Magic Combat

### **Initiative**

Each Character has a set initiative. Characters go based on that order. If multiple characters have the same initiative, then everyone rolls 1d6 and go based on highest to lowest roll.

#### **Combat Round / Initiative Pass**

A combat round is active as long as character can still perform actions. Every character can perform actions as long as they have Initiative. After every character has finished their first round of actions, the GM will take 10 off of Initiative.

Every character that still has Initiative can go again (Initiative Pass, short IP). Certain gear gives extra IP, even if Initiative drops to 0. Once all characters are at 0, the Combat Round ends and the next starts.

### **Movement**

**Still:** Character can do all actions named above

**Walking:** Character can do almost all actions named above (unless obvious that he can’t)

**Running (incl Sprint):** Running Speed / Initiative Pass = Xm per Combat Round

Example:

> Twitch is an elf and thus has Running Speed 25. He is a Street Samurai and thus has 3 IP this round. 25 / 3 = 8
> He can run 8m during this round.
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> - 2 Modifier on all actions
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> + 2 Modifier on Charging Attack (unarmed/Melee) and Dodging
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### **Attacks**

Combat Sequence

1. **Choose a spell:** Attacker decides which spell to use. If a sustained spell is still active, it can either be dropped as a Free Action or kept. If kept, apply a -2 modifier for distraction.
2. **Choose the Force:** Attacker decides on Force. Max. Force is Magic x2. Casting with higher Force than that will cause Physical Drain.
3. **Choose a Target:** If in the physical world, then choose a target (object or creature) in the physical world. If in the astral world, choose a target in the astral world. Possibly take Perception test in case of darkness or distance (part of same Complex Action as casting spell). **AREA ATTACK:** Force = Meter radius. Center has to be visible to Attacker. Attacks friends and foes. **MULTIPLE SPELLS:** Attacker may use same spell on multiple targets as one action. In this case the attack pool gets split (pool of 8 and two targets means pool of 4 for each target). +1 Drain per extra target. Maximum amount of targets is equal to Spellcasting ability.
4. **Roll Magic + Spellcasting:** This includes modifier such as Totem, Visibility, etc.
5. **Determine Effect:** See spell description.
6. **Roll Willpower + Attribute (Charisma/Logic) to resist Drain:** Each hit reduces drain by 1. No modifiers are applied. Drain damage is **Stun damage**.
7. **Determine Ongoing Effects:** If a spell can be sustained. Any additional test has a -2 modifier. Moving an area spell is a Complex Action. Certain conditions can break the attackers concentration, to avoid dropping the spell(s) roll Willpower + Spellcasting (2).

### **Defend**

Depending on situation, defending can get multiple modifiers.

* **Defender Unaware of Attack:** Any hit is an instant success, no defending possible. This does not apply to defenders who are already engaged in combat.
* **Defender Wounded:** Wound modifiers apply if the defender has taken damage.
* **Defender Has Defended Against Previous Attacks:** If a character has defended against at least one other attack (melee or ranged) during the same Combat Round, apply a –1 cumulative modifier for each additional defense roll.
* **Defender Prone:** Characters who are on the ground have a more difficult time getting out of the way and suffer a –2 dice pool modifier. This modifier does not apply to defending against ranged attacks unless the attacker is extremely close (5 meters or less).
* **Defender Running:** Moving targets are harder to hit with ranged attacks, and give a character more maneuverability when dodging. Defenders who are running receive a +2 dice pool bonus.
* **Defender in Melee Combat:** A character dodging and weaving in melee combat with another opponent has a more difficult time dodging attackers coming from a distance. The defender suffers a –3 dice pool modifier against ranged attacks, regardless of how many characters he is in melee with.
* **Attacker Firing Burst or Shotgun:** The more bullets or flechettes thrown at a character, the harder it is to avoid them. Defending characters suffer a –2 dice pool modifier against wide bursts, –5 against long wide bursts, and –9 against full-auto wide bursts. Likewise, the defender suffers a –2 modifier if the attacker is using a shotgun set on medium spread, –4 against wide spread.

* **Attacker Using Area Attack Weapon:** Dodging explosions is not as easy as it seems in the movies. Apply a –2 modifier when trying to defend against weapons like grenades, rockets, or missiles with a blast effect.

### **Other**

**Intercepting**

> If character A is moving (walking, running, sprinting) past character B, then character B is allowed a Free Action to Intercept. If they hold a weapon, they use Melee Attributes, else Unarmed. If Character A takes any damage, they will stop moving.
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**Knockdown**

> If a character takes damage equal or higher than their body, they get knocked down. If a character takes 10 or more damage, they get knocked down. Knocked down characters need to Stand Up or change to Prone Down in their next active round to be able to act.
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**Subduing**

> In Unarmed/Melee Combat, a character may attempt subdue. Attacker uses Strength pool. If successes exceed Defenders Body, they subdue them. Freeing yourself from a Subdue Hold uses Strength + Unarmed Pool. Successes need to exceed the initial Subdue successes. ***Example:*** *Lance subdues a guard (Body 4) with 6 hits. Guard attempts to break free. He only gets 4 hits and remains subdued. Guard tries again. He gets 8 hits and successfully breaks free.*
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**Surprise**

