Editing Super Mario RPG (section)

===Combat===
There can be no story without conflict, and sagas in the Mushroom World are no exception. Functionally, combat is no different from any other series of checks. The Mario games lend themselves to fast-and-loose, narrative combat, so miniatures and grids shouldn't be required for games, although there is no rule saying they can't be used. A combat round lasts five to six seconds, for the purpose of moderation.

====Hearts & Flowers====
A character's Health Points (HP) represents her current vitality and endurance. Unless denoted otherwise, HP is equal to the combined values of her Heart and Toughness stats (e.g. if she has 5 Heart points and 5 Toughness points, then she has 10 HP). If she is reduced to 0 HP, then she is knocked out (KO'd): any effects she was sustaining promptly end, and she cannot move or act unless either a partner revives her somehow or the combat ends, at which point, in the case of the latter, she automatically revives with only one HP. The main ways to restore health are with restorative items (Mushrooms, etc.), finding special places in the world (shrines or springs) or just a good night's sleep. It's worth noting that apart from the supernatural spirits and powers of necromancy, death is a relatively uncommon occurrence in the Mushroom World, despite what the rampages of a certain Italian duo would have you believe. Unless the concept of death is pertinent to the situation at hand, then assume that all encounters are to KO.

A character's Flower Points (FP), named for the iconic Fire Flower, represents her energy and knowledge towards using special techniques or spells. Unless denoted otherwise, FP is equal to the combined values of her Heart and Coolness stats (e.g. if she has 5 Heart points and 4 Coolness points, then she has 9 FP). Using a special technique or spell (hereafter known as "specials") costs a certain amount of FP, depending on the complexity and intended effect of the special, regardless of whether or not the special was successful. If the character runs out of FP or does not have enough for a given special's required investment, then she cannot use that special. FP does not auto-regenerate except in special circumstances, and just like HP, the main ways to manually restore FP are with items (Syrups, etc.), special locations in the Mushroom World, and a good night's rest.

====Initiative & Actions====
To determine initiative, all participants in the combat roll a Speed check and add the hits to their Speed score for their final initiative. In the event of a tie, the higher Speed wins. Everyone goes once in a single turn, unless a power-up or other bonus permits extra actions or entire turns for that character; in that case, everyone takes their turn, then the character with extra actions or turns goes again until all extra actions are used, after which the turn actually ends and the next one begins.

There are two types of actions that a player can take: standard actions and free actions. Move actions are omitted from the game for the sake of simplicity, though a GM may choose to add them for more particular actions like sustaining commands or more specific movement. A standard action is the bulk of significant activities in a combat: attack, defend, use an item, swap equipment, and so on. Every character has only one standard action per turn. Free actions are non-significant actions that take little to no effort, such as talking, activating bonuses from equipment or power-ups, and so forth.

====Attacking & Defending====
Depending on the weapon of choice of a character, the primary stat rolled to attack will change. A melee fighter will usually use '''Power''', a caster will use '''Smarts or Coolness''', and a ranged combatant will use '''Speed'''. Whatever the stat used, the attacker rolls a opposed check with that particular stat against the defender's stat of choice (depending on the defensive action taken) and counts the total hits. Regardless of the defense used by the defender, if the attacker scores more net hits, the attacker wins the engagement. The attacker then does damage equal to his primary stat plus any damage modifiers, subtracted by the opponent's total Toughness; note that if the defender's total Toughness is greater than the total attack value, then the attack -- even if successfully hit -- is absorbed and does no damage.

