Combat

The art of Combat uses weapons and armor to defend oneself from harm.

Attacking
The amount of damage you do to an opponent depends on several things:
 * The base damage of your weapon,
 * How skilled you are in that weapon type,
 * How many points you have in that weapon type's governing attribute, and
 * The armor level of your opponent

Power Attacks
Each rank in Blade and Blunt provides new Power Attacks.
 * Novice – Basic Power Attack - Deals a bonus basic damage in all directions
 * Apprentice – Mastery Standing Power Attack - Additional damage bonuses
 * Journeyman – Mastery Left and Right Power Attacks - Damage bonuses when attacking from left or right, plus the chance to disarm the opponent
 * Expert – Mastery Backwards Power Attack - Gains a chance of knocking down the opponent
 * Master – Mastery Forward Power Attack - Gains a chance of paralyzing the opponent

Those proficient in Hand to Hand have the save novice, apprentice, and journeyman attacks, but also have special expert and master attacks:
 * Expert – Mastery Backwards Power Attack - Gains a chance of knocking down the opponent, and, when blocking, gains a chance of a knockback attack
 * 'Master – Mastery Forward Power Attack - Gains a chance of paralyzing the opponent, and, when blocking, gains a chance of a disarm or a knockback attack

Blocking
Blocking is governed by the Block skill and reduces or neutralizes melee damage from an opponent. Melee attacks can be blocked with shields or, if experienced in Hand to Hand, with your arms. Like attacks, blocking also provides unique blocking abilities at each rank of experience:
 * Novice – Fatigued by blocking, and hand-to-hand blocking against weapons has no effect
 * Apprentice – No longer fatigued by blocking
 * Journeyman – Shield or weapons is no longer damaged when blocking, and opponents may recoil when blocking with hand-to-hand
 * Expert – Blocking with a shield has a chance to do a knockback coutnerattack, staggering the enemy if the shield blow connects
 * Master – Blocking with a shield has an adddtinoal chanc eof disarming an enemy with a successful knockback counterattack