Though there are several different methods for conducting combat in SFRPG, they all utilize the same set of general combat rules. The differences between the varying combat methods are in how a particular function is utilized (
for example, a game with miniatures may or may not use an actual grid, in which case range is determined by direct measurement). There are also a few differences between the three scales of combat (Character-scale, Vehicle-scale and Starship-scale). The main differences between the scales of combat are, as one might expect, the scales of action (damage/defense, time and distance). There are also a few skills that are used on one scale that are not used on other scales. Other than these few minor things, all combat in SFRPG uses the same combat engine.
All combat follows this general pattern:
- Determine if there is a surprise combat round.
- Roll Initiative checks.
- Determine initial ranges.
- Conduct actions for surprise round (if applicable).
- Resolve surprise round actions (if applicable).
- Conduct general combat actions.
- Resolve general combat actions.
- Resolve Combat.
Though a GM may not have to go through every step in this procedure, it is possible that they may have to go through some of the steps several times before combat is finally resolved. Specifically, if it is determined that combat is not concluded in step Eight of the procedure, steps Six and Seven will have to be repeated until combat is concluded. Also, each step applies to each combatant. Finally, the more combatants there are out there, the longer it takes to resolve combat.
A Word on the Different Combat Methods
As previously mentioned, there are several different methods that can be used for combat in SFRPG. At the beginning of an adventure or a campaign, it is very important for a GM to select which combination of methods they will use, and to inform the players of those methods. This is important largely from the standpoint of the meta-game. Simply put, some players are looking for different role-playing experiences from other players
(see Chapter 10.3), and it is important for the GM to cater to as many of their players as possible. In any case, The GM should
be sure and be clear about what method they're going to use in their campaign.
There are three main components that the GM needs to decide upon: "grid", "movement" and "timing". Timing can be broken down into movement, shooting, and "melee" sub-phases.
Grid
Combat in SFRPG may or may not be conducted on a combat "grid", at the discretion of the GM. Grid combat in this case means
any method of conducting combat wherein there is a visual means of determining the range between two or more combatants. The presence of a physical grid is not a requirement for gridded combat, though there is one in the strictest sense of the term's usage. A GM may elect to play with a Physical Grid, an Abstract Grid, or No Grid. All three types are used in determining range.
A
physical grid is exactly what it sounds like, an orthogonal grid of squares of whatever size the GM needs for the current action. Each square is equal to one range increment. A combatant may have up to eight different facings inside the square, either orthogonally or diagonally. The physical grid best matches the type of combat situations seen in the original Starflight games (picking up hostile lifeforms or fighting with alien starships).
An
abstract grid does not actually involve a grid, but there are physical objects that can be seen, moved and measured in relation to each other. Miniatures games work along this concept. In order to determine ranges along an abstract grid, a measuring stick will be required. A good scale to use for combat using an abstract grid is one inch for one range increment. Players using metric units should use a measurement of 1/2 decimeter per range increment (this is closer to two inches, but keeps the numbers a little nicer). Combatants are not confined to a defined number of facings. This system lends itself to a good deal of realism, though the GM and players will likely need a great deal of room to actually play out the combat action.
Combat can also be played with
no grid. Most early computer games use this type of system; the player simply picks an option to exercise. A 2d10 roll is made every turn, with the result indicating the range to target. Move actions, facings and combat arcs in this method are essentially non-existent, allowing players to conduct more in terms of other actions if they desire. Combat without a grid has the benefit of not requiring any additional equipment or space to play out the action, but it is far more abstract and may not be desirable for players who like a lot of realism.
Movement
The GM needs to make a decision on movement prior to begin of a campaign. Movement can either be based on the combatant's
Initiative rating, or on its established
Speed rating.
Initiative-based movement is dependent upon the combatant's
Initiative rating in order to determine how far the combatant may move during the course of a combat round. A combatant using this system receive a number of movement points equal to their
Initiative plus one. How those points may be spent depends on the combatant and how they are trying to move. In cross-scale combat situations, there is a straight modifier to determine how much more or less a combatant may move in a given round. While this system is not very realistic, it is a lot easier to calculate distances and handle movement than Speed-based movement (particularly if a physical grid is being used). NOTE: For starship-scale combat, Initiative-based movement is the only available option, as starship speeds are at best very poorly defined.
