Serenity RPG Revised Combat Rules

Ranged Combat - The existing rules are a chaotic mish-mash of modifiers to the attacker’s skill and to the difficulty required to hit the target. Instead, substitute these rules. The target difficulty is a function of range. Modifiers will be applied as steps to the attacker’s skill. If the attacker’s skill+attribute is ever reduced to 0 by penalties, the shot is essentially impossible.

Modifiers - The following are the common modifiers for ranged combat, based on hit location, cover and concealment, environmental conditions, target defensive actions, and other similar factors. They are grouped by general category for ease of use.

MARGIN OF SUCCESS AND DAMAGE ROLLS

Instead of adding the margin of success to the damage roll, simply roll damage as normal. In the event of an “Extraordinary Success” (by 7+), double the penetrating damage; i.e. whatever damage points get through target armor are doubled. This is applied prior to any hit location modifiers.

HIT LOCATION

Hit Location - Use the following hit location table in lieu of existing rules. In most cases, combatants will be aiming at “Center of Mass”, which is treated as Location #2, “Body” on the tables below. For completely random hit locations (as in the case of shrapnel or a robot sentry), roll 1d6 of one color, and 3d6 of another color, and consult the hit location charts below.

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DAMAGE

Consult the tables below for determining the effects of wounds. In all cases, DAM refers to the rolled damage before applying hit location multipliers.

Damage and Wound Effects - Instead of the canon rules for “STUN” and “WOUND”, characters only have Life Points, which are still equal to Vitality + Willpower, e.g. d6 Vitality and d6 Willpower gives the average human 12 Life Points. Life points are subtracted by suffering wounds.

MISCELLANEOUS RULES

Automatic Weapons - Guns firing more than one shot per pull of the trigger can be used in three primary ways.

• Burst - The attacker fires three bullets using one attack roll against a single target. Burst fire counts as one action, but cannot be done more than twice in one turn. A burst can be aimed at a general body area, but not to a specific target. Roll damage for one hit, then multiply penetrating damage by x2. This is a simple way to reflect multiple rounds impacting in roughly the same area.

• Autofire - The attacker uses 10, 20, or more rounds against a single target, in multiples of ten, to a maximum of forty rounds. The increased odds of hitting the target with a round are counteracted by the recoil and dispersal of rounds, roughly balancing out bonuses or penalties. Autofire is an action, but no other attack action is possible, before or after the autofire. Autofire cannot be a called shot. Roll damage for one hit, then multiply penetrating damage by x3; do this separately every 10 rounds in the burst. This is a simple way to reflect multiple rounds impacting in roughly the same area.

• Spray Fire - The attacker uses 10, 20, or more rounds against a single target, in multiples of ten, to a maximum of forty rounds, against an area 5' to 10' wide. Because the target is an area and not an individual, cover and hit location modifiers do not affect the attacker's roll. As long as the attack makes a minimum of (3), all targets in the area must make a defense roll. Cover modifiers are treated as bonuses for the defenders. Roll damage for one hit, then multiply penetrating damage by x2. This is a simple way to reflect multiple rounds impacting in roughly the same area. Spray fire is primarily used for "suppressive fire". Any NPC's under such spray fire must roll above the attacker's roll in order to do anything but evasion and seeking cover.

Stun Weapons - Some weapons do STUN damage, such as tasers, shockrods, beanbag rounds, and so forth. These weapons will force a Vitality + Willpower roll vs. a difficulty rating, depending on the specific weapon. A typical one will be “hard=11’ or Formidable=15” for particularly potent stunners.

Bare-handed Attacks - The basic damage for a bare-handed attack is based on Strength. A punch does -2 step less damage, while a kick does -1 step damage, and -1 step to hit. Thus, a normal d6 Strength person does a d2 punch and a d4 kick. No bare handed attacks may take advantage of damage multipliers for Vital or Critical areas under normal circumstances, though some esoteric martial arts training allows such attacks.

Flexible Armor - Attacks which strike flexible armor but fail to penetrate may still inflict damage. If the rolled damage is more than ½ the armor rating, the target takes 1pt of damage from blunt trauma. Less than ½, and the target has only some bruising to show for the impact. Note that it is possible for an attack to do damage through armor without the projectile physically piercing the armor. Blunt trauma can and does kill on occasion.

Melee Weapons - Melee weapons do damage based on a combination of their base damage plus the wielder’s strength, based on the how many hands are used. One handed weapons use Strength -2 steps, while two handed weapons use Strength -1 step. Ergo, a sword that does d6 damage, wielded by an average Strength d6 person, will actually do d6+d2 in one hand, or d6+d4 if used with two hands.