Combat

Combat overview

Combat in Afterverse is based on a cycle of turns, each of which may be extended or interrupted by expending points from the Initiative Bank. Each character's Initiative Bank is crucial, as it determines who goes in what order, what (and how many) actions they have available, and how well targets dodge when attacked.

A Note on Banks

There are many banks involved in combat, each with its own significance. In addition to the Initiative Bank, characters have damage banks (Stun, Physical, and sometimes Bleeding Out), and some skills and actions create their own temporary banks. Vehicles (including spaceships) have many banks, one each representing damage to their various systems, in addition to a "heat" bank. The team leader also keeps track of the Team Bank, which is added to individuals' Initiative Banks. Keeping track of these banks efficiently is the key to making sure combat proceeds smoothly. (See the Upping Your Game chapter in this book for tips on handling this.)

The Combat Round

Combat starts by rolling initiative. The result of the initiative roll is added to any existing value when rolled; characters may carry over up to INT IP between rounds. After initiative is rolled, each character takes a turn, starting with the highest Initiative Bank + Team Bank (the Team Bank is described in detail a later, but until you have one, it will be zero).

On their turn, the player declares their action, choosing from the list of possible combat actions. (As in most role-playing games, this list is not entirely exhaustive, and the GM should improvise rules for any actions players wish to take that are not on this list.) The player should wait a moment to give other players (or the GM) an opportunity to interrupt, and then allow any characters being attacked the opportunity to dodge. The player and GM then resolve the action by rolling any dice the action calls for and determining the result of the action according to the rules of the relevant action or skill. The character subtracts the IP cost of the action from their Initiative Bank. The character may at this point Blitz additional actions as well (take more actions on the same turn, at a much higher IP cost than the first action).

After this, the character with the next highest Initiative Bank takes his action, and so on down the list. When the last character has acted, the combat round has ended. All Initiative Banks are at this point capped to the character's INT; this is the only amount which you may carry over between rounds. When initiative is rerolled at the start of the next round, the hits are added to the bank.

A player is not required to take any actions on his turn, and may choose not to act when it comes up; if so, he does not get another chance to act this turn. This may be beneficial if he wishes to take a more complex action in a later round, if he wants to be able to interrupt, or if he expects to be attacked and wants to dodge better. Alternately, the character may on his turn intentionally reduce his IP bank, and will act on this turn when the new, lower initiative score comes up. This is useful if he wants to act in a certain order based on other party members, for example.

Rolling Initiative

Once a combat round begins, all involved characters should roll their initiative to determine who goes first and how often. Each character rolls REA + PER + initiative modifiers; the number of hits adds to his Initiative Bank (which generally begins at 0, except in cases of surprise or ambush). The value of the Initiative Bank is sometimes shortened as "IP", for Initiative Points.

On subsequent rounds, characters can carry over up to INT points of IP in their bank before rolling.

Surprise and Ambush Tests

If one team knows that an opposing team is on their way, they may attempt to take them by surprise. If a character is able to prepare and act before the targeted team knows he is there, then his Initiative Bank begins at INT before his first initiative roll (as if carrying over initiative from previous rounds). Each character on the ambushing team should roll AGI + Stealth (Hiding) and bank their hits into stealth banks.

In addition, the ambushing team's leader may make one MAN + Influence (Leadership) roll, and may additionally make any Tactics skill rolls that apply to the situation, such as Terrain Utilization if the ambusher has the high ground. The hits for all of these rolls contribute to the ambushing team's initial Team Bank. As a rule of thumb, implementing each Tactics or Leadership test should take about one minute of preparation; the GM should limit the number of these rolls that may be made based on the amount of time the ambushers have to prepare, and should require the party to set themselves up properly for this tactic.

Upon approaching the ambush, the targeted character or team should make an automatic PER + Tactics test with any one Tactics specialization used by the ambushing team (if none, use Tactics with no specialization bonus), or any other appropriate skill (such as Ranged Combat \(Sniper\), for example). If any player's Perception Test meets or exceeds the stealth bank of any member of the ambushing team, then they have spotted that character and have the option of backing out of the situation entirely.

If the targeted team meets but does not exceed the ambusher's hiding hits, or decides to proceed into the ambush regardless, then combat begins normally, with all parties rolling initiative; remember that the ambushers begin with INT in their IP bank prior to rolling.

Resolving Initiative Ties

Often, two characters will have the same initiative score. When this happens, players always win ties over NPCs; beyond that, ties are resolved by the highest Chutzpah, then the highest REA, then the highest INT, and finally, by Coin Toss - or CRIT, to make it easy to remember.

Initiative for Cores and Vehicles

Cores and autonomy-capable vehicles have their own Initiative Banks for actions. These devices have two numbers listed for their bank - the smaller number is how many IP they add every time Initiative is rerolled, and the larger is the starting and maximum bank size. Unlike character Initiative Banks, no dice are rolled for this; the number is simply added, until the bank reaches its maximum. Also unlike character banks, the core and vehicle banks usually begin combat at their maximum value, although there are situations where they may not.

Cores and vehicles use this bank both for actions taken autonomously and actions taken by the user; you may think of the core or vehicle as being its own entity but one that needs to be explicitly ordered to do something. Each vehicle lists the types of control available (Physical, Electronic, Remote, and Autonomous). For cores and vehicles supporting electronic or remote control, characters using this device must use a Digital Macro action to do so; to physically control a vehicle, a Manipulate Object Action must be taken. The character must use his IP, and the core/vehicle must spend its own IP as well.

Cores and vehicles supporting autonomous control may act on their own in the same way as characters do, using their own banks as Initiative Banks. Autonomous objects have limited decision-making capabilities, and can only perform actions they are programmed to take until given a command by their owner.

In most situations, it will not be worth the trouble to track a core or vehicle's IP bank; they usually have plenty to spare. If your party is going to be pushing one to its limits, it may be time to start tracking it, though.

Vehicles are assumed to use a Navicomputer (or a device with the same attributes) as their Core.

Declaring your Action

The player's first perogative is to declare their action. The listed actions below are all available, and are described later in this chapter.

Free Actions: Walk, Communicate, Gesture, Observe, Release Object, Drop Prone, Point Weapon

Simple Actions (1 IP): Draw Weapon, Reload Weapon Clip, Fire Simple Weapon, Clear Recoil, Brace Weapon, Throw Object, Pick Up Object, Active Dodge/Parry, Take Cover, Hide, Manual Digital Macro, Stand from Prone, Clear Senses, Run

Complex Actions (2+ IP): Crawl, Quick Draw & Fire, Burst Fire, Full Auto Fire, Strike, Melee Weapon Attack, Brawl, Grapple, Call for Surrender, Use Leadership/Tactics, Derision, Wedge, Create Digital Macro

Making an Interrupt Action

A character may interrupt another character's action after the action has been declared but before the action is carried out or a roll is made. Players (and GMs) are not required to ask the table for interrupts and wait for a response; it behooves off-turn players to be alert. Your group may decide on a “count of three” type of delay between declaring an action and rolling for it, to give other players a chance to interrupt.

