Space on the Battlefield
A zone is between 6 and 12 metres across. On the tabletop, this translates to 4-8 inches. A room is generally considered to be one zone even if it doesn’t match these dimensions. When measuring distances in open areas, treat a zone as six inches across.
Armour and Armour Penetration
Armour has an Armour Rating (AR) and Weapons have an Armour Piercing (AP) value. Before calculating damage, subtract the attack’s AP from the target's AR. If the result is greater than zero, subtract it from the attack’s damage. Reducing the AR below zero does not increase damage.
Example: An AP 2, Damage 2 weapon hits someone wearing AR 3 armour. Subtract the AP 2 from the AR 3 to get AR 1, then reduce Damage by that amount, to 1.
Example: An AP 3, Damage 3 attack hits someone wearing AR 2 armour. Subtract the AP 3 from the AR 2 to get AR -1. This does not reduce the Damage of the attack, so the target takes 3 damage.
Fire
Fire has a fire intensity rating (FIRE n). When you enter, or start your turn in, a space with FIRE greater than 0, you are considered to have been hit by an attack with AP one less than the FIRE and Damage equal to the FIRE.
Example: Someone wearing AR 3 armour enters a space with FIRE 1. They take a hit at AP 0, Damage 1. AP 0 doesn't reduce their AR, which then reduces the damage to 0. They take no damage.
Example: Someone wearing AR 3 armour starts their turn in a space with FIRE 4. They take a hit at AP 3, Damage 4. AP 3 reduces their AR to 0. This does not reduce damage, so they take the full 4 damage.
At the end of each round, roll a number of D6 equal to the FIRE for each zone. For each 1, reduce the FIRE by 1. For each 6 the fire starts a fire in an adjacent zone with FIRE one less than the current zone. Any new fires created in this way don’t roll until the end of the next round.
Example: A zone has FIRE 3. At the end of the round, 3D6 are rolled, scoring 1, 3, and 6. The FIRE is reduced to 2, and then an adjacent zone starts burning at FIRE 1.
Gas
Airborne chemical agents are either deadly or irritating. In either case, they affect entire zones, which are given a gas intensity rating (GAS). Neither is stopped by unsealed armour, but appropriate protective gear can give a bonus to resist or total immunity. If you enter or start your turn in a zone with GAS greater than 0, make a Stength + Stamina roll (this roll does not use stress dice and cannot be pushed). Subtract 1 from the GAS for each success, then if the result is greater than 0, lose 1 health (deadly) or lose one turn and gain one stress (irritating) for each point of GAS remaining. Note that this does not reduce the GAS of the zone, only the effect on the character.
Example: A zone has GAS (irritating) 3. A character without protective equipment, with Strength 3 and Stamina 2 enters the zone. They immediately roll 5 dice, rolling 1, 3, 4, 6, 6. The GAS of 3 is reduced to 1, so they lose their next turn and gain one stress.
GAS disperses with time. At the end of a round, reduce the GAS of each zone by one (to a minimum of zero). Then for each zone which is adjacent to a zone with a higher GAS, raise its GAS to one less than that of the adjacent zone with the highest GAS. Deadly and incapacitating GAS is tracked separately.
Example: A zone with GAS (deadly) 3 is adjacent to four zones with GAS (deadly) 0. At the end of the turn, first reduce the GAS of the zone to 2, then each of the four adjacent zones gainst GAS (deadly) 1.
Explosions
Explosions have a blast rating (BLAST n). Everyone in the same zone as the explosion is hit with an attack which has AP one less than BLAST and Damage equal to BLAST. If the BLAST is 2 or greater, those within medium range (i.e. up to one zone away) are hit with an AP and Damage one less than the original (e.g. AP 1 & Damage 2 for a BLAST 3 explosion). With a BLAST of 3 or more, those even further away are also affected. Reduce AP and Damage by one more per zone between them and the explosion.
Example: a BLAST 5 explosion has AP 4 & Damage 5 in its zone, AP 3 & Damage 4 one zone away, AP 2 & Damage 3 two zones away, AP 1 & Damage 2 three zones away, AP 0 & Damage 1 four zones away, and no effect five or more zones away).
Beam Weapons
Weapons with the Beam n rule reduce their damage (including stun damage) by n for every range band past short. For example, a weapon with Damage 4 and Beam 1 does 4 damage at short range, 3 damage at medium range, 2 at long range, and 1 at extreme range.
