

Thug 1’s attack and Juana’s attack resolve simultaneously. Question 2: Is that right? The rules say the surprisers go first, but it also says the PCs declare who they are attacking before the NPCs do.Īssuming there is NO surprise round where the Thugs get a free attack… then the order of rolling dice is… pretty much everyone at once! GM then says Thug 1 targets Juana, Thug 2 targets Aileen and Thug 3 moves to block the ladies’ escape route, waving a baseball bat threateningly.

Aileen will defend and use a minor action to draw a knife. GM asks what the PCs are doing… Juana will fight back. Question 1: Is Turn 1 supposed to be a surprise round where the Thugs deal out damage and there is no opposed defence/attack roll by the PCs? Basically are the Thugs calculating damage on number of successes rolled minus the 1 success required for Difficulty 1 and the PCs don’t get to react until Turn 2? OR is it calculated on number of successes minus the 1 for Difficulty 1 surprise attack then also minus the successes rolled by the PCs? Situation… 3 thugs leap out of a darkened alleyway in an attempt to mug Juana and Aileen.

So below is how my brother and I think it works, and the bits which still puzzle us. Mainly because they have no examples of how a whole combat plays out, just snippets of different rules in several different conflicts. I’ve read the Vampire the Masquerade 5th Edition rules, and even begun typing a cheat sheet, but I’m still confused about the combat system.
