Other Action Factors

A wide range of factors can impact an action or combat scene; some are discussed here.

Conditions

Some attacks, drugs, and psi sleights inflict specific temporary conditions on the target:

Blinded: You cannot see, though you can perceive through your other senses as well as entoptics and meshed sensors. You have a 50% chance of missing your attacks (Blind Attacks) and suffer a −30 to all other physical actions, including Fray Tests. You must make an Athletics, Free Fall, or Pilot Test to move faster than a base move or fall prone.
Confused: Your wits are scrambled. You do not comprehend communication or what is going on around you. Each turn, you may make a COG Check at −30. If you succeed, you act as normal. If you fail, roll d100: 00–24, do nothing but mutter incoherently; 25–49, act randomly as determined by the GM; 50–74, flee in a random direction; 75–99, attack a random nearby target (even potentially an ally) with weapon/item in hand. You defend with Fray as normal.
Dazed: You are mentally stunned and disoriented. You cannot initiate any actions, but you can take a base move and defend against attacks.
Deafened: You cannot hear. You suffer −3 to Initiative Tests and −30 to general Perceive Tests.
Grappled: You are physically restrained. Your Movement Rate is 0 and you cannot take any physical actions except for opposed Melee/SOM Checks to break free. You may use Fray at −30 against attacks coming from outside the grapple. See Grappling.
Immobilized: You can take no physical actions, including Fray Tests, until you recover. You can make mental/mesh actions.
Impaired: Your abilities are hindered. You suffer −10, −20, or −30 to all actions, as indicated by the condition (i.e., impaired (−10)).
Incapacitated: You can take no actions until you recover. This includes mental actions and Fray Tests; you cannot defend against attacks.
Prone: You are knocked on the ground in gravity or spinning helplessly in microgravity. You must take a quick action to stand up or re-orient, and your Movement Rate for that turn is reduced by half. A standing/oriented opponent has superior position (+20) against you in melee. In gravity, however, anyone shooting at you from range or farther receives an additional −10 modifier.
Stunned: You have the wind knocked out of you. You suffer −30 to all physical actions and −10 to mental actions.
Unconscious: You have lost consciousness (or your software mindstate has crashed) and are helpless. You can be awoken/rebooted by application of a stimulant (biomorphs only) or with an INT Check at −30 if someone vigorously disturbs you and your damage points do not exceed your Durability.

If you’re expecting to come under attack, you can take a complex action to go on full defense. You expend your energy to dodge, duck, ward off attacks, and otherwise get the hell out of the way until your next initiative action. During this time, you receive a +30 Fray modifier to defend against all incoming attacks.

You can use Athletics rather than Fray skill to dodge attacks with full defense, representing the gymnastic movements and other maneuvers you make to avoid being hit.

Perception

The default mode of observation for characters is called basic perception. This is general awareness of the things around you as you go about whatever you are doing. It is an automatic action, but your Perceive Tests suffer a −20 distraction modifier.

Use detailed perception to focus your attention on a specific person, thing, or area. This takes a quick action but imposes no modifiers. Use this when alert for ambushes, searching for clues, or assessing a situation.

Thorough investigation involves careful, active application of your senses on a specific person, thing or area. This is a task action, with a timeframe set by the GM. Examining an alien artifact may have a timeframe of 1 minute, whereas methodically searching a room could take an hour.

In certain circumstances, only specific senses — and associated modifiers — may apply. Enhanced smell, for example, is unlikely to help you detect an assassin hiding in ambush, but it could certainly help you locate an alien animal’s pungent den.

Sizes

Not everyone or everything is built the same. Most morphs are medium-sized, the default size assumed for rules purposes. Apply the following rules for morphs, shells, creatures, and gear of other sizes:

Very Small Size

No morphs exist at this size; there is not enough room for a (cyber) brain (unless distributed like a swarmanoid). Very small bots/creatures/gear items can fit in a pocket and use the following rules:

They are difficult to hit and spot (−30).
They inflict a maximum of DV 1 in melee.
They cannot use medium-size (or larger) gear and suffer −20 when using small gear.
They suffer −30 on strength-based SOM Checks.
They suffer half damage from falls and inflict half damage in collisions.

Small Size

Small morphs/creatures/shells/gear items range between the size of a cat and a human child:

They are challenging to hit and spot (−10).
They have a Reach advantage against very-small-size targets.
They inflict half damage in melee.
They suffer −20 when using medium-sized gear or two-handed weapons not modified for their size.
They suffer −10 on strength-based SOM Checks.

Large Size

Large morphs/creatures/shells/gear items outsize normal transhumans, ranging between the size of a small car to a neo-orca. They often have trouble finding gear manufactured for their size and may have difficulty navigating the confines of cramped habitats:

They are easier to hit and spot (+10).
They have a Reach advantage against medium-sized targets; double this against small sizes and triple against very small sizes.
They inflict +1d10 DV in melee and can wield two-handed weapons in one hand.
They suffer −20 when using non-integrated very small/smallsized gear not modified for their size, unless they possess fine manipulators.
They receive a +10 modifier to strength-based SOM Checks.
Due to their mass, they suffer double damage from falls and inflict double damage in collisions.

Very Large Size

Very large morphs/creatures/shells are bigger than many vehicles, ranging from limousine to barn-sized. Very little gear is made to fit their size and they do not fit within many habitats.

They are easier to hit and spot (+30).
They have a Reach advantage against large-sized targets; double this against medium sizes and triple against small and very small sizes.
They inflict +2d10 DV in melee and can wield two-handed weapons in one hand.
They suffer −20 when using large-sized gear not modified for their size and cannot use non-integrated small-sized gear, unless they possess fine manipulators.
They receive a +30 modifier to strength-based SOM Checks.
Due to their mass, they suffer triple damage from falls and inflict triple damage in collisions.

Surprise

You can get the drop on an opponent by sneaking up on them, lying in wait, or sniping from a hard-to-perceive position in the distance. Any time you attempt to surprise, make an opposed test between your Infiltrate skill and the target’s Perceive. Unless the target is alert for surprises, they incur the typical −20 modifier for being distracted. Apply other modifiers appropriate to the attacker’s position, distance, visibility, cover, etc. For groups of NPCs, use the highest skill among the characters.

If the target loses, they are surprised by the attack and cannot react to or defend against it. Each successful ambusher receives one free initiative action; they cannot spend Vigor for additional actions. Once the attackers have taken their actions, roll Initiative as normal.

If the target wins, they are alerted to something a split-second before they are ambushed, giving them a chance to react. In this case, roll Initiative as normal, but the ambushed character suffers a −3 modifier to the Initiative Test. The ambushed character can still act and defend as normal.

In a multi-combatant situation, some characters may be surprised while others aren’t. Roll Initiative as normal, with all non-ambushers suffering the −3 modifier. No one can use Vigor during this first surprise turn for extra actions. Surprised characters are unable to act or defend during this first action turn, however, as they are caught off-guard and must take a moment to assess what’s going on and get caught up.

Eclipse Phase 2e