Action Scenes
Starslinger action scenes work cyclically where everyone takes turns. The GM declares that an action scene has started, everyone make Initiative rolls to determine turn order, and then everyone acts in turns until the GM declares that the action scene has ended.
ROLEPLAY vs. ROLL-PLAY
Everything is roleplayed and doesn't require any rolls unless:
- The GM asks for rolls
- You try to harm or manipulate a creature, complex device, unfamiliar object, or something key to the narrative
- You try to move past, enter, or escape an obstacle, grapple, melee, or scene
- You try to gain information, assets, or influence
ROLLING DICE
When you do roll, you follow a simple process for each action you take.
- Choose a course of action you could reasonably accomplish in 1 round.
- Choose a target within range of your action to be affected by it.
- Choose a skill most appropriate to accomplishing your task and add your modifier to that skill to a d20 roll. Be sure to include any temporary modifiers such as bonuses or penalties.
- Roll any appropriate effect dice such as damage or healing (if any).
- Describe your turn taking this action in a way that does not presume success or failure. For example, you'd say "I shoot at the orc" rather than "I shoot the orc" or "I move towards the exit" rather than "I exit the building" and so forth.
- Resolving the roll: The GM will let you know about any bonuses or penalties and explain the result of your attempt.
- On a critical success (nat 20 or beat DC by 10+), you gain the desired effect plus a bonus helpful effect.
- On a success, you gain the desired effect.
- On a failure, the action is wasted.
- On a critical failure (nat 1 or failed DC by 10+), you waste the action, your turn immediately ends, and a harmful effect occurs such as you dropping your weapon, falling down the stairs, getting sniped by an unseen foe, losing your reaction for the round, etc.
- On a critical success (nat 20 or beat DC by 10+), you gain the desired effect plus a bonus helpful effect.
For example, if you want to shove an enemy out of the way (Brawn check), charge past them (Acrobatics or Athletics check), shoot the window (Marksmanship check), and jump out the window (Acrobatics check) you would be unable to do all this in 1 round as this requires 4 checks with the second check taking a -5 penalty, third taking a -10 penalty, and fourth taking a -15 penalty. If you critically fail any of these checks, your turn ends before you can take any of the other actions you want to take.
ADVANTAGE & DISADVANTAGE
Sometimes you have advantage or disadvantage on a roll meaning you roll a second d20. Use the higher of the two rolls if you have advantage, and use the lower roll if you have disadvantage. Multiple advantages or disadvantages do not stack and advantage and disadvantage cancel each other out. When you have advantage or disadvantage and something in the game, lets you reroll the d20, you can reroll only one of the dice. You choose which one.
GAINING EDGE/LOSING EDGE
Sometimes you gain an edge and sometimes you lose edge. Gaining an edge means you add 1d4 to your d20 roll. You can gain multiple edges but never more than one edge from the same things with each additional edge increasing this die by 1 size to a maximum of 1d12. If your smaller die result is larger than your d20 roll, you treat the smaller die as your roll and the d20 roll as a bonus to it. For example, if you had three edges (1d8) and rolled a 7 on the d8 and 4 on the d20, then you would treat your roll as a natural 7 with a +4 bonus rather than the other way around (for a total of 11). Losing an edge works in reverse. Gaining edges and losing them cancel each other out. If you gain/lose edge on a DC rather than a roll, you merely add half the die to your DC (d4=+2, d6=+3, d8=+4, d10=+5, d12=+6).
BONUSES & PENALTIES
Sometimes a special ability or circumstance gives you a bonus or penalty to a d20 roll or damage roll. Bonuses and penalties cancel each other out generally, but multiple bonuses and penalties can only stack to a maximum amount equal to twice the single highest one.
For example, if you had three +1 bonuses, two +2 bonuses, and a +3 bonus to a single action, this would not add up to +10 because the single highest bonus among them was +3 making the greatest they can stack to equal to +6. Likewise, suffering multiple penalties stacks the same way but in negative numbers.
CRITICAL FAILURE/SUCCESS
If you beat the DC by 10 or more or you get a critical success. If you fail the DC by 10 or more, you get a critical failure. A critical success automatically maximizes your damage/healing dice and deals a critical effect to the primary target if its an attack. A critical failure causes your weapon to jam, run out of ammo, get stuck, etc., requiring a DC10+Tier check to get it working again. Multiple attempts to get the same item working again get a +5 cumulative bonus per attempt after the first.
Rolling a Natural 1
A natural 1 on the d20 treats your result as 1 tier worse than it normally would be to a minimum of a critical failure (critical success --> success --> failure --> critical failure).
Rolling a Natural 20
A natural 20 on the d20 treats your result as 1 tier better than it normally would be to a minimum of a critical failure (critical failure --> failure --> success --> critical success).
