Combat

There are two types of Combat. Ground Combat and Space Combat. You can skip to Space Combat by clicking here. Space Combat is built on a foundation of rules setup in Ground Combat. So it is best to first review Ground Combat.

Ground Combat is played out in rounds, and in each round everybody acts in turn in a regular cycle. Rounds have 5 phases too them. The 5 phases are listed below:

1. Initiative: Characters and opponents (usually controlled by the GM) all determine the play order with Team Initiative. Initiative determines the order that different teams of players take turns.
2. Surprise: It is determined if a surprise round is necessary by asking the question: "Are all combatants aware of their opponents?". If there are combatants that not aware of their opponent then they cannot act in this round. It is a surprise to them.
3. Advantages/Disadvantages: The first round of combat officially starts. The question is raised of advantages and disadvantages there may currently be available because of the environment.
4. Combat: Combatants act in Team Initiative order and attempt to defeat the opponents while taking into account any advantages and disadvantages.
5. Counters: Once all combatants have finished the turn is over and it starts over at step 3 again. If there are any round counters such as a fire burning, or poison effects you would move the counter now unless it has yet to effect anyone. This cycle continues until combat is declared over.

Below are the phases in more detail. After an example combat encounter.

Example Start of Combat Encounter

The GM: "The fog clears and before you is your worst nightmare! Four of the meanest looking Space Bears where awoken by the sound of the explosion. They stare with both anger and surprise at the unexpected guests. You have woken up a din of Space Bears! Prepare to battle!"

 (The group is made up of 4 people. But only 3 are there at the time. Brandon(Tracer), James(Electo-Mancer), and Art(Xenophile). The forth isn't there yet, Katie(Helix Warrior) she is in the other room and just heard the explosion. Brandon being a sneaky bastard had declared that he went into stealth before the group entered the room. His stealth roll was an 18.)

 Katie: "Do I hear the explosion?"

 The GM: "Yes! But you are in a different room. You cannot act in the first round."

 Katie: "I yell! 'I am coming! What the devil did you guys do! Don't forget this is a possible crime scene! DUH!'"

 The GM: "You are all [[Conditions#Shaken|Shaken]] by the explosion but just for one round. In your first turn, you have the Condition Shaken. The Team takes disadvantage on attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks. However, the explosion has stunned one of the bears."

 Brandon: "What about me? I was in stealth?"

 The GM: "Your stealth didn't protect you from the explosive trap."

 The GM: "The bears initiative is lower than your group thanks to Katie not being part of the group. Her lower initiative would have knocked the average down below them. You guys go first!"

 The GM: "But before you go! Brandon, you are in stealth the bears do not know you exist yet. You get to act in the surprise round."

 Brandon: "Buwahahahaha... I will attack the closest bear with my silenced pistol."

 (Brandon Rolls dice for an accuracy check. He rolls a d20 and one 1d2. The extra 1d2 is because he is shacked and is the disadvantage he has to subtract the result from his total. His shoot misses)

 The GM: "Ok Now the normal round starts. You guys group goes first. Katie is still on her way."

 (Brandon and Art and James all decide their plan of action and roll the appropriate dice. Brandon chooses to hide again, Art and James attack the Space Bears. James uses a Technique to shock one of the bears.)

 The GM: "Now the space bears are wounded but still in the fight and retaliate with there claws."

 (Space bears attack the 2 in the room that they can see. The one stunned bear, however, cannot move because of the Condition of being 'stunned ')

 The GM: "Alright round one coming to a close!. Moving the stunned counter down from 2 to 1 on that bear you hit James. Katie, you have entered the room and see a sight you never thought you would behold. Giant angry space bears are clawing there way through your friends! What do you do?"

 Katie: "I join the fight!'"

 The GM: "Alright, even though Katie would have brought the init down below the bears she is joining late, so the groups init doesn't change."

 (The next battle starts now Katie is in the fight. The whole team attacks the Space Bears. Next the bear's attack and finally the round is over.)

 The GM: "That bear is no longer stunned James! You notice that he can move again."

 James: "No so fast!"

 (The next round starts the group finishes off the space bears before the bears can go. The battle is concluded)

The Initiative Phase (Step 1)

Initiative is a representation of a players reflexes and mental focus in combat. It is a score that is: DEX + WIS + MISC. It can also be a check when necessary. d20 + DEX + WIS + MISC. The Team Initiative is simply the average Initiative score round up. In a battle scenario the Team with the higher Initiative score goes first. If there is a tie the Team that has a Character with the higher Dex score goes first. If that is still a tie then an Initiative check is rolled on between the Characters on opposing teams who has the highest Initiative until the tie is resolved

If the battle is between just 2 people then the same rules apply its just a Team of One.

