ConCepT and deSignDevon Oratz

arT direCTorMikaela Barree

LayouTMikaela Barree

graphiC deSignMikaela Barree

Cover arTRobin Wallin

ConTribuTing arTiSTSMikaela BarreePierre CarlèsEarl GeierBarrie JamesMiguel SantosJason StrutzRobin WallinJeff Ward

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indexMikaela BarreeDevon Oratz

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Credits

Due to the high-tech, vehicle-saturated nature of the game, Personal Combat may be one of the less important and less frequent events that the Singularity System is designed to model. However, this chapter provides the basic framework and building blocks for the combat systems at every other scale.

InItIatIveThe first thing that happens at the start of any combat is that all participants roll their Initiative to determine the order of actions. A character’s Initiative is a number of d6 equal to their Perception + Intelligence. This is not a success test, and is the one time in the entire Singularity System that you add up the results of the dice.

During the combat turn, the character with the highest result on their Initiative roll goes first, followed by the character with the next highest Initiative result, until all combatants have acted and a new combat turn begins.

In the event of a tie, increase the Initiative result of the character with the greater Perception + Quickness by one. If those are tied as well, increase the Initiative result of the character with the greater Perception by one; if the characters’ Perceptions are of identical value, compare their Advent Attributes and increase the Initiative of the character with the higher Advent by one. If the character’s Perception and Advent scores are identical, then decide which one goes

Personal Combat

39

first randomly and adjust their initiative accordingly: the Singularity System does not allow for simultaneous actions. Due to the granularity of Initiative Scores, Initiative Ties are unlikely to need to be resolved often.

SurprISeIf the situation dictates that one party is COMPLETELY unaware of the other when combat begins, then the members of the ambushing party each get one free turn of actions outside of the regular initiative order before initiative is rolled. The GM is the ultimate arbiter of when surprise applies: generally this should be used sparingly.

readyIng actIonSA character can spend their turn preparing a major or minor action (see below) to go off on a predefined trigger. For example, “I ready an action to shoot the first person that comes through the door” or “I ready an action to shoot Rigil if he makes any sudden movements”. To have any value a readied action must be precisely defined, but don’t be excessively wordy or rely on information that your character could not possibly have. If the condition for a readied action never occurs, the character’s action for that turn is lost. Readied actions can’t be changed or edited. Aborting a readied action is a Hard Quickness test. Readied actions do not alter anyone’s place in the initiative order.

delayed actIonSDistinct from a readied action, a character who wishes to delay their action is deciding to “wait and see”. If you choose to delay

your action, you may act normally at any subsequent initiative count, however, that becomes your initiative for the rest of the combat.

example:

John’s character Zeta goes on Initiative 48 and decides to delay his action. On Initiative 31, two new combatants enter the combat. John decides to have Zeta react to those combatants (namely: by shooting them). His new Initiative becomes 30 for the duration of the combat. If you delay your action, but do not act at all by the end of the round, you lose your action for that turn and act on your normal initiative count on the next turn.

actIonSThe combat turn is really an abstraction, but can be considered to be approximately ten seconds. This does not mean that if there are twenty combatants, each combatant’s turn takes half a second. Everything is happening approximately at the same time. The “initiative order” is effectively a mechanical conceit necessary for smooth gameplay. However, there is a limit to the amount of the things a character can do in one turn.

Namely, in each turn, you can perform one major action and one minor action.

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This chapter covers the rules for combat with ground vehicles, naval vehicles, mecha, aircraft, and unmanned drones of all kinds, as well as starfighters. Primarily, these are vehicles that are operated almost entirely by a single pilot as opposed to a large crew of people. For situations where combat at the tactical vehicular scale may intersect with personal or strategic (starship) combat, see the Scaling Combat chapter (p. 110).

Vehicular attributes

react

See p. 53 for a detailed description of ReAct.

handling

This is a dice pool bonus or penalty added to all Maneuver tests made by the vehicle’s pilot.

Mobility

This is the base number of range categories the vehicle can shift with a successful “Change Range and Facing Maneuver” test.

tactical speed

This is the approximate number (midway between average speed and maximum safe speed) of meters per second a vehicle is traveling at in combat, but do yourself a favor and don’t attempt to make any actual velocity calculations based on this number: it is an abstraction. The primary purpose of Tactical Speed is

determining the advantage in chase combat, but it is also used to calculate ramming damage.

oVerland speed

Not actually used in tactical combat, this is the approximate traversal speed of the vehicle in kilometers per hour.

hull

Health for vehicles, which in spite of the name also covers systems integrity. Many vehicles have multiple parts, each with their own Hull value. Unlike humanoid Health, Hull can be reduced by Pulse Damage.

arMor

Works the same for vehicles as it does for people (see p. 42).

