Combat

Fighting in the Matrix is no joke. Winners survive, losers go offline. Countless operatives have fallen at the hands of Agents. Exiles are violently put offline because they offended the wrong boss. At the end of the day, you have to ask: better to fight or take flight?

In those situations where you have no choice but to take on opponents, this div spells out the details.

A conflict in The Matrix Iterations is typically played out using a map of the location where your characters happen to find themselves fighting for their lives.

A map is divided into zones, typically a room, a corridor, or an area of ground. The size of a zone varies from a few steps across up to a couple dozen meters. Zones are typically indicated on a location map. In random encounters created spontaneously, the Operator can make a quick sketch of the area or simply describe it.

Although maps can be useful, you can always choose not to use them and let certain conflicts play out only in the “theater of the mind.” This can be a good solution in close-quarters conflicts between a small number of participants.

Zones can have various features, which affect actions performed within them. Here are a couple of examples:

The borders between two adjacent zones can be open or blocked by an obstruction. A blocked border may have a door, hatch, or other opening, as indicated by the map, allowing movement between the two zones.

Open borders between adjacent zones do not block movement or vision, except where zone features may cause hindrances. A blocked border generally blocks line-of-sight even if there is an opening unless you are actively standing by the opening and looking through it.

The distance between you and your opponents is divided into five range categories:

Combat is played out in rounds, each roughly five to ten seconds long. When combat begins, the first step is to determine who has the initiative. Do this before anyone declares, or rolls dice for, an action.

Grab some playing cards: numbered 2 through 9, an Ace, and a Jack; aces count as 1 while Jacks count as 10. Each player participating in the situation, voluntarily or otherwise, draws a card to determine the order of when they act in the situation; the Operator does the same for any NPCs or groups of NPCs. Participants act in ascending order, from lowest to highest. This is called drawing initiative.

When all participants in the situation have acted once, the round is over and a new round begins. The initiative order remains the same throughout the situation; drawing initiative is only done once, at the start of the first round. The only exception to this is when players choose to exchange initiative, described later.

If you initiate combat with an attack the Operator deems fully surprising, meaning your opponent is completely unaware of you, you get to choose any initiative you want instead of drawing a random card. All other participants, including others on your side, draw initiative normally.

During a combat situation, you can exchange your initiative card, and thus your initiative, with another player character or NPC, whose turn has not yet come up in the current round. This must be declared on your turn, before you perform any action.

The other character cannot resist this exchange, and must immediately take their turn. A character is not allowed to immediately exchange their received initiative until the following round.

The point in the initiative order at which you act is called your turn. The phrase, “your next turn”, means the next upcoming point in the initiative order at which you normally act, whether that happens to be in the current round or the next round. The phrase, “your previous turn”, means your latest previous point of action in the initiative order, whether from the current round or the prior round. The phrase, “on deck”, means that you should be prepared to take your turn in the initiative order for the current round.

On your turn, you can perform either one slow and one fast action, or two fast actions. When it's your turn to act, state which actions you wish to perform and, if needed, roll dice to determine whether you are successful. Some actions will give your opponent the opportunity to react with an action that breaks the initiative order.

FAST ACTIONS: These are actions that typically do not require rolling dice to succeed, though they may have other reasonable prerequisites to perform. Examples include running (so long as you're not engaged with an opponent), getting up from prone, drawing a weapon, blocking a melee attack, etc.

SLOW ACTIONS: These actions typically involve rolling dice for a skill or something more intricate. Examples include attacking an engaged opponent, firing a weapon, reloading a weapon, administering first aid, etc.

FREE ACTIONS: Dropping to the ground or shouting a few words are called free actions – they do not count toward your two actions for the round, and they are unsupported. This usually covers any non-combat action that takes a second or two to perform.

If you want to help another participant perform an action, it costs you one action of the same kind, slow or fast. You must state you are trying to support someone before any dice are rolled. Supporting others occurs out-of-turn, i.e. it breaks the initiative order in the round. This works in the same manner as helping others with skill checks in non-combat situations; you must be present and able to describe the manner in which your support comes.

To move during combat, you can spend a fast action to move from one zone to an adjacent zone, or between Short and Engaged range from an opponent in the same zone you occupy. No roll is required to move unless a zone feature provides movement complications.

If you have an active opponent at Engaged range and there is no barrier between you, you must make a Mobility roll to move away from your opponent. If you fail, you still move but your opponent gets an immediate, free close combat attack against you. The free attack occurs out of the initiative order and does not count against their actions in the round; this attack cannot be blocked.

The key to winning a conflict is often attacking when your adversary least expects. You can accomplish this in a couple of ways.

When you sneak up on someone undetected and perform an attack, it is called a sneak attack. First, you make a Stealth roll. Moving close enough to attack in Engaged range gives you a -2 modifier. If you fail, the opponent notices you and it's time to draw initiative.

If you succeed, your attack counts as surprising, which means that you can choose any initiative card you want. For a close combat sneak attack, you also enjoy a +3 modifier and your attack cannot be blocked. Sneak attacks are always performed between individuals, by one attacker against one target.

