled limb stays controlled until something is done about it, which might necessitate a Check.

Minor Strike

Represents a basic opening found or opportunity for drastic action. Exploit openings that allow you to perform something possible against a resisting opponent without extraordinary precision or effort.

For a Minor Strike, you may perform a relatively broad or reflexive physical or mental act. For example…

Inflict a Wound against the target’s Torso with a readied weapon.

Inflict a Dire Wound when using Empty Hand to attack a Controlled Limb.

Shove someone by 1m, as long as they are not properly braced.

Knock aside an object, kick a weapon or a loose object up to 3m away, which can be used to inflict Wounds against a Torso.

Grab something loose in the environment.

Slam a door, grab a scaffolding, or change your position in some way, up to 1m in distance.

Wound a nearby item and reduce their Durability accordingly.

Establish bodily contact or take hold of clothing.

Major Strike

Represent a considerable opening and the right timing as well as better grasp of that KILL THE BUDDHA’s instant. Requires considerable control, timing, and accuracy to pull off, but are very wide in their application.

For a Major Strike, you may perform a specific or physically demanding maneuver along with anything a Minor Strike can do*.* For example…

Inflict a Wound against a Limb or the Torso with a readied weapon.

Establish firm control over a Limb.

Disarm a held competent weapon.

Knockback someone up to 2m or knock them down to the ground.

Throw someone off-balance.

Pin a controlled Limb against the body or environment.

Cut a strap, cable, pouch, sling, or other relatively small target.

Move up to 2m.

Critical Strike

A Critical Strike represents an exceptional instant of perfect awareness, understanding, and a perfect opportunity. It represents “winning” the mental game from a neutral state.

Critical Strikes are used for extremely specific or significantly difficult maneuvers, along with anything a Minor or Major Strike can do. For example…

Inflict a Wound against a Limb, Torso, or Head with a readied weapon.

Inflict a Dire Wound when using Empty Hand to attack a Controlled Part.

Strike a particularly small vital target (like a fly or a thrown piece of furniture).

Execute a difficult throw against a fully resisting opponent and/or knockback them up to [VIO x 2] meters.

Exploit a fleeting vulnerability that would otherwise be practically inaccessible.

Establish Control over the Torso by use of holds or grapples.

Move up to 3m horizontally.

Control

Controlling is similar to grappling. Often it involves pinning a limb or in some way having it in check to be able to manipulate it as needed at any point. Control can be broken according to the fiction. In a Kill The Buddha, Controlled Limbs can be broken with Minor Strikes, a Controlled Torso by Major Strikes, and a Controlled Head by Critical Strikes.

A Controlled Torso usually means that person cannot move without the allowance of the grappler.

Counters

But an attack is not without its defenses. These are called COUNTERS. Any participant in a KILL THE BUDDHA can expressly Counter another Option with one of their own Strikes, although this is contingent on the fact that she can justify her means and method in the World and it must follow the Fiction. A Critical Strike requires a Critical Strike to Counter with an impressive redirection.

A COUNTER can be done at any point during the ongoing Rank, provided the countering lifeform has the appropriate Strike to counter. This means a lifeform with a Critical Strike can perform an Overwhelming Counter to cancel out a Minor Strike (and also perform a Minor or Major Strike as well, as explained below).

You can only apply a Counter to the current Strike Rank. For example: if you wanted to use your Critical Strike to perform an Overwhelming Counter, you must declare it during the Minor Rank options.

To use a Counter requires committing a Strike of the same severity or greater. That is: a Minor Strike needs a Minor Counter to prevent. And so on.

Greater Counter

If you use a Major Strike to Counter a Minor Strike OR a Critical Strike to Counter a Major Strike, then you get to perform a Minor Strike back at the countered attack, provided you can do it. This Minor Strike happens right after your Counter.

