DEGREE Optional Rule:
OF SUCCESS Influencing Success Rolls
OR FAILURE
Here are two options for GMs who wish to let players spend bonus
Once you have calculated effective character points (see p. 498) to influence game-world outcomes. Be
skill by applying all relevant modifiers aware that rules of this kind tend to encourage players to sacrifice long-
to base skill, roll 3d to determine the term development for short-term success. This is most appropriate for
outcome. If the total rolled on the dice genres where the heroes usually “win” but don’t develop much; e.g.,
is less than or equal to your effective classic comic-book supers. The GM might want to set a limit on how
skill, you succeed, and the difference many points each player can spend this way per game session.
between your effective skill and your
die roll is your margin of success. Buying Success
Example: If you have effective skill A player can spend bonus character points to alter the outcome of
18 and roll a 12, you succeed; your his last success roll. It costs 2 points to turn critical failure into failure,
margin of success is 6. 1 point to convert failure to success, or 2 points to turn success into crit-
ical success. Add these costs for multiple shifts (e.g., critical failure to
If you roll higher than your effec- critical success costs 5 points). To keep the PCs from winning every bat-
tive skill, you fail, and the difference tle with a series of critical hits, the GM may choose to forbid purchase
between the die roll and your effective of critical successes, at least in combat.
skill is your margin of failure.
Note that because “guaranteed success”
Example: If you have effective skill can destroy suspense, this optional rule is
9 and roll a 12, you fail; your margin not recommended for horror or mystery
of failure is 3. games.
Always note your margin of suc- Player Guidance
cess or failure, as many rules use these
margins to calculate results that mat- A player can spend bonus character
ter in play. Even when the rules don’t points to specify the game-world effects of a
call for these numbers, the GM might recent success. Whenever he rolls a success
wish to reward a large margin of suc- (or in a situation that didn’t call for a roll),
cess with a particularly favorable out- he may spend 2 points and add a plausible
come, or assess especially dire conse- element to the world or scene. A player who
quences for a large margin of failure! rolls a critical success may spend 1 point for
the same effect. This replaces any other ben-
Extremely high or low rolls have eficial effects of the critical success.
special effects – beyond those for nor-
mal success and failure – regardless Example: Dr. Smith is working at the
of your exact margin of success or Federal Laboratory for Advanced Weapons
failure. when a giant robot bursts through the front
doors, four stories below. Smith makes his
Critical Success Sense roll and notices the attack. Smith’s
player suggests, “I was walking past the
A critical success is an especially security station and spotted the robot on a
good result. You score a critical suc- monitor. I go over to the console and train
cess as follows: the sensors on the robot.” The GM hadn’t
previously mentioned a security station or
• A roll of 3 or 4 is always a critical sensors, but since that fits his view of the
success. FLAW, he agrees. Smith’s player pays 2
points and the GM fits the scene in.
• A roll of 5 is a critical success if
your effective skill is 15+. In addition to being plausible, a suggestion
must be acceptable to the GM and the other players. In general, the GM
• A roll of 6 is a critical success if should go along with suggestions that are imaginative, that move the
your effective skill is 16+. plot forward, or that save a PC’s life. The GM should not approve a
suggestion that would short-circuit the plot, contradict a previously
When you roll a critical success, established fact, or harm or steal the scene from another PC. In bor-
the GM determines what happens to derline cases, the player and GM can negotiate.
you. It is always something good! The
lower the roll, the better “bonus” he The GM should make a note of any element added using this rule, as
gives you. it becomes a permanent part of the game world!
A critical hit is a critical success
scored on an attack. The GM does not
determine the result. Instead, use the
Critical Hit Table (p. 556).
SUCCESS ROLLS 347
Critical Failure A critical miss is a critical failure know whether you succeeded or failed
scored on an attack. The GM does not until it’s too late to try again (translate
A critical failure is an especially bad determine the result. Instead, use the an old treasure map, order in a French
result. You score a critical failure as Critical Miss Table (p. 556). restaurant, build a ship). Finally, there
follows: are times when you are injured by fail-
REPEATED ure but can afford to fail a few times
• A roll of 18 is always a critical ATTEMPTS (climb a wall, impress a savage
failure. tribesman).
Sometimes you will only get one
• A roll of 17 is a critical failure if chance to do something (defuse a The GM must use common sense
your effective skill is 15 or less; other- bomb, jump over a crevasse, remove to distinguish between these cases,
wise, it is an ordinary failure. an inflamed appendix, please the King according to the exact situation in
with a song). Other times you can try which the players find themselves. As
• Any roll of 10 greater than your over and over again until you succeed a rule:
effective skill is a critical failure: 16 on (pick a lock, catch a fish, analyze a
a skill of 6, 15 on a skill of 5, and so on. poison). Still other times you will not • If the first failure kills them or
destroys the object of the attempt,
When you roll a critical failure, the that’s that.
GM determines what happens to you.
It is always something bad – the high- • If a failure causes damage of
er the roll, the worse the result. some kind, assess the damage and let
them try again after a “reasonable”
time passes. (Skill descriptions fre-
quently state the time required.)
• If a failure causes no damage, let
them try again after a reasonable time,
but at -1 per repeated attempt – that is,
-1 on the second attempt, -2 on the
third, and so on – until they succeed or
give up.
• If repeated attempts are the norm
for the task (e.g., when attacking in
combat), or if it’s long task, tell them
that their attempt failed but let them
try again at no special penalty, in the
usual amount of time.
Sometimes a situation will arise in CONTESTS succeeded and the loser failed, or the
which two characters must compare difference between the loser’s margin
attributes, skills, or other traits to settle Each competitor attempts his suc- of failure and his margin of failure if
a competition. The one with the highest cess roll. If one succeeds and the other both failed.
score doesn’t always win . . . but that’s fails, the winner is obvious. If both
the way to bet. A “Contest” is a quick succeed, the winner is the one with the Resistance Rolls
way to handle such a competitive situa- largest margin of success; if both fail,
tion without playing it out in detail. the winner is the one with the smallest Most abilities that can affect an
margin of failure. A tie means nobody unwilling subject offer the subject an
In a Contest, each competitor won (in the examples above, both attempt to resist using an attribute,
attempts a success roll against the abil- fighters grabbed the weapon at once, skill, or supernatural ability. This is
ity being tested – with all applicable or the knives hit the same distance sometimes a Quick Contest between
modifiers – and then compares his from the bull’s-eye). the attacking ability and the defender’s
result to his opponent’s. There are resistance, in which case two special
two different ways to make this Margin of Victory rules apply:
comparison.
The amount by which the winner 1. The attacker must succeed to
QUICK CONTESTS beat the loser is often important – suc- win. He cannot win by having the
cess by 5 vs. failure by 5 generally smallest margin of failure. If he fails
A “Quick Contest” is a competition means more than success by 2 vs. suc- his roll, he loses automatically and his
that is over in very little time – often in cess by 1! The winner’s “margin of vic- subject does not need to attempt a
one second, perhaps even instantly. tory” is the difference between his resistance roll.
Examples include two enemies lung- margin of success and the loser’s
ing for a gun, or two knife throwers margin of success if both succeeded, 2. The attacker must win to affect
seeing who gets closer to the bull’s-eye. the sum of his margin of success and the subject. All ties go to the defender.
the loser’s margin of failure if he
348 SUCCESS ROLLS
REGULAR The Rule of 16
CONTESTS
If a supernatural attack (magic spell, psi ability, etc.) offers a resist-
A “Regular Contest” is a slow com- ance roll and the subject is living or sapient, the attacker’s effective skill
petition with much give and take – for cannot exceed the higher of 16 and the defender’s actual resistance. If it
instance, arm wrestling. does, reduce it to that level.
Each character attempts his suc- Example: A wizard has an effective skill of 18 with his Mind-Reading
cess roll. If one succeeds and the other spell. If he tries to read the mind of someone with a Will of 16 or less,
fails, the winner is obvious. If both he rolls against 16. If his subject has a Will of 17, he rolls against 17.
succeed or both fail, the competitors’ And if his target has a Will of 18 or higher, he rolls against 18.
relative positions are unchanged and
they roll again. Eventually, one char- moving, raise the lower score to 10 Example: For a 19 vs. 16 Contest,
acter succeeds when the other fails. At and add the same amount to the subtract 6 from each score to make it
this point, the one who made his roll is higher score. 13 vs. 10.
the winner.
Example: For a 5 vs. 3 Contest, add When both scores are greater than
The length of game time each 7 to each score to make it 12 vs. 10. 20 – e.g., a Contest of ST between
attempt takes depends on the activity, dinosaurs – even this will not suffice.
and is up to the GM. In a combat situ- Likewise, a Regular Contest can Instead, reduce the lower score to 10
ation, each attempt takes one second become deadlocked if both contest- and multiply the higher score by
. . . but in a library-research contest, ants have scores of 14 or more, (10/lower score), rounding down.
with the fate of the world hanging on because it can take a long time before
who finds a certain obscure reference anyone rolls a failure. To speed up the Example: For a 600 vs. 500 Contest,
first, each attempt could represent process, reduce the lower score to 10 multiply the higher score by 10/500
days of time. and subtract the same amount from and set the lower one to 10 to make it
the higher score. 12 vs. 10.
Extreme Scores
If both contestants have a score of
6 or less, a Regular Contest can bog
down the game as both sides roll fail-
ure after failure. To keep the game
PHYSICAL FEATS
Below are rules for common phys- while heavily laden is a dangerous The table below gives skill modi-
ical tasks of importance to adventur- matter! fiers and climbing speeds for some
ers. For tasks not listed here, make DX common climbs. In most cases, use
rolls for matters of precision and HT Make one roll to start the climb the speeds in the “Regular” column.
rolls for feats of endurance. To deter- and another roll every five minutes. The “Combat” column is for climbs
mine weight moved or work done, use Any failure means you fall (see Falling, inspired by rage or terror, which
Basic Lift. Movement speed should p. 431). If you secured yourself with a always cost at least 1 FP – or double
generally be proportional to Basic rope, you will fall only to the end of the FP cost given in an adventure or
Move. For more on basic attributes the rope unless you rolled a critical assessed by the GM. Climbs in combat
and secondary characteristics, see failure. require a Move maneuver.
Chapter 1.
Type of Climb Modifier Combat Regular
CLIMBING Ladder going up no roll 3 rungs/sec 1 rung/sec
Ladder going down no roll 2 rungs/sec 1 rung/sec
To climb anything more difficult Ordinary tree 1 ft/sec 1 ft/3 sec
than a ladder, roll against Climbing Ordinary mountain +5 1 ft/2 sec 10 ft/min
skill (p. 183). This defaults to DX-5. Vertical stone wall 0 1 ft/5 sec 4 ft/min
Modifiers to the roll depend on the dif- Modern building -3 1 ft/10 sec 2 ft/min
ficulty of the climb (see below). In all Rope-up -3 1 ft/sec 20 ft/min
cases, subtract your encumbrance Rope-down -2
level from your roll as well. Climbing 2 ft/sec 30 ft/min
(w/o equipment) -1 12 ft/sec 12 ft/sec
(w/ equipment) -1
SUCCESS ROLLS 349
DIGGING Loose Soil, Sand, etc.: A man can soil, which is easier to remove. The
dig 2¥BL cubic feet per hour (cf/hr). most efficient way to dig is with one
Digging rate depends on the type of man with a pick, and two shovelers
soil, the digger’s Basic Lift (that is, Ordinary Soil: A man can dig BL clearing behind him.
ST¥ST/5), and the quality of the tools cf/hr. One man with a pick can break
available. up 4¥BL cf/hr, making it into loose Hard Soil, Clay, etc.: Must be bro-
ken up first by a pick, at 2¥BL cf/hr,
Different Gravity
A world’s gravity is measured in “Gs,” with 1G being as far as normal, use the rules under Super Jump (p. 89)
Earth-normal conditions. In comparison, Mars has to determine how fast you can move by bounding along.
0.38G and the Moon has 0.17G.
When throwing (p. 355), multiply distance by the
Microgravity is extremely low gravity (e.g., that of an ratio of 1G to local gravity, just as you would for jump-
asteroid or small moon) – for game purposes, anything ing. Damage from thrown objects does not change, as
below 0.1G. this is based on mass.
Zero gravity is weightlessness, or “free fall,” as found Gravity also affects falls. Multiply terminal velocity
in space and aboard any spacecraft not spinning, accel- by local gravity. See Falling (p. 431) for what this
erating, or otherwise generating artificial gravity. implies.
In higher or lower gravity, mass stays the same, but In zero gravity, your skills and DX rolls are affected
weight changes. as well; see Free Fall (p. 197). This does not apply when
firing beam weapons (unless they have Recoil 2 or
Encumbrance and more) or operating vehicles or tools specifically
Move in Different Gravity designed for zero gravity (e.g., a spacecraft).
If local gravity is more than 1G, multiply the sum of G-Increments and
your body weight and the weight of everything you’re car- Attribute Penalties
rying by (local gravity in Gs)-1. This is the extra weight
you’re carrying due to high gravity. Add this to your If local gravity differs from your home gravity (see
encumbrance when determining Move. Home Gravity, p. 17), you might become disoriented
and suffer physiological effects. The change in gravity
Example: You weigh 150 lbs. and are carrying 30 lbs. you can tolerate without penalties is your “G-
of gear. On a 1.2-G world, that amounts to an extra weight Increment.” This is 0.2G unless you have the Improved
of (150 + 30) ¥ (1.2 - 1) = 36 lbs. Since you’re already car- G-Tolerance advantage (p. 60).
rying 30 lbs., your total encumbrance is 66 lbs.
In higher or lower gravity than usual, count the
If local gravity is less than 1G, multiply the weight of number of G-Increments from your home gravity,
the gear you’re carrying by the local gravity, and use the rounding down. This determines the penalties you suf-
modified weight to determine your encumbrance. There fer. For instance, an Earth native used to 1G treats
is a similar reduction in your body weight; this does not 0.81G to 1.19G as zero G-Increments, but 0.8G or 1.2G
affect encumbrance, but it lets you jump further (see counts as one G-Increment.
below). In very low gravity, you may be able to move
faster than your Basic Move by making a series of run- DX: You are at -1 DX per G-Increment of difference
ning broad jumps instead of walking! (-1 per two full G-Increments, if you have the G-
Experience advantage, p. 57). This applies to activities
In zero gravity, you float in space (unless using mag- that require agility or judging ballistic trajectories; it
netic boots, thrusters, etc.). If you can’t fly, you must push affects Broadsword, Driving, and Guns, but not Beam
off from a solid surface to move. Your Move when doing Weapons or Lockpicking.
so is equal to ST/2, rounded down. You will keep going at
that speed until you grab or collide with something! IQ: You are at -1 IQ per two full G-Increments of
higher gravity, due to reduced blood flow to the brain
Actions in Different Gravity and general fatigue. Lower gravity has no effect.
In gravities other than 1G, the jumping rules (p. 352) HT: You are at -1 HT per two full G-Increments of
need modification. Multiply your normal jumping dis- higher gravity, because the heart has to work harder.
tances by the ratio of 1G to local gravity. For instance, Lower your FP score by the same amount. There is no
under 1.25G, you jump 1/1.25 = 0.8 times as far, while effect in lower gravity – although microgravity or zero
under 0.2G, you jump 1/0.2 = 5 times as far. (Exception: gravity might cause space sickness (see Space
Do not multiply the bonus high-jump distance you get Adaptation Syndrome, p. 434), or even have lasting ill
from a running start!) If this lets you jump at least twice effects in the long term.
See Temporary Attribute Penalties (p. 421) to learn
how attribute penalties affect secondary characteristics
and skills.
350 SUCCESS ROLLS
and then shoveled at 2¥BL cf/hr. A the speed of its slowest member or Roads
lone man with both pick and shovel split up. Note that a party that has
can only remove 0.6¥BL cf/hr – he opted to make a single Hiking roll for In fine weather, most roads count
loses time switching between tools. the entire group has already chosen as Average terrain, regardless of the
not to split up! surrounding terrain. The best roads
Hard Rock: Must be broken by a might even count as Good terrain, giv-
pick at BL cf/hr (or slower, for very Terrain ing a bonus.
hard rock!), and then shoveled at BL
cf/hr. Once you know your ideal daily In rain, low-quality roads – unsur-
mileage, modify it for terrain as fol- faced dirt or gravel – turn to mud.
All of the above assumes iron or lows: Treat them as Very Bad terrain. Better
steel tools! Halve speeds for wooden roads behave as Average (but never
tools (common at TL5 and below). Very Bad: Deep snow, dense forest, Good) terrain in the rain.
Divide by 4 (or more) for improvised jungle, mountains, soft sand, or
tools – bare hands, mess kits, etc. swamp. ¥0.20. In snow or ice, treat roads as
Average terrain, but apply the move-
Time Required Bad: Broken ground (including ment penalties given under Weather
and Fatigue Cost streams), forest, or steep hills. ¥0.50. (above) unless the road is cleared.
To find the time required to dig a Average: Light forest or rolling hills Time Required
given hole, find the volume of the hole ¥1.00. and Fatigue Cost
in cubic feet by multiplying height ¥
width ¥ depth (all in feet). Then divide Good: Hard-packed desert or level These rules assume you spend the
the number of cubic feet by the dig- plains. ¥1.25. entire day preparing for your hike,
ging rate to find the hours of work
required. When these rules result in different speeds for
different members of a party, the party must either
Each hour of work costs 1 FP for move at the speed of its slowest member or split up.
loose soil, 2 FP for ordinary soil, 3 FP
for hard soil, and 4 FP for hard rock. Weather hiking, or resting, leaving no time for
study or other activities. This is true
HIKING Weather conditions can further however small your daily mileage –
modify distance traveled: the heavier your load and the worse
Sustainable cross-country speed on the traveling conditions, the more
foot depends on ground Move. Start Rain: Rain halves off-road speed in slowly you walk and the more fre-
with Basic Move and reduce it for any terrain. See Roads (below) for the quently you stop to rest.
encumbrance (see Encumbrance and effects of rain on roads.
Move, p. 17), injury (see General Should you interrupt your travels
Injury, p. 419), and exhaustion (see Snow: Ankle-deep snow halves for adventuring matters, you will be
Lost Fatigue Points, p. 426), as appli- speed in any terrain. Anything deeper missing FP when you stop. See Fatigue
cable. The distance in miles you can divides speed by 4 or more. Exception: Costs (p. 426) for details.
march in one day, under ideal condi- Skis allow travelers to treat any depth
tions, equals 10 ¥ Move. of snow as Average terrain. Replace HOLDING YOUR
Hiking skill with Skiing skill (p. 221) BREATH
If you have the Enhanced Move when traveling on skis.
(Ground) advantage, you may apply Adventurers often need to hold
your movement multiple to this dis- Ice: Cold combined with moisture their breath – whether to dive or to
tance. For instance, Enhanced Move 1 – due to rain, sleet, snowmelt, etc. – survive poison gas, strangulation, vac-
(Ground) multiplies Move by two, results in ice. A coating of ice halves uum, etc. Your HT determines the
doubling daily marching distance. See speed in any terrain. Solid ice, such as length of time you can hold your
Enhanced Move (p. 52). a frozen lake or river, is effectively its breath, as follows:
own terrain type; treat it as Bad ter-
A successful roll against Hiking rain. Exception: Treat solid ice as No Exertion (e.g., sitting quietly or
skill (p. 200) increases marching dis- Good terrain for those with skates. meditating): HT¥10 seconds.
tance by 20%. Roll daily. A group led Skating skill (p. 220) replaces Hiking
by someone with Leadership skill at skill when traveling on skates. Mild Exertion (e.g., operating a
12+ may make a single roll against the vehicle, treading water, or walking):
group’s average Hiking skill. (Hiking HT¥4 seconds.
defaults to HT-5 for those who have
not studied it.) Success lets the entire
group march 20% farther; failure
means the whole group must forgo the
bonus.
When these rules result in different
speeds for different members of a
party, the party must either move at
SUCCESS ROLLS 351
Heavy Exertion (e.g., climbing, Those with the Enhanced Move To jump over a larger obstruction
combat, or running): HT seconds. (Ground) advantage (p. 52) may apply (e.g., a chair) or onto something (e.g.,
their movement multiplier to Basic a table) during a fight takes your
These times assume you have one Move before inserting it into these for- entire turn and requires a Move
second to take a deep breath (requires mulas when they have a running start. maneuver. Unless the jump is extreme,
a Concentrate maneuver in combat). This is instead of adding the number the GM will assume you can make the
Multiply all times by 1.5 if you hyper- of yards run! For instance, a horse jump. (Don’t interrupt a battle to cal-
ventilate first – or by 2.5 if you hyper- with Basic Move 6 and Enhanced culate jumping distance every time
ventilate with pure oxygen. A success- Move 1 makes running jumps as if its somebody jumps onto a chair!)
ful roll against Breath Control skill Basic Move were 12.
(p. 182) multiplies these times by a However, you must make a DX roll
further factor of 1.5. However, if you Those who have Super Jump when you make a vertical jump or a
are surprised and don’t have a chance (p. 89) double the final jumping dis- long horizontal one. A difficult jump
to take a deep breath – e.g., when a gas tance for each level of that advantage. (into a pit, for instance) might give -1
grenade goes off in combat – halve This is cumulative with the effects of to -5 to this DX roll. The GM deter-
these times instead. Enhanced Move! mines whether you must roll, and at
what penalty. On a failure, you fall. It
Regardless of circumstances, each Remember that 12 inches equal takes two Change Posture maneuvers
level of the Breath-Holding advantage one foot, and that 3 feet equal one to stand up again. On a critical failure,
(p. 41) doubles the time you can hold yard (or one hex on a battle map).
your breath.
Optional
At the end of this time, you start to Jumping Rules
lose 1 FP per second. At 0 FP, you
must make a Will roll every second or The following rules for jumping are optional. Only use them if you
fall unconscious, and are likely to die enjoy extra detail!
unless you are rescued. See
Suffocation (p. 436) for details. ST and Jumping
JUMPING Basic Move is a ready-made measure of jumping ability – after all, it
measures running speed, and running is just a series of rapid hops.
When you want to jump over However, unnaturally strong supers and monsters in fiction can often
something with a Size Modifier 3 less make mighty leaps without being speedsters. To emulate this, the GM
than yours or smaller (which encom- may allow those with Basic Lift in excess of body weight to use the high-
passes most “ordinary” obstacles), the er of ST/4 (round down) or Basic Move in the jumping distance formulas.
GM should say, “Okay, you jumped
over it,” and get on with play. Such Jumping with Encumbrance
jumps succeed automatically. But
when the obstacle seems really signif- For added realism, multiply jumping distances by the encumbrance
icant, or if the GM put it there as a factors given under Encumbrance and Move (p. 17): ¥1 for None, ¥0.8 for
deliberate hazard, use the following Light, ¥0.6 for Medium, ¥0.4 for Heavy, and ¥0.2 for Extra-Heavy.
rules.
Jumping During you fall off the thing you jumped onto,
Jumping Distance Combat or land badly if you were jumping
down, and take normal falling damage
Your Basic Move determines jump- The jumping distance formulas for that height (see Falling, p. 431).
ing distance, as follows: assume you take the time to crouch
and prepare for the jump. In combat, To clamber onto a vertical obstacle
High Jump: (6 ¥ Basic Move) - 10 this takes two consecutive without risking a DX roll, take two
inches. For example, a Basic Move of Concentrate maneuvers. Halve all dis- consecutive Move maneuvers. Success
6 lets you jump 26” straight up. For a tances if you jump without such is automatic.
running jump, add the number of preparation.
yards you run to Basic Move in this Jumping Skill
formula. Maximum running high- If you jump over a small obstacle
jump height is twice standing high- during a fight (anything with a Size If you have the Jumping skill
jump height. Modifier 3 less than yours or smaller), (p. 203), you may substitute half your
you must use a Move maneuver, and skill level, rounded down, for Basic
Broad Jump: (2 ¥ Basic Move) - 3 the jump costs one extra movement Move in the distance formulas. In
feet. For example, a Basic Move of 6 point. addition, you may roll against
lets you jump 9 feet from a standing Jumping instead of DX whenever you
start. For a running jump, add the make a difficult jump.
number of yards you run to Basic
Move in this formula. Maximum run-
ning broad-jump distance is twice
standing broad-jump distance.