Speed-based movement uses the combatant's established maximum speed in order to determine the maximum distance the combatant may move during the course of a combat round. The combatant may move up to the distance indicated by their maximum speed, using whatever scale the GM has established for the scale of combat. In cross-scale combat situations, the distance all combatants move translates directly to one another, though it is entirely possible that a combatant is effectively stationary if they are in a combat situation with a much faster opponent. Speed-based movement is good for groups that strive for a great deal of realism in combat, and can really lend itself to combat on an abstract grid. If so desired, the GM may also implement acceleration rules, though this will require the addition of an acceleration statistic to each combatant (
and also vastly complicate movement; rules on acceleration will not be discussed, for the sake of simplicity). To determine how far a combatant will move in a round, take the combatant's speed in kph and multiply it by 5/3 to get meters per round. Apply whatever scale is being used to this result in order to determine how far the combatant moves.
Timing
The GM also must make a decision about the
timing of actions. All actions have two phases, declaration and resolution. Timing refers to the resolution of those actions. The GM may elect to have Turn-Based or Simultaneous timing.
Turn-based combat means that
all actions for all combatants are resolved immediately after the action is declared, before any other combatant gets the opportunity to declare additional actions. This form of combat is the more traditional RPG format, and strongly favors combatants that wind up higher up in the order of battle (details further down in this section). The GM follows the order of battle, allowing the present combatant to declare and resolve actions one at a time. As a result of a combatant's actions, an opposing combatant further down on the order of battle may be knocked out before they get a chance to even declare actions.
Simultaneous combat means that
all actions for all combatants are resolved simultaneously. Following the order of battle, each combatant makes their declarations. However, instead of resolving them immediately, the GM waits until all combatants have made their declarations before resolving the actions. This form of combat in essence removes any advantages of the order of battle, and allows a combatant that would be knocked out of combat in a given round to still apply the force of their actions to the current combat round. In simultaneous combat, any damage that would be inflicted upon a combatant does not count until the end of the current combat round. Simultaneous combat is not recommended for the inexperienced GM.
All actions, regardless of the combatant scale or their general category (standard, full-round, etc.), fall into three sub-categories: movement, shooting, and melee.
Movement refers to
any action that affects a combatant's range to its current target,
shooting refers to
any form of combat at a non-zero range, and
melee refers to
combat wherein the combatant is in the same grid square as the target, also known as Range Zero. The GM is free to set action in any of these individual categories to either turn-based or simultaneous (
for example, the GM might allow simultaneous movement, turn-based shooting, and simultaneous melee, or perhaps turn-based movement, simultaneous shooting, and simultaneous melee). In the case of simultaneous combat, it tends to be easier for the GM to resolve actions in order (i.e. combatants taking movement actions should move first, then shoot, and then close in for close-range combat last), though the GM may choose a different order if they wish.
Simple Combat
The above combat methods make the general assumption that the players in a group want a somewhat moderate amount of realism in combat at a minimum. There may be, however, groups that don't really care for all that mucking about with combat actions, preferring to get it over with as soon as possible. There may also be situations wherein acting out a combat action may detract from the player's action (
say, for example, when the outcome of a combat action may affect what happens to the characters, but which does not involve any of the characters themselves). In these cases, the GM may decide to employ
Simple Combat as singular combat method.
As the name implies, simple combat doesn't take a whole lot to execute. For each combatant group, roll 2d10. Highest roll beats the next lowest hostile roll, that roll beats the next lowest hostile roll, and so on down to the lowest group, which just loses. If the action is between two groups of NPCs, the difference in the results indicates the number of combatants in that group that have been "incapacitated", which is cumulative over the combat groups (
i.e. if three NPC combatant groups are in combat and roll 16, 13 and 9, the second group loses three (16-3) and the third group loses seven (16-9)). If the action involves PC combatants, any NPCs that have joined them are incapacitated first. After all NPCs in the group are incapacitated, each PC in the combat rolls 1d10. Low throw takes the damage. In the event of a tie for low throw, re-roll until there is a clear low throw. PCs taking damage in Simple Combat take one hit for each combatant group that rolled higher than they did, regardless of the number of combatants in those groups.
