Core System - Combat

This is the most simple layout of how combat works in Empyrean. This means that this is the "core system" or "bare-bones" implementation of combat, and not the actual combat system in its full-scale complexity.

The system described below will serve most basic needs for resolving combat situations fast, without growing unnecessarily complex and long-winded.

Combat is turn-based (of course). The sequence of play during a round of combat is broken down as follows:

- Engagement Resolution
- Movement Phase
- Shooting Phase

Engagement is a situation where all participants involved are locked in combat with one another. Practically this covers all situations where instant, or almost instant actions occur simultaneously, which involves most melee combat actions, among other things.

A character within a threat-range of another combatant, in a situation where both combatants can act and react simultaneously, is considered engaged. Engaged characters are involved with combat, and must disengage before taking other, non-combat actions, otherwise they come in danger of making themselves a target of opportunity.

Engagement

Engagement resolution has all players roll for melee combat simultaneously, while instantly committing their actions, when necessary. The storyteller must decide opponent actions before asking the players to reveal their own, and should not feel tempted to change these actions later.

If more transparency is needed, action cards can be designed so that the players can commit their action "face down", before all actions are revealed. The players and storyteller must declare appropriate targets for their actions before rolling.

The default Aspect for melee combat rolls is Force, but players can opt to use Adeptness and/or Fortitude martially instead, but have to follow certain limitations, and receive a -1 dice adjustment to their roll.

Once the rolls are made, the engagement is resolved as follows:
- The character who scored the most successes in a contest is victorious against a target with less successes. (In engagements with multiple combatants, and attacks with multiple targets, a character's combat roll counts as their "defense" against all attacks in the engagement, but it counts as their "attack" only against the valid targets they've declared. This makes it entirely possible for someone to wound one of their targets, but get wounded in turn by another combatant.)

- The contest winner / attacker calculates their base damage, then adds the remaining successes to their base damage. The contest loser rolls Fortitude to soak their base damage, applying any modifiers for armor, active talents, etc. If they rolled equal or more successes to the damage, they've managed to soak the attack's damage, and avoided being wounded. Otherwise they receive at least one wound, and maybe need to make additional soak rolls, or may need to otherwise check if they receive additional wounds.

It is possible to declare an action to attempt to break from the engagement, in which case the player in question forfeits their chance to roll for combat, rolling an evasion action, instead. If the player succeeds in not getting hit, then they've successfully disengaged, and may move or perform other actions in the ensuing movement phase.

Once the engagement is resolved, it is determined who remains engaged or who is no longer engaged.

Movement

During the movement phase, everyone who is not engaged can perform any non-combat (ie. non-life-threatening) actions, including movement, and defensive powers and talents. All creatures and characters involved play in Initiative Order, which is based on their Insight Aspect Level.

Shooting

Once movement phase has been resolved, all creatures and characters who are not engaged and who have reserved sufficient action can perform a ranged attack, invoke a power, or make another intricate, life-threatening action, like firing a cannon, or direct a combat drone to attack an enemy.

Again, everyone shoots in Initiative Order, which is based on their Insight Aspect Level.

So this is the core combat system. Some specifics regarding damage and wounds will be addressed in a separate post.