Characters may have taken certain feats or talents that improve initiative by adding additional bonuses. This is considered the 'MISC' bonuses.

Editing Character Sheet: At the top of the first page next to Affinity Die there is a box for 'Initiative'. You can record your character's current Initiative here.

Joining a Battle If characters enter a battle after it has begun. If they are a third party and not part of any Team his or hers Initiative is compared to the other Teams. The same goes for multi people joining combat as a new Team. Their group Initiative is compared to the other groups to determine what the turn order is. If you are joining a group then you simply slip into the groups turn order as noted by the rules above. However this does not change the groups current Initiative score. The score that is at the start of combat is what is used until combat is done unless a Feat or Technique or some other action states otherwise. Joining a Team doesn't change that Team initiative while in combat.

The Surprise Phase (Step 2)

When a combat starts, if a character was not aware of his or her enemies and they were aware of the character, that character is surprised. Likewise, a character can surprise his or her enemies if the character knows about them before they know of the character.

The Surprise Round If some but not all of the combatants are aware of each other, a surprise round may happen before regular rounds begin. The combatants who are aware of the opponents can act in the surprise round. They act in the order that the Initiative states from step 1 just skipping the surprised combatants. They can also choose not to act as to remain hidden. Before combat starts make sure that characters have opportunity to not be surprised if there is the possibility to spot/see the trap/hidden combatants. For example if an enemy is in stealth the combatants should be able to do roll for perception against the enemies stealth to not be surprised. However there also can be situations where it is impossible a character to see the coming combat and in that situation the GM should not feel obligated to have them roll.

Unaware Combatants Combatants who are unaware at the start of battle do not get to act in the surprise round. Unaware combatants are still flat-footed because they have not acted yet. Because of this, they lose any Dexterity bonus to Defence.

Actions that can be done in surprise round and advantages and disadvantages that can be applied are explained in below sections.

All unaware combatants are considered flat-footed.

Examples: Examples for this is like the one in Step 1. This is where a group of 3 people walk into a room and one of them is stealthy. They have to fight space bears. The space bears are unaware of the stealthed character. When combat starts the stealthed character gets to attack one of the bears.

Another example is a group of people hidden in a hotel room to jump a bad guy once that person enters the room. The bad guy doesn't know the people are there but they know he is there. They are all able to start combat with a surprised round.

Advantages and Disadvantages Phase (Step 3)

This is based on the rules for Advantages and Disadvantages noted here. However not all Advantages or Disadvantages in combat are directly calculated using the Advantage system. Some things can negatively or positively effect a target person without effecting there dice roll. Such as doing an action that puts a target into a condition like a trip or grapple. Advances or Disadvantages can be placed on a Character even if that Character isn't the one making the roll. Instead it effects any one else having to roll to interact with that character.

At the start of each team's turn the Advantages and Disadvantages for that Team as well as each person individually. The Team should be aware of what bonuses and subtractions they have before making a decision about what action too take. This Phase is here to both example Advantages but also as a place holder and reminder to check what Advantages and Disadvantages exist in the round.

In the start of combat ALL combatants (unless noted otherwise) have the disadvantage "Flat-Footed". More about what "Flat-Footed" means down below. Once a combatant's turn starts they are no longer considered Flat-Foot'ed unless told otherwise.

Here are all the different things that can provide Advantages or Disadvantages:

1) Character positions relative too the enemy can provide bonuses. An example might be Flanking. Or if a Character has the 'High Ground'. << List needs to be added!!! >>

2) There are also Conditions a player may be in. Some conditions simply effect what a Character is able to do. For example the condition of "Dazed" causes the Character to be unable to act. Obviously the "Dazed" condition would be considered a Disadvantage although it doesn't directly effect rolling. However other conditions use the Advantage rules such as "Sickened".

3) Certain Feats or Class Talents can provide bonuses again based on the environment and situation the Character is in.

4) Items are another provider of Advantages. An example would be the medkit which a Masterworked version of the item can provide an Advantage equipment bonus too a Character attempting to heal another player with the Treat Injury Skill.

