05.00 Combat, Rounds & Distances

Very little has change in terms of Rounds and Initiative from Classic d6 to Ron d6.

As in Classic d6 and any other RPG, intense scenes require more detail. In these cases, time slows to units of five (5) seconds called Rounds. Each character may take one (1) Base Action in the round with no penalty. Unless the character has special skills or abilities, additional actions increase the difficulty of performing each task; this concept is dealt with later, in the Multiple Actions section.

Once a Round ends, the next one begins, continuing until the scene ends (with the task completed, or the opponent subdued, etc.). Actions in rounds are not simultaneous (actions out of rounds sometimes are).

Initiative

Who goes first? Determining initiative does not count as an action.

In the context of a game, it’s important to orderly go from one player to another to conduct a round. Once rounds have been declared, the Game Master calls for Initiative for each round. There is only one method of Initiative in RonD6.

The characters first make Perception rolls to generate Initiative totals. The Game Master makes one Perception roll for each character or group of characters he controls, depending on the number and how important each character is to the adventure.

Initiative Bonus (Characters and Boss NPCs only) – For every 2 Ranks in search or 4D in Agility (round down), a character receives +1 to his initiative roll.

The character with the highest roll takes her action first. The character with the second highest roll then takes his action, and so on. After the last character performs her action, the round ends and a new one begins. Note that characters rendered unconscious, immobile, or otherwise unable to act lose their action until they wake up or get free, even if they haven’t taken it already. Once the round is over, the Game Master calls for another Initiative roll at the beginning of each round after.

The gamemaster and players may use Character Points, but not Fate Points, to increase their initiative rolls if they want. Spending one Character Point, for example, allows the player or gamemaster to add the result of one extra Wild Die roll to the initiative roll.

Initiative Ties

In the event of ties, comparing attribute and skill die codes can decide the order of actions. The character with the highest value in the characteristic goes first, and so on. Ties are broken by moving to the next factor and looking at those values. The order:

Ability or talent that allows the character to go first
Perception
Search
Agility
Dodge
special equipment or situation that allows the character to go before another character.

Performing Actions

A character does not need to declare what he or she intends to do until her turn comes up in the round. Once the character decides to take their turn, they may use as many Basic Actions as they want (with in the Multi-Action Limit), but the player must determine the Multi-Action penalty for the total number of actions that the character wishes to take in that round. The character does not need to declare when figuring the Multi-Action penalty what he intends to do with all of his actions. (see Multiple Action below)

There are several types of Actions – Free Actions, Basic Actions, Full Actions, and Multi-Actions.

Free Actions

Free actions are anything a character can automatically perform except under the most extreme conditions. They don’t require a skill roll or much effort. If the gamemaster thinks a task requires concentration (and has a possibility of failure, thus requiring a skill roll), it’s not a free action. A few examples are:

Determining initiative.
Speaking a few words to someone nearby.
A quick glance around a room (and possibly a roll of Perception: Search).
Making a Partial Move over an easy area.
Move a Space over more challenging terrain
Making a Resist Damage Roll.
Rolling Willpower.

Basic Actions

A Basic Action is a single action taking no more than five seconds to perform. The gamemaster may decide that certain types of actions offer a bonus or special effect and, thus, have requirements to perform. The suggested skill to use with each action is included at the end of the task’s description.

