This article explains the combat system in Crossfire.
Combat is the interaction of two controlled objects (players and/or monsters that exchange blows using diverse systems of attack. Combat can result in the death of any participant including yourself and is therefore a critical aspect of success in Crossfire. Upon Death a controlled object ceases to be controlled resulting in two outcomes, access to equipment held if a monster (or a gravestone if a player) and a flux of score, be it positive or negative.
Controlled objects can attack using a variety of attack types to expose vulnerabilities in an opponent for additional damage. Damage from an attack types can be defended or protected against by resistance. Some attack types do not simply do damage but also do indirect damage & effects, either temporarily or permanently. This could be to limit movement or modify a controlled objects vital statistics.
These skills rely on the physical traits of the controlled object. They can be separated into melee combat and missile combat
These spell casting skills rely on the access and control of magical abilities of the controlled objected
Combat can be thought of as a sequence of attacks. Each attack can be described as:
If the defenders hp drops below 0, the defender dies, and the attacker adds the exp of the defender to their total exp for the skill which made the killing blow. The defender also drops any items from their inventory (if a player, this is a gravestone) onto the floor.
If a player dies, the character loses 20% of their experience (in all categories) and a random primary stat decreases by 1. At low levels, the stat loss is bad news, while it is the experience loss that really hurts at those high levels. You may still regain lost stats (up to your natural limit) by drinking potions of life. Certain gods restore lost stats if you meet certain conditions while praying on their alter.
For information on development and technical aspects of spells: dev:combat