The Methods of Modern Battle

Category:Mechanics
When the pleasantries of civilization melt away and the wild frenzy of violence begins, the concentration of the warrior splits between the meting of violence and the preservation of self. In combat, the actions of every moment count, and the way that a fighter spends them can make the difference between victory and defeat, survival and death.
= Preview=
* Everyone in a combat gets 3 Focus per Turn, with which they can take Actions and Anticipations
* Actions allow characters to do things, such as moving with Maneuvers, striking foes with Attacks, etc.
* Anticipations spend Focus ahead of time to gain Reactions
* Reactions allow characters to respond to enemy Actions with an attempt to Ambush or Defend
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= The Basics =
See Combat Structure to learn about Turns and RoundsEverything a character can do is either an Action (if proactive), an Anticipation (if preparatory), or a Reaction (if in response to something else). In order to take an Action or Anticipation, the character must spend one or more of the 3 Focus he has per Round in combat. Reactions are gained differently.
== Focus ==
The ability of a character to do things in combat is referred to as Focus. Focus is a combination of the time required to physically carry out the activity as well as the necessary mental concentration to effectively perform the task.
As a general rule, characters have 3 Focus per Combat Round. Most tasks take 1 Focus by default, but some require more or present the option to spend more Focus to increase their effects.
== Actions ==
Actions are taken on the character's side's Turn, of his own initiative. As long as it is his Turn, a character can spend his Focus to take any Actions he wishes, either alternating with his allies or going all at once.
There are nine types of Actions:
* Maneuver: Move to a new location
* Attack: Attempt to destroy an enemy
* Reposition: Get into a better position to mitigate danger
* Observe: Analyze the engagement area to assess the situation
* Recover: Deal with the stresses of combat
* Ready: Prepare for an Action or return to fighting order
* Aid: Help an injured ally
* Support: Assist or protect a teammate
* Impair: Hinder or imperil an enemy
== Anticipations ==
Anticipations are also taken on a character's side's Turn, but do not result in any immediate Action. Instead, they are a way to spend Focus to gain Reactions for use in response to an enemy Action.
There are two types of Anticipations:
* Watch: Keep an eye out for enemies to Ambush
* Guard: Look out for threats that require Defending
== Reactions ==
Reactions are taken in response to something an enemy does. 
There are two types of Reactions:
* Ambush: Interrupting enemies with an Attack
* Defend: Protecting oneself from an enemy Attack
Reactions are responsive in nature, so they are always taken when an enemy declares an Action. Each enemy Action can only invoke one Reaction from a single character; he cannot make multiple Ambushes against an enemy based on a single Maneuver, for instance. Nor can he make several Defend Reactions against a single Attack.
There are three methods to gain a Reaction:
==== 1. Taking an Anticipation ====
A character can gain a Defend or Ambush Reaction that can be used before the start of his next Turn by spending 1 Focus on a Guard or Watch Anticipation, respectively. This Reaction has extra benefits based on the Anticipation he takes to gain it.
Characters may take up to two Anticipations on any given Turn.
==== 2. Steal 1 Focus from next Round ====
If, during the enemy's Turn, a character needs to make a Reaction but he does not have enough of them set aside through Anticipations, he can steal 1 Focus from his next Turn to make an immediate Reaction. This does not gain the extra benefits that Watch or Guard grant on its own, though it can continue to benefit from them if one was also taken previously.
Stealing 1 Focus from the next Round means that the character will have only 2 Focus on his next Turn. On any given Round, only one Focus can be stolen from the next Turn in this way.
==== 3. Abandoning an Action ====
If taking an Action invokes an enemy Ambush Reaction (see Making an Attack, Step 2), the character can cancel his original Action in order to make an immediate Defend Reaction. Abandoning the Action in this way completely nullifies any effects of that original Action, including any associated costs such as Breath or Ammo.
This is the only way to Defend if an Action triggers an enemy Ambush.
=Actions=
The following are all Actions that can be taken on the character's Turn on his own initiative.
== Maneuver ==
Spend Focus to relocate to a different Zone. See the Movement rules for more information on Maneuvers. Only a single Maneuver can be taken per Turn, with the exception of Dash.
