This auto -10 applies in these examples:
unconscious, securely bound to a chair, magically paralyzed like a statue, and so on.
I would concur with silveroak here (a rare occurrence!): there's a sufficiently wide range of "surprise attacks" that it seems very hard to model them with a simple extension to the combat rules without breaking suspension of disbelief. In the absence of distractions, the outcome of an attack on a soundly sleeping man should be in most cases vastly different if the attacker is wielding a knife vs. throwing a punch - even though the former enjoys just a +1 Atk and a +2 Dmg bonus over the latter. It should also be widely different if the attacker is wielding a knife vs. throwing the same knife. And when wielding a knife, it's one thing if you meet your victim on the street; another if he allows you to brush against him, for example in a large crowd; another still if he's soundly sleeping. Finally, the set of skills necessary to successfully stab a man in the back have only a small overlap with those to successfully face him in open combat, even when using the same weapon.
I think that assassinations with a smallish bladed/pointed weapon are best handled with their own rules different from combat ones, albeit still based on ability roll(s). I'd use something like the following.
First, there must be some way for the assassin armed with an unsheated weapon to come reasonably close (half an arm's length or less) to the victim, who must have no reason to suspect the assassin (a weapon openly displayed, or a bulge under one's cloak in most cases invites suspicion). Otherwise, the situation must be resolved as a normal combat, perhaps with a bonus on the first attack to account for its unexpected nature. Then, the assassination attempt is resolved as a simple Qik+Intrigue roll, with a long list of modifiers if the troupe wants to play out the attempt in detail. This is a feature of the system: an assassin wants to squeeze in every little advantage he can, but the outcome still hangs on a single, highly unpredictable, roll of the dice.
Assassination attempt: Qik+Intrigue stress roll
Botch: assassination fails utterly, assassin may be caught, killed, or at the very least disarmed
5 or less: assassination fails, victim unscathed
6-8: victim bruised
9-11: victim receives light wound
12-14: victim receives medium wound
15-17: victim receives heavy wound
18-20: victim receives incapacitating wound
21+: victim dead
With any outcome other than a botch the assassin can then still attack the victim using normal combat rules, or attempt to flee. After rolling, the assassin's player can try to match or surpass any roll of 6+ with a Per+Intrigue stress roll. If successful, the assassin has realized in time his chances are limited and can, if desired, abort the assassination attempt before it is made.
If one wants to play out the attempt in detail, here are some possible modifiers, but the list is not exhaustive, particularly if supernatural forces are at work. All modifiers are cumulative:
- Personality/mood of the victim (paranoid, trusting etc.) +1 to -1
- Previous assassination attempt -2
- Previous attack with the same modus operandi -2
- Victim's distracted, sleepy, intoxicated etc. +1 to +6
- Victim's Awareness 3+ -1
- Victim's Awareness 6+ -1
- Victim's Awareness 10+ -1
- Victim has vigilant friends, followers etc. nearby -1, extra botch die
- Said friends, followers are professional/highly vigilant -2, extra botch die
- Assassin is known to the victim and not feared (e.g. servant) +1
- Assassin is a trusted associate (e.g. bodyguard) +1 to +4
- Victim cannot see the attack, even briefly (e.g. backstab) +4
- Victim can neither see nor hear the attack (e.g. noisy environment) +2
- Assassin can brush against victim without raising suspicion (e.g. in a crowd) +2
- Assassin can maintain favourable environment for at least 1 full round +1
- Assassin can maintain favourable environment for at least 1 minute +1
- Victim's mobility impaired +1 to +3 (e.g. wounded, confined environment)
- Chaotic environment 2 extra botch dice
- Assassin is skilled in close-quarters fighting (Brawl 3+) +1
- Assassin is a master of close-quarters fighting (Brawl 6+) +1
- Assassin has committed assassination before +1
- Assassin has committed many assassinations (6+) before +1
- Assassin has significant experience with the type of weapon (e.g. specialty) +1
- Assassin has significant experience with that specific weapon +1
- Assassin is deeply familiar with target (including Folk Ken 6+) +1
- Assassin's knows he must target a small area (e.g. throat, groin) -6
- Assassin's targets area protected by thick clothing/leather/mail -1 to -7, extra botch die
- Assassin is unaware of said protection: -3, 2 extra botch dice
- Assassin is using particularly appropriate weapon to bypass above protection +1 to +2
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Even if you're right, there are too many independent systems, IMO.
I am inclined to reject adding extra subsystems for my own games (I don't use many of the ones added by sourcebooks, let alone add my own). My own thinking on this is that something like a Qik + Stealth stress roll vs Per + Awareness decides whether the victim counts as Defenceless and therefore has a Defence total of -10 per LoM. Maybe have the option to exert yourself to get it anyway if you fail by less than 10, similar to formulaic spellcasting.
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I feel that a system like this should allow for the target's abilities too. So instead of straight Intrigue + Qik, roll that against target's Awareness or Intrigue + Perception.
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