Combat Influence
The following concepts influence combat and its outcomes.
This section covers lighting conditions, injuries, death, and healing.
Lighting Conditions
Not all combat takes place in broad daylight—dark buildings, sewers, and nighttime skirmishes are common. Visibility impacts what you can see, target, and attack, as well as powers that require line of sight.
- Daylight: Characters can see to the horizon.
- Full Moon: Visibility is 10 Units.
- Starlight: Visibility is 5 Units.
- Artificial Light Sources: Provide illumination within a radius, plus half that range again in dim light (rounded up).
- Dim light causes downgraded perception checks.
Light Sources
Different light sources offer varying levels of visibility. In Enclave Sentius, scavengers rely on fire-based lighting, while residents have access to battery-powered flashlights.
| Light Source | Illumination Radius |
|---|---|
| Candle | 1 Unit |
| Torch | 4 Units |
| Lantern | 5 Units |
| Flashlight | 4 Units (cone) |
| Campfire | 5 Units |
| Bonfire | 10 Units |
Invisibility & Blindness
- Invisible characters cannot be seen but may still be heard, smelled, or detected by other means.
- Perception checks to locate an invisible target are downgraded.
- Attacking an invisible target is a downgraded roll against their suspected location.
- Blind characters treat all creatures as invisible.
Limited Visibility
Not all battles occur under ideal conditions.
Fog, rain, and darkness impose penalties, making ranged attacks and perception checks more difficult.
| Condition | Effect |
|---|---|
| Moonlight | Max 10 Units of vision, anything beyond is blind. |
| Starlight | Max 5 Units of vision, anything beyond is blind. |
| Light Fog | Visibility: 10 Units. -1 to ranged attacks, powers, and perception. |
| Moderate Fog | Visibility: 5 Units. -2 to ranged attacks, powers, and perception. |
| Heavy Fog | Visibility: 2 Units. Ranged attacks and powers are blind, -3 to perception. |
| Light Rain/Snow | -1 to all attacks, powers, and athletic checks. |
| Moderate Rain/Snow | Visibility: 30 Units. -2 to attacks, powers, and athletics. Ranged attacks beyond visibility are blind. |
| Heavy Rain/Snow | Visibility: 15 Units. -4 to attacks, powers, and athletics. Ranged attacks beyond visibility are blind. |
Injuries, Death, & Healing
This section covers what happens when a character takes damage, including health checks, critical conditions, and recovery methods.
Injuries & Death
Whenever a character takes wounds, they must roll a Health Usage Check.
If their Health Die is reduced to zero, they must choose their fate:
- Go out in a blaze of glory – Automatically score a critical hit on a final attack, then die.
- Fall unconscious – The character survives but gains a wound, downgrading all checks until healed.
- Leave it to fate – Roll d12:
- 1-4 → The character dies quietly.
- 5-12 → The character falls unconscious but is stable.
This system ensures that players have agency over their character’s fate, keeping the game engaging even in death.
Healing & Repair
Characters recover from injuries through Medicine, while cybernetics and armor require Repair.
| Healing/Repair Check | Effect |
|---|---|
| Moderate Penalty | Restores 1 Usage Die. |
| Stiff Penalty | Restores 2 Usage Dice. |
✔ Only one healing attempt per day, unless the character takes further damage.
✔ Each check takes fifteen minutes and requires the appropriate kit:
- Medical Kit → Heals biological characters.
- Cybernetic Repair Kit → Repairs cybernetic components.
- Armor Repair Kit → Restores armor durability (also restores 1 Armor Rating per success).
Fatigue
Fatigue accumulates over time due to lack of sleep, hunger, dehydration, or environmental stress.
Some Dynamic Tasks also cause fatigue as a failure condition.
✔ Each level of Fatigue imposes -1 to all skill checks.
✔ Once Fatigue exceeds the character’s Fatigue Maximum, they collapse unconscious.
✔ To recover, they must get proper rest, food, and water.
✔ Recovery of 1 Fatigue point per night's rest.
✔ If Fatigue continues to accumulate while unconscious, they must start rolling Health Usage Checks every hour.
Fatigue adds a realistic element to survival, ensuring that long journeys, battles, and extreme conditions take a toll on the character.
This system ensures that combat is not just about winning fights—survival, resource management, and endurance play a critical role in every encounter.