TEXT: V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  BASIC COMBAT SYSTEM 
  Most role-playing scenarios contain at least the threat of violence.  
  Combat is the way most player characters die and it is one of the 
  most complicated—and exciting—parts of gaming.  When the GM 
  determines combat has begun each second is played out individually 
  and exactly what a character can do—and when—is specifically 
  spelled out by the rules. 
   
  This chapter is the Basic Combat System.  It’s still pretty 
  complicated but it contains only a fraction of the rules and flexibility 
  (and balance) of the Advanced Combat System.  When learning the 
  rules, this limited section will be useful to keep things under control.  
  When everyone is ready for a greater challenge (and more 
  rewarding strategic combat) you can move up to the advanced rules. 
  Combat begins when the GM says it does.  This could be the 
  result of a surprise attack; a mutual decision of two armed, 
  hostile groups meeting each other head on; or the moment when 
  someone says something really stupid in the king’s throne room. 
   
  When the GM determines that it’s time to go to combat 
  movement (where every second counts) the GM will tell the 
  players to “Roll Initiative.” 
   
  The process of rolling for initiative determines who goes first and 
  when everyone else gets to act.  Faster characters will tend to go 
  before slower ones and a really fast person may be able to take 
  all kinds of actions before anyone else gets to respond. 
   
  Once the order of initiative is determined for everyone in the fight, 
  each player, in turn, declares his actions (“I ride towards the 
  goblin king and take his head off with my mighty axe!”).  
  Generally a person whose turn it is gets to take all the actions 
  he’s allowed to before the next guy gets to go.  In some cases, 
  though, another character may get to act out of turn in response 
  (“I block his strike.” Or “I stab him on the way in as he charges 
  me.”) 
   
  The number of actions a character gets to take is determined by 
  his Reaction Speed (REA) score.  In essence, a character “buys” 
  actions on his turn: blocks cost 3 REA, strikes cost 5, running 
  around usually costs 8.  A character with a 13 REA could block 4 
  times in a round (for a total of 12 but couldn’t do anything else. If 
  he’s hit five times in a round he won’t even have a chance to 
  block one of them—too bad.) 
   
  When a character strikes or blocks he makes a skill roll against 
  his weapons skill (usually at some negative modifier).  If he 
  makes it by enough, he hits or blocks successfully. 
   
  When a character is struck (or shot, or falls for damage) he 
  makes a Constitution (CON) roll to see how well he took it.  If he 
  really blows his roll even a little damage can take him out—if he 
  takes a lot of damage, he’s in real trouble. 
   
  Basic F low of Combat 
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
   
  Initiative 
  A Is For Advanced: 
  The sidebar sections marked with 
  a large capital A are peeks into the 
  advanced combat system. 
   
  You don’t have to use them—you 
  can decide to ignore the 
  “intermediate rules” or you can 
  include them in your game, as a 
  stepping stone to the advanced 
  rules. 
   
  If a rule description seems 
  confusing or incomplete (we’ve 
  worked hard to make sure it 
  doesn’t, but sidebars don’t provide 
  that much space) then flip to the 
  page in the advanced rules where 
  it’s discussed. 
   
   
  * * * 
  Being surrounded in a deadly, 
  volatile standoff wasn’t my idea of 
  a good Saturday night—but 
  complaining wasn’t going to help at 
  this point. 
   
  Karg held his sword at one of 
  Raligs’ thug’s throats.  The big 
  man kept shooting looks my way—
  waiting for a signal. 
   
  Behind him Ralig’s gorgeous 
  assassin pointed a crossbow—
  probably loaded with some exotic 
  poison bolt--at Karg’s kidney.  In 
  her other hand was the crossbow’s 
  twin, pointed unerringly at me.  But 
  she wasn’t strong enough to keep 
  both weapons up indefinitely.   I 
  watched the tremors in her arms. 
   
  I held a sword to Ralig’s gut and 
  his hands were up—but over my 
  shoulder I could hear scraping 
  sounds of his other arms-man as 
  he crouched like a cat—ready to 
  charge me from behind if I moved. 
   
  In the doorway, with his crossbow 
  pointed at no one in particular was 
  Alestron—the bounty hunter and 
  onetime friend of mine.  He had an 
  easy, slack grin as he waved the 
  weapon theatrically. 
   
  “Ace,” he said, “you always did like 
  pressure.” 
   
   
  * * * 
  Okay, you’re surrounded by guards in the chambers of the Monarch of 
  the Seven Lands and one of your good buddies has just told the 
  Overlord of All He Surveys that he can stuff his sacred law where the sun 
  don’t shine.  Things are gonna happen fast. 
   
  The GM says “Make Initiative rolls,” and everyone rolls against their 
  REA.  The GM also rolls for any NPCs (or groups of NPCs if he wants to 
  simplify it).  When he asks you, you call out what you made or missed it 
  by.  If you made it by 4 you’d say “Plus four.”  If you missed it by six 
  you’d say “Minus 6.”  If you missed it by nine you’d say “Forget it, I’m 
  going last.”  (of course someone else might have missed their roll by 10 
  so you’d better tell the GM the roll anyway). 
   
  The GM makes a chart for each round.  The example below shows what 
  such a chart might look like in a fight that is just beginning it’s second 
  round.  Guess what happened to Thug 2 in the first round . . . 
   
   
  Fred 
   
   
  +0 
   
  +3 
  Sid 
   
   
  +3 
   
  +2 
  Nancy 
   
   
  -1 
   
  +0 
   
  Thug 1  
   
  -5 
   
  +4 
  Thug 2  
   
  +1 
   
  --  
   
  Of course, the GM’s chart probably won’t have the pretty graphics but 
  you can see that each character in the fight is listed (here the intrepid 
  heroes Fred, Sid, and Nancy fight two thugs). 
   
  Now, the GM takes the character who made it by the most and calls for 
  him to go first (in this case for round 1 it’s Sid with a +3).  Once that 
  person has gone the GM moves on down the line to the person who was 
  next most successful (Thug 2, in this case, with a +1) and when 
  everyone has had a chance the second (called a round) is over and 
  everyone left rolls again for the next turn. 
   
  Here we can see that in the second round (the second second of 
  combat) Thug 2 is no longer rolling initiative—that’s probably because he 
  was subdued in round 1 (or gave up, or escaped or otherwise isn’t in the 
  combat anymore). 
   
  The term turn refers to one person’s chance to act and the term round 
  refers to an entire second. Another way to put it is: during a round 
  everyone gets their turn to act and then the round is over. 
   
  Combatants 
   
  Round 1 
  Round 2     
  Buying Actions 
  Alright, you’ve carved your way through the Imperial Shock Troopers to 
  reach the despised Galactic Warlord himself.  Now what do you do?  
  Well—it probably involves firepower.   
   
  Actions come in three types: short actions, medium actions, and long 
  actions.  The difference is this: 
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
   
    Action 
      Basic REA Cost  
   Notes 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  A: Too Fast To React: 
  Sometimes a character can move 
  so fast that his target can’t react.  If 
  you make your initiative roll by 5 or 
  more than a specific target, you 
  can take a long action that affects 
  him and he doesn’t get a medium 
  action in response—but he can still 
  block.  This is a handy rule to have 
  when your fast character has to 
  charge across a room towards a 
  slower one with a weapon. 
  * * * 
   
  Two Key Concepts: 
  Two concepts that are explained in 
  the rules—but perhaps not 
  emphasized enough are AGI 
  Bonus and Block Rolls.  While you 
  should read all of the basic rules 
  before you understand these 
  completely, discussing them here 
  will help you along. 
   
  AGI Bonus: Fast people who are 
  highly agile and mobile are hard to 
  hit . . . even if they don’t dive for 
  cover or parry blows.  For each 
  point of AGI above 10 your 
  character has, opponents get –1 to 
  their to-hit rolls. 
   
  This “AGI Bonus” can go away if 
  you’re surprised, held in place, or 
  struck from behind.  Generally 
  though, a high AGI gives you some 
  defense even if you don’t 
  specifically “dodge” or block. 
   
  Block Roll vs. To-Hit Roll vs. 
  Damage Modifier Roll: 
  In combat your opponent makes a 
  to-hit roll . . . and you get to make 
  a roll to block his strike.   The more 
  your attacker hit by (if you fail) the 
  more damage he does on his 
  Damage Modifier roll.  Okay. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  What that chart means is that when someone attacks (medium action) 
  you can block (short action) but you can’t “strike back instantly” (which is 
  a medium action—and if they’re attacking it’s not your turn).  When 
  someone tries to break and run (long action) you can hit them on the way 
  out (a medium action, but since they made a long action, it’s legal).   
   
  The most complicated question involved here is who gets to respond to 
  someone else’s long action.  There is a section in the advanced combat 
  section which goes into detail about this—but to put it simply: only a 
  character whose directly affected by the long action.  If someone charges 
  you, you can stick them; your buddy can’t.  Likewise, if someone breaks 
  from a large melee and runs away, the person who was fighting with 
  them can strike them on the way out . . . but everyone within range 
  doesn’t generally get to.  The GM is the final arbiter of who can respond, 
  though.  Also: someone who can respond can respond at any point they 
  choose to—so they can hit you up close . . . or when you just start 
  moving. 
   
  There are a few basic action types and each has some special rules.  In 
  the advanced rules there are many more (and may variations on these). 
  As these stand, they’re pretty complete but if you’re into tactical combats 
  where a lesser opponent can beat a better one by virtue of tactics then 
  you may want to move to the advanced list. 
   
  Unarmed Strike in HTH Combat If 
  you don’t have a weapon, you have to use 
  your hands or feet.  Most people can 
  punch twice a second if they don’t do 
  anything else (that cost 10 REA) and 
  slightly fast people can kick and punch 
  (that cost 11 REA).  Kicks hit a little worse 
  an punches and they cost more REA but 
  the +2 damage is often worth it. 
  th
  Action Type: Medium 
  To Hit Roll: AGI or 
  Martial Art. Kicks hit 
  at –1 to the roll. 
  REA Cost: 5 for a punch 
            6 for a kick 
  Damage: Base HTH damage 
  for a punch, Base HTH 
  damage +2 for a kick   
  Martial Arts may add to 
  damage. 
  Common Modifiers: -1 to 
  hit for each point of 
  target’s AGI above 10  
  (AGI – 10 is the “AGI 
  Bonus”). 
  Important Notes: Can be 
  blocked or dodged. 
   
  All HTH (Hand-To-Hand) attacks do base 
  damage plus some number.  Base damage 
  is a measure of your power from size and 
  strength.  The number is a character’s STR 
  – 10 plus one for every point of Mass 
  above 2.  This is the formula: 
   
  (STR – 10) + [(BLD / 5) –2] + 
  Modifiers (Martial Arts) 
   
  Types of Actions 
  Medium (attack)  
  5 
   
  A medium action can only be taken on your turn or in  
  response to a long action..  
   