Overwhelming Counter

If you use a Critical Strike to counter a Minor Strike, then you may perform a Minor or Major Strike immediately after negating the action. Again, this Strike happens after your Counter, even if it is outside of the currently ongoing Strike Rank.

On Countering Counters

Notice that Counters generate Strikes as well. This means those Strikes can be countered as well, allowing for Counter-Against-Counter play. A Major Strike generated from an Overwhelming Counter can be countered by anyone that still has a Major or Critical Strike. For example:

Asrajela counters an incoming Minor Strike with her own Major Strike, allowing her to perform a Minor Strike automatically, which she chooses to elbow into Yeyra’s torso. Yeyra chooses to commit her own Minor Strike to counter that Minor Strike, allowing her to bat away with the flat of her hand the incoming elbow.

Interruption

If a third party or a creature that is not part of the targets materially interferes with the resolution of an ongoing KILL THE BUDDHA, they begin a second KILL THE BUDDHA nested in the first KILL THE BUDDHA. This nested second KILL THE BUDDHA happens at the point when the third party chooses to Interrupt.

This nested second KILL THE BUDDHA can also be interrupted by a Third KILL THE BUDDHA. This Third KILL THE BUDDHA can only target someone within the second KILL THE BUDDHA, not the first KILL THE BUDDHA. Resolve the Third KILL THE BUDDHA first, which might change the context of the second KILL THE BUDDHA.

If it makes sense for the second KILL THE BUDDHA to continue, resolve it and then move back to the first KILL THE BUDDHA. If it makes sense to continue the first KILL THE BUDDHA, resolve it. Otherwise, the KILL THE BUDDHA chain ends.

There can only be up to a Third KILL THE BUDDHA. You cannot interrupt a Third KILL THE BUDDHA anymore. ****Any further lifeform able to intervene instead joins the third KILL THE BUDDHA as a participant.

A lifeform that is already within an existing KILL THE BUDDHA that is pulled into another KILL THE BUDDHA must make another KILL THE BUDDHA Check specifically for that instance of KILL THE BUDDHA, though they suffer a -1.

Many Against One

Multiple KILL THE BUDDHAs can go on simultaneously at the same time.

If two or more entities attempt to harm or otherwise commit violence against a single lifeform that they can reach, then they all participate in ONE KILL THE BUDDHA. This does mean the target suffers a plain action deficit, and will be completely overwhelmed outside of luck, extreme outplay, or magick and technick-work. But that’s the dangerous reality of the Trichiliocosm.

HOWEVER, keep in mind that attacks must come from the Fiction. This means that geometry limits participation. This makes positioning along hallways and small rooms very important and king. If they cannot reach you due to a blob of fighters, they cannot join the KILL THE BUDDHA.

Unopposed Violence

In moments where there is no opposition, that would not be a KILL THE BUDDHA. To Kill The Buddha is to presuppose you are targeting another. It is to presuppose that you are targeting another sentient being, who is also a Buddha. And to Kill the Buddha is to kill the thing you worship. And to kill the thing you worship is to find Enlightenment.

When harming someone that has no way of defending themselves, it simply happens. Remember: Checks are only used in moments where the outcome is fraught or unknowable. If the severity of a wound or the execution of the harm is in question, then you must make a Check, but not a KILL THE BUDDHA Check. Just a simple Check.

Finding Openings

To find openings and to create openings through changes in the environment or by dancing throughout the battlefield requires other Checks. It is not within the KILL THE BUDDHA. Remember, the KILL THE BUDDHA mechanic is not a Combat Minigame, it is closer to an “Attack Minigame.” It does not model an entire Combat scene.

Thus, a number of Checks leading up to a KILL THE BUDDHA that completely favors the attacker is going to be common.

Blasts

Blasts are area of effect attacks that affect multiple targets at once. Things like giant explosions, lasers, and so on. Generally, these are not KILL THE BUDDHAs. Those in the Blast must attempt to make the appropriate Checks to avoid, get out of the way, or defend against these Blasts. Blasts can have multiple shapes, which are defined by their effect. Often these are measure in radiuses from a single point.

