Actions determine how much and what you may attempt or accomplish in a turn of combat. Each character has 1 tactical action, 1 maneuver action, 1 brief action and 1 reflex action. These actions can be used for a variety of different things but all characters will have to pick a small subset of potential options each turn. Detailed explanations of the types of actions and what they entail are shown below.
You may hold an action by declaring what action you would like to perform and describing a triggering event. The triggering event should be specific and follows the basic formula of when x occurs I will y. Held actions are lost after 1 round if not activated or if another action is taken.
Some thing you want accomplish in the game may require a full-action. These require you to expend your tactical, manoeuvre, brief and reflex actions to complete your intended action. If you have taken a full action you may still take free actions but can't take any other action in your turn that requires the use of your expended actions.
Grapple/Getting out of a grapple.
Declaring to attempt a grapple allows a character to roll a contested athletics test against a target(s) that is adjacent to them. If the target fails the contested test they are considered restrained (2). They can be moved by you when you move but must remain adjacent to you for all your movement. If the target succeeds the contested test then they suffer no penalties and the grapple fails. Grappled characters can attempt to break the grapple at the start of each of their turn by rolling a contested athletics test against. If they are successful they suffer no further penalties and may act freely. If the character’s are forced out of adjacency then the grapple ends. The grappler may end the grapple as a free action at any time.
When vehicles perform or are the target of the grapple action they substitute their athletics for piloting.
Dash
Declaring a dash allows a character to move a number of spaces equal to their speed value.
Use skill/ assist with skill
Declaring to use a skill allows a character to pick any skill they have, describe what they would like to accomplish with it and then if permitted by the GM roll that skill with the hope of rolling enough successes to accomplish what they have described. Failing a test may simply mean their character is unsuccessful or it might have more severe consequences depending on the narrative, what the skill test entails or the GM’s ruling. Complications will not necessarily impact the outcome but they will alter the scene in one way or another.
Assist: Declaring to assist another character with a skill test you provide the other character with a number of bonus dice equal to your skill in that test. If you wish to use a different skill to assist them then they receive a number of bonus die equal to half of the skill of your choice or half of your attribute value associated with the skill that is being tested. Targets may not benefit from more than one assist action.
Heal: You may with a successful DS3 Aid skill test restore a number of wounds to a target equal to 1+ the number successes over those required to complete the aid test. This test receives 1 DS penalty for each physical condition the target has. A target can benefit from this once per scene or encounter.
Compose: You may with a successful DS3 resolve skill test restore d3 Vigour to a target. This tests receives 1 DS penalty for condition the target has. A target can benefit from this once per scene or encounter.
Attack
Declaring to make an attack allows a character to roll their melee, gunnery, small arms or subterfuge skills to damage or otherwise harm an opponent. Unless otherwise stated attacks will generally roll in one of the aforementioned skills to exceed the defense of a target. If the attack is successful then the character rolls their DD and adds the results to their weapon's listed damage. The amount by which the damage exceeds the target's resilience is how many wounds the target receives.
Critical hits: when you roll a 6 on the chronicle die during the attack test your target in addition to suffering a condition also takes rank wounds damage. critical hits can not be reduced through fortitude free action. additionally you always inflict rank wounds on target even if your damage does not exceed their resilience.
When attacking you may elect to make your attack a called shot, this makes an attack more difficult for a chance to do additional damage, inflict a physical condition on a target or be more precise when targeting vehicles. You may either:
You may also elect to target multiple opponents with an attack by increasing the DS penalty by 1 for each additional target up to your Technique attribute value. Weapons that affect an area such as line, AoE, linked and beam cannot be used to target multiple opponents in this way.
Disengage
Declaring a disengage allows a character to move half their speed value in spaces immediately and any attempts to take the riposte action against the character automatically fail.
Hide
Declaring to hide allows a character that is out of LOS or obscured to roll a stealth test. This character gains the hidden status.
Pervade
Not all opponents are viable targets for electronic warfare, wildlife and combatants that do not conduct conventional warfare might have little to fear from advanced electronic warfare systems. Viable targets for the pervade action must:
Equipment that is susceptible to hacking is denoted by this icon 💻, if a vehicle, exosuit or power armour has one piece of equipment with the aforementioned icon then they are a viable target for the pervade action. The range of the pervade action is equal to your interfacing skill value in hexes. This can be modified by equipment, talents and abilities. Targets that are connected to a network are viable targets for the pervade action even if they are not within interfacing range while you are connected to that same network.
Networks
A network is composed of any 2 devices connected together by cables or wirelessly, they are capable of transmitting, exchanging, or sharing data and resources. The range of the network is determined by the individual devices that comprise the network. Being connected to a network adds +1 to the result of any interfacing skill tests that target other devices connected to the same network. You may attempt interfacing skill tests on any device that you share a network connection with regardless of range. Networks are only as strong as their weakest link and attempts to break into a network always use the DS of the weakest device. To break into a network you must be in range of any 1 device that comprises that network and have the appropriate gear. You may be connected to any number of networks at a time but you lose connection if you leave the range of a network, turn your device off or have your connection disrupted by environmental sources. Devices can be forcibly booted from a network with a successfully contested interfacing skill test.
Communications
Communications made through a number of personal and vehicle equipment, communications have two forms:
Range of the pervade action is determined by your equipment but the range is by default physically in contact with the target equipment. The gm ultimately decides whether or not a target is within in range.