   
  Long (run away)  
  8 
   
  An enemy can respond to a long action with a medium or  
  Short action. 
   
   
   
  Short 
  (block)  
  3 
   
  A short action can be taken out of turn 
   
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  A normal man (10 STR, 10 BLD) does exactly 0 points of base damage 
  with a punch and 2 points with a kick.  That’s okay—on a good hit he can 
  actually hurt someone but generally he’ll want to use a weapon if he’s 
  serious. 
   
  As another example, a character with a 12 STR, 12 BLD and Level 2 
  Karate (+2 damage) does 2 + 0 + 2 (karate bonus) = 4 damage with a 
  punch and 6 with a kick. 
   
  Ex1: Awakened from sleep, Guldrige the barbarian sees a slim 
  form above him wielding a flashing knife.  Not having his axe 
  handy, he takes a punch at it.  The barbarian has no special 
  hand to hand combat skills and an AGI of 12, a STR of 13 and a 
  BLD of 13.  The assassin has an AGI of 13!  
   
  Guldridge hits on a 9- roll because he’s at –3 due to the target’s 
  speed and agility.  He rolls a 7 and hits by 2 (remember what you 
  hit by—it’s important for damage).  Guldridge’s base damage is 3 
  (for STR) +1 for BLD (his Mass is 3).  He hits for 4 points of base 
  damage.  
   
  Weapon 
  Strike 
  Description: 
  Weapons are just like punches and kicks 
  except that they do A) more damage and 
  B) they often do penetrating damage.  
  Penetrating damage is how sharp things 
  (like knives) or small fast things (like 
  bullets and arrows) do damage.  It’s 
  usually 
  worse 
  than 
  impact 
  (blunt) 
  damage and is fully explained in the 
  damage section. 
  The amount you made your roll by 
  is the amount your target has to 
  block by.  The amount you made 
  your roll by minus the target’s AGI 
  bonus is the Damage Modifier. 
   
  To put it in perspective: 
  • 
  The amount you made your 
  skill roll by (regardless of what 
  your chances to hit actually 
  were) is the amount your 
  target has to beat or equal on 
  his block roll.  So if you have 
  a14- skill roll and your 
  opponent is at –3 to be hit and 
  you roll an 11 you hit by 0 but 
  your opponent has to block by 
  3. 
  • 
  The amount you add to your 
  damage roll is based on what 
  you actually hit by.  In the 
  example above you just add 0 
  to your damage roll (you add 
  what you hit by). 
  A: The Right Cross: 
  When a boxer wants to drop an 
  opponent he’ll throw a right cross, 
  a left hook, an uppercut, or other 
  “power punch.”  You can too. For 
  the untrained man this might be a 
  classic “haymaker” or “bolo punch.” 
   
  The cross may only be thrown 
  once per turn, it does Base HTH 
  damage +1, and it leaves the 
  target at +1 to be hit and –1 to 
  block until his next turn in the next 
  round 
   
  Drawing A Weapon: 
  If you don’t have your sword out, 
  it’s a 5 REA medium action to draw 
  it (this applies to guns as well).  If 
  you’ve got Level 3 or 4 skill with a 
  weapon you can “quick draw” it by 
  making a skill roll.  If you make the 
  roll it comes out for 0 REA.  If you 
  blow the roll you pay the 5 REA 
  and just haul it out normally. 
   
  A: The Full Strike: 
  A full swing is a maximum strength 
  strike with a weapon—it’s slower 
  but it can add the punch you need 
  to drop a tough opponent.  Any 
  character may do a Full Swing: the 
  cost is 3 extra REA and the blow 
  gets +2 to Base Damage.   
  Action Type: Medium 
  To Hit Roll: AGI or 
  Weapon Skill 
  REA Cost: 5 + Swing Cost 
  for first strike in a 
  turn 5 + Back Swing cost 
  for additional strikes 
  in the same turn. 
  Damage: Base HTH damage 
  plus weapon modifier 
  Common Modifiers: -1 to 
  hit for each point of 
  target’s AGI above 10 
  (AGI Bonus). 
  Important Notes: Can be 
  blocked or dodged. 
   
  HTH Weapons have three important 
  statistics: damage bonus, swing, and 
  back swing.  Damage bonus is what they 
  add to base HTH damage.  Swing is how 
  much extra REA the first strike of a turn 
  costs the user and back swing is how 
  much extra REA all subsequent strikes 
  in the same turn cost. 
   
  Damage bonus is simple: a standard broad sword does +6 penetrating 
  damage.  In the hands of a normal man (base damage of 0) it does 6 
  points of damage each swing.  An axe does +8 penetrating damage with 
  each swing and a staff does+5 impact damage per hit.  So the question: 
  why would anyone want to use anything but an axe?  The answer is that 
  you hit more often and block better with the other weapons (the staff 
  blocks considerably better than the sword—but its damage isn’t as 
  severe). 
   
  A broadsword has a swing of +1 and a back swing of +2.  That means 
  that for the average swordsman the first strike costs 6 REA and the 
  second costs 7.  To hit twice with a broadsword you’d have to have a 13 
  REA (and then you couldn’t block or move).  On the other hand, if you’re 
  an expert (Level 3+) swordsman your skill subtracts from the REA cost of 
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  each swing.  At Level 3 a swordsman gets –1 to swing and –2 to back 
  swing: he can swing a sword as easily as punching!  Compare to the 
  ax:+2 swing, +4 back swing (yow!).  Granted, higher skill levels will 
  reduce the cost of the ax but it’s never as fast as the sword. 
  * * * 
  “It’s just like the one he used in the 
  TV series,” the man behind the 
  counter said, handing me the faux 
  ivory-handled katana sword. 
   
  “Really?” I asked, trying to keep 
  the mirth out of my voice.  
   
  “Yes,” he said. “Real blade too.” 
   
  “Folded metal—twenty folds?” I 
  asked.  It wasn’t atomically 
  possible—but he didn’t know that. 
   
  “Stainless steel,” the man said.  
  “But be careful—you could take 
  someone’s head off with that.  For 
  real, I mean.” 
   
  “Oh, yeah,” I said. Oh yes indeed. 
   
  You a fan of the show?” he asked. 
   
  “Sort of,” I said.  “I had one like this 
  but I lost it recently—and I’ll need 
  another one for tonight.” 
   
  Outside, I sheathed the blade and 
  tucked it under the trenchcoat.  
  The show got it almost all wrong—
  public disinformation.  But the 
  bloodlines used swords—they 
  were right about that . . . and I had 
  an engagement tonight; and a 
  modern, insultingly carved, cheap 
  fake katana like this would have to 
  do. 
  * * * 
   
  Reloading: 
  Reloading a gun is a 5 REA action 
  if the gunman has Level 1 or 2 Fire 
  Arms skill.  It can be done for 3 
  REA at Level 3, and, with a roll, it 
  can be done instantly at Level 4.  
  This assumes magazines of 
  ammunition or speed loaders—for 
  a bolt action rifle or six shooter and 
  no speed loaders, load one bullet 
  at a time for 5  REA. 
    
  Drawing Guns and 
  Bows: 
  Like HTH weapons, it’s a 5 REA 
  medium action to draw a gun (0 
  REA at Level 3+ with a quick-draw 
  roll).  Drawing and loading arrows, 
  on the other hand, depends on the 
  skill of the user. 
   
  NOTE: If a weapon is sharp and does penetrating damage, 
  all the damage from the strike—including the character’s 
  base damage is treated as penetrating.   
   
   
   
  Shoot Weapon / Arrow: Guns are 
  pretty simple to use: pick a target and 
  roll to hit.  You usually aren’t at any big 
  negatives to hit (range, size of target, 
  speed of target, visibility, etc. are 
  covered in the advanced rules).  You can 
  even fire twice. 
   
  Double tapping with a handgun is the 
  term for squeezing off two shots at once.  
  When this is done, make two rolls to hit 
  for a single 5 REA medium action.  Both 
  rolls are at –2 (less if you have Level 3+ 
  Firearms skill) and that’s the last time the 
  gun can be fired that turn.  You cannot 
  double tap twice in a turn firing 4 shots 
  for 10 REA. 
   
  You can also aim.  Aim involves taking an additional action for a better 
  chance to hit.  It’s very popular with people who either don’t hit all that 
  well or can’t afford to miss.  Once you aim and fire you lose aim (even 
  with laser guns or weapons that don’t kick).  Aim lasts until you shoot. 
  Then you have to spend another action to aim. 
   
  Action  
  Plus to Hit 
   
   
   
  Action Type: Medium 
  To Hit Roll: COR or 
  weapon skill. 
  REA Cost: 5 for a shot 
  (bows must be drawn—see 
  Bow skill) 
  Damage: Entirely 
  dependent on the weapon. 
  Common Modifiers: -1 for 
  every 2 full points of 
  the target’s AGI above 
  10. 
  Important Notes: Cannot 
  be blocked. –4 to be 
  dodged. 
  5 REA 
   
  +2 to skill roll 
   
  3 REA 
   
  +1 to skill roll 
   
  8 REA (long) 
  +3 to skill roll 
   
   
   
  Note that the 8 REA +3 aim is a long action—your target gets a chance 
  to respond (best done when your opponent is at range and doesn’t have 
  his own ranged weapon).  You cannot get more than +3 through aim but 
  you can take two 5 REA medium actions for +3 if you have the REA to 
  spare (three 3 REA actions won’t work though).  Note that, because of 
  the way the combat system works, this costs a total of 10 REA (2 more 
  than the single 8 REA long action), but your target doesn’t get a chance 
  to shoot back.  If this is confusing, check out the explanation of Long 
  actions a couple of pages ago. 
   
   
   
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Step (Turn, Retreat]: In combat a 
  character may simply wish to take a step 
  towards or away from a combatant.  This 
  action may also be used to turn ninety 
  degrees or more (you can turn less than 
  90 degrees once in a turn for nothing if you 
  take a move or striking action).  It can also 
  be used in an attempt to get away. 
  Action Type: Medium 
  To Hit Roll: None. 
  REA Cost: 5 REA 
  Distance Moved: 1/9
  th 
  Sprinting move or 1 yard 
  Getting Up: 
  A fall, a powerful blow, or a blown 
  AGI roll on wet ice can knock down 
  a character. 
   
  Getting up is either one 8 REA long 
  action or two 5 REA medium 
  actions.  If the GM rules that a 
  character only falls to his knees 
  then he can get up with a single 5 
  REA medium action.  For 
  characters that can rapidly leap to 
  their feet, check out the Acrobatics 
  skill. 
   
  * * * 
  Leyland ran for all he was worth.  
  The dark stone of the underhall 
  flew by around him—the thing 
  behind him was silent and he didn’t 
  look to see if it was gaining. 
   
