Stun Lock
Also known as "stun" or "stunning," a reaction to damage which results in a combatant being unable to take action for a given round.
Stun lock is caused by any one hit that equals 25% or more of the combatant's hit points at the time the damage is done. If sufficient, the character or combatant is "stunned." While stunned, the combatant cannot act that round, letting the enemy attack again. It is assumed that the stunned character is still defending (armor class unchanged) and is aware of what's happening. Stunning should be seen as the character staggering, off balance, perhaps falling to one knee and attempting to regain another chance to attack. In effect, the character is "too busy" to take fight back. Combatants that are stunned round after round may be killed before they are ever able to attack again.
If a character is hit multiple times in the space of a round, each individual hit is calculated against the target's hit points separately. This calculation is made according to the order in which each hit lands.
- For example, suppose a combatant with 29 hit points were to be hit three times in succession. In order, these hits caused 7, 5 and 3 points of damage. The first hit, 7 damage, will stun up to 28 hp, not quite enough to stun the combatant. We subtract 7, leaving the combatant with 22 hp. The second hit, 5 damage, will stun up to 20 hp, which is still not enough. This leaves the combatant with 17 hp. The third hit, 3 damage, is still less than 25% of the combatants remaining hit points. Therefore, the combatant escapes being stunned this round, even though it suffered a total loss of 15 hit points.
- If, however, the damage was done in the order of 3, 7 and 5, the first hit would reduce the combatant to 26 hp. This means that the second attack, for 7 damage, would stun the combatant. As the combatant is already stunned, the third hit, for 5 damage, would also stun the combatant. However, any combatant can be stunned only once per round. A combatant cannot be "more stunned;" however, see falling back.
When bleeding from wounds results in 25% loss to a combatant's hit points, the combatant is considered too weak to take any action. It will be stunned every round thereafter until its wounds are treated.
Any damage sustained by a combatant with 4 hp or less (including the negatives) is considered a stun.
Stunning versus Multiple Attacks
When a defending combatant has more than one attack, more than 25% of the combatant's hit points must be caused in order to stop all the combatant's attacks. Whether due to it's natural form — such as animals with two claws and a bite, multiple tentacles, etcetera — or because the combatant has increased sufficiently in level to receive additional attacks, combatants with multiple attacks are more difficult to stun.
Causing 25% of the combatant's hit points will reduce the combatant's attacks the following round by one attack. To reduce the combatant by two attacks requires damage equal to 33% (one third) of the combatant's hit points. Reducing the combatant by three attacks requires 50% of the combatant's hit points; by four attacks requires 67% (two-thirds) of the combatant's hit points and so on. See the table below for reducing up to 8 enemy attacks (the number of attacks a carrion crawler has).
For example, suppose a character is fighting a lion with 33 hp. During the character's round, the character hit's the lion, causing 9 damage. This is more than 25% of the lion's hit points, but not more than 33% - therefore, the lion would still attack, but would randomly lose the use of either one of the lion's claws or its bite. If the character had caused 11 hp of damage, the lion would have lost two of its attacks - but it would still attack using one of its claws (2 in 3) or its bite (1 in 3). If the character, however, was somehow able to cause a total of 17 hp damage to the lion, the lion would be completely stunned and would get no return attacks before the character was able to attack again.
Falling Back
Combatants that are stunned are judged to fall back one combat hex after being stunned, effectively staggering back from the force of the blow. In some cases, where the attack is particular egregious and delivered by a large or gigantic combatant, such as a giant or an elemental, the stunned combatant may actually be hurled back a distance of at least one hex. If the damage caused by an attacker larger than 1,000 pounds is enough to wound the combatant, the combatant is judged to fall back two hexes.
The direction of falling back should be diametrically opposite to the direction of the attack that first stunned the opponent. The combatant cannot, however, be forced into a hex containing an enemy or a physical structure - if this applies to the hex to which the combatant should fall back, then the combatant will fall back 60 degrees to the left or right, away from the hit. If it is impossible for the combatant to fall back into any three hexes behind the combatant, then the falling-back rule does not apply.
If the hex the combatant is forced into contains a single small or medium-sized ally, the combatant will be forced to occupy the same hex as the ally. However, if that hex is occupied by a large ally, by two medium allies or three small allies, that hex is judge to be full and therefore the combatant cannot fall back into that hex. Once again, if all three hexes are filled with allies, then the falling-back rule does not apply.
If the combatant falls back into an hex that indicates a plunge or drop, then the combatant is entitled to a dexterity check each time that the combatant is stunned that round. Success indicates that the combatant does not move backwards when stunned; a failure indicates that the combatant falls.
Should the combatant be separated from the fall by a railing, merlon or fence, the combatant will receive a +1 modifier to the dexterity check for each foot of the barrier's height above 1' (+1 for a 2' barrier, +2 for a 3' barrier, etcetera). If the character has a rigid pole that can be grabbed or used for support, the combatant will gain a +1 modifier for that also.
There are numerous other situations into which a stunned combatant can be forced back into — for example, into water along a shoreline, into line-of-sight where the character can be seen by others, up or down stairs, etc.
Swapping with Stunned Allies
Allies may swap places with stunned companions, in order to move forward and attack the enemy. Imagine that the forward hex is, at the start of the round, occupied by a combatant — Axul — that has just been stunned. Axul's ally, Byzul, begins by moving into Axul's hex. At the same time, Byzul presses Axul back (as they switch places) and Axul stumbles backwards into Byzul's former place. Though technically Axul cannot take an action (because Axul is stunned), Byzul initiates an action for Axul and Axul completes that action. The exchange costs only one action point for Byzul, for moving one hex forward, but none for directing Axul (as Byzul merely pulls Axul back while passing him), while the points Axul spends are dismissed since they are less than what Axul might spend if Axul had the power to take action independently.
The final result is that Byzul ends where Axul was, while Axul ends where Byzul was. Byzul then goes on to use his remaining action points.
