Actions & Time
Do you have time to leap across the micrograv module and defuse the bomb? Can you get your vacsuit on before the hole in the ship vents all the air? Most of your actions are handled in a free-form manner, with the GM only loosely tracking time. When timing and the order of actions become important, Eclipse Phase uses action turns to measure time in scenes. The type of actions you can make break down into four types — automatic, quick, complex, and task actions.
Action Turns
An action turn represents roughly 3 seconds. During each action turn you may undertake one of the following:
- 1 complex action and 1 quick action
- 1 task action and 1 quick action
- 3 quick actions
Additionally, you may take any number of automatic actions per action turn. The GM may allow you to make additional quick actions, depending on their nature.
Note that basic movement such as walking or running is an automatic action (Movement). More complex forms of movement, however, may require quick, complex, or even task actions.
Automatic Actions
Automatic actions are always “on,” reflexive, or otherwise require no effort to initiate. This includes base and full movement.
Examples: Base move, basic perception, breathing, defending against an attack, dropping prone, dropping something, full move, resisting damage, speaking a simple sentence or two.
Quick Actions
Quick actions take a fraction of a second or require so little cognitive effort that you can do them while undertaking something else.
Examples: Activating or deactivating a device, conveying complex information, detailed perception, drawing a weapon, ducking behind cover, gesturing, jumping, opening a door, picking something up, quick aim, standing up, taking a drug.
Complex Actions
Complex actions require a few seconds of concentration and effort.
Examples: Attacking in melee, examining, finding something in a bag, full aim, full defense, non-standard movement, reloading a weapon, rushing, shooting a gun, using a complex device.
Task Actions
Task actions require more than a few seconds to complete. Each task action has a timeframe, the base amount of time required to finish it. Timeframes may be measured in action turns, minutes, hours, days, or even months. The actual time to complete a task is equal to the timeframe adjusted by any superior results you score on the test. You may interrupt your work on a task and continue it later, unless the GM specifically rules the task requires uninterrupted effort.
For task actions with timeframes of one day or longer, it is assumed that eight hours of effort equals one day of work. If you spend more or less time per day, adjust the time taken accordingly.
If you fail a task action, you expend 25% of the timeframe, +25% per superior failure, before you realize you have failed.
Examples: Climbing, hacking, infiltration, medical examination, programming, repairing, scientific analysis, searching a room, swimming, thorough investigation, recharging.
Taking Time
You may take extra time on a test, gaining a bonus for careful and methodical work. For each minute you take completing a test as a task action that normally only requires a quick or complex action, apply a +10 modifier, up to a maximum of +60. At the GM’s discretion, you automatically succeed once your target number exceeds 100.
For task action tests that already require time to complete, the timeframe must be increased by +25% for each +10 bonus.
Rushing the Job
You may try to finish a task action in less time by accepting a penalty to your test. For every 25% you reduce the timeframe, you incur a −20 modifier, up to a maximum 75% reduction (−60 modifier). Though this timeframe reduction is compatible with other reductions, no timeframe may be reduced more than 75% total.