  Ahead—then right—then left at the 
  crossroads—the up the stairs.  He 
  hoped to hell he was right. If he 
  wound up at a locked grate or a 
  dead end . . . 
   
  Jasmine was up there waiting for 
  him.  She might get a shot off with 
  the crossbow as it climbed the 
  stairs.  The shot might kill the six 
  foot tall thing covered with slime 
  and with no even vaguely human 
  features that was mere paces 
  behind him.  Might.  Things didn’t 
  look good.  He cut right, digging in 
  his pouch as he sprinted.  He was 
  fast—legendarily fast—for a man. 
   
  In his pocket were the marbles.  He 
  said a silent prayer to the God of 
  Thieves, Fools, and Children.  And 
  decided not to look—instead he 
  released the small glass spheres 
  and leapt.  His stride carried him 
  skimming over the stones and 
  landing without breaking stride.  He 
  heard nothing—no fall—no howl.   
   
  Damn!  He snapped a single 
  desperate look back over his 
  shoulder . . . and stopped.  The 
  thing was there, its thick feet 
  amongst the marbles where it 
  crouched, staring, enchanted at the 
  colored bits of glass and making 
  cooing sounds. 
  * * * 
   
   
  A step costs 5 REA and moves the character one-yard (really fast 
  characters may move farther, though).  The only tricky note is the retreat: 
  you only go half as far as normal stepping back.  This means that you 
  can’t strike someone and then “step back” out of range.  If you use a 5 
  REA medium action to step away from an opponent you’re at –1 to be hit 
  on his next attack—but that’s all.  Two medium actions used to step back 
  will put you out of range unless he takes an action to step forward. 
   
  Full Move (Charge, Run Away): 
  A full move is slightly tricky.  It’s a long 
  action, which means that if you use it to 
  up to someone (into combat range) 
  they can attack you on the way in.  If you 
  decide you’ve had enough in a hand-to-
  hand fight and decide to flee they can hit 
  you on the way out. 
  run 
  Action Type: Long 
  To Hit Roll: None. 
  REA Cost: 8 REA the 
  first 
  turn, 
  5 
  REA 
  thereafter. 
  Distance Moved: Running, 
  Walking or Sprinting  
  (depending) 
   
  However, after the first turn of movement—if you stop accelerating, 
  continued moves only cost 5 REA . . . but it’s still long.  So even though 
  you pay like a medium action people can respond if your move affects 
  them. 
   
   
  Also, in the basic rules, you have to come to a stop to strike anyone (in 
  the advanced rules striking as you run by is an option).   
   
  When a character starts moving from a standing stop he can go straight 
  to running speed (unless the character was totally stationary and 
  unaware).  After one second of running, the character can accelerate to 
  sprinting speed.  Keep in mind that going from running to sprinting speed 
  costs 8 REA the next turn—it’s accelerating. 
   
  Also remember: decelerating doesn’t cost REA at all.  A character can 
  come to a complete stop at any time on his turn (at least under the basic 
  rules).  Some weird situations like characters on horseback and falling 
  characters aren’t covered here.  If you encounter one of  these and want 
  to read up on the official solution, go to the advanced rules. 
   
  Ex1: Johan is trying to get away from several people in a large 
  field who are spread out (how he got in this situation is beyond 
  explanation).  He decides to start running on the first turn: this is 
  a long action which costs him 8 REA but since no one is near 
  him—or has a ranged weapon—the GM rules no one can 
  respond.  He accelerates to his running speed (see the REA 
  table).  On the second turn he wants to keep moving but he 
  doesn’t see any reason to accelerate.  He only pays 5 REA and 
  he keeps going at a flat speed.  If he gets near anyone, though, 
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  they’ll be able to react to him coming by since the action is still 
  long. 
   
  Later Johan decides to kick the speed up to sprinting and that 
  turn the acceleration costs him 8 REA.  Now, though, unless he 
  stops, he’ll just pay 5 REA per turn until his endurance runs out. 
    
  Block  (Parry Blow, Use a Shield): 
  A block is a defensive action that can be 
  done with a weapon or barehanded 
  (although only highly trained fighters can 
  block weapons barehanded).  When 
  someone rolls to hit, they remember the 
  amount they made their roll by. 
   
  To successfully block you have to make your block roll by as much or 
  more than they made their to-hit roll by.  That means that a hit where the 
  to-hit roll was made by 10 is a whole lot harder to block than one where 
  the to-hit roll was made by 0. 
   
  NOTE: Characters are at –1 to be hit per point of AGI above 
  10.  This negative modifier isn’t counted for purposes of 
  blocking.  An attacker who strikes a target with a 19 AGI 
  and makes his skill roll by 10 only hits by 1 point but the 
  target must make a block roll by 10 to deflect the attack. 
   
  If you don’t play with the above rule then characters with high AGI’s and 
  good blocks will rarely, if ever, get hit because they’ll never be hit by 
  enough to give them a tough block roll. 
   
  If you attempt to block a bladed weapon barehanded you roll at an 
  additional –4.  If you attempt to block a blunt weapon you roll at –3.  The 
  GM can make allowances for armored characters (see the advanced 
  rules) 
   
   
  Dodge: Sometimes you can’t afford to 
  be 
  hit 
  at 
  all—even 
  to 
  block—or 
  someone’s shooting at you.  In this case 
  you may choose to dodge instead of 
  blocking.  The action works the same 
  way: make an AGI roll by more than a 
  hand-to-hand attack hit by and it misses. 
  A: Striking While 
  Moving: 
  A move action doesn’t necessarily 
  have to end before you can swing 
  or shoot at someone.  It’s a lot 
  more difficult to hit someone in 
  mid-stride though.  The rules are 
  advanced—but you can use ‘em 
  with the basic game if you want to: 
   
  A character with enough REA to 
  make move and strike action can 
  declare a strike at someone “as he 
  passes them.”   The rules (in the 
  basic game) are as follows: 
  • 
  The move and attacks are all 
  declared as one move (i.e. I 
  run past the guard and strike 
  him). 
  • 
  The attack is at –2 to hit. 
  • 
  It is at an additional +2 to be 
  blocked or dodged. 
  • 
  Strikes from hand weapons 
  are at a –2 Damage Modifier 
  (for damage purposes treat 
  them as though they hit by 2 
  less than they actually did—
  minimum of 0). 
  • 
  If the target gets to declare a 
  response before the attacker’s 
  blow lands—if he gets a 
  response at all (the attacker 
  may be 5 or more initiative 
  points faster). 
   
   
  Martial Arts Blocks: 
  Under each Martial Arts Listing are 
  the letters U B S.  These stand for 
  Unarmed, Blunt, and Sharp.  The 
  numbers in the columns are used 
  for determining the character’s 
  chance of blocking an unarmed 
  attack, an attack from a blunt 
  weapon, or an attack from a 
  sharp/bladed weapon. 
   
  This is more-or-less an advanced 
  rule (computing different blocks 
  against different types of attacks is 
  a little complicated) but it is 
  essential to martial arts masters 
  who may be able to defend 
  themselves against knives and 
  swords. 
   
  Action Type: Short 
  Roll: Weapon skill roll 
  +/- 
  the 
  listing 
  for 
  block. 
  REA Cost: 3 REA. 
   
  Action Type: Short 
  Roll: AGI or Level 2+ 
  Acrobatics.  Roll is at 
  –4 against ranged 
  weapons. 
  REA Cost: 5 REA (3 at 
  Level 3+ Acrobatics) 
   
  Against a ranged attack (a bullet) your roll 
  is at –4.  So, if your attacker makes his to hit roll by 2 you have to make 
  an AGI roll by 6 to dodge successfully.  Dodging ranged attacks is 
  usually a last ditch resort. 
   
   
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Sometimes you don’t want to hurt or kill an opponent.  You might want to 
  stop him from running, take something away, or maybe—because he’s 
  really fast—hold him in place so you can get an accurate strike off. 
  Grabbing and Grappling Actions 
  * * * 
  Jay Nine held the energy long-arm 
  across his chest like an old 
  fashioned rifle.  It was set to scatter 
  fire—if the trigger was pressed it 
  would emit a storm of hundreds of 
  fragments of stabilized plasma 
  solitons.  In terms of firearms it was 
  pretty much the ultimate weapon—
  he liked carrying it—but he was 
  afraid he was going to have to use 
  it. 
   
  The woman and her dark 
  companion worked on the console.  
  The ship they had come in was 
  smashed into the Urside Orbital’s  
  solar grid—there was no real way 
  to dock with the station if they 
  didn’t want you to. 
   
  He heard her voice over the tight-
  link: “We’re working on the virus.  
  They think we’re trying to 
  negotiate.  This is where they’re 
  going to storm us.  Get ready.” 
   
  “Hey Romeo,” he called to the 
  muscled humanoid in a slick black 
  combat suit.  It—he—had some 
  kind of exotic weapon and he stood 
  motionless, watching the entrance. 
  “Take the left doors.” 
   
  The AS-pod, the Abandon the Ship 
  before it goes down and everyone 
  on it is burnt to ash pod was 
  unlocked and waiting for them; a 
  bulkhead between them and 
  salvation.  He watched the screens 
  as the virus worked.  Not much 
  longer now. 
   
  “That’s right,” she said.  “Either you 
  meet all of my demands or I drop 
  the orbital on the York2
   
  Metropolitan Grid.  Millions die.”  
  She winked at Jay—it was slated 
  for splash down in the Atlantic—
  traumatic . . . but not as bad as she 
  was claiming. 
   
  She listened to something on the 
  other end, shaking her head in 
  agreement.  Her hands brought the 
  gun up in a smooth, fluid motion. 
   
  Jay Nine felt the door go.  It just 
  vanished in a thunder clap and 
  burning mist spilled through into 
  the large empty chamber followed 
  by a hailstorm of light. 
   
  When you try to do this you are grabbing or grappling with him.  
  Grabbing is the only action covered in the basic combat section and it 
  involves just reaching out and getting a grip on your target.  Once 
  grabbed, your opponent can’t dodge or run and is much easier to hit (you 
  can also grab an arm to tie up a weapon or take something). 
   
  Grappling is more complicated and is covered in the advanced section—
  but it is more like wrestling than just grabbing.  You and your target may 
  fall down; you may get him in a headlock; or the two of you may just 
  wrap each other up tight.  Grappling is something that happens closer 
  together—when someone is grabbed they can still use weapons (in the 
  advanced game they can’t use really long weapons, but most swords 
  can still be used).   In a grapple almost all weapons hurt rather than help 
  (one of your hands is used to hold the useless weapon when it could be 
  used to wrestle with your opponent). 
   
  How formidable your character is at grappling is determined by two 
  scores: offensive grapple score and defensive grapple score.  These 
  scores are a measure of how big, strong, and trained your character is.  
  When you hit with a grab you use your offensive score against the 
  target’s defensive score and you roll on the resistance chart described at 
  the beginning of the book. 
   
