Fighting

Attack, Counterattack & Defense

Attack

Choose an ability, a fighting skill if you have one, add them together and roll 2D. The defender will do the same, assuming they have an appropriate weapon for the engagement distance. For example, you cannot counterattack a rifle shot from Far with a sword, but you could defend if you're aware they're shooting at you.

Multi-shot weapon attacks are a fighting move, but each shot must be tested. Multi-shot weapons have recoil penalties to their accuracy that apply to each shot. See Hardware. A multi-shot attack uses a single ability. Using multi-shot with an autopistol, both tests are rolled using the chosen ability and skill for that move.

Counterattack

It does not matter who initiates the attack; highest total wins and does damage to the loser by weapon type. You may counterattack any attack made on you of which you are aware, possibly granting you multiple attacks in a single round. Counterattacks do not require a move, but they do count toward your session ability use limit.

You may counterattack up to your weapon's firing limit, e.g. if you have a revolver and are defending against a battle rifle's 3 bullet multi-shot, you may shoot back once and then would be forced to defend against the other two, but if you had an autopistol you could shoot back twice, and defend against the third. You must have enough ammunition to shoot back.

If you have a multi-shot weapon, you may counterattack via multi-shot, but the recoil penalties still apply. An attacker who fired a single shot is forced to defend-only against a multi-shot counterattack even if they have a multi-shot weapon. It pays to be second sometimes.

If you are in a brawl or sword fight, you may counterattack whether you are armed or not. If you counterattack and your total matches your opponent's total exactly you do damage to each other.

Brawling and fencing attacks and counterattacks are limited by the character's END: one attack or counterattack per point, per fight scene. After that the character becomes wounded via exhaustion. Fighting is hard work.

END recovers like other temporarily reduced abilities. END applies to counterattacks, but not defense rolls.

Defense

If you can't or don't want to counterattack you may always defend yourself. Roll 2D plus ability, plus any fighting skill to defend. Ties go to the defender in this case only.

Armor & Weapons

Armor

Armor comes in three categories: light, medium, and heavy. Each provides a progressively greater amount of damage protection via saves. Light armor saves 1D, medium 2D, and heavy 3D.

Roll a save against each hit, remove any damage dice equal to or less than armor save rolls. Save dice cancel damage dice 1:1. No splitting saves between damage dice. Flat damage bonuses are saved the same way: to stop the +4 of a 2D+4 weapon, the defender must commit a save die of 4 or more.

Negative damage modifiers reduce the highest damage die first; any remainder reduces the next highest die, and so on until the full modifier is applied. Armor saves are then made against the remaining damage dice at their adjusted values. Example: a knife (2D-3) rolls 5 and 2. The 5 drops to 2, leaving two damage dice of 2 each.

Armor can affect movement and moves. Light armor can be worn without penalty. Medium and heavy armor prevent you from sprinting. Wearing heavy armor also leaves you with one move on your turn -- unless you have Mechanics: 1 or Astro/Cosmo: 1, or are a former legionnaire, which allows you both moves. More details on armor are in Hardware.

Weapons

Weapons come in three categories: brawling, fencing and shooting. Brawling and Fencing weapons can be used only on Near opponents. Shooting weapons can be used against Far opponents. Damage is expressed in dice with mods. It is possible to get a zero-damage result with some weapons. More details on weapons are in Hardware.

Shooting weapons have a shot capacity and must be reloaded when they're empty. Empty weapons cannot counterattack. Reloading requires a move.

Brawling and Fencing moves, weapon or not, require END.