5) A GM can also for some creative reason within the game declare that a Player has the advantage or disadvantage. This doesn't mean that you can simply throw out anything willy nilly as an Advantage. The advantage/disadvantage can effect anything that requires a roll. The GM can bypass the Advantage rules and simply declare a +/- to a particular roll or attribute for a single turn.

Actions done by a player may change the conditions in the round. It is up to the GM to confirm and keep track of all conditions and to insure that players are aware of there own Conditions. It is a good idea for a Player to be wise to the different Advantages and Disadvantages a combatant can have. Much of the strategy of combat in this game is about providing Advantages to your team while giving Disadvantages to the enemy team thus weakening them while avoiding the same fate.

The Combat Phase (Step 4)

Step 4 is repeated multi times until combat is finished. Usually the longest part of combat because each player has to figure out what to do and roll for their action. What action a combatant can do and how it effects himself and others are laid out here. This is also the largest section as it attempts to explain all that can be done.

Combatants Actions

The fundamental actions of moving and attacking cover most of what a character wants to do in a battle. They’re described here. Other, more specialized options are touched on later.

Each Combat Round represents about 3 seconds in the game world. A round is an opportunity for each character involved in a combat to take an action. Anything a person could reasonably do in 3 seconds, a character can do in 1 round. Each round begins with the Team who has the highest initiative and then proceeds, in order, from there. Each round of a combat uses the same initiative order. When a character’s Team's turn comes up in the initiative sequence, that character performs his or her entire rounds worth of actions although with there team mates. The Player's in a Team decide what they are going to do and then roll there dice to see if they where successful. If there action requires the success of another Player's action then they wait too see if there team mate was successful, if the other Player wasn't successful then there turn ends without action.

Table: Complete List of Actions

Attack Standard Actions
Attack (Melee Weapon)
Attack (Combat Technique)
Attack (Ranged)
Attack an object
Move Standard Actions
Move your speed
Use a piece of equipment
Climb, Crawl, Swim (Half Speed)
Draw a weapon
Holster a weapon
Move a object
Open a door slowly
Stand up from prone, sitting, or kneeling
Load a weapon
Full-Round Actions
Combat Maneuver (Sometimes)
Coup de grace
Full attack(Extra Attack Feat)
Sprint
Withdraw
Make a dying character stable
Total defence
Simple Actions
Drop to prone, sitting, or kneeling
5-foot step
Open a door quickly
Free Actions
Drop an object
Speak
Action Type Varies
Reload a firearm Standard Action or Simple Action)
Use a skill
Use a feat
Delay

Remember that each round represents 3 seconds of in-game time. The below table may help explain.

Table: Time and actions in a round of combat.

	---- Time (3 seconds) ----
ACTIONS
	Standard Action (Move Action or Attack Action)		Simple Action	Free Action
	Full Round Action			-

To the right is a full list table of all the actions that can be done in combat.

Character Placement/Location

Future Path uses squares as a way to help visualize combatants location, range of attack/movement/reach and who they can see and hit. You do not need a square mat to play as some groups prefer to imagine the whole thing and may feel that visual help hampers the imagination. However it is also nice for at least the GM to have some scratch graphing paper to help insure rules are followed.

Each square is considered 5 square feet. Each player according to there size takes up at least 1 square as there personal space. This means that if one player moves through another friendly players space they cannot sprint. A combatant cannot move through a enemy's square, at least not unless that combatant is in someway unable to move and is considered helpless such as having the condition of unconscious. Each combatant has a 5ft melee attack radius known as the Threat Range. Normally its just 5ft unless specified otherwise. Usually this can be changed by different type of melee weapon. Such as a halberd or a whip.

When moving a character can move in any 8 directions. Forward, Backwards, Left, Right as well as the diagonal directions Forward Left, Forward Right and Backwards Left, Backwards Right. There is also up and down and so on for ships in space if they have that ability. We will get into movement in space at a later time.

Movement

Moving around is pretty simple. A character has a certain amount of range they can run during combat. By default that range is 30 ft. (Remember that each around is suppose to roughly represent about 3 seconds and that running is the default way a Character moves in combat. You can also sprint which is 60 feet or walk which is 15ft.). You can review the different kinds of Movement you can do here. Each square is 5 feet. So 30 ft of movement means 6 squares in any direction including diagonal. You also do not have to have things line up perfect. For example a wall can end in the middle of a square. So that the distance between walls in a corridor is 2.5 squares. That space is still a valid space however smaller then normal spaces have special conditions. Characters that try to do combat techniques in smaller then normal will be at an disadvantage and if a character tries to sprint only across a square or set of squares that are reasonably smaller then the 5ft square then they have to roll an Acrobatics skill check. For example a tight rope, or tiles on the floor that if you step out of them a trap triggers.

