This chapter outlines the general rules for combat,
applicable across all forms—personal, vehicle/drone, magic (including astral),
and matrix. Although specialized rules exist for these specific situations, the
overall flow and feel of combat remain consistent.
Shadowrun: 2097 combat aims to be a high-stakes, fast-paced
experience that can shift from deadly firefights to intense close-quarters
battles, with magic and matrix elements added. While the system supports
cinematic heroics, it also emphasizes the harsh realities of the world, where
mistakes can be lethal, and overconfidence will be your downfall. Even the most
skilled and well-equipped characters can be felled by a single bad decision or
a stroke of misfortune.
Success in combat hinges on combining gunfire with movement,
leveraging melee prowess where applicable, and integrating support from drones,
matrix actions, and magical spells. The system encourages strategic planning
and teamwork, rewarding those who think beyond simply "shooting and
moving" to exploit environmental and situational advantages. The most
successful shadowrunners are those who only fight when necessary, but when they
fight, they take full advantage of every resource at their disposal.
KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid): The combat chapter may look
complex, but it really is not. What it does is provide a solid framework for
you to imagine and execute combat that is fun and tense—and quick and easy to
resolve. You don’t need to know every little detail. Instead, focus on these
points:
·
You must be Aware of your enemies to fight
effectively (you can’t hit what you can’t see).
·
High Initiative will let you act first; if it’s really
high, it will let you do more in a single turn.
·
Each round, during your turn, you can Move
around, do a Major activity (such as attack or cast a spell), and do a Minor
task (such as pulling out a piece of equipment, using certain Talents, and
more).
·
To attack, you roll dice to see if you hit. If
you do hit the enemy, you roll your damage, and the target’s armor will either
stop the damage entirely—or absorb a percentage of the damage.
·
Cumulative damage will eventually take you out
of the fight, but so too can taking a large percentage of your health in one
hit. The system is pretty deadly, so it is better not to get hit, or at the
very least, don’t fight fair). But do wear armor, just in case.
·
In addition to your health pool, you have a
stamina pool. This is especially important for spellcasters and
technomancers but comes into play for all characters. It’s typically caused by injuries,
hostile spells, or using certain Talents or magic of your own.
Awareness
Before combat begins, characters use their Perception skills
to become Aware of potential
threats. This phase can often determine the outcome of an encounter before the
first shot is fired, as those who are caught unaware are at a severe
disadvantage. Awareness is not just about seeing
the enemy—it's about sensing danger, noticing subtle changes in the
environment, or picking up on the telltale signs of an ambush.
Skill Use
For personal combat, usually Vigilance, but both
Astral (Awareness) and Matrix (Scan) combat have separate
Perception skills. If using drones, use the Sensor skill instead.
Sometimes, Insight is also used for Awareness, typically to ascertain a
character's hostile intentions (or lack thereof).
Using Vigilance (or other Perception skills) to detect
hidden enemies or other dangers requires using Actions. The more effort you
expend, the easier it is. The above TNs assume you’re using a Major action each
turn. If you instead use only a Minor action, increase TN by +5. If
you’re just walking along, not alert at all, you get to use Perception as a
Free action, but the TN is at least +10.
Awareness Levels
There are three levels of awareness:
·
Fully Aware: Characters
who achieve a Solid success on their Perception check are fully aware of all
threats. This means they have noticed even the hidden or camouflaged enemies, allowing
them to react and strategize effectively.
·
Partially Aware:
Characters who marginally succeed are aware of some threats but not all. They
can act, but only against those enemies they have detected. This partial
awareness can lead to dangerous surprises if they overlook key threats.
·
Unaware (Surprised):
Characters who fail their Perception check are caught off guard. They cannot
act during the first round of combat and are vulnerable, unable to take
Reactions until they have had a chance to regain their bearings.
Awareness Difficulty
The Target Number (TN) of the Awareness check varies
depending on the situation:
Easy (TN 15)
Real World Combat:
•
A group of gangers shouting at each other while
trying to ambush someone behind a dumpster.
•
The glint of a rifle barrel poking out of a car
window across the street.
Matrix:
•
Spotting an unsecured commlink broadcasting its
ID in AR.
•
Detecting an amateur hacker brute-forcing a
login with no stealth software active.
Astral:
•
Sensing a projecting mage zooming by with no
attempt to mask their presence.
•
A hostile spirit circling a building, not bothering
to stay subtle.
Moderate (TN 20)
Real World Combat:
•
An enemy moving tactically between cover.
•
Someone tailing you through a crowd but
occasionally making eye contact or acting suspicious.
Matrix:
•
A data tap hidden in a smart lamp post,
concealed with basic spoofing software.
•
A hostile program passively monitoring your deck
while running a mild obfuscation subroutine.
Astral:
•
A spirit watching you from high above, staying
still and minimizing aura flare.
•
Noticing the emotional residue from a recent
astral combat in a building’s interior.
Difficult (TN 30)
Real World Combat:
•
A sniper watching from a rooftop, not moving,
using thermal-dampening gear.
•
An assassin wearing a crowd-adaptive cloak,
blending in while moving slowly behind you.
Matrix:
•
A black ICE program approaching silently while
masked as legitimate code in a busy host.
•
A technomancer riding in a data stream, hidden
under layers of resonance threading and static filtering.
Astral:
•
A free spirit mimicking the ambient astral
signatures of the environment, watching you from astral space.
•
A dual-natured assassin cloaked with layered
masking and silence spells, approaching within line of sight.
Near Impossible (TN 40+)
Real World Combat:
•
A pro sniper firing from 1,200m while
camouflaged.
•
A shapeshifter infiltrator who’s fully blended
into a high-level corporate gala, using pheromonal suppression and behavioral
mimicry.
Matrix:
•
An AI-run intrusion using quantum spoofing and
predictive cover protocols, appearing only as natural data drift.
•
A virus that only becomes visible by detecting
inconsistencies in long-term host behavior—days after insertion.
Astral:
•
A horror-marked entity existing partially out of
phase with standard astral space, only perceptible through obscure emotional
echoes.
•
An ancient astral ward so subtly keyed that
detecting it requires noticing a half-second delay in the ambient mana flow.
Stealth and Awareness
Characters actively using Stealth can increase the TN of the
Awareness check against them. This can be further modified by environmental
factors (darkness, noise, cover) and the Degree of Success on their Stealth
roll.
For Astral and Matrix stealth, see the respective chapters.
Maintaining Awareness
Combat can be extremely chaotic, and keeping track of every
combatant or potential threat is practically impossible. If the situation
changes materially, such as if characters lose track of the enemy or new
opponents appear, rechecking Awareness is warranted, but with some caveats. You
will not, for example, magically become unaware of an opponent you're already
aware of. Instead, it is a gauge to determine how well you keep track of the
evolving situation.
You must spend actions (Major, Minor, or Free) to keep
track of things. The TN will depend on how much effort you expend (what
type of action you choose). If the fight is between two dudes facing each other
in an alley, you probably don’t need more than Passive Perception (Free). Unless
someone is sneaking up on you from behind.
Initiative
Once Awareness is determined, characters roll for Initiative to establish the order of
actions.
