Editing Super Mario RPG (section)

====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.