In order for an interrupt action to be possible, the interrupting player's total IP must be higher than the interrupted character’s total IP (before any IP is subtracted for this action) plus the IP cost of the interrupt action. If this is not the case, a character may spend a point of Chutzpah to interrupt anyway; in this scenario, his action's IP cost must not put his IP below 0. A character may not Blitz additional actions during an interrupt. An interrupt action may only be done if the interrupting character can observe the currently-acting character; a Perception test may be called for by the GM.

After the interrupt action is resolved, the character which was originally acting resumes his action, unless the interrupt changed his ability to complete it. If he is no longer able to complete the action, then the IP that would have been used for it is not spent; however, his Blitz count is still increased (so the next attempted action's IP will be further doubled).

A character may not move or drop prone during an interrupt (the character should consider dodging instead, which support these actions). Free actions used during an interrupt are treated as Simple Actions. Talking is limited to a couple of syllables (enough to shout "Don't shoot!" or "He's one of us!", for example, which may call for a MAN + Influence (Leadership) or other test to determine if the interrupted character will go through with his shot).

Dodging in Combat

Before an attack is rolled, the defender has a chance to set the threshold of success for that attack; this process is known as 'bidding' for your defense, and it sets the threshold which the attacker must reach in order to succeed in the attack. Before anything else, the defender must be aware that he is being attacked, or the threshold is 1; a free PER + INT or PER + Ranged Combat (Sniper) test by the defender might be called for by the GM.

If he is aware of the attack, he may then choose to spend (bid) any number of IP from his bank in order to attempt to avoid the attack. For every IP he bids, the threshold is increased by his AGI, starting from 1.

The targeted character may choose to spend Chutzpah to immediately add to his IP in order to be able to spend more IP to dodge. The targeted player (including the GM, if the target is an NPC) may not see the attacker's roll result before deciding how many IP to spend dodging, nor may the attacking character change his mind about attacking after seeing the defender spending IP (though he may, for the sake of expediency, forfeit a roll that appears hopeless). After the attack is rolled, the attacker counts up his hits; if they meet or exceed the threshold bid by the defender, the attack has succeeded.

Anytime one expects to be attacked by multiple assailants, it is wise to seek cover (reducing the opportunities to get attacked) rather than rely on dodging; multiple dodges will quickly wipe out the character's Initiative Bank. Similarly, it is wise to use this tactic offensively, primarily targeting the most threatening character, hoping to reduce their ability to act.

Dodge to Cover

A character may dodge behind nearby cover as a part of their dodge action as long as they are spending at least 1 IP to dodge. This action does not affect the current attack (unless the attack is using an automatic weapon; see that section below for details), but doing so means that any further attacks will be defended with cover.

Dodging Attacks with Splash damage

Certain attacks, such as explosives, have a separate Splash damage code. If the weapon is being aimed directly at a target, the attacker may deal some splash damage even if he does not meet the threshold set by the defender. If the attacker does not meet the threshold, then subtract the number of hits from the threshold. Then, subtract this number from all values in the damage code of the weapon's damage. Whatever Splash damage remains is resisted normally (as Impact damage).

Weapons with splash damage may affect nearby characters or vessels as well. For size class A or B weapons, 'nearby' is usually within a few meters, probably Melee range; for larger classes, this usually means Docking Range (see the Guns and Ships chapter), except for size class E, where it means Rendezvous Range. If another character is standing near the target, this character will be in Splash damage from the start. They may spend IP to dodge the splash damage before the attack is rolled. Unlike the primary target, this character does not need to resist the hits rolled by the attacker; the defense threshold is subtracted directly from the splash damage code.

Cover

There are three levels of Cover: in the open, partial cover, and full cover.

In the open, there is no modifier for either attacker or defender.

Partial cover means that the defending character is behind something that partially obscures them. Under partial cover, the defender begins his dodge threshold at 2 instead of 0, and takes a -2 dice pool modifier on any attacks or observations made from this cover. If this cover could feasibly cover the entire character's body, then he may duck behind cover when dodging, and be behind full cover for any subsequent attacks.

Under full cover, the defender is ducking completely behind cover, making himself impossible to hit during those times. A character under full cover cannot make any free Observe actions, and Bracing does not persist through the act of ducking behind Full Cover. A character under full cover takes a -4 penalty to attack and any attack costs 1 extra IP. He may be targeted by Interrupt actions when he pops his head out to shoot. If the interrupt succeeds and the covered character must dodge, treat him as if behind partial cover (and he may duck back behind full cover, causing his attack to be canceled, while increasing his Blitz modifier.) He may also be targeted by thrown or indirect weapons (or weapons that can penetrate his cover) at a -6 dice pool modifier

If a character is able to duck behind cover during a dodge action, he spends IP to dodge as normal. However, the effect of automatic weapons becomes minimal (his defense threshold is reduced by only 1, instead of the normal reduction of "the number of bullets being sprayed"), and the character is considered to be under Full Cover immediately afterwards.

Blitzing

If a character has enough Initiative Score, he may take an extra “Blitz” action. This action occurs immediately after his main action, before any other character's turn. A Blitz Action costs double its normal action points (or 1 IP if it was Free). All actions - free, simple, and complex - cause this doubling effect, and doubling is triggered even if a preceding action was interrupted. (The only exception are Free Actions that can be performed concurrently with another action.)

A character during his turn may blitz repeatedly if he has enough IP, each time doubling the number of points the action requires. The primary action takes the normal amount of points; the first Blitz action takes double the amount of points; the second Blitz action takes four times the normal amount; and so on. The order the actions are taken determines which action’s IP cost is multiplied, so it is often sensible to execute more expensive actions first and then Blitz simpler ones.

All Simple and Complex actions increase the Blitz multiplier. Free actions cause this increase only if the free action cannot be taken concurrently with the next action (for example, walking and shooting count as one action; however, if the intended target is around the corner, the walking must be completed first, then the shooting action's IP cost is doubled.) While a Free Action does not naturally cost any IP, when used as a Blitz action, it will cost 1 IP; from that point on, its cost will double like any other action.

The Team Bank

Adding to the Team Bank (Leadership and Tactics)

If the group has a character that could be considered a team leader, then they also have a Team Bank. This bank starts at 0, but can be increased by the leader using a MAN + Influence (Leadership) test or an INT + Tactics (any specialization relevant to the situation) test, and adding the number of hits to the bank. Leadership may be used repeatedly, but it takes a negative dice pool modifier in the amount of the current value of the Team Bank - in other words, it's not possible for Leadership to increase the Team Bank beyond the size of its initial die roll, no matter how lucky.