In situations wherein the successful conclusion of combat is not dependent upon wiping out the opposing force, the GM may assign
goals under Simple Combat. If the result of a group's combat roll is 18, they immediately roll again. If the second result is higher than the number of combatants remaining in all opposing groups, that group achieves its primary goal. If not, they may either achieve a secondary goal, or gain a +1 bonus to all future rolls in the current combat action. Likewise, a group that rolls zero must roll again; if any combat group in the current action has more combatants involved, that group can no longer complete its primary goal, unless perchance they manage to completely incapacitate all other combatant groups.
If the player group feels that this system is a bit
too simplistic, then the GM may decide to add modifiers to the result of the 2d10 roll based on the size of a combat group relative to other combat groups. The largest group in combat gets a +1 modifier, with another +1 modifier given for each additional whole multiple of forces they have over other combat groups (
for example, a group three times larger than another group would receive a +3 modifier, one that was five times larger gets a +5 modifier, etc.). Should multiple groups be involved in combat, compare a group to the smallest group only. The GM may also decide to add modifiers for unit experience; it is recommended that this modifier be no more than +5 total.
STEP ONE: Determine if there is a surprise combat round.
At the onset of combat, the GM must determine if there is a surprise round or not. Surprise rounds happen when either the player characters or their opponents are caught off guard by the sudden appearance of their adversaries. If there is a surprise round, the party who is not surprised may have a round of combat wherein their adversaries do not get a counter-attack. In a surprise round, the defenders only get to use their
FHD for defense, since they’ve been caught “flat-footed”.
The need for a surprise round is determined strictly by what happens before combat occurs, and is determined by the GM. The GM should think logically about what happened just before combat began. If the characters were making noise, and their opponents weren’t, it is possible that the opponents were alerted to the presence of the characters, but the characters are not yet aware of their opponents. In this case, a surprise round is necessary, with the opponents getting the surprise round bonuses. On the other hand, maybe the characters have successfully snuck up on a group of sleeping adversaries. Not only will they get the surprise round in this case, but it's likely that they will get to deliver coup-de-grâce attacks before their opponents can even respond (since they're asleep, and therefore
Helpless;
see Chapter 9.2). Perhaps the two groups happen to run into each other on accident, as what might happen when a starship runs into an opposing fleet. Both are surprised in this case, and so the surprise rounds cancel each other out, and combat proceeds to normal rounds. Or, perhaps the characters know about a group of opponents, but in between them is a locked door, and in their efforts to get the door open, the opponents are alerted to the presence of the characters. In this case, neither group is surprised, so combat proceeds to general rounds as soon as the ranges between combatants has been determined.
The use of a surprise round is completely at the GM’s discretion. Should they choose to award one side or the other with a surprise round, combat proceeds to step four after ranges have been rolled. Otherwise, after ranges are rolled, combat proceeds to step seven.
STEP TWO: Roll Initiative checks.
After determining if there is a surprise round, total up the
strength indices of all combatants on a given side. This amount is the group’s initial
composite strength index. The composite strength index is used as a way of gauging the current strength of one group over another, and has some important game effects (such as determining the behavior of NPCs).
The next phase of combat is determining the order of battle, done by rolling for an
Initiative Check. For each combatant, 2d10 is rolled and the result is added to the combatant’s
Initiative rating. This result is the individual combatant’s Initiative Check value. These values are used to determine the
order of battle. In general, the higher a combatant is in the order of battle, the better.
To determine the order of battle, find the combatant with the highest initiative check value. This combatant goes first in the order of battle. Then find the next highest combatant, which goes next. Continue doing this until all combatants have found a place in the order of battle.
