As we all know, vampires are anything but peaceful creatures. Regardless of whether it is a physical or mental conflict, vampires in the undead society always exist in a constant war with each other. However, the battles between the creatures of the night can play out in different ways and that is exactly what this page explains.
Introduction
The battles in go:night use two different values, which are used in different types of battle. The values are Mental Value (MV) and Attack Value (AV). These values are exchanged between players before a battle begins to determine how your and your opponent's characters will fare during the course of the battle. The one with the highest value always wins, and if there is a tie, the attacker always wins.
(NOTE) When it comes to battle, the safety rules must always be followed and it is always important to check that your opponent is okay with what you are going to do. This is especially important when it comes to physical combat but should not be forgotten when it comes to mental combat.
Mental combat
All characters have a Mental Value (MV) which is used in some of the mental disciplines that affect the will of other characters. A mental battle is always a simple comparison where the one with the highest value wins. Examples of powers that use it are higher versions of Auspex, Presence, and Dominate. Further rules for how exactly these powers work can be found under the individual powers' pages.
Example:
Linda wants to know if Simon meant what he just said. Linda therefore uses the Auspex level 2 Telepathy power and says “Auspex: Truth, MV 7”. Simon has MV 6 and therefore Linda wins, which means that Simon needs to show if he was telling the truth.
Foto: go:night
Foto: go:night
Physical combat
Just like MV, all characters also have an Attack Value (AV) which is used in physical combat. This value can be modified by physical disciplines, weapons and/or damage. A physical battle is always a simple comparison where the one with the highest value wins. First normal combat is explained and then group combat, weapon combat and aggravated damage combat will be explained.
The AV you use in battle is always the total value including any disciplines and weapons you use. You don't have to say all the disciplines you use to modify your value, but you can mention the disciplines if you want a cinematic effect in battle. Exactly how the different physical disciplines work is explained under the individual powers pages.
Ordinary combat
A battle involving 2 individuals.
Example:
Emma wants to knock down Johanna, they exchange values and Emma has 8 in AV while Johanna has 14 in AV. Johanna will thus win the battle and after the battle is over, Emma as the loser of the battle has therefore halved attack value until she heals herself. Healing this damage costs +1 hunger.
Group combat
Group combat works the same way as regular combat and is similarly modified by weapons and aggravated damage. There are always two sides in group combat, just like in normal combat, attackers and defenders. In group battle, everyone on each side combines their values with each other and then decides who wins/loses. A normal battle can become a group battle by adding additional people to the battle, then again AV must be mentioned so that both sides will know who will win the battle. The same applies in group battle if more people join.
Example:
Karl, Johanna, Lisa and Emma want to attack Linda and knock her down. The four attackers combine their AV and get a value of 24, Linda has 12 in AV and therefore becomes the one who loses the battle. Since Linda lost the battle, her attack value is halved until she heals the damage.
Freescape
A character can, instead of fighting, choose to declare a freescape and try to escape from the battle. In order for that to be possible, it is required that it is possible to escape from the scene. Certain circumstances may make it impossible, such as all exits being blocked or the character being surrounded. To perform a freescape, the character declares their AV as usual and says "Freescape". The character takes damage as if they had lost the battle (see below), but can escape from it. If the opponent has twice the AV of the character or more then it is impossible to perform a freescape, the difference in skill is simply too great. Some disciplines allow blocking or automatically succeeding a freescape. See the respective disciplines' pages for more information.
Weapons
Weapons and other attachments can be used to increase your AV in various ways. Below are some examples of different bonuses you can get from weapons in a battle:
Aggravated Damage
Aggravated Damage (Agg) is a special type of damage that a vampire has difficulty healing. Examples of Agg are fire and certain powers, it always damages whoever it is used against, even if the person who gets Agg against them wins the battle. If you are in a battle where the opponent uses Agg, you get halved AV (rounded down), if you also lose the battle, you get 0 in AV and must heal the corresponding +1 in hunger to go up to half AV. If both sides use Agg, both sides will be damaged. Agg takes until the next larp to fully heal, thus you have at most half AV until then.
Attacker with Agg:
Emma attacks Simon. Simon has 8 in AV while Emma has 10 in AV, and scores Agg.Emma wins the battle and Simon gets 0 in AV after the battle.
Defender with Agg:
Linda attacks Thomas. Linda has 10 in AV while Thomas has 6 in AV and Agg. Linda wins the battle and because of Agg gets halved AV, Thomas as a loser also gets halved AV but can heal up to full as Linda does not have Agg.
After the combat
As a basic rule, whoever loses a physical battle will have their AV halved, to represent the damage they sustained in the battle. Whoever wins the battle takes no damage to their AV unless the opponent used Agg.
Whoever loses the battle must act injured and weak for 5 minutes and can only spend blood to heal after that. During these 5 minutes, the character is so vulnerable that it is possible to be impaled, knocked unconscious or killed.
Anyone injured by Agg needs to play on their injuries for the rest of the evening, even if they healed up to half AV. If you have 0 in AV after a battle and do not heal yourself, you will end up in torpor if you are attacked again, the opponent also uses Agg and you will die.
Staking
If a vampire has their heart pierced by a wooden object, the individual will become completely paralyzed and collapse. The vampire is then completely vulnerable and cannot move a muscle. However, the vampire still has access to all his senses such as hearing, sight and touch. Being impaled is extremely unpleasant and as soon as the impalement is pulled out again, the vampire will lose control (See Frenzy). However, succeeding in impaling a vampire is extremely difficult and requires strength and precision. You must have twice the AV of the one you pile, unless you have defeated the victim in physical combat.
Torpor
Torpor is a kind of vampiric coma that you can fall into if you're attacked before you've healed from a battle. In torpor you are completely unaware of everything going on around you and you need vampire blood to wake up. You will always end up in Frenzy when you wake up. Awakening someone from torpor raises the awakened Hunger by +1.
Frenzy
The beast that lives within all vampires is always looking to take control of you and your choices, especially during a battle or other stressful situations. When a vampire completely loses control of their beast it is called Frenzy. Everything from fear to anger can cause your character to go into Frenzy, but the easiest way to determine when to enter Frenzy is to assume how high your Hunger is. The different types of Frenzy are:
When your character is in Frenzy, both your MV and AV will automatically increase by +3, and your beast will activate all of your available physical powers to their full potential. This applies regardless of what hunger your character is in during the battle. However, this brings with it consequences for the character's humanity and hunger. A frenzy can happen before, during, or after a battle, but regardless of when, the character's new AV must be mentioned when the frenzy begins. During Frenzy you have to play bestial and irrational, a beast cannot be reasoned with but only acts on instinct.
After your Frenzy ends and you regain control, the following always happens:
Your hunger will be at 4 (if it was already at 4, it is now 5).
Your humanity will risk one or more stains, depending on what you did.
Portions of the materials are the copyrights and trademarks of White Wolf Entertainment AB, a Paradox Interactive AB company, and are used with permission.
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Any other material not produced by White Wolf Entertainment AB, a Paradox Interactive AB company including but not limited to photos, characters and story elements is owned
by go:night and it’s creators.