Squares can have other attributes then just the size being smaller then 5ft. You can have different terrain. Terrain only effects a characters movement speed. GM's can use discretion on if the terrain they describe/imagine has any credible effect on the characters movement. Such as rocky/uneven may give a -10ft movement speed reduction. When trying to sprint, especially if Characters are running away from danger then they should roll an Acrobatics skill check to make sure they do not trip.

Movement takes up the majority of your turn. You will have to decide either or not it's wise to have your player move to a better location/different opponent/etc... or if they should attack. If you move faster then just the default speed for your Character then it is considered a Full Round action and the only other action you can preform is Speak or drop item.

You may also notice that there are other movements that you can do without leaving your square. Such as going prone or opening a door slowly. You can read up more about them in the #Move Actions section.

Attacking

Finally! I am going to shoot some things! Well.. firstly make sure you have already prepared the weapon you choose. For example if you want to use a sword you would first need to draw it from its sheath. If you wanted to use your trusty lazer pistol you would first need to draw it from its holster. Drawing a weapon is a move standard action which is the majority of your turn. Your are left only with a free action. Such as taking a 5-foot step.

Example

 You walk into the only lit part of this grungy back alley. Your opponent waiting on the other side wants to talk. The conversation goes unsurprisingly bad. You draw your weapon and step backwards into the darkness as the combat starts.

With a drawn weapon and your turn again you can go ahead and fire! Doing an attack standard action is a two step processes. First you want to roll to see if you hit the person. This is an Accuracy check against their AC stats. There are at least 3 numbers that need to be added together to get your attack score. First all checks are done by rolling a d20. So the first number is the number you get from your d20 roll. Second your character sheet will have an Affinity Bonus. If your Character is proficient with the weapon used then you get to add your Affinity bonus. Lastly is your weapon bonus. Each weapon may have a bonus that you can add to your roll. Lets say you have a reddot lazer on your lazer pistol because irony. And that reddot gives you a +1 bonus. This would be your third number. If your Character has any advantages or disadvantages then you will also have too roll advantage dice to add or subtract from this total. Your accuracy score has to be equal too your greater then the target AC score.

Example

(continued from previous example) The enemy is slower then you. You have the first shot. The player roll's a d20 and gets a 12. The character has an Affinity bonus of +2. And the lazer pistol provides an additional +1 bonus for its reddot. The total Attack score is 15. The enemy is sadly outmatched with a defence score of 14. Your lazer pistol hits the target.

Ok with a confirmed hit you now have to roll damage. The biggest thing that sets different weapons apart is what dice is used to roll for damage. Other features like bonuses to hit, special effects, difficulty of use all come into play as well. But the biggest part of a weapon is the associated dice. A lazer pistol may be a simple d6 but a high powered plasma rifle may be a d10. Which means it has the ability to do more damage. Also weapons may roll multi times. Such as 2d4. A lazer pistol is not a notable powerful weapon of combat so it has a humble single d6 for damage. However this isn't the only number you add. There are two numbers for determining damage. First there is the already mentioned dice roll based on weapon. In this case that is a d6. The second number is the DEX Modifier for the character. Melee attacks use the STR Modifier as a bonus to damage but ranged weapons us the DEX mod instead.

Example

(continued from previous example) The player rolls a d6 and gets a 4. Then adds the characters Dexterity modifier of +3 to get a total of 7. The enemy screams in pain as they receive 7 points worth of lethal damage.

Move Actions

Move your speed

During combat all combatants are expected to be running or at least jogging from location to location. You can claim that your character causes not to run from the massive firy explosion from behind but instead walk away from it. In this case you take 1/2 of the speed of your normal movement. Most movement is 30 feet. So 15 is your walk speed in combat. Remember that is how much you can walk is roughly 2-3 seconds.

Sprint/Full movement (Full round move action)

Although sprint is considered a Full Round Action we mention it here because it is indeed a movement. Sprint is the ability to increase your run speed but requires a full round to preform. Instead of going twice your move distance you can now go tree times. If a characters normal move distance is 30 and the player decides to have that character sprint it can move 90 feet or 18 squares.

This also can provoke attacks of opportunity just like moving can.

Climb, Crawl, Swim (Half Speed)

This is fairly simple. These are other move actions that require additional skill or simply hinder the speed at which you can move. If you wish to move at twice the speed of a normal climb/crawl/swim you must take a full round action. Attacks of opportunity still apply.

