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IV. ACTIONS & COMBAT TAKING ACTIONS Time Time flows in the Matrix just as it does in the Real World (and at the same rate).  For much of the game, Game Masters can inform characters as to how much time has passed between events.  But for certain actions, such as combat or skill used under timed conditions, a more accurate method is required. Rounds Rounds are about 5 seconds long.  In general, a character can take one action per round without accruing penalties. Initiative Characters may act in the order of their Perception scores (from highest to lowest).  A character with a higher Perception may choose to Hold his Action, letting someone with a lower Perception act first before he decides what to do.

Multiple Actions in a Round
For every additional action, the character suffers a -1D to all actions taken that round.  Under normal conditions, a character can take a maximum of 5 actions per round (with a cumulative penalty of -5D to all actions).  Some skills (such as Multitasking or the Matrix Skill Speed) allow for more actions per round with reduced penalties.

Any additional actions are considered to be taken in the second segment of the round.  Thus, all first actions (by everyone acting in the round) are resolved in the first part of a round and any extra actions are resolved afterwards.  Who acts first in a round depends upon Initiative (see above).

Example:  Rom is in combat again.  He decides he will take two actions:  1 attack and he will Dodge.  He will be -1D to both actions.

Dodge, Melee Parry and Brawling/Martial Arts are commonly used as Reaction Skills to avoid damage.

If a Reaction Skill is used while defending from an attack, the dice roll becomes the difficulty the attacker must overcome to be successful, even if the reaction skill roll is lower than the original difficulty of the attack!

Example:  Rom is in combat and has already acted once this round.  Suddenly, someone shoots at him and he attempts to Dodge.  His Dodge skill is normally 4D, but since he has already acted, it is now 2D (-1D for having already acted and -1D for being a Reaction Skill).  The shooter's base difficulty was 10.  Rom rolls 2 dice and gets a result of 7.  The shooter only needs a 7 or better to hit Rom.

Example:  Myriad knows someone is shooting at her from a rooftop.  She decides that all she will do this round it Dodge.  She rolls her full 4D for Dodge gets 15.  The shooter must now roll higher than 10 (standard difficulty) + 15 = 25 in order to hit her!

Applying Reactions to the Entire Round
Dodge rolls apply to all ranged attacks in a round.  Thus a character need only Dodge once to attempt to avoid attackers using guns, thrown weapons or grenades.

Parry rolls must be made for every attack!  Thus, in close combat, if a character is punched four times, he must either attempt four parries using his Brawling or Martial Arts skill or be take the damage!
 

RANGED COMBAT

Ranged combat difficulty targets:
 

Shooting at Multiple Targets
Characters may choose to aim at more than one target in a given round.  If they do so, they suffer a cumulative -1D when shooting at each target beyond the first.

Example 1:  Inside the Matrix, Myriad is cornered by two police officers bent on taking her down.  She is armed with a pistol that allows her to fire three times in a round.  She can either shoot at one without a penalty or attempt to shoot at both.  She decides to fire once at both of her attackers.  Her total dice penalty is -1D to the first shot (the penalty for taking multiple actions) and -2D to the second shot (the penalty for multiple actions + the second target penalty).

Example 2:  Myriad is cornered again, this time by three thugs.  She decides to fire once at each (3 actions, 2 additional targets).  She suffers a -2D to her first shot (for the two additional actions), a -3D to the second, and a -4D to the third!

Spraying Bullets
Some weapons, such as fully automatic machine guns, allow the bearer to spray bullets at an enemy.  This has a variety of advantages and disadvantages:
 

Using two guns at once:

SCALE
Scale represents the differences between small targets (such as Characters) and large, fortified structures  (such as aircraft carriers and buildings).  When targets of the same size are shooting at each other, ignore scale modifiers.  When targets are of different scales, add the Dice modifier (presented below) to the rolls as follows:

• Lower scale attacking larger scale
• Attacker adds the scale modifier to its attack roll
• The target, if hit, adds the scale modifier to its Strength (or Body/Hull) roll.
• Higher scale attacking lower scale
• Higher scale rolls as normal, but the lower scale target adds the dice modifier to any Dodge/Evasion roll.
• If successful, the higher scale adds the dice modifier to damage roll.

COMBAT MODIFIERS

A number of factors can affect a character's chances to succeed in combat.  Smoke may obstruct a target, oil on the floor may make dodging more difficult, etc.  Following are a number of modifiers Game Masters may choose to apply in the game.

• Drawing Weapons:  Drawing a weapon counts as an action in a round (all other actions are at -1D this round).
• Reloading Weapons:  The time required to reload a weapon varies depending on the type.  Most require 1 action to reload.  See the weapon descriptions in the Equipment section.
• Targeting Systems:  Some weapons, usually in aircraft or tanks, have targeting systems that help the gunner.  These depend on the weapon type and quality.
• Rate of Fire (ROF):  This statistic is given for each weapon.  A weapon cannot be fired more times than its ROF in a round, regardless of the number of actions the character takes.
• Called Shots:  Attackers can make a "called shot" against a specific target, such as a particular part of a target's body (a hand, head, etc.) or a small item.  Add +1D to the difficulty for a target 10-50 cm (approximately 3-18 inches) long.  Add +4D to the difficulty for a target 1-10 cm long.  Add +8D to the difficulty for a target less than a centimeter long.
• Cover:  Provides a target with some protection from detection and attack.  Add the following modifiers to attempts to detect or hit a target, when appropriate

Characters can also hide behind objects, such as walls and vehicles, which provide protection against attack.  Add the following modifiers depending on how much of the target is covered.

