Combat Circumstances And Status Effects
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Combat Circumstances
| Circumstance | Details | Horde Details |
|---|---|---|
| Actions | ||
| Flying | Whenever a character uses the Flying action, ntil the start of the character's next turn, BS attacks against the character take a -30 penalty. | As normal. |
| Running | Whenever a character uses the Running action, until the start of the character's next turn, BS attacks against the character take a -20 penalty, whilst WS attacks take a +20 bonus. This stacks with the Hard Target talent, which makes it -40 for BS and flat for WS. | As normal, but Hordes only trigger the Running modifier in certain circumstances. |
| Stealth | ||
| Armour Penalty | Characters wearing armour which offers AP of 8 or over on any location incur a -30 penalty to Stealth. | As normal. |
| Cover | ||
| Cover | Cover offers characters protection in battle. Characters using cover may designate body parts which are considered to be shielded (they must have their arms and head exposed in order to make valid ranged attacks). Attacks against those body parts hit cover instead. The attack resolves against the cover first (attack damage vs. Cover AP). If the attack deals damage in excess of Cover's reduction, then any excess damage is applied to the character and the Cover's AP value is depleted. | Hordes in Cover benefit from Cover in the same way that characters do, and Cover can be circumvented in the same way- attacks that hit the 'head' for example will bypass Cover. Unlike in normal situations, Horde attacks on Hordes in cover will roll to-hit, bypassing cover if the result is a hit to the head or arms. |
| Depleting Cover (Ranged) | Whenever a ranged attack deals damage in excess of the reduction provided by Cover, its cover value depletes by an amount equal to the weapon's Penetration, Blast value and Acid Value combined. So a weapon with Pen 3, Acid 2 and Blast 1 will deplete Cover by 6. | As normal. |
| Depleting Cover (Melee) | Whenever a melee attack deals damage in excess of the reduction provided by Cover, its cover value depletes by an amount equal to the weapon's Penetration added to the attacker's Strength Bonus, plus 1 per 2 DoS on a Charge. So a Pen 3 weapon wielded by an SB 4 character with a charge of 2 DoS will deplete Cover by 8. | As normal. |
| Environmental | ||
| Difficult Terrain | Terrain with a Difficult Terrain Value (DTV) count as Difficult Terrain, and you incur a -5 penalty to Weapon Skill and Agility tests per point of DTV. Attempts to run or charge through Difficult Terrain requires an Acrobatics or Agility test; on a failure you stop in the Difficult Terrain and fall prone. If you possess abilities that reduce a DTV to 0 or less, then it no longer counts as Difficult Terrain. | As normal. |
| Higher Ground | Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill tests made whilst positioned on a higher terrain than your opponent take a +10 bonus. This includes parry tests. | Hordes gain +1 Dos instead. |
| Fog/Smoke/Mist | Ballistic skill tests against targets in fog, smoke, mist or deep shadow take a -20 penalty. Perception tests using sight also take a -20 penalty. Concealment tests within fog/smoke/shadow take a +10 bonus. | As normal. |
| Low Light | Weapon Skill and Ballistic Skill tests against enemies in Low Light take a -10 penalty. Perception tests using sight also take a -10 penalty. Concealment tests within Low Light take a +10 bonus. | As normal. |
| Darkness | Weapon Skill tests take a -20 penalty; Ballistic Skill tests take a -30 penalty. Perception tests using sight also take a -30 penalty. Concealment tests within Darkness take a +20 bonus. | As normal. |
| Weather | WS and BS tests made during strong weather events- rain, storms, blizzards, etc- take a penalty depending on the severity of the event. Penalties range from -10 to -30. | As normal. |
| Melee | ||
| Engaged in Melee | A character who ends their turn next to their enemy may declare themselves to be engaged in melee with them. This is also the case if one attacks the other. | As normal. |
| Ganging Up | If a group of characters in a melee outnumber their opponents by 2 to 1, they gain a +10 bonus to WS tests. If they outnumber their opponents by 3 to 1 or more, they gain +20 instead. | Hordes do not gain Ganging Up Bonuses. |
| Guns in Melee | Only pistols can be used in melee, and they do not gain any bonuses due to range. | As normal. |