A special kind of sneak attack is an ambush – lying in wait for a target and attacking as they pass by. In this case, each target makes an Observation roll to spot the ambush, suffering a -2 modifier if the attackers are well prepared. All those who fail get the bottom cards (counting from 10 and up), randomly drawn.

When you attack in close combat, use the Melee skill. Close combat happens at Engaged range from your target. There can be no barrier between you and your target. Cover has no effect against close combat attacks.

For every additional success you roll, you may choose one of the following maneuvers:

If you successfully grapple your opponent, you both fall to the ground. The opponent drops any weapon they are holding and cannot move. The only action they can perform is attempting to break free; this is a slow action that succeeds if the opponent wins an opposed Melee roll against you. While you are grappling, the only actions you can perform are either a grapple attack or to release them; this works as a normal, unarmed attack, but is a fast action and cannot be blocked.

When an enemy attacks you in close combat, you can roll for Melee to block their attack. This is a fast action and must be declared before the attacker rolls for their strike. This effectively turns the attack into an opposed roll: every success you roll eliminates one from the attacker's roll. Excess successes have no effect.

Blocking breaks the turn order, but it does count against your two available actions in the round. For every block you perform, you get one less action when it is your turn, and once you have used both your actions during the round for blocking, you can no longer block further attacks. All actions are refreshed at the beginning of each new round. You can save unused actions to block later in the round, but these cannot carry over to subsequent rounds.

To attack someone with a hand-held ranged weapon, roll for Marksmanship; thrown weapons use Mobility instead. To draw a weapon is a fast action, while firing a weapon is a slow action. If your attack succeeds, you hit your target and inflict your weapon's base damage rating on them. Each extra success increases the damage by one or allows for a maneuver:

Weapons have a range at which they are the most effective, included in the weapon's description. The farther away your target, the harder it is to hit. At Medium range, you suffer a -1 modifier, and Long range suffers a -2 modifier. Engaged range suffers a -3 modifier because it is harder to draw a bead on an opponent that close. These penalties do not apply if you fire at a defenseless or unaware target, instead enjoying a +3 modifier.

Firing at a large target, such as a vehicle, enjoys a +2 modifier to the attack. Firing at a small object, such as a hatch or hand-held item, suffers a -2 modifier.

If you cannot see your target but still have a good idea of its location, you can still fire while suffering a -2 modifier.

If you take your time to aim carefully before squeezing the trigger, you enjoy a +2 modifier to your attack roll. Aiming is a fast action, though if you do anything other than fire your weapon after you have aimed, or if you are hurt, you lose the effect of the aim and need to spend another fast action to aim again.

If your weapon is equipped with a telescopic sight, you can aim as a slow action and get a further +1 bonus (to a maximum of +3). You cannot slow aim and fire in the same round.

Firearms, bows, slings, and similar weapons use ammunition. Ammunition counts as a consumable and receives a supply rating. Different types of ammunition will utilize different consumables. Each time your weapons require reloading requires a slow action and reduces your supply rating by one.

Single-shot weapons, such as bows or slings, cannot be reloaded in the typical fashion of firearms. Instead, you need to spend a fast action to ready the weapon by nocking an arrow, placing a pellet in a sling, etc. Once you have readied your weapon, your next action must be to aim or shoot the weapon.

Crossbows are the exception to this requirement in that they can be carried loaded, similar to a firearm, and loading it is a slow action.

Some weapons are capable of full automatic fire. A burst of auto fire counts as a normal ranged attack, but if you hit, you may immediately make another attack against the same target or a different one. If you hit again, you may make a third attack. Even if this also hits, you don't get more attacks. After all attacks are resolved, you must make a supply roll for ammunition.

As a fast action, you can assume an overwatch position in a specific direction, as long as you have a ranged weapon and no enemies within Engaged range. This means that you aim in the specified direction and are ready to shoot. Between the time you assume the overwatch position and your time to act in the next round, you can fire your weapon against a target in the chosen direction.

You can fire whenever you want in the turn order, and your shot is resolved before all other actions — even if they are already declared. For example, if an enemy in the direction you are aiming declares they want to fire a weapon, you can shoot first. The enemy is not allowed to change their attack after your overwatch attack.

Firing while in overwatch position counts as a normal attack, a slow action. Therefore, you must save your slow action in the round for any overwatch attack you wish to perform.

If both you and an enemy assume overwatch positions against each other, and both choose to fire against each other, then an opposed Marksmanship roll determines which attack goes first. This roll does not count as an action for either of you.

You keep your overwatch position until you break it, or any of the following occurs:

Using a weapon can greatly improve your effectiveness in combat. The traits of weapons are described as follows:

Weapon	Grip	Bonus	Damage	Range	Weight
Unarmed	---	---	1	E	---
Blunt Instrument	1H	+1	1	E	1
Knife	1H	+1	2	E	1/2
Club	1H	+2	1	E	1
Sword	1H	+2	2	E	1
Battleaxe	2H	+2	3	E	2
Spear	1H	+1	2	S	1
Rock	1H	+1	1	M	1/4
Sling	1H	+1	1	M	1/2
Bow	2H	+1	1	L	1
Pistol	1H	+2	2	M	1/2
Rifle	2H	+2	2	L	1

In this world, injury is a part of daily life. Everything from exhaustion to bleeding cuts and broken bones is considered damage. How much damage you can take is determined by your Health score.