352 SUCCESS ROLLS
LIFTING AND hand, four if using two hands. To pick indicate an object that has been
MOVING THINGS up an unwilling character, you must knocked over. This is especially impor-
take a second to grapple him first (see tant for a feature that was drawn on
Basic Lift – ST¥ST/5 pounds – gov- Grappling, p. 370). He may attempt to the map! Likewise, objects picked up
erns the weight you can pick up and break free during the time it takes you by fighters should be removed from
move. The GM may let multiple char- to pick him up! the map.
acters add their BL (not their ST)
whenever it seems reasonable; e.g., to To kick, body-block, shove, or oth- In all cases, if an attempt seems
carry a stretcher or pull a wagon. erwise shift an obstacle in combat reasonable, do not pause the battle to
requires an Attack maneuver. You can compare weight to BL. Use common
One-Handed Lift: 2¥BL (takes two move or knock over up to 12¥BL this sense. Make it fun!
seconds). way. If you have enough space to run
your full Move, you can knock over Lifting Skill
Two-Handed Lift: 8¥BL (takes four twice this weight (24¥BL) by slam-
seconds). ming into it at a run. This requires a A successful roll against Lifting
Move maneuver. These rules are for skill (p. 205) increases your Basic Lift
Shove and Knock Over: 12¥BL. inanimate objects; see Slam (p. 371) by 5% times your margin of success
Double this if you have a running start. for rules governing attempts to knock for the purpose of picking up heavy
The GM can also make allowances for over someone who can actively resist. objects. For instance, if you have
precariously balanced objects, to Lifting at 14, a roll of 9 lets you lift an
make them easier to tilt. If using a combat map, be sure to extra 25%. Roll once per lift.
mark the map or place a counter to
Carry on Back: 15¥BL. Thus, you
can carry more than you can lift by
yourself . . . but every second that your
encumbrance is over 10¥BL (that is,
Extra-Heavy encumbrance), you lose
1 FP.
Shift Slightly: Depending on your
footing and the way you are braced,
you could shift or rock 50¥BL.
Pulling and Dragging
When you pull a load behind you
unassisted, use its full weight. Halve
effective weight if you are pulling a
sledge over snow or ice, divide effec-
tive weight by 10 for a two-wheeled
cart, and divide effective weight by 20
for a four-wheeled wagon. (Remember
to add the weight of the sledge, cart, or
wagon to that of the load before divid-
ing!)
In all cases, if the surface is smooth
and relatively level – for instance, a
concrete floor, a proper road, or a
frozen lake – halve the effective weight
of the load. This is cumulative with
the effects of a sledge, cart, or wagon.
Final effective weight pulled, after
all modifiers, cannot exceed 15¥BL if
you are to have any hope of moving
the object at all. Determine your
encumbrance level using effective
weight, and work out Move normally.
Lifting and Moving
Things During Combat
In combat, you can pick up an item
that weighs no more than your Basic
Lift by taking a one-second Ready
maneuver. To pick up anything heav-
ier requires multiple, consecutive
Ready maneuvers: two if using one
SUCCESS ROLLS 353
RUNNING Move 7 and Enhanced Move 2, you because they do not fatigue – in gener-
run at Move 7 the first second, Move al, such characters will always sprint.
Your running speed, or ground 14 the next second, Move 21 the third
Move, is equal to your Basic Move second, and your top speed of Move 28 SWIMMING
score modified for encumbrance – see in the fourth second.
Encumbrance and Move (p. 17). In Unless you are Amphibious (p. 40)
combat, running is just a series of You may only move at your maxi- or Aquatic (p. 145), you must roll
Move maneuvers. Use the more mum sprinting speed if the ground is against Swimming skill (p. 224) any
detailed rules below when it is impor- good and you are running more or less time you enter water over your head.
tant to know whether the heroes catch straight at some goal. Any deviation Swimming defaults to HT-4. Roll
the plane, escape the savage pygmies, from “forward” movement requires when you first enter the water, and
or whatever. you to run at normal ground Move for again every five minutes.
one second before you can resume
Sprinting sprinting. Modifiers: +3 if you entered the
water intentionally; a penalty equal to
Sprinting is all-out running. It is Paced Running twice your encumbrance level (e.g.,
very fast, but also fatiguing (see Heavy encumbrance gives -6); +1 if
Fatigue Cost, below). Use it when you If you need to run a long distance, you are Overweight, +3 if Fat, or +5 if
need to cover a short distance quickly, you will want to pace yourself to avoid Very Fat (see Build, p. 18).
and can afford to arrive at your objec- exhaustion. Paced running averages
tive somewhat fatigued. exactly half the sprinting speed calcu- On a failure, you inhale water!
lated above. For instance, with a Lose 1 FP and roll again in five sec-
onds – and so on, until you drown, are
Flying rescued (see Lifesaving, below), or
make a successful Swimming roll and
When flying, use the Hiking (p. 351) and Running rules with these get your head above water. If you suc-
changes: cessfully recover, roll again in one
minute; if you succeed, go back to
• Substitute “air Move” (equal to twice Basic Speed, dropping all making rolls five minutes apart. Yes,
fractions) for “ground Move” (equal to Basic Move). Apply modifiers you can shout for help!
for encumbrance, injury, and fatigue exactly as you would for ground
Move. You may try to get rid of armor, etc.
after making your first successful
• Substitute “Enhanced Move (Air)” for “Enhanced Move Swimming roll. Roll vs. DX for each
(Ground).” For high-speed flight (“running”), handle acceleration with item you try to remove; roll at -4 to
Enhanced Move as described under Sprinting. remove shields, helmets, or torso
armor. A failed roll means you inhale
• Substitute “Flight skill” (p. 195) for “Hiking skill” and “Running water, with penalties as above.
skill.”
Once you reach 0 FP, you must
• Ignore terrain, but note that wind and other weather conditions make a Will roll every second or fall
can have comparable effects. unconscious, and are likely to die
unless you are rescued. See
You can sprint if you run forward ground Move of 7, you would run at Suffocation (p. 436) for details.
for two or more seconds. Add 20% to 4.2 yards/second on good ground;
your Move after one second. For thus, you could run a 7-minute mile. Swimming Speed
instance, with a Move of 7, you could
sprint at 8.4 yards/second after run- Fatigue Cost Land-dwellers such as humans
ning for one second at 7 yards/second. have water Move equal to Basic
After every 15 seconds of sprinting Move/5 (round down), although it is
On a battle map, where movement or every minute of paced running, possible to modify this slightly; see
involves discrete one-yard hexes, drop roll against the higher of HT or Move in Other Environments (p. 18).
all fractions to get a round Move score; Running skill (p. 218). On a failure, Minimum water Move for such char-
in the example above, you would have you lose 1 FP. Once you are reduced acters is 1 yard/second.
Move 8. Assume that even the slowest to less than 1/3 your FP, halve your
sprinter gets +1 Move. Thus, sprinters Move for any kind of running; see Amphibious and Aquatic beings
with Move 9 or less can move one extra Fatigue (p. 426). have water Move equal to their full
hex on a battle map. Basic Move.
Note that since paced running is
If you have Enhanced Move half as fast as sprinting but burns FP When swimming long distances,
(Ground), you can accelerate by your at one-quarter the rate, you can run use a 10-second time scale. The num-
Basic Move every second until you twice as far before you run out of ber of yards you can swim in 10 sec-
reach top speed. Use your Enhanced energy. This is not true for those with onds is equal to 10 times your water
Move multiplier instead of the 20% the Machine meta-trait (p. 263), Move, modified downward for
bonus above. For instance, with Basic encumbrance (see Encumbrance and
Move, p. 17). For instance, water Move
1 and Heavy encumbrance would let
you swim four yards in 10 seconds.
354 SUCCESS ROLLS
Fatigue Cost against DX-3 to hit a specific target, Example: You have ST 12, giving a
or against DX to lob something into BL of 29 lbs. You need to throw a 120-
After every minute of top-speed a general area. Apply the usual lb. body over a two-yard pit. Divide
swimming, roll against the higher of modifiers for target size, speed, and weight by BL: 120/29 = 4.1. This falls
HT or Swimming skill. On a failure, distance. between 4.0 and 5.0 in the Weight
you lose 1 FP. Once you are reduced to Ratio column, so treat it as 5.0. The
less than 1/3 your FP, halve your water associated distance modifier is 0.12.
Move; see Fatigue (p. 426). Multiplying by ST, your range is 0.12 ¥
12 = 1.4 yards. Oops! The body just hit
Catching the bottom of the pit.
If someone throws an object at you, you may make an active defense Damage From
roll to avoid it. However, if he deliberately throws it to you – by suc- Thrown Objects
cessfully lobbing it into your general area – you can try to catch it. Roll
against DX or a suitable Sports skill to make the catch, at -4 if you are Thrown objects inflict thrust dam-
not taking a Wait maneuver, but at +1 per two full points by which the age for your ST (see Damage Table,
thrower made his roll. This counts as a parry with your catching hand. p. 16), modified for weight as shown
on the table below. Damage is usually
You can also attempt to intercept a thrown object en route to a catch- crushing, but the GM may rule that a
er. Treat this as a parry against a thrown weapon (see Parrying, p. 376). sharp object does cutting, piercing, or
On a success, you snatch the thrown object out of the air. impaling damage instead. A fragile
object (or a thrown character) takes
the same amount of damage it inflicts;
roll damage separately for the object
and the target.
If you are swimming slowly, or just Throwing Distance Weight Damage
staying afloat, make this roll every 30 Up to BL/8 Thrust, -2 per die
minutes. To avoid slowing down the game Up to BL/4 Thrust, -1 per die
with math, the GM should allow any Up to BL/2 Thrust
Lifesaving throw he deems reasonable . . . but Up to BL Thrust, +1 per die
when you need to know the exact dis- Up to 2¥BL Thrust
You can use the Swimming skill to tance you can throw an object, use the Up to 4¥BL Thrust, -1/2 per die
rescue a drowning person. Make a following procedure: (round down)
Swimming roll at -5, plus or minus the Up to 8¥BL Thrust, -1 per die
difference in ST between you and the 1. Divide the object’s weight in
person you are rescuing. If the players pounds by your Basic Lift to get the Example: You have ST 28, which
think of good lifesaving techniques, “weight ratio.” gives you a BL of 157 lbs. and a thrust
the GM may give them a bonus to this damage of 3d-1. You hit a foe with a
roll. 2. Find the weight ratio in the hurled 50-lb. bag of cement. It is
Weight Ratio column of the table between BL/4 (39 lbs.) and BL/2 (78
On a failure, you inhale water and below. If it falls between two values, lbs.). As shown on the table above, it
lose 1 FP, but may try again after one use the higher value. does straight thrust damage, or 3d-1.
minute. On a critical failure, the vic-
tim nearly drowned you! This costs 6 3. Read across to the Distance
FP, and you must break off the rescue Modifier column and find the “dis-
attempt. tance modifier.”
THROWING 4. Multiply your ST by the distance
modifier to find the distance in yards
You can throw anything you can you can throw the object.
pick up – that is, anything with a
weight of 8¥BL or less. If the object Weight Distance Weight Distance
you wish to throw is not already in Ratio Modifier Ratio Modifier
your hands, you must take one or 0.05
more Ready maneuvers to pick it up. 0.10 3.5 2.0 0.30
See Lifting and Moving Things (p. 353) 0.15 2.5 2.5 0.25
for details. 0.20 2.0 3.0 0.20
0.25 1.5 4.0 0.15
Throwing an object during combat 0.30 1.2 5.0 0.12
– whether as an attack or not – 0.40 1.1 6.0 0.10
requires an Attack maneuver. You can 0.50 1.0 7.0 0.09
throw objects that weigh up to 2¥BL 0.75 0.8 8.0 0.08
using one hand; heavier objects 1.00 0.7 9.0 0.07
require a two-handed throw. Roll 1.50 0.6 10.0 0.06
0.4 12.0 0.05
SUCCESS ROLLS 355
Throwing Skill
and Throwing Art
When you throw an object that fits
into the palm of your hand – such as a
bottle, rock, or grenade – you may roll
against Throwing skill (p. 226) to hit a
target or a general area. Furthermore,
if you know Throwing at DX+1 level,
add +1 to ST before you multiply it by
the distance modifier. Add +2 to ST if
you know Throwing at DX+2 or better.
If you have Throwing Art skill
(p. 226), you can use it to throw any-
thing. Roll against skill to hit. If you
know Throwing Art at DX level, add
+1 to ST before you multiply it by the
distance modifier, and add +1 per die
to thrust damage. These bonuses
increase to +2 if you know Throwing
Art at DX+1 or better.
Thrown Weapons
The rules above are for throwing
rocks, bodies, televisions . . . anything
but weapons. Hurled weapons differ in
three important ways:
1. Thrown weapons use Thrown
Weapon skills (p. 226) to hit, not DX
or Throwing (but Throwing Art does
allow you to throw weapons).
2. Many throwing weapons travel
significantly farther than “ordinary”
objects due to streamlining and stabi-
lization. Others have less range, due to
the way they are thrown. For instance,
you can hurl a throwing knife as far as
these rules suggest, but the range at
which it will hit point-first and inflict
damage is considerably shorter.
3. Throwing weapons have points,
edges, dense striking heads, etc. that
focus the force of impact. They almost
always do more damage than these
rules would indicate.
EXTRA EFFORT
Through sheer force of will, you
can push your body past its usual lim-
its when you perform physical tasks.
This is called “extra effort.” Note that
if you have the Machine meta-trait,
you cannot use extra effort!
You can use extra effort to increase
Basic Lift (but not ST itself) when dig-
ging or lifting; daily mileage when hik-
ing; Move when running or swim-
ming; distance (but not Basic Move
itself) when jumping; and ST for the
purposes of throwing, making a single
356 SUCCESS ROLLS
ST roll, or drawing or cocking a bow Will-based roll against a relevant skill acquire the Crippled Leg disadvantage
or crossbow that’s too strong for you. (Hiking, Jumping, Lifting, Running, (see Lame, p. 141).
You cannot use extra effort to increase Swimming, or Throwing, as applica-
the time you can hold your breath – ble), if that would be better. Swimming: For every minute of
that would be self-defeating! swimming, make an extra effort roll
Digging: For every hour of digging, and pay 1 FP. This adds to the FP cost
To apply extra effort, make a Will make an extra-effort roll and pay 1 FP. for failed HT rolls while swimming.
roll. This adds to the usual FP cost. On a
critical failure, the injury is to your Throwing: Increases to ST affect
Modifiers: -1 per 5% increase in back, and will heal only with rest (not both damage and distance, but not
capabilities (e.g., to add 10% to ST, First Aid); on an 18, you temporarily Basic Lift for the purpose of what you
roll at -2). If you are fatigued, apply a acquire the Bad Back disadvantage can throw in the first place. For that,
penalty equal to the missing FP. Roll at (p. 123). make a separate extra-effort lifting
+5 if you are motivated by fear, anger, attempt! Add bonuses for Throwing or
or concern for a loved one (GM’s deci- Hiking: Make one extra-effort roll Throwing Art skill after those for extra
sion, but you must usually fail a Fright per day. Extra effort increases the FP effort.
Check or a self-control roll for a suit- you suffer by two when you stop on
able disadvantage, or be the victim of the march (see Fatigue, p. 426). Assess Optional Rule: Extra
a successful Intimidation attempt, to injury due to critical failure at the end Effort in Combat
get this bonus). of the day, and base it on the modified
FP penalty. For instance, if you would At the GM’s option, fighters can use
Extra effort costs FP whether you normally be missing 5 FP when you extra effort in combat. These rules
succeed or fail. Instantaneous feats stopped, you would be missing 7 FP if work differently from those above –
(e.g., jumps and throws) cost a flat 1 you used extra effort – and if you crit- mainly to avoid bogging down combat
FP per attempt. Ongoing tasks (dig- ically failed, you would end the day with extra die rolls and calculations.
ging, running, swimming, etc.) require with 7 HP of injury! When using
repeated extra effort rolls, and cost 1 Hiking skill, make a single Will-based You must declare that you are using
FP per roll. Hiking works differently – Hiking roll at -1 per 5% extra mileage extra effort and spend the required FP
see below. Pay the FP cost for extra beyond the basic +20% for a success- before you make your attack or defense
effort immediately after you attempt ful Hiking roll (-1 for +25%, -2 for roll. A critical failure on the roll causes
your Will roll. Note that the FP spent +30%, and so on). 1 HP of injury to the arm (if blocking,
on extra effort do not penalize this parrying, or attacking with a shield,
attempt, but give a penalty to future weapon, or hand) or leg (if dodging or
attempts until you recover the FP.
Through sheer force of will, you can push
On a success, you gain the desired your body past its usual limits when you perform
increase in your physical capabilities. physical tasks.
This does not guarantee success at the
task at hand – you could still fail the Jumping: On a critical failure, kicking) in addition to the usual critical
DX roll for an extra-effort jump, for apply the injury to the foot or leg miss results. DR does not protect you
instance. On a critical success, you do (GM’s option, or roll randomly); on an from this damage!
not have to pay FP for your extra 18, you temporarily acquire the
effort. Crippled Leg disadvantage (see Lame, Feverish Defense: If you take any
p. 141). maneuver other than All-Out Attack,
On a failure, you achieve only what you can spend 1 FP to get +2 to a sin-
you would have accomplished without Lifting and Moving Things: For gle active defense roll. (You can use
extra effort. every minute of continuing effort, this bonus to offset the penalty for par-
make an extra-effort roll and pay 1 FP. rying multiple times with one hand;
A critical failure means you lose (This cost adds to the 1 FP per second see Parrying, p. 376.)
HP equal to the FP spent on the for carrying encumbrance over
attempt – including any FP the task 10¥BL, if applicable.) Handle critical Flurry of Blows: If you take an
would have cost without extra effort – failures as described for digging. Attack maneuver, you can halve the
and the task fails automatically! If you When using Lifting skill, make a single penalty for Rapid Strike (see Rapid
roll a natural 18, you must also make Will-based Lifting roll, at -1 per 10% Strike, p. 370) by spending 1 FP per
an immediate HT roll to avoid acquir- extra Basic Lift. This is instead of the attack.
ing a temporary disadvantage appro- usual 5% bonus per point of success.
priate to the task (see below for exam- Mighty Blows: If you take an Attack
ples). Handle recovery as described in Running: For every 15 seconds of maneuver in melee combat, you can
Duration of Crippling Injuries (p. 422). sprinting or minute of paced running, spend FP to gain the damage bonus of
A sufficiently bad HT roll can result in make an extra-effort roll and pay 1 FP. an All-Out Attack (Strong) (see All-Out
a permanent disadvantage! This adds to the FP cost for failed HT Attack, p. 365) without sacrificing your
rolls while running! On a critical fail- defenses. This costs 1 FP per attack.
Notes for Specific ure, apply the injury to one of your
Physical Tasks legs; on an 18, you temporarily You cannot use Flurry of Blows
and Mighty Blows at the same time!
Instead of rolling against Will to
use extra effort, you may make a
SUCCESS ROLLS 357
SENSE ROLLS
“Sense rolls” include Vision rolls, Observation or Search to replace the GM may treat this roll as a Quick
Hearing rolls, Taste/Smell rolls, and Perception for the roll. Contest against his Stealth skill. If
all rolls to use special senses such as you are actively listening for such
Scanning Sense (p. 81) and Vibration Note that the curvature of a plan- activity, the GM may allow you to
Sense (p. 96). et blocks vision beyond the horizon. substitute Observation skill for
The normal horizon on an Earth- Perception.
To notice something using a given sized planet is about three miles for
sense, roll against your Perception an observer five to six feet in height. Useful Advantages: Parabolic
score, modified by the applicable The GM should increase this for Hearing allows you to hear distant
Acute Senses advantage (p. 35): Acute taller observers or those in elevated sounds as if they were nearby.
Vision for Vision rolls, Acute Hearing positions. There is no horizon in Subsonic Hearing and Ultrahearing
for Hearing rolls, and so on. space! can detect sounds that are inaudible
to normal humans.
Comprehension Rolls: A successful Useful Advantages: Night Vision
Sense roll means you noticed some- cancels -1 in partial darkness penal- Limiting Disadvantage: If you suf-
thing. That is often sufficient, but in ties per level, and Dark Vision lets fer from Deafness, you can hear
some cases, the GM may require a you ignore darkness penalties. nothing!
second roll to understand what you Peripheral Vision gives you a Vision
have sensed; e.g., to realize that the roll to see anything that is Hearing Distance Table
“owl hoot” you heard is really an not absolutely, positively, directly
Indian warrior, or that the faint scent behind you – and 360° Vision lets Sound Range (yards)
you noticed belongs to the flower of a you see even that! Telescopic Vision
man-eating plant. This roll is against cancels -1 in range penalties per Leaves rustling 1/4
IQ for details that anyone could fig- level.
ure out, or against an appropriate Quiet conversation 1/2
skill if the significance would be lost Limiting Disadvantages: Bad Sight
on anyone but an expert. gives -6 to Vision rolls to spot items Normal conversation 1
more than one yard away if you are
Danger Sense: If you have the nearsighted, or items within one yard Light traffic 2
Danger Sense advantage (p. 47) and if you are farsighted. Restricted
fail a Sense roll or comprehension Vision prevents you from noticing Loud conversation 4
roll to notice something dangerous, anything that isn’t in the direction
the GM will secretly make a you are looking. Blindness means Noisy office 8
Perception roll for you. On a success, you can see nothing!
you sense the danger anyhow! Normal traffic 16
HEARING
VISION “Quiet” rock band 32
Make a Hearing roll whenever it is
Make a Vision roll whenever it is important that you hear a sound. The Heavy traffic 64
important that you see something. GM will often require a separate IQ
roll to make out speech, especially in Jet takeoff 128
Modifiers: Any Acute Vision a foreign language.
bonus; +3 for Hyperspectral Vision; Very loud rock band 256
modifiers for the size and range of Modifiers: Any Acute Hearing
the target (see p. 550); -1 to -9 in par- bonus; +4 for Discriminatory Metallica 512
tial darkness. In total darkness, Hearing; -4 for Hard of Hearing. The
Vision rolls are impossible without GM may make this roll easier or TASTE/SMELL
special advantages or technological harder, depending on the loudness of
aids. To spot something in plain sight the sound, surrounding noises, etc. Taste and smell are two manifesta-
– e.g., a car coming toward you on tions of the same sense. Make a Taste
the road – roll at +10. This does not The range at which you can hear a roll to notice a flavor, or a Smell roll to
apply to attempts to spot hidden sound at no penalty is given on the notice a scent.
objects, read text, identify faces, etc. table below. For each step by which
you are closer than this, apply +1 to Modifiers: Any Acute Taste and
When you try to spot something the roll, while for each step by which Smell bonus; +4 for Discriminatory
that is deliberately hidden, the GM you are more distant, apply -1. Smell or Taste (as applicable). The GM
may treat this roll as a Quick Contest For instance, to hear normal conver- may modify this roll for a particularly
against a concealment skill sation at 8 yards would require a roll strong or weak taste or odor, and may
(Camouflage, Holdout, etc.), and may at -3. apply a penalty if it is specifically
allow – or require – a skill such as disguised.