  When you try to break a grab (get someone’s arms off you) you use your 
  offensive score against their offensive score . . . that seems a little weird 
  because when you hit you matched offensive score against defensive 
  score but that’s the way it works for grabs.  For grapples, on the other 
  hand, when you are trying to break out, you match offensive score 
  against defensive score . . . but that’s covered in the advanced section. 
   
   
  The formula for grapple scores is: 
   
  Offensive Score:  
  (Str-10) + Mass + Martial Arts Bonus + 2 
  Defensive Score:  
  (Str-10) + Mass + Martial Arts Bonus 
   
   
  Why is your offensive score always 2 (or 20% if your basic grapple score 
  is above 20) higher than your defensive score?  We worked it that way 
  so that a normal man would have a 12- chance of getting a grip on an 
  equal—but against an equal opponent you would have a fifty-fifty (10-) 
  chance to break the grip. 
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Jay ducked.  Somehow, 
  instinctively, he went sideways and 
  down.   The access bank behind 
  him ceased to exist. 
   
  He rolled across the floor trying to 
  see through the fiery haze.  
  Something slammed into the wall 
  above where he lay.  The gun was 
  military grade and the particle 
  beam punched through the wall 
  rather than killing Jay with the 
  collateral damage.  The bulkhead 
  to the AS-pod seemed miles away 
  now—through hell. 
   
  Jay fired back, blindly.  He didn’t 
  know if his friends were alive or 
  dead.  He didn’t know if he was 
  hurt or not.  He just fired.  On 
  maximum output the long-arm 
  could sustain fire for four seconds 
  before shutting down. 
   
  Galaxies of light coiled out of his 
  barrel towards the open doorway.  
  He saw armored figures, 
  illuminated somehow by his fire, 
  evaporate under his onslaught. 
   
  Four seconds.  Still firing he rolled 
  to his feet.  Three seconds.  A 
  hellishly bright lance of light traced 
  a melted-metal trench inches from 
  his feet.  He felt his flesh cook 
  through the protective clothes. 
   
  Two seconds.  The gun in his 
  hands hummed like a tuning fork.  
  He ran.  They might predict that he 
  would head towards the pod—they 
  might cover it with their fire.  He 
  didn’t care. 
   
  Somewhere, in the back of his 
  head, he knew he was abandoning 
  his friends—leaving without them 
  even if they were still alive.  He 
  didn’t care.  The world was an 
  inferno of collapsing metal, melted 
  steel, and sheets of fire.  He felt 
  the gun cut out on him and he 
  dropped it in his mad dash for the 
  pod. 
   
  Goodbye, he thought silently to his 
  friends as he threw himself through 
  its mouth.  He thought he could 
  hear them back there—screaming 
  and firing . . . maybe screaming 
  and dying.   He depressed the 
  close the button and the sound 
  went away. 
  Grab: The basic grab move is simply 
  taking hold of the clothes, hair, or limbs 
  of a target and holding him, more or less, 
  in one place. It’s a great thing to do when 
  you don’t want to strike or kill a target or 
  you do and you can’t get him to stay still 
  long enough to get a good shot off. 
   
  To make a grab attack, roll to hit, and if 
  you’re not blocked or dodged, you must 
  successfully make a Grapple roll.  If that 
  happens, you’ve got him until you let go 
  or he makes a Break Grab roll. 
   
  When grabbed, a character cannot 
  dodge or move (dragging characters around is covered in the advanced 
  section) but may block normally.  Most importantly, you lose your AGI 
  bonus against being hit (the –1 per point of AGI over 10 you subtract 
  from other’s chance to hit you). If you are grabbed, the character 
  grabbing you gets no AGI bonus against being hit by you either. 
  Action Type: Medium 
  To Hit Roll: AGI or any 
  martial art that adds to 
  Grapple at any level. 
  REA Cost: 5 REA 
  Damage: 2/5ths Base 
  Damage with a squeeze 
  (none for a normal 
  Grab). Round down 
  (minimum of 0). 
  Common Modifiers: -1 to 
  hit for each point of 
  target’s AGI above 10. 
  Important Notes: Can be 
  blocked or dodged. 
   
  Once a target is grabbed, as another 5 REA medium action the attacker 
  can choose to squeeze (for 2/5ths base damage—not much unless 
  you’re real strong) or to pick up the opponent.  The amount you hit by 
  (important for damage—see below) is determined by what you originally 
  hit by . . . but a new roll for damage is made each time the attacker 
  squeezes—so the damage can be different each time. 
   
  To lift someone you must either have a STR – 10 which is equal to or 
  higher than their Mass or make an STR roll at –2 per point their STR – 
  10 is lower than the target’s mass.  Once lifted, a target is at +5 to be hit 
  (in addition to receiving no AGI bonus).   
   
  If you’re bigger or stronger (or both) than an opponent with a weapon, 
  you may want to grab their arm—and perhaps take the weapon away.  
  To do this, roll to grab their arm at –2 to hit.  If you do hit, and make a 
  grab roll, they lose the use of anything in that arm unless they break the 
  grab.  Then, after grabbing them, you may make a 5 REA action to wrest 
  the item away from them.  If you make the second roll, you now have 
  hold of whatever they were carrying. 
   
  Breaking A Grab: Breaking a grab is a 
  3 REA medium action.  This means that if 
  you’re grabbed you can only try to break 
  out on your turn. When declared you get 
  to roll on the resistance table comparing 
  your offensive score to your opponent’s 
  offensive score.  If you make the roll you 
  break the grip and immediately lose all 
  grab effects. 
  Action Type: Medium 
  Roll: Offensive grapple 
  vs. opponent’s offensive 
  grapple on the 
  resistance chart. 
  REA Cost: 3 REA 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
   
  You’ve just run a cyborged-up assassin through the chest with a metal 
  rod.  He’s still coming.  You emptied your .44 super-magnum into his 
  face.  He’s not stopping.  The question your asking yourself at this point 
  is: “How do I do damage?”  It’s explained here. 
   
  All attacks have a base damage: with a fist it’s your character’s base 
  damage.  With a sword or club it’s your character’s base damage plus 
  some number.  With a gun it depends on the caliber of bullets you fire.  
  The base damage is sort of a measure of the weapon’s power. 
   
  But a hit with a weapon isn’t always the same: a shot in the arm won’t kill 
  as readily as a shot in the chest (or brain stem).  Even a well-placed shot 
  can be rendered ineffective by bad luck.  A “damage roll” handles this. 
   
  After you hit someone in combat you’ll make a damage roll.  A damage 
  roll is like any other roll except that you add the amount you hit by to it.  
  The higher the roll plus the amount you hit by, the greater the damage 
  you’ll do.   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Impact Damage 
  For impact damage you’ll use this chart below: 
   
   
   
        Roll + to-hit Modifier 
   
   
   
   
  Across the top of the chart is the amount you rolled plus the amount you 
  hit by.  Along the bottom is a modifier for the base damage of the 
  weapon.  As you can see, higher numbers along the top produce more 
  damage along the bottom.  Here’s an example: 
   
  Ex1: Private detective Jack Duncan is creeping along a dark 
  corridor in a supposedly deserted house. A man wearing a ski 
  mask tries to hit him from behind.  The man has a club and does 
  a total of 6 points of base damage.  Remember: that means that 
  the thug’s base damage plus the club’s damage adds up to 6.   
   
  Now, the thug rolls to hit Duncan.  The thug has a 13- to-hit roll 
  and Duncan, unaware, is at no negative to be struck (he also 
  doesn’t get a chance to block).  The man rolls a 9, hitting by 4. 
   
  “What kept you, Jay?”  she asked, 
  amazed.  “I didn’t expect you to 
  stand and fight with them! You go 
  hero on me?” 
   
  She twisted the release lever then, 
  and the artificial gravity fell away 
  as they dropped into their re-entry 
  descent. 
  * * * 
   
  Advanced Fire  
  Some weapons fire bursts of 
  rounds when the trigger is pressed, 
  others (shotguns) fire multiple 
  pellets at once (a few do both but 
  that’s so complicated we don’t 
  really want to get into it). 
   
  All these rules are covered under 
  the Advanced Rules.  Until you’re 
  using them, just treat an automatic 
  weapon as one that can hit one 
  target for 2x normal base damage 
  or two targets for 1x base damage 
  for a single 5 REA action (roll to hit 
  each target separately—you only 
  get aim against the first target). 
   
  For scatterguns, just treat them like 
  single hits for the listed damage 
  (there’s a chart at the end of this 
  section) but their penetration factor 
  is ¼th normal. 
   
  This will work for everyone but the 
  purists. 
   
   
   
   
  A: Waiting: 
  Sometimes, when you’re the 
  fastest person in a combat turn, 
  you don’t want to go first.  You 
  want to wait and see what 
  happens.  Well, you can.   
   
  You can wait to take your turn 
  whenever you want but the catch is 
  this: when someone else (whose 
  turn it is) declares an action, they 
  get to take it before you get to 
  interrupt them.  So if two people 
  are holding guns on each other 
  and one waits the other can 
  declare a fire action and the first 
  (the faster one) can’t “decide to fire 
  first.”  After the second guy’s 
  action, though, the first guy can 
  take the rest of his turn. You may, 
  of course, still block or dodge—but 
  your opponent gets in the first shot. 
    1pt   .10x  .25x     .33x      .50x       -3           -2          -1         1x       +1         +2            +3           1.5x         1.75x       2x 
     0      1     2-3      4-5      6-7      8-9     10-11    12    13-14    15     16-17     18-20     21-25     26-29     30+   
  Damage 
  Impact Damage Table 
  Damage  
  Multiplier 
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Energy Damage  
  Damage from fire or lightning uses 
  the impact damage table.  Damage 
  from things like lasers and particle 
  beams uses the penetration 
  damage system.  The GM must 
  determine how even stranger 
  attacks fall into place (a “plasma 
  bolt” might use the impact damage 
  table but do 400 points of base 
  damage). 
   
  Increasing Base 
  Damage  
  As discussed above, HTH 
  weapons add to base damage.  
  This means that a man with a base 
  damage of 2 (12 STR) who has a 
  broadsword (+6 penetrating) does 
  a total of 8 damage.  Easy, right?   
   
  But what if the man has a 35 STR.  
  Granted, he’s not really human (he 
  can bench press a ton) but does 
  the sword do a measly +6 points? 
  What if his STR is 200?  If you just 
  add the 6 damage straight it 
  doesn’t make sense for a really 
  strong person to use a weapon . . . 
  and that’s not very realistic. 
   
  The answer is a little confusing 
  (this only applies to high STR 
  characters).  The rule is this: 
   
  Weapons or actions (kicks) 
  which improve base damage add 
  +5% instead of +1 if the original 
  base damage is above 20. 
   