Those that are just at the fringes of a Blast: completely avoid the Blast on a success, or suffer appropriate Wounds to all Parts on a failure.

Otherwise: success means only three Parts (as chosen by the target) suffers Wounds. Failure means all Parts suffer Wounds.

When someone starts performing a Ritual or throwing a Bomb, any attempts to intercept it ascends into KILL THE BUDDHA Checks. The one throwing the Bomb must participate, but they cannot Counter. Additionally, should anything happen during the KILL THE BUDDHA that causes them to stop or otherwise fail to throw the bomb (whether by their own actions or not) immediately ends the possibility of the bomb being thrown (or, perhaps even worse, causes it to blow up at their feet).

The Blast then resolves afterwards, with any appropriate Checks as well.

Shoot God In The Head

When firing a ranged weapon or throwing a throwing weapon against a target from a distance, the target can only try to leap out of the way or rely on cover. Make sure they cannot fight back from that distance, use up the appropriate ammunition, and SHOOT GOD IN THE HEAD.

This is an opposed MOTORICS [PHYSIQUE if a thrown weapon] + HAND-EYE COORDINATION/MARTIAL ART Check vs WITS + THEWS AND SINEWS. These are modified with appropriate cover. If the Shooter succeeds, deal their weapon’s Wounds onto a random body part.

Called Shots inflict penalties to the shooter’s pool. The Torso inflicts -1, a Limb inflicts -3, and the Head inflicts -5.

If the defender succeeds, the shot strikes something else, or pings off of cover. If there’s someone nearby them, closer than 1m, there’s a 1-in-6 chance that they’ll get hit instead, unless they can’t.

When firing a ranged weapon against a target that can feasibly reach you with one of their own instruments of violence, then turn this into a KILL THE BUDDHA. Every instance of Wounding can be described as striking with the weapon itself—pistol whipping, rifle butting, bow striking, and so on—or with Empty Hand techniques—kicking, shoving, punching while holding a loaded gun or a bow. If the person ever wishes to shoot while in close range, they must spend the Ammunition per Wound. This depends on the weapon: semi-automatic pistols can fire easily, while bows and crossbows might have a hard time, requiring spending an open Option to reload or pull back another arrow.

Automatic Weapons

The blasted future of the Trichiliocosm includes the horrible and vaunted weapons of war used to bring to an end a humane age. Laser blasters are not as popular yet as missile shooters, though lasers work well in the vacuum of the Heavens.

When you SHOOT GOD IN THE HEAD with an automatic weapon, choose whether you Shoot or Burst. A Shoot is resolved as above. A Burst resolves differently: on a success, inflict 1 Wound on a random part +1 per excess Strike, to a limit of the weapon’s Burst rating.

Wounds

Wounding is a vital part of life. You can get wounds from all sorts of things, but for the life of a Cultivator, they will almost always get it during a violent altercation. There are three Wound Severities: Flesh, Dire, and Mortal. It is important to note that the average person in the Trichiliocosm is still a subject of trillions of years of biotechnical progress, meaning they are at a core a tad bit hardier than 21st century humans.

FLESH WOUNDS cover bruising, gashes, minor lesions, abrasions, broken fingers, Wound lacerations and so on. Nothing that causes greater failure. Flesh Wounds heal at a rate of 1 per day.

DIRE WOUNDS are Wounds that cause structural failure and breaking: Hammers shattering bones, swords lacerating flesh, burns from bonfires, powerful bone shattering concussive force from powerful explosions, thrown furniture gashing open temple-wounds. These are the most common kinds of Wounds in the dangerous cosmos of the Trichiliocosm. Generally, as long as you’re using a weapon, you will inflict Dire Wounds. Dire Wounds heal at a rate of 1 per Week.

A Part filled with Dire or worse Wounds is Disabled. It cannot be used normally and you suffer appropriate debilitations.

