COMBAT

COMBAT ROUNDS

Combat is divided into rounds that last approximately 3-6 seconds. Each round is comprised of three phases - Initiative, Actions, Resolution.

INITIATIVE

Initiative determines the order in which combatants act. 
Each participant makes an Initiative Check by rolling 2ds6 and adding the Initiative Modifier from their Secondary Stats. 
The character with the highest Initiative score goes first and then combat proceeds in decreasing order to the character with the lowest score. 
In the event of a draw, PCs always beat NPCs. PCs with the same Initiative score act simultaneously.
Characters may choose to defer their turn until later in the combat round.
In each subsequent round of combat, any participant who was neither attacked nor attacked anyone else will receive a +1 modifier on their next Initiative check. 

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ACTIONS

Each participant gets 2 Combat Actions per round. 
They may choose to take the same action twice or take two different actions. 
See Table 10: Combat Actions on page xx.

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TABLE 9: COMBAT ACTIONS

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RESOLUTION

The Resolution phase of the Combat Round allows for delayed effects from actions and weapons, such as grenades or Repositioning. 
Once each character has taken both of their actions and after any delayed effects are resolved, the round concludes, and the next one begins with a fresh Initiative check.

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GETTING THE DROP

Before combat starts, one character (including NPCs) can preemptively Get the Drop and take a single combat action before anyone else rolls for initiative. 
Only one character can Get The Drop. If multiple characters attempt it, the one with the highest combined Dexterity and Acumen AMods wins. 
If there is no clear winner, no one Gets The Drop and combat moves directly to the Initiative phase. 
Any character who Gets The Drop automatically incurs a -2 CMod on their next Initiative Roll.

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RANGE

Rather than having fixed distances that require measurement, each character’s position to another is relative. 
There are five Range Bands - Engaged, Close, Medium, Long and Distant. 
Each band has a value that ranges from 1 to 5, as laid out on Table 11: Range Bands.

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Moving between bands takes the same number of combat rounds as the sum of the bands being covered. This means it takes:
3 Rounds to move from Engaged to Close
6 rounds to move from Engaged to Medium
10 rounds to move from Engaged to Long
15 rounds to move from Engaged to Distant

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TABLE 2: ATTRIBUTE MODIFIERS

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ENGAGED
Close enough to wrestle, Engaged combat gives a +1 CMod to Melee attacks and a -1 to Ranged attacks. All Unarmed combat takes place at Engaged range. 

CLOSE
If you can still see the whites of your opponent’s eyes, then combat is at Close range. Melee combat at Close range suffers a -1 CMod penalty. 
Close range is ideal for pistols, although any type of Ranged Weapon gets a +1 CMod to an attack. 

MEDIUM
At Medium range, there are no modifiers to any attack, and it is perfect for carbines or a bow. It is far enough that a pistol shot would be wasted without taking aim, but still close enough to throw a grenade.

 

LONG
Too far for an accurate pistol shot but perfect for rifles, being at long range gives a -5 CMod to any pistol shot but a +1 CMod to a rifle shot.

 

DISTANCE
The distance between the characters is so great that they require radio equipment to communicate and may struggle to see each other clearly. To hit from Distant range requires either a hunting rifle with a scope or a sniper's rifle.  

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DAMAGE

WEAPON DAMAGE

Each attack deals two types of damage - Wound Point (WP) damage and Resilience Point (RP) damage. 
Weapons inflict both a consistent and a random amount of damage, expressed as 5+1d6.
For most ranged and slashing weapons, RP damage is 50% of the WP damage, rounded down. 
Attacks that inflict concussive damage or blunt force trauma (such as fists, batons, or grenades) may do the same amount of RP damage as WP damage. Tables 16-19 or page xx show which weapons inflict 100% Resilience Point damage.
When using Melee Weapons or Unarmed Combat, the user adds their Physicality AMod to the damage done. This would be expressed in the format 4+1d6 + Physicality AMod.
For any character fighting with just their fists, the damage done is 1d3 + Physicality AMod + Unarmed Combat SMod.  

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SUBSISTENCE DAMAGE

A character can go without food and water for one day without harm, but after that, they will lose 1 RP per day from Subsistence Damage. 
If a character drops to 0 RP from Subsistence Damage, they are too weak to move and Suffer 1 WP per day. They will need another character to tend to and feed them until they heal enough to look after themselves, otherwise they Die. 
A character with a regular food and water supply will heal at a rate of 1 WP and 1 RP per day.

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FALLING DAMAGE

Characters suffer 3 WP & RP damage for each 10’ that they fall. 

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DROWNING

Characters can hold their breath in water for 6 + Physicality AMod rounds. 
For each subsequent round, they must make a successful Physicality check or suffer 3 WP and 3 RP damage each round. 
If a character's Resilience or Wound Points reach 0 because of Drowning, they will die unless another character saves them. 

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INCAPACITATION

IOnce a character's Resilience Points are reduced to 0, they will experience Incapacitation for 4 rounds - Physicality AMod (with a minimum of 1 round). 
The character regains consciousness with 1 RP and recovers 1 additional RP per round if they are not in combat.

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MORTAL WOUNDS

If a character's Wound Points reach 0, they become Mortally Wounded. They will Die within 4 + Physicality AMod rounds unless they are Stabilized.

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STABILIZING

If a character becomes Mortally Wounded, someone must Stabilize them with a Successful Medicine* check, or by achieving a Wild Success with a Reason check. 
Once Stabilized, the character remains Incapacitated for 1d6 rounds - Physicality AMod, with a minimum of 1 round. They will then recover consciousness and have 1 WP and 1 RP.

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DEATH

Mortally Wounded characters who are not Stabilized with Die withing 4 + Physicality AMod rounds. 
The final option to prevent death is to trade in all of a character’s Insight Dice. They regain 1 WP and 1 RP.

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HEALING

Injured characters who were not Mortally Wounded will heal at 1 WP per day if they are resting.
If the character was Mortally Wounded, they heal at 1 WP for each two days they are resting.
If the character is Resting and undertaking no activity, they recover RP at the rate of 1 per hour.

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LASTING WOUNDS

A character who is Mortally Wounded must make a successful Physicality check to avoid taking 1 Damage. 
If they fail the check, they should roll 2d6 and suffer the corresponding injury listed on Table 12: Lasting Wounds.
As the name suggests, these wounds are permanent and cannot be healed.

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STRESS & BREAKING POINT

Each character starts with a Stress Level of 0. 
When faced with extreme stress or emotional trauma (as determined by the Game Master or narrative context), PCs must make a check using their Stress Modifier, which is calculated by adding their Reason + Acumen AMods. 
If they fail this check, their Stress Level goes up by 1.
If a character’s Stress Level reaches 5, they hit their Breaking Point. 
The player rolls 2d6 and consults Table 13: Breaking Point to determine their character’s reaction. This lasts for 1d6 hours and, once the reaction is resolved, their Stress Level resets to 0. 
Characters can reduce their Stress Level by 1 by spending at least 8 uninterrupted in-game hours free from combat, interpersonal conflict, or environmental threat, while doing something they enjoy (such as fishing)..​

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