Draw/Holster a weapon

Again fairly simple. If a player doesn't declare that her character already has a weapon drawn then one of the first move actions in combat may be to do so. The player can still do another move action if they are willing to sacrifice there attack action. But drawing a weapon without any feats that modify this requires a standard move action. The same for holstering a weapon.

Move a object

Moving any object requires strength. If a character has no strength they are unable to even move themselves. Strength can determine how much a character and left over there head,to there waste, and drag on the ground. It also tells how much weight a character can pack and carry during a journey/adventure and not become encumbered. The below tables explain both.

Moving any object starts out at 1/2 speed. If you wish to increase the speed you would have to take a full round action and it would only double it. Attacks of Opportunity apply the same way regular movement do except now Dexterity is removed from a players defense.

Open a door slowly

This is simply an example of other generic move actions that can be done. Most any action that will take move then a split second to preform is considered a move action while in combat. Remember that each turn is roughly 2 seconds of time.

Stand up from prone, sitting, or kneeling

Hitting the dirt or going prone is considered a free action as long as you are not in low or zero gravity. But the opposite is not. Getting up is a standard move action.

Load a weapon

There are special feats that help with this but normally reloading a weapon is considered a move action.

Attack Actions

This are the standard attack options.

Attack (melee weapon)

The Character preforms an attack with a melee weapon. The weapon would have to be drawn. And the character would have to hit a target that is within the melee threat range.

The Attack Roll is: d20 + Affinity Bonus + Strength Modifier

The Damage would be: Weapon Damage Dice Type (dX) + Strength Modifier

Attack (Combat Technique)

The Character preforms a Combat Manoeuvre. These are special types of Melee attacks that are more likely to cause a condition on another opponent then damage. There will be a section dedicated to Combat Technique and there options. Some CMs also evolve movement such as the "Charge" attack. Those Combat Technique require both the Attack and Move standard actions and thus if a Character does one of those CMs they can only preform a free action afterwards.

The Attack Roll is the Character's CTO or: d20 + Affinity Bonus + Strength Modifier + Size Modifier

The Damage will be variable depending on the type of the Manurer preform.

Attack (Range)

The Character preforms a ranged attack. Using a weapon such as a rail gun or particular laser. Or even a low tech weapon such as a bow and arrow/spear. The weapon should be drawn and ready. The Character will receive penalties for targeting opponents outside of the weapons predetermined range.

The Attack Roll is: d20 + Affinity Bonus + Dexterity Modifier

The Damage would be: Weapon Damage Dice Type (dX)

Attack an Object

You can declare that you are attacking what appears to be an inanimate object. Such as a door or a wall. This attack can be a Melee/Combat Maneuver/Ranged. Items/Objects have Hardness ratings. Which are effectively there HP. In order to break the object a Character must bring the objects hardness below zero.

Full Round Actions

Combat Techniques

Some combat Techniques are considered full round actions instead of simply an attack action. The list is: Charge, Overrun, Bull Rush.

Coup de grace

Pronounced "coo day grahs". The change to fully finish off an opponent. This is only possibly if the opponent is completely helpless and unable to move. Being knocked unconscious, having a strength of 0, or having a HP score of 0 or below. The character doing the Coup de Grace does not need to do an Attack roll they automatically hit and score a critical hit. If the defender survives the damage, (there HP doesn't go below the negative there Constitution Score) the opponent must make a Constitution save (DC 10 + damage dealt) or die.

A Coup de grace provokes attacks of opportunity.

Full Attack

If a combatant wants to take advantage of there "Extra Attacks" ability granted to characters at certain levels they must take a full round and will be unable to move, even 5-foot steps. The only other free action available to them is to Speak.

Sprint

Mentioned earlier in the "Movement" section this is considered a full round action is you move x3 your normal combat speed.

Make a dying Character Stable

Characters can die once there health goes below negative their Constitution Score. So if their score is 16 then -16 or 16 points below 0 would me that character is dead. A field medic can do no more for the character. However if the Character is between 0 and 15 there is still hope. If a Character hits 0 they start to bleed out. Each turn they loose another point of health, not also counting other factors that could reduce health points as well. A character can attempt to stabilize a dying character. This requires a field medical kit and at least a single rank in the Treat Injury skill. If successful the character gains a single point of HP and any ill effects that may cause the person to instantly go back to 0 has been removed.