A tactics roll also adds to the team pool, but it may be made by any strategist who is endorsed by the team leader. Any particular Tactics specialization may only be rolled once in a given situation, and only when the team's current strategy is appropriate to that specialization. However, there may be multiple usable tactical situations applicable to one combat, and they can all be rolled once. Thus, the team's strategist must pay close attention to the fight and decide carefully how best to instruct his team as the battle rages on; it may be appropriate to begin with one combat strategy and shift to another to take advantage of more Tactics specializations.

Only one character may be considered the leader at any given time. A different character may at any time make a Leadership test to attempt to become the new Team Leader, with each hit removing one point from the Team Bank. If the new leader has hits remaining, she is now the team leader, and the surplus hits are the new Team Bank. The new leader may begin using Leadership as normal, and all Tactics specializations are reset.

The Strategy specialization of the Tactics skill is special. The strategist can roll MAN + Tactics (Strategy) at any time, with a threshold equal to the current Team Bank; if the roll succeeds, then all the Tactic specializations are unlocked and can be used again. This action represents a shift in strategy on the battlefield, allowing for tactics to be reused. Note that, even if the strategist does not have the Strategy specialization, he may default on this roll, which can be useful when the Team Bank is completely depleted.

The actions of other members of the team may add to the Team Bank. Spontaneous acts of teamwork and selflessness may be rewarded with one point given to the Team Bank by the GM, usually one or two points at a time.

The Team Bank may also be reduced. If an ally is incapacitated (knocked unconscious, captured, etc), the Team Bank loses 2 points. If an ally is slain (or appears to have been), the Team Bank loses 4 points. (If the ally who was incapacitated or killed is the team leader, then the Team Bank is eliminated completely; another character may roll a new Leadership test to refill the Team Bank.) If the team's original goal appears to have become impossible, the Team Bank loses 3 points. If the opposing team is able to communicate with the team, they may try to reduce the team's trust in each other; make a MAN + Influence (Wedge) test, reducing the team's bank by the number of hits. (In any case, the GM should encourage the players to roleplay these leadership rolls, offering words of teamwork and encouragement to the party.)

A character may only take advantage of the Team Bank if he has a level of coordination with the team. Simply fighting on the same side is not enough; they need to be able to communicate with and understand the team leader. If a new character joins combat after the Team Bank has already been established, the team leader will have to make another Tactics or Leadership roll to loop them in on the strategy and allow them to use the Team Bank.

Spending the Team Bank

The Team Bank may be drawn upon by any character under the leadership (including friendly NPCs) to perform actions, as if it were a part of their own Initiative Bank; when determining the play order of characters or initiative values for interrupt actions, the Team Bank also adds its value to the effective Initiative Banks of all the team members.

If the Team Bank is reduced below zero by enemy Wedge actions or by modifiers, this becomes a negative dice pool modifier for anyone who continues to act towards the team's goal; many teams (especially NPC teams) have a tendency to break apart and flee once this puts them at a disadvantage. Teammates who flee, surrender, or otherwise abandon their team's goal will no longer suffer from this penalty.

Act As A Unit

When a leader gives a command, he can choose to order his team to act as a unit. Each teammate who has been given this command should (but is not required to) hold action until the time when the last of them would act, and all act sequentially, one immediately following the next, to achieve a specific goal. At the end of this process, add one point to the Team Bank for each character who was a part of this group action.

Calling for Surrender

A team leader may call for the surrender of the enemy; the enemy may or may not surrender based on the circumstances of the fight. The leader calling for surrender rolls MAN + Influence (Leadership), and the combat situation determines the threshold. The threshold for a surrender test is determined by the following:

1. Start with the enemy's Team Bank + number of active teammates. This includes enemy teammates which the leader calling for surrender may not know about.
2. Subtract the friendly Team Bank + number of active teammates. This is the number of fighters perceived by the enemy, and may be higher or lower than the actual number.
3. Add the average WIL of the active enemy team (round up) × 2
4. Subtract 2 for each enemy that has been killed.
5. The GM may raise or lower the threshold for other factors (including the resolve of the team, the perceived consequences of surrender, and so on), usually not totalling more than 3 points in either direction.

This can be shortened to (Team size difference + Team Bank difference) - (teammates killed) × 2 + (avg WIL) × 2.

If the above formula results in a negative number, the enemy team is likely to offer their surrender without even being asked. Individual enemy teammates with particularly low WIL may attempt to retreat before this, if the option is available.

The most effective ways to improve the odds of a obtaining a surrender are to prime them for it using the Wedge specialization to reduce their Team Pool; to make yourselves seem more numerous than you are; and to kill some of their party.

Unorthodox Tactics

A character or team may decide to use unorthodox, unpredictable tactics against the enemy, throwing the enemy off guard. Any unorthodox tactic is unorthodox for a reason - it is generally suboptimal. However, when the tactic is unexpected, the opponent will often be caught unawares. Many defenders will be caught completely off guard by unorthodox tactics, but experienced strategists will anticipate alternative tactics and plan for them, potentially putting the attacker at a bigger disadvantage than they were before.

Unorthodox tactics might include running across the roof using mag-boots rather than the generally accepted "floor", aiming at an explosive fuel canister next to the target instead of the target, or using improvised weapons the enemy does not expect you to have.

When employing an unorthodox tactic, both the offense and defense will suffer a penalty. The offense will suffer a penalty on the attack roll based on how many advantages must be sacrificed in order to employ the tactic - usually about -1 to -3, determined by the GM. The defense's Initiative or Team Bank (depending on the type of tactic being used) will take a flat -4 modifier, and then the defender (or defending team's leader) may make an immediate, free INT + Tactics (Strategy) roll. The number of hits on this roll is then added to their Initiative or Team Bank. This bonus need not be capped to the initial penalty; if the Strategy roll is very high, the “surprised” opponent may take advantage of the tactic to turn the tables on the attacker. Unorthodox tactics may be a dicey proposition.

Range and Movement

The Afterverse combat system does not rely on specific measurements of distance or calculations of line of sight, but rather focuses on several Ranges, all of which are always relative to specific targets. Moving around within the same range is considered a Walk action; moving from one range to another requires either two Walk actions or a Run action, unless the originating range is Melee or in Cover; those require only a single Walk action to exit.

The exact delimiter between different ranges is always subject to the GM's discretion. Note that while the combat system does not rely on specific distances, your situation might; the GM might require you to run 50 meters to flip a switch, for example.

There are four primary ranges: Melee, Standard, Long, and Sniper. A fifth range, Cover, is special, and dependent on directionality.

Melee Range

Every character has a "Melee Range" that surrounds them. This range is only a couple of meters, generally, and could best be described as "close enough to be punched". If two characters are this close to each other, their Melee Ranges will merge into one Melee Range. In other words, if characters A and B are in melee range, and character C runs and attacks B, character C is now automatically within Melee range of character A as well as character B. If character D then attacks C, all four characters are in Melee range of each other.

Ranged weapons are at a disadvantage when in Melee range. Any character attacking another character within Melee Range with any ranged weapons take a -2 dice pool penalty on the attack test, and any ranged weapons that are braced take a -4 dice pool penalty.