| Shooting into Melee | Ballistic Skill tests against targets in melee take a -20 penalty. If the target or their only opponent is stunned, helpless or Unaware, this penalty is ignored. | As normal. |
| Misfires | ||
| Scattering | If an attack with a Blast weapon or a thrown weapon misses, then roll a 1d10 on the Scatter Diagram; the attack moves in that direction away from the target spot by 1d5km. Non-thrown blast weapons instead move 1d5km, plus another km per degree of failure. | As normal. |
| Weapon Jams | If a ranged attack rolls a 96 or higher, it jams; apart from being an automatic miss, the weapon may not be fired until it is cleared as a Full Action, which requires a Ballistic Skill+20 test, +10 for having the Specialised or Mastery talents for that weapon (cumulative). If you do not possess any proficiency with the weapon, the test is -20 instead. If the test is passed, the jam is cleared, but any ammo within is lost and the weapon must be reloaded. Burst fire also increases the chance of a jam; see their entry for details. | Hordes do not jam; they just miss. Weapon Specialists do jam. |
| Missile and Grenade Jams | In the case of a jam with a missle or a grenade, roll a 1d10; on a 1-9, the weapon is simply a dud and is expended without anything happening. On a 10, however, it instantly explodes in the user's hands, causing an effect centered on them. If the weapon was loaded into a launcher, then the launcher is also destroyed. | Hordes do not jam; they just miss. Weapon Specialists do jam. |
| Ranged Attack Distance | ||
| Point Blank | Ranged attacks at a distance of 1km take a bonus +30 bonus to hit. | Hordes gain +3 DoS instead. |
| Short Distance | Ranged attacks at a distance of half or less (rounding up) of the weapon's Range value take a +10 bonus to hit. (Quick Reference: this is n/a for Assault Weapons, 2km for Close Weapons, 3km for Medium Weapons, 5km for Long and 8km for Very Long) | Hordes gain +1 Dos instead. |
| Long Distance | Ranged attacks at a distance exceeding the weapon's Range take a -10 penalty to hit. | As normal. |
| Extreme Distance | Ranged attacks at a distance of 1.5 (rounding up) the weapon's Range take a -30 penalty to hit. (Quick Reference: This is 2km for Assault Weapons, 5km for Close Weapons, 9km for Medium, 15km for Long and 23km for Very Long). | As normal. |
| Maximum Distance | The maximum range of a ranged weapon is triple its Range value. (Quick Reference: this is 3km for Assault Weapons, 9km for Close Weapons, 18km for Medium, 30km for Long and 45km for Very Long) | As normal. |
| Pinning | ||
| Pinning | A Pinned character only gains a single Half Action on their turn, although they may use Reactions and Free Actions as normal. They suffer a -20 penalty to Ballistic Skill tests, and they must move toward cover relative to the pinner. If they are already in cover, then they may move only in order to retreat, so long as they remain in cover. If no cover is available then they must move away from the pinner as far as possible. A character may make a Willpower test at the end of their turn as a free action to recover from Pinning. If they have not been shot at since their last turn, or are under cover, then this becomes a Willpower+30 test. Characters engaged in melee may not be pinned and are freed from Pinning; however, they may not initiate melee combat in an attempt to escape from pinning. | As normal. |
| Status Modifiers | ||
| Dazed | Attack tests to hit a dazed target take a +10 bonus. | As normal. |
| Fatigue | If you possess a level of Fatigue you take a -10 penalty to all tests. | As normal. |
| Helpless | Weapon Skill tests to hit a helpless (usually sleeping or unconscious) target automatically succeed, gaining a number of DoS equal to your WSB. BS tests instead gain a +20 bonus. In either case, when rolling damage against a helpless target, you roll the damage die twice and add both results together (damage mods are only added once). | As normal. |
| Prone | Weapon Skill tests to hit a prone target take a +10 bonus; grapple tests gain a total of +20. Ballistic Skill tests instead take a -10 penalty unless the target is at point blank range. Furthermore, prone characters take a -10 penalty to Weapon Skill tests (including Parry) and a -20 penalty to agility tests. | As normal. |