Weapons systeMs

Vehicular weapons systems are complex enough to warrant their own Attributes and their own section (beginning on p. 69).

systeMs

Information Warfare strength, as well as the Skill/Attribute rating used by the Autopilot when the vehicle is piloting itself.

Tactical Vehicular Combat

52

Vehicular initiatiVeVehicular combatants roll their Vehicle Initiative dice and add the total pips showing at the start of each turn. One turn of tactical vehicular combat is abstracted as being a number of seconds equal to the highest Vehicle Initiative result rolled. For instance, if the highest Vehicle Initiative total rolled is 48, then the first action of the turn takes place forty-eight seconds from the end of the turn.

Vehicle Initiative is equal to (Pilot’s Relevant Skill +/- Vehicle Handling) + (Pilot’s Cyber Attribute) d6, modified by any special traits the vehicle or the pilot might have.

Remotely operated vehicles receive a penalty to their Vehicle Initiative dice based on the distance between the operator and the vehicle (see table below). If this penalty reduces the vehicle’s Initiative dice to zero, the vehicle cannot participate in a meaningful way in this combat due to the delay.

Distance Between Pilot anD Vehicle

initiatiVe Dice Penalty

1+ Kilometers -1d610+ Kilometers -2d6100+ Kilometers -3d61,000+ Kilometers -4d610,000+ Kilometers -5d6100,000+ Kilometers -8d61,000,000+ Kilometers -15d6

surprise and Vehicular coMbatIn the event that a vehicle scale combat begins with one side aware and the other completely unaware (i.e. an ambush), then the members of the party with the element of surprise all get to make one free maneuver and one free action before Vehicle Initiative is rolled. During this ‘Surprise’ round, vehicles do not get extra maneuvers or actions from ReAct (see p. 53 for more information).

actions and ManeuVersEvery pilot/vehicle participating in tactical combat can perform (at least) one maneuver and one action each turn in which they act, in any order. On a vehicle’s first initiative (and only its first initiative) it may take two maneuvers instead of one action and one maneuver, giving up its action for an extra maneuver.

Maneuvers primarily involve the positional game of combat, whereas actions can actually inflict damage and otherwise impact the outcome of the fight. If a vehicle has weapons subsystems that are being manned by someone other than the pilot, then the characters manning those weapons systems are allowed an action on their initiative (using their Personal Combat Initiative result), but cannot maneuver.

delayed actionsSee p. 59 for rules on delaying actions in vehicle combat.

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reactVehicles and pilots are not created equal, and dogfights are not won by waiting your turn. One Attribute every vehicle possesses is ReAct. After every combatant has acted, each combatant subtracts their ReAct value from their Vehicle Initiative result (keep your original Vehicle Initiative result in mind!).

If even one combatant still has a positive Vehicle Initiative result after subtracting their ReAct value, the combatant with the highest Vehicle Initiative can take one more action or make one more maneuver — not both.

Once everyone has acted again, each combatant subtracts their ReAct value from their Vehicle Initiative score again and acts accordingly until everyone’s

Vehicle Initiative has zeroed out, at which point a new turn starts. Non-pilots (such as a vehicle’s gunner) don’t benefit from ReAct.

range and FacingBecause tactical vehicular combat is three-dimensional and can cover a massive amount of terrain, it is not possible to plot it out on a hex map or a battle grid. As a result, position is abstracted to two values: range and facing, both of which are relative.

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In The Singularity System, starship combat is handled in a completely different way from personal combat; it has some similarities to how tactical vehicular combat is handled, but there are more differences than similarities. Strategic starship combat can scale easily enough with vehicular combat (for rules on this, see the Scaling Combat section on p. 110), but starship combat cannot be scaled to integrate personal combat, or vice versa. If the two do intersect, they should be resolved as two different planes, happening simultaneously, but not having any intricate mechanical effect on each other outside the obvious (i.e. the starship that two humans are

sword-fighting on explodes, killing them both). This doesn’t mean that there is no boarding action in the Singularity System, only that it is primarily the purview of mechs. There is nothing that personal combatants can do that will have any meaningful effect on a starship (short of powered armor, which makes them behave more like mechs). The Singularity System considers starfighters vehicles, not starships.