Initiative is determined as follows:
Xd6 + AG + CU + modifiers, where X = 1 (unless you have
Talents, gear, or other sources of additional dice).
Identical Initiative: In the event of a tie, the
character with the highest Agility (AG) goes first. If equal, compare then Cunning
(CU). If still tied, use a d10 to determine who goes first.
Changes to Initiative: Initiative order remains
constant for the duration of the fight unless an Action (specifically
Refocus), Talent, condition (such as an injury), or other factor changes it. The
most common cause of changes to Initiative is a reduction due to injury.
Edge and Initiative: You can spend 1 Edge at the
start of the round to give yourself +2d6 Initiative. This boost only lasts
for 1 round, so basically for your next turn only.
Delaying: The system does not usually allow delaying.
Combat is typically too fast-paced and chaotic for a character to simultaneously
plan their turn-based approximation of what is happening. However, the system
allows for Overwatch, Interception, Snap Snots, Counterspells, and more. If you
want to wait and see what happens, rely on these mechanics—or use your turn to
move somewhere advantageous and use Perception to get an even better overview
of what is happening. And then you strike on the next turn.
Initiative effects on the action economy
Characters with very high Initiative move and act so quickly
that they get bonus actions, as shown here. In some cases, a character might
lose their Minor action due to low Initiative, for example, through injuries or
deliberating effects.
·
Slow 0-9: No Minor action.
·
Normal 10-19: No change.
·
Fast 20-29: Bonus Move action each turn.
·
Lightning 30-39: Bonus Major action each
turn (yes, this means you can attack twice).
·
Superhuman 40-49: Second bonus Move
action each turn.
·
Supernatural 50+: Second bonus Major
action each turn.
Characters such as Street Samurai and Physical adepts can
easily achieve Fast initiative even early in their careers, as can Deckers and
Technomancers (in the Matrix) and spellcasters (in the Astral or when boosted
by real-world magic). This enables them to either move around very quickly or
covert their bonus Move into a second Minor action, enabling many additional
combat options.
Getting 30+ Initiative is only really possible for higher
Tier characters. A Street Samurai with AG 8, CU 6, and 3 levels of Wired
Reflexes would roll 4d6+14, which averages to 28. Using Edge to boost
Initiative or through some other trick, she could regularly get to 30+. Superhuman
is barely achievable by late Tier 4 or Tier 5 characters, while Supernatural is
only possible for certain rare opponent types.
Actions
Combat is broken down into rounds, with each
character getting a set of actions (1 Major, 1 Move, 1 Minor) to spend when it
is their turn to act (as determined by Initiative). In addition, once
per round, a character can make 1 Reaction outside their turn.
Turn-based action
From a game mechanical standpoint, all actions (except
Reactions) are executed within a turn-based framework, so characters aren’t continuously
moving and doing stuff throughout the round. This is, of course, not what’s
happening in the game world. The characters do not live in a turn-based
reality! The turn-based approach is just a means to an end, simplifying and
streamlining combat so it doesn’t take too much time.
To this end, the combat has rules for stuff like Overwatch
(waiting for the opportunity to attack with a ranged weapon), Snapshots
(a reactionary shot at something moving at close range), and Interceptions
(moving to physically block the movement of an opponent. But these rules are
also a means to an end: to make the turn-based gameplay feel less turn-based by
adding reactivity!
If the GM and the players keep this in mind—the world
isn't turn-based, but the rules are—then combat will flow much better, and
resolving corner cases or exceptions should become intuitive and
straightforward.
The Three Ms
The three Ms are:
·
1 Major Action: The primary action of the
turn, used for attacks, casting spells, or using special abilities.
·
1 Move Action: Maneuver around the
battlefield, draw or ready weapons, or take tactical positioning.
·
1 Minor Action: Perform quick,
supplementary actions like activating talents or using a piece of gear.
Swapping actions: Action types are not universally
interchangeable, but once per turn, you can downgrade one action.
For example, you can turn your Major action into a second
Move action or Minor action or change your Move action into a second Minor
action.
Other action types
Here are some action types that don’t fit into the three Ms:
·
Free Actions: Simple actions that can be
performed at any time without consuming the character's primary actions, such
as shouting a warning, dropping an item, or making a quick observation.
·
Full Actions: These require the
character's full attention. Requires 1 Major + 1 Move +1 Minor action.
Typically used for complex tasks that require your undivided attention. One
common example is Sprinting, which lets you move very quickly to the exclusion
of all else.
·
Extended Actions: These are Full actions
that require more than one turn to complete. They often involve complex
tasks like setting up equipment, hacking a secure system, or casting high-level
ritual spells.
Reactions
Each character can perform one Reaction per round outside
their normal turn.
Reactions are crucial for defensive actions and countering
enemy moves. Some talents give additional reactions or let you use your
reactions for non-standard activities.
Extended actions and Reactions: If you’re performing
an Extended action, check with your GM to see if doing a reaction will
interrupt your task and make you fail or have to start over.
Action descriptions
This section provides a more extensive list of various
actions (sorted by type) and their effects.
The list is not exhaustive; it is more like
guidelines for using the action system efficiently yet flexibly.
Major actions
Major actions cover stuff that requires major effort and
concentration (hence the name) but can still be accomplished within the span of
a few seconds and combined with some movement and a minor activity.
·
Make an Attack: Make an attack with a
weapon or unarmed strike.
·
Overwatch: Have the opportunity to make
a normal ranged attack later in the round as a Reaction (so this uses
both your Major action to set up and your Reaction to trigger).
o
This is separate from the Snapshot Reaction,
which is only at Short range and with Disadvantage.
·
Cast a Spell: Cast a spell with a casting
time of 1 Major action.
·
Disengage: Get out of melee without provoking
an Attack of Opportunity.
o
This is pretty much worthless unless you
subsequently use your Move action to move further away.
o
You can move out of melee without
disengaging (if you want to attack or double move, for example), but this then
triggers an AoO.
·
Active Perception (Major): Use your
action to actively scan your surroundings.
o
This is criminally underrated. This is what you should
be doing all the time if you have nothing else to use your Major action on.
o
You can also do Perception as a Minor action,
but the TN will be higher.
o
Passive Perception in the form of Free actions
is a thing, but it usually only works for quite obvious stuff, as the TN is
much higher.
·
Ready Weapon or Equipment: Draw a weapon,
replace a magazine, or ready a piece of gear.
·
Use a Skill: Driving a motorcycle, bypassing
a security system, operating a drone, or charming the hot model at the bar.
·
Assist: Assist another character, such as
helping them push over something (Lone Star is not amused and arrests you both)
or doing the wingman thing to help them score with the hot elf behind the bar
(turns out she’s a he and an elf poser, but that’s another story altogether).
Move actions
Move actions involve movement in some shape or form. Since
movement is (unless you're using battle maps) abstracted, the Move action is
often no more complex than saying something like "move closer,"
"move away," “get up,” “jump out of the moving car,” “do a flip over
the barrier,” "close the door," etc. Or, if engaged in melee combat,
move as an integral part of fighting hand-to-hand.
·
Cast a Spell: Cast a spell with a casting
time of 1 Move action, such as Astral Step or Translocation.
·
Evade: Evasive movement adds +5 to the TN
of ranged attacks against you as you dodge and weave from cover to cover. It must
be combined with a second Move action to have any effect.
