Initiative & Order of Actions

Timing in an action turn can be critical — it may mean life or death for a character who needs to get behind cover before an opponent draws and fires their gun. The order of actions between multiple characters within a turn is determined by Initiative.

Your Initiative stat is equal to (Intuition + Reflexes) ÷ 5. This score may be further modified by ware, drugs, psi, or wounds.

Initiative Order

At the beginning of an action sequence, every character rolls for initiative. Roll 1d6 and add your Initiative stat. The highest total goes first, followed by the other characters in descending order. In the event of a tie, characters go simultaneously (or resolve by highest REF or roll-off). In Initiative order, declare and resolve the actions you will take that action turn. Once everyone has gone, a new action turn starts, using the same Initiative order. When it is no longer necessary to minutely keep track of who goes when, you can drop out of Initiative order and return to free-form game time.

Taking the Initiative

You may spend Vigor to go first in Initiative order. You may also spend Insight to go first, if you are only taking mental or mesh actions and no physical movement. You return to your regular Initiative roll order the next round. If multiple characters spend Insight or Vigor, they go in Initiative order first, followed by everyone else.

Delaying Actions

You may choose to delay until later in the Initiative order. You can specify when you want to act (before or after another character, for example), a specific condition that will cause you to act (i.e., if someone attacks you), or simply go on standby. You can interrupt another character acting later in the Initiative order once they have declared their action and go before them. You may interrupt another between their actions or before they take an extra action.

Once you act, your place in the Initiative order in subsequent turns becomes the count on which you took the delayed action. If you delay past the end of the turn and into the next, your Initaitive order will change, but you will only get your delayed action that turn.

If multiple characters delay and choose to act at the same time, the one with the lowest Initiative roll must declare their action first, and the higher Initiative character can choose to interrupt or go after.

Extra Actions

You may spend Vigor or Insight for an extra physical or mental action each turn. These extra complex or quick actions take place at the end of the turn, after everyone else has gone. If multiple characters take extra actions, they are handled in Initiative order. You cannot take more than two extra actions in a single action turn.