COMBINED ATTACK

Using two or more powers or similar abili- ties (but not Combat/Martial Maneuvers or the like) once against a single target isn’t a Multiple Attack. It’s a Combined Attack, and counts as type of Strike. Therefore it has no OCV penalty, doesn’t halve the attacker’s DCV, and doesn’t take a Full Phase to perform. (Using two such powers multiple times against a single target, or against multiple targets, is a Multiple Attack and subject to all Multiple Attack rules.) However, the GM can apply appropriate Multiple Attack rules to a Combined Attack, such as the rule that the overall attack is considered to be made with the charac- ter’s “good hand.”

For example, suppose a military robot in a Science Fiction campaign has a pulson blaster (Blast 8d6) built into its right hand and a laser (RKA 2d6, Armor Piercing) built into its left. If it fires each of them once against a single target, that’s a Combined Attack, performed as a standard Attack Action with +0 OCV, +0 DCV modifiers.

USABlE ATTACKS

Unless another rule or the GM rules otherwise, a character can make a Multiple Attack with any type of attack: barehanded; using a weapon; using a Ranged power; using a Mental Power; using a Combat Maneuver or Martial Maneuver; throwing a rock; anything.

Furthermore, unless another rule or the GM says otherwise, a character may make a Multiple Attack with any two or more attacks, without any restrictions on what types of attacks can be “mixed together.” (Though mixing certain types of attacks may entail an OCV penalty; see below.) For example, a character could:

n use an HKA and a Blast attack against a single

target or multiple targets

n use an HKA and an HA against a single target

or multiple targets

n use a Blast and a Mental Blast against a single

target or multiple targets

n throw a knife at one target while kicking

another target

n use a Martial Strike, an Offensive Strike, and

a Defensive Strike against a single target or multiple targets

n stab one target with a rapier while shooting

another target with a flintlock pistol

n use a Martial Strike and a Disarm against a

single target or multiple targets

n fire a pistol at one target while blasting another

with a shotgun

n Mind Control one target while poking another

target in the eye

n use a Blast and an RKA, Area Of Effect against

a single target or multiple targets

n skewer one target with a spear while beheading

another target with an axe

However, a character cannot use defensive maneuvers or Actions (such as Block, Dodge, or Deflection) as part of a Multiple Attack. Nor can he make a Multiple “Attack” that consists of nothing but defensive actions.

speciFic coMBat Maneuvers anD situations

A character can only Multiple Attack with maneuvers that involves a Full Move (such as Move Through) if all targets are adjacent or near to one another in some way that makes it reason- able to perform the attack. For example, a Multiple Attack with Move Through against multiple targets typically requires that the targets be “lined up” somehow, since even in a world of dramatic realism there are “realistic” limits to how much an attacker can twist and turn as he moves (regard- less of whether there’s a Turn Mode involved). As always, the GM should adjudicate the situation with game balance, common sense, and dramatic sense in mind.

volume 2: combat and adventuring n chapter three 75

Multiple Attacks with Move Bys against multiple targets use the standard rules for Multiple Attacks (including the paragraph above). However, a character can perform a “Multiple Move By” on a single target by moving in a circle around him and hitting him repeatedly. In this situation he can only make an attack each time he returns to the point where he first hit the target. Typically that means he has to travel a full 10m circle around the target between each attack.

Example: Kinetik wants to use his hyper-running

(Running 60m) to run around and around Ankylosaur and hit him several times. Ankylo- saur is 13m away from him, so Kinetik has 47m of Running to run around and around him with. That means he can attack Ankylosaur five times: once the first time he reaches him, then four more times while running around him (once for every full 10m available). Kinetik suffers a -8 penalty for the Multiple Attack, plus the standard -2 OCV penalty for a Move By, for a total of -10 OCV.

A character cannot use an Autofire attack as part of a Multiple Attack sequence unless he knows the Rapid Autofire Skill (6E1 65).

If a target is holding more than one weapon (for example, a dagger in each hand), a character may Multiple Attack with Disarm, counting each weapon as a separate target.

A character may only Multiple Attack Grab as many targets as he has hands/limbs to hold them. (One exception is when the character tries to Grab more than one of a single target’s limbs, as detailed above under Grab. In that situation, a character may attempt to Multiple Attack as many limbs as he wants; this reflects his ability to tangle an enemy up so he can’t use his limbs properly.) Grabbing the heads of two opponents and banging them together is a Multiple Attack with Grab and Squeeze, in which the special effect of the Squeeze damage is smashing the two characters together.