A defender, when under attack, may choose one of three defensive tactics as a contextual response (four, if you count "doing nothing"): '''guard''', '''dodge''', and '''counter'''. 
*If he chooses to '''guard''', he will attempt to absorb the brunt of the damage with an active defense; he rolls '''Toughness''' as his stat in the opposed test, and if successful (i.e. the defender has equal or more net hits), he reduces the attacker's damage by his Toughness plus his total hits. If he fails, he takes damage as normal. If he chooses to defend as part of his standard action for the turn, then his defense is boosted; his base stat becomes '''[Toughness x 1.5 (round up)]''' for the opposed test.
*If he chooses to '''dodge''', he will try and avoid the attack altogether, be it by darting away or ducking and weaving; his stat of choice for the opposed test is '''Speed''', and if successful (i.e. the defender has equal or more net hits), the attack misses entirely and the defender takes no damage. If the attacker wins, then the defender takes damage as normal. If he chooses to take evasive action as part of his standard action for the turn, his reactions are heightened; his base stat becomes '''[Speed x 1.5 (round up)]''' for the sake of the opposed test.
*If he chooses to '''counter''', then he will attempt to actively respond to the enemy attack with his own. The defender responds with his own attack check against the attacker (using the most pertinent attack stat). If the defender wins the test, then the attacker's attack is deflected, and the defender hits the attacker directly for his net hits' worth of damage, ignoring Toughness. If the attack is a spell or spell-like ability and the defender is a caster himself, he will instead attempt to '''counterspell''' and dispel the offending spell with his own magic; he handles the defense test with his casting stat (Smarts or Coolness) instead of Toughness. If the attacker wins, the defender takes full damage resisted only by his ''base'' Toughness value. Not all attacks can be countered.

====Engagements & Enemies====
Because there's not an overt emphasis on movement or exact positioning of individuals in a combat situation, it can get easy to lose track of which enemies you can affect at any given time with a particular action. Fortunately, the game keeps track of individuals or groups of individuals as '''engagements'''. An engagement is a set of individuals in close enough proximity that they constitute a sufficient grouping of individuals for the purposes of targeting, enemy strength, and area-of-effect abilities. For example, the party of PCs in sufficiently close proximity counts as one engagement (the player engagement, for all intents and purposes). The party can be fighting a horde of pirate raiders, but the group of eight pirates may be split up into three engagements (3-3-2 or 4-3-1 or any other mix) that surround the party from all sides. Alternately, there can be an engagement of foot soldiers in front of the party, and directly behind the infantry would be another engagement of just one soldier in a portable Bullet Bill nest. An AoE effect, unless specifically noted to apply to multiple engagements, will work on one engagement of enemies at a time, like a smoke bomb blinding a group of baddies (or even the entire enemy force if the bomb is detonated in the player engagement).

Generally, there are three classes of enemy that players will battle against: '''grunts''', '''rivals''' and '''bosses'''.
*Grunts are the rank-and-file mooks that most heroes either run past or stomp on with little effort; they are almost universally weaker than any given PC, falling within one or two, maybe three attacks. However, what grunts lack in power, they usually make up for with numbers. Grunts will try to overwhelm the enemy with volume more than quality. Sometimes, bands of grunts can be lead by a rival or two, maybe even a boss. The grunts are most dangerous because they're very good at playing the numbers game.
**There's a special type of enemy formation known as the '''swarm'''. This is represented by a tight bundle of mooks that count as one unit, attacking all at once, such as a swarm of Mini-Goombas or a pile of Fuzzies bouncing all over the place. Their stats and attack power are generally equal to the number of enemies in the swarm; when they take damage, the swarm weakens as it loses numbers until there's nothing left.
*Rivals are considered the equal of PCs, generally equal in power and capability. They offer an even fight and can test how well a team works as a unit and their overall chemistry. Rivals can be friendly competitors, cutthroat adversaries or glory-seeking wannabes. Rivals are built almost identically to PCs and usually equal the number of PCs present in a fight, give or take. The rivals are most dangerous because the hardest fight to win is a fair fight.
*Bosses are beings of exceptional might that, on a one-to-one comparison, outstrip a PC's powers almost wholesale. Bosses can be huge, very well-equipped, exceptionally clever or otherwise carry an air of authority and power that makes all others tremble. Parties will be forced to work together to outsmart a boss, exploit its weakness(es) and topple the mighty foe before they are overwhelmed. Unless they have lackeys, bosses generally operate solo but make up for it with elevated stats and powerful specials, along with unique tactics and gimmicks that make the fight all the trickier. The boss is most dangerous because their immense strength can overwhelm even the mightiest of heroes if they're not prepared.