MORTAL WOUNDS are Wounds that don’t just cause structural failure but Dire, mortal injuries. Mortal Wounds are Wounds that cannot be healed without supramundane means. It needs healing-vats, restoration mantras, medical arrays, and so on. They heal at a rate of 1 per 6 months, and often don’t heal properly without medical attention.

A Part filled with Mortal Wounds is Cleaved. It is removed completely. This means complete limb-loss on a Limb part, or complete and utter Death on the Head or Torso.

When a Part has no empty Health Levels, an incoming Wound worsens an existing Wound instead. Choose the least severe existing Wound. Increase it by one Severity, but never leave it less severe than the incoming Wound.

ConsiderationsRange

Wounds are dependent on the weapon. Oftentimes, dealing Wounds are difficult when the target is in range. For example, a spear with 3m reach outreaches a dagger. Someone that KILLS THE BUDDHA with a spear against someone with a dagger will have the benefit of being able to Wound safely from a distance. The one with the dagger has the following options:

Throw their dagger, but they lose it.

Spend their Strikes to move in closer and closer, at the expense of being Countered or suffering Wounds.

Stay at that place and focus on defending. A skilled Dagger-wielder might use enough Counters to do the following:

Say the Knife Knight generates 6, 6, 5, 5, 4. Two Critical Strikes, two Major, and one Minor. His opponent, the Spear Knight, generates 5, 4, 4. One Major and two Minor Strikes.

Minor Rank: the Knife Knight moves closer and the Spear Knight decides to stab the torso with his 3m long lance. The Knife Knight uses his Major Strike to Greater Counter, swatting it away with his knife, and then using the Minor strike generated from it to move closer. The Spear Knight uses his other Minor Strike to Counter that closing move, spacing him out completely.

Major Rank: The Spear Knight tries to stab the Knife Knight’s arm. The Knife Knight uses his Critical Strike to perform a Greater Counter, deflecting it and then moving 1m closer. He then uses his Major Strike to move 2m closer, which cannot be countered.

Critical Rank: The Knife Knight then uses his last Critical Strike to do cut at the Spear Knight’s Head… which thankfully has Armor, so the Wounds are Soaked.

For ranged combat, any attacks outside the optimal range of the weapon suffers -3. And generally each ranged weapon has a maximum range that they cannot hit effectively out of any longer.

Height

Fighting hand-to-hand with substantial height differences truly complicates things. Refer to this when fighting someone on a superior position than you (usually the high ground). The Check Penalty refers to the Violence Check,

Steps or Gentle Slopes inflicts a -1 Check Penalty.

Spiral Steps inflict a -2 penalty.

Steep Slopes inflict -2.

Unclimbable slopes inflict -3.

Scaling Ladder inflicts -3.

Cover

Light Cover only covers around 1/4 of the a lifeform and inflicts a penalty of -2 to the Check. Also determine 1 Body Part that cannot be hit, following the fiction.

Heavy Cover covers covers 3/4 of the target’s whole mass, and inflicts a -4 penalty. Choose 3 Body Parts that cannot be hit, following the fiction.

Full cover makes a full on attack impossible without weakening the Full Cover first.

In addition, Cover changes what possible targets for Wounding there are, depending on the fictional position of the target’s Body.

Impaired Senses

Having senses or vision impaired in any way due to haze, smoke, blindfold, or anything else inflicts a -2 penalty to the Check as well.

Bleeding

If a lifeform is Bleeding, they suffer -2 to all physical related Checks until they staunch it. They can suffer Bleeding from Disabled or Cleaved wounds, according to the Fiction.

Stunning

If a lifeform is Stunned, they suffer -2 to all Checks until they find a way to clear their head.

Destruction

Harming an unattended object does not ordinarily trigger KILL THE BUDDHA. If destruction is uncertain, make an ordinary Check. If someone meaningfully contests the act, it may become KILL THE BUDDHA.

