Combat Sequence
1. Check to see if characters are surprised.
2. Roll for initiative. (Throughout this section, the side that gets initiative will be called side A and the side without initiative will be called side B.)
3. Announce what each character will do. Side B declares first.
4. Side B moves. Characters on side A may be able to shoot at opponents who move through their field of fire.
5. Side A moves. Characters on side B who did not move may be able to shoot at opponents who move through their field of fire.
6. Side A resolves any wrestling attempts, remaining weapon fire. grenade tosses and melee. Wrestling attempts are resolved before other types of attacks.
7. Side B resolves any remaining attacks.
Surprise
If there is a chance characters will be surprised by an attack, the referee should let characters make Intuition checks. The referee must decide which characters get to make checks. For example, only the last character in a marching line has a chance to notice a sneak attack from behind.
If a character fails the check, he does not suspect anything and will be surprised. When a character or group is surprised, it automatically loses initiative for the first turn of combat and can do nothing that turn except move and take cover.
If a character passes the check, he notices something unusual: footsteps behind him, a gun barrel poking around a corner, or anything else appropriate to the situation. The player must decide howto reacttothis information. If he makesa bed choice, hemaystill be surprised. For example, a group of adventurers is driving down a dirt road with tall grass on both sides. Suddenly, a flock of flying lizards takes off ahead of the vehicle and flies away. The characters decide the animals were frightened by their Explorer and continue driving. Within moments, a group of rebels hidden in the fields opens fire on the ATV.
Spotting Distance
When characters have an encounter, one factor that will affect whether they can be surprised is how far they can see. A character standing on flat, level ground can see a man-sized object up to 1 km away, but can not see any details about the object. A character can see details at a distance of about .5 km. Binoculars, magnigoggles and telescopic sights will multiply these distances by three. Weather conditions such as fog, rain, blowing dust or heat shimmers can reduce these distances to half or less. A character can see farther if he climbs to a higher elevation, but the distance at which he can see detail does not change with elevation.
Initiative
One player on each side rolls 1d10 and adds the highest Initiative modifier on his side to the result. The side with the highest total has initiative and is side Athis turn. If the results are tied, the side with the highest modifier has initiative.
If there are more than two teams in a fight, simply add more sides (C, D, etc.) to the sequence as they are needed. The side with the lowest initiative roll always moves first, with the other sides following in order. If only a few characters are involved in a fight, the referee can treat each character as a separate team and have everyone roll their own initiative.
Holstered and Slung Weapons. If a character's weapon is in a holster or slung over his shoulder, the character must subtract 3 from his Initiative modifier when rolling for initiative. If the character is rolling initiative for a group, the modifier applies to the entire group.
Declaration
All characters must decide what they will do at the start of each turn, and declare their intentions before the first move. Side B must declare first, allowing side A to react to side B's moves.
Declarations should be as realislic and specific as possible. For example, instead of saying, "I will throw a grenade," the player should say, "I will throw a doze grenade at the Yazirian, and then duck back beh ind the rock wal 1. " Characters must declare how many shots they will fire, what power settings they will use and whether they will fire a burst (see Rate Of Fire, Variable Power Settings and Bursts).
If opposing sides in a fight can not see each other, the referee may ask for declarations before the roll for initiative. This forces players to act without knowing what their opponents will do.
Sighting
A character must be able to see his target in order to shoot or throw a grenade at it. A character can see his target if a straight line from the center of his square to the center of his target's square is not blocked by a building, a cliff or some other obstacle. If the character is in a position where he can lean around the obstacle to shoot, it does not block his sight.
Movement
Characters on side B move first. If a character moves through an opponent's field of fire, the opponent may be able to shoot at him as he moves. (Everything in front of a character is in his field of fire; see Opportunity Shots.) Side A moves after side B. If a character from side A moves through an opponent's field of fire, and the opponent did not move this turn, the opponent may be able to shoot as the character moves.
Melee Distance. If a character started the turn within 2 meters of an opponent who declared he would attack in melee, the character can not move. If both characters declare they will attack in melee, the character on side B gets to move into his opponent's square.
Dodging. Dodging is a special type of movement. Instead of running straight across an opponent's field of fire. a dodging character ducks, weaves and zigzags through a dangerous area. Dodging makes a character harder to hit, but also slows him down; characters who dodge move at one-half their running speed
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The amount of damage caused by ranged weapons when they are used against doors, walls or other structures is shown below.
The structural points of various doors, walls and vehicles are shown on the table
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Whenever a character is hit in ranged combat or melee, the character suffers damage. The amount of damage caused depends on the type of attack. The Ranged Weapons and Melee Weapons tables show how much damage each weapon causes.
Damage reduces a character's Stamina. If a character's Stamina score is reduced to zero or below, the character is dead. Defensive suits and screens can protect characters from injuries, and a freeze field or staydose injection will preserve a dead character's body so it can be revived at a medical complex.
Shock and Unconsciousness. Whenever the roll to hit in combat is 01-02, the target is immediately knocked unconscious for d100 turns. Stimdose can awaken the character sooner.
Variable Power Settings. Laser pistols, Iaser rifles and heavy lasers can be adjusted to fire shots that cause from 1 to 200 points of damage. Players can change the setting at the beginning of every turn. More information on variable power settings is included in the descriptions of laser weapons in the Equipment section.
Burns. Acids, fire and extreme heat cause burns, which are very painful. If a character suffers damage from burns that is more than half his Stamina score, the character is completely incapacitated and unable to do anything until treated at a hospital. Wounds caused by lasers are not burns.
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Avoidance Rolls
Characters can avoid or reduce the effects of some weapons by leaping or twisting away from the attack, or by resisting its effects. When a character is attacked with one of the weapons listed below he gets to make an avoidance roll on d100. If the result is equal to 0; less than the indicated ability score, the character has avoided or resisted the attack.
A character who passes an avoidance check against a fragmentation, incendiary or tangier grenade must move 3 meters to get out of the blast area. If the character has nowhere to move to, he can not try to avoid the blast. A character can tryto avoid only one grenade per turn.
Defenses
Two types of defensive armor are available in STAR FRONTIERS games: suits and power screens. Only one suit and one screen can be worn at the same time. Each suit or screen protects the wearer from one type of weapon. The effects of these suits and screens are summarized below. (They are described in more detail in the Equipment section.)
Albedo Suit. An albedo suit can absorb up to 100 points of laser damage. When it is hit by a laser, the damage is subtracted from the suit's total of 100 points. The suit is destroyed and does not protect the wearer after it has absorbed 100 points of damage.
Albedo Screen. Like an albedo suit, the screen absorbs laser beams. Absorbing a laser beam uses a number of SEU equal to 1/5 the number of damage points caused by the beam, rounded up. For example, absorbing a beam that caused 11 damage points would use 3 SEU.
Skeinsuit. Skeinsuits absorb one-half of the damage caused by projectile and gyrojet weapons, fragmentation grenades; explosives and melee weapons. The suit is destroyed when it has absorbed 50 points of damage.
Inertia Screen. Inertia screens do the same thing skein-suits do. The screen uses 2 SEU every time it is hit.
Gauss Screen. A gauss screen absorbs all the damage caused by electrostunners, shock gloves, stunsticks and other electrical attacks. It uses 2 SEU every time it is hit.
Sonic Screen. Sonic screens act as sound barriers, absorbing all sound that hits the screen. They absorb all damage from sonic stunners and disruptors. Absorbing a hit uses 2 SEU, and the screen itself uses 1 SEU every minute it is on.
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