Standard Range

Most combat takes place at this range. At this range, attacks with ranged weapons take no penalty. A character in Standard range may, at GM's discretion, use either a Walk or Run action to move in such a way as to negate Cover against them.

Long Range

Long range start at around 30 meters from a target and extends to a few hundred meters. At this range, attacks with ranged weapons that are not braced are at a -4 dice penalty. At the GM's discretion, typically multiple Run actions will be required to negate a target’s cover from Long Range, if it’s possible at all.

Sniper Range

Sniper range starts a few hundred meters from a given target and extends up to several kilometers. At this range, attacks with ranged weapons that are not braced are not possible; attacks with ranged weapons without a sight or some other form of aim assistance are at a -4 dice pool penatly.

Cover

Cover is a special "range" that is a modifier on top of other ranges. See the Cover section later in this chapter for details on how Cover affects the ability to attack or be attacked. There may be many "cover" ranges, one for every section of cover that is separated by an open area. What constitutes a given Cover range may shift as enemies move around. Moving into Cover is a Run action as normal, but moving out of Cover is a Walk action; moving from one cover area to another nearby one is a single Run action.

By and large, if multiple characters are in the same Cover, they are also within Melee range of each other.

Melee Combat

Striking

The standard unarmed melee attack uses an AGI + Melee (Striking) roll. This includes a free Run action, allowing the character to move into Melee range from Standard range before attacking. If the attack succeeds, the damage code for the "weapon" (fists, etc) is (BOD) I, dealing impact damage.

Melee Weapons

All of the weapon-based melee specializations are treated the same way Striking is, giving a free Run action. They use the specialization appropriate to the weapon and, if successful, use the weapon's own damage code. Unlike fists, many weapons have a Range attribute; if so, the attacking character may choose to remain just outside Melee range, preventing the other character from dealing more damage with Brawling (limiting them to Striking actions). (Whether this is taken advantage of or not, the weapon's Reach still applies to the defense threshold as described in the Reach section below.)

Brawling

If the character is already within Melee range of the target, he may use an AGI + Melee (Brawling) roll. This does not allow the character to move anywhere, but the attack's base damage is (BOD × 2) I

Martial Momentum

All melee attacks, successful or otherwise, against a single target contribute to the Martial Momentum bank. The amount added to the bank is the same as the amount of IP spent on the action, including Blitz modifiers. (If using counters to track banks, it's helpful to simply move the counters from the IP to the Martial Momentum bank.) The value is capped at the character's BOD attribute. This bank adds its value to the first value of any attack's damage code (just like surplus hits do). The bank is cleared if you do not attack during a combat turn or switch targets.

Grappling

When attempting to take down or incapacitate the target, a character may use the Grapple action. The attacker must be in melee range before beginning this action. He rolls AGI + Melee (Grappling), resolved like a normal melee attack. If the attack succeeds, rather than damaging the target, the target is grappled, and cannot take any physical actions other than attempting to break free of the grapple. If the grapple was a Critical Success, the grappler is still able to perform physical actions; otherwise, he is entangled along with his target. The attacker’s net hits are placed into a Grappling Bank.

The target may attempt an Escape Grapple complex action on his turn. This action is resolved like an attack against the grappler. The grappler may “defend” by spending IP to add BOD to the defense threshold (much like spending IP to add REA to the defense threshold in a normal attack). Every net hit by the grappled character on this test reduces the Grappling Bank by one; if it is reduced to zero, the character is free from the grapple.

Throwing from Grapples

Once grappled, the target may be thrown. The thrower rolls AGI + Melee (Throwing) while the target sets the threshold, spending IP to add their BOD. If the thrower succeeds, the target becomes prone and the thrower may choose either to reduce the target's IP by the net hits, or to deal BOD + net hits Impact damage to the target, resisted normally. If the thrower fails, the target may immediately make a free Escape Grapple action.

Reach in Combat

A melee character's Reach is primarily defensive. If a character holding a melee weapon is dodging or defending against a melee attack, the defender can use the weapon's Reach to keep the attacker at a distance. The attacker's Reach (if any) is subtracted from the defender's Reach, and the defender adds the resulting number to his REA when bidding for the threshold for the attack. If the attacker's Reach is higher than the defender's, then there is no effect.

Because the Strike action includes a free Run action, distance on the scales of less than a few meters are generally immaterial when it comes to melee combat, rendering Range unimportant for attacking. So, in most cases, a weapon's Reach does not help when attacking, except in countering the defender's Reach. However, if a character is unable or unwilling to move (for example, if he wishes to take advantage of the quality Brick Wall), he may attack enemies that are within (half Reach, rounded up) meters of his current position, including any that have been engaged in melee combat with him in their most recent turn.

Ranged Combat

Recoil

Every firearm has a Recoil value. For every round the character fires from a weapon, that weapon's Recoil value is added to the character's Recoil Bank (note that this is per character, not per hand or per weapon). If a weapon is braced, then the amount of Recoil being added to the bank in a given firing action may be reduced by the weapon's Bracing attribute (to a minimum of 0).

For characters who are grounded (in an environment with GRV of 1 or more, or using magnetic boots or some other means of stabilization), the following rules apply. Whenever Initiative is rerolled, all characters with a Recoil Bank remove 1 point from it. The Clear Recoil action may be used to completely clear the recoil accumulated to that point. (Note that Clear Recoil cannot be used in the same round as any action that generates recoil, or its effect is nullified.) If the accumulated Recoil exceeds a character's BOD, the surplus is applied as a negative dice pool modifer on all physical actions.

Recoil in Space

For characters in low- or no-gravity environments without stabilization, the following rules apply. The accumulated Recoil applies as a neagtive dice pool modifier directly (BOD is not involved). Recoil does not reduce on its own, regardless of time or rounds passed. If the character has any kind of thrust available, he may thrust to remove recoil, using 5 ΔV for every point removed from the Recoil bank. If the character collides with any object (such as a passing ship), any impact damage he receives will be increased by the accumulated Recoil, and the Recoil Bank will be zeroed out. Finally, the recoil itself will actually accelerate the character in the opposite direction, the effects of which may be determined by the GM.

A character may attempt to use Recoil as thrust, making an AGI + Science (Physics) test, with a GR of +3. The character gets Hits × Recoil attribute × 10 ΔV. The GM should not ignore the fact that projectiles have been fired in the other direction, although unless the character is right next to a vessel, this is unlikely to be a significant factor. If the character is firing a weapon of a larger size class, the ΔV gained is doubled for each size class above him.

Bracing

Some weapons are designed to be braced against some part of a character's body. They may have a shoulder stock, an arm sling, a tripod or mount, or use a second handhold to stabilize them. If a character's weapon has a Bracing attribute, he may use a Bracing action (1 IP) to set up his shot before firing and add the Bracing attribute to his dice pool. In addition, when bracing, the total Recoil for any firing actions taken while braced is reduced by the Bracing value. (Note that this reduction is per firing action, not per bullet; see Automatic Weapons below.) Bracing lasts until the character stops training the weapon on a target, including when using a Clear Recoil action or dodging.

