[DELTA GREEN] - Agent Obtuse's Super-Slick Combat Rules

These are tentative house-rules I need to try out, in hope they speed up combat a bit and put more emphasis on rolling to do things rather than rolling Firearms until someone falls over.

Maybe they'll even work?

(They probably won't.)

FIRST COMBAT TURN: On the first combat turn, assuming everyone is standing in the open, players and opponents have the choice of ducking for cover, trying to close the distance into hand-to-hand combat or standing there like a lemon badass. Ducking for nearby cover is an action and allows the character to ready their weapon for the next round - however, while doing so they are open to being shot by an already readied firearm. A successful Dodge roll gets behind cover fast enough to not get shot by anyone and simultaneously readies a weapon for the next round. Athletics rolls can close the distance into hand-to-hand (but see Athletics below).

Example: Tom, Dick and Harry are strolling down the street when a mook with a Tommy Gun jumps out from behind a parked car. Tom announces he's going to stand his group, draw his weapon and try to fire off a round. Dick rolls Dodge and succeeds, immediately diving behind the fender of a parked car. Harry doesn't feel comfortable with his low Dodge and instead decides to cover the distance to engage in hand-to-hand combat. He fails his roll, leaving him in no-man's land, albeit ready to close the distance next round. The mook opens up on Harry, rolling Firearms...

DEX ORDER: Dexterity in combat is in reversed order - those with lower DEX state their intentions before faster ones (NPCs always state their intentions prior to PCs). Any higher DEX character can interrupt the action of a lower DEX character after their stated intention, before they can act.

Example: Sally Weeks, wife of Agent Harry, is possessed by a mind-controlling entity (DEX 11). Agents Tom and Harry (DEX 14 and DEX 16) have been trying to talk her down. Weeks has drawn her firearm and is readying to shoot Harry. Tom interrupts her action, announcing he's going to shoot her. Before he can do so, Harry announces he'll try and push Tom's gun, stopping his shooting his Bond. Harry rolls Unarmed but fails. Unimpinged, Tom rolls Firearms and succeeds. Sally Weeks takes a bullet in the chest.

A character who interrupts another character's action is assumed to have used their own for that turn. This means they may not be able to react to new information. A high DEX character has the choice between collating all available information in the environment by waiting, or reacting quickly - potentially with devastating results. Low DEX characters, by comparison, must initiate actions rather than reacting to the players. In other words, low-DEX NPCs don't get the benefit of the Handler knowing what players are going to do before they do it.

DODGING: Everyone who wants to Dodge may declare it during their DEX turn or can interrupt someone of lower DEX. If you are not already pinned or hemmed-in by attackers, a successful Dodge ensures all Unarmed and Melee Weapon against you fail that round. It also ensures all missile attack against you fail.

MOVING: Running away from combat normally requires Athletics - if you aren't hit by a bullet or someone catches up to you with a successful Athletics roll or similar, you're on the road to escape. There is no shame in running away. 

In combat you can crawl and slither 3-meters (12-feet), slowly and carefully, to arrive where you want to be at the end of your turn. If you want to book it and get there in your DEX position, that's either Dodge or Athletics. You can also shoot while doing either of these. 

If you want to run really fast up to 20-meters that'll be an Athletics roll. Fail and you get there at the beginning of next turn. Succeed and you arrive there at DEX+(DEX/2). You can't shoot or attack, however, but only those with a higher DEX than your "arrival time" or who are armed with lethality firearms can choose to attack you while you run.

E.g. Bob (DEX 14) want to run across the warehouse and slide behind cover next to the exit. You roll Athletics and succeed; you arrive at DEX 21. A cultist (DEX 10) wants to do the same and rolls a success; he will arrive at DEX 15 - anybody with a higher DEX than 15 can shoot him.

COVER: If you stand in the street without cover, congratulations - have +20% to your Firearms roll (technically it's +40% if your target's also standing in the street like it's high noon at the OK Corral, but let's assume they're not). 

Most combatants will behind rudimentary cover. If they choose do so in the first round, combatants are assumed to be ducking behind a sofa, fire-hydrant, corner etc. from which they pop out to take shots. Moving to good hard cover will normally require an Athletics roll (a success slips behind it immediately, a failure from the beginning of the next turn). Finding hard cover might be very easy (in a parking-lot, in a factory, behind a tank) or more difficult (in a desert, in an open start-up office); Handler's choice whether Military Science or Alertness or similar spots a handy place to hunker down.