A character can only perform a Multiple Attack with Choke or Grab Weapon on as many targets as he has hands/limbs to hold.

A character may not Multiple Attack with Haymaker, nor Haymaker any attack that’s part of a Multiple Attack.

Unless the GM rules otherwise, a character cannot make a Multiple Attack while Strafing. If the GM permits this, the Multiple Attack can only include Ranged attacks.

At the GM’s option, characters may make Multiple Attacks with some non-Attack Powers. For example, a character might be allowed to use his Mindreading power (Telepathy) together with his Mindbolt (Mental Blast) to create an attack that painfully “rips” surface thoughts and memories out of the target’s brain. A character cannot use a Presence Attack as part of a Multiple Attack — but since a Presence Attack takes no time, he can perform one after attacking anyway.

The GM may rule that characters cannot use Multiple Attack with some powers or weapons — such as slings, crossbows, and some spells. If so, those attacks may, at the GM’s discretion, take a -½ Cannot Be Multiple Attacked Limitation. (However, if the power already has a Limitation that prevents it from being used in a Multiple Attack, the GM may not allow it to take this Limitation. For example, in a magic system where nearly all spells require Gestures to cast, the use of Gestures already prevents two or more spells from being used in a Multiple Attack together, so a further Limitation might not be allowed, or might only be worth -¼.)

COMBAT VAlUE

When making a Multiple Attack, the attacker determines his OCV at the beginning of the

sequence, based on the OCV modifiers from Multiple Attack itself and other factors (see below). That OCV typically remains unchanged throughout the sequence of shots, but the GM can alter the attacker’s OCV if desired. For example, if multiple targets are varying distances away from the character, the Range Modifier to each one might be different, the GM could change the character’s OCV versus each target on that basis.

If the attacks are made against a single target, the target’s DCV typically remains the same throughout the sequence. However, if the circumstances of the attack change his DCV in some way (for example, if one attack frees him from an Entangle, Flashes him, or Knocks him Out), then the GM may rule that the target’s DCV changes for all attacks thereafter.

If the attacks are made against multiple targets, with each being attacked once, each has its own DCV, determined by the conditions at the time the sequence began. If some targets are attacked more than once, the rules stated above apply.

If a character makes a Multiple Attack against multiple targets (who may have different DCVs), he chooses in what order to make the attacks, but the GM can override this choice if necessary. In many cases the circumstances will suggest a logical or common sense order in which the rolls should occur.

Example: Kinetik decides to try a Move By on

four VIPER agents. He’d prefer to attack the toughest agent with the biggest weapon first, but the GM rules he has to attack them in order, from nearest to farthest.

Which coMBat value to use

If a Multiple Attack includes both non-Mental and Mental attacks, the non-Mental parts of the attack are made with OCV against DCV, and the Mental parts with OMCV against DMCV. (Of course, the Alternate Combat Value Advantage may alter the type of CV used with an attack.)

Regardless of what types of attacks a Multiple Attack involves, any modifiers listed for OCV and DCV also apply to OMCV and DMCV. For example, a Multiple Attack against three targets is at -4 OCV and -4 OMCV, and it halves both DCV and DMCV, whether it uses Mental attacks or not.

ocv MoDiFiers

Several factors modify a character’s OCV when he makes a Multiple Attack.

First, he suffers a cumulative -2 OCV penalty for each attack after the first. For example, if a character wants to Multiple Attack four targets, that’s a total -6 penalty, and that -6 applies to all four Attack Rolls.

Second, if a character mixes HTH Combat attacks and Ranged Combat attacks as part of a single Multiple Attack sequence, he suffers a -2 OCV penalty. (This is a flat penalty; it doesn’t change based on the number of attacks in the sequence.)

Third, if a character mixes non-Mental and Mental attacks as part of a single Multiple Attack sequence, he suffers a -2 OCV (and OMCV) penalty. (This is a flat penalty; it doesn’t change based on the number of attacks in the sequence.)

Fourth, if a character uses an Area-affecting attack (which ordinarily is against DCV 3) and a non-Area-affecting one (which ordinarily works against the target’s DCV) as part of a Multiple Attack sequence against a single target, he must make the Attack Roll against the target’s DCV for all the attacks (in other words, the Area-affecting attacks lose the benefit of being made against DCV 3). If he mixes non-Area-affecting and Area- affecting attacks in a Multiple Attack sequence against multiple targets where each target’s hit by a

single attack, each attack is made against the DCV it ordinarily targets.

