Clash
This move covers an exchange of hand-to-hand combat: a PC tries to hurt or subdue a foe, and the foe is either actively trying to hurt/subdue them back, or is able and willing to start. If the foe can’t or won’t fight back, it’s not Clash—the PC just deals damage (or murders them outright).
If you announce an attack (“it leaps at you, what do you do?”) and the character reacts by both defending themselves and striking back, then that’s Clash. They don’t usually need to Defy Danger first, unless they were already in a precarious position.
If a player says something like “I attack” or “I stab it,” probe for more detail. It’s easier to resolve this move when you can picture their maneuver and understand its intent.
If their attack just wouldn’t work, then Clash doesn’t trigger. Instead, tell them the requirements (“you need to get inside his guard first”) or reveal an unwelcome truth (“your spear goes right through, it’s like stabbing mist”) or put them in a spot (“it swats your spear aside and jabs at your throat, what do you do?”).
On a 7+, their maneuver works (or mostly works, on a 7-9) and they’ve got a chance to hurt their foe—the damage roll tells us how much. Even if they don’t drop their foe (or get through its armor), their maneuver still basically works. The fictional situation should change to reflect that!
“Suffer your enemy’s attack,” doesn’t just mean taking damage. It means that you use the enemy to make an aggressive, hard GM move against the character. You can hurt them (“it smashes your helmet and the world is spinning—take 1d8+3 damage and mark dazed”), but you can also put them in a spot (“you stab it, but it smashes you against the railing for 1d6 damage, and the railing cracks and starts to give”), or use up their resources (“you stab it, but it bucks and twists and your spear goes flying”), or make any other GM move that makes sense—especially one of the monster’s moves! If the move would potentially hurt the PC, rough them up, or take them out, then deal damage as part of the move.
When a PC deals damage and suffers an enemy’s attack, have the player roll damage before you decide what the enemy’s attack looks like. If you know you’re going to do something that deals damage to the PC, you can roll (or have the player roll) the monster’s damage before deciding on your move. Let the damage dealt (plus armor, tags, and whether each combatant is left standing) inform the move that you make.
On a 6-, the obvious result is that the player’s maneuver fails and they suffer the enemy’s attack. But you can make any move that follows your principles. Maybe they strike a killing blow, but the monster falls and crushes a follower! Maybe they cut down this foe but the next one clocks them on the head and the PC is captured.
When a character’s attack could feasibly hurt multiple foes—because of the area tag, because they describe it in a way that makes sense, etc.—then they roll to Clash just once for the whole group, but they roll damage separately for each individual foe.
When multiple PCs and/or followers attack a foe at once, one of them Clashes while the others Aid.
When multiple combatants deal damage to a single foe, roll one combatant’s damage (usually the best one) and add +2 damage for each capable attacker after the first. Apply tags from all attackers as they make sense.
See also “Running monsters and combat”, especially “Foes they can’t hurt”, “Multiple combatants”, and “Keeping fights interesting”.
Example
The nailadd lets Caradoc go and pounces on Blodwen, biting her with paralytic venom. Caradoc’s like “I attack! Clash?”
“Probably, yeah. What’s this look like?”
“I roll to my feet, pick up my shield and rush in to bash it off her.”
Blodwen asks if it’s even Clash, since it’s focused on her. “ Yeah,” I say, “it just poisoned you, and it’s super quick. I think it’s able to defend itself from Caradoc.”
So Caradoc rolls +STR and gets an 11, wisely choosing to avoid the enemy’s attack. Alas, his damage is only a 2, not enough to get past the spider’s armor. “So, nothing happens?” he asks.
“It doesn’t take damage, but your maneuver works. You bash it clear off of Blodwen, and it flops on its back, flailing for a bit while it tries to right itself. What do you do?”
Example
The crinwin has Rhianna pinned, making these weird cooing noises as it tries to choke her. “I push it back with one hand and pull my knife with the other. Stab stab.” That’s fighting in close quarters, so she rolls +STR to Clash. She gets a 12!
“Do you avoid its attack? Or do extra damage?” She opts for the extra damage and rolls a d8 (her damage die) plus a d6, for 7 damage total. That’s enough to drop it, but she also suffers the crinwin’s attack. I consider having it hurt her, bashing her head with a rock while she stabs it, but decide to reveal an unwelcome truth instead.
“So, you stab it like five or six times, its cold black blood pouring over you. But crinwin are cowardly, right? A good stab should have sent this thing running. This one? It keeps choking you, making those coo-cooing noises, not blinking or flinching until it bleeds out. Take a d6 damage, and what’s going through your head right now?”
Example
The swyn locked eyes with Vahid and tried to crush his will, but Vahid resisted and has successfully pretended otherwise. “It slithers closer,” I tell him, “hissing ‘coommme with meee.’ It turns to go, what do you do?”
“I’ve got my lantern out, right? I smash it in the face. Clash?”
The swyn thought Vahid was under its sway and not expecting an attack. “No, no Clash. Just deal your damage!”