This document provides rules changes or additions that are in the second printing of Iron Gauntlets and considered important for those who have the first printing. Character Race (p.13-15)
Halflings, goblins, and gnomes now possess the undersized gimmick. Combat (p.36-38)
Whenever a situation arises which calls for more detail (like combat), the characters act on a turn by turn basis. Each turn represents five seconds. Optional: At the beginning of a turn, each character declares a single action (see next page) that he intends to attempt. Reaction
Players roll one die to determine the order in which their characters act each turn. This is called a reaction roll, and the result of a character’s roll is called his reaction speed. Players may also add another die to the roll for each point of fitness or awareness sacrificed for the turn (these points are not available for tasks until next turn). The lowest die is used as the result for the reaction roll (the reaction speed). The circumstances that can affect the reaction roll are unchanged. If the number of dice is reduced below one, no roll is permitted—the result of the character’s reaction roll is a nine (9) by default. For example: Joe allocates one point from his awareness rating of 4 in order to increase his character’s reaction speed, so he rolls 2D. He may now only roll 3D (4 minus 1) for awareness-based tasks until next turn. Actions
A character may perform one action of any kind per turn, plus as many additional actions as the number of extra dice added to his reaction roll. Additional actions are dependent upon the abilities used to increase his reaction roll—one extra fitness-based task per point of fitness allocated to reaction; and one extra awareness, reasoning, or influence-based task per point of awareness allocated to reaction. Note that if the declaration of actions is utilized, the characters perform their previously declared actions in sequence rather than choosing on the spot. For example: Hamish the Barbarian added 1D from fitness and 1D from awareness to his reaction roll. He may perform 1 free action plus 1 extra fitness-based action plus 1 extra awareness, reasoning, or influence-based action. He does not have to perform all those actions, however, and probably would do well to combine his extra fitness-based action with the free action for an attack or defense. Keep in mind that his fitness and awareness abilities are both reduced by one for all actions attempted this turn. If the character has been knocked down or otherwise prevented from carrying out his action(s), he cannot act until next turn. If a character has been knocked down, he can return to his feet using a single action on the following turn. The characters’ initial actions are performed in sequence from lowest reaction speed to highest, with ties creating a lower result for the character with the higher fitness rating. Any of the actions described below can be attempted. A character’s second action occurs after all the initial actions are completed by those involved. If other characters are also attempting second actions, the reaction speed, once again, determines the order in which they act. This process is repeated until all actions have been completed in a given turn. Note that if the declaration of actions is utilized, these additional actions are not related to the initial one, and can be declared as they are attempted. For example: Suenta gained two extra actions this turn. After he attacks and the other characters have also acted, he can perform another action, such as a second attack. If one of his opponents is also able to attempt a second action, the reaction speed of both characters is compared to see who acts first. After all the actions have been performed in the turn, a new turn begins, starting the process over again. It is up to the director to determine if multiple actions chosen by a character are feasible given the situation. For example: A character may run across the room and throw his knife, or stay alert while picking a lock, but he cannot run across the room and pick the lock at the same time. Move
The character can walk, run, crawl, climb, or swim. The distance traveled is determined by the character’s fitness rating or number of steps achieved in an athletics task (consult the table below). There are three possible ways that the director can handle movement, depending on the level of detail preferred. Automatic Movement
The movement action is an automatic task. The character can travel a distance determined by his fitness rating. He need not travel the full distance—the character can choose how far he travels, but the required rating for the distance cannot be used in other tasks for the remainder of the turn. For example: Titus’ fitness rating is 4, so he can swim up to 24ft per turn. If Titus swims that distance, he has an effective fitness rating of 0 for the remainder of the turn. If he only swims half that amount (12ft), his fitness rating is effectively reduced by 2 for the remainder of the turn. Basic Movement
The character attempts an athletics task, with the number of steps determining the distance travelled. For example: Titus’ athletics task results in 3 steps, so he runs a distance of 75ft (or crawls a distance of 9ft, etc.). Advanced Movement
The character chooses how far he would like to travel, and attempts an athletics task. The difficulty is based on the desired distance. A failure either indicates that the character trips before reaching that distance or merely reaches a distance based on the number of steps achieved (as with the basic option). For example: Titus is attempting to run a distance of 90ft this turn, making the difficulty of the athletics task a 4. His task results in 3 steps, which is a failure. Either Titus trips before he reaches that distance (perhaps the halfway mark) or reaches a distance of 75ft (3 steps). Defend
A character who chooses to defend himself may perform any type of defense only if his reaction speed is faster than that of his attacker. Otherwise, he may only perform blocking defenses (as opposed to parrying and dodging). A character may not defend against subsequent attacks in the same turn, unless he has additional actions remaining—if a character defended against an attack already this turn, but has an extra action available to him, he may defend another attack regardless of the reaction speed. Note that if the declaration of actions is utilized, a character may switch his attack to a parrying defense with a penalty of -1D and the loss of an extra action (he must have an extra action to do this). For example: Suenta defends against Jaquin’s attack, but Kolby also attacks. If Suenta had an additional action this turn, he may also block Kolby’s attack, as long as he was not knocked down by Suenta’s attack. The skill used varies by defense, and the base difficulty for all defenses is equal to the number of steps achieved by the attack (this is a resisted task against the attack). Styles can override the skill used when relevant. Ranged attacks can only be dodged or blocked with a shield. For example: Suenta attacks Kolby with his sword, for a result of 4 steps. Kolby decides to parry the attack with his own sword. Suenta’s 4 steps means a difficulty of 4 for the parry. Magic? (p.93)
Magical effects do not cause injury or fatigue unless they specifically state that they do. Characters may feel distracted or dizzy from an effect, but damage most likely comes from a natural source. Bear in mind that overkill can also increase this damage based on the guidelines presented on page 44. For example: A fireball causes no injury from the magic itself, but since fire is a natural occurence, the director can determine how much injury it inflicts based on its nature—fire (see page 42). Smothering a character by transforming his lungs follows the asphyxiation rules (also on page 42).