Maneuver	Expenditure 	Fast Speed 	Normal Speed 	Slow Speed 	Extra
Dash 	1 or 2 Focus* 	1 Zone 	1 Zone over two Dash Maneuvers 	N/A 	Gain Charge bonus to immediate Melee Attacks and gain Moving (+1)
Jog 	2 Focus 	2 Zones 	1 Zone 	1 Zone over two Jog Maneuvers 	Gain Charge bonus to immediate Melee Attacks and gain Moving
Run 	3 Focus 	4 Zones 	2 Zones 	1 Zone 	Gain Moving
Prowl 	3 Focus 	2 Zones 	1 Zone 	1 Zone over two Prowl Maneuvers 	Can still move while Down, Concealed, or Covered
Sprint 	3 Focus1 Breath	Make a Fitness (Athletics) Sprint Test to potentially move further and gain Moving	Make a Fitness (Athletics) Sprint Test to potentially move further and gain Moving	Make a Fitness (Athletics) Sprint Test to potentially move further and gain Moving	Make a Fitness (Athletics) Sprint Test to potentially move further and gain Moving
* Dash Maneuvers cost 1 Focus for the first one made on a Turn, and 2 Focus for a second one made on the same Turn, for a total of 3 Focus for two Dash Maneuvers.
==Attack==
Spend 1 Focus to make a Rushed Attack, attempting to injure or kill an opponent. This Attack can be a basic Attack with no Advantages or Drawbacks, or you can add 1 Advantage at the cost of 1 Drawback to specialize the Attack.
Spend 1 or 2 additional Focus on the Attack to upgrade it to a Deliberate or Concerted Attack, respectively, adding an equal number of Advantages to the Attack. Note that Attacks are limited to 2 Advantages, so a Concerted Attack only has one option. See the Attack rules to learn more about how Attacks work.
Attack 	Expenditure	Option 1 	Option 2
Rushed Attack 	1 Focus 	No Advantages or Drawbacks	1 Advantage and 1 Drawback
Deliberate Attack	2 Focus 	1 Advantage 	2 Advantages and 1 Drawback
Concerted Attack 	3 Focus 	2 Advantages 	-
==Reposition==
Spend 1 Focus to change Stance to better fare against the threats of combat in the following ways:
*Gain Covered
*Become Concealed
* Go Down
*Return to Unhindered, standing up from Down or abandoning Cover or Concealment, usually in preparation for a Maneuver
==Observe==
Spend 1 Focus to make an Intellect (Investigation) Test that can be used in one of two ways:
#As a Spot Test to identify the location of any Concealed enemies, allowing them to be Attacked.
#To study the battlefield for a tactical advantage on an Action taken on the same Turn, having the effect of a Support Action but with a personal benefit. As with Support Actions, the player must explain to the Gamemaster to a satisfactory degree how this improved situational awareness will help his upcoming efforts.
==Recover==
After losing some Breath earlier in the battle, spend all three Focus taking a Breather, including making a Resilience Test for the potential of regaining additional Breath.
Bring a piece of gear to bear, restore equipment to working order, refill ammunition or supplies, or see to any other efforts that require time to set up.
Treat self injuries?
This Action is a work in progress. Ignore for now.
== Ready ==
Spend a variable amount of Focus to prepare for an upcoming Action. For example, when it comes to gear this can include clearing a jammed weapon, setting up an attachment, retrieving a dropped item, or donning armor.
Regardless of the specifics, the circumstances will dictate how many Focus must be spent on the Ready Action. For instance, the Setup [ADD HYPERLINK] weapon Trait will have a number next to it which dictates the Focus cost to get it Ready.
Sometimes the event calling for a Ready Action will state that a Skill Test is required at the same time. The character only gets one Skill Test per Ready Action, and if it is failed he must take another Ready Action in order to retake the Skill Test.
== Aid ==
Medical attention [ADD HYPERLINK]
Help prop up or even carry someone slow or injured.
==Support and Impair==
Support and Impair are Actions that cover any attempt to improve an ally's capabilities, or reduce an enemy's capabilities, respectively. The exact manifestation of these attempts is up to the player narrating his character's efforts, adjudicated by the Gamemaster determining how effective his stated method would be.
Here are the steps in detail, though they can be streamlined once the Gamemaster and players are more familiar with the process:
=== 1. Description ===
The player starts by describing what the character is doing and how it will assist an ally or undermine an enemy. The more tactically impactful or situationally clever the described method is, the greater the bonus the Gamemaster should give the player in step 3.
=== 2. Skill and Costs ===
==== Skill Used ====
The player and the Gamemaster can work together to figure out which Skill would be most relevant to accomplish the stated effort, or which other Skills might be substituted at a penalty to Effectiveness (see Step 3). 
==== Associated Costs ====
The Gamemaster will determine any expenditures, either mandatory to attempt the Action in the first place, or optional to improve the odds of success. The player can suggest additional expenditures to try and improve his Effectiveness.
* Always at least 1 Focus, possibly more Focus for more lengthy activities.
* Expending some of his Vitalities such as Breath or Fire.
* Material expenditures, such as using Ammo or depleting a resource like using up a consumable item.
* Determine whether the Support/Impair makes the character Exposed.
=== 3. Effectiveness and Difficulty ===
The Gamemaster then determines the Effectiveness of the Support/Impair Action. He does this by assessing how relevant the described method of helping or hindering would actually be at affecting the ally or enemy respectively. Take into account the relevance of the Skill being used as well as the expenditure (or lack thereof) of helpful resources.