Should two combatants have the same
Initiative Check result, PCs fight before NPCs. For groups of NPCs that are of the same class or type, a single
Initiative roll can be made, and each one can perform actions simultaneously. Should this not break the tie, 1d10 is rolled for each combatant; highest die wins. This can be repeated until there is a clear cut higher order combatant.
Order of battle determines a number of things. First and foremost, it determines the order in which combatants will declare their actions. The combatants higher in the battle order declare their moves before combatants further down. In an “automatic” combat schema (largely for NPCs), the order of battle also selects current targets for all combatants; a combatant will target the enemy combatant with the next lowest Initiative Check value, or the enemy combatant with the highest Initiative Check value if no lower values exist for enemy combatants. Regardless of what combat methods are selected, the Initiative Check values
always sets the combat order.
STEP THREE: Determine initial ranges.
Before combat begins, it is necessary to roll the “range to targets” for each of the combatants. This is accomplished in one of two ways, either randomly, or through the GM’s description of the situation.
GM description is probably the best way of determining ranges. A phase just before combat like “You’ve spotted a group of Thrynn soldiers about 150 meters away” during the course of the action is an excellent way of setting a combat range, without requiring a range roll. In this case, the distance given (
150 meters for this example) can be converted directly into a combat range. Combat range conversion tables will be supplied in each of the sub-chapters for the various scales of combat.
Of somewhat lesser importance in combat is the group's distance relative to each other (
what's known as a marching order in RPG parlance). A group's marching order can be established at any point during the course of an adventure, and it can change depending upon who does what during the course of the adventure. A few of the actions rely upon line of sight, and so it can be very important to know where adventurers are in relation to each other (
unless the group members really just don't care if they hit each other or not, of course). Note that the term "marching order" can also apply to vehicular and starship combatants, though it's more common to call them "in formation."
Sometimes, however, either the GM will forget to give a range to target, or won’t know the range (such as what may happen in a random encounter). In this case, the GM will need to roll the range to target. Range rolls involve a roll of 2d10. The specifics of how this roll is applied depends on whether or not the GM has decided to use a grid or not in combat.
If combat is being conducted without a grid, range to target will need to be re-rolled each combat round. In this case, just roll 2d10 for each combatant. Each combatant is treated as if it is at the indicated range to its target. If a combatant targets an opposing combatant and later that opposing combatant wishes to target the original combatant, the opposing combatant has the option of using the range originally rolled for them, or the range of the original combatant.
If a grid is being used, take the combatant at the top of the order of battle and place it as near to the "center" of the combat grid as possible. Select a direction on the grid to be “ahead” and roll 2d10; one die will indicate direction, and the other range. Depending on the result, set the opposing combatant with the highest Initiative check value the number of indicated range increments away along a straight line in the indicated direction. 1 is a result of straight ahead, rotating clockwise 45 degrees for each increasing number. On a roll of 9, pick a random direction. On zero, just roll the dice again. Do this for each of the combatant groupss in the current combat action, using the individual combatant with the highest Initiative Check value for that group as the "origin point" and making rolls of 1d5 for the range from that point. Any combatant can occupy the same spot on the grid as any other combatant, including opposing combatants (if using miniatures, just put the involved combatants as close as possible to the indicated spot, with their bases touching). The whole procedure of grid-combat placement by die is more complicated to explain than to perform, though it can be circumvented altogether, so long as the GM remembers to give ranges to targets and keep track of the character's marching order.
With a physical grid, the range to a combatant’s target can be determined by determining how many range increments distant the target is horizontally and vertically. The range is the greater of the two values (
for example, a ship’s target is eight increments “above” the firing ship and two increments to the left. In this case, the range to target is eight, since that’s the greater distance). If an abstract grid is being used, simply measure the distance from the combatant to its target; every inch (or 5 centimeters for metric users) represents one range increment.
Ranges are an important part of combat. The availability of many combat actions are solely dependent upon whether or not a combatant is close enough to use a particular weapon or action on an opponent. Some weapons are less capable of inflicting significant amounts of damage as range increases as well. Finally, ranges can determine if combatants are still fighting or if they've fled the area.