Strategic Starship Combat

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RolesThere are five kinds of roles in Starship Combat: Helmsman, Weapons Bay Operation, Turret/Point Defense Operation, Information Warfare, and Damage Control. Each ship has only one “slot” for the Helmsman, for Information Warfare, and for Damage Control, but ships can have practically any number of individual bay weapons, weapon turrets and point defense systems. Each role (including individual Weapons Systems) that goes unfulfilled by a flesh-and-blood character, the ship’s computer attempts to fill in for using its appropriate subsystem. The computer of each starship has five subsystems, ranked from 0 to 6. They are: Autopilot, Ordnance, Point Defense, ECM/ECCM, and Repairs.

For example, there are only four individuals on a starship with all subsystem Attributes at three. When they receive the call to battle stations, one mans the helm, one mans the primary (and in this case, only) weapons bay, one mans the sensors, and one goes to engineering to handle damage control. The ship’s Point Defense subsystem takes control of the turrets, which will be treated as having Skill values of 3. This means that nearly any starship can be manned with a virtual skeleton crew, but starships that are properly crewed (by dozens or hundreds of crewmen directed by the role characters) receive a substantial bonus (see Starship Initiative on p. 77).

When a combat starts, each character on a ship declares which role they are filling. A character may change roles later without any test, but loses an action doing so. A character can successfully change roles without losing an action only by making a Hard Quickness test.

PRe-InItIatIve actIons & advent Pool

Before rolling for Starship Initiative, there are three preliminary steps to beginning combat.

1 Determine initial range of combatants. (This is usually Extreme, but special circumstances can cause it to differ.)

2 Declare which roles are being filled by which characters on which ships.

3 Bid Advent Pool. If the PCs are crewing a ship, they can each contribute any number of Advent Tokens to be used collectively by the ship for this particular starship combat. These Tokens can then be spent by anyone on that ship on their action (following the rules for spending Advent Tokens on p. 4). Unspent Advent Tokens beyond the first can be claimed by PCs at the end of a combat using any method the players see fit — the first unspent Advent Token is lost. GMs can assign any portion of their Advent Pool to their side at the start of the combat; unspent Advent Tokens return to the GM’s AT Pool.

Laser rapier

When inactive, this weapon is just a slender gray cylinder, no larger than a disposable lighter. When ignited, a narrow suspended electromagnetic field the length and width of a rapier blade extends from the hilt, made visible by a blue photon laser. Originally derived from a “safe” training tool for fencing practice, the laser rapier is now the ultimate personal defense weapon against androids, robots, and other synthetic dangers. (Though, for the purposes of crafting, this weapon is an “Energy Weapon,” it is wielded with the Low Tech Weapons Skill.)

Fire axe

This tool is encased in emergency glass on nearly every starship, and is designed to break down malfunctioning steel doors and bulkheads in the event of a fire. You can imagine what it does to a human being.

NagiNata/HaLberd

A double-bladed staff with a six-foot-long steel haft in the center, this prestigious and functional weapon is a favorite of bodyguards and honor guards alike.

FirearmsFirearm a

ccuracy

Damage

ammo

maximum rate oF Fire

Notes streNgthNeeDeD

cost

Pistol (10x17mm) 2 2 12 Single -- 2 400 CreditsAnti-Materiel Revolver (12.7mm)

1 4 4 Single Piercing 2; Major Action to reload

4 1,200 Credits

Machine Pistol (9x19mm)

0 2 24 Burst Fire

-- 3 900 Credits

Taser 0 6 2 Single Non-Lethal NA 1,000 Credits

SMG (10x17mm) 0 2 30 Full Auto Recoil Negation 1 3 1,000 Credits

Tactical SMG (.45 Caseless)

1 3 40 Full Auto Recoil Negation 2; 3-Round Burst

3 3,500 Credits

Combat Shotgun (14 Gauge)

-1 7 12 Single Flechette 2; Major Action to reload

5 4,000 Credits

Assault Rifle (4.7mm Caseless)

1 3 50 Full Auto Recoil Negation 3 4 3,000 Credits

Tactical Assault Rifle (5.56mm)

