Combat is a regular part of the game.
Your character typically sorties in either normal gear or in heavy gear. Normal gear includes one weapon, one ammo unit (25 rounds worth of one type of ammo), one consumable unit (5 uses of a single type of consumable), and one set of armor. Heavy gear allows you to bring two weapons, two ammo units and two consumable units at the cost of half your speed.
Terminology[]
- Round
- One round is equal to a second. You can either spend your round immediately or you can become 'reactionary', which allows you to react to any stimuli. If you aren't reactionary you can only react to stimuli directly next to you. In a single round you can take an action or move (or any combination: see movement).
- Speed Check
- When a party sorties from base, everyone should roll a speed check. This determines acting order. Ties are resolved by whoever has higher speed or by coin toss. NPCs always lose this coin toss.
- AC (Armor Class)
- Armor Class is equal to Perception + Current Armor Skill + Speed + Cover.
- Ranged Attack
- A ranged attack is equal to 3d6 + Perception + Current Weapon Skill - Movement Taken. If this overcomes the targets AC, then they roll their weapon damage. The target takes that damage minus their DR from armor.
- Melee Attack
- A melee attack is equal to 3d6 + Perception + Current Weapon Skill. If this overcomes the targets AC, then they roll their weapon damage + Current Weapon Skill. The target takes that damage minus their DR from armor.
Movement[]
A character can move up to their Speed / 2 + 4 tiles. Each tile they move counts towards their 'Movement Taken': this penalty is applied if they try to attack or sneak.
Actions[]
Some actions (such as reloading) require a character's full attention. They cannot multi-task by moving and firing. These are not multi-taskable actions.
Some actions can be multi-tasked with a penalty, such as moving and attacking, or attacking and sneaking. These actions are typically done at a penalty depending on how much they did the first one. These are partially multi-taskable actions.
Some actions can be multi-tasked freely, such as shouting or radioing. They can be done without penalty combined with any one other action. These are freely multi-taskabale actions.
You can spend your action preparing to 'react': this allows you to respond once to any external stimuli. This is an important part of combat, as after you react you're free to go again on your own turn, and if your action is interrupted by a successful attack reaction, then you are blocked from continuing your turn. See Example 1.
Examples[]
Example 1: Reactions are important[]
Example 1: Reactions are important
1. Sam rolls lowest on speed, so he positions himself first
2. Lisa rolls highest on speed, so she positions herself last
3. Lisa goes first, so she puts herself into reactionary mode.
4. Sam foolishly tries to dash across the hall to a better position
5. Lisa reacts, attacking Sam
6. Sam's movement is interrupted, so his turn is over.
7. Lisa now gets another opportunity to attack an exposed Sam. 8. Sam does not survive.