Combat

Combat in Worldlines is intended to be fast, brutal, and unforgiving. Fights end quickly either through decisive action or catastrophic failure. Choices are expected to be made tactically with an eye to both offensive and defensive actions. Combat is primarily designed in a narrative style of an isometric combat game. Controlling areas of the field, managing energy and items, and proceeding carefully.

This is survival combat where a single mistake can end your story. Therefore, plan carefully, strike decisively, and always have an exit strategy. Do not take on combat because it sounds fun, as that might be your last action.

9.1 The Momentum Phase System

Combat flows through structured phases rather than individual initiative. Teams coordinate their actions, creating tactical opportunities through cooperation rather than individual speed.

Phase Structure

1. Momentum Phase: Determine which team acts first
2. Active Team Phase: All members of the active team take their turns
3. Reactive Team Phase: The other team responds
4. Energy Refresh: All participants restore Energy
5. Status Resolution: Apply ongoing effects and conditions

This cycle repeats until combat ends.

Determining Momentum

At the start of combat, each team rolls for momentum:

Team Momentum = Sum of all two best Combat dice rolls from the team.

Each team rolls for momentum and select the top 2 dice rolls and checks the sum.

Momentum persists for the entire combat unless stolen through special techniques or dramatic tactical shifts.

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9.2 Taking Your Turn

On your turn, you have access to all your current Energy and may spend it on any combination of actions until depleted or you choose to end your turn. Energy refreshes at the end of the combat round.

Standard Actions

Attacking or Healing Actions

Action	Energy Cost	Description
Attack	2	Make weapon attack with targeting zone choice
Reload/Switch Weapons	1	Change weapons or reload ammunition
Use Item	1	Apply stim, activate device, interact with object
First Aid	2	Heal or stabilize target with medical equipment
Throw Item	2	Grenades, devices, or improvised weapons
Build/Craft	3	Deploy tools or emergency repairs
Defensive Posture	3	End turn, Armor die increased by one step (i.e. d4 to d6), immune to interruptions
Use Technique	Varies	Activate learned abilities
Interrupt	Varies	Can be activated in between turns as a reaction – see 9.6

Movement Actions

Movement	Energy Cost	Description
Move	1 per space	Standard movement (5 feet per space)
Crouch/Prone/Stand	1	Change stance for tactical advantage
Climb/Swim	2 per space	Traverse difficult terrain
Retreat	2	Disengage from melee without provoking attacks

Free Actions

• Speaking and simple communication
• Dropping items
• Simple gestures or signals
• Quick Draw weapon switches (if technique known)

Note on Crouching or going Prone

• Crouching provides +1 Evasion against ranged attacks, but -1 evasion against Melee attacks. Additionally gain advantage on any stealth checks while crouched. Finally reduce your movement by half when moving while crouched (i.e. 2 Energy per space instead of 1)
• Going Prone provides a +2 Evasion against ranged attacks, but -2 evasion against Melee Attacks. Additionally, gain advantage on stealth checks while prone. Finally reduce your movement is reduced to a third (i.e. 3 Energy per space instead of 1).

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9.3 Attack Resolution

When you attack, you're attempting to overcome your opponent's defenses through accuracy, timing, or overwhelming force.

Step 1: Declare Attack

• Choose target and weapon
• Declare target zone (head, torso, arms, legs) if desired – otherwise center of gravity is targeted.
• Announce any techniques or special modifiers that are relevant to the attack.

Step 2: Roll Attack

Roll your Combat Trait die + Weapon skill modifier + any bonuses/penalties such as accuracy modifiers, or other +/- received from attachments or status effects:

Attack Roll = Combat die + Weapon skill + modifiers

Step 3: Defender Responds

The defender may choose to spend 1 Energy (if available from their previous turn) to attempt Evasion:

Evasion Roll = Combat die + Evasion skill + modifiers

If the Evasion roll equals or exceeds the Attack roll, the attack misses entirely.