Fifth, a character may make a Multiple Attack with two or more Powers, Combat Maneuvers, weapons, or other forms of attack that provide OCV modifiers. In this case, the character uses the

worst of the modifiers (i.e., the ones that hinder

him the most, or help him the least). For example, suppose a character wants to perform a Martial Disarm (-1 OCV, +1 DCV) and a Martial Strike (+0 OCV, +2 DCV) against a target as a Multiple Attack. The character’s Attack Roll is at -1 OCV — the worst OCV modifier from the two Maneuvers.

Sixth, if a character makes a Multiple Attack with a Combat/Martial Maneuver that modi- fies OCV, the Maneuver’s OCV modifier doesn’t accumulate the way the Multiple Attack’s penalty does — it just applies once, to the character’s overall OCV. For example, if a character makes a Multiple Attack against three foes with his Offensive Strike (which has a -2 OCV penalty), his OCV penalty is -6 (-2 for using Offensive Strike, plus an additional -2 apiece for Multiple Attacking two targets after the first).

Example: Captain Morgan Blade and the crew

of the pirate ship Felonious Venture are fighting off a ninja attack. The ninja outnumber the buccaneers, so Captain Blade decides to try to take out two of the deadly warrior-assassins with a Multiple Attack: he’s going to slash one with his cutlass, while shooting another with his pistol. That’s two attacks, so he suffers a -2 OCV penalty for that, and he’s mixing HTH and Ranged attacks, for another -2 OCV penalty. So he’s at a total of -4 OCV on both Attack Rolls.

Example: While exploring Vandergast’s World,

Andarra is attacked by a psi-panther! The fear- some psionic beast tries to claw at her while simultaneously assaulting her mind. This is a Multiple Attack with the psi-panther’s HKA and Mental Blast. The psi-panther suffers a -2 OCV for making two attacks, -2 for using a HTH and a Ranged attack together, and -2 for using a non- Mental and Mental attack together, for a total of -6 OCV. It’s at ½ DCV as usual for a Multiple Attack. It suffers the same penalties for MCV: -6 OMCV, ½ DMCV. When it attacks, it makes the Attack Roll for the HKA using OCV, and the Attack Roll for the Mental Blast using its OMCV. Example: The Verdict finds himself cornered in

an alley by three thugs. Two of them advance on him with switchblade knives, while the third hangs back with a pistol in case the feared vigilante tries to make a break for it. He declares that he’s going to make a Multiple Attack: Grab Weapon to get a knife away from one of the thugs, then slash the other one in HTH Combat range with it, then throw it at the thug with the pistol — an impressive feat, if he can pull it off! That’s three attacks (-4 OCV), plus another -2 OCV for combining HTH and Ranged attacks, for a total of -6 OCV.

volume 2: combat and adventuring n chapter three 77 Dcv MoDiFiers

Using Multiple Attack reduces a character to ½ DCV. If one of the attacks in a Multiple Attack also halves the character’s DCV, the effect isn’t cumula- tive (a character’s DCV can only be reduced to half once).

A character may make a Multiple Attack with two or more Powers, Combat Maneuvers, weapons, or other forms of attack that provide DCV modifiers. In this case, the character uses the

worst of the modifiers (i.e., the ones that hinder

him the most, or help him the least). For example, suppose a character wants to perform a Martial Disarm (-1 OCV, +1 DCV) and a Martial Strike (+0 OCV, +2 DCV) against a target as a Multiple Attack. The character is at +1 DCV — the worst DCV modifier from the two maneuvers.

COMBAT SKIll lEVElS

Unless the GM rules otherwise, characters cannot buy Combat Skill Levels specifically with Multiple Attack. They have to buy CSLs with the attacks they use to make a Multiple Attack, which they may apply when making the Multiple Attack with those attacks. However, if a Multiple Attack involves two or more different attacks (whether against a single target or multiple targets), a char- acter may only use CSLs that could apply to any of the individual attacks involved.

Example: The Harbinger of Justice has several

types of CSLs: +4 with All Ranged Combat; +4 with All Firearms; and +3 with All Pistols. If he makes a Multiple Attack with a semi-automatic handgun in one hand and a submachine gun in the other, he can apply his All Ranged Combat and All Firearms CSLs, since they could apply to attacks made with either a pistol or a subma- chine gun. However, he cannot apply his All Pistols CSLs, since they could not apply to a submachine gun.

A Combat Skill Level that can apply to a Multiple Attack can be used for any of the stan- dard uses for CSLs: increasing OCV (the only use for a 2-point CSL); increasing DCV; or increasing damage (see below).