Imperium

	Sign In Sign-Up

Combat

Page 2 of 11

Back To Page 1

Movement Guidelines

The typical movement speeds for a healthy human are detailed below. Measurement of exact movement during a round are usually unnecessary, even when using models – if you get to the stage where you’re measuring how far characters move using a tape measure or a ruler, you’re playing a wargame, not a roleplaying game. Calm down. Loosen up.

As the title says, these are guidelines.

Movement Type	Typical Speed Per Action	Notes
Crawling	2 yards
Sneaking	2 yards	Sneaking requires a successful Sneak test – see Interaction, in the GM’s section.
Wading	2 yards	A character may wade through water of between knee height and chest height in depth. Any deeper than this and the character must swim.
Swimming	Special	The maximum distance a character can swim in an action is equal to his or her Strength divided by 20 in yards. Unless the character has the Swim ability, he or she must take a Strength test at the start of each action in deep water. Failure means that the character begins to flounder. A floundering character loses this action, but manages to stay afloat and can attempt to swim again on the next round. Floundering characters splash a lot, counting as a loud noise (see Awareness tests, in the Interaction chapter of the GM’s section). A matched failure on a Strength test results in the character starting to drown. Treading water also requires a Strength test (unless the character has the Swim ability), with the same penalties for matched and normal failures. Treading water counts as an action, and so the chance of succeeding in any simultaneous action is halved.
Walking	4 yards
Running	6 yards
Sprinting	10 yards	A character sprinting across rough terrain, such as undergrowth, staircases, shale, steep slopes, shallow water or rubble, characters must take an Initiative test. Failure means that the character falls. A matched failure results in D6 damage to a randomly determined location.
Leaping	Special	Leaping horizontally or vertically requires a Strength test, with a +10 bonus with the Acrobatic ability and a –10 penalty per level of location injury to either leg. Horizontal leaps benefit from a +20 bonus if the character takes a reasonable run up (this is counted as part of the leap, rather than requiring a separate action). The distance of a leap depends on whether the jump was vertical or horizontal. Vertical leaps go a minimum number of yards equal to the character’s Strength divided by 50. A successful test increases this distance by the margin of success, divided by 20. A horizontal leap goes a minimum number of yards equal to the character’s Strength divided by 20. A successful test increases this distance by the margin of success, divided by 10. A matched failure on either type of leap results in the character stumbling and falling just before taking the leap. At the edge of a cliff, this can be hilarious.

Climbing Obstacles

A low obstacle (up to waist height) can be climbed over as a single action, although this cannot normally be combined with any other action.

A medium obstacle (up to one and a half times the character’s height) can be jumped up and scrambled onto in a single action. It takes a second action to drop down the other side, which requires a successful Initiative test to avoid suffering damage as if falling (see Damage From Other Sources, in the Combat chapter of the GM’s Section)

Anything higher than that (called, unsurprisingly, high obstacles) must be climbed at a rate of 2 yards per action, requiring a Strength test for each action spent climbing. Failure will result in a fall and damage being taken.

Climbing gear, grapnels and grappling hooks (with rope) can be used to climb obstacles more safely, but must be attached first. All can be fixed firmly to the top of a cliff, but grapnels and grappling hooks can be fired up from the bottom. Both require a Ballistic Skill test, with a –20 penalty, to hook onto something. Grappling hook users must also halve their Ballistic Skill if they do not have the Specialist Weapon – Thrown ability. Grapnels can only attach themselves to metallic surfaces. Assuming the test was successful, they can be used to climb. Using climbing gear, a grapnel or a grappling hook reduces the instance of falling to just matched failures on the Strength test. Any other failure results in the character being unable to find the hand or footholds to ascend or descend any further this action.

Doors and Windows

Opening or closing a door or window takes a single action. If it turns out a closed door or window is locked, the action is still spent shaking the handle, trying futilely to open it.

Depending on the size of an open window, it may take an action to move through it. Full-length open windows can normally be moved through without penalty. Doorways can be passed through as if they were open terrain.

Characters can dive through a closed window (provided the glass isn’t bulletproof), although this requires an Initiative test to do so safely. If this is failed, the character makes it through, but takes D6 injury points due to minor lacerations or a bad landing. Armour on the upper body, arms and head may reduce this damage, at the GM’s discretion. No location injury is inflicted, although the character does count as falling if the window was on the upper storey of a building.

A matched failure will result in the character hitting the window, breaking it, but not continuing, instead falling onto the glass, causing D6 points of damage to D3 locations, modified for armour as normal. This does cause location injury and the character is also stunned for a round.

Doors and reinforced windows have a Toughness characteristic (and an equal number of hit points). If attempting to break down a door or reinforced window, characters need to reduce it zero hit points.

A typical house door has a Toughness of around 40, interior doors about 20, while secure doors have Toughness characteristics in the region of 50-100, depending on the level of reinforcement. Doors also provide a number of points of cover to characters on the other side of them, equal to the Toughness characteristic divided by ten.

Particularly strong doors may have armour plating that confers an Armour value onto the door. Characters trying to hold a door shut take damage from attacks against the door, reduced by the door’s total Armour value and cover.

Bulletproof glass has a Toughness of 10, but counts as providing 5 points of cover.

The GM may decide that once a door has been reduced to below half of its starting hit points, there may be holes large enough to see and shoot through.

When a door or window’s hit points reach zero, it collapses or shatters, allowing entry to those on the other side.

A door's lock and handle mechanism normally only has a Toughness around one tenth that of the door itself. If a character attacks this (or if it is caught in the blast of an attack against the door), and reduces it to zero hit points, the door can be pushed open and moved through.

Forward To Page 3