When you try to hear someone
who is attempting to move silently, Useful Advantages: In addition to
giving a bonus to your roll,
Discriminatory Smell and Discri-
minatory Taste can reveal sufficient
detail to allow you to identify people,
locations, and objects with precision
equivalent to hearing or vision for a
normal human.
Limiting Disadvantage: No Sense of
Smell/Taste means that you cannot
taste or smell anything.
358 SUCCESS ROLLS
INFLUENCE ROLLS
An “Influence roll” is a deliberate Influencing the PCs
attempt to ensure a positive reaction
from an NPC. A PC with an appropri- Influence rolls are designed to allow PCs to affect NPC reactions.
ate “Influence skill” can always elect The GM should not make Influence rolls on behalf of NPCs and tell the
to substitute an Influence roll for a players how to react. Most players form an opinion of an NPC based on
regular reaction roll in suitable cir- the GM’s portrayal of the character, and few appreciate being told that
cumstances (GM’s decision). See they must roleplay a good reaction toward an NPC they do not like or
Reaction Rolls (p. 494) for more on trust.
NPC reactions.
This does not mean that NPCs cannot influence PCs! When an NPC
Decide which Influence skill you makes a successful Influence roll against a PC, the GM should apply the
are using: Diplomacy, Fast-Talk, NPC’s margin of victory as a bonus or penalty (as appropriate) to the
Intimidation, Savoir-Faire, Sex PC’s die rolls when dealing with that NPC. For instance, if a beautiful
Appeal, or Streetwise. Choose wisely! spy beats the PC’s Will by 3 using Sex Appeal, the hero might suffer -3
The GM may allow other skills to on self-controls roll for his Lecherousness and -3 to his Detect Lies skill
work as Influence skills in certain sit- where that spy is concerned. Be creative!
uations (e.g., Law skill, when dealing
with a judge). Then roll a Quick you a “Bad” reaction – “Very Bad” if advantage (p. 95) also fail automati-
Contest: your Influence skill vs. the you attempted specious intimidation cally. On the other hand, you win auto-
subject’s Will. (see Intimidation, p. 202). Exception: matically – no roll required – against
If you used Diplomacy, the GM will those with Slave Mentality (p. 154).
Modifiers: All your personal reac- also make a regular reaction roll and
tion modifiers (although the GM or use the better of the two reactions. Psychological Warfare
the skill description may rule that Thus, Diplomacy is relatively safe . . .
some modifiers do not apply); any You can use Propaganda skill for
specific modifiers given in the skill If the subject is Indomitable media manipulation, and Psychology
description; -1 to -10 for using an (p. 60), you lose automatically unless skill for other “psyops.” This is an
inappropriate Influence skill (GM’s you have Empathy, Animal Empathy, Influence roll. Apply your cause’s reac-
decision). Plant Empathy, or Spirit Empathy, as tion modifiers rather than your own,
appropriate. Intimidation attempts and use the average Will of the target
If you win, you get a “Good” reac- against those with the Unfazeable group in the Quick Contest.
tion from the NPC – “Very Good” if
you used Sex Appeal. On any other
outcome, the NPC resents your clum-
sy attempt at manipulation. This gives
SUCCESS ROLLS 359
WILL ROLLS
When you are faced with a stressful can be helpful! An ordinary, 21st-cen- Preparation: +1 if you have previ-
situation or a distraction, the GM may tury American might have to make ous personal experience with this kind
require you to roll against your Will to Fright Checks for encounters with of threat; +1 per exposure to this par-
stay focused. On a success, you may monsters, dead bodies, and the super- ticular threat in 24 hours; +1 to +3
act normally. On a failure, you submit natural. A battle-hardened comman- (depending on the quality of the
to the fear, give in to the pressure, are do in the same game might not have report) if you learned the details of
distracted from your task, etc. to roll for dead bodies. And in a fan- this particular situation before you
tasy campaign, all these things may witnessed it.
The effects of a failed Will roll in a be quite normal . . . threatening, but
stressful situation are often identical normal. On the other hand, a fantasy The Rule of 14
to those of a failed self-control roll for character might have to make a
a mental disadvantage. This does not Fright Check if transported to the 21st If final, modified Will exceeds 13,
make Will rolls and self-control rolls century and given a ride down the reduce it to 13 for the purpose of the
interchangeable. Which kind of roll interstate . . . Fright Check. This means that a roll of
you must make depends on the cause 14 or more is automatically a failure.
of the stress, not on its effects. Fright Check Modifiers This rule does not apply to other Will
rolls (resistance rolls, rolls to avoid
If a game-world event causes nega- The following modifiers are cumu- distraction, etc.) – only to Fright
tive effects (distraction, stunning, etc.) lative. Checks.
for anyone who fails a Will roll, you
roll against Will just like anyone else – Advantages and Disadvantages: Any Fright Check Table
even if your self-control roll to resist Fearlessness bonus or Fearfulness
identical effects from a mental disad- penalty; +2 for Combat Reflexes, or -2 When you fail a Fright Check, roll
vantage would be easier or harder. for Combat Paralysis. Other modifiers 3d, add your margin of failure on the
are conditional: -1 to -4 for Cowardice Fright Check, and consult the table
If a mental disadvantage causes a when your physical safety is at risk; +1 below. This sometimes gives implausi-
negative effect on a failed self-control for Daredevil when charging into a ble results. The GM should either
roll, you roll against your self-control scary situation; +1 for Higher Purpose reroll these or change them to some-
number to resist – even if your Will when confronting threats you are thing more appropriate – especially
roll to avoid that same effect under sworn to oppose; +1 to +4 for for Fright Checks stemming from awe
other circumstances would differ. Xenophilia when confronting mon- (e.g., divine beauty) or mind-warping
sters. Unfazeable characters don’t complexity (e.g., otherworldly geome-
However, modifiers to self-control make Fright Checks! try or radical philosophical concepts)
rolls and Will rolls to resist a particu- instead of fear.
lar effect are usually interchangeable. Bodies: +6 for a peaceful-looking
For instance, a drug that gives +2 to body, prepared for burial; +2 for a Many of these results give a new
Will rolls to resist distraction would dead body with no signs of violence; mental quirk or disadvantage. The
also give +2 to self-control rolls to no modifier for most victims of vio- GM assigns this trait, which must be
resist disadvantages that result in dis- lence; and from -1 to -3 for grisly muti- related to the frightening event. If pos-
traction. lations. Apply another -6 if the victim sible, it should also be related to the
was your Dependent! victim’s existing mental traits! Traits
FRIGHT CHECKS acquired this way reduce the victim’s
Heat of Battle: +5 if you are in com- point value.
A Fright Check is a Will roll made bat when the terrifying thing happens
to resist fear. Fright Checks can occur or you first notice it. 4, 5 – Stunned for one second, then
as often or as rarely as the GM wishes. recover automatically.
In a horror campaign where ordinary Monsters: A given monster might
people meet shockingly gruesome give a basic -1 to -10 to Fright Checks. 6, 7 – Stunned for one second. Every
Things, Fright Checks might be very For hordes of monsters, roll at -1 for 5 second after that, roll vs. unmodi-
common! With only minor adapta- monsters, -2 for 10, -3 for 20, -4 for 50, fied Will to snap out of it.
tion, the GM can use these rules for and -5 for 100 or more.
awe, confusion, etc. as well as fear. 8, 9 – Stunned for one second. Every
Physical Circumstances: -1 if the second after that, roll vs. Will, plus
As a general rule, “ordinary” fright- body, monster, etc. touches you; +1 if whatever bonuses or penalties you
ening things do not require Fright you witness it at a great distance (at had on your original roll, to snap
Checks. Fright Checks are for events least 100 yards); or +3 if you view it out of it.
so unusual and terrifying that they remotely (using Clairsentience,
might stun or even permanently scar closed-circuit TV, etc.). Apply -1 if the 10 – Stunned for 1d seconds. Every
someone. area is physically isolated, -1 at night second after that, roll vs. modified
or in the dark (or in daylight, if you’re Will, as above, to snap out of it.
What counts as “ordinary” depends a night-dweller!), and -2 if you are (or
on the characters and the setting. This think you are) alone. 11 – Stunned for 2d seconds. Every
is one place where a character story second after that, roll vs. modified
Will, as above, to snap out of it.
360 SUCCESS ROLLS
12 – Lose your lunch. Treat this as roll vs. unmodified Will once per 28 – Light coma. You fall uncon-
retching for (25 - HT) seconds, minute to snap out of it. scious, rolling vs. HT every 30 min-
and then roll vs. HT each second 22 – Acquire a -10-point Delusion utes to recover. For 6 hours after
to recover; see Incapacitating (p. 130). you come to, all skill rolls and
Conditions (p. 428). Depending 23 – Acquire a -10-point Phobia attribute checks are at -2.
on the circumstances, this may (p. 148) or other -10-point mental
be merely inconvenient, or humil- disadvantage. 29 – Coma. As above, but you are
iating. 24 – Major physical effect, set by GM: unconscious for 1d hours. Then
hair turns white, age five years roll vs. HT. If the roll fails, remain
13 – Acquire a new mental quirk (see overnight, go partially deaf, etc. In in a coma for another 1d hours,
Quirks, p. 162). This is the only way game terms, acquire -15 points and so on.
to acquire more than five quirks. worth of physical disadvantages
(for this purpose, each year of age 30 – Catatonia. Stare into space for 1d
14, 15 – Lose 1d FP, and take 1d sec- counts as -3 points). days. Then roll vs. HT. On a failed
onds of stunning as per 10. 25 – If you already have a Phobia or roll, remain catatonic for another
other mental disadvantage that is 1d days, and so on. If you have no
16 – Stunned for 1d seconds, as per logically related to the frightening medical care, lose 1 HP the first
10, and acquire a new quirk, as per incident, your self-control number day, 2 the second, and so on. If you
13. survive and awaken, all skill rolls
becomes one step worse. If not, or and attribute checks are at -2 for as
17 – Faint for 1d minutes, then roll vs. if your self-control number is many days as the catatonia lasted.
HT each minute to recover. already 6, add a new -10-point
Phobia or other -10-point mental 31 – Seizure. You lose control of your
18 – Faint as above, and roll vs. HT disadvantage. body and fall to the ground in a fit
immediately. On a failed roll, take 1 26 – Faint for 1d minutes, as per 18, lasting 1d minutes and costing 1d
HP of injury as you collapse. and acquire a new -10-point FP. Also, roll vs. HT. On a failure,
Delusion, as per 22. take 1d of injury. On a critical
19 – Severe faint, lasting for 2d min- 27 – Faint for 1d minutes, as per 18, failure, you also lose 1 HT
utes. Roll vs. HT each minute to and acquire a new -10-point men- permanently.
recover. Take 1 HP of injury. tal disadvantage, as per 23.
32 – Stricken. You fall to the ground,
20 – Faint bordering on shock, lasting taking 2d of injury in the form of a
for 4d minutes. Also, lose 1d FP. mild heart attack or stroke.
21 – Panic. You run around scream- 33 – Total panic. You are out of con-
ing, sit down and cry, or do some- trol; you might do anything (the
thing else equally pointless for 1d GM rolls 3d: the higher the roll, the
minutes. At the end of that time, more useless your reaction). For
instance, you might jump off a cliff
to avoid the monster. If you survive
your first reaction, roll vs. Will to
come out of the panic. If you fail,
the GM rolls for another panic
reaction, and so on!
34 – Acquire a -15-point Delusion
(p. 130).
35 – Acquire a -15-point Phobia
(p. 148) or other mental disadvan-
tage worth -15 points.
36 – Severe physical effect, as per 24,
but equivalent to -20 points of
physical disadvantages.
37 – Severe physical effect, as per 24,
but equivalent to -30 points of
physical disadvantages.
38 – Coma, as per 29, and a -15-point
Delusion, as per 34.
39 – Coma, as per 29, and a -15-point
Phobia or other -15-point mental
disadvantage, as per 35.
40+ – As 39, above, but victim also
loses 1 point of IQ permanently.
This automatically reduces all IQ-
based skills, including magic spells,
by 1.
SUCCESS ROLLS 361
362 CHAPTER ELEVEN
COMBAT
The complete combat system occupies three
chapters. This chapter contains the core com-
bat rules. Chapter 12 adds rules for playing
out combat using counters or figures on
a hexagonal grid. Chapter 13 provides
rules for a number of special combat
situations. Like the character-creation
system in Book 1, the combat system
applies equally to PCs and NPCs.
The GM decides when to start
using the combat rules. This will gener-
ally be when fighting seems likely and
combatants begin maneuvering for tacti-
cal advantage. The GM may also use these
rules to resolve “action” situations such as
chases and tournaments.
COMBAT
TURN
SEQUENCE
Combat takes place second by second.
Each character actively involved in the
combat gets one opportunity to act per
second, referred to as his “turn.” After
everyone has taken his turn, one second
has passed.
The GM shouldn’t feel constrained by
the one-second time scale. This is just a
way of breaking a battle into manageable
chunks! He should feel free to drop out of
combat time whenever dramatically
appropriate, and to resume combat time
when noncombat action gives way to more fighting. Consider a running
gunfight in which the combatants leap across rooftops and chase each
other up and down rickety fire escapes: the GM could resolve this
through roleplaying and DX or skill rolls (against Jumping, etc.),
interspersed with a few seconds of combat whenever he feels the
opponents have a clear shot at each other.
Active Characters
An “active character” is involved in the combat and able to take
action. A character who is knocked out, asleep, etc. is not active. But
someone who chooses to do nothing is still active – “Do Nothing” is a
valid combat maneuver (see p. 364).
COMBAT
Turn Sequence DX. If there’s still a tie, GM should roll “Your Turn”
randomly at the start of the combat to
The “turn sequence” is the order in determine who acts first, and use that A given participant’s turn is the
which active characters take their order throughout the combat. one-second period that stretches
turns. It is set at the start of the fight from when he chooses a maneuver
and does not change during combat. Sequence Chart: If a combat has until his next opportunity to select a
The combatant with the highest Basic many participants, the GM may find it maneuver. This overlaps the turns of
Speed goes first and takes his turn, useful to make a quick list of the order other characters.
then the one with the next-highest in which the combatants take their
Basic Speed, and so on, in descending turns.
order by Basic Speed. Once every
active character has taken his turn, Each character actively involved in the combat
one second has passed and another gets one opportunity to act per second, referred to
second begins. as his “turn.” After everyone has taken his turn,
one second has passed.
Tied Speeds: If multiple NPCs on
the same side have the same Basic
Speed, the GM simply decides who
goes first – it isn’t really important. If
PCs are involved, ties go to the highest
MANEUVERS
A “maneuver” is an action that attacked. Your most recent maneuver Movement
you can take on your turn. Each turn, governs the active defenses you can and Maneuvers
you must choose one of the following use.
maneuvers: Aim, All-Out Attack, All- Most maneuvers allow some form
Out Defense, Attack, Change Posture, For the purpose of active defenses, of movement. The Move and Move
Concentrate, Do Nothing, Evaluate, your maneuver is considered to be in and Attack maneuvers allow you to
Feint, Move, Move and Attack, Ready, effect until you select another maneu- move quickly, up to a number of yards
or Wait. Your choice determines what ver on your next turn. For instance, if equal to your full Move score. Other
you can do on your turn, and sets you chose All-Out Defense (which maneuvers, such as All-Out Attack,
your options for active defense and gives a defensive advantage), its bene- limit you to a fraction of your full
movement. fits would apply if you were attacked Move.
after you took your turn, and would
Many maneuvers restrict move-
Multiple Maneuvers and ment to a “step.” This is movement up
Full-Turn Maneuvers to 1/10 your Move, minimum 1 yard,
in any direction, a change of facing
Ordinary characters can only take a single maneuver when it is their (for instance, to turn around), or both.
You can perform your step before or
turn to act, limiting them to one maneuver per second. However, a few after the rest of the maneuver; for
instance, you could step and attack or
traits allow you to act with superhuman speed and take multiple attack and step.
maneuvers per turn! Some maneuvers allow no move-
ment. In particular, you cannot move
Some maneuvers are described as “full-turn” maneuvers. If you take if you Change Posture or Do Nothing.
one of these, it’s the only maneuver you can perform on your turn, For more on movement, see Move
(p. 364) and Movement and Combat
regardless of how fast you can act. You are assumed to be performing (p. 367).
that maneuver for an entire second. Free Actions
Active Defense persist until it was your turn again and “Free actions” are things you
and Maneuvers you took a different maneuver. can do during any maneuver. Some
examples:
The maneuver you choose affects If you’re attacked before you’ve had
a chance to choose a maneuver – usu- Talk. You can always talk. If the GM
your “active defenses” – your ability to ally at the start of combat – you’re con- wants to be realistic, he should allow
sidered to be taking a Do Nothing only one sentence of communication
dodge, parry, or block attacks (see maneuver (see p. 364). per second . . . but it is usually more
fun when you ignore this limitation!
Defending, p. 374). You only have to
select an active defense if you are
COMBAT 363
Maintain spells or psi. As long as If you are controlling a vehicle or AIM
you remain active, you can maintain a riding a mount, take a Move maneu-
spell or ongoing psi ability, no matter ver to spend the turn actively control- This is a full-turn maneuver used
what else you do. ling it. Instead of you moving, the to aim a ranged weapon (or a device
vehicle or mount moves on your turn such as a camera or telescope). You
Drop an item. You can drop any (carrying you and other occupants). must choose a specific target. You
“ready” item at any time during any See Mounted Combat (p. 396) and can’t aim at something that you can’t
maneuver. If you’re moving, you may Vehicles (p. 462) for details. see or otherwise detect.
drop it at any point within your reach
during your movement. Sprinting: If you run forward for Specify the weapon you’re aiming
two or more turns in a row, you get with and your target. If you follow an
Crouch. If standing, you may opt bonus movement on your second and Aim maneuver with an Attack or All-
to crouch (to make yourself a smaller later moves; see Sprinting (p. 354). Out Attack with the same weapon
target for ranged attacks) at the against the same target, you get a
beginning of your turn. This will usu- Movement: See above. bonus to hit. Add the weapon’s
ally slow your movement speed (see Active Defense: Any. Accuracy (Acc) to your skill, plus any
Movement, p. 367), and you cannot bonuses for targeting systems used:
crouch and sprint. If you were CHANGE sights, targeting computers, etc.
already crouching, it is a free action POSTURE
to rise from a crouching position at If you brace a firearm or crossbow,
any time. This maneuver lets you switch you get an extra +1 to Acc. A firearm
between any two “postures” (stances or crossbow is braced if you can rest it
DO NOTHING in which you can pose your body). on a sandbag, low wall, car, etc. A one-
Valid postures are standing, sitting, handed firearm (e.g., a pistol) is con-
Anyone who is just standing still is kneeling, crawling, lying prone (face sidered braced if used two-handed. A
assumed to be doing nothing. In par- down), and lying face up. Any posture two-handed firearm (e.g., a rifle) is
ticular, when combat begins, anyone other than standing slows your move- considered braced if you are prone
who has not yet taken a turn is treated ment and penalizes your attack and and using a bipod.
as if he took this maneuver before defense rolls, but also makes you a
entering combat. smaller target for ranged attacks. If you Aim for more than one sec-
ond, you receive an additional bonus:
Someone who is conscious but You cannot stand up directly from +1 for two seconds of Aim, or +2 for
stunned or surprised must take this a lying position. If you are lying (prone three or more seconds.
maneuver. On each turn of Do or face up), you must take a Change
Nothing, he may attempt a HT roll to Posture maneuver to rise to a crawl- Your combined bonus from all tar-
recover from physical stun or an IQ ing, kneeling, or sitting posture first. A geting systems (scopes, sights, com-
roll to recover from mental stun. On a second Change Posture maneuver lets puters, etc.) cannot exceed the
success, he recovers at the end of his you stand from any of these postures. weapon’s base Accuracy. For instance,
turn – that is, he Does Nothing this (Going from standing up to lying if you add a telescopic sight that gives
turn, but may act normally next turn. down, however, only takes one maneu- +4 Acc to a pistol with Acc 2, the
ver – or none at all, if the change was bonus is +2, not +4.
Movement: None! involuntary!)
Active Defense: Any (unless you’re Movement: Step. Exception: You
tied up, etc.). If you are stunned, how- You can switch between kneeling cannot step if using a braced, two-
ever, your active defenses are at -4 and standing (only) as the “step” por- handed weapon.
until your next turn – even if you tion of any maneuver that allows a
recover. step – you don’t need Change Posture Active Defense: Any, but you auto-
for that. This is instead of using the matically spoil your aim and lose all
MOVE step to move. Thus, you could go from accumulated benefits. If you are
prone to kneeling with a Change injured while aiming, you must make
Move, but take no other action Posture maneuver on one turn, and a Will roll or lose your aim.
except those specified under Free then stand up in place on your next
Actions (p. 363). You may move any turn by taking a maneuver that allows EVALUATE
number of yards up to your full Move a step.
score. Most other maneuvers allow at This maneuver is the melee combat
least some movement on your turn; Crouching does not require a equivalent of Aim. It lets you take time
take this maneuver if all you want to Change Posture maneuver; see Free to study an adversary in order to gain
do is move. Actions (p. 363). a combat bonus on a subsequent
attack. You must specify one visible
Players must tell the GM exactly Movement: None. You remain in opponent who is close enough to
where their PCs move to so that he place as you change posture. attack unarmed or with a ready melee
can keep track of the combat. The GM weapon, or whom you could reach
decides where his NPCs move, and Active Defense: Any. Postures other with a single Move and Attack maneu-
will inform any players whose PCs are than standing penalize your defense ver. You are sizing him up and looking
in a position to witness the movement. rolls, but also make you a smaller tar- for the right moment to strike.
get for ranged attacks.
An Evaluate maneuver gives you
+1 to skill for the purpose of an Attack,
364 COMBAT
Feint, All-Out Attack, or Move and If you fail your roll, your Feint is • Determined: Make a single attack
Attack made against that opponent, on unsuccessful. Likewise, if you suc- at +4 to hit!
your next turn only. You may take mul- ceed, but your foe succeeds by as
tiple, consecutive Evaluate maneuvers much as or more than you do, your • Double: Make two attacks against
before you strike, giving a cumulative Feint fails. the same foe, if you have two ready
+1 per turn, to a maximum of +3. weapons or one weapon that does not
If you make your roll, and your foe have to be readied after use. Attacks
Movement: Step. fails, subtract your margin of success with a second weapon held in the off
Active Defense: Any. This does not from the foe’s active defense if you hand are at the usual -4 (see
spoil your evaluation. attack him with Attack, All-Out Handedness, p. 14) unless you have
Attack, or Move and Attack on your Ambidexterity (p. 39).