| Size | Characters with a size category other than 4 are easier or harder to hit. For every category below 4, attacks to hit them take a -10 penalty; for every category above 4, attacks to hit them take a +10 bonus. | As normal. Note for Hordes, this is relevant to the 'size' trait, not the 'small/large' etc horde trait. |
| Stunned | Attack tests to hit a stunned target take a +20 bonus. | As normal. |
| Unaware | If a character has no idea they are about to be attacked, then they count as Unaware. Attacks against an Unaware target take a +30 bonus to hit, and the character is unable to attempt to take any evasive action, such as dodge or parry. They may deflect, but only if their Spread Pattern permits automatic deflection against an attack. | As normal. |
Status Effects
| Status Name | Independent Character and Specialist Effects | Horde Effect | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blood Loss | Test Toughness every round. On a failure, suffer 1d5 Toughness decay. If you hit 0 Toughness, you die. | Hordes make the test, but if they fail, instead lose 1d5 magnitude at the end of each turn. | Until the blood loss is staunched (Medicae) |
| Blind | Auto-fail BS tests. You take -30 to Weapon Skill or Agility tests, and if you try to charge, run or boosted jump you must test Agility-10 or fall prone. You automatically fail Perception tests or similar depending on sight. | As normal. | Varies. |
| Burning | You are on fire, and take 1d10 energy damage to a random body location that ignores AP. For every round that passes, the amount of damage you suffer increases by +1. You must test vs. Willpower to take an action. If you fail, you run aimlessly in a random direction. The only exception is to attempt to put the fire out, which makes you prone and requires an Agility test. This action can be taken even if you fail the WP test. | Hordes instead automatically lose 1d10 magnitude at the end of each turn. They also suffer a -20 penalty to Willpower tests for as long as they burn. | Until the fire is put out with agility test. Allies may assist. |
| Crippled | If you take more than a Half Action on your turn, you must test toughness. On a failure, you suffer 1d10 damage that ignores AP and TB. This damage cannot inflict critical damage, but if it reduces you to 0 wounds, you lose the Crippled status and gain the Blood Loss status. | Hordes instead instantly gain the Blood Loss status effect. | Until cured (Medicae), or wears off. |
| Dazed | Take only half actions, enemies gain +10 to hit you. | As normal. | Until it wears off. |
| Deaf | You auto-fail any test that relies on hearing. If a test relies on hearing in combination with something else it takes a -30 penalty. | As normal. | Varies. |
| Decay | You suffer a reduction in a Characteristic. This reduction is temporary. | As normal. | Remove 5 Decay per 1 hour of rest. |
| Fatigue | You take a -10 to all Tests. If the amount of Fatigue you take is equal or higher to your Fatigue Threshold, you collapse for 10-TB minutes, +10 minutes per every point of Fatigue above your TB+1. | Hordes take the penalty. However, in any turn in which they take an action whilst their fatigue exceeds their Fatigue Threshold, they lose 1d10 magnitude. | 1 Hour of rest removes 1 rank, 6 hours removes all of it. |
| Frenzy | You gain a +10 to WS and WP and gain Unnatural Strength and Toughness (1), but cannot parry, dodge or use AT Field powers, and must attack the nearest foe (preferably with the All Out Attack option). | As normal. | Free WP Test per turn, or all enemies dead. |
| Hallucinating | You roll on the Hallucinogenic table and suffer the result for 1d10 rounds. | Hordes are instead Stunned for 1d10 rounds. | Until it wears off. |
| Helpless | You cannot act. WS attacks made against you auto-hit; BS attacks gain a +30 bonus. Both roll twice the amount of damage die as normal and add the results together. | As normal. | Until the Helpless trigger ends (eg. Sleep) |
| Immobilised | You cannot take any Movement type actions. You take a -20 penalty to parries, and automatically fail any dodge attempts. | As normal. | Until freed. |
| Prone | Enemies take a +10 WS bonus to hit you, and a +20 bonus when using Grapple actions on you, but a -10 BS penalty against you unless they're at Point Blank range. You suffer a -10 to WS tests, and a -20 to Agility tests, including dodge. | As normal. | Until you stand (Half action typically) |
| Stunned | You cannot take any actions, and enemies gain a +20 to hit you. | As normal. | Until it wears off. |
page revision: 12, last edited: 03 Sep 2016 05:54