STEP FOUR: Conduct actions for surprise round (if applicable).
Once the locations of all combatants are known, a surprise round is conducted if it has been previously indicated. The surprise round is conducted like a regular combat round (described below), with only a few exceptions. First, only the group that was awarded the surprise round is allowed to conduct any combat actions. Each combatant participating in the surprise round gets to make two standard actions or one full-round action. They must declare their actions out loud to the GM, or (in the case of an NPC combatant), the GM must inform the players out loud what the NPC is going to do. The availability of actions depends upon the combatant’s range to target, and what type of combatant is in combat. Secondly, all targets use their Flat-foot hit difficulty (
FHD) instead of their normal hit difficulty (
HD) for that round. If any blast weapons are used during the surprise round, either the Blast hit difficulty (
BHD) or Touch hit difficulty (
THD) is used, depending on scale. Finally, any combatant that suffers damage in the surprise round is not allowed to regenerate shields or conduct any other type of repair/healing that round.
STEP FIVE: Resolve surprise round actions (if applicable).
Once a combatant has declared actions, they have the right to resolve those actions, through whatever means are necessary. This can include application of damage to a target, making additional attack or skill rolls, moving, or whatever else may be required to complete their actions. The resolution of combat actions may take place immediately after the actions are declared or after all other surprise round combatants have declared their actions, depending upon the style of play selected by the GM. Assuming actions are immediately resolved, the GM must check to see if there are any more surprise round combatants that have not yet performed their actions once the current combatant has had their actions resolved. If there are any, the GM must go back to step 4 and have those combatants declare and conduct their actions, in order of highest to lowest Initiative score. If not, they can proceed to general combat. In the case of simultaneous resolution, all combatants will have their actions resolved after the last combatant has declared their actions. Afterwards, the GM may proceed to general combat.
STEP SIX: Conduct general combat actions.
Once the surprise round (if any) has been completed, combat proceeds to general rounds. The combatant with the highest Initiative Check score gets to declare their actions first each round. All combatants gets to declare two standard actions or one full-round action under normal circumstances. There are some occasions (
such as when a character is near death) when they may only perform one standard action; full-round actions can't be performed in these instances), and a few (
such as when a character has been knocked unconscious) where they may not perform any action at all. The availability of actions depends upon the combatant’s range to target, and what type of combatant is in combat.
STEP SEVEN: Resolve general combat actions.
Once a combatant has declared actions, they have the right to resolve those actions, through whatever means are necessary. This can include application of damage to a target, making additional attack or skill rolls, moving, or whatever else may be required to complete their actions. The resolution of combat actions may take place immediately after the actions are declared or after all other combatants have declared their actions, depending upon the style of play selected by the GM. Assuming actions are immediately resolved, the GM must check to see if there are any more combatants that have not yet performed their actions once the current combatant has had their actions resolved. If there are any, the GM must go back to step 6 and have have the combatant with the next lowest initiative score declare their actions. If not, the GM can proceed to the final phase of combat. In the case of simultaneous resolution, all combatants will have their actions resolved after the last combatant has declared their actions. Afterwards, the GM can proceed to the final phase of combat.
STEP EIGHT: Resolve Combat.
Once all combatants have conducted their actions, the GM should check the status of both combatant groups (this usually involves a recalculation of the group's
composite strength index). If, for any reason, one group is completely knocked out of the fighting (CSI equals zero), the other group is automatically victorious in the combat, and receives any awards due to them. Combat is effectively concluded at this point. If, however, there are still active members of both combatant groups, then combat may or may not be resolved. Once again, it depends on the GM's style of combat. The GM will need to take whatever measures are necessary to determine if one groups of combatants has met the criteria for victory over the other. If the GM determines that one group has satisfied the victory conditions, that group triumphs over the other group. Otherwise, the GM must return to step 6 of the procedure, in order to conduct another round of combat. Combat continues until there is a clear cut victor, or something unusual like a draw occurs.
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