·
Fire Around Cover: This move-equivalent
action lets you shoot from cover—and still enjoy some of the benefits of said
cover—basically by sticking your head (and arms) out, shooting, and then
ducking back down.
·
Get Up: Stand up from prone.
·
Mount/Dismount: Get onto or off of a
mount or vehicle.
·
Move Around: Walk, run, swim, fly, or
climb up to your speed.
o
To move faster, exchange your Major action for
an additional Move action or Dash as a Full action.
Tip: If you need to move more, convert a Major action
into a Move action. That way, you can move twice as far, or stand up from prone
and move. The Dash Full action is a variant of this that lets you run
all out at the exclusion of all other activities.
Minor actions
Minor actions aren’t as involved as major actions but still
require a bit of time and effort, so you can’t do an infinite number of them
each turn. In fact, you can do only one (Initiative, as well as Talents and
Gear can give additional Minor actions, or turn Major actions into Minor
actions).
By far, the most common uses of minor actions are combat
options and talent use.
·
Active Perception (Minor): Keep an eye on
your surroundings. TN is at +5 or more compared to Major action Perception.
·
Drop Prone: Fall flat or get into nearby
cover (such as after ending movement next to cover).
·
Cast a Spell: Cast a spell with a casting
time of 1 Minor action.
·
Insert Clip: Slot a new clip. Especially
useful if you have a SmartLink since you can eject a spent mag as a Free action.
Otherwise, you need to use a Major action to reload.
·
Recover Item: Retrieve a small item from
your person, like a potion from a belt pouch or a grenade hanging from your
combat harness.
o
You still need to take a Major action to do
something useful with the item.
·
Take a Step: Not enough movement to be a
Move action, just a little 5-foot step or similar.
·
Use a Combat Option: Use a default combat
option that costs 1 minor action.
·
Use a Talent: Activate a Talent requiring
1 Minor action.
Free actions
Anything that doesn’t take any time or effort is a Free
action. This could be anything from shouting a warning, making a silent hand
gesture, or dropping something you’re holding. There is no limit to the number
of Free actions you can make within reason. No shouting a warning repeatedly to
make a conversation, for example.
·
Drop Item: Drop something you’re holding.
Not a “toss aside” or similar, just letting it drop.
·
Eject Clip (Smartgun): Smarlinked weapons
can eject a clip as a Free action.
·
Passive Perception: Same as active
perception, but the TN is at least +10 higher, so this is only for the
basic, almost obvious stuff.
·
Shout: Shout a brief warning or similar.
Full actions
An activity to occupy you to the exclusion of all else.
Requires 1 Major + 1 Move +1 Minor action, so unless your Initiative is very
high, you can do nothing else during that turn.
·
Dash: Quadruple your movement for the
round as you do nothing but run (or fly or swim or whatever) as fast as you
can.
·
Refocus: You spend your turn refocusing.
Reroll your Initiative and use that score on subsequent turns.
Extended actions
Some actions are so complex as to require multiple actions
to be spent, which means you’ll have to spend several rounds of Full actions to
complete them. Some Extended actions require consecutive action, but some might
allow you to do other stuff in between.
·
Chant: Deranged cultists chanting in
unison to bring forth Cthuluh from the deep.
·
Hack: A decker desperately trying to get
the security doors under his control so the team can get the hell out of the
facility.
Reaction
·
Attack of Opportunity: Make a melee
attack against an enemy leaving your reach.
·
Cast a Spell: Cast a spell with a casting
time of 1 Reaction.
·
Counterspell: Attempt to interrupt and
negate a spell being cast by another.
·
Intercept: Enter melee with a character
trying to move past you. The intercepted target can either choose to attack you
instead, in which case you get no attack, or focus on the original target, in
which case you get a free melee attack with Disadvantage, and then the attacker
resolves his attack with Disadvantage.
·
Snapshot: Fire your weapon at a target
within Short range. This attack has Disadvantage despite the range being Short.
·
Trigger Overwatch: Execute an action you
prepared earlier in the round.
·
Use a Talent: Activate a reaction-based Talent.
Movement
Movement in combat is abstracted to prioritize storytelling
and decision-making over exact measurements. This approach focuses on the
action, allowing for more fluid and dynamic combat scenarios without needing a
large grid map, miniatures, and detailed rules for positioning, cover, and
more. This approach also makes combat much faster, taking way less time to
resolve than more position-focused game systems.
There are some drawbacks to this method. Chief of which is
lack of detail: If the GM can’t accurately communicate the area's layout, the number,
and position of the enemies and generally establish what is happening, players
can quickly become “lost” or pacified. A player who can’t tell what’s happening
can’t be expected to use their character’s abilities in an impactful and fun
manner.
Combat is divided into broad range categories:
•
Close Range: Within a few meters—ideal
for melee combat and short-range firearms.
•
Short Range: A reasonable distance, such
as across a room or small alley. Firearms will dominate, but melee characters
can use movement to reach the shooters.
•
Medium Range: Up to the effective range
of rifles or spells, like across a large open area. Melee combatants and
characters with only short-range weapons, such as pistols, are at a significant
disadvantage.
•
Long Range: Anything beyond a few hundred
meters.
•
Extreme Range: Up to the maximum range of
heavy weapons.
Combat maps: A simple map outlining the major
features of the battlefield can be used to visualize combat, with tokens or
miniatures representing relative positions. Exact positioning remains
flexible, allowing players to focus on tactical decisions rather than
micromanaging placement.
If the tactical situation is straightforward, a map might
not be required at all. Conversely, a more detailed map can be provided if the
situation is more complex. Indeed, there is nothing inherently wrong with using
a battle map if the group wants to—everything has speed and ranges in
meters—but be aware that even a mid-sized fight between a team of four players
and an opposing force could take half the session the resolve.
Collaborative Storytelling: Using the flexible
positioning paradigm, players and the GM work together to determine the
positions of combatants based on the narrative and logical placement. This
requires a shared understanding and trust, as exact distances are not strictly
measured.
This also gives players room to shape the combat narrative.
While the GM always has the final say, players should be encouraged to engage
with the flexibility of the movement system to create interesting situations
and opportunities.
Conversely, suppose players fail to use their Move actions
in credible or creative ways. In that case, the GM is free to penalize that
character. Characters who remain stationary are easy targets for concentrated
fire or flanking attacks. Use cover and movement to avoid being pinned down.
Attacks
There are two types of attack, melee and ranged. This
applies even to magic and Matrix combat, but more about that in their
respective sections. Melee attacks require you to get into melee range and try
to hit your opponent. Ranged combat requires a ranged weapon of some sort and a
target within range. Pretty standard stuff.
All attacks are treated as Success Checks.
The attacker rolls 2d10 and uses the appropriate skill to
meet or exceed a Target Number (TN).
Advantage and Disadvantage frequently come into play.
·
Melee
o
TN 10 (for a target that isn’t resisting)
·
Ranged
o
TN 10 (for a target that’s just standing there
in the open)
o
TN 20 (for a typical target at combat range
that’s trying not to get shot)
If the defender is aware and resisting, use their Defense
attributes instead (see below) if it is higher.
