The basic rules for understanding how combat works in The Far Wastes.
When combat begins, characters take turns to perform actions.
Usually the actions involve harming enemies, or helping friends. Such is the way of the post-poc…
Each turn, every character has a set amount of Movement. This is the limit of the time they have to move, shoot, hack, or whatever else they want to do.
Different actions and abilities cost varying amounts of Movement, or a character can simply use it to move.
Movement is measured in metres (m).
Movement = 20 + (2 x FIN)
e.g. Luci has a FIN of 2. She multiplies that by 2 to get 4, then adds 20. Luci has a Movement of 24m per turn. Teo has a FIN of -3. Multiplying that by 2 gives -6, plus 20 is 14. Teo only has a Movement of 14m per turn.
Most distances and numbers are provided assuming that players have a map or visual aid to represent the area of combat.
For mapped combat, the world is grid-based with each square marking a 2m by 2m area. Only one character may occupy any specific square at one time.
Because Movement is always an even number, dividing Movement by 2 is the maximum number of squares a character may move on their turn (assuming they don’t make any other actions that cost Movement).
As not everyone has access to maps or visual elements - or some people simply prefer the theatre of the mind - all distances are also provided with Unmapped variants. This allows simpler range-finding without the risk of unbalancing.
Each range has the variant listed with it, but the rough guidelines of the Unmapped Ranges are here:
<2m = Contact Range - Adjacent squares, usually used by melee weapons
3-25m = Close Range - Used by most pistols, shotguns, sprayers, thrown weapons
26-150m = Mid Range - Used by most battle rifles and grenade launchers
151-300m = Long Range - Used by most sniper rifles and rockets
When combat begins - and sometimes in other situations - the GM will call for a Reaction Roll.
This is how quickly each character, including NPCs and enemies in combat, process and act when action kicks off.
Once every character has rolled their Reaction, the numbers are then listed in descending order, producing the turn order for that combat.
Reaction = d20 + FIN + OBS
This represents that some characters are able to see the threat coming, while some simply have good reflexes.
Ties are settled by highest FIN, then highest OBS, then by GM discretion.
Once a combat ends, the Reaction Rolls are discarded; a new combat always brings new Reaction Rolls.