• Protection:  Inanimate objects have a strength rating to resist damage.  If the attacker rolls well enough to beat the basic difficulty, but not well enough to beat the added cover modifier (see above) that mean the shot hit whatever the character was hiding behind.  If the object is hit, roll the attacker's damage against the protection rating below:

If the damage roll is lower than the Body Strength roll, the protection is not damaged at all and the target character suffers no damage.  If the damage roll is equal to or greater than the protection's Body Strength roll, find the difference on the chart below to see how badly the protection is damage.

A character behind protection may suffer some damaged depending upon how badly his protection is damaged.  Subtract dice from the attack's damage based on the chart below.

• Armor:  Armor protects the wearer from damage.  In the game, add the value of the armor to the Strength roll of the character suffering damage.  See the Equipment section for different armor types.

MELEE COMBAT

Hand-to-Hand Combat

Striking:
The standard difficulty to hit with Brawling roll is Very Easy (5).  Damage is equal to the character's strength roll.

The standard difficulty to hit with Martial Arts is Easy (10), resulting in damage equal to the character's strength.  A fighter skilled in Martial Arts may attempt more complicated maneuvers to render more damage, but must roll against a higher difficulty number to hit.

Blocking:
Character's may attempt to block an attack using their Brawling or Martial Arts skills.  Players must declare they will be attempting to block before the attack occurs. If they do not, they suffer an additional -1D when attempting to block.

Example:  Rom is in a fight with a street thug.  He decides to strike but forgets to "hold an action" in case he needs to block.  The thug takes a swing and Rom decides he had better try to block.  He must roll Martial Arts at -2D.  If his blocking roll is higher than the Thug's attack roll, he will have parried the blow. If not, he may take damage.

Example:  Somewhat bruised from last round, Rom decides he will hold an action this round in case he needs to block.  This means he is -1D to both his attack and blocking roll.

Melee Combat
Melee Combat is handled much the same way Unarmed Combat is, except that the characters involved use Melee Combat and are armed with handheld weapons.

A character armed with a weapon may use it to block an unarmed assailant.

Damage
When an attacker successfully hits his target, he rolls the appropriate number of dice to designate damage.  Ranged weapons do a set amount (e.g. a Heavy Pistol does 5D damage).  Melee weapons do the attacker's Strength + XD, where X depends on the weapon (e.g. a knife does STR + 1D damage).

The targeted character then rolls his Strength dice and adds any armor value, if armor is worn.  If the target's strength roll is greater than the attacker's roll, the she had resisted the damage.  If not, consult the table below for results:
 

HEALING
Characters can heal in a variety of ways, but the three most common methods are natural healing, first aid kits, and medical bays (or medlabs).

Natural Healing:
A character can heal naturally, but this process is both slower and riskier than getting medical care.  The character must rest a specified amount of time and then can make a healing roll:  the character's full Strength to see if the character heals.

Healing characters can do virtually nothing but rest.  A character who tried to work, exercise or adventure must subtract -1D from his Strength when he makes his healing roll.  Any character who opts to "take it easy" and do virtually nothing for twice the necessary time may add +1D to his Strength to heal.

A Wounded character must rest for three standard days before rolling to heal:
 

A character who is Wounded Twice must rest for three days before rolling to heal:

Incapacitated characters must rest for two weeks before making a healing roll:

Mortally Wounded characters must rest for one month (30 monthly days) before making a healing roll.

First Aid Kits/Medpacs
First Aid kits usually have bandages, antiseptics, anti-inflammatories, painkillers and other lightweight medical supplies.  A standard kit can be used two times before needing to be restocked.

A First Aid roll is required to use a First Aid kit (or medpac).  The difficulty depends on the severity of the patient's injury:
 

If the First Aid roll is successful, the patient heals one level.  Stunned and Wounded characters are fully healed.  Wounded Twice are Wounded.  Incapacitated are Wounded Twice.  Mortally Wounded are Incapacitated.

If the First Aid roll is unsuccessful, the character's condition remains the same.  If the First Aid roll misses the difficulty by more than 10 points, the patient remains the same and another First Aid roll cannot be made for another 24 hours.

Multiple First Aid attempts can be made on a patient within a single day, but the First Aid difficulty increases one level for each additional use.

Medical Bays/Medlabs/Emergency Rooms
In the real world, Zion and Hoverships have extensive medical facilities (much of the technology has been stolen from the Machines' cloning facilities).  In the Matrix, there exist hospitals and emergency rooms where characters may go seeking medical care.

To use these facilities, a character must have the Medicine (A) skill.