Combat

Chimera combat can be short and deadly—those who rush unto the breach may not live long enough to regret it. That said, when your PC gets in a fight, here’s how to handle it.

You may surprise a foe with a Sneak roll against his Surprise TN. If successful, you may either execute a full combat action before your foe can respond (see Combat Actions, below), or you may apply a bonus of AR +2 to whatever action you perform on the first round of the fight (at the GM’s discretion, you may apply both benefits if the Sneak roll is a Critical Success).

When a fight starts, time switches to 10-second rounds. At the start of each round, every combatant chooses his action and rolls 1d12 for Initiative (adjust the roll by the chosen action’s Initiative Modifier (IM)). The highest result goes first, then the next highest, and so on until everyone has a turn. Actions are resolved on their turn, so it’s possible to dispatch a foe before he can act. If the fight isn’t over after everyone’s turn, the fight moves to the next round and combatants roll again for Initiative to repeat the process.

Full Actions: Consume an entire 10-second round and include any Action Roll (except a Resistance Roll), readying an item, and running or creeping (i.e., MR ± your Movement Die).

Free Actions: Take no time and include shouting orders, dropping an item, making a Resistance Roll, and walking no more than your MR (i.e., MR without applying your Movement Die).

You can perform any number of free actions each round, but only 1 full action is permitted.

Attacks are made with a Fight or Shoot roll against a Target Number equal to your foe’s adjusted Movement Rate (see Attack Target Numbers, below). If the attack succeeds, the defender is hit, and the attacker rolls the weapon’s damage die (2 dice if the attack is a Critical Success).

The base Target Number to hit a defender is his adjusted Movement Rate.

In this case, adjusted MR means the base MR modified by Encumbrance, terrain, Wound or Fatigue Penalty, and the effects of slow or haste powers. Use this value even when the target is running or creeping.

It’s assumed that you’re standing while fighting, but you can also assume these positions:

• Crouch: Low profile movement; this is a full action at your creeping MR, but you gain +1 cover bonus vs. Shoot and Blast attacks.
• Prone: You can lie flat as a free action and gain a +2 cover bonus vs. Shoot and Blast attacks. While prone, you may move at your creeping MR or Shoot. Getting up is a free action, but costs your Encumbrance in MR.

Parrying uses a shield or melee weapon to block or deflect blows; any parry bonus is added to the attacker’s Target Number. Cover is any material barrier that reduces a defender’s exposure to attack; cover bonuses are also added to the attacker’s Target Number, based on target exposure:

• Light: Covers ¼ of the target (+1 cover bonus)
• Medium: Covers ½ of the target (+2 cover bonus)
• Heavy: Covers ¾ of the target (+4 cover bonus)

Add the Cover bonus (and shield bonus, at the GM’s option) to your Resistance Roll vs. blast attacks (double the bonus for thick, strong, or reinforced barriers).

Parry and Cover are optional; if you don’t want to use them, apply any Parry or Cover bonus noted in the rules to the combatant’s Defence (DF).

When hit, a defender suffers a wound of severity equal to the damage roll minus his Defence (ignore “wounds” of severity zero or less). Regardless of severity, each wound suffered imposes a cumulative Wound Penalty (WP) of –1 to all rolls and Movement Rate.

If the total number of wounds, or the severity of a single wound, exceeds the defender’s Wound Limit, he’s vanquished, and the attacker chooses his fate (see Vanquishing Foes, below).

Classed characters (PC or NPC) may Resist a “Killer Blow” against TN 12. Success indicates that he’s Unconscious but suffers a permanent injury in the form of a random Flaw.

After overcoming a foe, a victorious attacker decides his opponent’s fate:

• Capture: Foe is bound, trussed, or otherwise restrained; impose a penalty of –4 to all rolls and MR while bound.
• Driven Off: Foe is sent packing and flees the scene; he will not return before a number of turns equal to the attacker’s level.
• Killer Blow: Foe is killed, dead, gone to meet his maker; he has become an ex-foe. Dead foes are usually gone for good, but may be restored if the campaign allows it.
• Unconscious: Foe is knocked out for 1d6 turns. Upon revival, the foe’s wounds and Wound Penalty are unchanged. Unconscious foes may be dispatched with a coup de grâce as a free action.

When a combatant’s Wound Penalty is half his WL, his leader falls, or his allies suffer more than 50% casualties, he must make a Resistance Roll against his Morale TN to stay in the fight. Failure means surrender or retreat. Player characters do not need to check morale.

Combat ends when one side no longer poses a threat to the other. After a fight, combatants must spend 1 full turn (10 minutes) checking the wounded, tending injuries, and otherwise composing themselves. Failure to spend this “cool-down” period mandates an immediate Resistance Roll against Fatigue. Anyone who engaged in ranged combat must also make an Ammo Check at this time.