If you have the appropriate equipment you may initiate an attempt to hack the equipment of a vehicle or non-vehicle target. To do so roll Interfacing against their IDef, if you exceed their score you have successfully compromised one piece of equipment. On non-vehicle targets you elect a piece of equipment to compromise, on vehicle targets you compromise one random piece of equipment on a random segment. Vehicles can only be pervaded by one interfacer.
You may do the following so long as a vehicle has one piece of compromised equipment or is marked:
Move
Declaring a move allows a character to move a number of spaces equal to their speed (base speed is 6). It also costs a move action to stand up from being knocked down.
Ram
Declaring a ram allows a character to move a number of spaces up to their speed value and roll a melee attack. The damage of this attack is equal to the character's Grit + the number of spaces moved by the character that turn. The ED for this attack is equal to the character's athletics skill value. Vehicles use piloting in place of their athletics skill value to determine the ED of the ram action.
The character takes equal damage if the target is larger than them and half of the damage if the target is smaller. Vehicles never take damage for raming non-vehicles targets.
Vault
Declaring a vault allows a character to roll an athletics test, they then immediately move 1 space across per success or 1 space up per 2 successes if climbing over an object or a surface or 1 space per 3 successes if there are no objects or surfaces. Vehicles capable of taking the vault action use piloting in place of their athletics.
Aim
Declaring an aim allows a character to reduce the DS penalty of called shots by half in a skill they are making an attack test with.
Trample
Declaring a trample allows a character to move half their speed value to perform a contested athletics test on a target that is pinned, prone, or less than half your character's size. A non-vehicle character cannot target a vehicle with a trample. If the target fails, they are hit by an unarmed attack whose damage equals double the grit of the character plus the difference in weight (trampler's tons minus target's tons). This bonus cannot be negative. For instance, a 10-ton vehicle trampling a person would receive +10 bonus damage (10 − 0 = 10), while a 2-ton creature trampling a 5-ton creature would receive +0 bonus (2 − 5 = −3, treated as 0).
Pin/getting out of a pin:
Declaring a pin allows a character to attempt to further restrain a target they are grappling by reducing their own speed to 0 and rolling a contested athletics test. If the target fails they can take no actions aside from attempting to escape the pin by succeeding an athletics test. If they succeed the pin fails or is immediately broken and the target suffers no further penalties.
When vehicles perform or are the target of the pin action they substitute their athletics for piloting.
Scan
Declaring a scan allows a character to find out more about targets within a zone. The scan action can only be taken if the user has specialised equipment permitting the action. First the character must specify which zone they are attempting to scan in from the flash point, AO or Theater. Detect tests are only necessary for targets that have made a stealth test to conceal themselves or if a target has not made a stealth test but is benefiting from a DS penalty to detect them. In the latter instances the DS for detecting them is the sum of DS penalties they are benefiting from. Targets that have not made a stealth test to conceal themselves and aren’t benefiting from any detect DS penalties are automatically revealed by the scan action.
Scan may be used on a target that is already revealed to gather more specific information about them. In these instances do not roll a detect test and instead ask the GM to reveal a number of statistics equal to half your detect skill value. The following are things you can ask the GM to reveal:
Scan may also be used to mark an already revealed target by making a detect skill test against their defense. Marked targets trigger the overwatch action when they take the move or dash action.
Suppress
Declaring a suppress allows a character to roll a gunnery or small arms test against a target’s resolve. If their target fails then they must halve their speed until the start or the character’s next turn.
Toss
Declaring a toss allows a character to throw a target that is the same size or smaller than them they are grappling a number of spaces equal to their grit attribute value. The target suffers damage equal to the character’s grit+ the number of spaces they move + any damage incurred by the falling status. The target is considered prone when they land.
You may elect to toss a grappled target at another target by making an athletics test against the targets defence value. If hit the target counts as being trampled by the character provided they are they are a the same size smaller size or smaller than the character.
Takedown
Declaring a takedown allows a hidden character to incapacitate a grappled target by rolling their athletics against their target’s endurance. If the target fails this test then they are rendered unconscious.
When vehicles perform a takedown they substitute athletics for piloting, all occupants of the vehicle must succeed on their contested endurance test or be rendered unconscious.
Trip
Declaring a trip allows a character to make a melee attack when a target moves through a space within the character’s reach. This attack does no damage if it hits but it does halt the movement of a target in a space of the character’s choice and immediately makes the target fall prone.
Riposte
Declaring a riposte allows a character to make a melee attack against a target within reach that:
Overwatch
Declaring overwatch allows a character to make a gunnery or small arms attack test at a target within line of sight that has been marked by the scan action and moves. Once overwatch has been taken in this way then the target is no longer considered marked.
Evade
Declaring an evade allows a character to reduce incoming damage from a ram trample or weapons with the AOE, line or beam weapon traits by an amount equal to successes on a athletics skill test. When vehicles evade they substitute athletics for piloting.
Hunker Down
Declaring a hunker down allows a character that is in cover to spend 1 Vigour and reduce incoming damage by a number of successes on an endurance skill test. When vehicles hunker down they substitute endurance for piloting.
Fortitude
When you suffer wounds you may roll a number of die equal to your Fortitude value, each success you roll in this test expends a Vigour and removes an incoming wound. If you do not have any Vigour you may not take a Fortitude test
Drop an item
You may drop anything you are holding in your hands.
Speak
You may speak verbally or otherwise to anyone that can hear you. This speech can never cause a skill test.
Hand someone something/ take something handed to you
You may pass an adjacent character an item or piece of equipment you are holding.
Equip an non-weapon piece of equipment
You may equip an item that you have stowed on your person or within any space adjacent to you.