ATTACK next turn. For instance, if your skill is
15 and you roll a 12, your foe defends • Feint: Make one Feint (see above)
Use this maneuver to make an against you at -3 next turn. and then one attack against the same
armed or unarmed attack in melee foe. The Feint applies to this attack
combat, or to use a thrown or missile If you and your foe both succeed, instead of one you make on your next
weapon in ranged combat. To use a but you succeed by more, subtract turn.
weapon to attack, it must be ready. your margin of victory from the foe’s
defense. For instance, if your skill is 15 • Strong: Make a single attack, at
If you are using a melee weapon or and you roll a 10 (success by 5), and normal skill. If you hit, you get +2 to
unarmed attack, your target must be your foe’s skill is 14 and he rolls 12 damage – or +1 damage per die, if that
within reach. Resolve the attack as (success by 2), you win by 3, so he will would be better. This only applies to
explained under Melee Attacks defend at -3 if your next maneuver is melee attacks doing ST-based thrust
(pp. 369-372). If you took an Evaluate to attack him. or swing damage, not to weapons
maneuver (above) last turn, you will such as force swords.
have a bonus to hit. If you took a Feint You cannot Feint if your foe is
(below), your opponent may have a unable to observe you! However, if If you are making a ranged attack,
penalty to defend. your foe runs away, turns his back on you must specify one of these two
you, or loses sight of you in some way options before you attack:
If you are using a ranged weapon, after you successfully Feint, he will
your target must be within the still suffer his defense penalty if you • Determined: Make a single attack
weapon’s Max range. Resolve the attack him on your next turn. If you at +1 to hit.
attack according to Ranged Attacks lose track of the foe, or cannot attack
(pp. 372-374). If you took an Aim him next turn, your foe’s defense • Suppression Fire: Take the entire
maneuver (p. 364) last turn, you will penalty vanishes. turn to spray an area with automatic
have a bonus to hit. fire. This is a full-turn maneuver, and
A Feint is good for one second! But you can only choose this option if your
Movement: Step. You may step and if you Feint and then make an All-Out weapon has RoF 5+. See Suppression
then attack or attack and then step – Attack (Double), the feint applies to Fire (p. 409).
your choice. To move further and still both attacks.
attack, take All-Out Attack or Move Movement: You may move up to
and Attack. In all cases, your allies cannot take half your Move, but you can only
advantage of your Feint. The defense move forward.
Active Defense: Any. penalty applies only to your next
attack. Active Defense: You may make no
FEINT active defenses at all from the point
Shield Feints: After you have you take this maneuver until your next
“Fake” a melee attack. You cannot attacked your foe once by striking turn. If someone attacks you after you
Feint someone unless you could have with your shield (see p. 406), you may make an All-Out attack, all you can do
hit him with a melee attack – that is, also Feint with your shield, rolling is hope he misses – you can’t dodge,
your weapon is ready and your foe is against Shield skill. parry, or block!
within reach. This maneuver is not an
attack, though, and does not make Movement: Step. MOVE AND
your weapon unready. Active Defense: Any. However, if you ATTACK
Feint and then parry with an unbal-
When you Feint, roll a Quick anced weapon, you cannot attack on Move as described for the Move
Contest of Melee Weapon skills with your next turn, making your Feint maneuver (p. 364), but during or after
your foe; if either of you is unarmed, pointless. your move, make a single, poorly
you may roll against an unarmed aimed attack – either unarmed or with
combat skill instead. Your opponent ALL-OUT ATTACK a ready weapon.
may opt to roll against Cloak or Shield
skill, if he is suitably equipped and this Attack any foe with a ready You attack as described for the
would give him a better roll. If his DX weapon, making no effort to defend Attack maneuver (above), but at a
is better than his combat skills, he against enemy attacks. If you are mak- penalty. If you are making a ranged
may roll against DX instead. ing a melee attack, you must specify attack, you have a penalty of -2 or the
one of these four options before you weapon’s Bulk rating, whichever is
attack: worse – and if you took an Aim,
you lose all of its bonuses. If you are
COMBAT 365
making a melee attack other than a Some activities (e.g., casting spells) You must specify exactly what your
slam (p. 371), you have a flat -4 to require you to take the Concentrate action will be when you take the Wait
skill, and your adjusted skill cannot maneuver for multiple seconds. If you maneuver, and what will trigger it. For
exceed 9. are forced to use an active defense, instance, “I’ll make an All-Out Attack
knocked down, injured, or otherwise (Determined) with my sword on the
Movement: As described under the distracted before you finish, you must first orc to move toward me.”
Move maneuver – but since you are make a Will-3 roll. On a failure, you
trying to do two things at once, you lose your concentration and must You may take a Wait with a ready
are -2 on any rolls the GM requires to start over. ranged weapon; this is known as “cov-
avoid falling, tripping over obstacles, ering” a target or area. If so, you must
etc. Movement: Step. specify the zone that you are covering
Active Defense: Any. However, it with that weapon. There is no penalty
Active Defense: Dodge or block interferes with concentration as noted to cover a one-yard area. For larger
only. You cannot parry and you may above. areas and additional rules, see
not retreat (see Retreat, p. 377). Opportunity Fire (p. 390).
READY
ALL-OUT You can use the Wait maneuver
DEFENSE Take a Ready maneuver to pick up for any “reflex action” you want to
or draw any item and prepare it for plan in advance, provided you speci-
This is the maneuver to choose use; e.g., to pull a sword from its fy both the response and the action
when you’re beset by foes – especially sheath or a gun from its holster, or to that will trigger it. This can include
foes who like All-Out Attacks! You reload a firearm. In some cases, you holding a knife at a hostage’s throat,
must specify one of the following two may also need a Ready maneuver to or even a noncombat action (e.g., “If
options: regain control of an unwieldy weapon Dora sees any orcs, she will pull this
after a swing, or to adjust the reach of rope immediately – otherwise, she
• Increased Defense: Add +2 to one a long weapon – see the Melee Weapon does nothing.”). An action only qual-
active defense of your choice: Dodge, Table (p. 271). ifies as a “reflex” if you could do it in
Parry, or Block. This bonus persists a single motion. The GM’s decision is
until your next turn. You can use a Ready maneuver to final.
perform physical actions other than
• Double Defense: Apply two differ- fighting: opening or closing a door, Finally, you can use Wait to coor-
ent active defenses against the same picking a lock, digging, lifting, etc. dinate actions with slower friends.
attack. If you fail your defense roll Continuing activities may require
against an attack, you may try a sec- multiple, consecutive Ready maneu- Stop Thrust: If you have a ready
ond, different defense against that vers; see Other Actions in Combat thrusting weapon, you can use a
attack. For instance, if you fail a block, (p. 382). Wait to brace your weapon to receive
you may try a dodge or a parry. If you a possible enemy charge. Simply
try a parry (armed or unarmed) with Finally, a Ready maneuver lets you state, “I brace for a stop thrust.” You
one hand and fail, a parry using the switch an advantage “off” or “on” if it can convert your Wait into an Attack
other hand does count as a “different is not always on and does not require or All-Out Attack against any one foe
defense.” an Attack or Concentrate maneuver to that moves one or more yards
use. toward you to make a melee attack
Movement: If you choose Increased (armed or unarmed, including a
Dodge, you may move up to half your For more information, see slam or a grapple) or evade (see
Move. Otherwise, the only movement Readying Weapons and Other Gear Evading, p. 368). You strike first if
you may take is a step. (p. 382) and When Is a Weapon Ready? you have the longer reach. If you hit
(p. 382). and your foe fails to defend, add +1
Active Defense: You may choose to thrust damage for every two full
any legal active defense, with bonuses Movement: Step. yards your attacker moved toward
as described above. Active Defense: Any. you.
CONCENTRATE WAIT Movement: None until your Wait is
triggered. At that point, you may move
You concentrate on one primarily Do nothing unless a particular as allowed by the maneuver you spec-
mental task (even it has a minor phys- event you specified in advance ified (Attack, Feint, All-Out Attack, or
ical component, like operating con- occurs before your next turn; e.g., a Ready).
trols, gesturing, or speaking). This foe moves into range. If that hap-
may be casting a magical spell, using a pens, you may transform your Wait Active Defense: You may defend
psi ability, making a Sense roll to spot into an Attack, Feint, All-Out Attack normally while you are waiting or
an invisible warrior, making a (you must specify the option before after your Wait is triggered. But if you
Leadership roll to give orders, making acting), or Ready maneuver. If you defend while taking a Wait, you may
an Electronics Operation roll to oper- are reacting to someone else, this not transform your Wait into an All-
ate a sensor, or any similar action, interrupts his turn, but he can Out Attack; you must convert your
including most IQ-based skill rolls. resume it after you’ve acted. Wait into an Attack instead.
This is a full-turn maneuver.
366 COMBAT
MOVEMENT AND COMBAT
Basic movement does not require a for notes on mounted and vehicular decides how many yards of movement
game board. Instead, the GM should combat, respectively. a fighter must give up to cover one
have a general idea of the environ- yard of difficult terrain or to cross a
ment, and mentally keep track of rela- MOVEMENT given obstacle. For instance, tangled
tive distances between combatants or brush might cut Move in half, while
objects – possibly referring to maps, A combatant can move a maxi- climbing over a fallen body might cost
notes, or diagrams. Should the players mum number of yards equal to his full an extra yard of movement.
ask about reach or distance (“I want to Move score if he took a Move or Move
run up and swing at him . . . how far and Attack maneuver. He can move up You can move while in almost any
away is he?”), the GM’s judgment is to half his Move if he chose an All-Out posture, but you only get your full
final. Attack or All Out Defense (Increased Move if standing. You have 1/3 your
Dodge) maneuver. Move while crawling or kneeling – and
Since movement and facing issues you have a flat Move 1 while lying
are in the GM’s head, it’s up to the GM Obstacles and bad footing will down (belly crawl or rolling). You can-
how much detail to give the players. generally slow movement. The GM not move at all while sitting!
The GM might carefully keep track of
every yard of movement, taking notes
on paper . . . or he might only worry
about exact distances when they are
of vital importance. Most GMs will
want to adopt a middle ground. For
example:
GM: “You see Indigo Joe 90 yards
north of you. He’s at the edge of the
cemetery, crouched behind a tomb-
stone, aiming his laser rifle at Kim.”
Player: “Damn, he spotted us. Is
there any cover nearby? I want to run
toward it.”
GM: “An outcropping of rock starts
7 yards to your northwest, and there
are some trees about 10 yards to the
east. Your helicopter is parked 10
yards behind you, if you want to fall
back.”
Player: “No way! Kim will use a
Move and Attack. She runs her full
Move toward the rocks, while firing at
Indigo Joe with her Gauss rifle.”
GM: “Fine. You have Move 5?
Okay, you’re now 2 yards from cover.
Now it’s Joe’s turn. He fires an aimed
shot . . .”
The GM should always provide
enough detail to give the players tacti-
cal choices, but not so much as to
overwhelm them. If things get confus-
ing, a sketch map with a few notes can
often help. Groups that desire more
detail than that should consider using
the tactical combat system in Chapter
12 – or at least adopting some of those
rules to add extra detail to the guide-
lines given here.
Here are a few “rules of thumb” for
movement and combat. See Mounted
Combat (p. 396) and Vehicles (p. 462)
COMBAT 367
STEP much more tightly, but they would +5 if you are approaching your foe
have no room to react. from behind.
Most maneuvers allow you to take
a step, either before or after another MOVING +5 if your foe is lying down.
action. You may step a distance equal THROUGH OTHER
to 1/10 your Move, but never less than CHARACTERS If you win, you evade him and are
one yard. Round all fractions up. free to move on. If you lose or tie, he
Thus, Move 1-10 gives a one-yard step, You can always move through got in your way and stopped you.
Move 11-20 gives a two-yard step, and space occupied by your allies in com-
so on. bat, and you can run around an adver- You cannot evade anyone while
sary who does not completely block you are being grappled (see Grappling,
If you are capable of steps greater your path (see Spacing, above). But if p. 370). You cannot evade a foe if there
than one yard, you may break up your the GM rules that the only way past an is no logical way you could avoid hit-
movement in a turn. For instance, if opponent is through him, you must ting him, either (GM’s decision) . . .
you had a two-yard step, you could either bowl him over (see Slam, but note that huge creatures can step
move one yard, make an attack, and p. 371) or “evade” him. over smaller ones, while small crea-
move another yard during an Attack tures can duck between the legs of
maneuver. Evading larger ones!
You can use a step to go from a “Evading” is moving through On the other hand, if you can use
kneeling to a standing posture (or vice ground occupied by an opponent an advantage such as Flight or Super
versa) instead of moving. This requires without trying to knock him down. Jump to move up and over the foe’s
your entire step, no matter how far You can attempt this as part of any reach in the vertical plane, you can
you could normally move. maneuver that allows movement, pro- evade him automatically!
vided you can move fast enough to go
You may always turn to face a dif- past your foe – not just up to him. CROUCHING
ferent direction as part of any step (or
as the step, if you just want to change First, ask if your foe is trying to If you are in a standing position,
your facing). stop you. If he chooses to let you past, you can elect to crouch at the begin-
you “evade” him automatically – no ning of your turn, as part of any
SPACING roll is needed. If your foe wants to stop maneuver. If you don’t move, or if you
you, roll a Quick Contest of DX. only step, you may also crouch after
A human-sized fighter needs about Modify your DX as follows: performing another action such as
one yard (3’) of space; thus, two war- attacking or readying. However, you
riors could move down a passage two -5 if your foe is standing up. may not move more than a step and
yards wide shoulder-to-shoulder – or -2 if your foe is kneeling. then crouch at the end of your move-
hold it against a foe. A doorway is +2 if you are approaching your foe ment to avoid attacks – not in one sec-
about one yard wide, so a single per- from his right or left side. ond! But if you are already crouching,
son could hold it. All this assumes you may leave your crouch at any time
room to attack and defend. as a free action.
Noncombatants could be packed in
368 COMBAT
ATTACKING
An “attack” is an attempt to hit a within range if you’re making a ATTACK ROLL
foe or other target. If you execute an ranged attack. Resolving either type of
Attack, All-Out Attack, or Move and attack takes three die rolls: Your “attack roll” is a regular suc-
Attack maneuver (or convert a Wait cess roll – see Chapter 10. Figure your
into any of these), you may try to hit a • First is your attack roll. If your effective skill (base skill plus or minus
foe. You can only attack with a roll is successful, your attack was a any appropriate modifiers) with the
weapon if it’s ready (see Ready, p. 366). good one. weapon you are using.
The GM always has the option of • Now your foe must make a If your roll is less than or equal to
ruling, for any reason having to do defense roll to see if he can defend your “effective” skill, your attack will
with the situation, that some fighters against your blow. If he makes this hit unless your foe successfully
cannot attack certain opponents. For roll, he evaded or stopped the attack, defends (see Defending, p. 374). If he
instance, eight attackers could not hit and is not hit. fails to defend – or if he can’t – you’ve
one human-sized foe at the same time. hit him.
(Even three or four attackers at once • If he misses his defense roll, your
would be unlikely, unless their victim blow struck home and you roll for If your roll is greater than your
had no allies!) damage. effective skill, you missed!
There are two basic types Some advantages (e.g., Extra No matter what your effective skill,
of attacks: melee attacks (pp. 369-372) Attack) and combat options (see All- a roll of 3 or 4 always hits, and is a
and ranged attacks (pp. 372-374). Out Attack, p. 365, and Rapid Strike, “critical hit”; see Critical Hits (p. 381).
Your target must be within reach p. 370) let you attack more than once. A roll of 17 or 18 always misses.
if you’re making a melee attack, or Resolve such attacks one at a time.
MELEE ATTACKS
When you take a maneuver that the target succeeds with an active Weapon Table. Most weapons have a
lets you make a melee attack, you defense. reach of 1, which means you must be
must specify who you are attacking, adjacent to your target (that is, within
and with what weapon. You can make Ready Weapons one yard of him). Reach plays a much
a melee attack using any ready melee larger role if using a game board; see
weapon (including a natural weapon A one-handed weapon is ready if Chapter 12.
such as a kick, bite, or punch) against it’s being held in your hand. A two-
any target that is within reach. handed weapon is ready if you are MELEE ATTACK
gripping it with both hands. Some OPTIONS
You can use some weapons in unwieldy weapons (e.g., the great axe)
more than one way; e.g., you can become unready after each attack Before making a melee attack, you
swing or thrust with a shortsword. unless you are extremely strong; see may specify some additional options.
Such weapons have multiple lines on the Melee Weapon Table to learn which
the Melee Weapon Table (p. 271). When weapons are unwieldy, and their ST Hit Location
you attack with a weapon like this, requirements (always marked ‡).
you must indicate how you are using It is assumed that you are attacking
it before you roll. To draw a new weapon from a the target’s center of mass (the torso,
sheath, scabbard, or sling, or to ready on a human), unless you specify oth-
To Hit an unwieldy weapon that became erwise. If you wish to target another
unready after an attack, you must take body part (e.g., the head), see Hit
Figure your adjusted chance to hit a Ready maneuver (p. 366). Location (p. 398). If you choose to
by: attack his weapon, see Striking at
A natural weapon (punch, kick, Weapons (p. 400).
1. Taking your base skill with the etc.) is always ready unless the body
weapon or unarmed attack you are part in question is occupied or Deceptive Attack
using. restrained; e.g., you can’t punch if you
are holding a weapon with the same You may designate any melee
2. Applying all conditional modi- hand, or bite while wearing a full-face attack as “deceptive” before you roll to
fiers for your maneuver, situation, helmet or gripping something with hit. A Deceptive Attack is intended to
posture, and the target’s visibility. A your teeth. get past an opponent’s defenses
detailed list appears under Melee through sheer skill. You can use this
Attack Modifiers (p. 547). Reach option to represent any number of
advanced fighting techniques.
The result is your effective skill. A A melee weapon can only attack a
roll of this number or less is a suc- target that is within its reach (meas-
cessful attack roll. It will hit, unless ured in yards), as given on the Melee
COMBAT 369
For every -2 you accept to your to hit the hand (-4). Your opponent you hit, your foe has -4 to DX only
own skill, your foe suffers a -1 penalty defends normally. when using that body part. You could
on his active defenses against this grab a weapon arm or hand (to disarm
attack. You may not reduce your final If you hit, you’ve grabbed hold of your victim), a leg (to trip him), or the
effective skill below 10 with a your foe’s weapon. On subsequent neck (to strangle him). If you grab an
Deceptive Attack, which normally lim- turns, you may try to wrest it from arm or hand, you cannot snatch a
its it to skilled fighters. him. Each attempt is a full-turn weapon away, but you can force your
maneuver. Roll a Regular Contest of foe to drop it by winning a Regular
The GM may opt to speed play by ST. If you win, you take his weapon Contest of ST – roll once per turn, as
limiting Deceptive Attacks to a flat -4 away. If you lose, you lose your grip on explained under Grabbing (above).
to skill, giving the target -2 on his his weapon. For a related technique, see Arm Lock
active defenses. (p. 230).
Grappling
Rapid Strike Actions After a Grapple
“Grappling” is an attempt to grab
A Rapid Strike is a melee attack your foe’s body. You must have at least Once you have grappled a foe, you
executed swiftly enough that you get one empty hand. On a game board, may attempt the following moves on
one extra attack. You must take an you must also move into your foe’s hex subsequent turns (provided your
Attack or All-Out Attack maneuver, (“close combat”). opponent does not break free!). Each
and you must use a ready weapon to action requires an Attack or All-Out
make the extra attack. Make two Each attempt requires an Attack, Attack maneuver.
attacks, both at -6 to skill. You can tar- All-Out Attack, or Move and Attack
get multiple opponents this way. maneuver. Roll against basic DX or a Takedown
grappling skill to hit. Your foe may
If you already have multiple defend normally – he can parry, This is an attempt to bear your
attacks, for whatever reason, you can dodge, or block. You may Evaluate or opponent to the ground. You may only
replace one of them (and only one!) Feint beforehand to improve your try this on a standing foe. Roll a Quick
with two attacks at -6. odds of success. Contest, with each contestant using
the highest of ST, DX, or his best grap-
UNARMED Grappling does no damage, but if pling skill. If you are not standing, you
COMBAT you successfully hit, the foe has -4 to have a penalty equal to the usual
DX as long as you’re holding on. He penalty to hit for your posture. If you
Sometimes you have to fight with- may not move away until he breaks win, your victim falls down next to
out weapons, or with improvised free (see Actions After Being Grappled, you (on a game board, he falls in your
weapons. This is unarmed combat. p. 371) or you let go. Exception: If you hex and any adjacent hex of your
Anyone can engage in unarmed com- grapple a foe of more than twice your choice). If he was grappling you, he
bat, but certain skills make you a more ST, you do not prevent him from mov- loses his grip. If you lose, you suffer
effective unarmed fighter. For this ing away – you’re just extra encum- the same effects! On a tie, nothing
purpose: brance for him! happens.
• Striking skills are Boxing (p. 182), You may grapple with any or all of Pin
Brawling (p. 182), and Karate (p. 203). your arms. If you grapple with more
than two arms, each arm beyond the You may only attempt a pin if your
• Grappling skills are Judo (p. 203), first two gives a bonus of +2 to hit. An foe is on the ground and you are grap-
Sumo Wrestling (p. 223), and arm committed to grappling cannot pling his torso. Roll a Regular Contest
Wrestling (p. 228). make unarmed parries until you let of Strength. The larger fighter gets +3
go. Letting go is a free action on your for every point by which his Size
Striking turn. Modifier exceeds that of his foe. The
fighter with the most free hands gets
See the Melee Weapon Table (p. 271) If you are holding onto your foe +3. If you win, your foe is pinned and
for the reach, damage, etc., of punch- with all your arms, the only further helpless. You must stay there to hold
es, kicks, bites, and other unarmed attacks you can make are those listed him down, but you can free one of
strikes. For additional options, see under Actions After a Grapple, below. your hands for other actions. If you
Sample Combat Techniques (p. 230) lose or tie, nothing happens.
and Special Unarmed Combat Posture: To grapple a prone, kneel-
Techniques (p. 403). And see Hurting ing, or sitting opponent, you must Choke or Strangle
Yourself (p. 379) for the effects of strik- kneel or lie down yourself, unless his
ing an armored target barehanded . . . Size Modifier is two or more greater You must have grappled your foe
than yours. You may do this as part of by the neck. You must normally use
Grabbing the “step” component of an Attack your hands, and can’t do anything else
maneuver. with them (e.g., parry) while holding
You can grab something a foe is on – but if you have the Constriction
holding, like a weapon. To do so, you Hit Location: The rules above Attack advantage (p. 43), you can use
must have an empty hand (but some assume that you are grappling the your body instead. Roll a Quick
weapons, such as whips, can also torso. To grab another body part, Contest: your ST vs. the higher of your
grab). Make an attack using DX or a apply half the penalty given under Hit foe’s ST or HT. You are at -5 if you use
grappling skill, with the usual penalty Location (p. 398) to your roll; see only one hand, but at +2 per hand
Grappling and Hit Location, p. 400. If
370 COMBAT
after the first two. If your Size Actions After Being Grappled
Modifier exceeds your foe’s, you can
grapple and squeeze his torso instead, If you have been grappled, you cannot take a Move maneuver unless
in which case you roll at -5 unless you you have at least twice your foe’s ST. Aim, Feint, Concentrate, and Wait
have Constriction Attack. If you win, maneuvers – and ranged attacks – are completely impossible. If you are
your foe takes crushing damage equal pinned, you can’t take any maneuver that requires physical movement!
to your margin of victory. DR protects Otherwise, you can do the following:
normally. Multiply injury to the neck
by 1.5. If any damage – even blunt Attack or All-Out Attack
trauma (p. 379) – penetrates the vic-
tim’s DR, you also start to suffocate You can take either maneuver, with certain limitations. You cannot
him! On his next turn and every sub- use any limb that has been grappled – or bite, if your neck or head was
sequent turn until he escapes, he loses grappled. You’re limited to unarmed attacks (striking or grappling) or
1 FP; see Suffocation (p. 436). attacks using weapons with reach C. You can stab with a dagger, but
not swing a sword!
Choke Hold
Ready
If you have Judo or Wrestling skill,
you may try to apply a hold that can You can Ready an item if you have a hand free, but you must make
incapacitate without crushing the a DX roll. Failure means you drop the item. Ready maneuvers to switch
throat or torso. See Choke Hold advantages off and on succeed automatically.
(p. 404).
