#Breakthrough (突破)

Contents

To set foot in a zone held by the enemy is to knock on the gate of hell.

Canon — Forced Charge. This document is the final rule for Forced Charge checks and failure results. Related summary: co-11-01-quick-reference.md. For the authority system, see co-99-meta/co-99-01-authority.md.

Related Entries: Domination · Attributes §Courage · Wounds and Defeat §Defenseless · Core Zone

Supporting Premise: Premise 5 (Zone Battlefield)

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#What Is Breakthrough?

#Scent — The Threshold of Hell

Leaping into a battle line bristling with enemy spears. Driving through a zone where blades come from every side. Breakthrough is one of the most dangerous actions in combat, and one of the most decisive. If it succeeds, the enemy formation buckles. If it fails, you show your defenseless back to the enemy.

#Law — Rules

Trigger Condition: Automatically triggers when you move into a zone where enemy Domination is higher than allied Domination.

Cost: Base movement 2 Energy + additional 1 Energy = total 3 Energy.

Check: 2d10 + Courage(勇) >= Target Number

Breakthrough Target Numbers are fixed at the three steps 11 / 13 / 15. The pressure of Domination is expressed through Defenseless on failure and exclusive zone advantage, not by subdividing the Target Number calculation. A failed Blockade Breakthrough adds Defenseless + you cannot enter that zone until your next count (you are thrown back).

Core Zone entry uses separate rules: Core Zone applies class-specific entry conditions regardless of Domination. Even if enemy Domination exists in the Core Zone, use the Core Zone's own rules instead of Breakthrough rules. Forced Core Breakthrough is fixed Target Number 13 (it does not use the normal Breakthrough 11/13/15 structure). This is because the Core Zone's Domination offset (Zero-Sum) makes difference-based Target Number calculation meaningless. Details: Core §Entry Conditions.

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#Breakthrough Exemptions

#Law — Rules

In the following cases, you may enter freely without a Breakthrough check:

• A zone where enemy Domination <= allied Domination (stalemate or allied control).
• The ronin talent "Wind Blade": when entering an engaged zone, reduce movement Energy by 1.
• A squad's Shield Wall Charge: squad order (3 Energy) + Cohesion -1 makes the Breakthrough check automatically succeed.

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#Chain Breakthrough (連鎖突破)

#Scent — The Blade Does Not Stop

Punch through the enemy Front Zone and strike the Rear beyond it — the archer unit's arrows stop, and the supply unit's powder burns. A single instant of charge can reverse the course of a war. The Rear is naturally a weak place, the soft belly where support squads gather. But to reach it, you must first break through a seamless Front Zone.

#Law — Rules

Breaking through to the Rear is not a separate rule, but a sequence of normal Breakthroughs. You break through the enemy Front Zone in one range, then break through again into the enemy Rear Zone in the next range. If your Breath Limit is high enough, you may also break through twice in the same range (but if Energy reaches 5+, you risk Overload).

#Rear Breakthrough Difficulty — Core Principle

The Breakthrough Target Number for the enemy Rear Zone is based on the higher of enemy Front Zone Domination and enemy Rear Zone Domination.

The Rear is naturally weak (mostly support squads), but a seamless Front Zone protects the Rear. Therefore:

• Solid enemy formation (Front Zone Domination 8, Rear Domination 3): the Rear Breakthrough Target Number is based on Front Zone 8 → hard
• Broken enemy formation (Front Zone Domination 2, Rear Domination 3): the Rear Breakthrough Target Number is based on Rear 3 → normal
• "Breaking through a seamless Front Zone head-on is harder than breaking through a Front Zone that is already tangled in melee"

Note: There is no separate "melee Breakthrough bonus." If part of the enemy Front Zone enters melee (the Core Zone), the Front Zone's Domination itself drops, and that by itself makes Rear Breakthrough easier. No extra bonus is needed.

#Benefits on Successful Rear Breakthrough

• Support effects from Rear squads (archer volleys, supply recovery, military band morale) are nullified starting next range (no protector).
• When you eliminate 1 Rear squad, enemy Cohesion overall takes -1 (supply line cut).
• If an enemy commander (Elite/Lord) is in the Rear Zone, you can attack them directly.

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#Forced Charge (强行突擊)

#Scent — A Breath's Gamble

Reaching the Rear in a single breath — a gamble where you slip past the enemy Front Zone and run straight at the unprotected Rear. If it succeeds, you can burn the supply unit in the same range. If it fails, you are trapped in the middle of the enemy and die.

#Law — Rules

This is not a sequence of normal Breakthroughs, but a separate single action. A gamble action.

#Bonuses (Reduction Effects)

#Bonus Stacking Rules

• Sources from different categories can stack (example: cavalry Energy reduction + Fuma Band check +2 = both apply)
• Sources from the same category apply only the highest value (example: cavalry Energy -1 + shugenja austerity Energy -1 = only -1 applies)
• Follow the general bonus stacking rule (Maneuver System §Bonus Stacking).

GM Advice: Forced Charge is a heroic gamble. If it succeeds, it can reverse the battle. If it fails, you are isolated and Defenseless in the middle of the enemy Front Zone — the mechanical result is exactly as listed above (Energy 0 + next range -3 + Defenseless), but without allied support, you are very likely to die within that 1~2 ranges. Normal Rear Breakthrough (Chain Breakthrough) is the standard way to advance safely over multiple ranges. Forced Charge is the last card for the moment when "if not now, it is over."

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Breakthrough is a gamble. But sometimes, a gamble is the only road to victory.