In the same manner, dealing with difficult situations is also part of the deal. System security programs on the hunt, Exiles looking for their next deal, Integrated individuals going about their seemingly endless days. How much stress you can withstand is determined by your Resolve score.

You can suffer damage in many ways. These are the most common:

Body armor can protect you from physical damage, though not from other kinds of damage or from damage you inflict on yourself when you push a roll. The effectiveness of the armor is determined by its armor rating.

When you suffer damage from a physical source, roll a number of dice equal to the armor rating. Every success you roll decreases the damage by one; this roll is not an action nor can be pushed.

If any damage penetrates your armor, its armor rating is decreased by one for every bane you rolled. If the armor absorbs all of the damage, any banes rolled have no effect. Armor can be repaired using the Crafting skill.

When enemies are shooting at you, hunkering down behind cover, preferably something very solid, can save your life. Taking cover in the zone you're in counts as a fast action. Cover has an armor rating and works exactly like armor, but only against ranged attacks. Cover can be degraded similarly to armor. Cover can be combined with armor; roll for cover first, then armor.

Moving in the world of The Matrix Iterations is, to say the very least, a difficult experience. You run fast, fight hard, and rest lightly, trying to push yourself beyond the limit for your mission, your survival. Something as trivial as stopping for a meal of good noodles or a coffee doesn't really come into it. When you hit your tolerances, your limits, it hurts. Mentally, physically, pain is pain. This is mapped on your character through the presence of conditions. Conditions are acquired through pushing rolls and taking heavy physical damage.

For each physical condition you have, you suffer a -1 modifier to skill rolls based on Strength or Agility. For each mental condition you have, you suffer a -1 modifier to skill rolls based on Wits or Empathy. When you already have three conditions of the same type, mental or physical, and you take a fourth, you become broken and sustain a critical injury of the relevant type.

There comes a point where your character can't take any more mental or physical punishment, and they become broken. Being broken means the character is immediately taken out of action, potentially risking lethal injuries, and unable to perform any actions or roll for any skills.

Characters can become broken in one of two ways: if your Health or Resolve scores drop to zero from damage or stress, or, if you take a fourth condition of one type. You cannot go below zero in Health or Resolve. If you suffer further stress or damage, you may suffer an additional critical injury.

Being broken is not fatal in itself, only critical injuries can actually kill you. There are two ways to recover after being broken, assuming you're not dead.

First, someone can help you recover by using the Healing skill; this is a slow action. If the roll is successful, you immediately heal damage or stress equal to the number of successes rolled. The Healing roll only has this effect on a broken individual. If no one is around to help you, you automatically recover one point of damage or stress after one shift has passed.

If you are not broken, you heal one point of damage or stress per shift. This assumes that you are not affected by a physical or mental condition. You can heal stress and damage at the same time.

Critical injuries are dangerous, even lethal, injuries to your body or mind. You suffer a critical injury when you become broken from damage, stress, or conditions. The only exception to this is when you become broken from pushing rolls; you cannot kill yourself by pushing a roll. When you suffer a critical injury, roll on the appropriate table to determine what happens.

Physical critical injuries can be lethal. If you suffer this kind of injury, you must make a death save when the listed time limit has passed; one round, stretch, or shift. If the time limit is a round, make the roll on your next turn. This save is not an action in itself. A death save is a roll for Stamina. If a death save fails, you die. If you succeed, you linger on but you must make another death save when the listed amount of time has passed.

To stabilize a lethal critical injury and save your life, one or more Healing rolls must be made; medical gear can give positive modifiers to the roll. The Healing roll takes the same amount of time to perform as the time limit of your critical injury. If the roll succeeds, the time limit of your critical injury is increased by one category, e.g. from round to stretch. When a critical injury with a time limit of a shift is successfully treated, you no longer risk dying and you don't need to make any further death saves. If the Healing roll fails, the roll can be attempted again after another successful death save has been made.

If you are both broken and have sustained a lethal critical injury, two separate Healing rolls are required: one to get you back on your feet, and another to save your life. These two rolls can be made in any order.

Some critical injuries will kill you outright. If you gain any of these, your character immediately dies; no death save is allowed.

Each critical injury has a specific effect you suffer during the healing time indicated, measured in days. If you have several critical injuries, they will heal simultaneously. If an injury is listed as permanent, it will never heal. Skill roll modifiers due to critical injuries are cumulative, and apply even if you don't have the skill. If someone tends to you for a shift per day during the process of healing a critical injury and makes a Healing roll, that day counts as two days.

While you can heal all of your damage, you will still suffer the effects of any current critical injuries. For some special types of physical damage, for example from fire or cold, the critical damage table is not used. Instead, the effects of being broken from those forms of damage are described with those rules.

Roll d66, which is two six-sided dice where one die is the tens and the other the ones. The following columns: