Optional playtest choices for an aware, opposed Clash. The group may use them or keep the ordinary Clash. They are not item tags, Weapon Types, learned abilities, or a required extra combat phase.
Declare before drawing Copy link
Choose at most one style before either side draws and before Favor or any redraw is resolved. Use it for this Exchange only. You may choose a different style next Exchange. Only a participant able to Clash can choose one; an unaware target cannot use a style as a defense.
Style | Modifier | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
Ordinary Clash | No modifier. | Use the core procedure. |
Press the Attack | Add +1 to your final Clash total after adding Weapon or Attack base once. | Gain 1 additional Fatigue after the ordinary consequence, whether you win, lose, or tie. Apply normal Health spillover. |
Brace | Subtract 1 from your final Clash total, minimum 0. | Reduce your resulting Position Fatigue by 1, minimum 0. This does not reduce a Wound, an armor-break trigger, or Fatigue from another source. |
Work the Armor | Subtract 1 from your final Clash total, minimum 0. If you win, damage the opponent’s armor by 1 condition step before resolving Wounds. | This adds no Wound or extra Position shift. Your style and drawn armor-break trigger together cause at most 1 armor-break step this Exchange. The later deterioration from armor blocking a Wound still applies. |
Resolve the same Exchange Copy link
Apply the declared Power modifier and compare totals. Resolve armor-break triggers and any winning Work the Armor effect before Wounds. Shift the shared track once with any Shield protection, then read both resulting Positions. Apply Brace’s reduction to the listed Position Fatigue before adding that Fatigue or checking spillover. Resolve Wound protection and normal Health spillover. After the ordinary consequence, add Press the Attack’s extra Fatigue and check spillover again.
Work the Armor requires a strict win, not a tie. A drawn Momentum or ! trigger still works on a loss. If both sides use Work the Armor, only the winner gains its effect; each side’s normal trigger still applies. It offers no benefit against an unarmored or already Broken target.
Each participant may choose independently. Styles do not stack with one another. No style changes the margin thresholds of 1–3 and 4+, permits a second Shield use, bypasses armor, or replaces the concession procedure.
Example Copy link
A Hero declares Press the Attack and totals 7 before the style. Their final total is 8 against the enemy’s 5: a margin of 3, so shift one Position step. The Hero takes their ordinary resulting Position consequence, then gains 1 extra Fatigue. A declared style is never chosen after seeing the draw.
These optional styles are rules for tabletop adjudication. The Solo Combat bandit practice currently uses the ordinary Clash and does not apply these choices automatically.