Combat

## Initiative

A characters Initiative decides the order in which they are able to attack or take actions; meaning the chracter with the highest Initiative will always go first. In order to perform an action like shooting a gun or dodging an attack the character needs to spend their Initiative. This limits how many actions they can take within a round. After taking an action they can only take another when their remaining Initiative is again the highest.

Initiative refills at the start of every combat-round.

## Offensive Actions

All Offensive Actions require 5 Initiative.

* **Ranged Attack-** When firing a ranged weapon they character needs to make a Firearms + Precaution Roll against Difficulty 1 or the targets Dodge Roll as long as they are within the weapons range. Mortals that stand still/move slowly recieve Piercing instead of *Physical Damage* from the *Weapon*. They cause damage equal to the margin successes + Weapon Damage.
* **Melee Attack-** When making a melee attack the character needs to make a Strength / Agility + Focus against Difficulty 1 or the targets Dodge Roll. They cause damage equal to the margin successes + Weapon Damage.
* **Stealth Attack-** When making a Stealth-Attack a character first needs to make an Agility + Focus Roll against their targets Perception + Precaution. Should it succeed they may attack without their target being able to defend themselves; and should they kill their target it will be unable to alarm those around them. Should the Roll fail the target can either cry out or intercept an attack with a Strength/Agility/Firearms + Precaution Roll.
* **Grapple-** A character can try to catch a close-by enemy in a grapple. This requires a contested Speed Roll against their targets Agility + Precaution. Should they succeed their target as caught. At the start of each round they must make a contested Strength + Focus Roll; as long as they succeed their target remains caught and suffers physical damage equal to the margin successes. As long as a character is caught they can only do unarmed or knife attacks.
* **Casting an offensive Evocation-** (Damaging oder Debuffing)
* **Reloading**

## Defensive Actions

All Defensive Actions require 3 Initiative.

* **Parry-** Should the character be attacked in melee (and possess a sufficient weapon) they can parry an incoming attack. To do so they must make a Strength + Focus Roll and exceed the result of the attackers attack-roll.
* **Dodge-** Should the character be attacked by a melee/throwing weapon or be in reach of Cover they may make an Agility + Precaution Roll. Should the result exceed the attackers hit-roll they have dodged the attack and suffer no damage.
* **Sidestep-** Should no cover be in reach a character can attempt to sidestep a ranged attack. Mortals convert *Piercing* into *Physical Damage* when doing so; Neverborn and Halfbloods may add their Agility pool onto their *Soak Roll*.
* **Casting a defensive Evocation**

## Other

* **Movement**- Every character may move equal to their *Speed Rating* for free once every round.
* **Sprinting [3 Initiative]-** A character may increase their movement range through sprinting. This allows them to move their Speed in Meters.
* **Healing [3 Initiative]-** A character may mend their wound through their unnatural powers, regaining D3 points of Health. This can only be done once per round however.
* **Preperation [1-3 Initiative]-** A character can choose to prepare a specific action through steadier aim, looking for a better avenue of attack or studying an enemies movements. They may make add a number of dice equal to the spend Initiative onto their next *Attack*, *Defense* or *Soaking* *Roll*. This can only apply to an action within this round.

## Damage

There exist several types of damage:

* *Physical Damage:* Can be soaked normally and reduces a targets Health.
* *Mental Damage:* Can be soaked normally and reduces a targets Substance / Vigor.
* *Lethal Damage:* Can´t be soaked and reduces a targets Health.
* *Arcane Damage:* Can´t be soaked or reduced by Durability (vehicles). It can be chosen to reduce a targets Health or Essence.

### Soaking

When recieving (most types) of damage the character must make an Endurance + Willpower Roll where every success reduces the incoming damage by 1.

#### Death

A character having their Health reduced to 0 doesn´t necessairly mean their death; but only the state in which they are too hurt to fight on.

Should a Neverborn have their Health reduced to 0 they will make a Healing action with Initiative 0 in the following round; allowing them to become active again. This can be done as often as they are left room to do so; the only way to really kill them is attack again when they haven´t healed yet.

When narrativly appropriate a human with Health 0 can be saved if healed fast enough and not damaged again. Halfbloods with Health 0 require medical attention or several hours of complete rest before being able to heal again.

### Cover

There exist three types of cover: *Light Cover, Medium Cover* and *Heavy Cover.* Anyone in the proximity (max. 2 meters) is allowed to make **Dodge Actions** against Firearms.

* *Light Cover* has no additional effects (e.g. Undergrowth, Pillars)
* *Medium Cover* obstructs sight and can block light attacks/shots when standing behind it. (e.g. Thin Walls, Large Trees)
* *Heavy Cover* conceals anyone standing behind it and makes it impossible to attack through it. (Steel or Stone Walls)