TAKING TURNS
You do not roll initiative.</b> The GM will declare a thread's scene type and then set the scene with a descriptive post. After the GM makes a post, everyone else in that thread can take 1 turn to post in any order. This continues with everyone merely waiting for the GM's next "turn". The actions your character takes should be feasible within the time allotted.
TAKING ACTION
You do not have 1 action, 1 bonus action, and movement. You just have 1-3 actions per turn as determined by the GM at start of the scene. Doing anything other than breathing, speaking, or ceasing an ongoing action (such as dropping an item) is considered an action in the game. Moving, picking up an object, drawing or sheathing a weapon, opening or closing a door, etc. are all actions. If you're not sure if doing something consumes an action or requires a roll or not, assume it does require an action and make your best guess as to which skill to roll. The GM will let you know if you succeed or fail.
REACTIONS
You do not interrupt turn order with reactions. When your reaction is provoked, you make all the rolls and put it in the same post first before listing everything you do on your turn. The effects of the reaction take place immediately before the start of your turn, even if your reaction or other actions were made inapplicable since it was provoked (such as the target moving out of range or you being incapacitated after it was provoked).
EXAMPLE
You're in a long hallway dimly lit by torches. The walls are made of stone and there is only one window and one doorway (exit) with a locked steel door. On your turn, you declare throwing a rock at the window (Dexterity check since this is an attack) and then running down the hallway (Dexterity or Strength check since this is movement) to kick down the door (Strength check since this is an attack). The GM has a Dex DC to pick the lock and Str DC to smash the window but no DC listed to smash the door. So your turn would end upon making the attempt to smash the door while you await the results determined by the GM.
ATTACKING & ARMOR RATING
Unlike normal d20 games, there is no Armor Class. Instead, you make an attack roll against a target's save DC based on the effect. Some effects target two DCs requiring you to hit the higher option (unless the target is flat-footed then you need only hit the lower one). Most weapons attacks are against Dex DC. Combat maneuvers are usually vs. Dex or Str. Toxic effects are against Con, Mental vs. Int, Emotion vs. Cha, Illusion vs. Wis, etc.
However, some creatures have armor which reduces damage from any source except for persistent damage.
Attack rolls are important to combat but there are other aspects to keep in mind.
ATTACK & DAMAGE
Each attack specifies the accuracy it has and damage it deals. You roll the damage die or dice, add any modifiers, and apply the damage to your target.
*You add 1 additional damage dice for every 5 levels you possess.
All creatures have a Small Melee Weapon (+3/1d2 bludgeoning) called "unarmed strike" which can use Finesse, Brawn, or Melee skills.
Your attack determines which skill you use to make the attack. You apply half your attack modifier to damage rolls with one-handed attacks or your full modifier to two-handed attacks. If you modifier is negative, do this in reverse (minimum 1 damage). You can only carry so many objects in your hands at a time and may need to drop items, sheathe them, and/or draw new ones.
ATTACK RANGE
Attacks are either melee or ranged. Melee attacks can only be used against targets within the same melee as you. Ranged attacks suffer disadvantage against targets in a melee with 1 or more allies and while you are in a melee with a hostile creature that is not incapacitated.
CRITICAL HITS
When you score a critical hit, you automatically deal maximum possible damage, plus a critical effect. A natural 20 on an attack automatically hits and deals a critical hit, but some attacks have a threat of 19, 18, or even 17. This means that if you roll between a 20 and the number listed on the threat, you deal a critical hit with it. However, this does not guarantee an automatic hit like a natural 20 does. When you achieve a critical hit, roll 1d100 to determine the critical effect randomly.
*Random item they wield or reroll if no items
Only if using power that could petrify such as cold effect, petrification effect, etc. otherwise reroll
CHOOSING TO BE HIT
You can choose to allow a miss to hit you (no action required).
UNSEEN ATTACKERS AND TARGETS
When you attack a target that you canÂ’t see, you have disadvantage on the attack roll. This is true whether youÂ’re guessing the targetÂ’s location or youÂ’re targeting a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isnÂ’t in the location you targeted, you automatically miss, but the GM typically just says that the attack missed, not whether you guessed the targetÂ’s location correctly. When a creature canÂ’t see you, you have advantage on attack rolls against it. Attacking gives away your position.
RANGED ATTACKS IN CLOSE COMBAT
Aiming a ranged attack is more difficult when a foe is next to you. When you make a ranged attack with a weapon, a power, or some other means, you have disadvantage on the attack roll if you are within 5 feet of a hostile creature who can see you and who isnÂ’t incapacitated.
TWO-WEAPON FIGHTING
When you take the Attack action and attack with more than one weapon or while using a double weapon that youÂ’re wielding in two hands, you can make two attacks instead of one as a single action but deal half damage with each one.