Evade
Evade, a part of the Evade/Block/Parry defensive system against physical and bolt attacks, is a form of defense that will activate before a character makes a combat roll. With a successful evasion the attack will completely miss the target.
The Dodge skill is the primary factor in avoiding an attack entirely. While in stance offensive, a character, singled (1 rank per level) in dodge, has approximately a 5% chance of evading an attack against a like-level foe. A character double trained (2 ranks per level) has a 10% chance and a character triple trained (3 ranks per level) has a 15% chance for an outright evasion. The possibility of evading an attack is increased through a character's intuition and agility bonuses. Spells such as Mass Blur, Mobility, Song of Mirrors, and the combat manuevers Evade Mastery (available to warriors, rogue and monks) and Duck and Weave (available to rogues and monks) will also improve the chance to evade an attack. Encumbrance, shields and heavier armor make it more difficult to evade an attack, especially larger shields and heavier armor.
There is no available formula to determine the exact chance that an attack will be evaded, but level of the defender vs level of the attacker is an important factor. Ranged attacks from ranged weapons, thrown weapons, and bolts are harder to evade than melee attacks.
Dodge DS Formula (vs Melee Attacks)
The first step in determining the Dodge DS bonus is to calculate the Base Value.
The second step is to enter the Base Value into the Dodge DS formula with the values of the other factors (see tables below).
Note 1: Truncate results to integer values after each operation in the formula.
Note 2: Shield size penalties vs melee attacks are 0 for small/medium, -5 (large) and -10 (tower)
Example I
Dodge DS for a character with:
- Dodge Ranks: 60
- Agility Bonus: 20
- Intuition Bonus: 18
- Armor: Brigandine Armor (0.94 factor)
- Shield size: Medium (0.70 factor)
- Stance: Advanced (0.80 factor)
Step 1 (Base Value) Calculations:
Step 2 (Dodge DS) Calculations:
Without truncating after each operation there would be an incorrect result of 44 DS.
Example II
Dodge DS for a character with:
- Dodge Ranks: 60
- Agility Bonus: 20
- Intuition Bonus: 18
- Armor: Brigandine Armor (0.94 factor)
- Shield size: Tower (0.54 factor)
- Shield size penalty: -10
- Stance: Advanced (0.80 factor)
Step 1 (Base Value) Calculations:
Step 2 (Dodge DS) Calculations:
Dodge DS Formula (vs Ranged Attacks)
Note: Truncate after each operation. Round up final result.
Armor Hindrance Factors
The Armor Hindrance values to be used in the formula are:
| ASG | Name | Hindrance Factor |
ASG | Name | Hindrance Factor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Normal Clothing | 1.00 | 12 | Brigandine armor | 0.94 | |
| 2 | Robes | 1.00 | 13 | Chain mail | 0.94 | |
| 5 | Light leather | 1.00 | 14 | Double chain | 0.93 | |
| 6 | full leather | 1.00 | 15 | Augmented chain | 0.92 | |
| 7 | Reinforced leather | 0.98 | 16 | Chain hauberk | 0.91 | |
| 8 | Double leather | 0.97 | 17 | Metal breastplate | 0.90 | |
| 9 | Leather breastplate | 0.97 | 18 | Augmented breastplate | 0.88 | |
| 10 | Cuirbouilli leather | 0.96 | 19 | Half plate | 0.85 | |
| 11 | Studded leather | 0.95 | 20 | Full plate | 0.83 |
Note: Armor hindrance is equal to half the armor's action penalty.
Shield Factors
The Shield Factors to be used in the formula are:
| Size | Shield Factor |
|---|---|
| Small | 0.78 |
| Medium | 0.70 |
| Large | 0.62 |
| Tower | 0.54 |
Note: The shield factors are derived from the following shield penalties: 22% (small), 30% (medium), 38% (large) and 46% (tower).
Stance Modifiers
The Stance Modifier values to be used in the formula are:
| Stance | Modifier |
|---|---|
| Offensive | 0.75 |
| Advanced | 0.80 |
| Forward | 0.85 |
| Neutral | 0.90 |
| Guarded | 0.95 |
| Defensive | 1.00 |
Encumbrance Penalty
There is a 1% penalty to dodge DS for each 1% encumbered body weight.
Encumbrance Penalty Example
A character with a body weight of 200 lbs. and a defensive stance dodge DS of +100 will sustain a penalty of -1 DS for every 2 lbs. of encumbered weight. With 200 lbs. of encumbered weight, dodge DS will be zero. There is no additional penalty (negative dodge DS) when encumbrance is greater than total body weight.
Note: There is no block or parry encumbrance DS penalty.