Encounters

Now that the basics are covered, we can go through more focused and detailed situations that may come up in various settings and stories.   This starts with an encounter. 

What is an encounter

An encounter is a set scene or situation that challenges the characters to resolve it.  The Dealer will set a time scale for the scene and provide a map if it is needed.  Then, you will draw Initiative to start the scene, and on your turn your character will perform actions. The goal in an encounter will always be clear.  While it may shift and change, based on your and the Dealer’s inputs, you will always know what resolves the encounter.

Rounds

The first part of an encounter that will need to be determined is the round length.  A round is the measure of time between each time all of the characters can act. This time will vary based on the type of encounter, but the default should be about 1 minute.  Using rounds allows the Dealer to seamlessly apply the Effects and Resistances system to encounters, allowing for more interesting gameplay.

Below are the common time scales you will see and what type of encounter they work best with.     

Combat Scale

Each round is 6 to 10 seconds with an entire combat lasting between two and six rounds. In each round, you have two attack actions and two movement actions.  You draw two cards at the start of the round and then decide how to use your actions. 

Standard Scale

Each round is 1 minute long with the entire encounter lasting up to 10 minutes.  In each round you will have two attack actions and two movement actions.  You only draw cards as you use your attack actions to perform Skill Checks.  Examples include repairing a breaking spaceship, exploring an abandoned ruin, or circulating an elegant party for valuable information.

Searching Scale

Each round is about one hour and lasts until either the destination is reached, or the target is found. Each player has an attack action and a movement action in each round.  The attack action can be used to perform one Skill Check in the area or as an additional movement action. Each movement action will move you one zone on the map or one district in a city. This works best to structure a day as you explore a city. It can be in search of clues of a gang’s hideout, or new missions to undertake, or a unique show .

Travel Scale

Each round is either 3 hours, 6 hours, or 1 day, depending on the distance you are traveling. For each round, the crew as a group has one movement action. The crew has one main action per Player up to a maximum of three main actions. If you have more than three players, all players diplomatically decide who can perform the Skill Checks. If all players choose to forgo their main actions, the crew may push on and make an Environmental Resist – Travel Skill Check or Piloting Check to move additional distance. After each movement you may spend your collective main actions to perform Skill Checks to interact with the area.

Creating the Map

Not encounters need a map but often a map will greatly enhance an encounter. Therefore, it is recommended to use a map. Dividing the map for the encounter is up to the Dealer but as a player you will need to be familiar with both Grids and Zones.

Grids

When a map uses grids, each hex will represent a 2-meter area. Each movement action will move you 3 hexes by default. Grids are best used for combat encounters.

Zones

When a map uses zones, each zone will represent a small to medium space like a room or a hallway. Sometimes long hallways or large rooms should be represented by two zones. The designation of zones is left up to the Dealer. While the zones may not all be the same size, they will represent the same movement requirements. Each movement action will move you between 1 zone by default. This scale works best for non-combat or light combat encounters where the main goal is to solve or resolve an issue in a limited area. 

Turn Order and Initiative

When an encounter begins, draw a single number card from the top of your deck to determine initiative.  The suit of the card determines the order the characters act in a round. The initiative order for the suits is spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts.  The number will be used to break ties.  When an NPC and a Player have the same suit and number, the Player wins the tie. In the case of a tie between Players, Players go first in the order they agree upon.  In the case of dissent, the Dealer decides.

Taking your turn

At the start of a character’s turn, before making any decisions, draw two number cards from the deck.  Using these cards, you will craft your character’s turn.  A character can take two movement actions and two attack actions.  You can do these in any order.  Specific rules regarding these actions and for movement are contained within their specific sections below.

In summary, a Player may perform the following, in any order, on their turn:

• 2 Main actions

• 2 Movement actions

Main Actions

A main action consists of using a Skill as an action.  This includes Weapon Skills and Cast Magic Skills.  Attack Skills are Skills that mainly require the use of a character’s hands as described in the Skills section.

The number of main actions required for a Skill depends on the number of hands or the amount of time that Skill requires to perform it. 

For a Skill example, unlocking a keypad might be able to be done within 30 seconds and would only require only 1 action, but putting on a Disguise that requires multiple pieces of clothing would require both hands, your head and a lot of time, and thus, 2 main actions.

It is important to note that many of the thought heavy Skills like Investigation, Engineering, or Enlightenment are non combat actions and require two main actions to perform.

For a weapon example, most weapons require only 1 action as they can be wielded with one hand, but all heavy weapons and all long-range weapons require two attack actions to use the Weapon Skill. 

Additionally, each weapon may only be used once, even if you have an additional hand to make a second attack with that weapon.

Main actions may also be spent on casting a spell.  Spells can be cast with one hand, thus using 1 main action, or be cast using both hands, using both attack actions. This is covered in detail in Magic and Powers.

Movement Actions

A movement action consists of moving up to a distance equal to your movement distance. A movement action is used whenever the character chooses to move any distance.  This means that even if the character chooses to move just 3 meters, one movement action is spent. The default measurement of movement is meters. In Zone based encounters, one movement action moves a character one zone, unless otherwise stated.

Movement Skills move a character up to half of their movement value unless otherwise stated.

Reactions

Reactions are actions that are used as a response to an enemy’s action or another adverse effect.  A character can use 1 reaction each round not on their turn. Some maneuvers may change this amount.

Planning a Turn

Using the two cards drawn at the start of the turn, a character needs to decide where to best use those cards this turn.

If you commit one card to your first Skill Check during the turn, then that card can no longer be used this turn. If you use a Skill that requires two main actions, you may choose either card to use for the Skill Check, then, both cards can no longer be used this turn.

For example, say you draw a 5 of clubs and a 7 of hearts on your turn and your character Spike is trying to escape some guards after he’s downloaded the data to a device. He wants to use the Skills that would give him the best chance of getting away without them following.

He first uses his two movement actions to gain distance and get around the corner and out of sight. Next he uses the Specific Skill Climb from the General Skill Athletics to get up into a vent. He assigns the 7 of Hearts so he gains a +1 benefit for the suit modifier and a +1 for his rank in Climb making his result an 9. He easily makes the climb. Now that the 7 of Hearts has been used, it cannot be used again.

He then uses the Stealth General Skill with no Specific Skill to try to make it so he was not noticed. He assigns the 5 of Clubs and gains a +1 benefit for the suit modifier making his result a 6. He feels like he was able to stay decently hidden.

Tracking Encounter Goals

The goal of an encounter should be known to all players.  There are two ways to track this goal or provide tension to the encounter. When the encounter requires a series of actions like repairing a starship, then a board can be used to track the progress throughout an encounter. For other scenarios where time is the main pressure, a time tension mechanic came be used.  Both methods are described in the Complex Tasks section.