Waylay
Playtest 3.2 / 4th EdSkill Rules & Full Description
This skill will render a target character Unconscious by striking them with a small weapon. The character should tap the target player between the shoulder blades with the weapon and prefix their damage with the word “Waylay”. All Damage Bonuses and Strength Bonuses will add to the damage done by a Waylay. The character must call damage to be effective; a “Waylay Zero” or less has no effect.
This skill must be delivered from behind. The character must be approximately 90 degrees behind their target to be considered behind them. The character cannot reach their arms around the target to use their Waylay skill. A Waylay does not have to be delivered from surprise, but cannot be delivered against a character who is currently engaged in combat. Once a character has been hit with a Waylay, they are considered to be in-combat, therefore you cannot hit the same character with another waylay immediately after. A character cannot Waylay two characters simultaneously even if they have the Florentine skill. Additionally, a character cannot use the Waylay skill with a ranged attack, even if it is augmented by the True Aim skill.
A defense that stops physical attacks will protect the character from both the effect and damage done by a waylay. Additionally, a helmet that covers the back of a character’s head and neck will also protect against a Waylay. When armor is evaluated by an Arms Marshal, the helmet is assigned a certain number of Armor Points. In order for a Waylay to knock a character unconscious, it must do more damage than the Armor Points in the helmet. For example, if the target is wearing a helmet worth 2 Armor Points, and you call “Waylay one”, then the target does not fall unconscious but still takes 1 point of damage. The Armor Points in the helmet are the last ones to go for purposes of waylay protection.
In-game, a Waylay should be perceived as a strong, hard blow to the back of a character’s head, accompanied by a meaty “thunk”. It is not possible to make this a quiet attack; the character must say – not whisper – the word “Waylay”; everyone who hears that word knows that a strong blow has been struck.
A character can be woken up by healing them at least 1 Body Point by any means.