Primarily geared towards physical altercations, Combat can be used to simulate other things; basically, any situation where tactics or an organized turn order would benefit play, you can haul out the combat system. In the rules outlined here, the focus is kept on the physical altercation stuff.
There are two types of Combat: Skirmishes for small and fast events that can be resolved quickly to keep the plot moving, and Engagement, which involves multiple “rounds” and a specific turn order. Skirmishes usually just involve description and a few checks, while Engagement is a more elaborate setup using battle maps or range bands, multiple rounds with a turn order, and more rules to keep things organized and tactically interesting.
In movies, comics, and anime, there are frequently scenes, usually when the heroes are running down a corridor, when they briefly exchange fire/clash swords/whatever with some low-level thugs, robot gun turrets, and so on. These scenes provide a quick flash of action, but don't last long, and seldom result in injury to the protagonists. These are Skirmishes.
A Skirmish doesn't require a battle map, and is resolved with some quick description a couple throws of the dice, usually a single exchange between the players and their opponents. Use the following steps:
- The GM sets the scene: The GM provides a quick description of what's going on, prompting action:
- As you rush down the corridor, four turrets pop out of the ceiling and open fire!
- The Players react: Each player takes a second to react, calling out their immediate reactions to the situation:
- I throw myself to the ground!
- I dive behind Bob and fire from under his arm!
- I open up with my Gatling gun!
- The Opposition Reacts: The Players and GM can go back and forth a bit, describing a cool action scene between the players and their opposition.
- Everyone Rolls: Player pull and roll their dice pools, and the GM assigns a target amount of Effort required to get past the encounter (the Challenge), usually 1 per character, although you can go as high as 5 per character for a more protracted battle.
- The players make their Rolls, reducing the Challenge by an amount equal to their total Effort.
- If this reduces Challenge to 0, describe how the battle ends and move on.
- If there's still Challenge left, describe how the battle progresses and go back to Step 2. The Characters might have to expend some Resources (burn Characteristics, spend Energy, damaged or lost Stuff, etc.), but usually don't suffer Wounds.
- Numerous Quirks on a roll might indicate some sort of complication occurs.
And that's it — once the players finish the Challenge, you move on. You can take as much time with descriptions and such as you want, and players can use Special Abilities/Stuff freely without Energy or other resource costs. Any Burned Characteristics are still Burned, and are reduced as the characters go on.
The whole idea is a quick, fun action scene where the players can show off a little with minimal risk on their way to something bigger — a big RP opportunity, or maybe an Engagement.
For more details, see Skirmish Rules.
Full Engagements are for major conflicts and tactical maneuvering. In an Engagement, everyone should have something interesting to do every round. Teamwork, maneuvering, and tactics are all important.
See Engagement for more details.
The battlemap is just a way to keep track of where everyone is in relation to each other, and where people are in relation to effects or events that take place over an area (Area Effects).
This document refers to distances in "squares", referencing a 1 inch or 2 cm square grid, with each square usually representing 2 yards or 2 meters. That doesn't mean you have to use a square grid, though; there's nothing in the system that requires it. You can just as easily use a hex grid or even just measure distances as you would with war-gaming miniatures. “Squares” is just a handy reference term.
If you're not using Battle Maps, each player should track Range Bands, indicating where they are relative to one another. Ranges are divided into Immediate, Near, Far, Distant, and Tactical. See Range Bands for more details.