Each entry on this non exhaustive list are Basic Actions

Action	Skills	Description
*Bash/Slash*	Melee Combat	Hit an opponent with a melee weapon.
*Catch*	Athletics	Stop the movement of a thrown or dropped object or person. The catcher must act later in the round than the person doing the throwing or dropping. This is one of the few cases where a character may “move up” his turn.
*Choke*	Fighting	Grab a person’s neck and gripping tightly.
Communicate	Languages, Persuasion	Relay plans or exchange complex ideas and information with other characters (more than a few words or one sentence).
Disarm	Fighting, Ranged Weapons, Melee Combat, Athletics	Remove an object from an opponent’s hand. This action is treated as a called shot.
*Dodge*	Dodge	Actively evade an attack.
*Entangle*	Athletics	Throw an entangling weapon at an opponent.
*Escape*	Athletics	Break a hold.
*Grab/Pin/Tackle*	Fighting	Latch onto an opponent or trap an opponent by holding him to the ground or against a wall. Depending on where the opponent was grabbed, he can take other actions.
Punch/Kick/Push/*Trip*	Fighting	Strike out at an opponent to cause damage or cause other effect (fall, etc).
*Leap*	Athletics	Jump over an opponent, onto a table, or any other such maneuver.
*Lunge*	Melee combat	Stab forward with a pointed weapon, such as a sword or a knife to attack the space beyond the adjacent.
Partial *Move*	(Athletics)	Maneuver 50% of the character’s Move or more around the area. The gamemaster should call for a roll only if the terrain is challenging or the maneuvering complex. During some rounds, the gamemaster may decide that existing factors dictate all movement, regardless of length, require an action.
*Parry*	Fighting, Melee Weapons	Block an opponent’s blow.
*Ready a Weapon*	None	Draw or reload a gun or bow, unsheathe a knife, and similar actions.
Shoot	Ranged Weapons	Fire a missile or projectile weapon.
Switch a Weapon/Device Setting	*	Although rare, some weapons and equipment have more than one damage or effect setting. It takes an action to change the setting. This generally does not require a skill roll, but the gamemaster may chose to require one related to the item in question for particularly stressful situations.
Throw a Weapon or Object	Athletics	Toss something at an opponent.
Use a Skill or Ability		Perform a quick action related to a Special Ability the character possesses or a skill he wants to use. A character may not use a Special Ability he does not have, though he may use a skill he has no experience in (possibly at a penalty). Note that some skills and Special Abilities take longer than one action or one round to perform, so trying to do them in five seconds incurs penalties.
Vehicle Maneuver	Drive/Pilot	Perform a stunt in a moving vehicle.
Wait/Hold		Watch for a better opportunity to perform an action. This does not require a skill roll, but it does take concentration.

Base Actions

Note that waiting counts as an action (once per each time the character wishes to wait). The character may take no additional actions once the multi-action penalty is figured. Any actions calculated into the multi-action penalty but that the character did not use by the end of the round are lost.

Multiple Actions

Characters may attempt to perform several Base Actions in a single round. The more they try to do, however, the less care and concentration they can apply to each action. It becomes more difficult to succeed at all of the tasks. Thus, for most characters, for each action taken beyond the first, the player must subtract 1D from all skill or attribute rolls (but not damage, damage resistance, or initiative rolls). Thus, trying to do four actions in one round gives the character a -3D modifier to each roll. For characters with an ability that increases their base number of actions, the multi-action penalty doesn’t take effect until the character uses up his allotment of actions. For example, if a character with an action allotment of eight per round wants to do nine actions, each of the nine actions is at -1D.

Only equipment and weapons suited for quick multiple actions may be used several times (up to the limit of their capabilities) in a round. Some examples include semi-automatic guns or items with little or no reload time, like hands or small melee weapons. A character may not rely on any skill or attribute reduced to zero.

A character may take a few actions, wait, take a few more, wait again, and so on, as long as the player has declared a sufficient number of actions in which to do everything she wants her character to do (including waiting). A character may only interrupt another character’s action if she has waited and after that character has made the skill roll and spent any points but before the gamemaster declares the result.

Example: A character surprises a thug. Because she got the jump on him, the gamemaster decides the character may act first in this round. The character decides to wait and see what the thug will do, choosing to take one other action this turn. The thug takes a swing at her, so the character decides to dodge. If the character has no ability that gives her extra actions, she may take only one action without penalty. She used that one action on waiting. When she makes her dodge roll, it’s at -1D, because it’s the second action she’s taking this round.

Only a few instances exist in which the gamemaster may permit a character to “move up” her turn and react to another character’s actions. These include catching a thrown object, resisting certain mental attempts, and other situations that the gamemaster deems appropriate. These do take the character’s action, though the player can declare that her character will perform multiple actions in the round. For the most part, having a turn later in the round than another’s simply means that another character could take advantage of the situation faster.

Multi-Action Limit

Ron D6 limits the number of actions a character can take within one round. A character’s Multi-Action Limit is equal to the Agility Die Code. A character with an Agility of 3D can perform up to 3 actions in a single round. Double that number if a Fate Point is spent.

One can also increase the Multi-Action Limit through the Quickness Skill. Each Rank in that skill adds an additional Multi-Action.

Full Action

A single action that takes the characters full attention or effort is a Full Action. The character can not perform any other actions. A Full Move is a Full Action. Other actions can be defined as a Full Move.

Combat Distances & Movement

Distances in Ron D6 are measured in single Combat Spaces where a single character occupies. These are either 2 meter or 6 foot squares.

There are two types of Movement – Partial or Full. A Partial Movement is less than half of the character’s Move as a Basic Action. A Full Move is equal to the characters full movement and takes a Full Action.