> When a character is attacked without being aware of the attackers presence, they need to take a Reaction + Intuition test. All hits form the threshold for the attacker. If a character is already alerted, they do Reaction + Intuition + 3.
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> ***Example:*** *Susie tries to sneak attack the guard. The guard rolls with 7 dice and gets 2 hits. Susie needs to get at least 3 hits on her*
> attack to surprise him. She tries to sneak attack the other guard further down the hall as well. The guard heard some commotion and thus is alerted. Additionally to the 7 dice, he gets another 3. So he has 10 dice. He gets 6 hits, so Susie needs to get 7 hits in her attack to surprise him.
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> *A Glitch during a surprise check will have them suspect something but not act on it for some reason (the famous “What was that? Huh, maybe a mouse.”).*
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> *A Critical Glitch will cause the surprised person to be absolutely oblivious. They probably listen to rock music on full volume or something.*
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> *A Critical Success will reveal the attack and might give boni such as 1 IP or something.*
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### **Damage**

#### **Type**

> **Physical (P):** Cause Injuries. Take longest to heal.
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> **Stun (S):** Rarely cause Injuries. Heal quickly, but have immediate negative effects. Drain from using magic causes Stun Damage.
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#### **Codes**

> **Damage Value:** The number before the P or S. How many boxes a successful hit can take off of an unprotected opponent.
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> **AP (Armor Penetration):** If the opponent has armor, then its protection modifier gets reduced by the amount of AP of the attacker.
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**Damage Calculation**

> Physical-magical attacks: Willpower + Astral Combat
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> Astral-magical attacks: Charisma + Astral Combat
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**Relevant Modifiers**

> **Each hour passed since astral link was active:** +1
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> **Target behind mana barrier:** - (Force of barrier)
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> **Tracking master by spirit:** Bound spirit = No modifier / Unbound spirit = +2
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**Astral Modifiers**

> **Astral Initiative:** Intuition x 2
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> **Astral Initiative Passes:** 3
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> Agility = Logic / Body = Willpower / Reaction = Intuition / Strength = Charisma
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#### **Damage Resistance**

> **Calculating:**
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* Body + Armor **(physical)**
* Willpower + whatever applies **(magical)**
* Intelligence + whatever applies **(matrix)**

> **Glitches:** A glitch will cause problems (Armor permanently loses 1 point, Cyberarm stops working for 3 rounds, etc). A Critical Glitch will cause a full hit with no resistance and armor calculated.
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> **Critical Success:** Character evades any damage.
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#### **Damage Results**

> **Condition Monitor:** The health boxes.
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> **Unconsciousness:** If all boxes of either stun or physical are filled, the character falls unconscious and can’t act until healed enough to have at least one box in that track empty again.
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> **Exceeding Condition Monitor:** If all boxes of stun are filled, then any extra stun damage will be noted into the physical boxes. If all boxes in physical are filled, then character is near death. If a character’s physical boxes are all filled, they take 1 damage for each Combat Round that they aren’t healed back to 1 box. If they receive damage equal or above the stat of their body, they die.
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> ***Example:** Crystal has all 8 boxes of her health filled and falls unconscious. She has a body of 3 and thus can take 3 more damage before dying. She lies around untreated for one round and thus has 2 rounds left before dying. Her teammate uses a Health Kit on her, filling up 4 boxes. She is now conscious again with 2 boxes.*
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#### **Dead Man’s Trigger**

> A character about to fall unconscious/one-hit die may request to pull the Dead Man’s Trigger.
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> Requirements:
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* must have 1 free action (delayed, extra or it wasn’t their turn yet)
* must have at least 1 Edge Point

> They then spend 1 Edge point to perform Body + Willpower (Threshold 3) test. If successful, they may perform any action (free, simple or complex) except moving.
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#### **Special Damage**

Damage not caused by (normal) weapons.

> **Acid:** Counts as physical damage. Damages over multiple rounds until washed off. Can permanently destroy armor, if ignored.
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> **Cold:** Physical Damage.
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> **Electricity:** Stun Damage. Metallic Armor will not apply any modifiers. Non-Conducting Armor will apply modifiers.
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> **Falling:** Physical Damage. Characters fall with 150m per Combat Turn + 50m for each additional turn. Damage Resistance is Body + Impact Armor + (if available) Gymnastic.
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> **Fatigue:** Character can run for as many rounds as their Body stat. After that, they take 1 stun damage per round they continue running. After 6 stun damage, character needs to succeed Body + Willpower (Threshold 2) to keep running.
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> **Fire:** Physical Damage. If gear catches fire, it will continue to cause the weapons/spells original fire damage until it is put out. Plus, it might permanently destroy gear.
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### **Actions**

Every Character gets:

* one Free Action
* 2 Simple Actions OR 1 Complex Action

#### **Free Action**

This action can be done at the beginning of the characters round without wasting an
action or time.

 Deactivate Focus
 Declare Counterspelling Protection
 Drop Sustained Spell
 Drop Object
 Drop Prone
 Gesture
 Intercept
 Run
 Speak/Text Phrase

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#### **Simple Action**

bonded to him. Note that activating a sustaining focus requires the magician to
 Call Spirit
 Command a Spirit
 Dismiss Spirit
 Shift Perception
 Observe in Detail
 Pick Up/Put Down Object
 Sprint
 Stand Up
If the character is injured, they need to perform a test:
 Use Simple Object

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#### **Complex Action**

Note that once on the astral, maintaining astral projection does not require an
 Banish Spirit
 Cast Spell
 Erase Astral Signature
 Summon Spirit:
 Fire Mounted/Vehicle Weapon
 Full Defense
 Use Skill

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#### **Delayed Action**

A player can declare that they will delay their action. The fight will continue as if they had taken action. If they wish to use their action (eg. use Full Defense or Quick Draw), they need to announce their desire to act now.

A player can decide to use their Free Action and 1 Simple Action, then delay their 2nd Free Action.

A Free Action can ONLY be delayed, if ALL actions are delayed.

Actions can NOT be stacked (not doing anything until it’s the players turn again will result in not having done anything, period).