A character may continually hold their Bracing modifier as they move only by duck-walking. This causes the Walk action to be a Simple Action (costing 1 IP), rather than a free action.

Automatic Weapons

Some weapons have an Auto attribute; if so, the weapon can fire multiple rounds with a single action, all resolved as a single attack. The threshold of the defender is reduced by 1 for each bullet fired beyond the first (or in other words, by Auto - 1). If a Battle Rifle fires 6 bullets in an action, for example, then the defender's threshold (after spending his IP to defend) is reduced by 5. The defender may take this information into account only if his character knows enough about weapon design to recognize the automatic weapon. If the target is behind partial cover, this reduction is halved (round down); in the above example, the threshold would be reduced by only 2.

If a character, during his dodge, hits the deck or ducks behind full cover, then most subsequent bullets are wasted (unless the cover can be destroyed by them, of course). The defense threshold in this situation is reduced by 1 instead, and the character cannot be directly targeted by further attacks.

If the attack succeeds, the defender takes damage as if from a single bullet, with net hits adding to the damage code as normal. If an attack with an automatic weapon is a critical success (able to succeed using only sixes), the attacker may choose to have every net hit deal the damage code (with no bonus), each resisted separately - this is devastating, and often a death sentence. If the attacker chooses this, the critical success may not be used to affect the damage effect itself when resisting damage.

Design Attribute & Weapon Maintenance

Many weapons have a Design attribute. If this attribute is positive, this value acts as a dice pool bonus anytime the weapon is used. After every combat situation, the dice pool bonus is reduced by 1, to a minimum of 0. If the Design bonus is reduced to 0 in this way, the Glitch Risk when using the weapon is increased by 1.

This effect can be countered by maintaining the weapon properly. To maintain a weapon, the character makes a test using INT + Ranged Combat (Field Stripping) for ranged weapons or INT + Crafting (Melee Weapon Crafting) for melee weapons. The threshold for this test is the current Design value itself; any net hits above that add to the weapon's current Design value, to a maximum of its original Design value.

If the weapon's original Design attribute is negative, the weapon is simply unwieldy, and incurs a negative dice pool modifier. However, the above weapon maintenance rules only apply to weapons with a positive Design attribute.

Thrown Weapons & Scatter

A character has three options for throwing an object: Toss, Throw, and Hurl. In any case, they roll AGI + Athletics (Throwing) to determine their accuracy. If throwing at something or someone capable of dodging, the target may spend IP to dodge, and increase the attacker's threshold as normal. If a thrower would succeed with the normal threshold but misses due to the Dodge, the thrown object does land at the intended point and scatter is not applied; the target is just elsewhere when it does.

Toss allows the character to throw an object up to AGI meters; the threshold is 1, and it is a free action. Throw allows the character to throw up to AGI × 4 meters; the threshold is 2, and it costs 1 IP. Hurl allows up to AGI × 10 meters; the threshold is 4, it costs 2 IP, and adds 1 to the GR of the test (it is easy to lose your balance when throwing as hard as you can). The object being thrown must be at least one size class smaller than the thrower.

Some factors can alter these distances. The above paragraph presumes that everything involved is size class B, and at normal Earth gravity (GRV 4). If the object being thrown is of a higher size class than the thrower, the thrown distance should be halved. If the thrower is not size class B, either halve the distance (class A), or double it for each size class above B. Finally, for GRV values besides 4, multiply the distance by 4 / GRV; if in free fall, there is no real throwing distance limit. However, while throwing distance increases in low gravity, accuracy does not; the Throwing dice pool is reduced by as much as half if the targeted distance exceed standard (GRV 4) throwing ranges.

If a character fails this roll, then the object lands in a random position a bit away from the intended point. The number of meters away is generally the same as the AGI multiplier for the given throw action (1, 4, or 10) for each hit short of the threshold, and the direction is randomly chosen.

Effect of Gravity

The numbers given above assume a GRV value of 4 (Earth surface gravity). If the actual GRV value differs, then the distances are affected proportionally; for example, an object thrown in a GRV of 1 will fly four times as far as stated above. If the character is unaccustomed to the current GRV level, he takes a -5 dice pool modifier and a +1 GR on the throwing test, and scatter will most likely under- or over-shoot his target (depending on what GRV he is used to).

Size Classes

A full-size carrier can be very different to operate than a single person, and the size classes reflect this. These rules apply to any combat or time-sensitive situation involving entities of different scales. When dealing with a situation between objects of the same size class, no changes are needed; two capital ships fighting are treated more or less the same as two humans fighting, in terms of turn management and damage calculation.

The active Time Class of any encounter is based on the smallest object being controlled directly by a player (or being focused on by the GM), and uses the same scale as the Size Classes. If a fleet of fighters is being issued commands by their carrier's captain, their size class will not be considered; however, if a player character (or important NPC) then starts piloting one of the fighters, the Time Class of the battle may change. The Time Class of an encounter is determined at the beginning of each combat round.

When entities of different size classes engage in combat (or any other time-sensitive situation), the larger class object will be slower, but more powerful. Starting from the Time Class of the encounter, for each size scale larger, any action that entity takes has its IP cost doubled; the IP capacity of all such objects is doubled, but the IP replenishment rate is unchanged. This doubling is cumulative and exponential; if an entity is two levels higher than the Time Class of the encounter, it takes 4 times the IP.

Smaller objects are harder for larger ones to hit; for every level difference in size class, the defense threshold for the smaller one is increased by 2 before any dodge or evasion is done; this is cumulative per size class between them, though not exponential. The inverse is true for smaller vessels targeting larger vessels; the larger vessel's starting defense threshold is reduced by 2 for each level. It's common for large vessels to simply ignore and soak smaller vessels' weapons fire, as attempting to dodge has little effect, and their armor usually has no trouble absorbing the damage.

Perception checks are generally not affected by the size class of either the observer or the entity being observed, with one exception. A small entity may "hide" by being near to an entity of a larger size class, ("near" in this case meaning within Docking Range); the visual or sensor interference from the larger entity will add 2 to the detection threshold for each size class difference between the hiding vessel and the one being used to hide. In addition, the smaller entity may take cover behind the larger one using the Defensive Maneuvers action by the pilot or the Take Cover action of an individual; the threshold to counter either of these is similarly increased by 2 per size class difference.

Finally, when dealing with damage, all weapons made for a particular size class are made larger or smaller commensurate to that size. Accordingly, larger weapons' damage values are all doubled when attacking a smaller size class, and all smaller weapons' damage values are halved (round down). Again, this effect is repeated for multiple size classes between two entities.

