Combat guide.
Shadow Beach uses tactical, turn-based combat. Combat happens in rounds.
Each round has three passes, and each participant declares one action for
each pass. When everyone is ready, or the ready timer expires, the round
resolves and the next round begins.
Basic loop:
1. Declare your three actions.
Example: combat order draw pistol, attack Maya with pistol, defend
2. Mark ready, unless you used `combat order`, which does this for you.
3. Read the round results and repeat.
Declaration wizard:
During active combat, `combat` with no arguments opens the declaration
wizard. Use it when you want prompts for pass actions or when you need
to choose or clear your reaction draw weapon.
Starting combat:
combat start
Opens combat in the room without attacking.
combat attack <name> [with <weapon>]
Starts combat if needed, sets your first pass to Attack, and opens the
wizard for passes 2 and 3. During active combat, it adds Attack to
your next open pass.
combat ambush
Attempts surprise before the first round. Surprised characters skip
pass 1 of round 1.
Actions:
Attack
Make a standard attack against a target.
Blast
Attack with an active Elementalism blast after using `blast <element>`.
Blasts use Arcane instead of Fighting and can add magical strain and
Dissonance.
Charge
Rush to a target and attack quickly. Very distant targets may take a
pass to reach before the attack can happen.
Take Cover
Duck behind available cover. You cannot take cover while engaged.
Cover protects against ranged attacks.
Defend
Focus on not getting hit. Attacks against you suffer -20 for that pass.
Disengage
Break out of melee engagement. An opponent can use Press in the same
pass to contest this.
Press
Keep an engaged opponent from disengaging.
Draw
Ready a weapon from your inventory.
Move
Move to a named combat place. Distant movement can take two passes.
If you start a distant move, declare the same destination again next
pass to arrive. Changing actions stops that movement.
Flee
Leave the fight. If you are under fire, you roll to escape. If you are
engaged, you must disengage before fleeing.
Reactions:
Reactions are designed safety behavior, not a replacement for tactics.
After most declared actions, the system may give you one automatic reaction
for the pass.
Reaction priority:
1. Take Cover, if you are not engaged, not moving, and not already in cover.
2. Draw a weapon, if you have no ready weapon.
3. Quick Attack a hostile, if one is available.
4. Disengage, if you are engaged and nothing else applied.
Reactions do not run after Flee, Charge, Press, or Defend.
If you leave a pass undeclared, it defaults to Flee rather than a reaction.
Weapons and engagement:
Close and melee weapons require the same combat place as the target.
Ranged weapons can reach across the room.
A melee or close attack creates engagement. While engaged:
- You cannot take cover.
- You cannot flee.
- Long guns cannot be fired normally and may be treated as improvised
blunt weapons. Pistols and carbines can still be fired.
Cover, defense, and armor:
Cover gives ranged attacks against you -20 and halves weapon lethality.
Defend gives attacks against you -20 for the pass. These can stack.
Armor reduces weapon lethality before wound severity is decided.
Wounds:
Successful attacks cause flesh, serious, lethal, or instant-death wounds.
Quiet combat output shows the success result level and wound result level
without roll numbers.
Wounds can escalate:
- Three deadly flesh wounds become one serious wound.
- Two serious wounds become one lethal wound.
Ending combat:
Use `combat end` when the fight is over. Combat ends by agreement once all
participants vote, or automatically if only one combatant remains.
Ready timer:
The first ready combatant starts a five-minute auto-resolve timer. If not
everyone is ready before it expires, the round resolves with whatever actions
have been declared.
Dual wield:
Use `dualwield` to toggle the style once you have the required talent
and two eligible held weapons. It applies to standard attacks, not quick
attacks or automatic fire.
Tips:
- Use `combat order <pass1>, <pass2>, <pass3>` when you already know your plan.
- Use `combat attack <name>` repeatedly to fill open passes with attacks.
- Use `combat 1 <action>`, `combat 2 <action>`, or `combat 3 <action>` to replace a specific pass.
- Draw your weapon before attacking with it.
- If you are engaged and want out, Disengage before Flee.
- Use `combat status` to check your plan, readiness, and wound totals.