Break Free
Arm Lock
If you are grappled, you cannot move away until you break free by
If you have Judo or Wrestling skill, winning a Quick Contest of ST. Your foe has +5 if he is grappling you
you may try to apply a lock to restrain with two hands. If he has you pinned, he rolls at +10 if using two hands
or cripple your opponent’s arm. See or at +5 if using only one, and you may only attempt to break free once
Arm Lock (p. 403). every 10 seconds. If either of you has three or more arms, each arm
beyond the first two gives +2. If your foe is stunned, he rolls at -4; if he
Neck Snap or Wrench Limb falls unconscious, you are automatically free! If you successfully break
free, you may immediately move one yard in any direction.
If you grappled your foe’s neck or
skull, or a limb or other extremity, you reducing your Move. If you haven’t a head-on collision, add the distance
can twist. See Neck Snap or Wrench pinned him, moving away from him your foe moved toward you on his last
Limb (p. 404). means you automatically release your turn (that is, use relative velocity).
grip unless you have at least twice his
Other Actions ST. If you’re that strong, you can pull If damage is less than 1d, treat frac-
or carry him with you! tions up to 0.25 as 1d-3, fractions up
You can bite or use a Striker (pro- to 0.5 as 1d-2, and any larger fraction
vided it has reach C) even if all your Slam as 1d-1. Otherwise, round fractions of
hands are busy. If you’re not using a 0.5 or more up to a full die. You can
hand to grapple your foe, you can use You can deliberately collide with use All-Out Attack (Strong) to increase
it to Attack or All-Out Attack (either an opponent. This requires an Attack, your damage!
unarmed or with a reach C weapon), All-Out Attack, or Move and Attack
or to take a Ready maneuver. You can- maneuver. Roll against DX, Brawling, If your damage roll equals or
not Aim, Feint, Concentrate, Wait, or or Sumo Wrestling to hit. Note that exceeds that of your foe, he must
make ranged attacks unless you’ve the -4 to hit and effective skill cap of 9 make a DX roll or fall down. You
pinned your foe. You may also per- for a Move and Attack do not apply to knock him down automatically if you
form the following free actions: slams. roll twice his damage or more. If he
rolls twice your damage or more,
• Release your grip. Let go of the Your foe may block, dodge, or though, you fall down instead!
foe, if you are grappling or pinning parry (but your body counts as a
him. Or you can release just one hand heavy weapon; see Parrying Heavy If your opponent dodged and you
– but this makes it easier for him to Weapons, p. 376). If your foe dodges, went past him and hit a solid obstacle,
escape. you must move at least two yards past apply your damage roll to yourself
him if you have enough movement. If (and to the obstacle, if it matters).
• Throw away a ready weapon. This you would hit someone else, see
automatically succeeds and takes no Hitting the Wrong Target (p. 389). You can also slam with a vehicle or
time. You may do this to get a useless mount. Roll against your vehicle-oper-
weapon out of your way, or to deprive If you hit, you and your foe each ation skill to hit with a vehicle, or
the foe of a chance to grab a useful inflict dice of crushing damage on the Riding skill to hit with a mount.
weapon (e.g., a blackjack) from you. other equal to (HP ¥ velocity)/100. Figure damage based on the HP of
“Velocity” is usually just the number your vehicle or mount.
• Drag or carry your victim. If of yards you moved this turn – but in
you’ve pinned your foe, you can move For additional rules and special
or step normally, dragging or carrying cases, see Collisions and Falls (p. 430).
him; see Lifting and Moving Things
(p. 353) for how much you can lift or
drag. He counts as encumbrance,
COMBAT 371
Flying Tackle: As slam, but you Jumping roll. On a success, you stay if your opponent rolls twice your
must have at least two legs and one on your feet! This is how some ani- basic damage or more.
arm free – most animals and vehicles mals attack, especially cats: they
can’t do this! A flying tackle gives you knock down their foe and then claw or Shove
+4 to hit and an extra yard of reach, bite. If a mount tries this, the rider
and you may opt to roll against must roll vs. Riding-4 or fall off! You can shove a foe with one or
Jumping skill to hit. However, whether both arms. Roll against DX or Sumo
you succeed or fail, you end up lying Shield Rush: As slam, but you Wrestling to hit. Your foe may block,
down (in the same hex as your foe, if must have a shield. Roll against dodge, or parry. If you hit, roll
you are using a combat map). Shield skill to hit, and add your thrust/crushing damage – at -1 per die,
shield’s Defense Bonus to your dam- if you used only one hand – and dou-
Pounce: As flying tackle, but you age roll. Your shield takes damage ble it. This inflicts knockback (see
must have four or more legs. After you instead of you, but you still fall down Knockback, p. 378), but never actual
attack, make a DX, Acrobatics, or physical injury.
RANGED ATTACKS
A “ranged attack” is any attack from the Size and Speed/Range Table Target’s Range
with a weapon used at a distance, (p. 550). and Speed
from a thrown rock to a laser rifle.
This includes Missile spells and the 5. Modifying for circumstances A distant target is harder to hit. As
Affliction, Binding, and Innate Attack (rapid fire, movement, darkness, a rule of thumb, a target up to 2 yards
advantages (unless given the Aura, cover, etc.), including any special con- away is close enough that there’s no
Malediction, or Melee Attack modi- ditions determined by the GM. See penalty to hit. At 3 yards, you have -1
fiers). Most other spells and advan- Ranged Attack Modifiers (p. 548) for a to hit; at up to 5 yards, -2; at up to 7
tages are not considered ranged summary. yards, -3; at up to 10 yards, -4; and so
attacks. on, with each approximately 50%
The result is your effective skill. A increase in range giving a further -1
Range roll of this number or less is a suc- to hit.
cessful attack roll. It will hit, unless
You can only make a ranged attack the target succeeds with an active Consult the Speed/Range column
on a target that falls within your defense. of the Size and Speed/Range Table
weapon’s range. To find this, see the (p. 550) to find the exact penalty. For
relevant weapon table or advantage or Accuracy and ranges that fall between two values on
spell description. Most ranged attacks Aimed Fire the table, use the larger penalty. For
list Half Damage (1/2D) range and very distant targets, the table also pro-
Maximum (Max) range, in yards. Your All ranged weapons have an vides the equivalent range in miles.
target must be no farther away than Accuracy (Acc) statistic. This is the
Max range; 1/2D range only affects bonus you get if you take one or more Example: Infinity Patrol agent
damage. Aim maneuvers immediately before Jenny Atkins is shooting on the firing
you attack. range. The target is 17 yards (50’)
A few weapons have a minimum away. This rounds up to 20 yards, for
range, as they lob projectiles in a high When you Aim, you can receive -6 to hit.
arc, or have fusing or guidance limits. other bonuses for extra seconds of
When using a weapon like this, your aim, bracing your weapon, or using a A fast-moving target is also harder
target can’t be any closer than the scope or a laser sight. These benefits to hit. Consult the same column of the
minimum range. are discussed under Aim (p. 364) and table, but use speed in yards per sec-
summarized under Ranged Combat ond (2 mph = 1 yard/second) instead
To Hit Modifiers (p. 548). The sum of Acc and of range in yards to find the penalty.
all extra aimed-fire bonuses can never
Figure your adjusted chance to hit exceed twice the base Acc of the If the target is both distant and fast
by: attack. moving, add range (in yards) to speed
(in yards per second), and look up the
1. Taking your base skill with your Size Modifier total in the Speed/Range column to
ranged weapon. find the penalty to hit. (Do not look up
A human-sized target has a Size the range and speed penalties sepa-
2. Adding your weapon’s Accuracy Modifier (SM) of 0; there is no bonus rately and add them together! Great
(Acc) if you preceded your attack with or penalty to hit. Larger targets have a range mitigates the effects of speed,
an Aim maneuver. positive SM, while smaller targets and vice versa.)
have a negative SM. Add SM to your
3. Applying the target’s Size skill. The SM of a character or a vehi- Examples: Agent Atkins fires her
Modifier (SM). See Size Modifier cle appears on its character sheet or pistol at a Centrum spy who is mak-
(p. 19). vehicle description. For other objects, ing a getaway on a speeding motorcy-
use the Size and Speed/Range Table cle. Her target is 50 yards away and
4. Modifying for the target’s range (p. 550).
and speed (done as a single modifier),
372 COMBAT
traveling at 60 mph, or Move 30. This MISSILE belt, etc. The exception to this is multi-
is a speed/range of 50 + 30 = 80. Per WEAPON shot weapons that have cylinders,
the Size and Speed/Range Table, this ATTACKS hoppers, or internal magazines. Their
gives -10 to hit. loading time is designated “i” (for
“Missile weapons” are ranged “individually loaded”), and is per shot
Ranged Attacks attacks other than thrown weapons: (unless sped up by some mechanism,
on Human Targets bows, firearms, Missile spells, ranged such as a speed loader).
Innate Attacks, and so on. They fall
When using a ranged weapon into two broad categories. Examples: A bow has Shots 1(2); it
against a target moving at human can fire one arrow, after which it takes
speeds – anything up to Move 10 – you Muscle-Powered Missile Weapons: the archer two seconds to prepare
may simplify the calculation by using These include bows, slings, and cross- another. A .38 revolver has Shots 6(3i);
just a range modifier and neglecting bows. As with thrown weapons, your it can fire six shots, after which each
speed (unless the target is flying, range and damage are determined by shot takes 3 seconds to reload. A
sprinting, or something similar). your ST – or in the case of a bow or a machine gun has Shots 200(5); it can
Assume that the target’s ability to take crossbow, by the weapon’s ST. See the fire 200 shots, after which it takes 5
a dodge defense adequately represents Muscle-Powered Ranged Weapon Table seconds to change the belt.
the effects of movement. (p. 275) for details.
Rapid Fire
THROWN Firearms: These include guns,
WEAPON beam weapons, and self-propelled Some missile weapons have RoF 2
ATTACKS projectiles. See the Firearms Table or more. This means they can fire
(pp. 278-280) for statistics and special multiple shots per attack, up to a max-
“Thrown weapons” are weapons rules for all types of high-tech missile imum equal to their RoF. For exam-
you must physically hurl at the target: weapons – from black-powder ple, a .38 revolver with RoF 3 could
rocks, hand grenades, ninja stars weapons through contemporary guns fire 1, 2, or 3 shots per attack. Of
(shuriken), etc. You can also throw and on to science-fiction weapons course, you can never fire more shots
certain melee weapons, such as hatch- such as lasers. than your weapon currently has
ets, knives, and spears. See the remaining, regardless of its RoF.
Muscle-Powered Ranged Weapon Table Rate of Fire
(p. 275) for statistics and skills Rapid-fire weapons use the Recoil
required. See Chapter 13 for the All missile weapons have a Rate of (Rcl) statistic, which measures how
effects of grenades and incendiaries. Fire (RoF) statistic. If RoF is 1, the controllable the weapon is when firing
weapon can fire one shot per attack. If multiple shots. Rcl helps determine
Treat a thrown weapon just like RoF is 2 or more, the weapon is capa- the number of hits a rapid-fire attack
any other ranged attack, with a few ble of firing more than one shot per can inflict. The lower the Rcl, the easi-
special rules: attack; see Rapid Fire (below). er the weapon is to control. Rcl 1
means the weapon is recoilless, like
• Once you throw a weapon, it’s no Examples: A bow has RoF 1; it can most beam weapons.
longer ready! Hit or miss, your fire one shot per attack. A .38 revolver
weapon is now somewhere else. If you has RoF 3; it can fire up to three shots If a weapon has RoF 2 or more,
want to attack again, you’ll have to go per attack. A machine gun has RoF 10; you must decide how many shots (up
fetch your weapon (from the ground it can fire up to 10 shots per attack . . . to RoF) you wish to fire before you
. . . or your foe’s body) or ready a new but this is still one attack roll, not 10 make your attack roll. Firearms fired
one. separate attacks! at RoF 1-3 are firing one shot per trig-
ger pull; those fired at RoF 4+ are
• The range of a thrown weapon is Reloading and Shots usually firing “full auto” like a
usually a multiple of your ST; e.g., machine gun – either in short bursts
“ST¥2.” This is given on the Muscle- Missile weapons also have a Shots or continuously.
Powered Ranged Weapon Table for statistic. Once you have fired this
many common thrown weapons. To many shots, you must reload before Firing a large number of shots per
determine range (and damage) for you can fire the weapon again. attack gives a bonus to hit, as shown
anything not listed there, see on this table:
Throwing (p. 355). Reloading requires a number of
Ready maneuvers; see Readying Shots Bonus to Hit
• A thrown weapon travels fairly Weapons and Other Gear (p. 382). The 2-4 +0
slowly. Your target has the option of time required to reload appears in 5-8 +1
using a block or a parry active defense parentheses after the weapon’s Shots 9-12 +2
instead of a dodge. Success by 5+ (or entry in the weapon tables. 13-16 +3
critical success) with an unarmed 17-24 +4
parry means your target has caught Reloading restores the weapon’s 25-49 +5
the weapon! full number of shots. If a weapon has 50-99 +6
only one shot, this represents loading
a new one. If it has multiple shots, this each ¥2 +1 to hit
represents changing the magazine,
COMBAT 373
Rapid fire may score multiple hits An attack scores one extra hit for High-RoF weapons (those with
from a single attack. A successful every full multiple of Recoil by which RoF 5+) can also spread fire among
attack means you scored at least one you make your attack roll. The total multiple targets (see Spraying Fire,
hit – and possibly a number of extra number of hits cannot exceed shots p. 409) or fire lots of shots to “sup-
hits, up to a maximum equal to the fired. For instance, if your attack had press” an area (see Suppression Fire,
number of shots you fired. To find the Rcl 2, success by 0-1 would mean one p. 409). Other special rules apply to
number of hits you scored, compare hit; success by 2-3, one extra hit; suc- rapid fire with certain weapons – see
your margin of success on the attack cess by 4-5, two extra hits; success by Special Rules for Rapid Fire (p. 408).
roll to your weapon’s Recoil. 6-7, three extra hits; and so on.
DEFENDING
If you make your attack roll, you ACTIVE DEFENSE A shield’s DB adds to active defense
have not (yet) actually struck your foe, ROLLS rolls against melee attacks, thrown
unless you rolled a critical hit. Your weapons, and muscle-powered missile
attack is good enough to hit him – if he The defender rolls 3d against his weapons – not against firearms
fails to defend. active defense score. If his roll is less (unless the GM wishes to use the
than or equal to his effective defense, optional Damage to Shields rules,
There are three “active defenses” he dodged, parried, or blocked the p. 484).
that a fighter can use to evade or ward attack. Otherwise, his active defense
off an attack: Dodge (see Dodging, was ineffective and the attack struck Retreating and
below), Parry (see Parrying, p. 376), home. If this occurs, roll for damage. Dropping Prone
and Block (see Blocking, p. 375). You
should calculate these active defense An active defense roll of 3 or 4 is In some situations, you may give
scores in advance and record them on always successful – even if your effec- ground or drop prone for a bonus to
your character sheet. tive defense score was only 1 or 2! A your Dodge, Parry, or Block score. See
roll of 17 or 18 always fails. Active Defense Options (p. 377).
An active defense is a deliberate
attempt to avoid a particular attack. Your foe does not get to attempt a DODGING
It’s only possible if the defender is defense roll if you rolled a critical hit
aware of the possibility of an attack against him. A “dodge” is an active attempt to
from his assailant and is free to react move out of the perceived path of an
. . . by moving out of the way of the Several modifiers apply to active attack. This is often the best defense
attack (a dodge), deflecting the attack defense rolls; see below for explana- when you’re not skilled with your
with a weapon or empty hand (a tions of a few of these. For a complete weapon and you have no shield, when
parry), or interposing a shield (a list of modifiers, see Active Defense you’re attacked multiple times, or
block). Modifiers (p. 548). when your foe has such a powerful
weapon that you fear parrying or
If a foe makes a successful attack Injury and blocking it may destroy your weapon
roll against you, you may choose one Active Defenses or shield.
active defense and attempt a “defense
roll” against it. Exception: The All-Out If you are stunned, any active Dodge is normally the only active
Defense (Double Defense) maneuver defense is at -4. Active defenses never defense you can take against firearms.
lets you attempt a second defense take a penalty for shock, however. For This does not mean you can actually
against a particular attack if your first more on stunning and shock, see dodge bullets! A dodge against this
defense fails. Effects of Injury (p. 380). kind of attack represents an attempt
not to be where you think your oppo-
The active defense you choose Shields and nent will shoot, by weaving or ducking
depends on your situation – especially Defense Bonus at the right moment.
the maneuver you chose last turn.
Some maneuvers restrict the active If you have a ready shield, add its Your Dodge active defense is Basic
defenses you can make. Notably, if you Defense Bonus (DB) to any Dodge, Speed + 3, dropping all fractions, less
made an All-Out Attack, you have no Parry, or Block roll against an attack a penalty equal to your encumbrance
active defense. that came from in front of you or from level (see Encumbrance and Move,
your shield side. p. 17). List Dodge on your character
You also get no active defense if sheet for quick reference.
you’re unaware of the attack. Defense Bonus is 1 for a small
Examples of situations in which no shield, light cloak, and most impro- You may dodge any attack except
active defense is possible include a vised shields; 2 for a medium shield or one that you did not know about! You
stab in the back from a “friend,” a sur- heavy cloak; and 3 for a large shield or only get one Dodge roll against a given
prise sniper’s shot, and a totally unex- force shield. The Shield spell (p. 252) attack.
pected booby trap. And you get no gives a DB of 1-4.
active defense if you are unconscious,
immobilized, or otherwise unable to
react.
374 COMBAT
If a single rapid-fire attack scores get +2 to that Dodge roll. On a failure, (Driving, Piloting, etc.), rounded
multiple hits, a successful Dodge roll you get -2. down, modified by the vehicle’s
lets you avoid one hit, plus additional Handling statistic. For example, a
hits equal to your margin of success. A You can combine this option with a biker with Driving (Motorcycle)-14 on
critical success lets you dodge all hits retreat (see Retreat, p. 377). a motorcycle with Handling +1 would
you took from that attack. have a Dodge of 8.
Sacrificial Dodge
Example: A machine gun gets four BLOCKING
hits against you. Your Dodge is 10. You can defend a friend by throw-
You roll an 8, succeeding by 2. You ing yourself into the path of an attack A “block” is an attempt to interpose
dodge three of the hits; only one bullet against him. To do so, you must be a shield, cloak, or similar large object
strikes you. close enough to interpose yourself between yourself and an attack. This
between your friend and his attacker requires a ready shield or cloak. (If
You only get one active defense by taking a step (see Step, p. 368). you’re strong enough to grab and lift
against each attack, unless you use All- Announce this after the enemy makes someone, you can block with his
Out Defense (Double Defense), but his attack roll but before your friend body!)
there is no limit to the number of attempts his defense roll.
times you may dodge different attacks Your Block active defense is 3 +
during your turn. Use the ordinary rules for a dodge, half your Shield or Cloak skill, drop-
except that you cannot combine this ping all fractions. For instance,
Acrobatic Dodge with a retreat (see Retreat, p. 377). If Shield-11 would give a Block of 3 +
you succeed, you are hit by the attack. (11/2) = 8.5, which rounds down to 8.
If you have put at least one point If you fail, you didn’t move in time,
into the Acrobatics skill, you can try a but your friend still gets his normal In general, you can block any
“fancy” dodge once during your turn. defense roll. In either case, since you melee attack, thrown weapon, project-
You may define this as jumping over a moved, you cannot retreat if you are ed liquid, or muscle-powered missile
sword blow, cartwheeling away, or attacked before your next turn. weapon. You cannot block bullets or
whatever else you like. Make an beam weapons . . . these come too fast
Acrobatics roll before you attempt Vehicular Dodge to be stopped this way.
your Dodge roll. (If flying, roll against
Aerobatics instead.) On a success, you An evasively maneuvering vehicle You may attempt to block only one
gets a Dodge roll. Instead of Basic attack per turn.
Speed + 3, use half the operator’s skill
COMBAT 375
Parrying Heavy Weapons
You cannot use a flimsy rapier to parry a titan’s tree- modifies these odds: +2 if the parrying weapon is
sized club, the slam of a charging linebacker, or the cheap, -1 if fine, or -2 if very fine.
sword of a giant robot! Heavy weapons are liable to
knock your weapon away – or even break it. If your weapon breaks, the parry still counts unless
the odds of breakage exceeded 6 in 6. If so, your
The same is true for unarmed attacks from high-ST weapon offered so little resistance that the parry does
creatures. For the purpose of these rules, treat a punch, not count!
kick, bite, etc. as a weapon with an effective weight of
1/10 the attacker’s ST. Use his full ST if he made a slam, Regardless of the weight of your weapon, if you are
flying tackle, pounce, or shield rush! parrying unarmed or using a one-handed weapon, you
cannot parry a weapon heavier than your Basic Lift –
Your weapon may break if it parries anything three or twice BL, if using a two-handed weapon. Attempts
or more times its own weight. (This does not apply to to parry anything heavier fail automatically; whether or
barehanded parries; for damage to limbs when parry- not your weapon breaks, the attack sweeps it aside and
ing unarmed, see Parrying Unarmed.) damages you normally. If your weapon does not break,
you drop it; if you are unarmed, you are knocked back
A weapon parrying three times its own weight has a one yard (make a DX roll to avoid falling over).
2 in 6 chance of breaking: it breaks on a roll of 1 or 2
on 1d. Add +1 to these odds per whole-numbered mul- An attacker can also deliberately break or knock
tiple past 3 (a 3 in 6 chance at 4 times weapon weight, away weapons; see Striking at Weapons (p. 400).
a 4 in 6 chance at 5 times, and so on). Weapon quality
PARRYING barehanded. Success would mean that may injure your attacker. Immediately
you slapped his arm or gun aside, roll against your skill with the weapon
A “parry” is an attempt to deflect a causing him to fire wide of your body. you used to parry. This roll is at -4 if
blow using a weapon or your bare your attacker used Judo or Karate. If
hands. You cannot parry unless your Number of Parries: Once you have you succeed, your parry struck the
weapon is ready – or, if you are attempted a parry with a particular attacker’s limb squarely. He gets no
unarmed, you have an empty hand. weapon or bare hand, further defense roll against this! Roll damage
attempts to parry with that weapon or normally.
You can use most melee weapons hand are at a cumulative -4 per parry
to parry; see the Parry column of the after the first. Reduce this to -2 per Parrying With
Melee Weapon Table (p. 271) for special parry if you are using a fencing Improvised Weapons
restrictions and modifiers. Some hefty weapon or have the Trained By A
weapons (e.g., axes) are unbalanced: Master or Weapon Master advantage – You can parry with anything of
you cannot use them to parry if you’ve or to -1 per parry if both conditions suitable size and shape, using the clos-
already used them to attack on your are true. This penalty only applies to est weapon skill. A pole or rifle could
turn. (You can still parry with a multiple parries on the same turn; it parry like a staff, a bow like a light
weapon in your other hand, if you does not carry over between turns. club. However, parrying just once with
have one.) A few long, well-balanced a bow will ruin it as a bow – although
weapons (e.g., the quarterstaff) get a Parrying with the Off Hand: You it may survive for a few seconds longer
+1 or +2 bonus to parry due to their parry with your “off” hand (your left as a club! Other fragile objects may be
ability to keep a foe at bay. or “shield” hand if right handed; see similarly ruined. Most improvised
Handedness, p. 17), or with a weapon weapons count as “cheap” for break-
Your Parry active defense with a held in it, at -4 to skill. Since Parry is age; see Parrying Heavy Weapons (box)
given weapon is 3 + half your skill with calculated off half skill, this gives -2 to for what this implies.
that weapon, dropping all fractions. Parry. You may ignore this penalty if
For instance, Broadsword-13 would you have the Ambidexterity advantage Parrying Unarmed
give a Parry of 9. (p. 39).