  That would mean that if someone 
  has a STR of 35 (25 base damage 
  if their BLD is 10), he would do 33 
  points of damage with a 
  broadsword (instead of the 31 a 
  straight +6 would add).  A guy with 
  a 110 STR (100 points of base 
  damage) would do 130 points 
  when he’s armed with the sword 
  (and it’s penetrating). 
   
  Why is this confusing?  Because 
  on the damage chart, a result of 
  +1, +2 or +3 (and the negatives) 
  alters the damage by +10%, +20%, 
  or +30%.  That’s a quirk of the 
  system: additives before damage 
  mod rolls add +5%. Afterwards 
  they add +10%. 
  The GM (who is running the thug) rolls on the impact damage 
  table and rolls a 12.  The 12 he rolled plus the 4 the man hit by 
  comes to a total of 16.  Looking on the chart that’s +2 to the 
  damage.  The base damage is 6, plus 2 is 8.  Duncan is hit on 
  the head for 8 points of damage and goes down clutching his 
  head (the effects of this 8 points on Duncan are discussed in the 
  next section). 
   
  Now, as you can see the result of a 13 – 14 is 1x or exactly equal to 
  base damage.  A result of a 15 gives a +1 and a result of an 18 gives +3.  
  Above 18 (and below 8) you start multiplying (and dividing) base 
  damage.  What happens if someone’s base damage is 4.  Then a result 
  of an 18- 20 does 7 points of damage . . . but a result of a 21 – 25 does 6 
  (4 times one and a half is 6).  It’d be better to hit by less.  Not so: 
   
  If a “lower result on the chart” yields more damage, use that result. 
   
  Additionally, if the base damage is above 20, then the results of +1 to +3 
  (and –1 to –3) become +10% to +30% (and –10% to –30%).  You should 
  figure all of these numbers out ahead of time to save time during combat.  
  When you pick up a weapon, do the math for it then and write it on the 
  character sheet (there’s a section at the bottom). 
   
  Impact damage is pretty simple and straightforward. Penetration damage 
  is a little bit trickier (but not much). 
   
  Ex1: Make a Chart!  The character sheets come with tables for 
  Impact and Penetrating damage.  Below is part of one that’s been 
  filled out for some of the weapons the character carries.   This guy 
  has a base damage of 3 and carries a heavy club (+7 damage) to 
  whack people. 
   
  Impact Weapons Damage 
   
   
   
     
  1pt   .10x    .25x    .33x     .50x      -3        -2       -1         1x        +1        +2            +3          1.5x          1.75x   
     
   0      1     2-3      4-5      6-7    8-9  10-11   12    13-14    15    16-17     18-20     21-25   26-29 
   
   
   
   
   
  Punch 1       1        1      1         1        1        1      2         3        4         5            6          6               6 
  Kick   1      1       1     2        2       2       3     4        5       6        7          8          8             9 
  Hvy Club   1      1       3     3        5       7       8     9      10       11     12        13       15           18  
   
  Ex2: Here’s another example.  In this case we’re dealing with a 
  super hero who has a STR of 35 (he can bench press a ton!) and a 
  Mass of 30 (he weighs 405 lbs.).  When he hits his base damage 
  with a punch is 25 + 4 = 29 points.  Oh yeah, he carries a magical 
  hammer that adds +9 to his base damage (or +45% since his base 
  damage is above 20as per the Increasing Base damage sidebar) . 
   
  Impact Weapons Damage 
   
   
   
     
  1pt   .10x    .25x    .33x     .50x      -3        -2       -1         1x        +1        +2            +3          1.5x          1.75x   
     
   0      1     2-3      4-5      6-7    8-9  10-11   12    13-14    15    16-17     18-20     21-25   26-29 
   
   
   
  Punch 1      3       7       10       15      22      24     26      29      32        35         38         44           51 
  Kick   1     3      8      11      16      25    27    29     32      36      38         41       48         56 
  Mjolnir 1     4     10     14      21      32    35    38     42      46      50         55       63         74 
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
   
  Weapons Charts: 
  In the back of the book are several 
  pages of different weapon charts 
  including HTH weapons (with 
  some advanced weapons like flails 
  and tangle weapons), bows, and 
  hand guns. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  The GM should make it known 
  what weapons are available to the 
  characters for any given game. 
  Penetration Damage 
  Penetration damage is worse, since it happens inside the target.  It uses 
  a different table (with higher multipliers) and it tends to be considerably 
  more debilitating.   
   
  The differences between penetration damage and impact damage are 
  these: 
  • 
  If you hit a target by 4 or more with a penetration attack the amount 
  you hit by effectively doubles! 
  • 
  Penetration damage bleeds and does not heal as fast (bleeding is an 
  advanced rule—but you can go look at it if you care to).  A character 
  who is punched in the jaw may be sore the next morning but the 
  “same amount” of damage from a small knife wound can take days 
  to heal. 
   
  The part about the amount you hit by doubling is the important part.  The 
  theory is this: an arrow wound to the arm is painful, bloody, and pretty 
  nasty.  The same arrow, penetrating to the same depth in the torso is 
  often deadly. 
   
  When you hit a target by 4 or more the hit is considered vital.  That 
  means some important organs were in the vicinity of the hit.  That means 
  the amount you hit by doubles: a hit by 4 is treated like a hit by 8 on the 
  chart.  A hit by 10 acts like a hit by 20!  A hit by 3, however, is still a hit 
  by 3. 
   
  Here’s the chart 
   
   
        Roll + to-hit Modifier 
  Penetration Damage 
   
     0    1    2-3    4-5    6   7-8    9-10   11    12-13    14   15-16   17-18   19-25    26-30    31-35    36-39    40+ 
   1pt   .1x  .25x   .33x   .5x   -3        -2       -1          1x        +1      +2        +3           2x           2.5x         3x           4x        8x 
   
   
  Damage  
  Multiplier 
   
   
  Ex1: Here’s a chart for some weapons.  The guy with the sword 
  (+6 damage) has an 11 STR and BLD (base damage of 1—for a 
  total of 7).  The guns are 9mm (base damage 6) pistols and a 
  hunting rifle (base damage 31). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Sword       1   1  2    3   4  4     5    6    7    8    9   10   14     18   21    28    56 
  9mm pistol 1  1   2   2    3  3    4    5     6    7    8   9   12     15   18    24    48 
  Weapon  1pt    .1x    .25x     .33x    .5x     -3         -2          -1          1x       +1        +2           +3          2x          2.5x         3x           4x         8x 
     0     1     2-3     4-5     6    7-8     9-10    11     12-13     14    15-16    17-18   19-25     26-30  31-35    36-39    40+ 
   
  .30-.06   1   3   8   10  16  24   26   25   31   34   37  40  62     78    93   124   248   
   
  From looking at this example you can see several things: that 
  when the base damage is above 20 (as is the case of the rifle) 
  the +1, +2, and +3 columns become +10%, +20%, and +30%.  
  Another thing you can infer from this is that, since you need a 
  decent shot from a hunting rifle to kill something like a big deer, 
  they must have about 70 damage points—that’s about accurate! 
   
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
   
   
   Here’s a play example: 
   
  Overkill—Super High to-
  hit Rolls and 
  Penetrating Damage  
  The nature of the game makes 
  very accurate characters with 
  penetrating weapons lethal.  An 
  expert gunman can easily drop 
  someone—even someone tough—
  with one shot. 
   
  This isn’t good for some gamer’s 
  play style.   When trying to make 
  the game play like the movies we 
  realized that good shots had to 
  have ample stopping power or, 
  instead of cinematic battles, 
  gunfights would become attrition 
  wars. 
   
  If you’re playing a game where you 
  want the players to get in a lot of 
  gunfights but not get perforated 
  you can do the following: 
  • 
  Assign impact damage rolls—
  instead of penetration 
  damage rolls for all Heroic 
  characters. 
  • 
  Require a hit by 7 in order to 
  score a vital hit (i.e. a hit by 6 
  is still a hit by 6 but a hit by 7 
  adds 14 to the damage roll). 
  • 
  Give everyone +10 damage 
  points—this is a good solution 
  since weapons are still deadly 
  but the important characters 
  will have a margin for error. 
  • 
  Wear a lot of armor (the 
  realistic answer).  As you’ll 
  see below, armor converts 
  penetrating damage to impact 
  damage and then reduces 
  that (if the character has 
  enough armor). 
   
  Ex3: Baron Renault is in a duel with his half-brother.  Both carry 
  swords which have a base damage of 6 (broadswords) and both 
  brothers have STR’s of 11 so they do 7 points of base damage 
  with each strike. 
   
  The baron loses initiative and his brother strikes first.  His brother 
  rolls to hit and hits by 3.  The baron makes a blocking roll but 
  only makes it by 2—he fails to block and the blow lands.  The roll 
  for damage for the brother’s strike is an 8 . . . plus 3 goes to an 
  11.  Since swords are penetrating we look on the penetration 
  chart and see that an 11 is –1 point of damage.  The baron takes 
  6 points.  He’s hurt but he pulls through (makes a great CON roll) 
  and strikes back.  He hits by 4. 
   
  The brother tries to block but misses his block roll.  Now Baron 
  Renault hits by 4 which is exactly the number needed to score 
  vital damage.  He doubles this number to 8 and adds it to his 
  damage roll. 
   
  He gets a truly amazing damage roll of an 18 . . . plus 8 goes to 
  26!  That’s 2.5x damage.  The baron strikes his wicked half 
  brother for 18 points of damage and the brother goes down!  
  This is pretty much being run through the chest.  
   
   
  Armor 
  Once you’ve hit someone it is time to determine damage.  Since, on the 
  way to the fleshy person you actually want to injure, you’ll have to go 
  through the armor they’re wearing we’ll examine that first. 
   
  Damage Reduction and Penetration Resistance 
  Armor has two statistics: damage reduction and penetration resistance.  
  They’re both related: penetration resistance is usually two times the 
  armor’s damage reduction.  
   
  In the back of the book are armor and shield tables.  
  Check them out to outfit your character.  Here’s a 
  sampling so you get the idea: 
   
  Armor 
   
     Armor Value 
  STR Min.    Stealth Neg. 
   
   
  Heavy Leather 
         3 / 6      
  10 
   
  -1 
   
  Light Leather 
         2 / 4        
  9 
   
  -0 
   
   
  Chain Mail 
         3 / 10     
  12 
   
  -4 
   
   
  Padded Chain 
         5 / 10 
   12 
   
  -4 
   
   
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Kevlar Weave and 
  Armor Saves  
  Kevlar is a modern bulletproof 
  cloth which is light enough to wear 
  around but can prevent someone’s 
  shots from penetrating your body.  
  A very light kevlar vest might have 
  the following statistics: 
   
  Damage Reduction: 4 
  Penetration Resistance: 16 
   
  This means that while it only sucks 
  up a few (4) points of damage, it 
  will stop a .44 magnum (15 points) 
  from penetrating. 
   