Total defense

Total defense is a representation of holding action and focusing on being aware of your surrounding and on your over all defense. The default stance of any no combatant NPC in a combat zone that may unwilling become a target getting in total defense increases a characters dexterity bonus by +4 associated with defense.

Simple Actions

Drop to prone, sitting, or kneeling

A simple action similar to drop an object except you cannot preform this more then once a turn without it being considered multi free actions. Also with the exception of low/zero gravity. This action cannot be considered a free move while in low/zero gravity. It is considered a standard action.

5-foot step

Much like Speaking this is not so simple. 5-foot step also has a lot of stipulation around it. 5-foot step can only be done once. The 5-foot step adds on top of any other free action except Speak. The 5-foot step is considered a turn ended move. It also cannot be done if any standard move action is done.

5-ft steps are a way to temporarily escape the reach of a melee attack. Or to move behind cover after an attack.

Free Actions

Lets first talk about Free actions in combat. A free action is anything that can be easily done in less then a second if necessary or be done while preforming other actions. So the table isn't a truly complete list. For example dropping an object merely requires that a combatant lets go of the object this can be done in a split second even if the object takes much longer to hit the floor. Or talking which can be done in the middle of preforming other actions.

Free actions can add up. You can only preform one free action a round without it taking up a standard action slot. If you preform multiple free actions you have to either choose the standard attack action or standard move action to sacrifice for that round. 4 or move free actions are considered to take a full round and both standard actions are taken.

Below is the actions mentioned in the table show previously explained in more detail.

Drop an object

This is simple. Simply let go of whatever the Player is having his character hold onto. Anything that is not connected in any other way except by a single directly accessible way of release. Wither that is simply releasing your hold on the item or its on an easily release clip. A player can preform this free action more then once in a turn without it being considered more then a single free action. However that only works if the character is able to let go of all the objects simultaneously.

This also implies even in low or zero gravity. As long as the character do not care the direction that the object is sent or the lack of motion from the object. For example you may be very concerned about a grenade as it would simply float around you. You would require to throw the object as you care about the direction. However if you simply wanted to leave the grenade there and flee the area then letting go of the grenade becomes a free action.

Speak

This may seam like a simple action and indeed it is however there is a lot of stipulation around this. It can be done as a free action during your turn and over laps all other free and standard actions meaning it never counts as an additional free action. Speaking is truly a free action. It can even be done when preforming a full round action which normally removes the ability to do a free action. The one rule is your words are limited to only a few seconds worth of speech per turn. You can even reply out of your turn. Just your words should not add up to more then ~2 seconds per round. Thus your conversation during the combat must be quick and is likely to take multi turns to make convey any complex ideas. This is a roll-playing game and combat is suppose to be fast and intense. At least it should seam that way too your characters. Pausing for out of game player conversation is always a nice feature of a strategy game but also can be abused. GM's should make sure that the players are not being information from "beyond the 4th wall (oooooohaaaaah)" into there characters knowledge. In other words knowledge gained from player communication that is considered outside of the actual game play should never mix with ingame character knowledge and characters should not act on ideas players discussed without having there characters also discuss them.

If you have your characters rollplay a complex discussion in battle it will either have to be around roll dice for attacks and defense or the players active in conversation must take full round actions dedicated to the conversation. Like to people behind a barrier talking about how ridiculous the battle is and what to do about it. People may still shoot at them but they are not having to directly react unless they are actually hit which breaks the conversation.

Of course how much this rule is followed is dependent on how well the GM enforces it and how much fun the group would fine that enforcement to be. Just remember that roll-playing is fun because it is a game of the imagination and having to overcome these imagined barriers can be challenging and interesting.

One way to get around this to some degree is to declare that your statement is wrapped up in a gesture. A simple (Attack here, defend that) gesture can be done at the same time someone moves, talks, attacks with a single handed weapon. You can rollplay the hand singles or simply speak what you intend without it taking away from the amount of words you can say. However communication via hand gestures are limited to one gesture per round.

Varies Action Types

Reload a firearm

This task can very depending on the type of firearm and certain feats. The details for a weapon should inform the player what action is require for reloading it.

Use a skill

In combat some skill checks are useful or necessary. They require time to preform and the skill details will explain what action it requires. If it doesn't it takes a standard action.

Use a feat

The same as using a skill. Feats normally do not require any type of check. And normally they require either a free action or standard action.

