Optional Rules in Effect To keep combat fast and dramatic, I will be using the standard (abstract) combat system whenever possible. I will reserve Tactical Combat (pp. B384-392) for platforms suspended over pits and similar environments, where knowing how many yards you’ve retreated is crucial . The following optional rules from the Basic Set are assumed to be in effect. All heroes can use Extra Effort in Combat (p. B357). For 1 FP per attack, a fighter can use one of Mighty Blows for +2 damage (or +1/die, if better) or Flurry of Blows to halve the penalty for a Rapid Strike. (For the latter, round in the champion’s favor; e.g., a warrior’s -3 becomes -1.) For 1 FP, he can use Feverish Defense for +2 to a single active defense roll. A variant of Cannon Fodder (p. B417) applies to normal folks. Any human bystanders built on 100 points or less are considered mooks . If the champion succeeds in a combat roll against one, don’t bother rolling active defense or damage; the champion simply does whatever he wants to the mook, within reason. For example, a warrior who succeeded at a Brawling roll could knock out a cop automatically . . . for his own good, hopefully! Flesh Wounds (p. B417) appears as an option in Other Uses for Points ( Champions , p. 31) To Gear or Not to Gear ( Champions , p. 58): Track Nothing! (see below for details) Monster Hunters, though a cinematic game, assumes that ammunition will be tracked. This preserves the balance between melee weapons (which put you close to your foe) and ranged weapons (which are safer, but require ammo). That said, it won’t drastically unbalance the game to assume that everyone has enough ammo to deal with any situation. To do so, tally up the cost and weight of five reloads for everyone. ( Five per weapon, not per person! ) If someone uses multiple types of ammo for a weapon, tally up five reloads for each type. Each person has to add the total weight to his encumbrance. Then, ignore detailed ammo tracking until one of the following happens: The team is cut off from resupplying; e.g., trapped in a cave or a building. At that point, everyone has five reloads left, and has to count bullets. A PC objects to the encumbrance and decides to ditch some ammo. From that point on, he has just the 0-4 reloads that he didn’t drop. A PC is captured and stripped of his gear. He has nothing! This applies to ammo – including things like arrows and crossbow bolts – but not to holy water balloons, grenades (p. 63), or anything else that weighs more than an ounce per use. Acrobatic Combat Acrobatic Evade Acrobatic Guard Acrobatic Stand Warrior Moves Acrobatic Attack Flying Attack Spinning Attack Jumping in Combat Simplified Gunplay Simplified Range Simplified Rapid Fire Shooting Two Guns Leading the Target Guns as Melee Weapons Fighting Smart Situational Awareness Posturing The Element of Surprise Other optional rules – such as those offering extra detail for jumping (p. B352), changing posture (p. B395), malfunctions (p. B407), and injury (p. B420) – add unnecessary detail that doesn’t fit the flavor of monster hunting. As well, aside from the exceptions above, none of the Cinematic Combat Rules (p. B417) are in play. Champions leap headfirst into impossible danger because they’re just that good, not because the situation isn’t actually dangerous! See A Good Day to Die (below) for more. Ref. Monster Hunters 2: The Mission pp. 19-22