Combat Actions

Combat Action Types

Attacks, movement, cyberware triggering, and other combat activities all require one of the following four types of actions.

MAIN actions are a character’s primary action during a combat round, such as shooting a target, applying first aid to a downed ally, running a cyberware hack, frantically evading gunfire, or something else that takes less than six seconds to do. A combatant gets one Main action per round.

MOVE actions involve moving the character’s normal movement rate of 10 meters or performing some other relatively brief bodily action, such as getting up from prone. A combatant gets one Move action per round, but can spend their main action to get a second.

ON TURN actions are brief, simple acts that require only a moment’s concentration. Activating most cyberware or speaking a few words might constitute an On Turn action. A character can take as many On Turn actions on their round as the GM finds plausible.

INSTANT actions are special, most being provided only by certain powers or certain special actions. Instant actions can be performed even when it’s not your turn in the round, even after the dice have already been rolled. The Veteran’s Luck Edge provides one such Instant action, allowing the PC to treat a missed attack roll as an automatic hit. A PC can use as many Instant actions in a round as the GM finds plausible. Instant actions performed at the same time are resolved simultaneously, with the GM adjudicating any ambiguities.

Common Combat Actions

The actions listed below are merely some of the most common taken in combat.

Make a Melee Attack (Main Action):

Attack a target in melee range with an unarmed attack or melee weapon. Such weapons use either the Punch or the Stab skill, depending on the type of attack.

Make a Ranged Attack (Main Action):

Attack a target with a gun, bow, or thrown weapon. The Shoot skill is used for these attacks, though Stab or Exert can optionally be used for thrown weapons. If there is an enemy attacker in melee range, one-handed guns and thrown weapons suffer a -4 penalty to hit, while rifles and two-handed ranged weapons cannot be fired at all.

Make a Snap Attack (Instant Action):

As an Instant action, give up your Main Action and either Make a Melee Attack or Make a Ranged Attack at a -4 penalty to hit. As an Instant action, you can Make a Snap Attack even when it’s not your turn, but you must not have taken your Main Action this round yet. Only well-trained and disciplined NPCs have enough focus to Make a Snap Attack.

Make a Swarm Attack (Main Action):

Target an enemy within range of your weapon and take this action until up to four allies have Made a Swarm Attack on that target this round. At that point or any point beforehand, one of these assailants can Make a Melee Attack or Make a Ranged Attack on the target with a +2 bonus to hit and +1 bonus to damage for every other assailant, up to a maximum bonus of +6 to hit and +3 damage. This bonus damage does not add to the attack’s Shock and cannot make it do more than its usual maximum damage. Any Shock inflicted by this attack is always applicable, however, even if the target’s AC is too high, they’re using a shield, or have some power that makes them immune to Shock; the damage a Swarm Attack does isn’t really Shock, but a reflection of the inevitable hazards of being swarmed by numerous armed foes.

Charge (Special Action):

Spend both your Main Action and your Move action to move up to twice your normal movement rate in a straight line, making a melee or thrown ranged attack at the end of it with a +2 bonus to hit. You must be able to charge at least 3 meters to build up sufficient momentum and you suffer a -2 penalty to your Armor Classes until the end of the round.

Screen an Ally (Move Action):

Move up to your normal movement rate to get adjacent to an ally. You then physically block attacks against them until the start of your next turn, provided they remain within 3 meters of you. Enemies who attack your ward must make a successful opposed combat skill check against you using either Str or Dex and the most applicable combat skill. If the enemy succeeds, their attack targets your ward normally. If you succeed, their attack instead targets you. You can screen against a number of attackers each round equal to your highest combat skill; thus, you need at least level-1 in a combat skill to successfully screen. Multiple defenders can screen the same target, in which case the opposed skill check is compared to all defenders and targets the worst-rolling successful defender. You can only screen against attacks you could feasibly physically parry or body-block; gunfire cannot be blocked without integral cyber armor.

Total Defense (Instant Action):

Give up your Main Action to focus entirely on dodging and evading incoming perils. Your Melee and Ranged Armor Classes increase by +2 and you become immune to Shock until the start of your next turn, including the otherwise-unavoidable damage from a Swarm Attack. You cannot take this action if you have already spent your Main Action for the round.

Run (Move Action):

Move your normal movement rate in combat, which is 10 meters for an ordinary human. If you start your movement adjacent to an armed melee combatant, they get a free melee attack against you as you flee. To avoid this, you must make a Fighting Withdrawal first. Movement taken as part of a hyper-accelerated bonus action such as an Enhanced Reflexes cyberware activation does not require a Fighting Withdrawal.

Make a Fighting Withdrawal (Main Action):

Disengage from an adjacent melee attacker, allowing you to move away from them without incurring a free attack as you retreat. You do not actually leave melee range with this action alone, and your enemy can simply re-engage you next round if you don’t actually take a move action to retreat.

Use a Skill (Main Action):

Perform first aid on a downed comrade, trigger a cyber hack, or otherwise use a skill that wouldn’t normally take more than six seconds.

Ready or Stow an Item (Main Action):

A character can Ready an item for use from their pack or stowage or Stow it, as per the encumbrance rules in section 2.9.0. Sheathing or holstering a Readied weapon without actually Stowing it does not require this action, though the GM may disallow rapid weapon swaps if they start to become implausible.

Reload a Weapon (Main Action):

Reload a firearm with a Readied magazine. Modern bows and crossbows may be reloaded as an On Turn action if the shooter has at least Shoot-1 skill; otherwise it’s a Move action to nock a new arrow.

Drop an Item (Instant Action):

Drop an item you are holding. This may be done at any time to free up a hand.

Pick up an Item (Move Action):

Scoop up a dropped item within melee range, leaving it Readied in your hand.

Stand Up (Move Action):

Rise from a prone position, picking up any dropped items as you do so.

Go Prone (On Turn Action):

Fall prone, applying a -2 penalty to ranged attacks against you and a +2 bonus to melee-range attacks against you. Your normal movement rate is halved while you remain prone.

Hold An Action (Move Action):

Spend your Move action to delay acting on your side’s turn. You may trigger the rest of your turn’s actions as an Instant action at any point until the end of the round, after which they are lost. If your held action is taken in response to someone else’s action, yours resolves first.