In general, operating large-scale machinery takes more time, causing crew and ship to act as one at the ship's larger scale - for example, a human piloting a starship will use the starship's scale. If a smaller-scale entity than the current minimum temporarily enters play (for example, if the pilot needs to rush to a different station), then then small entity effectively has double their normal IP for every level below the current operating scale. Large-scale machinery often requires more people, too; these people are represented as Subordinates (see below), and the number required for the task is usually implied by the crew size of the vessel in question - if a ship is fully crewed, it has enough people for all its stations. So, for example, the engineering crew of a D class vessel is represented by a single dice roll by the chief engineer, and this action is taken on the D class time scale.

Hacking is special, and the timescales involved may be more fluid. General-purpose virtual actions should be considered a part of the lowest size class involved in the event. However, once actually hacking the system, the hacker needs to be acting on the same size scale as his target (usually multiplying the smaller object's IP to convert it to the larger one). The GM should consider that large-scale hacking actions are being rolled as abstractions of a more involved process; what is a single simple action on the Colossal scale is effectively 8 standard-scale hacking actions, the side effect of hacking a large, intricate network with many security protocols. Similarly, the network topology in such a case is an abstraction of a more intricate topology which would only be used if the hacker were to begin acting on a smaller time scale.

Size Classes and Weapons

In general, a character is assumed to be using weapons of the same size class. They may also use smaller weapons without penalty, though the smaller weapon still deals the lesser damage of its own class.

Using larger ranged weapons is a different story, however. A character or vessel may use weapons one size class above themselves, with caveats. The test uses AGI + Ranged (Heavy Weapons) specialization in place of whatever specialization would normally be used. If the weapon is not mounted, the user will take a dice pool penalty of (10 - BOD) on the attack test as well as any movement test. Any recoil effect from the weapon is doubled. A character cannot carry more than one weapon of a higher size class at a time.

Using larger-class melee weapons is not possible.

NPC Groups

Subordinates

Often, major characters (including player characters, the senior staff of a starship, etc) will have many subordinates, but these subordinates are largely homogenous - a team of engineers, of weapons experts, and so on - all working towards one common cause. This cause generally requires a certain number of teammates to achieve at all, such as the operation of D or E class weaponry, or repairs of a large ship. In these cases, the leader of the subordinates may simply make a single skill roll, representative of the skills of his entire team. The subordinates do not act on their own initiative, only on their superior's.

Squad Shortcuts

Sometimes, the player characters will come across an encounter that consists of many squads of enemies. For example, if several different starships are in combat, each one will generally have its own crew, and the senior staff would normally each have their own Initiative Bank. However, these crew members may not be homogenous or all working towards the same task, as with Subordinates rules above.

In this situation, only the leader's or captain's Initiative Bank is tracked. On his turn, he rolls Leadership; for each hit he gets on this test, one of his crew may take one action (all acting immediately, on the leader's initiative). The number of IP used by this Leadership roll is the highest single IP cost of any action taken by a subordinate. The captain may blitz another leadership roll and action combination, using the same rules.

The same rules may apply outside of starship crews. A large-scale combat scenario, for example, may have 100 NPCs among 10 squads, and these same rules may apply to these squads.

If one member of such a squad is interrupted, the entire squad is "locked out" from interrupting the interruption.

List of Actions

Free Actions

Free Actions use no Initiative points, and do not increase the Blitz count if the Free Action can be handled concurrently with other actions. It is usually only possible to perform one Free action in a given round, but the GM may allow multiple Free Actions if they do not interfere with each other (e.g. walking and talking). If any of the Free Actions require a test, the player should take a -2 dice pool modifier if multitasking.

Walk

A character may move around within the same Range. A character cannot Brace while walking.

Communicate

The character can say a short sentence (around ten words or less), either into a microphone or commlink, or in person. This also covers the use of a subvocal microphone, hand signals (if the character's hand is not otherwise occupied), Voran chromalinguistic communication, and most other forms of communication.

Gesture

The character may gesture, communicating intention via hands or body language.

Execute Neural Digital Macro

If the character has a commlink of any sort that can accept Digital Macro commands via a neural interface, he may use one. Simple commands (e.g. “eject clip” or “change night-vision mode”) are assumed to always be available; a more complex set of commands may be set up in the commlink in advance to be able to be used as a Free Action, as long as this macro is established prior to entering Initiative or by using the "Create digital macro" action.

Observe

The character may observe anything or anyone he can see (or hear, or otherwise sense) to determine its state. This may be used to see if a door is open, if another character is injured or dead, or to check your six ‘o’ clock position. Observing interrupts any Focus actions in progress. Only one Observe action may be made as a Free Action in one round; however, a character may spend 1 IP to get an extra Observe action (up to a maximum of the character’s PER attribute) and this will not contribute to the character’s Blitz count. It is not uncommon for one character to serve as overwatch and spend a large amount of his Initiative score simply watching and reporting the status of the battle.

An Observe action simply triggers a Perception test. One observe action may be thought of as one “question” to the GM about the situation (not including questions that simply remind or clarify what the character already knows); this may be detailed or general. The broader the question asked of the GM, the less specific the answer would be. If the player asks, “Can I see if any of the enemies are still alive?” and gets two hits on the test, the GM might tell him that all the enemies are down. If the player asks “Is the guy on the catwalk still alive?” in the same situation and gets the same two hits, the GM may tell him that he can see the guy on the catwalk is down, but is still alive.

Release Object

The character releases an object that is being held.

Drop Prone

The character hits the deck. If he was in partial cover before, he is now considered under Full Cover. He cannot move except by using the Crawl action, until he stands back up.

Point Weapon

The character points the weapon in the direction of a target. This does not give any bonus to the shot, and generally the only reason to point a weapon as its own action rather than just shooting the thing is to declare your intentions (or threaten or intimidate your target).

Simple Actions (1 IP)

Draw Weapon

Draw a weapon from its holster or picking it up from a surface. Included in the Simple Action are simple motions to get a weapon ready to use, such as unclipping the holster or releasing the safety.

Reload Weapon Clip

Any weapon with a clip may be reloaded this way.

Fire Simple Weapon

It goes bang. This action only covers simple weapons, such as single-shot or semiautomatic guns.

Clear Recoil

As recoil penalties accrue, this action may be taken to clear the recoil faster than it naturally clears. Your character shakes off his hands, repositions the gun’s stock, and takes a moment to clear his head. Clear Recoil cannot be used in the same combat turn as the use of a weapon that causes recoil.

Brace Weapon

The character holds his weapon in such a way as to reduce the impact it will have on him when fired - the stock on his shoulder, both hands in their proper place, and so on. See "Bracing", above.

Throw Object

The character throws an object that is in their hand. (Note that the object must be in their hand, so, for example, drawing and throwing a grenade are likely two simple actions.)

Pick Up Object

Pick up an object.

Active Dodge/Parry

The player chooses a specialization of the Melee skill from Dodge, Unarmed Parry, Weapon Parry, or Ranged Deflect. The player rolls REA + Melee (chosen specialization). The hits rolled on this test are banked; this bank can be spent as if its hits were IP to dodge or parry as appropriate to the chosen specialization, and this bank vanishes when the character acts next (including interrupts).

