MRPG Combat and Magic OLD

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Note: While this section still says Combat and Magic, the Magic stuff has been moved over to MRPG Spellcasting.

The two most important values in Mage Wars RPG are Attack and Defense. All of combat/spellcasting/etc revolves around the use of these values. For each, a Base and a Variable is used. The Base is the lowest value that the character has, while the Variable is rolled each time a check is needed. If the incoming attack is lower than the base, no variable need be rolled.


  • BAV Base Attack Value
  • VAV Variable Attack Value
  • BDV Base Defense Value
  • VDV Variable Defense Value


Attack and Defend values are calculated differently according to class, and for Mages the Attack Value can change according to the spell being cast.

Base Attack Value

  • Weapon Attacks: BAV starts with stats Strength(STR) and Dexterity(DEX). Depending on the weapon, one stat may also be multiplied by it's modifier. For mellee weapons, STR is increased by the Unbuffed Strength Modifier, while ranged weapons use DEX. Weapon proficiency is then added to produce the Base Attack Value. If the character has a Special Proficiency, that is also added at this time.

Variable Attack Value

Each weapon has a number of base damage dice associated with it(such as 1d6) for the longsword. In the case of +value weapons, multiple dice are used(a +1 longsword is 2d6). Quality does not have an impact on this(Very Fine weapons do not recieve an extra dice when rolling attack, only +values).

Additionally to the damage dice, each character roles 1 + 1 per-rank d20s to the attack roll. If a Flourish is being used, any bonuses from the flourish are rolled here.


BAV amd VAV should be written on the character sheet. BAV is recorded as calculated, VAV is recorded as the highest number the player could possibly roll(exclusing a flourish). If an attack is made against an enemy with a BAV higher than the character's highest possible VAV, the character automatically misses(unless the player attempts a flourish).

Dice used to make the VAV roll should also be written down to save time. For characters who plan to switch back and fourth between different weapons(melee or ranged) or those who plan to shift between melee, ranged, and spellcasting, all appropriate BAVs and VAVs should be recorded.


Just like attack, there are Base and Variable Defense Values. Unlike attack, the calculations are basically the same for all characters.

Base Defense Value

Base Defense Value is (Stamina * Strength Modifier) + (Dexterity * Strength Modifier) + (Applicable Armor Proficiency * Rank).

AC is used only in calculating final damage percentage. Note that since mages tend to wear cloth and cloth is not considered armor, they do not get an armor-Proficiency. Further, only the "large" and Very Large pieces determine which armor proficiency is used, and these three pieces must match.

Variable Defense Value

Variable Attack Value starts with armor type worn. Characters get 1 VDV dice + 1 per rank. Leather uses d8, Chain uses d12, and Plate uses d20(Example: A level 8 Warrior wearing full plate would have 2d20 VDV dice). Mages and anyone not wearing armor get nothing. Wear some damn armor if you don't want to get hit.

Mages have a variety of spells that effectively give them armor. These spells will list the VAV dice used, same rules apply: 1 dice + 1 per rank. Check spell descriptions for full details. Some items may also act as pseudo-armor for a mage, granting them AC or armor type. In general, however, mages are very squishy.


Just like AV, both BDV and the highest possible VDV should be recorded on the character sheet.

Dodge and Block

Dodge and Block work VDV, if a Dodge or Block check is made, it is compared to the original VAV of the incoming attack.

Armor class, high DVs, and damage reduction all help, but the best option is never to get hit. Dodge and Evasion are Rogue/Ranger proficiencies, but any class make take them through proficiency swap. While dodge and evade are heavily dependant on the proficiency, it is possible to succeed without them.


Whenever DV is bypassed, the character will automatically make a dodge-attempt. Dodge can be thought of as similar to DV but with a different set of stats. Dodge is used to attempt to avoid both physical and magical attack. Some spells cannot be dodged.

Armor determines how many dodge-dice are available:

Armor# of Dice

As you can see, the use of heavy armor effectively cripples your dodge ability.

The dodge-dice used changes according to rank. Rank 1 uses a d8, Rank 2 uses d12, and Rank 3 is d20.

Dodge is also a factor of skill. Dodge uses the unbuffed dexterity modifier as the base. Buffed dexterity is then added to the score as well as the dice. The final dodge-formula is: Dodge + (Dogde x modifier) + Dexterity + dice.

