Ground Combat

 

The more basic form of combat is called Ground Combat. Ground combat is combat between individuals at scales much less than one (1) MAU. In general, ground combat encompasses any combat that can be performed by an individual within the range of a traditional firearm.

When Ground Combat is performed without Space Combat, the steps involving Space Combat are skipped. A Turn Order roll is still made to determine turn order in combat. Turn Order for ground combat begins with the character with the highest Turn Order roll and then proceeds to the lowest.

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At the start of a character’s turn in the cycle they set their AP equal to twelve (12) plus their Celerity Attribute Modifier, regardless of how many AP they had remaining from the previous cycle. Unless specified otherwise, a character has no AP until they reach their first turn in combat.

 

During a character’s turn in the cycle, they may use AP to perform actions and maneuvers in any order. To perform an action (or maneuver), the player spends the AP necessary to perform the action before attempting the action. Apart from actions that require more AP than a characters maximum AP, a character cannot attempt an action or maneuver they have insufficient AP for. If the action fails to perform for some reason, such as it is interrupted, then the AP is lost.

 

Most actions and maneuvers have a written amount of AP to perform. If a player wants to perform an action that is not covered in the SolarLink rules, the DM may determine the required Trade Roll and AP needed to perform the action. In general, for each second an action takes, a player should spend two (2) AP.

 

Some actions require more than twelve (12) AP. These actions take longer than six (6) seconds to complete. If an action requires more AP than a characters maximum AP, the character can begin the action on one (1) turn and finish the action on their next turn once they regain AP. The character must first finish the action, spending the needed AP to complete the action, or else the action does not complete and the AP used in the prior turn is wasted. If a character is interrupted or receives damage before they complete the action, the action is lost.

 

While most maneuvers are performed during a character’s turn in a cycle. Some maneuvers are Instant. Instant maneuvers can be performed by a character even when it is not their turn in the cycle, provided they have the AP remaining to perform them. These include maneuvers like parrying and reflexive leaps. Some instant maneuvers will specify conditions needed to perform the maneuver. For example, parrying can only be performed by the target of an attack roll.

 

Once a character is out of AP, their turn in the cycle ends and the next characters turn in the cycle begins. However, a character does not need to run out of AP for their turn to end. If a character still has remaining AP, but wants to preserve the AP (such as for the purpose of parrying after their turn has ended), they may end their turn and preserve their AP until their turn in the next cycle.

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