Take Cover

The character gets behind some nearby cover. In this case, "nearby" means anywhere he could reach with a free movement action.

Hide

Akin to Take Cover, except that it requires a stealth check. If successful, enemies will not know the character's whereabouts.

Manual Digital Macro

Just like executing a Neural Digital Macro, except that this requires manual interaction with the commlink, taking longer than neural interaction.

Stand from Prone

A prone character stands up.

Clear Senses

The Sensory Overload bank is reduced. Roll WIL + Medicine (Combat Medic); each hit on this test reduces the Sensory Overload bank by 1.

Run

A character moves quickly, and may move between ranges in one action. Using a run action subtracts 4 dice from any stealth test rolled by the running character. A running character's starting defense threshold is increased by 1. Any actions taken simultaneous to running have 1 added Glitch Risk; if running over unfamiliar terrain, the GR is increased by 2 instead. (This GR does not apply to the Attack with free Run action described below; for that, the GR is only increased by 1 if running over unfamiliar terrain.)

Complex Actions (2+ IP)

Crawl (2)

A prone character may move at his walking pace.

Quick Draw & Fire (2)

A character draws his weapon and fires from the hip. He takes a +2 GR on this attack.

Burst Fire (2)

The character fires a short burst of automatic weapons fire, between 2 and 5 rounds. The target's effective dodge threshold is reduced by (number of bullets fired - 1).

Full Auto Fire (3)

The character fires a long, sustained rain of 6 or more rounds. The target's effective dodge threshold is reduced by (number of bullets fired - 1). See the section on automatic weapons for more details.

Strike or Melee Weapon Attack (with run) (2)

A Melee attack strikes a target with a melee weapon or with unarmed combat. The player rolls AGI + Melee (Striking or weapon). Included “free” with a melee attack is a run towards the target, meaning the character can run to change ranges and attack with a single action, costing 2 IP.

Brawl (2)

A Brawl attack is like an unarmed Melee attack, but without the accompanying run action - the target must already be in melee range, and must not be parrying with any weapon that has Reach. The attacking character adds 3 to his base damage value.

Grapple (2)

When in melee range, the character engages in an attempt to take down his target, generally without damaging them. See the Grappling section for details.

Escape Grapple (2)

When grappled, the character attempts to break free. See the Grappling section for details.

Throw Grappled Target (3)

When grappling, the character attempts to throw the target.

Call for Surrender (2)

The team leader may call for the enemy's surrender.

Use Leadership/Tactics (2)

The team leader may make a Tactics or Leadership roll to improve their Team Bank.

Derision/Wedge (2)

A character attempts to reduce the Initiative Bank (Derision) or Team Bank (Wedge) of the enemy.

Create Digital Macro (varies)

Creates a Digital Macro to be used by the Manual or Neural Digital Macro actions. Creating the macro takes the same IP as executing the actions via Manual Digital Macro would take (if creating it neurally, subtract two IP from the total when making this calculation).

Damage, Damage Codes, and Healing

Damage is tracked by a set of damage banks. A biological entity generally has two banks, a physical damage bank and a stun damage bank. Many drones and vehicles have just a physical damage bank, while large ships have a system damage bank for each system plus a Waste Heat bank. In each case, a given type of damage is represented by adding more hits to the appropriate bank. Death or destruction will generally occur when a physical damage bank exceeds BOD × 2 hits, and unconsciousness occurs when the stun damage bank exceeds WIL × 2. (For more information on how system damage and waste heat banks are handled, see the Guns and Ships chapter.)

Every weapon has a Damage Code consisting of a series of alternating numbers and letters. Each number-letter pair is a component of the code, and the components are dealt with in sequence. The first component is always added to by any net hits above the threshold obtained by the attacker.

Each component has a type of damage, which can be seen on the table below. Different types of objects or people respond to damage differently. Electrical damage, for example, will stun a human, but will physically damage a drone.

Some weapons may deal multiple types of damage. Heavy bullets, for example, may deal both Impact and Piercing damage, in which case its damage code may read something like 6P 3I. A taser bullet might pierce armor, and then deal electrical damage; its damage code might be 3P 8E. If the quantites for each damage type are the same, they will be written in a shorthand, like 6IE. If an attack test was involved with this weapon and the attacker got net hits, the net hits are always added only to the first type of damage listed (i.e. the first letter). When applying multiple damage effects, apply them in the order they appear in the damage code.

Applying Damage

When damage is received, add surplus hits (any hits above the threshold) to first item in damage code. Then, do the following for each type of damage in the damage code:

1. Adjust damage value based on size classes
2. Find appropriate box in the Damage Types chart based on the kind of target (Life, Machine, Vehicle) and type of damage.
3. Apply armor resistance - subtract the value described in "Armor resist" from the damage amount
4. If any damage remains here, apply "Effect" as described.
5. If the attack could have succeeded using only 6's (rather than 5's and 6's), then ALSO apply the "Critical" effect. (An effect like "Double F" applies to the standard effect)
6. Damage overflows according to rules in combat chapter.

Dismemberment: If the damage description has the "Dismemberment" quality and 4 or more damage was dealt, the character loses a limb; if the damage dealt was less, they lose something smaller, like a finger.

Note that a P (piercing) code will prevent all subsequent components of the damage code from being affected by armor; if P damage is applied, act as if armor is reduced (to a minimum of 0) for all subsequent values in the same damage code. Other types of damage have special properties, but the most common types are Piercing and Impact.

Environment Damage

See Environment Damage in the Life Among the Stars chapter.

Sensory Damage

Some weapons are meant to overload the senses of your enemy. The "S" damage puts code puts hits into any affected target's Sensory Overload bank. This bank is a negative modifier on any actions that require perceiving: any perception checks and all physical attacks, for example. Having any hits in this bank may also cause a character to have to roll a Perception check for actions that would not normally require one (such as dodging or interacting with a device).

The Sensory Overload bank can be reduced by taking a Clear Senses action. Roll WIL + Medicine (Combat Medic); each hit on this test reduces the Sensory Overload bank by 1.

Stun Damage

Stun damage represents any sort of damage that is easy to recover from and does no lasting damage. Impact damage codes against a biological entity deal Stun damage, for example. When a character's Stun damage bank reaches WIL × 2, the character falls unconscious; any further Stun damage received (including the remainder of the immediate damage) will then overflow to the physical damage bank.

Stun damage is recovered every time initiative is rerolled; the character may roll (WIL) dice, and remove that result from their Stun damage bank. (If in an encounter with multiple size classes, this recovery is multiplied by the same value as the Initiative result is.) It can also be recovered by using the Second Wind Chutzpah action. If the character was unconcscious, the character does not regain consciousness until the Stun damage bank is completely empty.

If a character's Stun damage bank is not empty, the bank is added to the Glitch Risk of any mental action they attempt to perform.