Delay/Ready

To delay an action or ready an action allows a player to strategist his characters movements and attacks and coordinate with other players. A player can declare that his Character will delay an attack action or move action until another event has occurred. Such as another combatant's attack or death. An example may be that one Character readies and melee attack action with an improvised weapon, a hard cover book, next too the door awaiting for her assailant to open the door. When the assailant busts through the door the Character can automatically attack even if it still isn't her turn.

In order to Delay/Ready an action a Player must declare it to the GM and sacrifice that action in there current turn. They must be able to sacrifice that action and they do not get it back if it isn't used.

Player's can also choose to coordinate actions with other players. The Player has to announce that they will coordinate all actions with another friendly players. The turn order of players in combat now changes and the two players get the lowest Initiative between the players which was obtained in step 1. When it becomes there turn the players get too choose who goes before the other sense they are working as a team. Players cannot coordinate actions with other players that cannot interact with and/or communicate with.

The Combat Ending Phase (Step 5)

Round Counters: Here is where the GM can subtract from any round counters. Any effects/conditions that last longer then one round need to have a counter to keep track of how many rounds have happened. Its usually the GMs job to keep track of such things. If the player/s with the effect condition haven't gone yet then the counter shouldn't be moved down. For example if on the last turn a character poisons an enemy that poison has the effect of doing 1d4 CON damage per turn for 4 turns. But sense the person he poisoned hasn't even gone yet the counter is merely setup but not moved down on the first round. However if the player didn't go last but instead went first and before the end of the turn the enemy takes 1d4 CON damage and the end of the turn the GM should move the counter down.

Adding new Combatants: It is at this point that if new players or GM controlled characters want to join the combat they can. The player deiced if they want to join a group or be on there own. The new player to combat may also be a surprise to the enemy. If so this new player starts out in the Surprise phase before moving to step 3. They also determine the advantages and disadvantages that they should have if any now that they are in the combat as well as any advantages or disadvantages they bring to combat.

Back to Step 3: Now its back to Step 3 and the combat continues. Unless of course all the enemies are defeated.

Left over Effects/Conditions: If all enemies are defeated then the combat ends. However people may still be poisoned or have any assortment of effects/conditions. Each round is considered 3 seconds. Characters with these negative effects should immediately deal with these conditions before normal game play starts back up. In the poison example the character still has 2 more rounds to go of poisoned. Now that character will have to take the damage for both rounds. And poison requires CON checks. So the player would also have to roll twice for that character. If a character wishes to heal themselves or has someone that can heal the poison or other lasting effect/condition the character can try do to do. But cannot take 10 or 20 and for each time a character tries and is unsuccessful is a turn for the effected character.

Special situations/attacks/moves

While in combat or even outside of combat there can be countless special situations that can happen where there may be exceptions to the rules orr special/extra rules.

Using Techniques

To learn about Techniques review the Techniques page. This page explains both Combat Techniques which are moves that all Characters can preform and Special Techniques which are specific too certain Advance Classes.

Following the same process for firing a weapon a Character can also attempt a Combat Technique. An example of this would be to 'Trip' an opponent. First the Character will have to roll an Accuracy a check. In this case its called: 'Technique Attempt Check' however its basically the same. This roll is: D20 + CTO (Combat Technique Offense). Each Character has a CTO and CTD. CTO is used to add to the d20 roll for the Attempt Check while the CTD (Combat Technique Defense) is the opposing number the Attempt Check has to beat. The targets CTD takes the place of there AC.

After the Attempt Check the effect of the Combat Technique. In the case of a Trip the opponent is now knocked prone.

Another option is casting a Special Technique. For example the Electro-Mancer has a Technique: "Shocking Grasps". This is actually considered a 'Touch Attack'. So the Character would just roll a d20 + Int Mod against the targets Touch AC. If successful the effect of Shocking Grasps will then play out.

In the end that is all there is too Attacking. A lot of the combat and strategy comes from the set-up of the attack while the luck of the game comes from the attack roll itself. In order to win Players must play smart to insure that they gain the advantage and are thus more likely to have successful rolls then there opponent.

Below is a detailed explanation of the 'Complete List of Actions ' table. (which happens to totally not be complete.. but whatever titles).

Thrown Explosives

Make a ranged attack against a 5ft square area. The accuracy check is against the squares AC. The AC is: 5 + Range Penalties. The Range Penalty is for ever 10ft after the first 10ft add an additional 5 AC. So 1 - 10ft would be +0, 11 - 20ft would be +5 and so on. The Character is able to add there Dex modifier too the ranged attack like normal. And for every 2 points in Str modifier a Character has the Character can extend the starting throwing range by another 10ft. So if a Character with a Str Mod of +2 and a Dex Mod of +2 attempts to through an explosive to a target 40ft away the target AC would be 15 and the Character would get a +2 to the accuracy roll.

