Combat in The Masters of the Universe RPG

Beastman, colored entirely red in this depiction, represents the weakness of communism

against capitalism while Skeletor is symbolic of the fallacy of socialism.

To put it mildly, the rules to The Masters of the Universe Role Playing Game are not presented in a manner conducive to comprehension.  For instance, the description of the 'Swamp Monster' provides a curious statement:

THE MONSTER CAN MAKE 2 12 POINT ATTACKS PER TURN.  WHO [sic] HE ATTACKS IS PURELY RANDOM.  THIS MONSTER WILL ALWAYS DEFEND, NEVER ATTACK.

He makes two attacks per turn at random targets but he never attacks?  Huh?

Scrutiny of the rules reveals statement 5(B) from the SEQUENCE OF PLAY:

PLAYERS MAY CHOOSE ATTACK OR DEFEND OPTIONS WHEN FIGURING THE MODIFICATIONS FOR THEIR ROLL ON THE DEFENDER'S SIDE OF THE RESOLUTION MATRIX.

So, a defending character has an attack option and a defend option – presumably mutually exclusive of one another.  To avoid confusion, maybe 'attack option' and 'defend option' should have been called something along the lines of 'offensive stance' and 'protective stance'.  Yet, to assign more appropriate terms, we need to understand what these 'options' are supposed to accomplish.

Perhaps now is an appropriate juncture to disclose how attacks are handled in MOTURPG.  To resolve combat, the attacker and defender each roll a d6 and apply various modifiers.  Consulting the Resolution Matrix, the defender result is found along the y-axis and the attacker result along the x-axis.  The intersection of the the appropriate row and column provides a letter code that indicates the resolution of the attack.  Oh, you would like to see the Resolution Matrix?  I suppose that can be arranged.

Anyway, there is a list of combat modifiers for the “ATTCKER” [sic] and one for the Defender.  The 'defend option' provides the defender with a +2 modifier, but also:

IF A CHARACTER IS BEING ATTACKED BY MORE THAN ONE PLAYER, HE MAY ONLY APPLY HIS SKILL AND MAGIC WEAPON CHANGES TO ONE ATTACK. ON REMAINING ATTACKS HE CAN ONLY MAKE USE OF DEFEND AND SHIELD MODIFIERS.

Strangely, in the rules, this paragraph immediately repeated verbatim except that the last word, “MODIFIERS,” is replaced with “CHANGES.”  It's almost as if someone thought that the word “modifier” was too advanced for eight-year olds, but then was inconsistent in replacing it with “change.”

We clearly see that a character can only apply his skill and magic weapon changes/modifiers in defending against a single attack (in a given round) and only defend and shield modifiers can be applied against additional attacks.  However, we are left in ignorance as to the utility of changes/modifiers of weapons that are not magic.  Non-magical clubs typically grant a +1 defend modifier and non-magical swords grant a +2 modifier.  Do they apply against multiple attacks or not?

Regardless, the 'defend option' is an option.  It provides a benefit but, seemingly, the only cost involved is foregoing the 'attack option'.  So what does the 'attack option' do?  SEQUENCE OF PLAY Step #5 is the “RESOLVE EVIL CHARACTERS/MONSTER COMBAT” portion of the round; It takes place after  “RESOLVE PLAYER COMBAT,” which is Step #3.  As such, the choice of the player between attack and defend options established in 5(B) quoted above does not mean that, in order to adopt the 'defend option,' he must 'give up' his attack; the attack will have been made earlier in the round.

Does the 'attack option' give the character another attack during Step #5?  By the same logic, are 'attacking' evil characters/monsters allowed an initial attack during Step #3?  It seems unlikely given how the rules are presented.  However, since the rules are not presented very well, we cannot dismiss the possibility.

On the Resolution Matrix, when the ultimate defender value equals the ultimate attacker value (and the value is at least four), the result is “H/H.”  This means that the attacker inflicts damage upon the defender – just as if the attacker value was higher than the defender value – but it also means that the defender inflicts damage upon the attacker (“according to the weapon type”) if the attacker and defender are adjacent.  Common sense suggests this applies only to non-ranged weapons, but there is no clarification.  Does the 'attack option' enable the “H/H” result, meaning that “H/H” is treated as a regular hit for a defender using the defend option?  “H/H” would seem to suggest an opening of which an opponent could take advantage, but an opponent focused entirely on defense would hold back.