MM 3 Knockdown And Knockback
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Knockdown
If a foe fails to resist your Damage by two degrees, you may choose for that foe to fall Prone instead of being Dazed for a round.
Knockback
By default, any Strength-based Damage attack can cause knockback using the following rules. Other forms of Damage require the "Causes Knockback" Extra (flat +1) to do so. Lethal attacks cannot cause knockback (see MM3 Lethal Damage Rules).
When using Strength to attack, you may choose to inflict knockback. You get 1 rank of Knockback for free, and may trade ranks of Damage up to half your Strength (round up, minimum 1) for additional ranks of Knockback. After resolving Damage, subtract the target's Mass rank (this is 2 for most humans) from your Knockback rank. If the difference is -2 or less, there is no effect; at -1 or 0, the target stumbles back about 6' but is otherwise fine; for larger differences, read on.
If the difference between Knockback and Mass is 1+, the foe is knocked straight back 15' for each point of difference. If you instead want to punch them into a specific obstacle or direction, your initial attack must be made at -2. If you knock the foe into a wall, etc., they take Damage equal to the lower of (Knockback rank - Mass rank) or the obstacle's Toughness, but may use tumbling (Acrobatics) to reduce this. Otherwise, they fly back the full distance and must roll Acrobatics (DC 15) to land on their feet instead of Prone; flyers instead roll against DC 10 to end up in a controlled hover.
Example: Slamma Jamma has Strength 7 and a mace bought as Damage 3 (Strength-Based). As he swings it at Power Pig, he declares that he's shifting 4 ranks (his maximum, half of Strength 7) into Knockback. Added to his 1 rank of free Knockback, this gives him a total of 5 ranks of Knockback. It hits, and instead of doing Damage 10, it does Damage 6 + Knockback 5. After Power Pig rolls Toughness to deal with the damage, the Knockback applies. The difference between Knockback 5 and Mass 2 is 3, so Power Pig is knocked back 45'. There's no obstacle behind him, so he has to make a DC 15 Acrobatics check to land on his feet.
Knockback Mitigators: Movement (Wall-Crawling) reduces knockback ranks by -2 per rank while in use. Immunity to Knockback is 5 ranks of Immunity.
New Advantage: Extreme Knockback
Combat
When inflicting Knockback, the distance you send the foe flying equals (Knockback rank - Mass rank) instead of being linear. There is still no effect if Knockback minus Mass is -2 or lower, but otherwise the subject is subject to hitting walls, Acrobatics checks, etc., even if the difference is 0 or -1. At STR 3-8, this approximately quadruples knockback distance, with more extreme results as Strength rises. This doesn't increase the damage taken by the foe for hitting an obstacle, just the distance traveled.
By default, Extreme Knockback applies to your Strength, but it may be bought (separately) for any Damage attack with the Causes Knockback extra.
Bracing
You may brace yourself as a move action; this must be the last action taken on your turn. You cannot brace if you are currently defenseless or vulnerable, and it cannot be combined with the Defend action (which represents high mobility and the ability to react). This gives you one or two benefits which last until the beginning of your next turn:
- You add half your Strength (round up, minimum +1) to your Mass rank for the purpose of knockback.
- Optionally, you become vulnerable but receive a +2 circumstance modifier to your Toughness. (If you have the Withstand Damage advantage, you may choose to instead become defenseless for +5.)
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