Combat
Here we'll outline the nitty gritty of how combat is handled on Macross: New Horizon. The whole thing has been broken to several sections to make it a little more manageable for you to read! Please note: The newsfiles here work on the assumption that you have read the relevant files under +help combat on the MUSH which explain how the actual commands work. These newsfiles only explain the various rules and general flow of combat
Combat Etiquette
Combat Basics
Advanced Combat
Spiritia Combat
Note: The combat system is not yet finalized. There are more features we are in the process of adding, such as on foot combat. Please bear this in mind!
The is largely dumbed down from what the final version will be which can be read on the wiki
Combat Etiquette
First up is initiative in combat. There's a few ways this is typically handled. The first is to use +initiative (see: +help initiative on the game) to determine the rounds for that scene. +initiative is intended to be utilized every round, shuffling things up to make combat more dynamic, however it can also be used once at the start of the scene to establish a set order to follow the whole way through. Generally +initiative works best when there are four or more people present. Combat rounds may also be split by whole factions with one side then the other posing, or they may be broken down so that each player has picked out their dance partners to engage with. In these situations attacking another person's chosen oppnent should not be done unless explicit permission is gained. Offically all GM run scenes will operate via +initiative in one form or another.
Combat is handled as a handshake. Once the attacker is in suitable range for their weapon of choice (we'll outline weapon ranges a little later). First and foremost: Save for special circumstances such as setting up a dramatic pose or the like, the attacker mus always pose first. As the result of your attack is open ended your attack pose should be of the attempt and not state the result. Once you've posed you can send a coded attack to your opponent where they will then select their chosen defense. Things then progress on to the next person to pose, or the round changes if you were the last person to attack.
An important note here: With coded damage now in place some weapons, particularly anti-ship weapons, are capable of potentially downing a player in one shot with so much as an unlucky roll. As a result any attack that will do more than 600 HP of damage must first obtain permission from the target before doing so. This means Dramatic Attacks, anti-ship weapons, and some standard VF weapons. There is no penalty for declining an attack that can potentially obliterate you in one hit, particularly at the start of a scene, however it is suggested you opt in at least every now and then in the spirit of fairness. However, anti-ship weapons should only be used on capital ships.
Combat Basics
Attacking
Onto the basics of attacking someone. So remember that thing we mentioned about weapon ranges? Well here it is!
Every weapon type has a range associated with it. The ranges correlate to how many rounds must progress in the scene before that type of weapon can be used. As always GMs can play fast and loose with this as they desire. The ranges are as follows:
1 Round - VF Long Range Missiles
2 Rounds - Anti-Ship Weapons and Sniper Rifles (Note: Yes we're aware ASWs are technically long range. They've been tweaked to give some opportunity for interceptors to do their jobs)
3 Rounds - Medium Range Missiles
4 Rounds - The kitchen sink. Everything: Micro Missiles, Gunpods, Lasers, Crassly worded insults can all be used at this point.
So long as you have the ammunition for it you can select one of three levels of attack for whichever weapon you intend to use. Attack levels range from 1-3 and represent:
1 - Weak Attack: Damage, accuracy and ammo consumption are as posted in your +vsheet.
2 - Medium Attack: Doubles the weapon parameters in your +vsheet.
3 - Heavy Attack: Triples weapon parameters.
Since Medium and Heavy attacks are a multiplier, this means that yes, if your weapon has a negative accuracy modifier you will be less accurate when firing. It is up to you to decide what you want to favor in a fight.
If you are engaging multiple opponents an attacker may do individually +attack up to two opponents per round so long as they are outnumbered. For three to four opponents an attacker MUST use the +aoe attack command and may only use one attack per round.
If you are fighting on foot +compare is utilized for player versus player and +gscheck is normally used for GM run scenes. Simply compare/check the relvant skills (firearms, heavy weapons, dodge, defend, etc.).
Defense
For those defending from a +attack, depending on your situation you have up to four options:
Evade - Attempt to avoid your opponent's attack. This will likely be most pilots' strong suit, however if you fail to evade you sacrifice most of your armor mitigation and will thus take more damage.