  Unfortunately, against an M16 
  round (18 points base damage) it’s 
  pretty worthless. 
   
  In the advanced rules, though, 
  while it wouldn’t automatically stop 
  the .44 shell it would have a 
  chance to stop the M16 bullet. 
   
  That chance is called an armor 
  save and it’s a roll you make when 
  you’re hit to try to convert 
  penetrating damage into impact 
  damage—even if the base damage 
  is higher than your armor’s 
  penetration resistance. 
   
  On the flip side, you have to make 
  the roll as well when you’re hit by 
  an attack whose base damage is 
  less than your armor’s penetration 
  resistance—the armor can fail. 
   
  The armor save is probably the 
  most complicated part of the 
  advanced rules and we aren’t 
  going to explain it in this sidebar.  
  You can look it up when it 
  becomes important. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Damage reduction is a measure of how much of a physical blow the 
  armor absorbs.  If a strike does 8 points of damage and you have armor 
  with a damage reduction of 3 (heavy leather armor) then you’ll only take 
  5 points. If your armor’s damage reduction is greater than the damage 
  done by a weapon, the blow simply bounces off.   
   
  Penetration resistance is a measure of how hard the substance is to cut.  
  Remember: there are two types of damage—impact and penetration 
  damage.  If a weapon is sharp or bladed (or is a bullet) then it does 
  penetration damage.  If it’s blunt then it does impact damage. 
   
  If the base damage of a weapon blow is less than or equal to the armor’s 
  penetration resistance then the damage is calculated as impact damage 
  even though the weapon is sharp.  Why? Because even though the 
  weapon is sharp or pointed it won’t cut the armor. 
   
  Ex1: Sir Alexander is wearing plate mail, which has damage 
  reduction of 6 and penetration defense of 12.  This is recorded 
  as 6 / 12 (penetration resistance always comes last).  A 12 STR 
  man wielding a broadsword (8 points of base damage) strikes 
  him.  The blow will be treated as impact damage against Sir 
  Alexander because his armor protects him. 
   
  The actual damage the blow does turns out to be 10 points (the 
  base damage is 8—but the hit was good and actually did 10—
  see the damage section).  Since Sir Alexander’s armor absorbs 
  6 points of that, he only takes 4 points.  A solid hit but not 
  enough to bring him down (Alexander’s a tough guy). 
   
  NOTE: It seems to be a common mistake to subtract 
  penetration resistance from the damage done by a 
  penetrating weapon.  This is incorrect. Only damage 
  reduction subtracts from damage—both impact and 
  penetrating. 
   
   
  Wound Types 
  Let’s say you’re in a fight with a big guy in black armor.  You chop his 
  arm off . . . he keeps coming.  You chop a leg off . . . he keeps coming. 
  You whack his other leg off and instead of dying he starts taunting you.  
  It’s time to start applying some realistic effects of damage! 
   
  There are two basic concepts of damage: damage points and wound 
  type.  Damage points are a measure of how much physical abuse you 
  can take.  A normal man has 10, an elephant has about 500.  You can 
  take 5x your listed damage points before you are absolutely, irrevocably, 
  dead. 
   
   
  But you’ll probably be dead long before that time (or at least 
  unconscious) if you get shot or stabbed badly.  The amount of damage 
  you take in any one hit is considered a wound and there are four different 
  types of wounds. 
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Sub Minor Wound 
  Range: From 1 point to less than DP / 3 
  Effect: None unless the target is already hurt. 
  Common Visual Effects: bruises, small cuts, scrapes. 
  Any time you take even a point of damage, it’s a wound.  But that doesn’t 
  mean much: a healthy man who takes one point of damage won’t be 
  slowed down at all.  Just record the damage taken and get on with it. 
   
  Minor Wound 
  Range: From DP / 3 to less than DP 
  Effect: Likely to stun or daze the target. 
  Common Visual Effects: Welt, swollen black eye, 
  shallow stab wound. 
  Another Explanation: 
  Here’s a “short and sweet” 
  description of the wound types for 
  you to refer to: 
   
  • 
  Less than 1/3rd of your DP is a 
  Sub Minor Wound.  For a 
  man with 10 DP (average) 
  that’s 1 or 2 points. 
  • 
  From 1/3rd to less than 1x your 
  DP is a Minor Wound.  For a 
  man with 10 DP that’s 3 to 9 
  points. 
  • 
  Damage from 1x DP but less 
  than 2x DP is a Major Wound. 
  For a normal man with 10 DP 
  that’s 10 to 19 points. 
  • 
  Damage equal to 2x or more 
  DP is a Critical Wound.  For 
  a normal man that’s 20+ 
  points. 
  A: Worse Than 
  Critical  
  As a dirty little secret of the 
  advanced rules it’s possible for a 
  wound to be worse than critical.  
  Each “Minor Wound” number of 
  points you take above the Critical 
  Wound number gives an additional 
  –1 to the CON roll a character 
  must make when he takes a hit.  
  This means that a normal man with 
  a CON of 10 has a “Minor Wound” 
  number of 3.  If he takes 29 points 
  of damage that’s above the 20 
  points necessary to make it a 
  Critical Wound and the amount it’s 
  over is his Minor Wound 3x—he 
  must make his CON roll at –3 (he’s 
  really likely to die!). 
   
  * * * 
  You don’t usually think of having 
  your head cut off as a minor 
  wound—just a scratch, really. 
   
  I picked it up and turned it so I 
  could look around: about as hard 
  as the sobriety test when you’re 
  ‘faced. 
   
  The punk with the sword was still 
  there—he hadn’t fled yet.  Weird.  
  Worse, he was just examining me.  
  My luck—I run into a guy who 
  doesn’t use fire arms—and isn’t 
  scared by a Exo-Vampire.    
   
  * * * 
  A minor wound is what you could expect from a good punch to the face: 
  you feel temporarily disoriented; your eyes tear-up; it hurts.  When you 
  take a minor wound you must make a CON roll on the damage effects 
  chart (listed below).  Depending on what you make or miss your roll by 
  you could be stunned for an instant, dazed for several seconds, knocked 
  down, or even knocked out . . . If you make a good roll, though, you 
  might not be affected at all. 
   
  Major Wound 
  Range: From DP to less than DP x 2 
  Effect: Usually unconsciousness, possibly death. 
  Common Visual Effects: Bullet wound to the chest; 
  expert, powerful, karate kick to the face; stab with a 
  knife to a vital area of the chest; any decent cut 
  with a sword. 
  A major wound is usually quitting time.  Most targets will be dropped 
  immediately and will be unconscious for a while (if not dying). A good hit 
  with sword or a shot with a medium caliber gun will produce a major 
  wound.  Again, you roll on the damage effects chart and see what 
  happens—but it’s a lot worse than a minor wound. 
   
  Critical Wound 
  Range: Greater than 2x DP 
  Effect: Usually internal damage or death 
  Common Visual Effects: Any likely mortal wound. 
  If you take 2x your damage points in a single shot you’re almost always 
  going down.  That’s the equivalent of a shot in the face, a sword blow to 
  the head or being stabbed in the heart.  Characters with a high CON 
  have a reasonable chance of surviving if medical attention is available 
  (the chance of instantly dying is generally low in JAGS) but the fight is 
  over. 
   
  From the section you just read it seems like even if you have 10 DP, 
  taking ten 1pt wounds is nothing to worry about: after all, each wound is, 
  by itself, sub-minor.  Not so.  Wounds (even small ones) add up.  That’s 
  why there’s something called condition level.  Condition level is a 
  measure of how much total damage a character has taken.  It works like 
  this: 
  Condition Level 
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Condition Chart 
  Condition Level 
  Total Damage Taken Description 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Now, take all of that in and look at the effects of each condition level. 
   
   
  Wound Increase List 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  See how wound types increase as your condition level worsens?  If 
  you’re at hurt condition (which means you took damage equal to a minor 
  wound but less than a major wound) and then you get hit for one measly 
  point of damage you still suffer the effects of a minor wound!  You’re 
  badly hurt enough that even a light tap can have an adverse effect. 
   
  What about shock?  Under the character creation rules (first chapter) 
  there are rules for making your character Shock Resistant or Shock 
  Prone depending on how you design him . . . this is where it has effects. 
   
  Now, you may note that the number for hurt condition is 1/3rd DP, the 
  same as the number for a minor wound.  It’s the same for injured 
  condition and major wounds (and serious condition and critical wounds).  
  If you take a minor wound you’re automatically at hurt condition (unless 
  you’ve had cybernetic alterations or something weird).  If you take a 
  major wound you are automatically at injured condition.  That’s the way it 
  works. . . but you’re also at injured condition if you take a bunch of small 
  wounds that add up to your total damage points. 
   
  Ex1:  Bobby Tarandon, an amateur boxer, has 15 damage points 
  (15 DP).  His minor wound score is 5.  His major wound score is 
  15.  His critical wound score is 30.  His hurt condition score is 
  also 5 (injured condition happens at 15 points and, you guessed 
  it, serious condition happens at 30 points). 
   
  He is hit in a street fight by several different people for a total of 
  9 points of damage.  That’s above his minor wound score of 5.  
  Now, every time he’s hit—even for one point—he has to make a 
  CON roll on the minor wound table (see below). 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
     
  How to Lose A Fist Fight  
  In battles where characters aren’t 
  getting run through by swords or 
  mowed down by machine guns, 
  this is how most fights will end: 
  • 
  You take a couple of minor 
  and sub-minor wounds.  This 
  may knock you around a bit 
  but it probably won’t drop you 
  unless you’re unlucky. 
  • 
  You reach Injured condition as 
  a result of total damage. 
  • 
  Someone hits well and scores 
  a minor wound—this (because 
  of your condition level) 
  becomes a major wound and 
  you drop. 
   
  Of course, it might not happen like 
  that.  You could be hit for a minor 
  wound and fail a CON roll really 
  badly and drop right away. 
   
  If you have a high CON (or you’re 
  just lucky) you could fight on 
  beyond Injured condition. 
   
  If you’re just really tough (lots of 
  DP) then even a good hit by an 
  opponent might not do a minor 
  wound—then, if you don’t win, you 
  probably won’t go down until you’re 
  at Serious condition. 
  Hurt 
   
  Sub-Minor Wounds become 
  Shock has no effect 
   
   
  Minor Wounds 
  Injured  
  Minor Wounds become Major 
  Shock Prone characters 
   
   
  Wounds.  
   
   
  are automatically unconscious 
  Serious  
  Major Wounds become Critical 
  Characters who are not Shock 
   
   
  Wounds.  Sub-Minor Wounds 
  Resistant are automatically  
   
   
  become Major Wounds 
   
  unconscious. 
  Condition 
  Wound Increase 
   
  Shock  
  Dead 
   
   
  Damage Points x5 
  What you’d expect from the name.  
  Serious Condition  
  Damage Points x2 + 
  Character is probably dying. 
  Injured Condition  
  Damage Points x1 + 
  Character is staggered or unconscious. 
   
