Jump to:
Magical
Melee
Ranged
Thrown
Unarmed

About Combat

There are five different types of combat in Unwritten Legends: magical, melee, ranged, thrown, and unarmed.

When attacking, you may specify (target) which part of your opponent's body you wish to attack. If you don't specify, you will attack a random body part. Some body parts are more vulnerable to certain types of damage, and some are much more vital (such as the abdomen, chest, head, and neck).

Magical

To battle an enemy with magic, one must have learned the spells available to him and can only invoke those that coincide with his level of learning. To cast an offensive spell, a hand needs to be free so stance is a main factor in this style and choosing an evasive one is safest if you cannot keep out of range of your enemy. Magical combat also allows a player to cast defensive spells on himself and his hunting group, offering them some protection from enemy fire. Wands and scrolls are also available and will, in many cases, allow both magical and physical users to cast spells unknown to them.

There are two types of spells: warding and bolt. Warding spells cannot target limbs, and roll against the Gnosis skill. Bolt spells can target limbs and roll against the Evasion and Dodging skill.

For more on magic, look under the Magic tab in the site navigation.

Melee

Melee combat is any type of non-ranged and non-magical physical attack by one character on another character or creature.

It can be initiated by holding a weapon in your primary hand and typing attack <target> while you are in melee range of your target.

Most weapons will also have different verbs that can be used to initiate different types of damage. For example, a broadsword can be used to slash or thrust. Simply typing attack will randomly choose between the different attack types of a specific weapon type. You can determine what attack verbs a weapon has by using the appraise verb on it.

To attack a specific body part you can type <attackverb> <target>'s <bodypart>. For instance, thrust bob's right leg would attempt to thrust your weapon at bob's right leg for an attack.

Ranged

Ranged combat is any physical attack using a bow or firearm.

First you must load the bow or firearm with appropriate ammunition. Second you must draw or cock the bow or firearm. You may then shoot <target> to attempt to shoot the target. You can determine what verbs a ranged weapon needs by using the appraise verb on it. After a recent upgrade, you may now simply attempt to shoot <target> and the game will try to load, draw, and shoot for you all in one step.

To attack a specific body part you can type shoot <target>'s <bodypart>. For instance, shoot bob's right leg would attempt to shoot bob's right leg.

Thrown

Thrown combat is any physical attack using a thrown weapon.

To attack, you simply type throw <weapon> at <target>. If you were holding a dagger and wanted to attack Bob, you would throw dagger at bob.

To throw at a specific body part you can type throw <weapon> at <target>'s <bodypart>. For instance, throw dagger at bob's right leg would attempt to throw a dagger at Bob's right leg.

Unarmed

Unarmed combat is any physical attack using a martial art.

First you must check which style you are using by typing martialart or martialarts. Each martial art has its own verb associated with it, which is listed with the martialarts command.

Next you need to choose which move you wish to use. You can determine which moves you have available by typing <martial arts verb> info. Thus brawl info would give you a list of moves.

To perform a simple attack you may <martial arts verb> <target> . Thus brawl bob punch would use the punch move on Bob. You also can use the move's number. Thus brawl bob 1 would also perform a punch attack on Bob.

To attack a specific location, you may add in the location to the attack. Since punch has mid and high listed as its valid locations, brawl bob punch high will perform a punch on Bob aiming for the high body parts.

Unarmed Attacks may be further advanced into a combo. This can be performed by tacking more moves onto an attack. brawl bob punch high punch high would attempt to punch bob twice upon a high body part.

Combos have a few limitations. Every move in a combo requires a limb, and a combo may only utilize up to two legs, two arms, and one other attack (classified as other). Furthermore, the total actual roundtime for the combo cannot exceed 6 seconds.

Every martial arts combo or individual separate attack receives a penalty or bonus based on the attacker's unarmed skill of up to 2 seconds longer or shorter than it normally would be. Also, an unarmed combo allows for moves less than 3 seconds to be strung together rapidly into a longer attack. Not only would a martial arts combo be able to consist of two one-second attacks and one four-second attack, but a master martial artist can even perform an attack that would normally take eight seconds in only six seconds.

Martial Arts Moves

Each marital arts move has its own own offensive bonus, damage, and possible special effects. The properties of martial arts moves are:

Number and Name: The number or name to use the move in an attack.

RT: The unmodified roundtime for the move.

Limbs: The limbs the move requires for purposes of a combo.

Valid Locations: The limbs the move requires for purposes of a combo.

Special Effects: Most moves do not have special effects, however, some martial arts move can attempt to afflict an opponent with something more than damage. In order to do so, another roll must be made above and beyond that required to hit.