If you hit, roll variable damage of Xd6+Y, compare to the
target’s PT. If higher than PT, reduce by DR, and whatever is left does damage.
There is a bit more to it, but that’s the essentials.
Melee attacks
Melee combat is an integral part of Shadowrun. While it
might seem strange that a man armed with a sword can survive a gunfight, that
doesn't take into account the many extraordinary abilities and equipment melee
combatants can bring to a fight. Cyberware is one such thing. Adept powers
another. Many Awakened creatures have devastating melee attacks.
That said, ordinary people should not try to fight
gunmen with their firsts—it will end badly. Indeed, even a high-tier troll
adept must know when to go for melee and when not to or be gunned down before
he can even reach his targets. But employed correctly, melee attacks can be
truly devastating. You just need to be smart about it.
·
How to: First, use a Move action to get
within Reach (usually 2 meters unless you’re a Troll or wielding a Reach
weapon) of the target. You can't make a melee attack if you can't reach the
target!
·
Reach: If you have longer Reach than your
opponent, you get Advantage on attacks, and your enemy gains Disadvantage on
his.
o
Reach weapons: Some weapons and talents
can give you improved Reach.
o
Size: Trolls have a natural Reach
advantage (so consider bringing a spear if you plan to fight lots of trolls).
·
Skill Usage: Brawl for unarmed; one of
two Melee skills (Brawn or Finesse) for melee weapons.
·
Base Target Number:
o
Not resisting/unaware: TN 10
o
Defending: Defender’s Parry or Dodge, defender’s
choice.
·
Modifiers:
o
Advantage: If the defender uses Parry
defense but has no suitable weapon to parry with, the attacker gains Advantage
(should probably Dodge unless dodge is much lower).
o
Defenseless: If the defender, for some
reason, can't defend, you attack against TN 10, which is close to an automatic
hit, but make the roll since you get bonus damage for high MoS.
o
Outnumbered: The outnumbered side has
Disadvantage on all attacks, while the outnumbering side has Advantage on all
checks.
Melee attack options
Want to do something other than attack your opponent? This
can typically be resolved by spending 1 Major action and 1 Minor action, having
GM assign a TN (or declare it an opposed check), and making the check. Some Talents
either improve your ability to perform certain attack options or give you access
to additional options.
·
Disarm (1 Major, 1 Minor): Disarm is rather
tricky to pull off and not always that effective. It’s easier to disable the
defender through damage. But sometimes, disarming an opponent is the way to go.
o
If you hit them, their weapon is out of
position, and they need a Minor action to correct their grip. Until they do,
they count as unarmed.
o
A Solid hit (+5 MoS) will make them actually drop
their weapon. It requires a Major action to pick up a dropped item.
o
A Perfect hit (+10 MoS) will send the weapon
flying a short distance. A Move and a Major action will be required to pick it
up. In the meantime, they are unarmed and might provoke an attack of opportunity.
Or they could pull out another weapon instead.
·
Flurry (1 Major, 1 Minor): You try to
overwhelm your target(s) with a quick succession of light attacks.
o
Gain 1 additional attack (either against the
same target or two different targets within reach), but both attacks have Disadvantage,
and do -1d6 damage.
·
Grapple (1 Major, 1 Minor): Grappling an
armed opponent who doesn’t want to play at Judo is kind of tricky, but
sometimes you want this anyway. They will have to counter-grapple (using this
action) or break free (Major
action).
o
If you hit them, you’ve grabbed your opponent,
and they can no longer use Move actions to reposition.
o
A Solid hit (+5 MoS) gives your opponent
Disadvantage to counter-grapple or break free, and you gain Advantage on
subsequent grapple checks.
o
A Perfect hit (+10 MoS) lets you throw your
opponent to the ground (prone). You may then either remain standing (grapple
ends) or follow through and become prone yourself but maintain the grapple.
·
Rush (1 Full action): Charge is a
somewhat reckless form of attack where you charge forward and try to overwhelm
your opponent. A more cautious approach would be to Move and then Attack, which
also doesn’t use your Minor action or give our enemy an advantage.
o
You can only Rush if you’re not already engaged
in melee combat.
o
You gain Advantage on your attack, but all
attacks against you until your next turn have Advantage.
·
Smash (1 Major, 1 Minor): You sacrifice
accuracy for power, simple as that.
o
Do +1d6 damage, but the attack has Disadvantage.
Ranged attacks
Ranged attacks assume a defender that is aware, moving, and
using cover for effect—and an attacker that's in a stressful situation, wary of
counterattacks and their own vulnerabilities.
TN 20 represents a shot under normal battlefield
conditions within the weapon’s effective range (which can be as little
as 10 meters or as long as 200 meters or more). This differs significantly from
shooting at a stationary target TN 10, where the question is less “Did
you hit?” and more “How close to a ‘perfect 10’ did you get?” Put another way,
TN 20 is for shooting at bad guys, and TN 10 is for shooting beer cans with
your mates.
·
How to: You need a weapon with enough
range to hit the target. Otherwise, you need to swap weapons or move closer.
·
Skill Usage: Appropriate weapon skill.
·
Base Target Number:
o
Target practice: TN 10
o
Combat situation: TN 20 or Dodge defense
(if higher).
·
TN Modifiers:
o
Cover: Better cover raises TN by 5 or more.
See the Armor and Cover section for details.
o
Evasion: If the defender is Evading (a
type of Move action), increase the TN by 5.
o
Range/Speed: Longer distances and faster
targets increase TN by 5 to 20. The total effect of the combination of speed
and range is in question here, so moving fast at extreme ranges will not affect
the total modifier as much as moving fast at shorter ranges (but it will still
be a factor).
o
Size: Very small or very large targets
will affect the TN.
·
Dodge defense: If Dodge is higher than the
modified TN, use Dodge instead.
o
Dodge defense is not affected by TN modifiers,
meaning it’s vastly more important if you’re fighting at close quarters and out
of cover. If you’re a sniper hiding on a rooftop 500 meters away, it's much
less vital.
o
Typical civilians will typically have Dodge 20
(14+3+3), the same as the base for range, so there is no difference. However, a
wired Street Samurai or Physical Adept will likely have a much higher Dodge (even
more than 30 for higher-tier opponents). Such characters can also probably move
twice and attack during the same turn, so if you start out close, you might get
off one Snapshot before they are on top of you!
Fire modes
Ranged weapons have three fire modes: Single, Burst, and
Auto.
When making a ranged attack, unless you specify a mode, it
defaults to Single Attack, unless the weapon doesn’t support this mode (there
are some automatic-only weapons).
·
Single Attack (SA): Single attack
doesn't necessarily mean a single shot; it could be several shots fired from a
semi-automatic pistol or multiple arrows fired from a bow. Expends 1 unit of
ammo.
·
Burst Fire (BF): Burst fire is a controlled
burst at a single target using an automatic weapon. You may choose to
either gain Advantage on the attack or do an extra +1d6 damage
(if you already have Advantage, you should always pick extra damage). Expends 2
units of ammunition (so most hand-held weapons can fire 2 to 4 bursts before
reloading).
