Rules

Super Smash Quest revolves primarily around combat. The rest of the game--puzzle-solving, traps, interaction with NPCs--is freeform, and you have to use your creativity to get through. This page contains all the rules that you will need to play in a step-by-step run-through of a battle.

Dice

SSQ Skirmish is played with a series of ten-sided (d10) dice. These are the only dice necessary to play, but you'll need a lot of them, sometimes as many as twenty since dice are rolled in pools rather than one at a time. Instead of adding up the numbers that turn face-up, you count the number of successes that you get with a roll of a dice pool. 7, 8, and 9 are successes, and 10 counts as two successes. Everything else is a failure. The number of die you roll depends on the circumstances. For the sake of example if you're making an attack roll you're usually asked to roll "AGI + Melee," meaning that you'll roll a number of dice equal to your Agility score plus your Melee ability. We'll go into how exactly those rolls are determined and how attacking works later; for right now we're just concentrating on how die rolls work.

The only time you won't roll a dice pool is when rolling a percentile--a dice that goes from 1-100. It's as easy as rolling two d10's, with one dice representing the 10's place and the other representing the 1's place. If you roll two 10's, it's a 100. These rolls are usually used to determine things based on luck. Certain random moves, like Princess Peach's Item Pull and Mr. Game and Watch's Judgment Hammer, use it to determine their power, while in other cases it's used to figure out random factors like loot and enemy encounters. Whenever you're asked to roll a percentile you may choose to add your Luck stat to the roll.

Now that we've covered the basics of dice, let's move on to combat.

Initiative

All turns are taken on specific "ticks" in the combat order, which can be thought of as a timeline of the events of the battle. There may be one or more ticks between fighters' turns, and two or more fighters may end up taking turns on the same tick at once.

When a fight begins, all the fighters--players and monsters alike--have to figure out the opening turn-taking order. This is called an initiative roll, and it's always Agility + Move Speed. Whoever gets the highest number of successes goes first on tick 0. Everybody else counts down from there and places their turn that many ticks after the first fighter's turn.

For example: Say Mario, Link, Pikachu, and Bowser are starting a free-for-all. Pikachu rolls 5 successes, Mario and Link both roll 3 successes, and Bowser rolls 1. Therefore, the turn order for the first set of turns is as follows: Pikachu goes on tick 0, Mario and Link both go on Tick 2 (-2 from Pikachu's roll) simultaneously, and Bowser goes on tick 4 (-4 from Pikachu's roll).

The Battle

Attack, Defense, and Turn Order

Attacks and powers look more or less like this:

Let's break these stats down:

Type is the type of ability it is. Normal attacks, special attacks, smash attacks, grabs, throws, smash powers, and weapons all behave differently under particular circumstances. Some badges change the way grabs in particular work, for example, or there may be things like energy fields that sap Questers of their special attacks as long as they're inside.

Power refers to whatever stat you're going to look at for damage. In this and most cases it's the POW stat, sometimes with an additional bonus or penalty. It's listed because it can be different between different fighters.

Damage is the amount by which you multiply Power Level in order to get the total damage value of the attack. If the fighter using this punch has a POW of 3, for instance, this punch will deal 6% damage in their hands. You can think of it as Damage Per Power Level if you like, but just Damage is quicker.

Accuracy is what dice you roll in order to determine whether or not your attack hits. In this case the attacker rolls a number of dice equal to AGI + Melee.

Speed is the number of ticks that the attack takes when it's used and determines the order in which future turns take place. If the fighter using this attack goes on tick 3, for instance, their next turn comes 5 ticks later, IE tick 8. Whenever you make multiple attacks in one turn you always use the highest speed of all the attacks you're using.

Rate is the maximum number of attacks that you are allowed to use on the same turn as this one--including this one. Whenever you make multiple attacks in one turn you always use the lowest Rate of all the attacks you're using. For more rules on using multiple attacks in one turn, see below.

Other abilities are listed under a "special" field. Now that we've covered how to read an attack, let's go over how to make one.

First, pick your attack and pick your target. Depending on the power or attack you're using you may be able to strike multiple enemies at a time. For the most part you need to be standing right next to them, but ranged attacks can hit enemies at long distances. Once you've got your target and have chosen an attack, you make an attack roll using the attack's accuracy. The opponent then makes a defense roll, either with AGI + Dodge or AGI + Guard depending on whether they're trying to dodge, use a bubble shield, or use any particular counterattack moves to defend themselves. If your attack roll gets more successes than their defense roll you successfully hit. Otherwise, you miss.

When your attack hits it's time to figure out the damage. Subtract the opponent's END from your attack's Power (down to a minimum of 1), then add the number of successes by which you beat their defense roll. You now have the total power of the attack. Multiply the attack's damage rating by the total power and you will get the damage that your attack deals.

For example: On Tick 2 Mario decides to attack Bowser with a Red Fireball attack. Under Accuracy it reads AGI + Ranged; Mario has 3 AGI and 2 Ranged, so he rolls 5 dice. Bowser decides to try and dodge the attack, so he rolls AGI + Dodge. His AGI is 1 and his Dodge is 2, so he rolls 3 dice. Mario rolls 3 successes, Bowser rolls 1, so Mario hits. The Power of Red Fireball is equal to POW, and Mario's is 3. Mario adds +2 to that for beating Bowser's roll by 2 dice, so it becomes 5 for this attack. It decreases by Bowser's END, which is 4, so it's brought back down to 1; this is the total power of this red fireball attack. It's multiplied by the damage rating, which is 2%, and so Mario deals 2 damage to Bowser.

As Mario ends his turn, he refers to the Speed of his Red Fireball attack. It reads 4, so his next turn occurs 4 ticks later, which would be on Tick 6. His turn is over, and now it's Bowser's turn.

Making Multiple Attacks on One Turn

You can perform a combo by making multiple attacks or actions on one turn. For each extra attack after the first you apply a combo penalty of -2 dice to every attack or action you make during that turn.

For example, now it's Bowser's turn on tick 4, and he wants to teach that pesky plumber a lesson. He dashes over to Mario in order to close the distance between them, punches him, and then follows up with a Koopa Klaw.

The punch and the Koopa Klaw both have an accuracy of AGI + Melee. Bowser has 1 AGI and 4 Melee, so it would be a roll of 5 dice normally. But he's doing them both in one turn, so he applies a -2 penalty to both of them, reducing each to a 3 dice attack. He rolls both of them, and Mario rolls two separate defense rolls against them at no penalty. Mario's AGI is 3 and his dodge is 2, so he rolls 5 dice against each. On the punch, Bowser rolls 2 successes and Mario rolls 3, so Mario dodges that attack; on the Klaw, though, bowser rolls 3 successes and Mario rolls 1, so Bowser hits him, dealing the damage of the Koopa Klaw and catching the plumber in his clutches.

The punch had a speed of 5 and the Klaw had a speed of 6. Bowser uses the higher of the two to determine when his next turn will be, so his next turn will be 6 ticks later--on tick 10. The punch had a rate of 3 and so did the Koopa Klaw. That dash he made counted as a move, though, albeit not one that gave him any attack penalties, but the point still stands that this is all the moves he could have made. His turn is now over.

Certain actions like moving and grabbing items (from your pack, the ground, or otherwise) don't incur combo penalties. Certain special attacks, like Marth's Swords Dance, will provide extra strikes that also don't incur penalties. Others may allow the opportunities for extra strikes that incur combo penalties but don't count against the number of attacks you've used, and still yet others may count the successes you make over an opponent's defenese roll as a separate hit each! There's always some exception tho be made, and the key to maximizing the damage potential and strategic value of your turn is figuring out what those are--so read your attack set thoroughly and think carefully about how you want to construct your combos.

Two Fighters Taking Turns on the Same Tick

When two fighters take turns on the same tick neither can use any ability that might be considered a reaction either for or against one another; they must disregard each other's actions even if they're being targeted towards one another. This means that they can't actively try to dodge, guard, counterattack, or otherwise defend against one another; if one makes an attack against the other the defender can only roll AGI to defend, with no Dodge or Guard ability added to the dice pool. They must also disregard the fact that they're taking turns on the same tick when factoring in their decision of what they're going to do on their turn; IE they can't immediately change targets because they're on the same tick in order to take advantage of the defense problems.

If the two fighters are attacking each other then there's some special rules. First, the two of them must roll the attacks against one another. Then they must compare the Power stat of the attacks--disregarding the fighters' POW attributes and instead only looking at the bonuses and penalties associated with the attacks themselves, including any extra power that might be added with Smash Points by the fighters. Add the Power to each of their attack rolls as automatic successes. Whoever comes out with the highest number of successes hits. If they tie, the attacks clash harmlessly. If they're attempting a combo, whoever takes the hit becomes unable to continue.

Charging Attacks

Some attacks, like Samus's Charge Shot or the ubiquitous Super Smash, can be charged. When you charge a move you decide to charge it for a number of ticks, delaying the rest of your turn until the tick on which you use the attack. For instance, say Pikachu is on tick 9 and decides to use a combo against Link. He makes one punch, then drops into a Super Smash which he charges for three ticks, then decides to perform another punch. So, on tick 9 he performs the punch, then he charges up until tick 12. If Link's turn happens between those two ticks he has a chance to interrupt Pikachu; if he hits the charge is lost and Pikachu's turn is over, with his next turn occuring a number of ticks after the interruption equal to the Speed of the slowest attack which he used. Otherwise, Pikachu's turn resumes on tick 12 and he's able to finish attempting his combo.

When a fighter charging an attack is hit in the middle of charging the charge is lost, as said above. In order to avoid having this happen you may have any number of choices depending on the attack you're using. In all cases you can prematurely stop charging and unleash the attack against your attacker, ending your turn but giving you a chance to retaliate at the very least. In this situation add a +1 bonus dice to your accuracy roll for being prepared. Other moves, like the Charge Shot and DK's Giant Punch, can be stored instead, and you may drop charging in order to retain your ability to dodge or guard attacks. This also ends your turn, but you can resume charging on a later turn. Make sure to keep track of how much you've charged up attacks like this. Finally, charged Super Smash attacks can simply be dropped entirely, losing the charge and any Smash Points you've put into the attack and ending your turn but retaining the ability to dodge or guard against enemy attacks.

Special Moves

The stats for special moves are all given on the Moves and Skills page. Whenever you use a Special Move it costs 1 SP.

Smash Points

Some abilities and attacks can be enhanced with Smash Points or require them in order to work. Your Smash Points regenerate by 1 every five ticks unless you have some other ability or a badge that says otherwise, up to a maximum of your full Smash Point total. They also refill completely between fights. Otherwise, the rules for using Smash Points are detailed under each different ability that uses them. Remember, though, that you can only use one Smash Power per each turn. Defensive abilities like the Bubble Shield which take place in between your turns don't count towards this.

Movement in Battle

Battlefields are divided into a certain number of units, usually represented by a square area. The number of units which you can run with one move action is equal to your Movement ability, regardless of your Agility; that's dashing (full) speed. For walking, it's half that. The number of units which you can jump with one move action is equal to your Jump ability. You can make a second jump action right after another to perform a Double Jump, but it does count as another action with regards to the Rate of any of your attacks. It's also possible to perform a Triple Jump with Up+B special attacks; the height of such an attack is given under the attack's information itself. Moving, whether it's a jump, a dash, or just walking, is an action with a speed of 4 and a rate of 4.

Recovery

When you've been damaged past your damage threshold you're now in danger, whether the current fight is on HP or ring-out rules. From this point on when you're hit with any attack with the Smash keyword, you will have to make a recovery. Your recovery roll threshold is equal to 1 + 1 per every 10 damage you take past your damage threshold. This is both the number of movement units you're sent flying across when struck with a move with the Smash keyword as well as the number that you have to beat with a recovery roll--AGI + Jump, usually--in order to make your way back to a ledge after you've been sent over it. If you're one or more movement units away from the ledge that your opponent knocks you towards, subtract that number of units from the recovery threshold for your roll. If you fail the roll you will fall past the ledge. If this is into a bottomless pit or at the edge of an arena, you fall and die. Otherwise you just fall short of your goal by the difference between your recovery roll and the threshold, but can choose to land anywhere short of that area. Recovery isn't limited to just one roll, though. You can make one roll for a double jump and another for a triple-jump move, using the accuracy roll of the Up+B move that you're using to add more successes on top of the initial recovery check. Some Side+B moves can also be used to recover. In general, any move that can be used for recovery will be marked with the Recovery keyword.

Sometimes you'll be damaged this badly but you'll be in a sheltered area, such as the cave underneath Hyrule Temple. Otherwise you'll be hit in the wrong direction to have to recover. Whenever you're smacked into a wall when you're past your damage threshold you'll ricochet off it, taking damage equal to your current recovery roll threshold x 2 and continuing to fly in a direction opposite the wall/ceiling/floor you hit. If the initial hit moved you upwards, you'll continue moving upwards. If it moved you downwards, you'll continue moving downwards. You'll keep flying like this until you've moved a number of units equal to your recovery threshold, and if it causes you to hit more walls you'll hit them in the same way. You can make a recovery roll to try and avoid being tossed around like this, but you won't get a triple jump. If you can't beat the threshold, you'll reduce the distance you fly to the difference between the threshold and your roll.

There comes a point when you are unable to recover at all. When the damage you take equals your HP, the next Smash that hits you will instantly kill you, whether you're in HP mode or not, provided that you're in such a position that you can be knocked out of an arena--IE not in a sheltered area.

Star Finish

Sometimes when you've passed your damage threshold you can take a hit so hard that it will send you blasting off skyward, unable to recover and sailing into the distance like a shooting star. In order for this to happen you need to past your damage threshold, your opponent has to use an attack with the Smash keyword, and their attack roll's successes has to be more than double your defense roll's successes.

Death

If you fall over a ledge and die or get reduced to 0 HP while in HP mode, you lose a life--and lives won't come back between fights or missions. When you've lost all your lives, you get a Game Over, losing half your coins and becoming unable to participate in the rest of the current session as well as the next session as you remain in the infirmary for treatment. After one session has passed you may return to work with three lives replenished.

Items

You can only be holding one item at a time (not including your Smash Dex, which you always have access to, or badges), whether it's a shell or a weapon that you're using like a beam sword.