Defend - Blocking/bracing against your opponent's attack. This one grants you your full armor mitigation plus additional damage mitigation based on your Defense skills. There is also a (dramatically reduced) chance to dodge here. VFs cannot use Defend while in fighter mode. Capital ships ARE able to use defend as a matter of fairness.
Intercept - Use of chaff/flares or point defense weaponry to try to shoot down incoming missiles. This grants you a bonus against Missile weapons and can only be used against them. Save for special circumstances you are limited to 3 Intercepts per scene. Use them wisely.
Counter - You can attempt to immediately counter your opponent with a chosen weapon. Counter attacks are a medium attack with half their normal accuracy. If you succeed you gain a free hit on your opponent, however if you fail you have no armor mitigation what so ever.
Like with attacking, on foot defenses are based on +compare, but are limited solely to Dodging or Defense for now due to the current limitations of the system.
Damage
Mommy, I've been shot!
So you went into combat and you got your fool-self filled with holes, what now!? Well first and foremost it is important to indicate that if you reach 0HP you are well and truly knocked out of the fight. This does not necessarily mean your VF is destroyed or you're a cripple for the rest of your life, simply that you are unable to continue the fight. Naturally you can withdraw before reaching 0HP and in later versions of the combat system there will be incentives to do such.
On this note: Capital ships, if you're engaged with exclusively a VF force and unless there is a significant number of them equipped with anti-ship weaponry you should settle on a fair HP threshold to be reduced to before you withdraw. A captial ship at 0HP would generally be pretty catastrophically damaged and have incurred a number of crew fatalities on board so it's unlikey they would remain for a small skirmish in such a situation. Be sure to set this threshold BEFORE the scene starts.
On foot KOs are fairly easy to resolve. Each time you fail a +compare roll as the defender that counts as a "hit" you can take as many hits as you have points in Endurance.
---Additional Equipment---
Some VFs, like the VF-17 can carry specialty weapons. These weapons will be listed on that craft's wiki page along with the others. As it stands swapping out your VFs standard gunpod for a different one is a one-time deal as these necessitate crafting a new VF from scratch.
Advanced Combat
In combat there's a few advanced moves you can do too. First you need to understand that Luck is your special action pool. Many of these consume 1 point of Luck (this refills after the scene, of course). So the more Luck you have the more fancy stuff you can do.
Accuracy Boost - You can eat one luck point to boost your accuracy. You can only do this while attacking, not defending. It also applies to normal attacks only. Currently this doesn't work on foot.
Unorthodox Attack - Covers when you're doing something really crazy that can backfire such as trying to ram an opponent or the like. You burn one Luck point at an increased accuracy penalty from normal. If you fail the roll (as in when the code says you failed, not your opponent beat your roll) then YOU take a hit instead of your opponent. Your accuracy and damage is based on your hand to hand attack
Precision Attack - This is for situations where a craft aims at a much larger target with conventional weapons hoping to do critical damage to a soft spot (engines, radar antenna, etc.). You take a massive penalty to accuracy in return for causing considerable damage with non-anti-ship weaponry. That means that yes this currently is exclusively for normal VF weapons on capital ships. You cannot use it for VF to VF or Ship to Ship combat.
Dramatic Attack - This is the coded version of unloading on someone. This is one of those times when you see someone either expend ALL of their missiles, or a bunch of missiles, use their gunpod then try to punch someone, etc. It lets you chain three attacks together. The first attack rolls normally with the second and third attacks getting progressively increasing bonuses. You MUST GET YOUR OPPONENT'S PERMISSION FIRST to do this. No ambiguous wording either. Ask before you pose. If your opponent agrees, finish typing your pose then use the corresponding +attack. A Dramatic Attack can be done ONCE PER SCENE and burns a luck point so use it sparingly. Also bear in mind that your opponent is well within their rights to return the favor if the attack doesn't KO them.