CLOSING THE DISTANCE: Sitting and waiting, taking pot-shots at each other, is boring. A player can request Firearms/2, Military Science or INTx2 for the Handler to recommend suitable tactics.

Suppressing Fire - as per rules; one or two players suppress target/s while rest close in - remember, those advancing can cover ground and fire.

Environmental Targets - hit lights to plunge a room into darkness, shoot barrels or stoves to make things explode, push people off stairs or kick them through windows

Charge! - run at the enemy while screaming and shooting, preferably with lethality weapons. Charging requires a POWx5 roll from each player to engage in but all can move at the same DEX as the initiator and may advance 20-meters. Unless fighting suicidal enemies, it automatically initiates a Morale check.

Impromptu Weapons - an impromptu weapon deals 1D6 damage; Agents with STR 15 or greater can two-hand a heavy impromptu weapon (1D8). Impromptu weapons are Junk; on a roll of 90+ they break.

HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT: If a target is closer than 3-meters (9-feet) and there's relatively open ground between, you can close that distance and get in a punch or pin. If it's broken ground or the target is behind cover, that's an Athletics roll first - on a failure you're out of cover this turn but can still shoot. If you fumble, you're out of cover and can't shoot. If the target's 20-meters away, it's Athletics -20% - 30-meters away, Athletics -40%. But, hey, even if you fail at least you get to shoot while getting there.

Hand-to-hand happens mostly the same as written. So far, anyway.

Pinning - humans can't pin Huge targets. If both pinned and pinner have firearms, neither can use them (they're wrestling, rolling around). If only one individual has a gun, they can attempt to use it at -20%.

Disarming - if you want to disarm a target in hand-to-hand combat who is not already pinned, two succesful Unarmed Combat rolls are required; first is to grab the weapon, second to yank it free. If the first roll fails, the target can fire the weapon at you immediately. This is not considered to be the shooter's action for that round, if they have not already taken it. If the second roll fails the gun is stopped from firing this round (including as an action) but is ready next turn.

Firearms-in-CQB - you cannot use firearms in close-combat except when a target is pinned. If you've got the drop on an opponent, by Stealth or as part of an ambush, shooting them in the back is no different from the target being active but unaware (as per regular rules).

INJURY LOCATIONS: When you're fighting someone it sometimes helps to know where you hit them, particularly for Permanent Injuries. Where you hit a human (or humanoid) target is based on the digits of your Firearms or Unarmed or other dice.

1: Left leg
2: Right leg
3-4: Left arm
5-6: Right arm
7-9: Torso
10: Head

ALTERNATIVE CALLED SHOTS: If you want a hit a certain part of a humanoid's body - most likely the head, everyone aims for the head - put your digit's dice at 0 and roll the ten's dice. If the ten's dice is below your skill, you hit the specified target. (I haven't even tried working out how bad this one is mathematically so YMWV - then again, it gives baseline shooters at 20% a higher chance of hitting a specific part of the body).

MORALE CHECK: Players take SAN from doing things. NPCs don't normally need to roll SAN in combat; instead they roll morale. This is a WPx5 roll based on the leader. It is affected by modifiers, some of them listed below.

+40%: Suicidally insane, hopped up on alien drugs, backed by their own pet shoggoth, etc.

+20%: Obviously outnumber and outgun opponents; led by a high-ranking superior (or fear they will killed by that superior if they fail); need to fight through opponents to escape; professional soldiers/cops; arrival of reinforcements

-20%: Outnumbered or outgunned by opponents; 30% of men killed or incapacitated; conscripted soldiers, militia or criminals who don't want to be here; sudden demonstration of the unnatural (e.g. dangerous magic, deep ones, etc.); very good and believable terms of surrender

-40%: Woefully, hideously, horribly outgunned or running out of ammo; 60% of men killed or incapacitated; aligned wizard or monster killed or beaten back; sudden and terrible proof of the unnatural (e.g. shoggoth, dark young, all opponents suddenly turn into werewolves);

Each time something happens that sways combat for or against the NPC side, roll for morale (examples include: death of squad leader, arrival of reinforcements, 30% or 60% casualties). On a failed roll that side will disengage; this might be a methodical retreat or a rout, depending on how well trained they are.

Holding together a potentially collapsing line of allied NPCs requires either a POWx2 roll or Psychotherapy. The NPCs will continue to hold until the next morale shaking incident. Enemy NPCs cannot be held together and will always break when failing their roll.