Combat in ZODIAC is handled very abstractly, as it was in the Final Fantasy games. This chapter includes various rules that can be used to add more realism to combat and damage. Each set of rules is its own seperate module. Masters can use one, some, or all of the rules provided, as they see fit.

EXPANDED CRITICAL HITS
Normally, when a critical hit is scored, the damage dealt is simply doubled. Expanded Critical Hits include rules for more precise hit locations, as well as varying effects. When a critical hit is scored, roll 1d12 and consult the following table:

1-4: Leg Hit
5-8: Torso Hit
9-11: Arm Hit
12: Head Hit

There are two methods for determining the effects of a critical hit. Some critical hits list bleeding as an effect; this refers to the rules for Bleeding found below. If the Master chooses not to use these rules, ignore any Bleeding effects; however, it is recommended that they be used. Other effects last until the injury is healed, as ruled by the Master. All effects are in addition to dealing normal damage.

Simple Method
- Leg Hit: Agility halved for purposes of combat speed and Evade.
- Arm Hit: Weapon or shield dropped, requires one action to recover.
- Torso: Double damage.
- Head: Triple damage.

Complex Method (Roll an additional d12)
Leg Hit (Right or Left)
1: No Effect
2-3: Minor Bleeding
4-6: Minor Bleeding, -15 Evade
7-9: Major Bleeding, -15 Evade, combat speed halved.
10-11: Severe damage. Major bleeding, -50% Evade, combat speed reduced to 1.
12: Leg destroyed. Severe bleeding, Evade reduced to 0, combat speed reduced to 1, leg unusable.

Arm Hit (Right or Left)
1-3: No Effect
4-6: Weapon or shield dropped
7-9: Weapon or shield dropped, minor bleeding, -15 Accuracy
10-11: Severe damage to arm. Major bleeding, -50% Accuracy
12: Arm destroyed. Severe bleeding, arm unusable.

Torso Hit
1-2: Winded (Stun)
3-5: Minor Bleeding, Stun
6-9: Double damage, minor bleeding
10-11: Double damage, major bleeding
12: Triple damage, severe bleeding, combat speed halved

Head Hit
1: Stunned
2-3: Stunned, minor bleeding
4-5: Double damage, minor bleeding
6-9: Triple damage, major bleeding
10-11: Triple damage, severe bleeding
12: Knocked unconscious (0 HP)

BLEEDING
This short module includes rules for handling the effects of excessive bleeding from injuries. Because bleeding is a major component of the Expanded Critical Hit rules, it is highly recommended that anyone using those rules also uses the rules for bleeding. All HP loss from bleeding is calculated at the end of the injured character's turn. Note: If the optional Limit Break system is used, bleeding does not increase the Limit Meter.

Method I: Injury
Use Method I if you are not using Expanded Critical Hits. If you are seriously injured, you will begin to bleed. Once reduced to 50% of your maximum HP, you will begin losing blood (Minor Bleeding), losing 5% of your maximum HP per round. When critically injured(25%), you will be bleeding heavily (Major Bleeding), losing 10% of your maximum HP per round. Bleeding will slow or stop as HP is restored; Major Bleeding is reduced to Minor Bleeding when your HP is restored above 25%, and bleeding stops completely when HP is restored above 50%. Bleeding may also be stopped by binding the wound. Doing so takes one action and reduces bleeding by one level (Major to Minor, Minor to None), but restores no hit points. Two rounds may be taken to completely stop Major Bleeding. Any character may treat any other character, even during combat, unless he has already taken his action for the round.

Method II: Critical Hits
Use Method II if you are using Expanded Critical Hits. Bleeding occurs when the appropriate Critical Hit is rolled, as per the tables found above. Effects of bleeding are as follows:
- Minor Bleeding: Lose 5% of maximum HP per round.
- Major Bleeding: Lose 10% of maximum HP per round.
- Severe Bleeding: Lose 15% of maximum HP per round.