Escorting - There is no code currently for this, but it should still be observed as if it is. Players can opt to indicate that they are escorting a specific target (capital ship, recon craft, etc.). When a player is escorting a target the attacker MUST destroy the escort craft first to be able to directly attack the escorted craft. An Escort can only occupy up to one attacker at a time unless the total force is outnumbered two to one or worse, at which point they can occupy up to two attackers at a time. Escorts can also only defend one target at a time. No double dipping! If an attacker is outnumbered (the Escort craft doesn't count), they can indirectly damage the Escort target using a +aoe attack to hit the Escort craft and its defense target. If the AOE is limited to only those two the attacker may also fire on a second craft with an additional +attack. This is ONLY allowed when the odds are 2-1 or greater against the attacker. Lastly an attacker can attempt to maneuver past a defender. This is done by using +compare to pit both escort and attackers speed stats against one another. If the attacker succeeds they can attack the escort target directly and the escort craft is not able to resume covering their target until they succeed in another +compare. For the attacker if they fail their initial +compare to break away from the escort craft they must wait 3 rounds before attempting it again.
Spiritia Combat
Onto Spiritia stuff. In terms of combat (Spiritia Attack, Defense, etc.) this is handled no different than normal attack rolls. Please bear in mind that you can only attack someone with spiritia, either as an attack or a debuff, with their permission. This is a touchy subject for some folks and this is the best middle ground that can be struck. Likewise for people on the receiving end: try to be a decent sport about this.
Buffs can be done by a singer for anyone on the comms or if they have SES gear equipped they can perform a buff using their Enhance skill instead which can affect anyone regardless if their radios are on or not. Buffs affect your primary stats which will be highlighted if you're receiving a buff. If the performer happens to buff your Luck stat ALL of your abilities will be enhanced. Performers in VFs may buff/debuff one target per round. Performers aboard capital ships can perform an AOE buff/debuff.
Strength - Affects Hand to Hand, Melee Weapons, Targeting H2H, Targeting Melee
Dexterity - Affects Firearms, Heavy Weapons, Dodging, Targeting Gunnery
Endurance - Affects Defense, Speed
Intelligence - Affects Computers, History, Languages, Star Ship Operations, etc.
Spirit - Affects performance and Spiritia skills.
Luck - Affects ALL ROLLS
Whatever stat it lands on is buffed for 3 turns.
Debuffing an enemy has one extra step from using the normal buff command. If a performer is looking to debuff an opponent they must first successfully tag them with a speaker pod. If they hit successfully the performer can then attempt a debuff roll in the same turn. If the performer is outfitted with SES gear all of this is handled by simply attempting an Enhance debuff.
SES Buffs/Debuffs are treated in the same vein as sniper rifles when it comes to range rules. SES debuffs also do not need to utilize a speaker-pod to attempt a debuff.
Spiritia based attacks can only be utilized if your VF or capital ship has the corresponding equipment added to it basically it needs a value in its Amp stat and also a weapon that does SP damage. It is no different than any other piece of special equipment save for Spiritia attacks will damage your opponent's SP pool instead of their HP. Reaching 0SP is a knock out just as with reaching 0HP. SP weapons follow the same rules for targets as normal weapons and are treated as being medium range. Hitting 0SP, with the exception of being drained by a Protodevilin, can essentially be taken as being demoralized to the point where you simply cannot keep fighting. You wont have much to repair by way of physical damage, but your character is likely to be shaken up mentally for a while. Again, due to the touchy nature of this particular bit nothing past being forced out of combat will be strictly enforced, so we arent expecting you to act like you have PTSD after someone sings the Macarena at you (though we wont blame you if you do).
Buffing/Debuffing an opponent can be interpreted as raising/lowering their morale and otherwise hampering their ability to fight. Attacking an opponent's SP pool is a more extreme version of this, completely shattering their will to fight for a period of time and forcing them to withdraw. Alternatively in the case of Protodevilin, reducing someone's SP to 0 can be taken as effectively sucking the life out of them and leaving them borderline comatose.
Performers are able to replenish theirs or their allies' SP pool by using the Generate ability. This counts as their action for the turn.