Ammunition Dice
Weapons which use ammunition generally have a number of ammunition dice. These are rolled whenever you attack with the weapon. These dice can not usually score successes (but see Full Auto, below), so any sixes rolled on them do nothing. Instead, each die which rolls a 1 is removed from the weapon’s pool of ammunition dice. When the last die is removed, the weapon is empty and may not be used to attack until reloaded.
Weapons which have an ammunition capacity of N/A do not have ammunition dice and never need reloading. Those with ammunition capacity of S are single-shot. They require reloading after every use. Those with an ammunition capacity of D are disposable. They can be used once and not reloaded.
Reloading
Reloading is usually a quick action (if your weapon has 4 or more ammunition dice, it is instead a slow action). Before reloading, you must make a supply roll. Roll all of your supply dice except the ones in your pack, discarding any which roll 1. If any of the dice rolled a 6, you are able to reload your weapon (refresh its pool of ammunition dice to full capacity). If none of the dice rolled a 6, you do not have any suitable ammunition and may not reload that weapon until you gain more supply dice (including from your pack). If you cannot reload, you do not lose your action and may do something else with it, such as drawing another weapon.
Full Auto
When shooting a weapon with the full auto rule, you may choose to make a full auto attack. Doing so with a personal weapon (not a remotely operated or vehicle mounted one) causes you to gain one Stress. During this attack roll, any ammunition dice which roll a 6 add one success to your attack and is then removed from the weapon’s pool of ammunition dice.
Stun
Some weapons deal stun damage in addition to normal damage. Armour does not protect normally from stun damage. Instead after being hit by stun damage, roll (Strength + Stamina + Stress + AR) D6. Ones on stress dice have their usual effect. Aliens instead roll Health + AR. For each 6, reduce the stun damage by one. Then become incapacitated for a number of turns equal to the remaining stun damage.
Example: A PC is hit with a Stun 3 attack. They have 3 Strength, 1 Stamina, 2 Stress, and are wearing AR 3 armour. They roll 7 normal dice (getting 1, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6) and 2 stress dice (1, 5). Stun damage is reduced by two for the two sixes, so they miss their next turn. They also rolled a one on a stress die and must make a Stress Response roll.
Stun, Incapacitation, and Unconsciousness
All lost turns (e.g. from incapacitating gas and stun weapons) are cumulative. If a character loses a total number of turns greater than their health, they are knocked unconscious for one stretch (medical aid can wake them up as though treating a critical injury).
Less-Lethal Weapons
If you suffer a lethal critical injury from a weapon with this special rule, reroll the result. The second result takes effect even if it is also lethal.
Autonomous Weapons
These weapons have the Autonomous n rule. Instead of needing a character to use them, they attack on their own whenever a valid target enters their range or starts its turn within range of them. Their attack roll is a number of dice equal to the number after the autonomous rule (e.g. an Autonomous 8 weapon rolls 8 dice in attack). Note that autonomous weapons can attack multiple times in a single round, so long as they have ammunition remaining.
Homing Weapons
When fired at certain targets, instead of rolling the user's skill, these weapons have a homing rating (HOMING (Target) n) which determines how many dice they attack with. When directed against an appropriate target, this replaces the usual attribute, skill, and stress dice.
Example: An air-defence missile has Homing (Aircraft) 8. When fired against an aircraft, it attacks with 8 dice, regardless of the user's attributes, skills, or stress. When fired against anything other than an aircraft, the user rolls Agility + Ranged Combat + Stress, as usual.
Medical Aid
Medical aid can be used to reduce injury and stress, but requires supplies. Roll Empathy + Medical Aid + Stress + Equipment Bonuses. For each success, you can spend one supply dice (either from your own supply or the patient's) to heal one injury or reduce their stress by 1. In combat, this is a slow action. You may use supply dice to add an equipment bonus as normal, but if you lose them during the roll, they may not be spent to pay for effects.
Note that Naproleve is no longer distinguished from other medical supplies. The effects of sedatives and painkillers are subsumed into the generic medical supplies rule.
Significant Items
Using a significant item is a fast action in combat, removes all stress, stress responses, and ongoing panic.
A significant item can also be used for the same effect on another PC. There must be a narrative justification and success on a special roll: add both characters Empathy together to determine how many dice to roll. This roll does not use stress dice and cannot be pushed.