Physical Damage

Physical damage is potentially life-threatening. If the character's Physical Damage Bank exceeds the character's BOD × 2, the character is considered to be "Bleeding Out". (see below; note that the title of this condition does not necessarily mean that blood is involved)

Physical damage heals more slowly than Stun damage. After one day’s worth of rest (a full night’s sleep in a proper bed), physical damage may be healed by rolling (BOD) dice, and removing the roll result from the Physical damage bank. Modifiers from the Fast Healer and Infirm qualities apply to this, if applicable to the character. In addition, the GM may decide that some injuries may heal faster or slower. To do this, the GM simply adds or subtracts hits on the recovery test. Additionally, the GM may decide that some injuries might not heal at all unless treated by a doctor or medic.

If an entity's Physical damage bank is not empty, this bank is added to the Glitch Risk of any physical action they attempt to perform.

Bleeding Out

When a character’s Physical Damage Bank exceeds BOD × 2, it overflows into a condition bank known as Bleeding Out. The character immediately falls unconscious if not already. The character is not quite dead yet, but he is bleeding out at a rate of 2 hits per minute (or 1 point per combat round as long as combat lasts) being added to this bank until he either dies or is healed enough to be out of overflow damage. The character dies, and is beyond resuscitation, when this bank exceeds BOD + (MED TL × 2), where MED TL is any given doctor/medic's culture's MED tech level. A medic (with even basic training) can keep a dying patient stable using the Stabilize action (see below). Cryogenics and stasis stop additional hits from being accrued into this bank, and thus may prolong a character's life long enough to get them to proper medical facilities.

Dying Words

A character who is Bleeding Out may forfeit the chance for recovery in order to briefly regain consciousness and deliver final words or perform a final action. There are few rules governing this, and as this will be the character's final act, the GM should allow the player a considerable amount of leeway in terms of they may do. However, as a rule of thumb, any physical action that requires a test should generally not be permitted - no doing backflips when you're near death.

Using the Medicine Skill

When Physical damage is being treated by a doctor or medic, the Medicine skill is used. If the doctor/medic is the one needing medical help, and they are conscious, they may use the skill, but with the Glitch Risk from both Stun and Physical damage banks applying to the test.

Stun damage cannot be treated with Medicine, and must simply be allowed to recover naturally (which, fortunately, happens quickly).

First Aid

Stabilize is the action a doctor takes when her patient is Bleeding Out. The test is INT + Medicine (First Aid); the number of hits removed from the patient's Bleeding Out bank is equal to the number of hits rolled, and the action takes one minute, or 6 IP if done during combat. This action may be repeated indefinitely until the patient is no longer in Overflow. Note that the wounded character continues to accrue hits into his Bleeding Out bank during this time, so the doctor must make a certain number of hits each roll in order to keep the patient from getting worse. Multiple medics may use Stabilize on the same patient concurrently.

Triage may be used only once on a given set of injuries. The doctor rolls INT + Medicine (First Aid), and the patient removes the result from the patient's Physical damage bank. This test takes one minute, or 6 IP if done during combat.

When applying either Stabilization or Triage, a doctor may only work on one patient at a time. If the doctor has multiple patients, she has two options. She may split her time between the patients, working first on one then on the other. Naturally, if the patients are in overflow damage, this is extremely difficult to do, as the patients will be constantly accruing hits in their Bleeding Out banks.

The other option is for the doctor to treat one patient while instructing someone else on how to treat another; giving the instruction is a free action for the doctor. This option is available if the doctor has an assistant and the Influence skill (or can default using the MAN attribute). The doctor rolls MAN + Influence (Leadership) and INT + Medicine (First Aid), taking whichever of the two gets fewer hits (this is a free action for the doctor). The assistant then rolls INT + Medicine (First Aid) + doctor’s hits; this is handled the same as the standard Triage/Stabilization action, and does not take the standard defaulting penalty. The assistant's test has its Glitch Risk increased by 1 if he does not have the Medicine skill at all.

The Field Medic specialization indicates a greater ability to manage injuries quickly in the field; thus, if used in place of the First Aid specialization for any of these tests during combat, the required IP for each test is halved. (The time required outside of combat is unchanged.)

A First Aid Kit may add its rating to the dice pool of the healer. It is important to note that First Aid Kits are species-specific: a Bactaran First Aid Kit cannot be used to heal a human, or vice versa. (Also note the -6 dice pool penalty of the Medicine skill if care is being applied across species, unless the healer has the Xenomedicine specialization appropriate to the species being treated.)

After Triage has been used on a particular set of injuries (e.g. injuries from the same attack action), only Long-term Care and the character's own healing ability can (slowly) heal more damage.

Long-term Care

Long-term Care is an assist roll made for a character who is resting to recover physical damage. The doctor rolls INT + Medicine (Longterm Care), and the number of hits rolled is added to the patient’s dice pool for healing himself for that rest period. The doctor must spend at least 10 minutes with the patient per hit (of the total healing period of 6 hours) for the character to get this bonus.

Using Medical Equipment

Equipment may assist in these tests in two ways.

Healing of all kinds, long and short term, may be assisted by the appropriate drugs and medical tools. These supplies will be present if in a medical facility. Having the supplies adds that culture's MED TL to both the doctor’s dice pool and the patient’s healing test.

If not in a medical facility and supplies must be acquired, then the doctor must make an INT + Medicine (Diagnosis) test. If the original cause of the injury or source of infection is known to the doctor, the threshold is 1; otherwise, the threshold may be 2 or more, at the GM's discretion, depending on the rarity of the ailment. After diagnosis, the doctor may attempt to acquire the needed supplies. Once the supplies are acquired, the culture from which they were procured serves as the relevant MED TL; otherwise they act the same as the medical facility bonus. (At the GM's discretion, a different specialization of Medicine may be used, such as Toxicology.)

If such supplies are not available, then a First Aid Kit may be used instead, adding its rating (round up) to only the doctor's dice pool.

Lasting Effects of Bleeding Out

Anytime a character is brought back from Bleeding Out, he takes a Negative Quality as a result of his injuries. The nature of the quality taken should be appropriate to the kinds of injuries that brought him to that point (for example, if suffocation was the cause, he might consider taking Low Lung Capacity). Alternately, it may be related to something from his recovery (for example, an Addiction to painkillers). Other than that restriction, the quality could be almost anything.

The XP Bonus of the Negative Quality taken should be equal to the highest value of the Bleeding Out bank at any point; since the XP bonus is not likely to exactly equal the amount of damage received, the character’s XP Pool may be used to fill in the gap (spend the XP to bring the XP bonus up to match the damage, or regain the XP to drop the XP bonus down to match the damage; in the second case, the XP difference should be added to the character’s Earned XP as well.) The character does not actually gain an XP bonus for taking these qualities.

The gamemaster has final say over what negative quality is taken; however, he should take into account the direction the character’s story arc is taking, and the player’s intentions for the character certainly play into that.

List of common qualities for overflow effects: