Personal Combat

• Personal Combat

Personal Combat

Combat Rounds

A round in combat (or another action-oriented scene like a chase) encompasses enough time for all the characters involved to have one or two cinematic moments. A round could last a few seconds or as long as a minute—the focus is on the story.

Initiative

In combat scenes, combatants declare and resolve actions in descending order from highest Initiative score to lowest Initiative score.

At the start of combat, players roll 1D and add their Initiative rank to determine their Initiative score for the encounter. Player characters win ties against NPCs and players can decide who goes first in the event of a tie.

Instead of rolling, NPCs add +3 to their Initiative rank to determine their score. At the GM's discretion, a major NPC opponent may add +6 instead.

At the start of their turn, a character may choose to change their order in Initiative—they must select to take their turn immediately after a character who has yet to take their turn in the current round.

The Turn

In any order during their turn, a character can Move from one range to an adjacent range, take one Action, and take Free Actions if they can. They can also have a brief conversation and either pick up a loose object or swap which item they are holding one time.

Characters cannot take more than two Actions, including Free Actions, on their turn unless they roll the Gain Momentum destiny.

Actions characters can take include the following:

• Attack. Make an Attack roll against a target in range.
• Defend. Increase your Defense by double your Agility, Athletics, or Hide rank until the start of your next turn. If this bonus causes an attack that would hit you to miss, your Defense returns to its normal value.
• Dash. Move from your current zone to an adjacent zone.
• Use an Item. Interact with an item, such as opening a door or using a consumable item like a Medpac.
• Use a Skill. Do something that requires an Attribute check. Examples: splice a computer console, bash open a door, leap across a chasm, grapple a foe, use the Force, or pilot a speeder into an enemy.
• Aim. Choose to increase your next Attack roll by your Tactics or Search rank—or ignore up to 1D penalty for attacking at Long or further range.
  
• Help. Before the start of your next turn, add a skill rank of your choice to another character's Attack or Attribute check after they roll but before determining the result. If you do not, one non-Wounded character you choose regains 1 Resolve at the start of your next turn. A roll cannot benefit from more than two Help actions. You must be able to narrate how your actions help the target character.
  
• Hold an Action. Immediately end your turn by declaring a trigger for one of the following held actions: Attack, Use an Item, or Use a Skill. A held action lasts until the start of your next turn and occurs as soon as it is triggered, interrupting other turns. Example: You can hold the Use an Item action to shut an open blast door—triggered by your last ally escaping through the door.

Ranges and Zones

Zones in scenes and during combat are measured by Range relative to a given character. You must spend your Move to move from one zone to an adjacent zone. As follows, the zone ranges are in order of nearest to furthest:

• Close. The same zone you occupy. You can move within the zone without spending your Move. -1D penalty to ranged attacks made against enemies at this range.
• Short. No penalty to ranged attacks made against enemies at this range.
• Medium. No penalty to ranged attacks made against enemies at this range.
• Long. -1D penalty to ranged attacks made against enemies at this range.
• Extreme. -2D penalty to ranged attacks made against enemies at this range. A character can spend its entire turn, taking no other actions, to escape combat if all enemies are closer than this range.

Dealing Damage

When a combatant's Attack Roll equals or exceeds their target's Defense, they then make a Damage Roll determined by their weapon. Reduce the target's current Resolve by the Damage Roll - the target's Armor Rating against the relevant damage type. Losing Resolve may be narrated as you becoming more vulnerable to injury or being harmed directly.

If an Attack Roll equals or exceeds the target's Defense by 7 and does not benefit from the Piercing quality, half the target's Armor Rating (rounded down.)

Becoming Wounded and Fallen Fates

When a PC or significant NPC’s Resolve is reduced to 0, they become Wounded.

When a Wounded character takes further damage, they choose a Fallen Fate. Until they Rest, they can ignore this effect a number of times equal to their Stamina or Control rank—whichever is higher. If they take damage greater than half their Maximum Resolve (rounded down), they cannot ignore this effect.

At the GM's discretion, significant NPCs can also choose a Fallen Fate when appropriate.

Characters can choose from one of the following Fallen Fates:

• Never the Same. Choose an Attribute and permanently reduce it by -2D—or choose two Attributes and reduce them by -1D each. You are removed from the current encounter. Narrate what happens to your character alongside the GM. You can only choose this Fallen Fate twice during your character's life.
• Desperate Push. Roll 2D. On a 7 or less, die suddenly and narrate your final moments alongside the GM. On an 8 or higher, regain an equal number of Resolve, and you are no longer Wounded.
• Blaze of Glory. The current character's turn ends, and you immediately take a turn. You die at the end of your turn and narrate your valiant final moments alongside the GM.
• Tragic Demise. You die. Narrate your tragic final moments alongside the GM. All your allies who witness the death immediately regain 2D Resolve and 1 Force Point.