For Support Actions, the Skill Test will be a Standard Test, for which the Difficulty is always 4, with the Effectiveness bonus/penalty adding or subtracting Advances from the Skill Test (see below).
For Impair Actions, the Gamemaster must also determine which Skill the target will be using to resist and roll that Test. Impair Skill Tests are Opposed Tests, so the Difficulty for the Impairing character is set to the number of Advances scored by the target plus 1.
=== 4. Roll Skill Test ===
At this point, the player rolls his Skill Test and applies any Effectiveness bonus or penalty and compares to the Difficulty as determined in Step 3. 
=== Support/Impair Test Results ===
The effects of Support and Impair are identical but opposite. Support grants a Difficulty-reducing bonus to allies when successful, whereas Impair inflicts a Difficulty-increasing penalty to enemies when successful:
*Victory: Apply a Moderate (-2/+2) Modifier to the next Test the target makes, and:
**✠ (1 VP) Invigorate/Impede: Increase the modifier by 1, to a (-3/+3) Modifier
**✠✠ (2 VPs) Bolster/Disrupt: Apply the modifier to all Tests the target makes until the end of his next Turn
*Success: Apply a Moderate (-2/+2) Modifier to the next Test the target makes
*Dilemma: Choose one:
*#Paltry: Apply a Minor (-1/+1) Modifier to the next Test the target makes
*#Strain: Apply a Moderate (-2/+2) Modifier to the next Test the target makes at a cost, such as losing 1 Breath, Ammo, or Focus
*Failure: No effect
*Disaster: Gamemaster may choose, with some options including:
**Give an a +1/-1 Advance Effectiveness modifier to the target on his next Test
**Apply a Moderate (+2) Penalty to the next Test the acting character makes
**Apply Minor (+1) Penalty to all allies within the same Zone on the next Test they make
===Limitations===
Support Actions and Impair Actions must have a means of reaching the character they are meant to effect:
*For any methods that require touching the target, the character must be in the same Zone.
*For any methods involving conveying ideas to the target, the character must be within communication range, either close enough to speak, employing methods of voice magnification, or some other way of transmitting his words in a way that the target can hear. If the characters are far apart or conditions are noisy, penalties may apply. 
**The characters must be capable of understanding each other as well, either by speaking the same language, having shared understanding of body gestures, employing mutually intelligible symbols, etc.
*For any methods requiring the ability to see the target, the character must be able to see him. Any Visibility penalties apply, as well as Distance penalties [ADD HYPERLINK].
*For any methods requiring throwing items to or shooting weapons at the target, the character must remove the object or expend Ammo. Any Visibility penalties apply, as well as Distance penalties [ADD HYPERLINK] (other Attack Circumstances usually don't apply, since an Impair Action is not an Attack).
=Anticipations=
Anticipations are taken during a character's Turn, but do not cause an immediate Action. Instead, they grant a Reaction that can be used at any point before the start of the character's next Turn.
===Focus Costs===
The amount of Focus that must be spent to take an Anticipation changes depending if it is the first one taken on a single Turn, or the second one:
*First Anticipation: 1 Focus
*Second Anticipation: 2 Focus, for a total of 3 Focus to take two Anticipations
A character is limited to two Anticipations during a single Turn. The Focus costs may be altered by Talents.
==Watch==
*First Watch: Gain an Ambush Reaction that can be used any time before the start of your next Turn.
*Second Watch: Gain a second Ambush, not necessarily of the same type as the first, or upgrade the first Ambush with an additional Advantage. The benefit must be chosen when going on Watch.
Note: You only gain the Ambush after the Watch Anticipation has been completed, meaning if going on Watch triggers an enemy Ambush, you cannot counter-Ambush immediately. 
There are two benefits to going on Watch which apply to all Ambushes taken before the start of the next Turn: 
#The Ambush can be triggered by any Action an enemy takes, not limited to just Maneuvers.
# The character makes an Intuition (Awareness) Spot Test against any Concealed enemies during their Turn, to determine if he can see (and thus Ambush) them.
There are three types of Watch, chosen when the Watch Anticipation is taken:
*Arc (Ranged Weapon): Choose a direction (a 60° arc), in which you can Ambush enemies. Any Ambushes made still suffer from the Unwieldy penalty [ADD HYPERLINK].
*Specific Zone (Ranged Weapon): Select a distant Zone which you are Watching. Any Ambushes made against enemies in that Zone do not suffer from the Unwieldy penalty.
*Immediate Surroundings (Melee Weapon): Ambush any enemy within or passing through your current Zone, ignoring the Unwieldy penalty when doing so.
==Guard==
Gain a Defend Reaction that can be used in response to any enemy Action at any point before the start of your next Turn.