·
Auto Fire (AF): Sustained burst, either
against a single target or against several (nearby) targets. Requires a
Major and Minor action. Expends 5 units of ammo.
o
Single target: Same as burst fire, but
the damage bonus is +2d6.
o
Multiple targets: You can attack multiple
targets in the same general vicinity. Each attack has Disadvantage. Damage is
unaffected.
Special weapons, such as hand grenades, missile launchers,
and so forth, are Single Attack weapons but with special rules for what happens
if you hit or miss.
If a spell or a Matrix program doesn’t specify an attack
type, it’s always Single Attack.
Ranged attack options
·
Aimed shot (1 Major, 1 Minor): You aim
carefully for a perceived weakness. This is way more difficult than just aiming
for the center of mass and letting the bullets do the talking. But if you have
ways to eliminate that Disadvantage, it can be an excellent option.
o
Works with SA and BF modes only.
o
Do +1d6 damage, but the attack has Disadvantage.
·
Crossfire (1 Major, 1 Minor): If at least
one ally has already attacked the same target this round, you can declare
Crossfire with the GM’s permission (primarily reliant on relative positioning
and the tactical situation).
o
Reduce the TN of the attack by 3.
o
Reduce it by 5 instead for multiple allies (2 or
more) have fired at the same target, and GM declares the target is particularly
exposed.
·
Suppressive fire (Full action): You’re
not shooting at an actual target but spraying as much lead downrange as
possible to suppress the enemy.
o
Works with any firing mode, but SA is much less
effective, and AF is the most effective.
o
Uses an entire clip or load of ammo.
o
You roll the attack vs. the enemy’s Discipline
defense, and they do not get any bonus for cover.
o
If you “hit,” they are Pinned (see below) until
your next action unless they have some way to break the pin.
·
Trick shot (1 Major, 1 Minor): Use your
ranged weapon to do something other than attacking a target, such as hitting a
small object for effect, knocking the detonator out of the villain's hand, that
sort of stuff. Basically, this is an Aimed shot, only harder.
o
The GM sets an appropriately high TN, and you
have Disadvantage.
Defense
If your Dodge defense is high, you will likely use that
score to set the TN for enemy ranged and melee attacks instead of the default
TN. The same applies to Parry, except it’s only for melee attacks.
·
Dodge: 14 + AG (Agility) + CU (Cunning).
·
Parry: 11 + (Brawl or Melee skill ranks)
+ ST + AG.
Your other three defenses will occasionally come up during
play, with Resolve helping resist fear and pinning and Resilience letting you
avoid some adverse conditions. Composure is more of a social defense and
doesn’t come up quite as often in combat. However, it has some applications in
situations where leadership or intimidation is brought to bear. Spells that
target defenses other than Dodge are also a thing.
·
Composure: 14 + CU (Cunning) + PR
(Presence).
·
Discipline: 14 + RE (Resolve) + PR
(Presence).
·
Resilience: 14 + ST (Strength) + VI
(Vitality).
Active defense
Active defenses are the exception rather than the rule, in
part to keep the number of dice rolls down, but primarily because of how the
Advantage/Disadvantage mechanic and most of the talents and other factors
assume that the attacker is the active party and rolling the dice.
Theoretically, you could have the attacker roll to attack and
then the defender roll to defend. This would, however, double the number of
dice rolls (and probably more than double the time taken), introduce another
layer of randomness, and require a rewrite of all game effects.
So active defenses are usually reserved for “saving throw”
type cases, where the player rolls to avoid a harmful effect. One such example
is poison, where the player rolls Resilience against a set TN, and on a
success, they suffer only a lesser effect. Some spells also work in this
manner.
Damage mitigation
Armor provides protection through Penetration Threshold (PT)
and Damage Reduction (DR):
·
Damage less than PT is completely
negated.
·
Damage equal to or greater than PT is reduced
by DR as a percentage.
Here are some sample armor values:
·
Sample Light Armor: PT 15 / DR 20%.
·
Sample Medium Armor: PT 25 / DR 40%.
·
Sample Heavy Armor: PT 35 / DR 60%.
These are just examples; individual armor models can have
differing values. You will find details in the Equipment chapter.
Layering armor
Layering armor is possible but not particularly
effective—it’s much more effective to just wear better (heavier) armor. But in
some cases, that might not be possible, or you have a source of non-physical
“armor,” such as the Physical Adept’s Eldritch Armor line of powers.
Layering armor rules:
·
Use the highest PT of all armors worn.
o
Additional armor does not affect PT.
·
Use the highest DR of all armors worn.
o
Then, half the DR of the secondary armor will be
added.
·
Armor never provides DR higher than 80%. This
applies to layering as well.
·
You are normally limited to two layers of armor,
but the GM might allow a third layer if it makes thematic sense. For example, a
Physical Adept wearing an armored coat might be allowed to combine it with
Eldritch Armor (Chapter 10) and
Hardened Flesh from his Awakened Legacy (Chapter 12).
Examples:
·
Wearing a light armor coat (PT15/DR20) over
Eldricht Armor I (PR15/DR20) is PR15/DR30.
·
Combining that same armor coat with medium
combat armor (PT25/DR40) results in PT25/DR50.
Armor Penetration
Some weapons reduce PT and/or DR.
·
Reducing PT makes it easier to penetrate and do
any damage.
·
A reduction in DR will reduce armor
effectiveness if penetrated.
Regular firearms don’t have armor penetration. It’s baked
into their base stats. More powerful guns do more damage, to begin with, and
will therefore penetrate armor more easily. An AK-97 going full auto is far
more likely to breach and do damage than a peashooter, for example.
The same goes for ammunition. You’re already assumed to be
firing high-tech armor-piercing rounds, not 18th-century lead balls.
So, only special, hard-to-find, or expensive ammo actually provides AP.
Examples:
·
Hardened AP rounds (Tier 2): Reduces the
target’s PT by 3 and DR by 10%.
·
Mage-killer rounds (Tier 3): Reduces PT
by 5 and DR by 20 for all magic-sourced (spells, powers, and legacies) armor.
Damage types
The combat rules default to Physical damage. Other
damage types interact with armor in the following ways:
·
Stun damage: Increase PT by 5 and DR by
20.
·
Energy damage: Deduce PT by 10 and DR by
20.
When you suffer Stun damage, you must track this separately
from Physical/Energy damage. It counts against the target’s total health but
isn’t as lethal as the other damage types and heals much quicker.
Stun damage is not the same as Fatigue. It’s still damage,
not exhaustion, just damage that’s not as lethal as being shot or
stabbed. The target will be bruised and battered but won’t (in most cases) die
of stun-related injuries.
Cover
You can either shoot through the cover or try to bypass it
(hit a part of the defender that's exposed).
Bypassing cover
·
Partial
Cover: +5 to attack roll
TN (makes targeting difficult due to limited exposure).
·
Full
Cover: +10 to attack roll
TN (only small areas like hands or head exposed).
Shooting through cover is really only viable if the
cover is flimsy or you're packing some serious firepower.
Cover values
·
Flimsy: PT 5/DR 20
·
Light: PT 10/DR 20
·
Medium: PT 20/DR 40
·
Tough: PT 30/DR 60
·
Reinforced: PT 40/DR 80
·
Impenetrable: PT 60/DR 100
Called shots
Hit locations and armor coverage are abstracted in
Shadowrun: 2097, so most of the time, called shots aren’t a significant factor.