Every Strike on a Destruction Check reduces the Objects durability by 1.

Specific weapons and tools—usually SMASHING tools—triple the Durability loss.

Knockback

Forced movement in any direction. When suffering Knockback into a wall, floor, or any other solid pane, reduce the Object’s Durability equal to the total meters moved. If this breaks the Object, the force moved lifeform continues the force movement. When the lifeform collides with something that does not give way, then they suffer 1 Flesh Wound to the most fictionally appropriate Part and slump against the wall or fall down, according to the fiction.

If the lifeform moves at least 3m or more before colliding, they suffer a Dire Wound instead, with the Head as a valid target.

If the Knockback would force someone off of a surface and down to certain doom, they get a free reflexive Demand 3 Motorics + Thews and Sinews Check to try and grab onto a ledge.

Knockdown

Often, when someone suffers knockback but to the ground, they are knocked down. People who are knocked to the ground can only move 2m/s and suffer -2 to all Actions until they can get up. Often, knocking someone 1m is not enough to knock them down to the ground. Something needs to be able to push someone 2m or farther to be able to meaningfully knock them down.

Falling

Falling down deals 1 Dire Wound on the most fictionally appropriate Part for every 5m you fall vertically down. You can attempt a Motorics + Thews and Sinews Check to mitigate any falling damage by rolling or otherwise absorbing the impact, with every Strike reducing a Dire Wound to a Flesh Wound or a Flesh Wound into no Wound.

Unstable Terrain

Fighting on narrow ledges, catwalks, roof peaks, battlements, wall tops, tightropes, rushing logs downstream, crumbling airships, and so on. All Violence Checks done while fighting in unstable areas suffer -1 to -3, depending on how truly unstable the terrain is.

Water and Mud

The fateful revolutionaries often fight in the trenches of the earths. People fighting in mud or water in knee deep water suffer -2 to all Checks.

Surprise and Ambush

Making an attack against someone that has no sense of where the attacker might be coming from is a Surprise Attack. This is a free Physique + Beast Shrine or Motorics + Hand-Eye Coordination (depending on the weapon) where each Strike immediately applies a corresponding Wound, all to a single Part that is dictated before the Surprise Attack. This Attack is subject to all modifiers and penalties of a normal Violence Check.

Example

Asrajela and Yeyra get into a fight. Asrajela is making do with a fist and a broken bottle of Sawaigneu 332, still dripping red wine. Yeyra is better equipped, wielding a sharp jian that acts as a Mundane Saber.

Yeyra is the assassin here, and they’re fighting in a cramped studio apartment in a run down motel. Papers everywhere, messy room floorings. Crappy fluorescents and rain outsde drenched in shitty LED lights.

Yeyra flashes forward with her sword, obviously attempting to kill Asrajela. Asrajela fights back. She knows Yeyra, intimately. When faced with aggression, she can’t defend with her life. And so Asrajela lunges as well, hoping to meet her head on.

Yeyra makes a KILL THE BUDDHA Check: VIO 3 + SWORD DIALECTICS 2. She gets: 6, 6, 5, 5, 2. Two Critical Strikes and two Major Strikes.

Asrajela also makes her KILL THE BUDDHA Check: VIO 3 + VAJRA FIST 1. She gets 5, 4, 2, 2. A Major Strike and a Minor Strike.

Not looking good.

Asrajela is desperate. She flies forward and swings with her broken Sawaigneu bottle. It’s serrated edge would be sure to bleed. Yeyra sees it coming, and uses one of her Critical Strikes to perform a Overwhelming Counter, completely avoiding the bottle and striking at it to completely disarm it from Asrajela’s hands.

Yeyra then spins around and cuts at Asrajela’s right foot to try and hobble her. Asrajela gives up her Major Strike to counter that Major Strike, kicking the jian away in a defensive technique, but Yeyra continues the movement into a cutting motion into Asrajela’s arm, which she cannot block against any longer.

