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Chapter 9: Combat
[ | Combat Statistics | The Tick System | Personal Combat Rules | Vehicle/Mount Combat Rules | Example Moves | ]
The Tick System
The way to start every combat round is to determine Initiative. This means you roll to find out who is first.
Everyone rolls Initiative and adds their bonus to their roll. The person(s) with the highest initiative is first.
The highest Initiative determines the length of this round. If the highest roll on the table is 33, the round is 33 ticks long starting
with the winning player.
Ticks
How long is a tick? It usually isn't as long as a second. A tick is meant to represent a simple moment in time. It can be anywhere from
a third of a second to more. But just because a guy gets the drop on you and is 10 ticks ahead in the round, doesn't mean he
beats on you for 5 seconds. Chances are, those 10 ticks represent just a few seconds. GMs need to consider this; rounds are as long as they need
to be and ticks have no set length of time to them either.
When performing any action (whether Free or on your Turn), it will take time to complete. Many actions take 2 ticks unless otherwise specified
by the book or the GM. It is possible for a character to be interrupted during any non-combat action; someone tries to harm
you or stop you while you perform a skill or other task. When a character is interrupted, he must roll Resist Concentration Loss or completely fail
the action.
Your Interval tells you how many ticks you need to wait before your next attack. So if you take an action on Tick 20
that takes two ticks, you are done on tick 18. So now you wait so many ticks until you can take another turn (unless you spend a Free Action to
do something). If your Interval is 6, you'd have to wait 6 ticks. In other words, your next turn is on tick 12.
GMs should keep a tick sheet handy. It's a list of all player names and groups of opponents. Each is assigned a number based on their initiative. When
actions are done by a player, The GM will subtract the action ticks + your interval from your current tick. Then he will tell you when you get to go again.
If you defend yourself while you're doing something else, the original action gets cancelled. If your Turn gets cancelled, stopped, or interrupted
before it was done (this does not include if they defend against you), you must consider how many ticks were wasted on that action. Then you must wait
out your Interval for your next Turn as usual. You may still use Free Actions as normal until then.
If a Free Action takes so long that it actually interrupts your next Turn, your Turn is on the tick immediately after.
Keeping a tick sheet may sound complicated, but actually it makes the process a lot easier than even the system creators expected.
Turns
Once the player's initiative comes up, he's good to go with his first Turn. You may use your Turn for
many things; they are divided up into the following three categories:
Attack - Spellcasting, firing a gun, or hitting someone in close combat. If you intend to engage in long-range combat, you must first Acquire your target
(this merely makes the first attack on your chosen target take an additional 2 ticks); this goes for throwing, shooting, casting, etc.
Prepare - Instead of attacking, you choose to mount a defense or perhaps hold off. The first time you are attacked during Prepare,
you need not spend a Free Action to defend yourself. If a character Prepares, he also has +4 to all defensive combat rolls
until he finally attacks. Prepare lasts as long as you wish and you may take your Turn at your leisure.
Miscellaneous - This includes preparing items, reloading a weapon, performing a skill or preparing a spell. Saying anything
is considered free and likely takes place over multiple ticks (it's up to the GM to handle conversations during combat).
The character can choose to spend a Free Action to defend himself spontaneously. Remember that Defensive actions take
up ticks as well (usually two, unless they're fancy). If you are out of Free Actions, it is advised that you either prepare to spend Ki to
defend or use your Turns to Prepare until the round is over.
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