  Hurt Condition 
   
  Damage Points / 3 + 
  Character may be bloodied, bruised 
  Normal Condition 
  Less than DP / 3  
  Character is basically fine 
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  If he gets shot (later) for 18 points of damage, that’s a major 
  wound.  It also blasts him into injured condition (since he has 
  now taken more than 15 points of damage).  If he gets hit for 6 
  points from a club what would normally be a minor wound goes 
  to a major wound (it gets worsened one level) and Bobby is likely 
  to drop! 
   
   
  Damage Effects Table 
  This is the table you check after making a CON roll.  Find the type of 
  wound you took and read across to the column with the amount you 
  made your CON roll by.  That’s the effect you suffered.  Simple, huh? 
   
  Take a look at the Damage Effects Chart: 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Okay, now, if you just took a Minor Wound—that’s damage greater than 
  or equal to 1/3 of your DP and less than one times your DP—and you 
  made your CON roll by 2 then you’ve been stunned by the blow.  What 
  does that mean?  Read on . . . 
   
  The effects of damage (listed across the top) range from No Effect to 
  Dead.  Both of those are pretty self explanatory but all that stuff in the 
  middle has specific meanings which are explained below.   
   
  None: No effect, the target shrugs off the blow.  Keep track of 
  the damage points, though as a number of such insignificant 
  blows can add up. 
   
   
  Stunned: You are temporarily disoriented.  Your eyes tear-up, 
  you feel groggy for a second . . . In short, you’re stunned.  The 
  effects are: 
  • 
  You lose 5 REA recovering.  If you have 3 or more points left 
  on the round you’re hit you lose 3 – 5 from your remaining 
  REA and suffer the rest of the effects until the end of the 
  round.  Otherwise, if you’ve spent all of your REA (or just 
  have 1 or 2 left) you suffer the rest of the effects until you get 
  to go on the next round.  During that round you lose 5 REA 
  immediately and suffer the rest of the listed effects until your 
  turn comes—then you’ve recovered and get to act normally. 
  • 
  You block attacks at –1 while you’re stunned.  
  • 
  If you were making a long action and got stunned the action 
  still happens normally—you pay after the action completes 
  (so if you were running away and you get stunned as you 
  turn to go, you still get to run—you just lose the REA after 
  your move stops.) 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  * * * 
  Erin had the plasma-hammer 
  going—I could feel the heat from 
  the other side of the ridge.  It was 
  three hours into the night cycle and 
  the front looked like sunrise. 
   
  Seconds counted in this and I 
  came over the top pouring laser 
  fire on targets I didn’t take time to 
  aim at.  On the comm-link Erin was 
  bellowing and firing.  Clouds of 
  plasma rose from the tight beam of 
  hellfire coming from the close-
  combat assault weapon. 
   
  I could see right away that the rest 
  of the squad was dead.  The wave 
  of Horde had been boiled to 
  component sub-atomic elements 
  by the hammer but it hadn’t been 
  fast enough to save his mate and, 
  swarming out of the three tactical 
  worm-hole gates, the Horde kept 
  coming. 
   
  I watched their molecularly thin 
  claw tips tear up the rock.  As he 
  swept left to right they poured in 
  from the left, trying to reach him. 
   
  I set my laser to wide-beam and 
  slammed into the ground beside 
  Erin.  He blew it and one of the 
  brown, fleshy Horde hurtled itself 
  under the arc-light of the plasma 
  hammer.  I felt it puncture the 
  armor around my leg. 
  Critical  
  10 or More     +9 to +7      +6 to +5        +4 to -0                  -1 to -3                -4 to -5    -6 or worse 
  Major 
    
  +8 or More     +7 to +5      +4 to +3        +2 to -1                  -2 to -3                -4 to -5    -6 or worse 
  Minor 
    
  +3 or More     +2 to +0      -1 to -3          -4 to -5                  -6 to -10                 Nil              Nil 
   Wound  
  No Effect       Stunned     Dazed 
    Unconscious 
     Internal Damage       Dying 
  Dead 
  Damage Effect Table 
  Wound Effects 
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Ex1: Harry Lazano, a middle manager at a technology company, 
  gets into a fight with someone from the marketing department 
  and punches them in the nose.  Lazano hits for 4 points of 
  damage and causes a minor wound to the marketing scum’s 
  face (the author works for a technology company as an engineer 
  . . .) 
  I killed it without thinking—the 
  wound hurt so bad you wouldn’t 
  believe it for about a second before 
  the suit cut in and amputated—so 
  the toxins wouldn’t get me.   
   
  As the leg switched to robotic I 
  fired high.  You can’t stop—you 
  can’t even pause.  All that training 
  for aim was out the window.  I’d 
  had enough—I put my last atomic 
  grenade dead center in one of the 
  grayish worm-holes.  In 
  synchronization, they winked out.  
  Ha! 
   
  “Erin,” I managed.  Next to the 
  hammer even the tight-beam 
  communicator  was full of static.  
  He fumbled to shut it down. 
   
  “Yeah?” he said.  He sounded 
  almost laconic as he struggled to 
  keep the thundering weapon under 
  control.  His right arm was in robot-
  mode.  The suit had taken his right 
  foot too.  The scars on his armor 
  suggested it might be even worse. 
   
  “We got to get out,” I said.  “They 
  hit the Westminster Command 
  Complex.  Charon high-command 
  was wiped out sixty-three minutes 
  ago.  They opened worm-holes 
  and unleashed the Horde on the 
  station.” 
   
  “Crud,” Erin said.  
   
  He looked at me and I could see 
  where the suit—capable of 
  vivisecting the human body to keep 
  it alive—had cut down into the right 
  half of his brain.  Whatever was left 
  of him had been capable of firing 
  the hammer—and that was all that 
  mattered. 
   
  “Erin, buddy,” I said, not sure what 
  else to say.  “How long does the 
  suit say you . . . have . . . uh . . .” 
   
  “Suit says I’m fine,” Erin said.  
  “Unlimited action.” 
   
  “But . . . your brain . . .” 
   
  “Hey,” Erin said smiling, “we’re 
  infantry.” 
   
  * * * 
   
  The marketing person has 11 REA normally and spent 3 in an 
  unsuccessful attempt to block.  He’s got 8 points left when Harry 
  lands his blow—enough to hit back with.  However, since he was 
  stunned, he loses 5 REA and then only has 3 left (enough to 
  block with) but he blocks at –1.  The next turn, though, the guy 
  will be un-stunned and acting normally (well, not quite—because 
  he took 4 points of damage . . . but cumulative effects are 
  explained a little later). 
   
  Ex2: After blocking once, Bobar—a warrior—charges towards an 
  invading Easterner.  The Easterner sees the huge, unwashed 
  lump of muscle hurtling itself at him and tries to stop him with a 
  quick sword thrust.  Too bad, though, Bobar is only stunned.  
  However, Bobar has a 13 REA and has spent 3 for the block and 
  8 for the move: he only has 2 left and the stunned effect doesn’t 
  stop him in his tracks (abort the long action). 
   
  Since Bobar has 2 REA left (a pretty useless number) he doesn’t 
  pay the REA on this turn—but at the beginning of his next turn 
  he only has 8 REA (13 – 5 = 8) to spend . . . and he blocks at –1 
  until his turn to go comes up. 
   
  What if Bobar had somehow had 3 or 4 points left in a turn that 
  he was stunned?  The answer is that Bobar gets un-stunned 
  without paying the full 5 REA—he gets off easy because the 
  game system rounds up (and assumes that paying 3 or 4 is 
  basically just like paying 5 REA). 
   
   
  Dazed: You’ve taken a heavy hit—you could be staggering 
  around for a few seconds.  When a character is dazed it’s similar 
  to being stunned but a lot worse: 
  • 
  The character loses 8 REA in the same fashion that stunned 
  costs 8 REA.  If the character has only 5 to 7 REA left in a 
  turn in which he becomes dazed he pays that amount. 
  • 
  If the character has 1 to 4 REA left, that goes away—but it 
  does not count towards the next turn of being dazed (see the 
  example). 
  • 
  After one turn of being dazed (either the turn you were hit or 
  the turn thereafter—whenever you first pay the 8 REA) you 
  get a CON roll at the beginning of the round to recover on 
  that round.  If you make it, you act normally that round—
  otherwise you’re dazed until the next second when you get 
  to roll again. 
  • 
  Dazed characters are at –2 to block and –2 to strike. 
  • 
  Dazed characters move at half speed. 
  • 
  A Dazed character is at half Grapple Score for purposes of 
  grabbing or breaking grabs. 
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Multiple Wounds in the 
  Same Turn: 
  If you’ve already taken a wound 
  during a given turn you don’t suffer 
  any effects of lesser wounds.  This 
  counts even if you’ve paid the REA 
  to recover. 
   
  A person can only be stunned 
  once in a turn.  After that, only a 
  result of Dazed or worse will have 
  any effect. 
   
  This is because the wound effects 
  last for the entire turn, not just until 
  you’ve paid the REA for them. 
   
  • 
  As an optional rule a dazed character must make a CON roll 
  (another one) or fall down.  The GM can ignore this as it 
  tends to slow down play. 
  • 
  A dazed result will stop a long action immediately (the REA 
  for the action is, instead, spent on the Daze). 
   
  Ex1:  Louis Makloff (12 points of REA), a muscled Super-Mart 
  attendant, charges towards a costumed criminal (who was sold a 
  faulty television that they refused to take back) who is in the 
  process of using his sonic beam to wreck the housewares 
  department. 
   
  The super villain turns the sonic beam on Louis who is dazed by 
  the damage.  The super villain can choose at what point along 
  Louis’s path to open up with the sound beam—he decides to 
  play with Louis and let him get close before zapping him.  He 
  shoots Louis at about 2 yards range.  The dazed effect causes 
  Louis to lose the results of the long action—the REA is wasted. 
  But, because the villain let him get close, he’s just about where 
  he wanted to be.  The villain could have stopped him just as he 
  started moving. 
   
   
  Louis spent 8 REA (to pay the daze off) to move and has 4 left—
  not enough to attack with, and he can’t block. The beam stops 
  his movement immediately (terminates the long action) and 
  leaves him gasping for breath and disoriented. 
   
  At the beginning of the next turn, Louis makes his CON roll to 
  recover and makes it!  He acts normally that turn.  The villain has 
  turned away, back to his systematic destruction.  Louis slips the 
  loaded shot gun out from under his coat: “Hail to the king, baby!” 
   