Only if the GM explicitly declares that the target has a weakness or vulnerability
(such as not wearing a helmet with body armor or a magical beast having a chink
in its armor) can a called shot be made. Mechanically, the called shot rule is effectively
an extension of the bypassing cover rule.
·
Weakness: +5 to +10 to TN, ignore 5 PT
and 20 DR.
·
Vulnerability: +15 to +20 to TN, ignore 10
PT and 40 DR.
Resistances and Vulnerabilities
Some targets, Awakened creatures, in particular, have some
sort of Resistance and/or Vulnerability.
Resistance and vulnerabilities are expressed as an increase
(or reduction) in PT/DR against specific forms of attack.
Examples:
·
Spirits of Flame have a fixed DR of 100 against
fire damage.
·
The Black Wendigos of the Mnt. Rainier Hot Zone enjoy
PT20/DR 60 against all non-magical forms of attack. They also heal extremely
quickly, but that’s another topic.
Damage and Injury
Combat in Shadowrun: 2097 is lethal. Plenty of things
can kill you outright or take you out of the fight. The best way to avoid this
is to not fight. The second best thing is to fight smart so you don’t
get hit. Failing that, wearing armor is an excellent way to avoid dying.
There are two ways to get incapacitated or killed: a
single attack doing enough damage to take you out of the fight or being worn
down by multiple attacks.
Example:
·
A typical civilian has 20 Health. Any single hit
that causes 10+ damage will make them practically combat-ineffective, and 20
damage total will incapacitate them.
·
Basic melee (for example, a sword) and ranged
weapons (for example, a pistol) deal about the same amount of damage. So, let’s
assume an attack with a sword or pistol does 2d6+4 damage. That is, on average,
11 damage, with a floor of 6 and a ceiling of 16. Most rolls will be in the
9-13 range.
·
A single hit can cause serious injury, and two
to three shots are practically guaranteed to take down the person through
cumulative injuries, even if rolls are slightly below average.
Shadowrunners should always strive to wear some form
of armor (or avoid being in a position to be attacked, such as decking or
rigging from afar). Chances are, if a fight breaks out, the enemy is packing a
lot more than semi-automatic pistols! Without armor, chances are you'll get
taken out quickly if you're hit. With armor, you're likely to still take some
damage from powerful weapons, but you won't immediately go down, and you'll
largely be immune to minor attacks.
It is, of course, better not to get hit in the first place,
which is why you'd rather avoid fighting at all, or if you are going to fight,
do it from a position of strength. And cover. Use cover whenever you can. Even
melee fighters can benefit from cover, staying protected until they have an
opportunity to strike. If you can survive any overwatch fire, you're now in
melee, making it very hard for enemy shooters to fire at you without hitting
their ally.
Damage modifiers
Solid and Perfect hits can boost damage considerably. The
more skilled you are at combat, the higher the chance you’ll beat the TN by a
large margin and get that sweet extra damage.
·
Solid Hit (+1d6): If the Margin of
Success is +5.
·
Perfect Hit (+2d6): If the Margin of
Success is +10.
Example: You fire your smart-linked Ares Predator (a
heavy pistol) at a target, and between your skill, the smart-link, and luck
(your dice roll), you get MoS +11. Your base damage of 3d6+5 becomes a
respectable 5d6+5. Even an average roll is sufficient to put down most targets,
even outright kill them.
Automatic weapons are commonplace in Shadowrun: 2097, and for
good reason: they are deadly. Volume of fire means you’re more likely to hit something
and hit it more than once. The combined effect of this is simulated by extra
damage dice. The only real downside is ammo consumption (and the risk of collateral).
·
Burst Fire/Auto Fire (+1d6): For weapons
fired in burst or automatic mode vs multiple targets.
·
Auto Fire (+2d6): For weapons fired in
automatic mode vs a single target.
Example: Your Ingram Smartgun does a modest 2d6+4
damage but can fire both Burst and Full Auto, doing +1d6/+2d6, respectively. And
this stacks with Solid/Perfect hits. The Fire Modes and Attack Options sections
and the Equipment chapter discuss automatic fire and ammunition.
·
Aimed Shot (+1d6): If you used the Aimed
Shot attack option.
Injury Thresholds
The damage of each hit is compared to your Injury Thresholds,
which are derived from your total Health.
·
If Fatigue causes your Stamina to drop below
specific threshold values, additional effects will occur. See below for
details.
·
Initiative cannot fall below 0.
Injury Threshold descriptions:
·
Light injury (Less than 25% HLT): It’s a grazing
hit, painful, but not consequential.
o
Suffer 3 Fatigue and reduce Initiative by 3.
o
You have Disadvantage on your next turn.
·
Moderate Injury (≥ 25% HLT): Solid hit
that causes considerable trauma and pain. You're not out of the fight yet, but
one more hit, and you're probably done for.
o
Suffer 5 Fatigue and reduce Initiative by 5.
o
You have Disadvantage on all checks for 1d6+1
rounds.
·
Serious Injury (≥ 50% HLT): You are
seriously injured, barely able to keep going, and not really combat effective
anymore.
o
Suffer 10 Fatigue and reduce Initiative by 10.
o
You have Disadvantage on all checks until you
receive medical care.
o
You can only take 1 action (Major/Move/Minor) on
your turn.
o
You cannot do Reactions.
o
Every round for 1d6+1 rounds, you suffer 1 additional
damage applied directly to your total.
·
Critical Injury (≥ 75% HLT): You are critically
injured. Better hope you have a DocWagon contract or a mage specializing in
healing—or both!
o
Suffer 20 Fatigue and reduce Initiative by 20.
o
Drop prone.
o
If you are still conscious, you can only take 1
Minor action on your turn.
o
You cannot do Reactions.
o
Every round, you suffer 1d6 additional damage
applied directly to your total.
·
Lethal Injury (≥ 100% HLT): You have
suffered a lethal injury and are dying.
o
Suffer 40 Fatigue and become Unconscious
regardless of your Fatigue thresholds.
o
You won’t be needing an Initiative score for
some time, if ever.
o
Drop prone.
o
You expire in 1d6+1 rounds unless stabilized.
o
Even if stabilized, you require immediate
extensive medical care, including trauma surgery, or you will die within 1d6+1
hours.
Stun damage: Stun damage is, by definition, less
lethal than other damage.
·
Reduce the severity of the injury by one step.
o
Any hit reduced below Light does nothing.
·
The amount damage suffered is not reduced,
however. So, the cumulative effect of Stun damage is still significant.
Injury Threshold example
·
Instead of the civilian from the previous
example, let’s look at a physically powerful Shadowrunner (Health 30) wearing
armor with PT25/DR60.
·
His Injury Threshold for Moderate is 15+, so
it’s already pretty unlikely that he’ll get knocked out by a single pistol
shot.
·
PT25 means I must do at least 25 damage to even
hope to cause an injury. And DR 60 means 25 damage becomes 10 after
penetration, which is only sufficient for a Moderate injury.
·
However, he still suffered 10 damage, so the
cumulative effect will catch up with him pretty quickly, and after three such
hits, he needs to lie down and rethink his tactics.
Cumulative damage
Even the toughest characters will go down after repeated
injuries.