Bleeding from multiple hit locations is cumulative and very dangerous. For example, Major Bleding from a leg and an arm will drain 20% of your life each round. Taking one action to bind the wound will reduce the bleeding by one level; multiple bindings are cumulative, but only ONE hit location may be bound per round. Any character may treat any other character, even during combat, unless that character has attacked or used a Tech or Minor Ability during the round. Curative spells and potions reduce bleeding by one step from EACH affected hit location, in addition to their normal affects. A character under the effects of the Regen status condition will have bleeding from ALL hit locations reduced by one step per round, in addition to the regeneration of hit points. This reduction of bleeding takes effect before bleeding damage is calculated; therefore, a character with only Minor Bleeding who is under Regen will take no damage on his next turn. (Note that bleeding and Regen are cumulative; a bleeding character still takes damage until his bleeding stops. Subtract the total bleeding damage from the total amount restored by Regen at the end of each turn.)

MAP COMBAT SYSTEM
The Map Combat System is a set of rules for strategic combat a la Final Fantasy Tactics. Combat takes place on a grid of squares, rather than the abstracted battlefield of ZODIAC and most Final Fantasy games. Combatants move and fight on this grid, with their actions affected by terrain, movement speeds, and the range and area of effect of their abilities.

MOVEMENT
The Map Combat System introduces two new stats that all characters and monsters have- Move and Jump- that determine how quickly they can get around the battlefield.
- Move: This is the number of squares (in four directions ONLY, not diagonally) that the character can move during his turn. All characters have a base Move stat of 3.
- Jump: Jump represents the character's jumping ability. If obstructed by a river, chasm, or other similar obstacle, the character may jump a number of squares equal to his Jump stat. For example, a character with Jump 3 could jump over a river up to two squares wide- he jumps the two river squares and lands on a third square on dry land. Jumping is considered part of normal movement, and each Jump during a turn expends 1 Movement Point. All characters have a base Jump stat of 3.
The only way to increase Move and Jump is through the use of certain Relics.

HEIGHT LEVELS
Obviously, the battlefield won't always be flat. Hills, valleys, stairs, and other natural or man-made landforms make things interesting. A particular square's Height Level represents the square's elevation on the map. Height Levels come in increments of 0.5. Generally, the lowest point on the map- often a lake or river- has a height level of 0. Some example Height Levels, relative to the surrounding terrain, include:
- Average human: HL 1.0
- Stair steps: One square = four steps, HL 0.5
- Large rock: HL 0.5
- Boulder: HL 1.0
- One-story house: HL 3.0 at peak
- City wall: HL 5.0
- Small hole: HL -0.5
- Pit trap: HL -3.0

A character's Jump stat determines the greatest Height Level he can traverse per Movement Point. In order to move to a higher level, the difference in height levels between where he is and where he wants to move must be no greater than (Jump / 2). Note: There is no limit to how far down a character may move at one time, but falling too far may cause damage. For every half Height Level beyond 3 that a character falls, he suffers damage equal to 5% of his maximum HP. Falling 5.5 Height Levels would result in 25% damage.
Example: Amos the Valiant is pursuing a group of vagabonds through the city. He's almost caught them, but they try to get away by climbing over a brick wall. Amos is on Height Level 0, and the top of the wall has a Height Level of 2.5. Fortunately, there just happens to be a large rock of Height Level 1 right next to the wall. Amos has a Jump value of 3, so he can cross a Height Level of 1.5 or less at one time. He uses one Movement Point to climb the rock (HL 1), another to climb the wall (HL 2.5, 1.5 levels higher than the rock), and a third to jump down from the wall to the other side. On his next turn, he can continue his pursuit.

AREAS OF EFFECT
Because of the nature of Map Combat, rules are required for the range and area of effect of a character's powers and special attacks. All attacks and powers have three substats as follows:
- Range (R): Represents the power's range. The skill can be targeted up to R squares away from the character; an R: 3 means that the target square can be no farther than 3 squares away. If you want to target something that isn't directly in front of you, count off the range by counting squares horizontally and vertically; the total targetable area forms a diamond around your character (see below).
- Effect (E): Represents the power's area of effect. The power is centered on the target square, and radiates outward from that square. The E value is the number of squares, including the target square, that are affected horizontally and vertically from the target square. Peripheral squares are affected in a diamond pattern. This is best shown by example:

	X = Target Square
	* = Affected Square
	E: 1	E: 2	E: 3	E: 4

				 *
			 *	***
		 *	***    *****
	X       *X*    **X**  ***X***
		 *      ***    *****
			 *      ***
				 *

Warning: All powers will affect allies AND enemies in their area of effect! This means that it's possible to heal your enemies with a Cure spell, or harm your allies with Fire 3. To avoid this, a Tech may have the Friendly Fire Secondary Effect for +1 MP. This effect protects allies from harmful Techs, and prevents beneficial powers from effecting one's enemies.
- Vertical (V): This stat represents the vertical distance that the power will cover. For every point of Vertical, the power affects one Height Level above or below the target square's Height Level; for example, a spell with V: 1 that is targeted at a square on Height Level 6 will strike anything within its blast radius that is on a Height Level between 5 and 7. Anything higher or lower is safe from the spell.

RANGE / EFFECT LISTING
This section lists the range and area effect of the various powers and special abilities in ZODIAC.
- Normal Melee Attack: Affects only one target. The target must be adjacent to the attacker (R: 1) and cannot be more than 1 Height Level away. When attacking from the side, you get a +5 bonus to your Accuracy; when attacking from behind, the bonus is +10. If a critical hit is scored, the victim is shoved back one square.
- Melee Tech: Techs that utilize a melee weapon have a base of R: 3 E: 1 V: 0. The Area Effect Secondary Effect will increase all three values by 1 for every +1 MP Level of the Tech, to a maximum of +3 (R: 6 E: 4 V: 3).
- Normal Ranged Attacks: Normal attacks that use ranged weapons have an R: 4. Standing on high ground allows a ranged attacker to hit targets he could not otherwise reach; when determining if a particular target is in range or not, add the difference in the character's Height Level and the target's Height Level to the character's Range, rounding down, to a maximum Range of 8. The attacker may target enemies outside his normal Range, but for each square beyond the limit of the attacker's range, Accuracy is reduced by 20. Accuracy may also be modified by the angle of attack, as per normal melee attacks.
- Ranged Weapon Tech: Techs that utilize a ranged weapon have a base of R: 6 E: 1 V: 0. Area Effect and Vertical Effect can be altered as per Melee Techs. Obviously, obstacles such as trees and walls will get in the way of missile weapons.
- Other Techs: All other Techs, such as Magical Attacks, have a base of R: 4 E: 1 V: 0. Area Effect and Vertical Effect are increased in the same way as for Weapon Techs.

SPECIAL COMBAT MANEUVERS
These maneuvers are special actions that can be performed by any character during combat. Doing so counts as the character's action for the round.
- Parry: Any time you are successfully attacked from now until your next turn, make a modified Accuracy roll (40%+Agility) against your attacker's Agility. If you pass the roll, the attack misses.
- Dodge: Your Evade is increased by 50% until your next turn.
- Disarm: Disarm can only be used against armed opponents, and has a base chance of success equal to 60%. If successful, the target loses his weapon and must take one round to retrieve it.
- Guard: All damage dealt to you is reduced by half until your next turn.
- Bash: A maneuver often used with heavy metal shields. Make a normal attack roll; if successful, the target takes 1/4 normal damage and has a base 60% chance to be Stunned.

STANCES
All fighters have their own particular fighting style. There are several different fighting stances a warrior can choose from, each with their own advantages and disadvantages. A character may only have one Stance active at a time, and switching to a different stance requires one action. Characters may choose any Stance as the default for combat.

- Neutral: Normal stance. No special effects.
- Offensive: Aggressive stance. +20% to all damage rolls, +20% to all damage recieved.
- Defensive: Cautionary stance. -20% to all damage rolls, -20% to all damage recieved.
- Speed: Quick, reactive stance. +20% Agility, -10% to all damage rolls, +10% to all damage recieved.

NATURAL HEALING
In the Final Fantasy games, characters healed completely after a night at the inn; in the ZODIAC core rules, it's generally up to the Master when the characters' HP and MP are restored. Under this rule, all characters regain 20% of their HP and MP per day of rest, and 10% HP and MP per day of light activity. Running, fighting, heavy lifting, etc. will prevent healing for that day.