Yeyra draws blood, and she continues her combo into a fierce slice straight across Asrajela’s neck. KILL THE BUDDHA ends here and the World has been irrevocably changed.

Parts

In general, there are six very important hit locations for a normal human and humanoid entities: Head, Torso, Right Arm, Left Arm, Right Leg, Left Leg. These Hit Locations are known as Body Parts or just Parts. They’re mapped often to a d6, useful for when randomizing which part is hit:

[1] - Right Leg[2] - Left Leg[3] - Right Arm[4] - Left Arm[5] - Torso[6] - Head

This means any attack against the neck would be against the Head. Attacks against the Groin would be against the Torso. The Right Arm includes the Right Hand. The Left Arm includes the Left Hand. The Right Leg includes the Right Foot. The Left Leg includes the Left Foot.

The Arms and the Legs are considered Limbs.

Each part has a 3 HEALTH LEVELS. Any time that part suffers a Wound, they fill up the track by 1 with the appropriate Wound Severity.

Disabling and Cleaving

When a Part’s Health Levels are filled with Dire Wounds, it becomes Disabled. It cannot be used, and anything that needs it cannot be used either.

When a Part’s Health Levels are filled with Mortal Wounds, it is Cleaved. A greater, fatal injury that frequently causes death.

Right Leg Disabled cuts Movement by half its max. This means having both Legs Disabled renders you unable to move, and must crawl. When Cleaved, it is chopped off, and you must deal with permanent movement penalty. Without care, you bleed to death in an hour.

Left Leg Disabled cuts Movement by half its max. This means having both Legs Disabled renders you unable to move, and must crawl. When Cleaved, it is chopped off, and you must deal with permanent movement penalty. Without care, you bleed to death in an hour.

Right Arm Disabled causes one to drop the weapon in that hand and they cannot use that Arm any more. When Cleaved, is chopped off. Without care, you bleed to death in an hour.

Left Arm Disabled causes one to drop the weapon in that hand. When Cleaved, is chopped off. Without care, you bleed to death in an hour.

Torso Disabled causes you to be completely winded, imposing a -4 to all Checks. A Cleaved Torso kills you.

Head Disabled or Cleaved kills you. A Head filled with Flesh Wounds STUNS you.

On Giving Up

In general, most sentient beings stop fighting or succumb to pain once any of their Parts are Disabled, or hell even once they are at least Wounded. Even a Limb being Disabled is grounds for the ending of a fight. Even a single Mortal or Dire Wound to the head can end a fight.

If this is ever in doubt or if the person does not want to give up, they can spend 1 Morale to make a Spirit + Adamance Check vs Demand X, with X being equal to the number of Wounds they’ve suffered so far in total.

This Morale Check will also be triggered if a person receives even a single Dire or Mortal Wound to their Head.

On Timing

In 10,000 SWORDS AGAINST HEAVEN, the philosophy is thus: the chaos of violence is not to be ludically simplified and condensed through a fabrication of rounds and turns. It is a bloody and necessary affair. And most of all, while Cultivators can truly perform feats of great choreographed violence, battle at its most basest and foundational is a discordant scrabble for purchase and blood.

If one needs to slow down time to be able to adjudicate the chaos of combat, then one must use Swords.

Choose a temporal anchor and then create a 4-cut Sword. Define how many seconds are in a Cut as well, though usually this will be 3 seconds. Within each cut, all combatants must declare their actions. All declared actions happen simultaneously within a Cut, in a chaotic scramble. If there are ordering disputes, resolve it with Opposed Checks.

After all combatants have performed their actions, then the next Cut begins, and the temporal anchor moves forward in time.

Usually, the Intercessor will describe what the World Beings are doing first so that the Wanderers know how to react to the world. This is called Telegraphing. The telegraph is what the Wanderers must react to.

Generally, in a Cut, only allow one significant action per Combatant. Make sure all the Wanderers do something within the Cut.