  Ex2: A character goes first in a round and spends all but 4 of his 
  REA on attacks.  He is then hit and dazed.  He loses the 4 REA 
  and suffers the dazed effects—but next turn he also has to pay 8 
  REA and suffer the dazed effects.  The turn after that, he’ll get a 
  roll to recover. 
   
  Unconscious: The character drops unconscious.  If you’re at 
  normal or hurt condition, make a CON roll to recover in 3 
  seconds.  If you miss it, make another to recover in 3 minutes.  If 
  you miss that you recover in 3 or more hours (the GM can have 
  you make another roll—if you miss it by 5 or more you could slip 
  into a coma . . .)  If you’re worse than Hurt, make a roll to recover 
  in 3 minutes. 
   
  When you’re unconscious you immediately fall down and are at 
  +5 to be hit by all attacks aimed at you (and, of course, no AGI 
  bonus).  Needless to say, you can’t grapple, grab, or otherwise 
  take any actions—you’re out cold. 
   
  Internal Damage: Internal damage means some organs got 
  bruised (or ruptured), bones got broken, etc.  If the damage was 
  to a limb (see the advanced combat section for rules on targeting 
  limbs) the limb is probably broken. 
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Otherwise, if the damage was from energy or a blunt (impact) 
  blow you’re automatically unconscious for three minutes (or 
  more if you miss a CON roll).  If the damage came from a 
  penetrating source (a knife, sword, or bullet) make another CON 
  roll.  If you make this, you are treated as dazed (see above) and 
  your CON drops by 2 points for all further rolls until the damage 
  heals. 
   
  Additionally, you bleed.  The full rules for bleeding are covered in 
  the advanced section.  In the basic combat section use the 
  below list: 
  • 
  Minor Penetration Wound—the character will lose 20 – CON 
  damage points before the bleeding stops. 
  • 
  Major Penetration Wound—the character will die in CON 
  minutes unless aided. 
  • 
  Critical Penetration Wound—the character will die in CON x 
  10 seconds unless aided. 
   
  Dying: You’ve had an artery severed, a lung collapsed, or some 
  severe trauma to the head (these are only a few of the 
  possibilities).  Unless aided (by someone with Medical Skill at 
  Level 2—the roll to save you is at –3 for a character with Medical 
  Skill Level 1) you will die in CON x 2 seconds. Your character is 
  unconscious and CON is reduced by three until all damage is 
  healed. 
   
  Dead: Your character has died instantly.  There may be some 
  chance of “restoring” the body.  Usually a Level 4 medical roll will 
  bring a character back from this (other unorthodox means may 
  also exist . . . ) 
   
   
  Switching to the Advanced Combat System 
  When do you switch over to the advanced rules?  Whenever you want to, 
  of course. Once you’re started using the advanced rules in the sidebar 
  you’re probably ready to move to the advanced section—but honestly, 
  the only reason we split the sections up was for ease of reading.  The 
  sum-total of the JAGS combat rules seemed to be too much for people to 
  take in all at once so we made it easier.  If you consider yourself an 
  “advanced roleplayer” who likes complicated, intricate, combat sessions 
  you could start by taking a stab at the advanced rules . . . and maybe 
  even some of the optional rules as well. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Integrated Combat Example (with an Advanced Rule) 
  Dalton, a modern day fencing instructor, finds himself transported to the 
  17th century with his family’s dueling sword.  He’s standing in a field, 
  facing the man who slew his great, great, whatever, grandfather. 
  From the moment I saw the blade, 
  over my father’s fireplace almost 
  two decades ago, I knew it was 
  special. 
   
  It wasn’t just that it was old—or 
  ornate.  It was the strange glow in 
  the firelight that told me it was not 
  only a weapon . . . but a key. 
   
  I stood in the orchard, just after 
  dawn, facing the man whose 
  picture I had studied in two-
  century-old oil paints in the family 
  archives. 
   
  He smiles, expecting me—
  recognizing the blade.  For my 
  part, there is nothing to say.  A 
  snap of a salute—in deference to 
  history and then the cool flood of 
  adrenaline that marks combat. 
   
  I circle, balanced, ready.  Carefully 
  skirting the edge of his striking 
  zone, I let him come. 
   
  He does.  My father was a 
  peasant, as every bit as unskilled 
  with the sword as the pen.  We 
  were a line of peasants and for 
  Lord Monroe, in his age, peasants 
  are not taught the sword.   
   
  The blades kiss as I deflect his 
  blow.  My turn. 
   
  I see the shock in his eyes as the 
  nerves in his hand carry the 
  sensation of the parry up his arm.  
  I try to beat them to his brain. 
   
   
  * * * 
   
  Initiative Rolls: The GM rolls for the noble and the player rolls 
  for Dalton.  The Noble makes his roll by 2 (he has a 13 REA and 
  rolls an 11).  Dalton makes his roll by 3 (he has a 13 REA and 
  rolls a 10). 
   
  Dalton goes first. 
   
  The two are far apart so Dalton declares a Move action to start running.  
  His run (he can’t immediately sprint) could take him all the way to the 
  man but he doesn’t want to reach him just yet so he circles. He doesn’t 
  want to strike this turn so he ends his turn. 
   
  Buying the Action: Dalton’s player buys the action move.  He 
  spends 8 of his 13 REA and then, wanting to be able to block, he 
  simply declares that his turn is over. 
   
  NOTE: Although he “ends his turn” he can still block or dodge—he just 
  can’t strike, move, or do anything else.  If he wanted to take a Wait 
  maneuver, he could (and then he’d be able to react with a thrust from his 
  sword, for example).  However, since he already moved, a Wait 
  maneuver would cost him 2 REA and that would leave him with 3—too 
  little to attack with! This is an application of an advanced rule: Waiting. 
   
  The other guy, Lord Monroe, (also 13 REA) gets to go.  Dalton is circling 
  so he starts moving too (8 REA).  As Dalton has 5 REA left, but isn’t 
  waiting, he charges straight at Dalton and strikes with his sword. 
   
  Why he charged: If Dalton had enough REA to move and then 
  wait and then strike, charging wouldn’t be such a good idea.  
  Monroe would stand the chance of being hit on the way in. 
   
  Since Dalton ended his turn he can’t respond as Monroe closes. 
   
  NOTE: Sword blows usually cost about 6 or 7 REA for a medium sized 
  sword and a normal strike.  As both of these men are Level 3 
  swordsmen, they can execute the thrust for the same REA as a punch 
  (5). 
   
  Dalton sees the man charge and then strike.  He declares a block for 3 
  REA and successfully deflects the man’s attack. 
   
  Roll To Strike: Monroe has a sword skill of 15- and Dalton has 
  an AGI of 13.  This means that the GM (playing Monroe) must 
  roll a 12 or less to hit Dalton (skill of 15 minus 3 for Dalton’s 
  AGI). 
   
  The GM gets an 11 and hits by 1 for purposes of damage but by 
  4 for purposes of blocking. 
   
  
  V1.0 copyright © 2001 Marco Chacon 
  Dalton’s Block: Dalton ended his turn—but he still gets to take 
  defensive actions, like blocks, if he has the REA.  He does (he’s 
  got 5 REA left).  So he blocks. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  What if Monroe was 
  Armored? 
  Let’s suppose Monroe was 
  wearing full plate mail (like an 
  armored knight).  Checking the 
  tables in the back of the book we 
  see that Plate Mail has a Damage 
  Reduction of 6 and a Penetration 
  Resistance of 12. 
   
  Because Dalton’s base damage 
  with the sword is below 12—the 
  Penetration Resistance of his 
  target’s armor, the damage is 
  treated as impact instead of 
  penetrating. 
   
  Okay, so how does that effect?  
  Two ways: 
  • 
  Vital hits (hits by 4+ don’t 
  double the damage modifier) 
  and . . . 
  • 
  Damage is rolled on the 
  impact damage chart. 
   
  So, Dalton’s hit, with the same 
  damage roll would be: 14 + 11 = 
  25 on the impact damage chart. 
   
  That result is 1.5x damage or (7 x 
  1.5) = 11 points.  Since the armor 
  has a damage reduction of 6, 
  Monroe only takes 5 of those. 
   
  That’s still a minor wound and he 
  blew his CON roll by 4: 
  unconsciousness.  Dalton could kill 
  him while he’s down . . . but he 
  seems like a sporting fellow 
  (Monroe is still in pretty good 
  condition so, if he makes a CON 
  roll he’ll get up in three seconds). 
   
  Dalton’s skill is 17- and he’s Level 3 with the sword.  Checking 
  the Skill table we see that at Level 3 your block roll is equal to 
  your skill roll.  Dalton has a 17- block roll and has to make his roll 
  by 4.  He rolls a 12, making his roll by 5. 
   
  The block is successful and the strike is deflected. 
   
  Both men end their turn—Dalton has 2 REA left but it isn’t enough to do 
  anything with and Lord Monroe spent all of his. 
   
  A New Turn Begins:  So you roll initiative again. 
   
  They roll initiative again.  This time Dalton lucks out and makes his REA 
  roll by 8.  Monroe makes his by 3.  When Dalton gets to go first, he 
  declares a strike. 
   
  The Strike: Dalton’s strike cost him 5 REA and he rolls to hit and 
  gets a 4.  Monroe’s AGI is 12 so Dalton’s chance to hit was 17 
  (skill) – 2 (target’s AGI above 10).  He needed a 15- and he 
  rolled a 4.  He hit by eleven for purposes of damage.  Worse, he 
  made his skill roll by 13 so Monroe needs to make his block roll 
  by 13 or more! 
   
  The Block: Monroe declares a block but needs to roll a 2 or less 
  to parry the attack.  He rolls an 8, fails to block, and gets hit. 
   
  The Damage Roll: Dalton has a STR and BLD of 11.  The sword 
  does +6 penetrating damage.  Dalton’s base damage with the 
  sword is 7 (he gets no bonus for BLD because he isn’t big 
  enough).   
   
  Since the attack is penetrating (swords are sharp) and he hit by 
  4 or more (a vital target) the amount he hit by is doubled.  So he 
  makes a damage roll and adds 22! 
   
  He rolls a 14.  The total is 14 + 22 =  36.  On the chart that’s 4x 
  damage—a stab through the eye!  The damage is 7 x 4 = 28 
  points. 
   
  The Wound Type: Lord Monroe has 12 Damage points.  His 
  minor wound is 4, his major wound is 12, and his critical wound 
  is 24.  He’s taken 28 points in one hit—a critical wound. 
   
  The Wound Effect Roll: Monroe has an 11 CON and makes a 
  roll.  He rolls a 15, missing his CON roll by 4.  On the critical 
  wound chart that’s a dying result: Instant unconsciousness and 
  shortly, death.  Monroe drops. 
   
  As the man slumps, Dalton looks down at the body . . . and the blood on 
  his sword. 
   
   
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Jags/JAGS Basic Combat System.pdf