When a Character throws the explosive he/she can either miss or hit.

• Hit: Individuals in the target square and all adjacent squares within the damage area are dealt damage.
• Miss:

1. First, roll 1d8 to determine the miss direction of the throw. 1 - Falls short (straight line towards the thrower). 2 through 8 - Count around the target individual or grid intersection in a clockwise direction.
2. Then, count a number of squares in the indicated direction equal to the number of range increments thrown. The thrown object lands that number of spaces away from the target.
3. Finally, the item deals damage to all individuals in the square it lands in and in all adjacent squares.

Space Combat

Space ship combat is very similar too normal combat. Please review the rules above before reading the Space Combat rules. Just like normal combat there are 5 phases to space combat. Below are exceptions to the rules noted above.

Initiative Phase

Initiative is now based on the ships Mobility Modifier + any Miscellaneous modifiers as noted on the Space Ship Character sheet. All characters on a ship act in turn on the ship. There actions are interchangeable like a group of players working as a team. Each ship is its own group. Even if players are on the same team if they are in two different ships they do not take there turn as a whole group. Only players on the same ship can interchange there turn order. All ships, including opponents go in turn order of there Initiative.

Surprise Phase

The rules here are still the same. Ships can preform an action in this round only if they are aware of the opponent ships. A Sensor check is now rolled to confirm if the ships are aware of each other.

Advantages and Disadvantages Phase

The rules here are also the same. The Advantages and Disadvantages system still applies. The goes for both the ship itself as well as the players within the ship.

Combat Phase

Here there are a few things different. Ship actions are actually the combined actions of its crew. This doesn't mean that all crew members have something to do every round of the combat phase. It all depends on what the crew wants the ship to do and what position each crew member is fulfilling. Below are some things different about ship combat.

1. A ship always moves. Even if the move action is to attempt to stay still relative to another object. All things in space are moving in the perspective of some other object. It takes a skilled pilot to keep a ship on target especially when that target is moving, the ship itself is moving, and there are tons of objects around them also all moving in completely different directions. To each round the ship must make a Pilot check. A failure to pilot correctly has 2 out combs. The position of the ship at the end of this phase is not where the pilot intended. The ship has a -2 AC penalty for the next round. If it is a critical failure it is a -4 penalty as well as any other possible failures the GM is allowed to impose.
2. The ship can possibly fire on multi targets. Each hard point weapon can only fire once per turn unless specified otherwise. So this means that the amount of weapons on a ship limits the number of different possible targets that can be hit. Secondly the ship has to target each one. A ship can only target the number of ships equal to its Sensor Modifier. However each additional target gets an additional -2 to the Accuracy check. The 3rd target would be a -4 the 4th target a -6. This can be mitigated by a Crew member on tactical as well as improved Targeting electronics.
3. Ships cannot do Combat Maneuvers. The only 'Maneuver' like Special Ability all ships can do is Ram. Ramming is similar in nature to a Charge Combat Maneuver. It does damage based on size. Xd6. X being equal to the size level + Engines Mod. Fine being level 0. Colossal be 8.
4. Massive damage for a ship is considered any amount of damage more then 1/4th the ships total Hit Points with a minimum of 50 damage. The ship makes an Armor check with a DC of 15. The DC is 20 if the damage is more then 1/2 the ships Hit Points. If it fails the ship may take on a damage condition.
5. Ships can target specific aspects of other ships in an attempt to force a damage condition along with the normal damage. The different systems are identified by the 6 different Attributes of the ship. The ship takes a -4 to the accuracy check. The DR from shields still apply. If damage is successfully dealt after the DR is accounted for the target ship rolls a check to see if the system is too take on a damage condition. The DC is 15 + the number of times that system has been hit per combat. If its a critical hit the DC is 20 + number of hits. Taking on a damage condition usually adds temporary negative effects that can be resolved by repairing the ship. These conditions can be removed while in-combat if the ship has an engineering bay and an appropriately skilled crew member assigned to it. Once a ship takes on 10 or more damage conditions it is considered inoperable. Inoperable is similar to the helpless character condition except that the crew on board can still attempt to fix the ship.

Combat Ending Phase

The rules are the same here.