COMBAT
Combat is broken down into a series of actions called Turns. A Turn lasts one to five seconds of Game Time. At the beginning of each Turn, the players declare the intentions of their Cast Member. This is where they say, “I want to draw a gun,” or “I cast an Invocation.” The Chronicler decides if that action is possible in one Turn. Most simple actions are, but if a character wants to knock a hole in a wall with her gun butt, she is going to need more than five seconds.
Everyone then rolls Initiative on a D10 and adds their Dexterity. The Chronicler does the same, or simply decides when the Supporting Cast or Adversaries act.
Once initiative is determined, the intended Tasks and Tests are rolled. Usually, a character may only take one action per Turn. If she wishes to do more, each additional action suffers a cumulative -2 penalty. So the first action in a Turn is resolved normally, a second action taken in that same Turn incurs a -2, a third action incurs a -4, and so on. Close combat (fighting an opponent at arm’s length or closer) is a little bit different—one attack and one defense Task are allowed per Turn. Beyond that, the cumulative -2 penalty applies. In close combat, attacking is a Task using Dexterity and the appropriate skill (Brawling, Martial Arts, or Hand Weapon). If the target has a hand weapon, he may attempt to parry with a Dexterity and Hand Weapon Task. Characters with Martial Arts may attempt to parry a weapon with their bare hands.
Anyone may attempt to dodge an attack. If the character has the Dodge Skill, a Dexterity and Dodge Task is used. If he does not have that skill, a Difficult Dexterity Test is required. Attacking and defending are treated as Resisted Tasks.
Ranged attacks use a Dexterity and weapon skill Task with modifiers based on the range. Point blank range adds +1 to the strike Task and +1 to the Damage Multiplier. Short range has no modifier. Long range adds -3 to the strike Task and reduces the Damage Multiplier by one. Extreme range adds -6 to the strike Task and -2 to the Damage Multiplier. Ranged weapons list their ranges in yards, separated by slashes (for example, a shotgun with buckshot has a range of 10/30/50/100/200 yards).
Lighting can affect combat. Poor light (a dark alley or moonlight) gives a -1 to the combat Task. Bad lighting (a moonless night) gives a -4. Total darkness is a special case; roll a D10 and only a 9 or higher strikes the target. If the character makes a Difficult Perception Test, she can add the Success Level to the D10 roll. This signifies the use of other senses besides sight to hit the target.
Multiple shots are possible with ranged weapons. For each additional shot fired in a single Turn, the strike Task suffer a cumulative -1 penalty. All this gunfire can be pretty distracting. Anyone who is being fired upon must pass a Simple Willpower Test in order to carry out her stated intention. Otherwise, she freezes, hesitates, or huddles down in a corner and tries desperately not to be hit.
Damage is measured in Life Points. If the Life Points are reduced to 0, the character is critically injured and risks death. Most damage in the Unisystem is determined by rolling a die and multiplying the result by the Damage Multiplier. For instance a .22 pistol does D4 x 2(4). The 2 is the Multiplier; the number in parenthesis is the average result (used when the group wants to cut down on die rolls).
Damage is reduced by armor. The Armor Value (AV) is rolled (if necessary), and that much is subtracted from the damage inflicted. In the case of a bullet or slashing weapon, remaining damage is doubled.
THE EFFECTS OF INJURY
A character reduced to five Life Points (LPs) is seriously hurt. All actions have a negative modifier of anywhere from -1 to -5 (at Chronicler’s discretion). At zero LPs or below, the character is knocked down, stunned and semi-conscious. A Consciousness Test (Constitution and Willpower minus the number of LPs below zero) is required to remain conscious. So, at -7 LPs, a Consciousness Test suffers a -7. At - 10 LPs, a Survival Test is required (Constitution and Willpower minus 1 for every 10 LPs below zero). The Survival Test must be passed once each minute until the character receives some First Aid. Each additional Test is at a cumulative -1.
For example, Liz Rosen is shot twice by a 10mm for 50 points of damage. She had 22 LPs and is now at -28 LPs. Her Constitution is 2 and her Willpower is 2. This total of 4 is reduced by 2 (1 for every 10 points below zero) for her Survival Test. She needs to roll a 7 or better to live. If she lives, she must make a Consciousness Test to avoid passing out. This is at a -28, so unless she rolls a string of 10s, she is going to go unconscious. If she does not receive any kind of medical attention, a minute later she has to make another Survival Roll with a -1 penalty.
RECOVERY
First Aid stabilizes the patient (no more Survival Tests), and grants one Life Point per Success Level of an Intelligence and First Aid Task. Characters regain one Life Point per Constitution level per day until they reach zero Life Points, and two Life Points per day thereafter. Characters recover consciousness when their Life Points rise above zero.
OBJECTS
Objects have a Damage Capacity. The Damage Capacity is comparable to Life Points. Once that number is exhausted, the object is destroyed. The Chronicler decides whether a certain attack damages a certain object. For example, a man can pound on a car fender all day, but only damages himself.
Objects may also have an Armor Value (AV). This indicates how many points of damage are ignored before Damage Capacity is decreased.
ENDURANCE LOSS
Hard work (like running away from an angry mob) can reduce a character’s Endurance Pool by one every ten minutes. Very Hard Work reduces Endurance by D4(2) every minute. Frenzied Activity costs D4(2) Endurance every Turn.
Characters also need at least seven hours of sleep in a 24- hour period. For every hour missed, reduce Endurance Points by one. If the character stays awake longer than 24 hours, one Endurance Point is lost each hour beyond 24 in which she stays awake. Thus, a character that has been awake for 36 hours loses a total of 19 Endurance Points (7 for the first 24 hours, 12 for the next 12 hours). These points can only be regained by sleeping. Once Endurance Points drop to five or less, -2 is applied to all actions.
If the character gets below zero Endurance Points, she must pass a Consciousness Test (see Effects of Injury, p. 10) to stay awake. This Test must be passed every Turn, so eventually the character will pass out.
Characters recover one Endurance Point per Constitution level per half-hour of sleep, or hour of rest.
ESSENCE LOSS
A character’s Essence Pool may not be voluntarily brought below zero. Other effects may involuntarily reduce it below that level.
A character reduced to half her Essence Pool feels numb. All mental Tasks are performed at a -1 penalty until the Essence is regained.
At 1 or 0 Points of Essence, the character falls into a deep depression. All Tasks and Tests suffer a -3 penalty.
If Essence is reduced below 0, the victim must pass a Difficult Willpower Test with a -1 penalty for every 5 Points below 0. If failed, the character temporarily loses one level in one Mental Attribute.
If Essence is reduced to -30 or below, the character must pass a Survival Test (see Effects of Injury) with a -1 penalty for every 10 Points of Essence below 0.
Characters killed by loss of Essence have no apparent cause of death; medical examiners usually just call it heart failure. Normal humans regain one point of Essence per hour for each level of Willpower.