·
When damage ≥ HLT: You are incapacitated.
o
Suffer 20 Fatigue and reduce Initiative to 0.
o
Drop prone.
o
If you are still conscious, you can only take 1 Minor
action on your turn.
o
You cannot do Reactions.
·
When damage ≥ 2xHLT: You are dying.
o
Suffer 40 Fatigue and become Unconscious
regardless of your Fatigue thresholds.
o
You won’t be needing an Initiative score for
some time, if ever.
o
Drop prone.
o
You expire in 1d6+1 rounds unless stabilized.
o
Even if stabilized, you require immediate
extensive medical care, including trauma surgery, or you will die within 1d6+1
hours.
Using Edge to stay in the fight
When you suffer an injury, you may spend 1 Edge to reduce
the severity of the injury by one step.
·
If you reduce the severity below Light,
you ignore that injury.
Edge has no effect on cumulative damage, neither its effects
nor how much damage you suffer. It can only reduce the impact of individual
hits.
Example: You can turn a Serious Injury into a
Moderate Injury, which makes a massive difference in terms of your continued
fighting capabilities.
Stamina and Fatigue
Stamina reflects a character’s endurance and ability to
perform strenuous actions.
In addition to depleting from general strenuous activity,
fatigue is caused by suffering injuries, using magic or technomancy, or
employing special combat options, talents, or cyberware.
Fatigue
Stamina loss is called Fatigue and works much the same way
as cumulative Damage:
·
Fatigued
≥ 50% of Stamina: You are getting tired, but you can still fight.
It’s time to take a break, though.
o
You lose 1 Major or 1 Move action each turn
(your choice).
·
Exhausted ≥ 100% of Stamina: You’re
completely exhausted. You need to lie down and just breathe.
o
Reduce your Initiative to 0.
o
You immediately collapse (drop prone). You’re
still conscious.
o
You can only do 1 Minor action each turn,
regardless of your remaining Initiative.
o
If you do nothing (except maybe some Free
actions) for 1 minute (10 turns), you regain 1 Stamina until you are no longer
exhausted.
·
Unconscious ≥ 200% of Stamina: You’re beyond
exhausted.
o You
immediately collapse (drop prone). You’re unconscious, so you can’t take
action, and initiative is no longer relevant.
o You
regain 1 point for stamina for every 10 minutes that pass until you’re no
longer Unconscious.
Resting
If you’re Exhausted or Unconscious, you automatically
recover (at the specified rates) until you have 1 point of Stamina. Beyond
that, you need to rest to recover. Or use stim patches or certain combat drugs,
but that’s hardly a long-term viable strategy.
There are two kinds of resting:
Short Rests:
·
Max per Day: 2
·
Duration: Approximately 1 hour (something
a little more than a quick breather).
·
Stamina Recovery: Recover 50% stamina.
If characters don’t have time for a 1-hour break, the GM can
allow a shorter rest (10 minutes, for example), but this will only recover 25%
of stamina and still use up a short rest for the day.
Long Rests:
·
Max per Day: 1
·
Duration: Approximately 8 hours
(basically a whole night’s sleep).
·
Stamina Recovery: Recovers all stamina.
If conditions are less than ideal, or the rest is
interrupted, the GM can still allow partial recovery, for instance, 50% for 4-5
hours or 8 hours in the wilderness without shelter.
Stim Patches
Stim patches can be hugely useful, but overuse is dangerous
(and can lead to addiction).
·
A stim patch restores 1d6+Rating points of
Stamina.
·
After 1d6x10 minutes, make a Resilience check DC
20.
o
If successful, you suffer 2d6+2xRating fatigue.
o
If you fail, you will suffer half as much damage.
·
For each additional stim patch used during the
intervening period, increase DC by 5 and add together the dice for each patch.
Healing
Unlike Stamina, which recovers very quickly, damage takes
time to heal.
Exactly how long depends on:
·
The level of injury: Light, Moderate,
Severe, Critical, or Lethal.
o
If you’re only Lightly or Moderately injured,
you will fully recover given time.
o
If you are suffering from Severe, Critical, or
Lethal injuries, you require medical attention to recover.
·
The type of damage: Lethal (physical or
energy) or nonlethal (stun) damage.
o
Stun damage recovers much faster than lethal
damage and will recover even if you’re Seriosuly injured or worse.
·
Level of care: No care (natural healing),
medical care (you don’t need to stay in the hospital but need someone with
medical skills to check on you), or intensive care (full hospitalization).
·
Activity level: Active, resting, or
hospitalized.
o
The less you do, the faster you recover. Simple.
Other sources of healing:
·
First Aid: Provides quick recovery for
minor injuries and stabilizes critical ones.
·
Magic Healing: Magic can restore lost
Health (but never Stamina), but powerful healing spells are costly in terms of
Burn. See the Magic and Spells chapter for details.
·
Medical Attention: Full recovery happens
over days or weeks, depending on injury severity.
First aid
First aid can stabilize serious injuries to prevent further
damage or death and restore a small amount of Health.
·
First aid requires a medkit and a Medic
success check.
o
If you don’t have a proper medkit, you can
improvise, but the TN will be higher (+5 if you have some equipment, +10 if you
have nothing but what you can improvise).
o
A complete trauma kit reduces the TN by 5 (10
for a portable auto-doc or equivalent, such as the gear employed by DocWagon).
·
Successful First Aid improves your Injury level
by one step.
o
First Aid never restores lost Stamina.
o
First Aid does not restore lost Initiative, so
the injured character may want to Refocus if the fight is still ongoing.
·
Once you’ve received first aid, you cannot
benefit from first aid until you’re injured anew.
Effects of First Aid:
·
Light injuries (TN 15): Restores 1d6 Health (+1 for every 5 MoS, to a maximum of 1d6+3).
·
Moderate injuries (TN 20): Restores 1 Health (+1 for every 5 MoS, to a
maximum of 3).
o If applied quickly enough, it will
also remove the timed Disadvantage.
·
Serious injuries (TN 25): You count as being Moderately injured, with no other effects.
·
Critical injuries (TN 30): You count as being Seriously injured.
o You do not suffer additional
damage, but your action economy is limited.
·
Lethal Injuries (TN 30): You count as being Critically injured.
o You do not suffer additional
damage, but your action economy is severely limited.
o You still require intensive
medical care, or you will die.
Trauma patches: These high-tech medical patches can
be slapped on bare skin (1 Minor action if readied, 1 Major action if not) and
will immediately perform emergency first aid with an effective Medic skill of +12.
Magic healing
Magic healing is spell-based, so you have to check
individual spell descriptions for details.
Generally speaking, however, magic healing can accomplish
the same as First Aid, but it can also significantly speed up natural healing
and negate the need for medical attention.
Natural healing
If you’re only Lightly or Moderately injured, you will fully
recover given time. If you are suffering from Severe, Critical, or Lethal
injuries, you require medical attention to recover.
·
Light injuries: Recover 1 Health per day of recovery.
·
Moderate injuries: Recover 1 Health per week of recovery or 1 Health per
day of medical attention.
·
Serious injuries: Recover 1 Health per day of medical attention.
·
Critical injuries: Recover 1 Health per week of medical attention. You’re
hooked up to all sorts of machines and probably unconscious most of the time.