2 4 30 Full Auto Recoil Negation 2; 3-Round Burst

4 7,000 Credits

Marksman Rifle (.308)

2 7 10 Single Piercing 2 3 4,000 Credits

Sniper Rifle (.633 Caseless)

3 9 6 Single Piercing 3 3 8,000 Credits

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pistoL

This small personal firearm is a favorite sidearm of galactic and planetary naval forces, as well as police officers and criminals alike. It fires caseless ammunition and can be fitted with a variety of accessories, not discussed here.

aNti-MaterieL revoLver

Marketed as an ‘Anti-Tank Pistol’, it’d be a foolish man indeed who attempted to test such claims against a main battle tank. Nonetheless, this massive hand cannon packs more stopping power per shot than any other sidearm on the market.

MacHiNe pistoL

This cheaply made, noisy, inaccurate weapon is a favorite of gangers, space pirates, and the like.

taser

Using two wireless capacitor darts, the old fashioned Taser is still a favorite nonlethal weapon for personal defense, especially among “defenseless civilians”. Its potential for incapacitating an enemy, however, would make it foolish to relegate to this role, and hence it also sees use by operatives and bounty hunters for capturing their targets alive.

sMg

Smaller than an assault rifle but more effective than a pistol, the SMG is the standard weapon for rear echelon support troops. This particular model is mass-produced in massive quantities, and its parts and ammunition are completely interchangeable. It is also favored by corporate security units, who are often not authorized to use assault weapons.

Hostiles or enemies are a form of Opposition, the antagonists trying to prevent the PCs in your game from doing whatever they’re trying to do. Of course these ready-made stats are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the antagonists you can create with the Singularity System.

Humanoid antagonists should be statted as characters (p. 18); however, you might want to use different numbers of Attribute Points, Skill Points, and Perks, and will almost certainly want to give them simplified and limited equipment. Goons and mooks opposing the player characters for one battle should be statted with 50-75% of the SP and AP that the PCs

have. Recurring NPCs and mastermind villains can be statted with anywhere from 100%-200% of the SP and AP that the PCs have, as well as their own Perks and Weaknesses (along with the important stuff every character should have, like backstory, personality, appearance, motivation, and so on, and even special powers and abilities as appropriate to the campaign setting). These core rules don’t include any pre-generated humanoid NPCs.

Enemies or hostiles in vehicle combat should generally use the stats of the appropriate vehicles, piloted by humanoid NPCs generated as indicated above.

Generic Hostiles

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The hostiles and enemies in this chapter are non-humanoid foes that the PCs might typically face (usually in personal combat), like robots or hostile creatures. They are designed to be as generic as possible, and therefore applicable to as many settings as possible. The stat-blocks are written in a bare bones, “just the facts” style to streamline the process of accessing the information you need when you need it.

Hostiles and enemies don’t need to follow the same rules as PCs and NPCs; they don’t serve the same purpose. Skills can exceed their governing Attributes, point totals don’t need to add up to any specific number. This makes them easy to make and easy to use; just keep an eye on the PCs’ own numbers to ensure that what you’re creating isn’t tissue paper or an unstoppable death machine. The following handful of stat blocks should get you started.

Energy Sucker(Organic)“An energy sucker is a slimy cephalopod parasite the size of a small dog. A frequent nuisance on starships and space stations, they are capable of absorbing and metabolizing energy of any kind and at nearly any intensity.”

Strength: 4 Fortitude: 2Quickness: 3 Intelligence: 1Perception: 3 Cyber: 5Health: 8 Initiative: 6d6Evasion: 3

SkillS

Athletics 3Electronics 3Engineering 3Low Tech Weapons 5Stealth 3

TraiTS

Energy Sense(An Energy Sucker is always aware of all sources of energy; thermal, biological, electrical, and so on; it receives +3 dice to Perception tests to detect energy, and Perception tests to detect energy always have a Difficulty Stage of Easy)

Adaptable Absorber (An Energy Sucker basically has no maximum Health)

Pulse Absorption(Energy Suckers are not only not damaged by Pulse, but whenever they take Pulse damage, they increase their Health by a like amount instead)

aTTackS

Tentacles at 5 Dice for 1 damage plus energy drain.

Energy Drain: The target makes an Easy Fortitude test and automatically suffers 4 Fatigue Damage, minus one point of Fatigue damage for every success they rolled. The Energy Sucker gains the same amount of Health, which can exceed its starting Health.