If you are fighting without
A parry won’t stop anything except Parrying Thrown Weapons: You can weapons, or with at least one hand
melee attacks or thrown weapons, parry thrown weapons, but at a penal- free, you may choose to parry bare-
unless you have special skills. ty: -1 for most thrown weapons, or -2 handed. Beings that lack hands (like
Exception: If a foe attacks you with a for small ones such as knives, most animals) can’t parry unarmed –
missile weapon and he is within reach shuriken, and other weapons that they can only dodge.
of your melee weapon, you may parry. weigh 1 lb. or less.
You’re parrying the weapon, not the You can use Boxing, Brawling,
projectile! For example, if an attacker Parrying Unarmed Attacks: If you Judo, or Karate skill – or DX, if high-
fired a pistol at you from only one successfully parry an unarmed attack er – to parry with one hand. You can
yard away, you could attempt to parry (bite, punch, etc.) with a weapon, you also parry with Sumo Wrestling or
376 COMBAT
Wrestling skill, but this requires both parry using Boxing, Judo, Karate, or Like a retreat, a dodge and drop
hands. Your Parry active defense is 3 any fencing skill (Main-Gauche, applies to all of your defenses against
+ half your skill or DX, dropping all Rapier, Saber, or Smallsword), a one foe for one turn. Any cover you
fractions. retreat gives +3 to Parry, as these drop behind does not count against
forms make superior use of mobility. the initial attack that inspired the
There’s no penalty to parry another dodge and drop, but is effective
unarmed attack. You are at -3 to parry Your step back takes place immedi- against subsequent attacks directed at
weapons, unless the attack is a thrust ately. It is assumed to occur as your you.
or you are using Judo or Karate (in foe is striking. If it would take you out
either case, use your full parry). See of your attacker’s reach, he still gets his Sacrificial Dodge and Drop: You can
individual unarmed-combat skill attack. If he has multiple attacks (e.g., use dodge and drop in conjunction
descriptions for other limitations. from an Extra Attack, All-Out Attack, with sacrificial dodge (p. 375) to pro-
or Rapid Strike), your retreat does not tect a friend who is no more than a
A failed parry means you are hit. If put you beyond the reach of his step away from you. If you succeed,
you are using hit locations, a failed remaining attacks. However, you get you both fall prone and you take the
parry against a weapon means your your retreating bonus on all active hit . . . unless you succeed by 3 or
attacker may choose to hit his original defense rolls against all of his attacks more, in which case neither of you is
target or the arm you parried with! If until your next turn. hit! You can also use a sacrificial
your arm suffers more than half your dodge and drop to throw yourself on
Hit Points in injury, it is automatically If your opponent attacked you with an explosive (e.g., a hand grenade). If
crippled (see Crippling Injury, p. 420). a maneuver that allows a step, but has you succeed, treat the blast as a con-
not yet taken his step, he can choose tact explosion (see p. 415).
Some unarmed skills (e.g., Judo) to follow you by taking his unused
give you special options after a suc- step. In effect, he is forcing you back! Diving for Cover: You may also
cessful parry. See individual skill attempt a dodge and drop if you are
descriptions for details. You can retreat only once during within the area of effect of an explo-
your turn. In other words, once you sion, cone, or area-effect attack and
ACTIVE DEFENSE retreat, you may not retreat again there is cover (such as a trench) only a
OPTIONS until after your next turn. step away. Success means you reach it
in time; failure means you don’t. Even
You can improve your odds of suc- You cannot retreat while in a sit- if there is no cover handy, an extra
cess with an active defense by choos- ting or kneeling posture, or while yard or two of distance from a blast
ing one of these options to go along stunned. You also cannot retreat if you can still help, since explosive damage
with it. moved faster than your Basic Move on declines with distance. If you succeed,
your last turn (that is, if you were you are a step farther away; if you fail,
Retreat sprinting or using Enhanced Move). you suffer the effect before you make
your step.
“Retreat” is not a separate defense, You can retreat (by rolling) if you
but an option you may add to any are lying down. Flying or Swimming: Dodge and
active defense against a melee attack. drop is possible only if a step would
To exercise this option, you must Dodge and Drop take you below concealing terrain
move away from your attacker: at (e.g., a flyer dropping below a hill-
least one yard, but not more than 1/10 When under fire, hit the dirt! You crest). You don’t end up prone. You
your Move – exactly as for a step (see may drop to the ground while dodg- can still dive for cover to increase your
Step, p. 368). ing, earning a +3 bonus to Dodge. This distance from an explosion, etc.
is a “dodge and drop.” It is similar to a
Retreating gives +3 to Dodge, or +1 retreat, but only effective against
to Block or Parry. Exception: If you ranged attacks. It also has a drawback:
it leaves you prone on the ground.
DAMAGE AND INJURY
If your attack roll succeeds and protective magic spells, etc. – he sub- If your damage roll exceeds your
your target fails his defense roll (if tracts this from your damage roll. If target’s DR, the excess is the penetrat-
any), you hit him! If your attack is one your attack has an armor divisor (see ing damage. If your foe has no DR,
that can do damage, you must now pp. 102, 110), this modifies your tar- the entire damage roll is penetrating
make a “damage roll.” This tells you get’s DR. damage.
how much basic damage you deal to
your target. If your damage roll is less than or Once you know the penetrating
equal to your target’s effective DR, damage of your attack, apply the
Your weapon (and, for muscle- your attack failed to penetrate – it wounding modifier for damage type
powered weapons, your ST), or your bounced off or was absorbed. A cut- (this matters only for cutting, impal-
natural or Innate Attack, determines ting, crushing, impaling, or piercing ing, and certain types of piercing dam-
the number of dice you roll for dam- attack can sometimes cause damage age; see p. 379). This gives the injury
age. If your target has any Damage without penetrating, however; see the foe suffers, which is subtracted
Resistance (DR) – from armor, the Flexible Armor and Blunt Trauma from his Hit Points.
Damage Resistance advantage (p. 46), (p. 379).
COMBAT 377
Example: Your “basic damage” Knockback
with your sword is 2d+1 cutting. You
roll 2 dice, add 1, and do 8 points of When you hit someone very hard, you may knock him away from
basic damage. Your foe has DR 3, so you! This is called “knockback.” Only crushing and cutting attacks can
your penetrating damage is 5 points. cause knockback. A crushing attack can cause knockback regardless of
You then apply the ¥1.5 wounding whether it penetrates DR. A cutting attack can cause knockback only if
modifier for cutting attacks, resulting it fails to penetrate DR.
in 7 points of injury (always round
down). Your foe loses 7 HP. Knockback depends on basic damage rolled before subtracting DR.
For every full multiple of the target’s ST-2 rolled, move the target one
DAMAGE ROLL yard away from the attacker. For instance, a man with ST 10 would be
knocked back one yard per full 8 points of basic damage. If the target
You usually make your own dam- has ST 3 or less, knockback is one yard per point of basic damage! If
age rolls, and the GM rolls for NPCs. the target has no ST score at all (like a wall), or is not resisting, use its
Damage rolls are expressed as a num- HP instead.
ber of dice, sometimes with a modifi-
er; e.g., “6d-1” or “1d+2.” A negative Anyone who suffers knockback must attempt a roll against the high-
modifier can’t reduce damage below 0 est of DX, Acrobatics, or Judo. If he is knocked back more than one
if the attack does crushing damage, or yard, he rolls at -1 per yard after the first. Perfect Balance (p. 74) gives
below 1 if it does any other type of +4 to this roll. On a failure, he falls down.
damage.
If you knock your foe into something solid, the result – including
High-damage attacks may express damage to him and whatever he hit – is as if he had collided with it
damage as a number of dice with a at a speed equal to the yards of knockback. See Collisions and Falls
multiplier. For instance, “6d¥3” means (p. 430).
“roll 6d and multiply the total by 3.” If
those six dice came up 21, you would “Knockback Only”: Some attacks – a jet of water, a shove (p. 372),
do 63 points of damage. This is just a etc. – do knockback but no damage. Roll the listed damage and work
quick way to roll lots of dice. out knockback as usual, but no actual injury occurs (unless the target
collides with something!).
The result of the damage roll (after
any additive or multiplicative modi- DAMAGE The DR of armor often varies by
fiers, as explained above) is the hit’s RESISTANCE AND body part. If you are not using the hit
“basic damage.” PENETRATION location rules (see Hit Location,
p. 398), just assume that any hit
Half Damage (1/2D) Damage Resistance (DR) rates the strikes the torso, and apply its DR.
for Ranged Weapons degree of protection that natural or
worn armor, a force field, tough skin, Finally, note that DR from certain
If a ranged weapon has two range etc. affords against damage. Objects sources may provide differing degrees
statistics, the first is its Half Damage and vehicles have their own DR values of protection against different damage
(1/2D) range, in yards. If the target is that protect against any damage they types.
at or beyond 1/2D range, divide basic suffer – and if you take cover behind
damage by 2, rounding down. (This is or inside them, their DR also protects For more on DR, see Damage
a simplification! Realistically, most you. Resistance (p. 46) and Armor (p. 282).
weapons lose striking power gradually
as air resistance slows them down, but Subtract DR from basic damage. Armor Divisors and
a detailed calculation would be The result is the “penetrating damage” Penetration Modifiers
unplayable.) that punched through or deformed the
armor enough to cause a significant An “armor divisor” indicates that
Some ranged weapons (e.g., injury. For instance, if you are hit by an attack is especially good (or bad)
grenades) do not suffer a reduction in an attack that inflicts 6 points of basic at penetrating Damage Resistance.
damage; these do not list a 1/2D range. damage and you’re wearing mail with Armor divisors appear on weapon
The damage of an attack modified DR 4, you take 2 points of penetrating tables as numbers in parentheses
with Follow-Up (p. 105) is never damage. after damage dice; e.g., “3d(2) pi”
halved, either – although its “carrier” means 3d piercing damage with a (2)
attack is subject to 1/2D effects as In general, DR from multiple armor divisor.
usual. sources is additive; e.g., if you have a
natural DR of 2 and put on a tactical A divisor of (2) or more means that
Finally, if an attack has a 1/2D vest with DR 15, your total DR is 17. DR protects at reduced value against
range but requires a resistance roll to Exceptions will always be noted. the attack. Divide the target’s DR by
avoid an affliction of some sort, add the number in parentheses before sub-
+3 to the resistance roll instead of tracting it from basic damage; e.g., (2)
halving damage (if any). means DR protects at half value.
Round DR down. Minimum DR is 0.
378 COMBAT
Some divisors are fractions, such damage rolled. This affects armor WOUNDING
as (0.5), (0.2), or (0.1). DR is increased first, then natural DR. This reduces MODIFIERS
against such attacks: multiply DR by 2 DR against future attacks, not against AND INJURY
for (0.5), by 5 for (0.2), and by 10 for the attack that burned off the DR!
(0.1). In addition, treat DR 0 (e.g., bare Natural DR lost by living beings heals Any damage left over after sub-
skin) as if it were DR 1 against any at the same rate as lost HP.
fractional armor divisor! tracting DR from basic damage is
“penetrating damage.” If there is any
penetrating damage, multiply it by the
attack’s “wounding modifier.” This is a
Fast Damage Resolution for Multiple Hits multiplier that depends on damage
type:
If a rapid-fire attack scores multiple hits, you can speed play as fol-
lows: instead of rolling damage per hit, determine damage for one hit, • Small piercing (pi-): ¥0.5.
subtract DR, and multiply the resulting penetrating damage (or blunt • Burning (burn), corrosion (cor),
trauma) by the number of hits. crushing (cr), fatigue (fat), piercing
(pi), and toxic (tox): ¥1 (damage is
unchanged).
• Cutting (cut) and large piercing
There are several other “penetra- Overpenetration (pi+): ¥1.5.
tion modifiers” that affect the protec- and Cover • Impaling (imp) and huge piercing
tion required to stop a given attack –
see Blood Agent (p. 110), Contact Some attacks are powerful enough (pi++): ¥2.
Agent (p. 111), Follow-Up (p. 105),
Respiratory Agent (p. 108), and Sense- to pass right through cover, a shield, The damage after this multiplier
Based (pp. 109, 115). These are often determines the injury: the HP lost by
found on Afflictions and toxic or a victim, and damage someone on the target. Round fractions down, but
attacks. See Special Penetration the minimum injury is 1 HP for any
Modifiers (p. 416) for details. the other side. It’s usually too much attack that penetrates DR at all.
Reduce the victim’s current HP total
trouble to worry about this, but if it by the injury sustained.
becomes important (e.g., shooting
through a door, or a bystander behind
your target), see Overpenetration
Flexible Armor (p. 408).
and Blunt Trauma
Flexible armor such as a leather
jacket, mail hauberk, or a modern bal-
listic vest is much lighter than rigid Some attacks are powerful enough to pass right
armor, but it doesn’t absorb the full through cover, a shield, or a victim, and damage
force of the blows it stops. An attack
that does crushing (cr), cutting (cut), someone on the other side.
impaling (imp), or piercing (pi-, pi, pi+,
pi++) damage may inflict “blunt trau-
ma” if it fails to penetrate flexible DR.
For every full 10 points of cutting,
impaling, or piercing damage or 5
points of crushing damage stopped by Hurting Yourself Example: Filthy Pierre is struck by
your DR, you suffer 1 HP of injury due an axe, which does cutting damage.
to blunt trauma. This is actual injury, Any time you strike unarmed (with His attacker’s basic damage roll is 7,
not basic damage. There is no wound- bare hands, feet, fangs, etc.) and hit a but Pierre is wearing DR 2 leather
ing multiplier. target with DR 3+, you may hurt your- armor, so he suffers 5 points of pene-
self! For every 5 points of basic dam- trating damage. Multiplying by 1.5 for
If even one point of damage pene- age you roll, you take one point of cutting damage, Pierre ends up losing
trates your flexible DR, however, you crushing damage, up to a maximum 7.5 HP, which rounds to 7 HP – a nasty
do not suffer blunt trauma. equal to the DR of the target you hit. wound!
Apply this damage to the body part
If you layer other DR over flexible you used to attack, if you are using hit Note that blunt trauma injury has
DR, only damage that penetrates the locations. Your own DR protects no wounding modifier.
outer layer can inflict blunt trauma. against this damage. Exception: This
rule does not apply if the target’s DR Where you were hit may further
Corrosion has the Tough Skin limitation (see affect the wounding modifier; see Hit
Damage Resistance, p. 46). Location (p. 398). The rules above
An attack that inflicts corrosion assume a hit to the torso or face.
(cor) damage – acids, disintegration
beams, etc. – destroys one point of
the target’s DR per 5 points of basic
COMBAT 379
Injury to Unliving, Homogenous, EFFECTS
and Diffuse Targets OF INJURY
The Wounding Modifiers and Injury rules assume a human, animal, If you are injured, subtract the
or other ordinary living being. Machines, corporeal undead, swarms, points of injury from your Hit Points.
and other unusual entities are much less vulnerable to certain damage Usually, you are still in the fight as
types: long as you have positive HP; see
General Injury: Lost Hit Points (p. 419)
Unliving: Machines and anyone with Injury Tolerance (Unliving) for details. The most important
(p. 60), such as most corporeal undead, are less vulnerable to impaling effects are:
and piercing damage. This gives impaling and huge piercing a wound-
ing modifier of ¥1; large piercing, ¥1/2; piercing, ¥1/3; and small pierc- • If you have less than 1/3 of your
ing, ¥1/5. HP remaining, you are reeling from
your wounds. Halve your Basic Speed
Homogenous: Things that lack vulnerable internal parts or mecha- and Move (round up), which also
nisms – such as uniformly solid or hollow objects (e.g., melee weapons, reduces your Dodge.
shields, and furniture), unpowered vehicles, trees, and walls – are even
less vulnerable! This includes animated statues, blobs, and anything • If you have zero or fewer HP left,
else with Injury Tolerance (Homogenous). Impaling and huge piercing you are hanging onto consciousness
have a wounding modifier of ¥1/2; large piercing, ¥1/3; piercing, ¥1/5; through sheer willpower and adrena-
and small piercing, ¥1/10. line – or are barely holding together, if
you’re a machine. You must roll vs. HT
Diffuse: A target with Injury Tolerance (Diffuse) is even harder to each turn to avoid falling unconscious.
damage! This includes swarms, air elementals, nets, etc. Impaling and If you pass out, see Recovering from
piercing attacks (of any size) never do more than 1 HP of injury, regard- Unconsciousness (p. 423) for how long
less of penetrating damage! Other attacks can never do more than 2 HP it will take to recover.
of injury. Exception: Area-effect, cone, and explosion attacks cause nor-
mal injury. • If you go to fully negative HP (for
instance, -10 if you have 10 HP), you
Example: Edmund Zhang empties his 9mm machine pistol (2d+2 pi risk death! You must make an imme-
damage) at an approaching zombie. He hits three times. After sub- diate HT roll to avoid dying. You must
tracting the zombie’s DR 1, he scores 8 points of penetrating damage make another HT roll to avoid death
with the first bullet, 7 with the second, and 10 with the third. The zom- each time you lose an extra multiple of
bie has Injury Tolerance (Unliving), so the usual ¥1 wounding modifier your HP – that is, at -2¥HP, -3¥HP, and
for piercing damage drops to ¥1/3. Rounding down, the three bullets so on. If you reach -5¥HP, you die
inflict 2 HP, 2 HP, and 3 HP of injury. The zombie had 24 HP, so it has automatically. See Death (p. 423).
17 HP left. Undaunted, it shambles forward. Edmund should have
brought an axe or a flamethrower! The sudden loss of HP can have
additional effects:
380 COMBAT
Shock: Any injury that causes a loss Attacks Without Damage
of HP also causes “shock.” Shock is a
penalty to DX, IQ, and skills based on Not all attacks inflict damage. Some – stun rays, drugs, etc. – offer a
those attributes on your next turn modified HT roll to resist (e.g., HT-2). If the victim is hit and fails his
(only). This is -1 per HP lost unless HT roll, he’s affected; see Affliction (p. 35) for details. Other attacks
you have 20 or more HP, in which case restrain the victim, requiring ST rolls to break free; see Binding (p. 40).
it is -1 per (HP/10) lost, rounded
down. The shock penalty cannot etc. See the weapon tables, specific a linked effect (see below). Thus, poi-
exceed -4, no matter how much injury attack enhancements in Chapter 2, son that must enter the bloodstream
you suffer. and the relevant sections of Chapters would have no effect if the arrow that
13 and 14 for details. carried it failed to penetrate. On the
Major Wounds: Any single injury other hand, an explosive projectile
that inflicts a wound in excess of 1/2 Follow-Up Damage would still do damage . . . but the DR
your HP is a major wound. For a that stopped the primary damage
major wound to the torso, you must Some attacks, such as poison darts would protect against it.
make a HT roll. Failure means you’re and exploding bullets, have “follow-
stunned and knocked down; failure by up” damage: a second type of damage Linked Effects
5+ means you pass out. For details, that occurs an instant after the pri-
see Major Wounds (p. 420) and mary effect. The primary effect is Some attacks have a linked effect.
Knockdown and Stunning (p. 420). always ordinary damage of some type This is a second type of damage or
– piercing, impaling, etc. other effect that occurs simultaneous-
Stunning: If you’re stunned, you ly with the primary effect. Make one
are -4 to active defenses and cannot If the primary damage penetrates roll to hit, but resolve all damage and
retreat, and must Do Nothing on your the target’s DR, the follow-up effect resistance rolls separately for the pri-
next turn. At the end of your turn, occurs inside the target. DR has no mary effect and the linked effect. An
attempt a HT roll to recover. If you effect! Follow-up effects that occur example of a linked effect is a grenade
fail, you’re still stunned and must Do internally never inflict knockback or that inflicts both a crushing explosion
Nothing for another turn. And so on. blunt trauma – even if their damage and a blinding flash of light on deto-
type usually does. nation. A person in armor might be
For more about injuries – and how blinded but unhurt, while an unar-
to recover from them! – see Injuries If the primary damage fails to pen- mored person with eye protection
(p. 418). etrate DR, the follow-up effect occurs might be wounded but not blinded.
outside the target, if appropriate, as if
SPECIAL DAMAGE the target had been touched – just like
Certain attacks have “special
effects”: poison, electrical shocks,
stunning, setting the victim on fire,
CRITICAL HITS AND MISSES
“Critical hits” and “critical misses” critical hit. Bonuses to hit (e.g., for All- extra damage.” Even if you get lucky
are critical successes and failures (see Out Attack or a large target) do make and hit a superior foe, your blow
Degree of Success or Failure, p. 347) on critical hits more likely, while penal- might not be especially hard . . .
rolls to attack or defend in combat. ties (e.g., for a difficult target) make
critical hits less likely. Critical Success on
CRITICAL HITS Defense Rolls
Example: Louis LeBlanc needs to
A “critical hit” is an especially lucky roll 15 or less to hit Filthy Pierre. He If you get a critical success on a
or good blow. It automatically hits rolls a 5. That’s a critical hit for him! defense roll against a melee attack,
home – your foe does not get an active (A 3 or 4 would be a critical hit for then your foe goes immediately to the
defense roll! anyone!) Because this is a critical hit, Critical Miss Table (p. 556). You “faked
Pierre gets no defense roll. The blow him out,” knocked his weapon from
Whenever you roll a natural 3 or 4 automatically hits! his hand, or otherwise defended very
when attacking, you get a critical hit well!
and you roll on the Critical Hit Table A critical hit is often the only way
(p. 556). If you have high skill or a par- for an unskilled character to injure a A critical success on a defense roll
ticularly good shot at your foe, you superior opponent in a fair fight or get against a ranged attack has no special
will get critical hits more often. With through heavy armor with a light effect, with one exception: if the attack
an effective skill of 15+, any roll of 5 or weapon. Once in a while, everybody was a thrown weapon, a critical suc-
less is a critical hit; with an effective gets a lucky shot. But note that the cess on a bare-handed parry lets you
skill of 16+, any roll of 6 or less is a most likely result on the table is “no catch the incoming weapon without
hurting yourself, if you so desire.
COMBAT 381
Example of Combat
Louis LeBlanc’s weapon is a shortsword. He is To continue the example: Louis is attacking Pierre.
standing two yards from his foe, Filthy Pierre. On his His blow was good, and Pierre failed to defend. So the
turn, Louis takes the Attack maneuver, steps one yard blow got through.
toward Pierre, and strikes!
Now Louis rolls for damage. Louis’ player has
Louis has Shortsword-15, and there are no adverse already figured how much damage he does with a
conditions that would give him a skill penalty; there- shortsword and written it on his character sheet. He
fore, he needs to roll 15 or less to hit. He swings and has ST 11, so his swing does 1d+1 damage. He rolls
rolls a 13, so he hits. one die and gets a 4. Adding one point yields a 5, so
Pierre takes 5 points of basic damage.
Pierre has a Dodge of 8, Shield-12 (giving him a
Block of 9), and Shortsword-11 (giving him a Parry of However, Pierre is wearing cloth armor, which has
8). His Block is his best defense, so he’ll use it when- DR 1. This subtracts a point from Louis’ damage roll –
ever he can. Pierre’s small shield gives a +1 Defense only 4 points of damage penetrate Pierre’s armor.
Bonus (see Shields, p. 287); this increases all of his
defenses by 1. A shortsword is a cutting weapon, with a ¥1.5
wounding modifier. This multiplies the penetrating
Pierre’s Block defense is therefore 9 + 1, for a total damage . . . so Pierre takes a 6 HP wound! That blow
of 10 . . . or 11, if he retreats. If he blocks and retreats, could knock a lesser man down. Sad but true . . . one
and rolls 11 or less, he can defend against the accurate good sword blow can settle a fight.
blow that Louis just threw. But he gets a 12. Too bad!
He’s hit. The GM subtracts 6 from Pierre’s HP. Luckily for
Pierre, this is not more than half of his original 12 HP,
Although the combat calculations may seem com- so he does not have to roll to see if he is knocked down
plex at first, they are simple in play! The attacker rolls or stunned. However, if he attacks on his next turn, he
against his skill, as shown on his character sheet. The will have a shock penalty equal to the HP he lost or -4,
defender adds up his defenses, as shown on his char- whichever is the lower penalty. Since he lost 6 HP, he’s
acter sheet, and rolls against the total. That’s it! at -4 to skill.
And the fight continues.
CRITICAL MISSES your effective skill is 16 or better; in and fall prone (no effect if already
that case, it is an ordinary miss. A prone). If you tried to block, you lose
The opposite of a “critical hit” is a melee attack (but not a ranged attack) your grip on your shield and must
“critical miss.” You suffer a critical or defense roll that fails by 10 or more take a turn to ready it before you can
miss when you fail badly on an attack is also a critical miss. use it to block again.
or defense roll. You might break your
weapon, throw it away, or even hit If you get a critical miss on an A firearm may also malfunction on
yourself! attack or a parry, roll on the appropri- a bad roll; see Malfunctions (p. 407). A
ate Critical Miss Table (p. 556). Apply malfunction has “priority” over a crit-
A roll of 18 is always a critical miss. the result immediately. If you critical- ical miss: if both would occur, only the
A roll of 17 is a critical miss unless ly miss a dodge, you lose your footing malfunction takes place.
OTHER ACTIONS IN COMBAT
Combatants can perform actions other device is unready if in a holster, holding out to you. He must be close
other than attacking and moving. scabbard, pocket, belt, or pack; on the enough to reach you (one yard, for a
Physical actions usually require Ready floor or a table; etc. human), and he must have taken a
maneuvers, while mental ones call for Ready maneuver on his turn in order
Concentrate maneuvers. It generally takes a single Ready to hold out the item for you. You must
maneuver to ready an item that is on both stand still. Note that you cannot
READYING your belt, in a pocket, in a scabbard or exchange two items simultaneously.
WEAPONS AND holster, or slung over your back. Each object exchanged requires a sep-
OTHER GEAR arate Ready maneuver on the part of
If you stand still, a single Ready each person involved. (Recall that
A “ready” item is one that is in maneuver also lets you ready an item these rules are for combat; obviously
hand, ready for action. A weapon or from a table, wall rack, etc., provided two people walking down the street
it is within your reach (normally one can hand things back and forth at
yard). will.)
A single Ready maneuver lets you
accept one item that another person is
382 COMBAT
Some additional rules: Action Time
Picking something up from the Pick up a heavy object in one hand (weight up to 2¥BL) 2 sec.
ground. You must be kneeling, crawl-
ing, sitting, or lying down to do so, Pick up a heavy object in two hands (weight up to 8¥BL) 4 sec.
unless you have arms with a two-yard
reach! If you are standing, you must Open an unlocked box, briefcase, chest, door, etc. 1 sec.
first take a Change Posture maneuver
to kneel, sit, etc. Find a loose item in a box, briefcase, pack, etc.
Readying a weapon. You can only (if it’s not hidden) 2d seconds
attack or parry with a weapon that is
in your hand and ready to use. You Find an item in your own pocket 1d seconds
must “ready” some weapons again
after each attack! For instance, you Write a brief note 5 sec. per sentence
must ready a poleaxe after each swing,
because its momentum carries it Read a brief note 2 sec. per sentence
away. See the weapon tables in
Swallow a pill or potion 2 sec.
Light a candle, cigarette, fuse, match, torch, etc. 2 sec.
Replace a weapon in its scabbard, drop a small item
into your pocket 2 sec.
Search an unresisting person fairly thoroughly 1 min.
Put on a suit of armor 3 sec. per piece (30 sec./piece
for a vacc suit or battlesuit)
Chapter 8 to learn which weapons ground with a single Ready maneuver If an action takes a long time, you
require readying after use. (not a free action!). For the purpose of can help the GM keep track of events
readying, treat a buckler as a weapon, by counting the seconds each time you
Reloading a weapon. This requires not as a shield. announce the maneuver. For instance,
several consecutive Ready maneuvers. to reload a weapon, you would say,
The number of Ready maneuvers Long actions. Many physical “Reloading my gun – one second” on
required appears in parentheses after actions take more than one second to your first turn, and, “Reloading my
the weapon’s Shots statistic. For complete. In combat, choose the gun – two seconds and finished” on
example, a longbow requires two Ready maneuver each turn until you your second turn.
Ready maneuvers: one to ready the are finished. This is not a specific
arrow by removing it from your maneuver, but a “generic” choice that TYPICAL
quiver, and one to ready the bow by lets you do one second’s worth of any LONG ACTIONS
placing the arrow to the string and multi-second action. The GM decides
drawing it. That takes two turns. On how many turns each action takes; see See the table above for the dura-
the third turn, you can Aim or Attack. Typical Long Actions (p. 383) for exam- tion of typical long actions. You must
ples. Some things (like piling up rocks take a Ready maneuver each second.
Readying a shield or cloak. If a to stand on) can be interrupted in the
shield or cloak is on the ground, or middle if necessary, to take any neces- The times required for long actions
slung on your back, it takes a number sary maneuver or other action. Other are realistic, but they can also sideline
of Ready maneuvers equal to its things (like ritual magic) can’t be a player – for instance, if his character
Defense Bonus to prepare it for com- interrupted; if you stop in the middle, rummages through his backpack. If
bat. It takes the same amount of time you must start over. the GM deems it dramatically appropri-
to don your cloak or sling your shield
again – but you can drop it on the
ate, he may let PCs shave off a few
seconds by making a successful DX or
When Is a Weapon Ready? IQ roll, at the cost of failure having
other problems (e.g., dropping the
A weapon is “ready” if it is in your hand and ready to attack. It takes backpack and spilling its contents).
one turn to ready a weapon from its scabbard (but see Fast-Draw,
p. 194). A few special rules: This completes the combat system.
Changing Grips: Some long weapons require one extra turn of Get out there and fight!
readying to go from a one-yard to a two-yard reach, or from a two-yard When you are comfortable with
to a three-yard reach, or vice versa. An unready weapon may be re-read- these rules, you can proceed to
ied to any legal reach, regardless of how you used it before; this is just Chapter 12, Tactical Combat, if you
part of the Ready maneuver. wish to use a hex grid for more precise
Unbalanced Weapons: A few large and unwieldy weapons are car- resolution of battles. GMs may also
ried out of line by their momentum when you attack. Unless your ST consult Chapter 13 for advanced rules
is at least 1.5 times that required to wield the weapon, they become concerning factors that might not
unready after you attack with them; to use them again, take a Ready come into play in every battle: hit loca-
maneuver. If you fall down, lose your balance, or are stunned, and your tions, mounted opponents, surprise
weapon is one that requires readying after each use, it becomes attacks, and various exotic weapons.
unready! See also pp. 462-470 for rules for vehi-
Holstering: It takes one second to return a pistol to a holster. cles, pp. 455-461 for rules for animals,
Scabbarding: It takes two seconds to return a weapon to a scabbard and p. 547-559 for the collected com-
or belt-loop. bat tables.
COMBAT 383
384 CHAPTER TWELVE
TACTICAL
COMBAT
These rules let you resolve combat using counters or figures on a hexago-
nal grid. They assume you have already mastered the combat system in
Chapter 11, and cover only the exceptions and special cases that arise when
using that system on a map.
FIGURES
You need a marker or miniature figure to represent each combatant.
This can be metal, plastic . . . even cardboard. These rules assume one-
inch hexes, or a 50mm scale, for maps – but 25mm figures are easier to
handle. Of course, you need not use figures! Any counter will do, as long
as it has a “front” to indicate facing and some way to show when the
fighter it represents is prone.
Gamers who want the fun of detailed figures at the cost of card-
board counters should consider Cardboard Heroes, SJ Games’
line of upright cardboard figures.
THE
COMBAT MAP
Tactical combat uses a “combat map” marked off in hexagons, or hexes. Each
one-inch hex on the map represents an area one yard across. At the start of com-
bat, pick a suitable map, typically one you have drawn on a blank sheet of hexa-
gon paper.
HEXES
One hex on the combat map represents one yard of distance. It is also the basic
unit of movement: each hex a fighter moves represents one yard of movement.
The number of hexes you can move on your turn depends on your Move score
and your maneuver (see Maneuvers in Tactical Combat, p. 385).
Each human-sized or smaller fighter must occupy one hex. Exceptions include
close combat (see Close Combat, p. 391), swarms (see Swarm Attacks, p. 461), and
situations in which people are crowded together but not fighting (you could cram
up to four ordinary-sized humans into a single hex, if they were friendly).
You need not use figures! Any counter will do, as long
as it has a “front” to indicate facing and some way to
show when the fighter it represents is prone.
TACTICAL COMBAT
A human-sized fighter who is lying FACING left side is the “shield side.” For a left-
down or who has the Horizontal dis- handed fighter, these are reversed.
advantage occupies two hexes; see You must “face” toward one of
Change Posture (below). Larger fight- the six hexes adjacent to your hex at
ers also occupy more than one hex; all times. Your facing defines your
see Multi-Hex Figures (p. 392). front, right, left, and back hexes (see
illustration).
Treat a fractional hex (e.g., one cut
in half by a wall) as if it were a full hex: Your front hexes are the hexes you
you can move through it and occupy it can see into and easily move into. You
without penalty, unless the GM rules can move into any adjacent hex – but
otherwise. You can also move through sideways and backward movement is
an ally’s hex, although the movement slower.
cost is higher. You cannot move
through or occupy a hex completely For a right-handed fighter, the
filled by a solid barrier (e.g., a pillar). right side is the “weapon side” and the
MANEUVERS IN
TACTICAL COMBAT
Tactical combat uses the maneu- adjacent hex. If you get up from a All-Out Defense
vers described in Chapter 11 under prone posture, you may choose to get
Maneuvers (p. 363), but some of these up into either of your hexes. If you choose the Increased Dodge
have additional complications on a option, you may use movement points
hex grid. Several of these notes refer to All-Out Attack equal to half your Move (round up).
“movement points”; see Movement in
Tactical Combat (p. 386) for details. You must move first and then Ready
attack – not vice versa. You may
Move remain stationary, turn in place, or You can pick up an item that is in
move forward. If you choose to move your own hex or any hex within your
You receive movement points forward, you may move up to two reach (usually one hex).
equal to your Move. hexes or expend movement points
equal to half your Move (round up), Wait
Change Posture whichever is more. You may not
change facing at the end of your move. The greater precision of tactical
If a human-sized fighter lies prone combat on a hex grid allows many
or has the Horizontal disadvantage, he Move and Attack more options with this maneuver; see
takes up two hexes. If you lie down or Wait Maneuver Strategy (below) and
are knocked prone, your lower half You receive movement points Opportunity Fire (p. 390). If you are
occupies the hex you were standing in equal to your Move. waiting with a melee weapon, your
and your upper half can occupy any weapon’s reach is crucial: a long
weapon lets you strike a charging foe
before he can get to you!
Wait Maneuver Strategy
The Wait maneuver can be very useful in a tactical This is the best way (and almost the only way) to
situation where you want to block a fleeing foe – or to keep a faster foe from running past you on a clear
protect someone behind you. field. If you take another maneuver (for instance, to
fight with someone else), you are distracted – and, on
If you have taken a Wait maneuver, you can attack a one-second time scale, a faster foe should be able to
at any time – even in the middle of someone else’s run past you! But if you are waiting for him, you’ll
movement! If you did not move at all on your turn, you have a chance to intercept him, or hit him, as he tries
may take a step (see The “Step” in Tactical Combat, to go by.
p. 386) and then strike. If your foe is still standing after
your blow falls, he may continue his movement.
TACTICAL COMBAT 385
MOVEMENT IN
TACTICAL COMBAT
In tactical combat, movement is
measured more precisely, on a hex-by-
hex basis, and a fighter’s facing
becomes very important.
The “Step” in MOVEMENT Thus, you can change direction
Tactical Combat AND FACING while moving “forward.” Three con-
secutive hexes of “forward” move-
Some maneuvers, such as Movement and facing interact ment let you run in a half-circle and
Attack or Ready, allow you to when you move as part of a Move, end up facing the opposite direction
take your usual step in any Move and Attack, All-Out Attack, or (see illustration below).
direction (see Step, p. 368). All-Out Defense (Increased Dodge)
Each yard of step – usually maneuver. Backward and Sideways
one yard, for humans – Movement and Facing
equals one hex of movement. Forward Movement
You may change facing and Facing If you take a Move, Move and
freely before or after you Attack, or All-Out Defense (Increased
It costs one movement point to Dodge) – but not an All-Out Attack –
move. enter each hex when moving forward. and don’t want to move forward, you
A “forward” move is a move into one can move backward (A) or sideways
Movement Points of your three front hexes. If you go (B), keeping the same facing (see the
straight ahead, your facing will not illustration to the right). Each side-
An easy way to keep track of move- change; otherwise it will change by ways or backward hex costs two
ment is to assume that a Move or Move one hex-side: you must turn to face the movement points.
and Attack maneuver gives you a num- hex as you enter it (see illustration
ber of “movement points” equal to above).
your Move score; e.g., Move 5 would
give you 5 movement points to use
during a Move or Move and Attack. An
All-Out Attack or All-Out Defense
(Increased Dodge) maneuver gives half
as many movement points, rounded
up; e.g., Move 5 would give 3 move-
ment points during these maneuvers.
In these diagrams,
a red arrow indicates
a figure and its facing.
A yellow arrow indicates
movement.
386 TACTICAL COMBAT
Movement Point Costs
Use these movement point costs when you take a Move, Move and Attack, All-Out Attack, or All-Out Defense
(Increased Dodge) maneuver. You can always move at least one hex per turn, no matter how severe the penalties.
Most other maneuvers allow a step (see Step, p. 368). In this case, “cost” does not matter – you can move your
full step (usually one hex), regardless of facing, posture, or terrain.
Direction of Travel Obstructions
Forward: 1 movement point per hex. Minor obstruction in hex (e.g., an ally, or a body on
Sidestep or backward: 2 movement points per hex. the ground): +1 movement point per obstruction.
Posture Severe obstruction in hex (several bodies, a barricade,
etc.): You must either bypass the hex or jump over (see
Crouching: +1/2 movement point per hex. Jumping, p. 352).
Kneeling: +2 movement points per hex.
Crawling: +2 movement points per hex. Enemy in hex: You must evade (see Evading,
Lying down: All movement points to move one hex. p. 368).
Sitting: Cannot move!
Bad Footing
Facing Changes
Treacherous ground (mud, waxed floors, etc.): +1
Change facing before or during a move: +1 move- movement point per hex (or more, at the GM’s option).
ment point per hex-side of change.
Stairs (up or down): +1 movement point per hex.
Change facing at end of move: Free! You may face Shallow water (no more than 1/6 your height): +1
any direction if you used no more than half your move- movement point per hex.
ment points; otherwise, you may opt to Deeper water: All movement points to move 1 hex.
change facing by one hex-side.
You can also “sidestep” into a front movement points, you may change (Increased Dodge) maneuver, but this
hex (C) while keeping your original your facing by one hex-side. costs movement points. Each hex-side
facing. This is allowed during an All- of facing change counts as one yard of
Out attack (as well as on a Move, etc.). You may also change facing before movement; e.g., turning 180° costs
It also costs two movement points. or during your movement on a Move, three movement points.
Move and Attack, or All-Out Defense
Facing Changes
and Movement
At the end of your turn, if you took
a Move or Move and Attack maneuver
and used no more than half of your
movement points – or if you chose the
All-Out Defense (Increased Dodge)
maneuver – you may turn to face in
any direction.
If you took a Move or Move and
Attack and used more than half of your
TACTICAL COMBAT 387
ATTACKING IN
TACTICAL COMBAT
Attacks work as described in Long Weapon Tactics
Chapter 11, with the difference that a
hex grid permits precise determina- The Attack maneuver lets you step before or after you attack.
tion of range, facing, arc of vision, and Stepping after you attack in melee combat can give you the upper hand
area of effect. This calls for a few extra if your weapon has more reach than your opponent’s. Suppose you
rules – especially for combat in the have a spear and your adversary has a broadsword. You could attack
same hex as your foe (see Close from two hexes away and then step back, ending your turn three hexes
Combat, p. 391). from your foe. Since his weapon has a one-hex reach, he could not
reach you with an Attack, as the Attack maneuver limits him to a one-
MELEE ATTACKS yard step (of course, a foe with Move 11 or higher could step farther).
To strike back, he would have to take an All-Out Attack or a Move and
Normally, you can only attack into Attack . . . either of which would restrict his defenses, leaving him open
your front hexes. The distance at to your next attack! And even if he does get close enough to attack, you
which you can attack depends on your can always retreat when you defend . . .
weapon’s “reach.”
Some weapons have more than weapons (e.g., the greatsword and
Reach of a Weapon one reach. For instance, a knife can quarterstaff) let you attack at more
slash at “close” and one-yard reach. than one reach without taking a Ready
A melee weapon’s “reach,” as given With a spear, you can have a reach of maneuver. The Melee Weapon Table
on the Melee Weapon Table (p. 271), either one or two yards, depending on shows which weapons require a grip
defines the hexes into which you can how you hold it. Larger pole weapons change and which do not.
attack with it, as follows: can have a reach of one, two, or three
yards! Note that if you’re very large, your
Reach C (“Close”): You can strike reach will increase – see Size Modifier
only at targets in your own hex. Most weapons with a reach of two and Reach (p. 402).
or more yards require a Ready maneu-
Reach 1 (1 yard): You can strike ver to “change grips” and go from one Attacking Through
into any hex marked “Front” in the reach to another. For instance, if you an Occupied Hex
diagram below. are holding a halberd with a grip that
lets you strike three hexes away, you You can attack “through” someone
Reach 2 (2 yards): You can strike have to ready it for one turn before else in melee if you are using a
into any hex marked “2” in the dia- you can use it to strike someone one weapon with a reach of two yards or
gram below. or two hexes away. A few balanced more. You may attack through a
friend at no penalty (this is a basic
Reach 3 (3 yards): You can strike part of your training with any long
into any hex marked “3” in the dia- weapon). If you attack through an
gram below. enemy’s hex, the penalty is -4. If your
attack passes along a line between two
Most melee weapons have a one- hexes, there is no penalty unless both
yard reach, and can hit only your hexes are occupied. If they are, treat
three front hexes. the situation as a single occupied hex
– friendly, unless foes occupy both
hexes.
Wild Swings
A Wild Swing is a melee attack
against a foe to your side (left or right)
or back, or against a foe you can’t see.
It’s unlikely to hit, but sometimes it’s
better than nothing.
388 TACTICAL COMBAT
A Wild Swing is at -5 to hit or the RANGED ATTACKS Anyone in the way (friend or foe)
current visibility penalty, whichever is gives you a -4 penalty. If your attack
worse, and your effective skill cannot Ranged combat on a hex grid also passes through several occupied
exceed 9 after all modifiers. You can- requires a few additional rules. hexes, apply this penalty for each per-
not target a particular part of the foe’s son in the way!
body; if using hit locations, roll ran- Arc of Vision
domly. If your attack passes along a line
If you have a ranged weapon, you between two hexes, there is no penalty
A Wild Swing need not be a swing can attack into any of the white hexes unless both hexes are occupied. If they
– it could be a thrust. However, you in the diagram above. If you have are, treat it as a single hex penalty (-4).
cannot make a “wild thrust” at a dis- Peripheral Vision (p. 74), you can
tance of more than one yard. attack into any of the white or gray Someone lying down is never “in
hexes. And if you have 360° Vision the way” unless you, too, are on the
You can combine a Wild Swing (p. 34), you can attack into any of the ground. Someone kneeling or sitting
with an All-Out Attack, but you may white, gray, or black hexes. In all three is not in the way unless either you or
not choose the “Determined” option to cases, the hexes you can attack into your target is also kneeling or sitting.
get +4 to hit to offset the Wild Swing define your “arc of vision.”
penalty. You can also make a Wild These rules assume human-sized
Swing during a Move and Attack; use Shooting Blind or smaller combatants. A fighter with
the more severe penalties of the two. a Size Modifier 2 or more greater than
If you have a ranged weapon, you yours (3 or more if he’s kneeling or has
If you have Peripheral Vision may attack someone outside your arc the Horizontal disadvantage, 4 or
(p. 74), two-handed melee attacks into of vision – or in total darkness, or more if he’s prone) completely blocks
your right and left hexes, and one- while blinded – by “shooting blind.” your line of sight – you can’t shoot past
handed attacks to the same side (e.g., Use the rules for Wild Swings (above), him – unless you’re higher up.
right hand to right hex), are not Wild but the penalty is -10 and your effec-
Swings. However, one-handed attacks tive skill cannot exceed 9 after all Hitting the
to the opposite side (e.g., right hand to modifiers. (As Murphy’s Law predicts, Wrong Target
left hex), and attacks on foes behind you are often less likely to hit your tar-
you, are still Wild Swings. get than anyone else in the vicinity; see If you attack with a ranged weapon
Hitting the Wrong Target, below.) and miss, you may hit someone else.
If you have 360° Vision (p. 34), no Needless to say, you cannot take the You must check for this if you fail your
attack to your sides or back is a Wild Aim maneuver! attack roll.
Swing – but attacks to the back and
opposite side at -2 due to the clumsy Firing Through You may hit anyone – friend or foe
angle of attack. an Occupied Hex – if he was in your line of fire. To
determine this, check the line along
Note that some martial-arts tech- You can target an enemy if you can which you attacked. Any hex this line
niques (e.g., Back Kick, p. 230) allow draw a straight line between any part passes through is “in the way.”
you to attack foes behind you without of your hex and any part of his with- Combatants who are kneeling or lying
making a Wild Swing. out passing through a solid obstacle. down are not in the way unless you,
Use a straightedge (such as a ruler) to too, are at their level.
determine this. However, if your cho-
sen straight line passes through an Because hitting the wrong target is
occupied hex, the occupants of that a matter of pure chance, your attack
hex are “in the way.” You may hit them roll against each possible target is the
if you miss your intended target – see same: a flat 9 or the number you
Hitting the Wrong Target, below. would have had to roll to hit him on
purpose, whichever is worse.
TACTICAL COMBAT 389
Roll first for the target closest to Opportunity Fire Hexes Watched Attack Penalty
you. If you miss, or if that target 1 0
dodges, roll for the next target. And so If you have a ranged weapon, you 2 -1
on. Keep rolling until you hit, or some- may watch a specified area and attack 3-4 -2
one blocks or parries your attack, or as soon as a target presents itself. This 5-6 -3
you run out of targets. If your attack is called “opportunity fire.” 7-10 -4
went along a line between two occu- 11+ -5
pied hexes, roll randomly to see which To use opportunity fire, you must
one you check first. take the Wait maneuver. You must You may also specify a single
stand still and watch for a target in a straight line, and say that you will fire
Anyone (friend or foe) gets the specified area. You must face the area at the first target that crosses the line.
same defense against this attack that you are “covering.” You may do noth- The penalty for this kind of opportuni-
he would have had had your attack ing else. ty fire is only -2.
been intentional.
When you attack, apply the appro-
Pop-Up Attacks priate penalty above as well as all rele-
vant ranged-combat modifiers. You
A “pop-up attack” is a special Attack maneuver in which you emerge cannot claim any of the bonuses listed
from cover, move no more than one hex, make a ranged attack, and for the Aim maneuver (p. 364).
return to cover – all in the space of one turn! Examples include ducking Exception: If you watch a single hex
around a corner or a tree, or out of a trench. This is possible with any (only), you can Aim and Wait. Each
thrown weapon, firearm, or crossbow, but not with a bow or a sling. second you wait for a target also
counts as an Aim maneuver, and you
You cannot aim a pop-up attack. In fact, there is an extra -2 to hit will get the normal bonus for that
because you couldn’t see your target at the beginning of your turn. amount of aiming when you finally
attack.
Note that when you emerge from cover to attack, anyone targeting
your hex with opportunity fire can attack you. If so, your only legal The GM should make sure that
defense is a dodge. players carefully specify the area they
are watching for opportunity fire. In
If a target appears in the specified conflicts between PCs, the players
area, you must attack it (you can try to should tell the GM in secret so that
discriminate, but this will give a penal- their opponents do not know where
ty to hit – see below). Your attack takes they are planning to fire.
place immediately. If two or more peo-
Overshooting ple are taking opportunity fire at the Target Discrimination: Normally,
and Stray Shots same target, assume that their attacks when you take opportunity fire, you
are simultaneous. must attack the first target that
If you make your attack roll but appears in the designated area –
your foe blocks or parries successfully, If no target appears, you simply friend or foe! You are free to specify
assume your weapon or missile hits wasted your turn! that you are not attacking automati-
the ground. It has no chance of hitting cally, usually to avoid shooting a
anyone. All of the area to be “covered” must friend. If so, the GM will make a
be within your arc of vision (see Vision roll for you when a target
If your foe dodges, however, the p. 389). The larger the area you have appears and tell you whether you
projectile goes past him and may hit to watch, the greater the penalty when think it is friend or foe. However, you
someone else. Proceed as for Hitting you attack: have an extra -2 to hit because of the
the Wrong Target, above, but start with time you spent deciding.
the closest target on the other side of
your foe. (You already know you didn’t
hit anybody between you and your foe,
or he would not have had to defend.)
DEFENDING IN
TACTICAL COMBAT
Active defenses work as described in -2 unless you have Peripheral Vision • If you have a one-handed melee
Chapter 11, with a few additional rules. (p. 74) or 360° Vision (p. 34). weapon, you cannot parry an attack that
Regardless of those advantages: comes from the other side of your body,
Defending Against only one that comes from the same
Attacks from the Side • If you have a shield, you cannot side, unless your weapon arm has the
block an attack that comes from your Extra-Flexible enhancement or you
Against an attack that comes from weapon side, only one that comes from possess the Double-Jointed advantage.
one of your side hexes, you defend at your shield side.
390 TACTICAL COMBAT
“Runaround” Attacks
A fast-moving fighter can sometimes start in front of a foe and run
behind him to strike from his back hex. Against a true attack from
behind, no active defense is possible, because the victim did not know
the attack was coming. If the attacker starts in front and runs behind,
outmaneuvering his victim through sheer speed, the victim does know
he’s being attacked. Treat it as a side attack: -2 to active defenses, unless
the victim has compensating advantages.
Defending Against shield arm has the Extra-Flexible
Attacks from the Back enhancement or you have the Double-
Jointed advantage.
Against an attack that comes from
your back hex, you cannot defend at all Retreating
unless you have Peripheral Vision
(which lets you defend at -2) or 360° A retreat takes you one step – nor-
Vision (which lets you defend at no mally one hex – directly away from the
penalty). Even if you have one of those foe you are defending against. You
advantages, you have an extra -2 to cannot retreat into an occupied hex.
parry an attack from behind, and can- You may change facing by one hex-
not block at all, unless your weapon or side, if you wish, as you retreat.
CLOSE COMBAT
“Close combat” is any situation in Evading in If your foe has grappled you, you
which you occupy the same hex as Tactical Combat may still choose a maneuver on your
your foe or try to move through his turn, but you cannot leave the hex
hex. Use the rules given under Evading To evade a foe, you must have until you break free (see Actions After
(p. 368) and Unarmed Combat (p. 370) enough movement points not only to Being Grappled, p. 371).
in Chapter 11, but with the additions enter his hex, but also to leave his hex!
below. If your movement ends in his hex, you WEAPONS FOR
cannot evade on that turn. CLOSE COMBAT
ENTERING A
FOE’S HEX LEAVING A You can only use small, easily man-
FOE’S HEX aged weapons in close combat. You
You may move or step into an can attack with any melee weapon
enemy’s hex using any maneuver that If you start your turn in a foe’s hex with reach “C.” If using a ranged
allows you enough movement to enter and he isn’t grappling you, you can weapon, ignore the usual speed/range
that hex. You are in “close combat” as move out of the hex through any of the penalty and apply the weapon’s Bulk
soon as you enter an opponent’s hex, three hexes on your side of the hex. If statistic as a penalty to hit.
regardless of your maneuver or that of you do this using a Move or Move and
your foe. Attack, you must spend movement READYING IN
points to change facing, sidestep, or CLOSE COMBAT
If you take a Move, Move and step backward. To use forward move-
Attack, or All-Out Attack maneuver, you ment to leave through one of the three You must make a DX roll to ready
can always run into a foe’s hex and stop hexes on your foe’s side, you must a weapon in close combat. If you fail,
there, facing him. If you do not wish to evade him (see above). you still take a Ready maneuver but
stop, you must attempt to evade (p. 368) you accomplish nothing. If you have
or slam (p. 368) your foe – your choice, If you take a maneuver that allows the Fast-Draw skill, you must make
within the limits of your maneuver. a step, you can step out of the hex and two rolls: the DX roll above and a Fast-
attack, feint, etc. with a one-hex reach Draw roll to get your weapon quickly.
When you enter an enemy-occu- weapon – or you can make a close- If you fail the Fast-Draw roll, you
pied hex, you occupy half the hex. You combat attack and then step out – but ready the weapon but it takes a full
have the half of the hex from which your step can only take you into one of Ready maneuver.
you entered; he has the other half. To the three hexes on your side of the hex.
enter any of your front hexes on the
enemy’s side, you have to “move
through” him by evading.
TACTICAL COMBAT 391
DEFENSE IN MULTIPLE CLOSE close combat with an opponent while
CLOSE COMBAT COMBAT still in an adjacent hex.
You can dodge normally in close Any number of people may partici- Up to two fighters may combine
combat. You can only parry using an pate in close combat in the same hex. their efforts in a takedown attempt
empty hand or a weapon with reach This is easy to depict with flat coun- against a single foe; up to three may
“C” (e.g., a knife). You cannot block at ters, but it can be difficult to show work together in a pin attempt against
all! with 3D figures – especially if some a single foe. In either case, use the ST,
fighters are standing and others are DX, or grappling skill of the attacker
You can retreat (see p. 377) in close lying down. A good compromise is to with the best score, and add 1/5 (round
combat, if you aren’t being grappled. allow a fighter to declare himself in down) of the score of each of his
Simply step out of close combat and helpers.
into any of the three hexes on your
side of the close-combat hex. This Striking Into a Close Combat
gives the usual bonus to your active
defense roll. If you are not in close combat yourself, you may help allies who are
in close combat by standing outside the close-combat hex and attack-
Shields in Close Combat ing an enemy who is in close combat with them. Your attack is at -2,
plus any modifier for the target’s posture (lying down, for instance).
A shield becomes a potentially
deadly nuisance in close combat. It If you hit, your foe may only defend as explained in Defense in Close
still provides its Defense Bonus, but it Combat.
hampers you while you wear it.
If you miss, or your foe successfully dodges, you may hit someone
Any attack you make in close com- else – friend or foe – in the hex. If there is more than one possible tar-
bat – except for the initial slam, attack, get, roll randomly to see who you “attack” first. Your attack roll is a flat
etc. when you first move into the foe’s 9 or the number you would have had to roll to hit him on purpose,
hex – has a penalty equal to the whichever is worse. If you hit, the victim may attempt any legal close-
Defense Bonus of your shield! Any DX combat defense. Keep rolling until you run out of targets or you actu-
roll you attempt in close combat after ally hit someone.
your first turn of close combat has the
same penalty.
It takes a one-turn Ready maneu-
ver and a successful DX roll to get rid
of your shield in close combat.
MULTI-HEX FIGURES
Giants, large animals, monsters, that a dragon’s head moves only 3 Arc of Vision
vehicles, etc. often occupy more than hexes while its tail sweeps through
one hex. It can be helpful to make 10. That’s all right – and it’s a good The head of a multi-hex creature
multi-hex counters or, if using figures, way for the dragon to knock people determines its arc of vision. This does
to cut cardboard bases of the appro- over. mean that much of a large creature’s
priate size. body may fall outside its own arc of
A multi-hex figure cannot fit vision! However, many large creatures
The head or front of a multi-hex through a map space narrower than also have Peripheral Vision (p. 74).
figure controls its movement. Handle its widest point. However, the GM
distance moved, direction of move- should be lenient in allowing large fig- Front, Side,
ment, and facing exactly as if the ures to overlap walls and the like. and Back Hexes
creature’s head were a normal one- Remember that when a hex is cut by a
hex figure. The rest of the body fol- straight wall, etc., a partial hex counts Each multi-hex creature has
lows. This might mean, for instance, as a full hex. front, right, left, and back hexes, cor-
responding to those of a human (see
illustration).
Slam and Overrun
When a figure two or more hexes
in size moves through a smaller one,
treat it as a slam (see Slam, p. 371).
This gives the small figure a chance to
get out of the way. If it fails to do so, it
will probably be knocked down! The
larger figure can keep right on moving
unless it is itself knocked down.
392 TACTICAL COMBAT
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SPECIAL
COMBAT
SITUATIONS
SURPRISE ATTACKS
AND INITIATIVE
When the PCs surprise a group of Adventurers, guards, etc. rarely suf- To determine who gets the initia-
adversaries, or vice versa, the sur- fer total surprise unless they are actu- tive, the leader of each side rolls 1d. A
prised party may not be able to react ally asleep. But total surprise would be leader with Combat Reflexes gets +2,
immediately. In this case, the attack- appropriate if a group of werewolves or +1 if he doesn’t have Combat
ers should get one or more “free came charging through the door of the Reflexes but someone else on his side
turns.” The GM is responsible for local library. (In fact, such an extreme does (this bonus is not cumulative for
determining when the attackers have case might justify a Fright Check – at more than one character). The leader
achieved surprise. least for the librarian.) with the higher IQ gets +1. Having
even one point in Tactics skill gives +1
These advanced combat rules cover less-common on initiative rolls; Tactics at level 20+
tactical situations, or offer additional detail. They gives +2. The GM can apply other
are modular – the GM decides which rules are in modifiers as he sees fit; e.g., if he
force in a given situation. thinks one side was more alert than
the other.
A character with Combat Reflexes is After the initial “freeze” ends, each
rarely surprised, and will never “freeze.” defender must roll against his basic IQ If one side is totally leaderless, the
He also gets +6 on all IQ rolls to recov- at the start of his turn until he recov- GM rolls for them. They get an auto-
er from surprise. Note that many wild ers. On a success, he must take Do matic -2 to initiative. (This does not
animals have Combat Reflexes – see Nothing that turn, but can act nor- apply to animals or any other group
Chapter 16 for examples. mally for the rest of the combat. On a with IQ 5 or less.)
failure, he is still mentally stunned; he
Total Surprise may roll again at the start of his next The side that gets the highest roll
turn. A low-IQ character, taken totally gets the initiative, and can move and
When the defenders are taken com- by surprise, could miss the whole act normally. Everyone on the other
pletely by surprise, they “freeze.” The combat! side is mentally stunned, and must
GM rolls 1d. This is the number of sec- make IQ rolls on their turns, as
onds that pass before the defenders Partial Surprise described for total surprise, to snap
can react at all. Until that time is up, out of it. However, with partial sur-
they are mentally stunned and must This may occur when the defend- prise, there is a +1 bonus to IQ on the
take the Do Nothing maneuver. ers were expecting trouble . . . or when second turn, +2 on the third turn, and
Exception: Those with Combat each party surprised the other! The so on . . . even low IQ characters catch
Reflexes never freeze, and treat total GM should require each side to roll for on after a few seconds. Note that ani-
surprise as partial surprise. initiative. mals often have Combat Reflexes,
which counteracts their low IQ.
If the initiative roll is a tie, nobody
was taken by surprise.
SPECIAL COMBAT SITUATIONS 393
VISIBILITY
A combat situation where some invisible but the defender is aware You can also use a torch as a
fighters can’t see their foes affects that he is being attacked, he may weapon: treat it as a baton that does
attacks and defenses. dodge at -4. If the defender makes a one point of burning damage as a
Hearing-2 roll, he may also parry or linked effect (see Linked Effects,
Attacker cannot see anything. If the block – still at -4. If he is completely p. 381). A torch can set things afire,
attacker is blind or in total darkness, unaware of his attacker, he gets no given enough time. Most oil you’re
he can make a Hearing-2 roll – or use defense at all! If the attacker is in likely to encounter in a medieval
some other method – to discover his smoke or unnatural darkness, but the world catches fire after three seconds
foe’s location. If he fails his Hearing defender is not, he defends normally, of contact with an open flame; ordi-
roll, he may attack in a randomly cho- since he can see the weapon coming. nary clothing ignites after four sec-
sen direction (on a map, he must spec- onds, and kindling after 10 seconds.
ify the hex). He attacks at -10 (-6 if he Note also that an unseen fighter Other things are left to the GM’s judg-
is accustomed to being blind). Roll hit can safely try things that a normal ment.
location randomly. fighter could never do – or he may just
wait in a corner until his foe is It’s possible to carry a light in your
Attacker cannot see his foe, but can exhausted! “off” hand, leaving your weapon hand
see his other surroundings. If only the free for combat. It’s even possible to
attacker’s foe is invisible, use the rules Torches and Flashlights parry with it – at the usual penalties
above, but the attack penalty is only for using the off hand. A torch or ordi-
-6. A torch or flashlight reduces the nary flashlight will smash on the first
penalty to attack rolls for darkness. blow if it is used to parry a weapon
Attacker cannot see his foe, but Assume that any such light within line three times its weight or more! TL7+
knows his location for sure. If the foe is of sight reduces the penalty from -10 “police” flashlights are serviceable
in a single smoke-filled hex or the like, (total darkness) to -3. Almost every batons: triple the cost and weight for
use the rules above, but no Hearing light source has a limited range or an ordinary heavy flashlight (see
roll is required and the attack penalty radius – see the item description for Camping and Survival Gear, p. 288).
is only -4. details.
Defender cannot see his attacker. If
the attacker (including his weapon) is
SPECIAL MOVEMENT
Most forms of enhanced mobility 20% greater than your Move (at mini- mount, but not to riders or vehicle
have significant effects on combat. mum, +1 Move). If you have the crew. If you don’t (or if no one is con-
Enhanced Move advantage, or are a trolling a vehicle), see Losing Control,
HIGH-SPEED vehicle with a top speed greater than p. 395.
MOVEMENT your Move, you may start your next
turn with a velocity up to 100% Direction and
It’s possible to go so fast that you greater than Basic Move. In all cases, Turning Radius
can’t easily stop or change course. use the high-speed movement rules
Such “high-speed movement” occurs below. At high speeds, it’s hard to change
whenever your present velocity direction quickly. You must continue
exceeds your Basic Move. These rules Velocity to move in a generally forward direc-
apply equally to living beings and to tion. A major change of direction (up
fast-moving vehicles. Keep track of your velocity (in to 60°) is only possible after you’ve
yards per second). You can increase it moved straight ahead for a distance
You may decide to accelerate to or decrease it at the end of each turn; equal to at least (current
high speed at the end of any turn dur- see Accelerating, below. You must velocity/Basic Move) yards, rounded
ing which you’ve moved your full move as fast as your velocity – that is, down. This number is your turning
Basic Move – modified for encum- if your velocity is 17, you must move radius. For instance, if your current
brance, if any – in one direction, more 17 yards that turn unless something velocity is 13 and you have Basic Move
or less (no more than one 60° turn). (e.g., bad footing) slows you down. 5, you must move at least 13/5 = 2.6
You must have taken either a Move or yards, which rounds to 2 yards,
a Move and Attack maneuver that Maneuvers During between each change of facing.
turn, and you must be standing up. High-Speed Movement
Until you have moved a distance
Once you switch to high-speed If you’re moving at high speed equal to your turning radius, you must
movement, you move as described under your own power, you should continue to move forward. If you are
under Sprinting (p. 354). You may take either a Move or a Move and using the Tactical Combat rules, you
start the next turn with a velocity up to Attack maneuver. This applies to a can move into any of your three front
394 SPECIAL COMBAT SITUATIONS
hexes, but without changing facing. If an amount up to your Basic Move (or which your velocity exceeds your
you have legs or similar, you can roll more, with some risk – see below). If Basic Move. For instance, if you’re
against DX or Jumping to cross obsta- your deceleration reduces your veloci- moving at 23 yards/second and have
cles; otherwise, you collide with any- ty to Basic Move or less at the end of Basic Move 3, you must roll at -6.
thing you can’t maneuver around or your turn, you are no longer at high
which doesn’t dodge out of the way. speed, and may use the ordinary If you fail, you lose traction and fall
movement rules next turn. or spin out of control – see Losing
Note: These rules are cinematic but Control, below.
easy to use. A more realistic turning Pushing the Envelope
radius would be (velocity squared)/10 Tactical Movement
yards; those who enjoy complexity are You can try to decelerate by up to
welcome to use this. Basic Move ¥ 2. You can also attempt If you are using the tactical move-
to change direction before you’ve ment rules with high-speed move-
If your Basic Move is 0, do not use moved the requisite distance. Either ment, your movement points equal
the rules above. You cannot turn at all requires a DX+3 roll – or a vehicle your velocity at the start of your turn.
under your own power! You can only operation skill roll, modified by the You cannot sidestep or step back.
drift. To execute a turn, you must be vehicle’s Handling statistic, if you are Turning radius limits facing changes:
pushed, towed, etc. driving a vehicle. a 60° turn is a one hex-side facing
change.
Attacking and Defending Hasty deceleration requires a roll
at -1 per two full yards/second beyond Minor obstructions and bad foot-
You can fight normally during Basic Move by which you cut your ing cost movement points as usual
high-speed movement, subject to the speed. For instance, if your Basic (see Movement Point Costs, p. 387),
limits of your combat maneuver. You Move is 5 and you decelerate by 9 and also decelerate you at the end of
can dodge, but you cannot retreat or yards/second, you must roll at -2. your turn by an amount equal to the
dive for cover. The GM should always extra movement points paid. For
apply speed modifiers when you’re An earlier turn (or a tighter turn; example, if your high-speed velocity is
under attack – or attacking! e.g., 120° instead 60°) calls for a roll at 14 and you run through six yards of
-1 per full increment of Basic Move by mud (+1 movement point per hex),
Accelerating you’ll automatically decelerate to a
velocity of 8 at the end of the turn. Add
If your velocity is less than your this to any voluntary deceleration. If
top speed at the end of your turn, you the total exceeds your Basic Move, roll
can increase it by an amount up to as described for Pushing the Envelope,
your Basic Move, to a maximum of above. If it exceeds Basic Move ¥ 2,
your rated top speed. Top speed is you lose control automatically.
20% over your Move if you are sprint-
ing and don’t have the Enhanced Losing Control
Move advantage.
If you are running on the ground
Decelerating and lose control, you trip. You fall
over, skid for 1/4 your remaining
Instead of accelerating, you can movement straight ahead (unless you
decelerate, reducing your velocity by hit something), and then stop. If you
land on the ground and skid to a stop
without hitting anything, you suffer
damage for a fall at your current
velocity; see Falling (p. 431). If you hit
something, you suffer (and inflict) col-
lision damage instead; see Damage
from Collisions (p. 430).
Optional Rule:
Changing Posture in Armor
For enhanced realism, you can let encumbrance level affect the time
it takes to perform a Change Posture maneuver. At encumbrance level
0 (None) or 1 (Light), Change Posture takes one second, as usual. At
level 2 (Medium), it takes two seconds to change posture – and so on.
While you are partway through a posture change, you are considered to
be in the old posture. This rule may slow play, but it can also give a real-
istic edge to lightly armored combatants.
SPECIAL COMBAT SITUATIONS 395
You also lose control if you are scabbard while a mount is bucking; a elephant or similar mount would
knocked out, or take any combat critical failure means you drop it! have a flat back, and a rider could
maneuver but Move or Move and stand up and move around; tradition-
Attack, while moving at high speed. Nonsapient mounts without war ally, an elephant carries the driver, or
For instance, if you were stunned and training (see War-Trained Mounts, mahout, on its neck, and a howdah, a
forced to Do Nothing, you would trip p. 459) are liable to “spook” at danger platform with several fighters, on its
as described above. – especially at the sounds of gunfire back.
and injured animals of their own
Exception: If you are moving on species! All combat Riding rolls are at Movement
three or more wheels, you’re more sta- -3 for a well-broken mount without and Maneuvers
ble. The GM may rule that you merely war training – and at -6 or worse for
decelerate your maximum safe decel- one that is not fully broken. See Riding and Draft Animals
eration each turn instead of tripping, (p. 459) for the Move of various
unless your loss of control was the The rider must make a Riding+2 mounts. The animal’s Basic Move is
result was a critical failure or injury roll to get any mount except a war- the pace it can achieve while walking
(stunned, etc.). trained mount to charge into or over or trotting; its Enhanced Move is
any obstacle, or onto bad footing, or to for a gallop, and uses the rules under
High-Speed Flying perform risky maneuvers like jumps, High-Speed Movement (p. 394).
and Swimming tight turns, etc., unless they’re a mat- Encumbrance penalties apply normal-
ter of life and death for the mount! ly (see Encumbrance and Move, p. 17)
Only use Basic Move if you are Failure means the mount disobeys;
moving on the ground. Use basic air see Spooked Mounts, p. 397. . . . but few mounts willingly carry
Move when flying, and basic water more than Medium encumbrance.
Move when swimming (see Move in Mounting Up
Other Environments, p. 18). If you lose In combat, the mount can take any
control in the air or water, you don’t Mounting a horse or similar crea- maneuver, unless it’s moving at high
trip; instead, you must move your cur- ture takes two consecutive maneuvers: speed. Then it is limited to Move or
rent velocity straight ahead and then Move to jump or climb up, followed Move and Attack.
decelerate by your maximum safe by Change Posture to seat yourself.
deceleration. You can do nothing else – You can leap astride in only one turn if The rider can take any maneuver.
this effectively ends your turn! you make a Riding, Acrobatics, or Use Change Posture to dismount safe-
Jumping roll at -3 (no penalty if you ly from a mount that hasn’t moved, or
MOUNTED are using stirrups) – but on any fail- that has moved only a step. Otherwise,
COMBAT ure, you fall! the only way to get off is to jump or
fall. To jump off safely, take a Move or
Knights, cowboys and Indians, and When you are using Tactical Move and Attack maneuver and make
other adventurers often fight from the Combat, a rider is in the center of a 3- an Acrobatics or Jumping roll. On any
saddle. A mount not only provides hex mount like a horse, or the front failure, you fall!
additional mobility, but its extra of a 2-hex mount like a gryphon. An
height and momentum can make the
rider’s attacks more effective, while
the shock of a mounted charge can
panic unprepared opponents. Some
mounts even fight in their own right.
With the exception of the occasion-
al camel or elephant, mounted war-
riors usually ride horses, and these
rules assume that. For the differences
between horses and various mounts
from fantasy and science fiction, see
the pertinent animal descriptions.
Ordinarily, a rider can direct a war-
trained mount by voice and foot pres-
sure, leaving both hands free for
weapon use. However, all Riding rolls
are at -3 for “no hands,” or -1 if only
one hand is on the reins. Riders who
need both hands to control their
mount may drop what they are hold-
ing. It requires a Ready maneuver and
DX-3 roll to return a weapon to its
396 SPECIAL COMBAT SITUATIONS
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GURPS - 4th Edition - Basic Set
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