Armor Die: Whenever you are hit by an attack, roll your Armor Die and subtract the result from the incoming damage. Armor Die is rolled each time you are struck, not once per turn. Armor quality modifies this roll.

Step 4: Resolve Damage

If the attack hits:

1. Roll weapon damage dice (modified by quality and attachments if applicable)
2. Defender rolls appropriate Armor die for the targeted zone
3. Subtract armor result from damage
4. Apply remaining damage to Health
5. Apply any status effects from the attack

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9.4 Status Effects and Conditions

Combat inflicts more than just Health damage. Status effects represent injuries, tactical disadvantages, and temporary impairments that affect performance. Some weapons, combat events or Techniques may cause status effects that hamper a player's utility in Combat and can be life threatening.

Common Status Effects

• Bleeding: Lose 5 HP at the start of each turn until treated (can be treated by a First Aid action)
• Staggered: Cannot move or attack for 1 turn (Spirit check for 2 Energy of TD 4 to recover early)
• Blinded: -4 Accuracy on all attacks until blinded expires or is healed
• Vulnerable: All incoming damage counts as critical hits
• Poisoned: Lose 2 HP per turn (or as determined by poison) until cured
• Stressed: Cannot use Interruptions, and all techniques cost +1 Energy until condition removed
• Exhausted: Exhaustion is a point based status effect and stacks over time and can cause a myriad of penalties. Exhaustion is cured by certain actions and resting. Reference 9.7, 16.2 and Appendix A.
• Charmed: Cannot target the source of the charm effect during Combat

Status Recovery

Status	Recovery Methods	TD/Cost	Notes
Bleeding	First Aid / Emergency Stabilization	TD 5 Medicine / 2 Energy	Automatic with technique
Staggered	Spirit check (early recovery)	TD 4 Spirit	Otherwise ends after 1 turn
Blinded	Remove source / Medical treatment	TD 6 Medicine	Flash blindness fades in 1d4 turns
Vulnerable	Specific cure or effect removal	Varies	Depends on source
Poisoned	Antidote / Medical treatment	1 item or TD 8 Medicine	Antidotes can be used as well if on hand
Stressed	Rest (1 narrative phase) / Spirit check	TD 6 Spirit	Fades after scene if not in combat
Exhausted	See Exhaustion point rules	N/A	Requires full rest to clear
Charmed	Damage from charmer / Effect removal	Immediate	Breaks when charmer attacks you OR TD 12 Spirit Check

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9.5 Targeting, Tactical Modifiers and Critical Hits

Precision targeting and tactical positioning create significant advantages in combat.

Critical Hits

Characters with d8 or d10 Combat dice can achieve critical hits:

• d8 Combat: Critical hit on natural 8
• d10 Combat: Critical hit on natural 9-10

Critical hits cannot be evaded and deal maximum weapon damage, plus one additional damage die. For example, in the example in 9.3, had Maya rolled a natural 8, she would have done 14 damage (7 damage from the maximum of 1d6+1, and then again for the additional damage die). The targeted characters' armor still can absorb damage even on a critical hit.

Headshots

When targeting the head with ranged weapons, roll a d20 if the hit was successful:

• Natural 20: Instant kill against minor enemies, or triple damage against elite enemies
• Some techniques improve this range (e.g., Marksman's Shot)

This d20 roll is a separate roll from Combat trait dice roll to determine whether or not the shot hits. This dice roll is simply to determine the success of the OHK/Critical hit mechanism.

On a shot that hit but does not roll a natural 20, then apply normal damage only.

Other Target Zones

Armor pieces can mitigate the negative effects of specific target zones getting hit.