·
Lethal injuries: You can’t recover from
this; either you got life-saving first aid and became “only” Critically
Injured, or you died.
Medical attention
Health recovery from serious and critical injuries requires
professional care or advanced medkits.
Stun damage
Stun damage recovers at an accelerated rate:
·
Recover Stun damage equal to your Vitality per
day of recovery, regardless of your level of Injury. This is separate from the
recovery from lethal damage.
Fear and Pinning
While Shadowrunners are generally quite used to danger, they
are not immune to basic metahuman psychology.
Fear: Fear in this context is a fear reaction strong
enough to override the player’s control of their character. A good player will
roleplay his character appropriately in dangerous situations, but that’s not
what we’re talking about here. This is facing an elder dragon or astral horror
type of fear, being subjected to intense virtual torture, or, more mundanely, the
GM stepping in to override a player they feel isn’t roleplaying very well.
·
Exceptional
circumstances may cause characters to make active Discipline defense checks to
resist fear.
·
Some
creatures, especially Awakened beasts, have special Fear-based attacks that
target Discipline defense.
Pinning: Pinning is a subtype of fear. Shadowrunners
may be brave, but they are not stupid—or they would already be dead.
Consequently, they will—like everyone else—keep their heads down when taken
under fire.
·
Sustained
suppressive fire can pin down a character, reducing their ability to act.
o Requires a Discipline defense check
to overcome.
Other types of combat
Magic in Combat:
- Spells
have specific casting times and effects. See the Magic chapter for
detailed rules and the Spells chapter for spell descriptions.
Vehicles and Drones:
- Use
the same basic mechanics but include specific rules for handling and
damage. See the Rigging chapter for details.
Matrix Combat:
- Digital
combat follows the same basic principles but targets specialized defenses
and uses matrix skills. See the Matrix chapter for details.
Extended combat examples
Melee combat
Kicker, the troll Adept, is facing off against two corporate
security goons. One is armed with a shotgun, the other with a riot shield and
"stun" baton.
Kicker wins the initiative and thus gets to act first, but
neither guard is surprised, so they will get to both act and react. Kicker
rushes forward (Move action) to rip the head off the shotgun guard, but before
he can strike, the man spends his Reaction to make a Snapshot against the
incoming troll. He rolls well and hits, but Kicker's armor stops the blast. The
other guard uses his Reaction to make an Intercept, but Kicker opts NOT to keep
beelining for the shotgun man, so the guard with the baton doesn't get a free
attack. He does, however, prevent Kicker from attacking his shotgun-armed companion.
Kicker now attacks the guard with the baton and shield.
Unarmed attacks against an armed opponent normally have Disadvantage, but
Kicker has the Killing Hands ability, so it counts as armed. He is also a
troll, so he has extended reach, thus actually getting Advantage on the attack,
but this is negated by the defender's shield, so it's back to the standard 2d10
for the attack. Undaunted, Kicker rolls the dice and gets double '8' for a
total of 20+8+8+5=41, landing a perfect hit for 4d6+2d6+10 damage. He rolls
pretty well again, doing 35 points of damage, which is way above the guard's PT
of 20, so it penetrates. Even with body armor and a shield, the guard is
critically injured and drops.
It is now the other guard's turn (his previous shot was a
reaction; this is his first full turn). He shoots (Major action) and hits
again—trolls are hard to miss—and actually manages to penetrate, but Kicker's
armor (both Eldritch and physical) and high Health (as a troll Adept, his
Health score is around 40) means the damage is minor. Then, the guard backs off
a bit (with his Move action) to distance himself from the troll.
New round, and Kicker gets to act again. He moves forward—so
the guard makes another snapshot—and this time, he absolutely crushes the roll
with a double ‘9’. If Kicker was anything other than an armored hulk, he’d be
down, but he’s still up and about and slams his deadly fists into the poor guy.
This time, the troll doesn't roll nearly as well, but it's still enough to
cause some serious injury to the guard.
The poor guard, seeing as how the situation is hopeless,
tries to surrender on his action.
Kicker, feeling merciful, accepts his surrender by switching
over to stun (nonlethal) damage for his next attack. Since the guard is
effectively not resisting anymore, the GM rules that he is considered
Defenseless. With TN this low (10), Kicker's next attack is practically
guaranteed to be a Perfect hit, with massive (stun) damage and resulting
incapacitation of the guard.
Ranged combat
Vanya, the somewhat homicidal goth elf combat mage, is on
the verge of exhaustion (literally down to her last point of Stamina). One more
spell, and she might pass out from the exertion. This is a bummer since one of
PanGen's bio-monstrosities is coming straight at her, and her fellow runners
are otherwise engaged. She could try to use a minor spell, but that won't stop
the thing, so it is pointless.
Planning ahead, Vanya draws her Ares Predator before her
turn is over (using her Fast Hands talent) and waits. The PanGen creation, a
twisted mockery of an ork with claws for hands, rushes forward with startling
speed, so Vanya spends her Reaction on a Snapshot before it's too late. The
range is Short, even for a pistol (half Effective range), but Snapshots
override this and incur Disadvantage regardless. Fortunately, Vanya's gun is
Smartlinked, so at least the Advantage from that offsets the Snapshot Disadvantage.
With her decent Dexterity and Cunning, Vanya's Ranged
(Close) skill isn't half bad at 14. She rolls 2d10 and gets a 1 and a 10. Not
bad, but from previous experience, she knows these creatures are hard to hit,
so she opts to spend 1 Edge to add 1d10 to the pool. It comes up a '10', and
Vanya removes the '1' from the pool. This will be high enough to hit AND will
give +5 MoS on top of that.
The PanGen Abomination has a Dodge defense of 26, which is
much higher than the base TN 20 for a ranged attack, so Dodge is used. There
are no modifiers to the TN so 26 it is.
Vanya's attack roll of 14+10+10=34 is more than enough to
hit, so she also gets a +5 to the total for rolling a double for a total of 39.
That's a MoS of 13, more than the 10 required for a Perfect hit, so she gets
+2d6 damage. The Predator has a base damage of 3d6+5, so the total is
5d6+5. Vanya also has the Double Tap
talent, which can add +1d6 damage to SA (Single Attack) weapons, but this
requires a Minor action to be spent to trigger, so it cannot be used as part of
a Reaction.
The damage roll is decent but not spectacular, with a 23
total, which Vanya is pretty sure (again, based on previous experience) won't
take the thing down. She opts to spend another Edge to add 2d6 to the damage,
but this comes up as a '1' and a ‘3’ and ultimately doesn't change anything.
She should, however, be able to Double Tap it to death on her next turn,
getting Advantage on her attack (for getting a perfect hit on her reaction) and
doing at least 4d6+5 damage.
Unfortunately, the Abomination hits Vanya on its turn and,
despite her armor and magical protection, does enough damage to—barely—cause
damage. Vanya is uninjured at this stage, so this would not be an issue, except
the attack causes her Stamina to drop to 0 or below, which in turn means she's
incapacitated… and won't get to attack on her next turn but instead be Helpless
when the Abomination's next turn comes up. It looks like a "Burn That
Edge" moment unless one of her fellow runners takes pity on the fallen
elf.
