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Combat: Offense and Defense

Combat is divided up by rounds, which are equivalent to 6 seconds each. Combat rounds are divided up thusly:

• Initiative Phase: Each PC rolls 1d20, then adds both their total Coordination ranks, and any modifiers given by Traits. The highest initiative goes first, and the GM counts down from there. If two players or NPCs roll the same number, effects happen simultaneously, unless one deliberately holds action.

• Player Action Phase: As each player's number comes up, they can determine one combat action, one movement action, an extra defensive action, or one non-combat action. Players can move Running + 2 yards in combat (under optimal conditions), and can move half that during an offensive action, if a melee attack.

  To attack, roll appropriate weapon or unarmed combat skill. One can hold their action if they wish, even until the beginning of the following round. If they do so, they do not get to act a second time that round; they just get to move first.

Defense is rolled during an attack if the attacking player or NPC makes a successful attack roll. Defense can use Coordination/Acrobatics (dodging), a Melee weapon skill (parrying), or Unarmed Combat/Shield (blocking). If a successful hit is made, the attacker first rolls a 1d12 to determine Hit Location:

If the result indicates a hit on a body part, any armor or toughness is subtracted from the damage roll. The rest is then subtracted from that location's Mortality Points.

If the result is seven, the player rolls 1d6 to determine what extremity was hit. Also, armor in that location is reduced to zero. If the character has no armor, then the character's Toughness is temporarily reduced by one rank. If the character is reduced to zero Toughness, the character is instead knocked prone and stunned for one round.

A character that is stunned cannot make any actions of any kind for both the rest of the round in which they were hit, and the following round. If a character is knocked prone they must spend their next Combat Action getting up again before they can make another Combat Action. However, prone characters do get +4 ranks to any defensive skill rolls against thrown and missile weapons.

If the result is a ten or twelve, the GM will decide what result ensues. This can vary, i.e. being disarmed, loss of a shield or weapon, or any special damage the GM determines appropriate for the weapon.

Injury and Fatigue

During combat characters can experience fatigue if they spend more than five rounds in succession performing purely physical actions, such as unarmed combat. For every five rounds spent the character gets one point of Fatigue Drain. Each point of Fatigue Drain reduces all Attribute and Skill rolls by one rank. If the character's Fatigue is equal to their Health score, they are too exhausted to move and must spend one minute (ten rounds) of complete inaction for every point of Fatigue.

If a character's limb loses half or more of the assigned Mortality Points, that limb is considered disabled and cannot be used. If a character loses all Mortality Points in that limb it is 'destroyed,' i.e. crushed, severed, or otherwise beyond repair save by magic healing. If First Aid is not used on the limb it will continue to bleed, and the character will die after as many minutes pass as they have Health ranks. A character with a severed limb must also make a roll against their Spirit to keep from passing out.

If the Head loses half or more of its assigned Mortality Points, the character becomes unconscious. If the character's Head location loses all Mortality Points, the character is considered irrevocably dead. No magical healing is possible.

If the Torso loses half or more of its assigned Mortality Points, the character is at -5 ranks for all Attribute, Aspect, and Skills until they are healed. Painkillers will reduce this penalty to -3. If the torso loses all Mortality Points, the character is likewise considered dead.

Miscellaneous Fields

This is all the detail I am going to include in the Cosmic Guardians web pages themselves, but I have added a number of reference pages for players to read up on as they see fit:

In the Cosmic Synchronicity Guide:

• Fear Rolls: pg. 53
• Surprise Rolls: pg. 54
• Called (Targeted) Shots: pg. 44
• Weapons: pgs. 47 - 52

In the Earth Unmasked! Manual:

• Details on the History of Earth Unmasked!: pgs. 4 - 31
• Special Skill descriptions: pg. 105
• Armor, Special Weapons, and Equipment: pgs. 106 - 113
• Special Combat Maneuvers/Skills: pgs. 114 - 119
• Magic and Magical Traditions: pgs. 120 - 145

Most importantly, if you have any questions, ASK ME!! ;-D

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