Combat Rules

Initiative and Action
All characters, player run or NPC, have 3 actions they can make in a turn. The segments of time in which actions themselves can be done, are called phases. Each phase is one action, each turn is 3 phases per person. The order in which phases occur within the turn is determined by initiative. Example: two characters are in a gunfight, one is an NPC, one is a PC. They both roll percentile for initiative and add their combat awareness skill, and perception bonus. The NPC rolls 84 for his Initiative. The PC rolls 42. The player should not be told NPC initiative roll values. Because the NPC rolled double the value of the PC's initiative roll, 2 of his phases come first. The phase order will look like this. NPC, NPC, PC, NPC, PC, PC. Groups of player characters always must do their actions on the same phase. In a situation with more than two opposing sides, the third or fourth initiative roll is compared with the other roles, and placed in accordance. When the turn has been completed, imitative is re rolled, and a new phase order is assigned again.

Tripling another initiative roll puts all of your phases first. Doubling an initiative roll puts two of your phases first, two of theirs last. Exceeding another roll, but failing to double it, puts one of your phases first, and the order is sequential after that. Ties are re rolled. Here is a list showing phase order outcomes for rolls using the same example.

Combat Awareness
This is a perception based skill determinate of an individuals initiative roll. In a group fight, the initiative roll goes to the person closes to the action, or to the person in the group who initiated it.

Command
This is a decisiveness based skill determinate of a groups initiative roll. Command based initiative rolls are used in ship combat scenarios, and any situation which is not determined by Combat Awareness.

Hit Location and Damage Severity
The damage dealt in Universal Consciousness is based on hit location coupled with one of 3 different types of severity, minor, major and destroyed. Damage rolls are done with a d12, and hit locations are done with a d20.

Injury and Damage Type
There are two basic kinds of damage in Universal Consciousness; There are impact attacks, and Burn attacks. Both cause similar debilitation, but different damage effects. Impact attacks deal bleeding, which is dealt to a character every turn until it is stopped through medical aid. Burn attacks deal shock damage. Shock damage occurs all at once. Both bleed and shock damage lower a characters overall hit points. A players overall hit points are determined by their fitness attribute. When a character is brought to 0 hit points they die. Additionally, whenever you are dealt damage, that damage is also dealt to your resolve. When you reach 0 resolve you will fall unconscious and be unable to regain consciousness. Resolve can only be regained by resting for 4 hours. Two minors to the same location will create the same effect of a single major injury, the same goes for two major injuries. Two major injuries to the body or head will also result in instant death.

Firearms and Cover
Firearms roll d100 to hit like all other roles. Using a firearm is skill based, and is dependent on firearm type.

Hit and Position
Total firearm hit is a combination of three things: your characters perception stat, your skill with the appropriate firearm category, and the base accuracy of the weapon (modified for range). The difficulty of the shot is determined by what is being shot, and if it is a humanoid, what position it is in. Below is a table of cover and positions. Obscurement of any kind will increase shot difficulty by 50.

Effective hits
Doubling the value of the shot difficulty will allow you to roll two damage rolls, and pick the result. Tripling the value gives you three damage rolls to choose from.

Rate of Fire
The ROF of a firearms determines the maximum amount of bullets it may fire in a single phase. Every group of 5 bullets counts as a new attack which can be done on the same phase. However, the further an opponent is from the shot made previous to it, the higher the recoil penalty. Multiply recoil penalty for every 15ft.

Recoil
The recoil penalty is the penalty given to all attacks on the same phase after the first attack. The recoil penalty stacks for every additional shot. Example: If a character uses three attacks in phase, and their firearm has a -20 recoil penalty, then their first shot will have no penalty, their second will be at a -20, and the third at a -40.

Reliability
The weapons reliability score determines how often it malfunctions. If a weapon has a reliability of 1, it means only a natural role of 1 on a d100 will cause it to malfunction. if the score if a 5, it means all natural rolls 5 or below will cause a malfunction.

Armor
Many suits give an armor value towards certain kinds of attacks. Armor adds a penalty to incoming damage rolls. However, anything that gives armor value will also have durability points. Anytime damage manages to pass through armor it deals 1 durability damage per severity of injury it causes.

Movement
The maximum distance a character can move is determined by fitness. Below is a table of movement speed.

Hand to Hand Combat
Hit in melee combat is determined by three modifiers: Your fitness score, your skill in hand to hand combat, and the bonus of the weapon used. However, unlike the use of firearms, the difficulty is determined by the opposing players roll using the same modifiers. If the attacker doubles the defenders roll, they gain a second free melee hit, three if they triple it. If the defender doubles the attackers roll, they gain a free melee hit on the attack, two if they triple it. Melee weapons are organized by size, and if the size of one is larger it negates the bonus of the others weapon.

Grappling
The grapple is another kind of melee attack. The same bonuses apply to the grapple, although instead of striking, a success in the grapple means that the next turn, the loser can only try and break the grapple. As the attacker, doubling a defenders grapple role, means either a free melee hit, a disarm, a throw to the ground (stun + unarmed damage), or a 5ft push. Tripling the defenders roll gives you two of these actions. The defender gains these same actions for double or triple rolls.

Penalties in Melee
Below is a table showing various penalties for being attacked while in a certain positions or circumstances. If players are effected by the same position or circumstance, then it becomes mute.