• Torso: Standard and most reliable target; no specific effects or additional damage outside of a critical hit
• Arms: Lower accuracy shot that can cause target to drop item, or weapon. Target must pass a TD 6 Spirit check to continue to hold weapon/item. On a critical failure, Bleeding inflicted and arm no longer usable without medical treatment (TD 8 Medicine, or hospitalization).
• Legs: Lower accuracy shot that can cause target to lose movement and cause them to fall prone. Target must pass a TD 6 Spirit check to stay upright. On a critical failure, Bleeding inflicted and leg no longer usable, eliminating movement ability. Disadvantage applied to Athletics and Evasion checks. Requires medical treatment (TD 10 Medicine, or hospitalization).

Attacks that do not announce a target, will automatically target the torso.

Target Zone	Accuracy Modifier	Effect
Head	-2	Critical headshots possible, bypass some armor
Torso	0	Standard targeting, most armor protection
Arms	-1	May disarm or disable limb use
Legs	-1	Reduces movement, may cause prone

Cover and Positioning

These accuracy modifiers are applied against the attacker, attacking someone or something that is behind cover.

Condition	Accuracy Modifier	Effect
Half Cover	-2	Attacker Penalty; Partial concealment
Full Cover	-4	Attacker Penalty; Near total concealment
Poor Visibility	-2	Darkness, fog, smoke, debris – effects all within area
Flanked	+2	Target engaged from opposite sides or unaware
Prone (Attacker)	-2	Attacker suffers penalty; +2 ranged defense – Prone player suffers penalty against melee attacks
Crouched	-1	Attacker penalty; +1 defense – Crouched player suffers penalty against melee attacks

Range and Weapon Effectiveness

• Point Blank (Adjacent/5 feet): +1 Accuracy, +1 damage
• Short Range (30 feet/6 hexes): No modifier
• Medium Range (31-60 feet/7-12 hexes): -1 Accuracy
• Long Range (61-120 feet/13-24 hexes): -2 Accuracy
• Extreme Range (121-240 feet/25-48 hexes): -4 Accuracy

Weapons are designed for specific engagement distances. Each weapon has optimal and maximum effective ranges—a pistol suffers accuracy penalties at long distances, while a sniper rifle maintains precision at ranges where pistols become ineffective.

Individual weapons modify these bands based on their design. A sniper rifle might extend Long Range to 300 feet with no penalty, while a pistol's Extreme Range might be only 80 feet. Consult your weapon's statistics for its specific range profile. Therefore, the above reference guide is a general guide and can vary weapon to weapon slightly.

Grenades and items may only be thrown a maximum of 45 feet, depending on trait die, and modifiers.

Non-Lethal Takedowns

Declaring Non-Lethal Intent: Before making an attack, declare you're attempting to disable rather than kill.

Effects:

• Attack deals damage normally
• If attack reduces target to 0 HP, target is unconscious and stabilized instead of dying
• Target remains unconscious for 1d6 x 10 minutes or until awakened/damaged

Restrictions:

• Only works with melee attacks, blunt weapons, or specialized non-lethal weapons (stun batons, tranquilizers)
• Cannot use non-lethal with explosives, heavy rifles, or weapons designed to kill
• GM may rule certain attack types cannot be made non-lethal

Restraining Unconscious Enemies:

• Requires restraints, rope, or zip-ties (typically 10-50 C, included in some tactical gear)
• Restrained targets cannot move or attack when they wake
• Breaking restraints: TD 10 Athletics check or TD 6 Escape Artist check (if character has improvisation/relevant skills)

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9.6 Interruptions and Reactions

Players may spend Energy to interrupt enemy actions, representing split-second reactions and superior training.

Interruption Rules

• Must have Energy remaining from your previous turn
• Can only interrupt once per round per character
• Must meet technique requirements or narrative justification
• Resolves immediately, potentially negating enemy action

Common Interruptions

• Covering Fire: Spend 2 Energy to force enemy to make Evasion check or abort action
• Evasion: Spend 1 Energy for additional Evasion attempt
• Opportunity Attack: Spend 1 Energy to attack enemy who enters your reach if wielding a melee weapon
• Technique-Based: Various techniques allow specific interruptions