There are three benefits to going on Guard which apply to any Defend Reactions taken before the start of the next Turn. It allows a character to take a Defend Reaction:
# against an Attack made by a Concealed enemy with a successful Intuition (Awareness) Spot Test.
# against an Attack using a weapon with the Instant Trait using Intuition (Awareness).
# on behalf of an ally within the same Zone, if one can be narratively justified.
=Reactions=
Reactions are a response to an enemy Action, either defensive or offensive in nature. See the rules for how to take a Reaction above. 
==Ambush==
An Ambush is an Attack made in response to an enemy Action. Ambushes act exactly like a normal Attack Action, usually a Rushed Attack, though taking two Watch Anticipations can upgrade a single Ambush to a Deliberate Attack.
===Limitations===
*An Ambush can only trigger based on an enemy Maneuver or a different Action type taken while Vulnerable (such as an Attack with the Reckless Drawback)
*An Ambush cannot target Concealed enemies
These limitations can be bypassed by taking a Watch Anticipation during the Turn preceding the Ambush.
==Defend==
Defend Reactions are Skill Tests made in response to an enemy Attack, to attempt to avoid the danger. 
===Limitations===
*The intent to Defend must be declared before the enemy makes the Attack Test. This can only be waived in rare circumstances, such as more experienced soldiers Defending against weapons with the Delay Trait.
* Defend Reactions cannot be made against Weapons with the Instant Trait (such as a single sniper shot or other weapons that do not give any warning time to defend against)
* Defend Reactions cannot be made against Attacks from Concealed enemies.
The latter two limitations can be bypassed by taking a Guard Anticipation during the Turn preceding the Defend Reaction.
===Skill Selection===
When a character attempts to protect himself via a Defend Reaction, the player should describe his method of self-preservation and choose the most relevant Skill to match. Below are some descriptions for ways Skills can be used to defend, as well as some unique benefits to be gained from each Skill: 
*Coordination (Dexterity): Grab a Thrown Weapon with the Delay Trait and toss it away, applying the Defend Test results to others within the Zone as well. The difficulty of this maneuver applies a +2 Difficulty Penalty to the Defend Test.
**Victory: ✠ (1 VP) Return: Make an immediate and free Thrown Weapon Attack to throw the weapon back at the Attacker, with the Wild Drawback (-2 Advances). This Attack loses the Delay Trait.
*Coordination (Gymnastics): Dodge, jump, or roll out of the way to avoid danger. 
**Victory: ✠ (1 VP) Dive: Go Down at the end of the Defend Reaction.
*Coordination (Reflexes): Sidestep an Attack or move erratically to avoid it.
**Victory: ✠ (1 VP) Weave: Remove Vulnerable if applicable, or else gain Evasive until your next Action, if you did not already have it.
*Fitness (Assault): Block an enemy Melee Attack. 
**Victory: ✠ (1 VP) Deflect: Inflict Vulnerable on the attacking enemy until the end of his next Action.
**Victory: ✠ (1 VP) Brace: Negate an enemy's Charge (removing his 1 free Advance on his Attack Test and his free Fierce Advantage).
*Fitness (Athletics): Flee a dangerous spot to escape an Attack by Weapons with the Burst and Delay Traits. Normal Speed characters suffer a +2 Difficulty Penalty, Slow characters suffer a +4 Difficulty Penalty, but Fast characters do not suffer a Penalty. 
**Victory: ✠ (1 VP) Flee: Expend 1 Breath to travel to any adjacent Zone. This does count as a Maneuver for the purposes of granting enemies an Ambush.
*Intuition (Awareness): Notice the impending danger a moment before the Attack and avoid it. This Defend Reaction can only be used if a Guard Anticipation was taken, and it allows Defending against a weapon with the Instant Trait.
**Victory: ✠ (1 VP) Warn: Grant all allies within the same Zone a -2 Difficulty Bonus on any Defend Reactions against the Attacking enemy until the end of that enemy's current Turn.
===Defend Test===
Upon selecting the most relevant Skill, the player makes the Skill Test against a standard starting Difficulty of 4, and gains the following effects, plus any additional Success effects and the ability to spend Victory Points on the specific Skill's options (if any) as listed above.
*Victory: Increase enemy's Attack Test Difficulty by +2, and:
**✠ (1 VP, repeatable) Self-preservation: Increase enemy's Attack Test Difficulty by an additional +1
*Success: Increase enemy's Attack Test Difficulty by +2
*Dilemma: Choose one:
*#Strenuous: Increase enemy's Attack Test Difficulty by +2 at the cost of 1 Breath
*#Sluggish: Increase enemy's Attack Test Difficulty by +1
*Failure: No effect
*Disaster: Give the enemy 1 free Advance on the Attack Test
Category:Combat