Shadowrun 2nd Edition Combat initative examples.

I was reviewing combat in Shadowrun and wanted to go over some of the movement rules.

Combat rounds run 3 seconds. It is possible to have multiple moves per combat round. This is mostly for the cybered and those who use magic to increase their reaction. These folks will average 3 moves per combat round.

For each move, the character can perform either 2 or 3 actions.

A Free Action and two simple actions.

Or

A Free Action and one complex action.

Free actions are things like dropping prone, activating cyberware or ejecting a magazine from a cyber smartlinked firearm.

Simple actions include: Preparing a weapon, firing Single Action or Burst Fire, Getting up, inserting a magazine, removing a magazine from a non-cyber smartlinked firearm.

Complex actions include: Full auto fire & spell casting.

Example 1: Take three Shadowrunners behind the bar. In a single move, Eclipse rises up (simple action), fires burst fire from his combat shotgun (simple action), and then drops back prone behind the bar (free action).

Example 2: Wiley could rise up (simple action), but can’t throw a spell until his next move (since spellcasting is a complex action). He has to remain there (possibly using his remaining simple action to fire his pistol) till his next move in order to perform the complex task.

Example 3: ShadowHawk tosses a grenade over the bar, Wiley takes advantage of the ability to use a free action out of sequence (after you have taken your first action of the round) in order to drop prone. This protects him from the grenade fragments, but stops his chance to throw a LOS spell at the people on the other side of the bar.

Example 4: Eclipse is down to one round his combat shotgun at the start of his move. Free action to eject the magazine (cyberlink smartgun), simple action to load the fresh magazine, simple action to burst fire at the highest threat rated target.

Example 5: Ferd empties the magazine in his shotgun. Lacking cyber smartgun links he prudently does the following: Drops prone (free action), reducing his target signature, simple action to eject the empty magazine, final simple action to insert a fresh magazine.

Example 6: Johnny Lee fires a burst from his AR (simple action), drops prone (free action), prepares a small weapon (simple action). The weapon prepared is an expendable fetish, so at the start of his next move, he can perform a complex action (spellcasting) and hurt someone real bad.

Don’t forget about combat (and magic) pools. The pool is refreshed at the start of each combat round, not each action. So someone with 3 or 4 moves has to make that pool last the entire round.


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