Only rogues actually possess the dodge-skill by default. This does not, however, mean dodge is impossible. Mages(who typically do not wear armor, may still succeed in the occasional dodge-check. Other classes will probably want to invest in a proficiency-swap or focus on higher armor class.

The final dodge number then has to exceed the Variable AV of the incoming attack in order to successfully avoid it.


If you have a shield equipped you will automatically attempt to block any incoming melee attack. The block equation is Shield Proficiency + Strength + equipped Shield AC +1d20-per-rank. A successful block is the same as a dodge and negates all damage. Different types of shields block better, such as Tower Shields, but cause deficiencies in other areas.


When rolling for VAV, players roll a number of D20s. Each roll that is higher than 15 counts as 1 point towards a critical hit. The magic number is 3+Rank, hit that and you've scored a critical hit. Criticals deal double damage.

The number 15 is the Base Critical Threshold. Some abilities, spells, classes, and races may get + or - to that threshold.

DV in In Combat

Mage Wars RPG vs. Mage Wars PnP handle combat DV differently. See Mage Wars PnP Combat Instances and Rounds for the PnP Explanation.

In Mage Wars RPG, each time a player or mob is the target of a melee or ranged attack(an attack role is made against them), Base DV of the target is reduced by 10 points for 3 seconds, stacking. The next successful attack resets the timer.

So two successful attacks within 3 seconds would reduce the target's DV by 20. A third attack within 3 seconds of the second attack would make it 30, and so on. This can be combined with various other abilities to quickly strip-down a targets DV to make it easier for a large attack.

This does not impact AC.

Damage Calculation

Once an attack has been confirmed(attacker's VAV was higher than target's VDV) we can move on to damage calculation. Weapons will and spells may multiple different damage sources that must be rolled individually(a 1d6 longsword might also deal 1d6 fire damage)Everything has a damage type, and the target may have damage reduction to consider.

Once all damage has been rolled, damage reduction is subtracted, and final damage is applied all at once.


A modifier is always the relevant score, and is equal to .5 for every 5 points.

Example: A stamina of 15 yields an STA modifier of 1.5. A Stamina of 17 also yields 1.5, as does 19. Only a stamina of 20 raises the modifier to 2.

When a modifier is used in an equation, the modifier is always at least 1. The same goes for level calculations.

Example 2: the mana point calculations equation is (Buffed STR Mod + Buffed INT Mod x INT) x Level. For a starting(level 0) character, this would result in 0 MP several of the modifier values might be 0.

Buffed vs. Unbuffed

An Unbuffed Modifier is the modifer for the 'unbuffed' or base score(the score without any effects or enchantments applied). Some calculations might use the buffed modifier but the unbuffed score, or vice-versa, so it is very important to pay attention to the wording.

Buffed/Unbuffed Example: a character has an STR score of 19 and is wearing a Ring of Strength +1. 19 is the unbuffed score and the total(20) is the buffed score. The unbuffed modifier, then, is 1.5, while the buffed is 2.

Attack Speed

Attack Speed is determined by Speed, size modifier and base weapon speed. Basically, your weapon can attack every X seconds - Buffed Speed Modifier + Size Modifier.


Stance can be thought of as a barter-system, a series of trade-offs. Give up some of one thing to get more of another.

There are five stances in all, and everyone starts out in the Central Stance. Stances can be changed any time, instantly, through hotkeys. They can even be applied to macros and changed just for the instant of attack.

The stances are:

  • Central
  • Guarded
  • Unguarded
  • Extended
  • Inverted

In detail:

  • Central: Central is the standard stance and uses all of the default values as detailed above.
  • Guarded: In Guarded Stance you give up 25% of your total, pre-resistance damage you deal in order to gain a 25% reduction to all you take.
  • Unguarded: In the Unguarded Stance, you trade 25% of your Base-DV in order to gain a 25% bonus to Base-AV.
  • Extended: In the Extended Stance you trade 25% of your pre-resistance damage for a 25% bonus to Base AV.
  • Inverted: In the Inverted Stance you trade 25% of your pre-resistance damage for a 25% bonus to DV.

The stances also have an impact on how much threat your character generates.


It is possible to(eventually) dual-wield any weapon in Mage Wars RPG, reguardless of practicality. See MRPG Dual-Wielding for complete rules.


Magic is no covered under Spellcasting.

See Also: