ZERO GRAVITY
Zero-G environments offer an interesting arena for bat- tles that pitch power versus skill and suffer a variety of side effects to projectile weapon use. Characters fight- ing in zero G need to stay aware of their positions in regards to surfaces around them.
Melee attacks that involve swinging an object and seeking contact with an opponent—whether the object is a fist or a katana or whatever—suffer a reduction in Damage Value due to the lack of attacking character anchoring, the free-floating ability to absorb blows with motion, and Newton’s Third Law. Characters’ Strength
Attribute is reduced by half when determining melee attack damage.
Melee attacks that involve grappling, ground-fight- ing techniques, or individuals who are both strapped down don’t suffer any reduction in damage.
When considering special melee attacks such as Push, Shove, or Throw Person, where opponents are at- tempting to move each other, it is important to remem- ber that objects in zero G do not have any other signifi- cant force acting on them, and Newton’s Third Law rules. A scrawny elf with no way to gain leverage isn’t going to push or throw a bulky troll very far, but when the situa- tions are reversed, the only thing stopping that elf from moving will be the next available bulkhead. When these attacks come up, have a little fun with physics. Have both characters multiply their Body Attribute by their last Movement. Compare the two. Motion continues in the direction of the character with the higher Body x Movement. The attacker stays balanced and ready if they succeed, and they send the defender “prone.” If the attack is blocked, the attacker is thrown off-balance and considered “prone.”
Ranged attacks made with standard weapons have their DV reduced by half (round up) due to the increased loss of energy to motion in both the attacker and the defender. If either the attacker or defender is anchored, the damage is only reduced by a quarter (round up). If both are anchored, there is no change to the Damage Value of the attack.
For added flare, ranged attacks in zero G can put both the attacker and the defender off balance from the sudden exchange of energy. After every attack the char- acters (both the attacking and defending ones) have to use a Simple Action on their next available Action Phase and make an Agility (2) Test or suffer –1 dice pool modi- fier on all actions until they succeed on the test (they can make a new test each Action Phase).
LOW GRAVITY
Low G environments aren’t a whole lot easier to op- erate in than zero G. The presence of a small gravity field gives a better sense of up and down, and charac- ters feel lighter and relatively stronger (though nothing happens to their actual Strength Attribute).
Melee attacks that involve swinging an object and seeking contact with an opponent suffer a reduction in damage due to the difficulty of balancing for the attack. A character’s Strength Attribute is reduced by one quar- ter (round up) when determining melee attack damage. Just like in zero G, melee attacks that involve grap- pling, ground-fighting techniques, or individuals who are both strapped down don’t suffer any reduction in damage.
When considering special melee attacks such as Push, Shove, or Throw Person, where opponents are attempting to move each other, low-G environments change how energy is exchanged due to the minimal
attacks are adjusted as follows:
Push: If successful the defender is pushed 1 meter
beyond the attacker’s Reach (minimum 2 meters). If un- successful, the defender stays put while the attacker is pushed back to the edge of his own Reach.
Shove: The attack occurs as normal, but the defender
is moved a distance of (double the net hits) meters and must make an Agility + Reaction (2) Test or fall prone.
Throw Person: When determining distances for
throws, reduce the defender’s Body by half.
All ranged attacks made with standard weapons (those not designed or modified for space operations) have their DV reduced by 1. When determining Knock- down, reduce the defender’s Physical Limit by 2. HEAVY GRAVITY
The difficulties of heavy-G environments are different than those of lighter gravity, but they are difficulties nonetheless.
Melee attacks feel slow and sluggish due to the ad- ditional gravitational force. When determining all strik- ing melee damage, use half the character’s Strength to determine the Damage Value of the attack. Attacks that involve grappling or clinching don’t suffer any change to their DV.
For special melee attacks that are designed to move characters, such as Push, Shove, or Throw Person, the additional force holding a character in place makes toss- ing them around harder to do. All of these maneuvers suffer a –2 dice pool penalty to the attack action.
All ranged attacks suffer a –1 dice pool penalty in heavy-G environments due to the extra muscle strain from throwing or holding up a weapon.
MOVEMENT
Each gravitational variation poses a different set of prob- lems for the acting character in terms of Movement. ZERO GRAVITY
Characters do not have a Walk/Run rate when moving in zero G. All movement in zero G is either very delib- erate or simply continued from the last action. In order to move, characters need to either climb, jump, or float. To climb, characters follow the Climbing rules (p. 134, SR5) with a few modifications. All climbing tests in zero G gain a +2 dice pool bonus. The Movement rate is based on whether a Simple or Complex Action is used for the test. Using a Simple Action allows for 1 meter per hit of Movement in the direction of choice along a sur- face, while a Complex Action allows for 2 meters per hit.
To jump, or simply move across open spaces instead of along walls (characters don’t follow the standard Jumping rules). Instead, a jumping character uses a Sim- ple Action to make a Gymnastics + Strength [Physical] Test and can choose to start moving at any rate up to
can’t be changed unless the character reaches another surface or engages in some form of combat where it is assumed by the rules that they slow during their engage- ment since melee combat in Shadowrun is not simply a single swing but a series of strikes and feints.
When the character is going to reach another surface, they need to make a Gymnastics + Agility [Physical] (2) Test. Failure means the character impacts the surface at an uncomfortable angle and must resist Stun damage equal to their Movement rate just before impact. The damage is resisted with Body + Armor.
LOW GRAVITY
Movement in low G varies greatly based on how the character is moving. The decrease in weight means the character’s muscles can push their mass faster, but the re- duction in friction means slowing or changing directions is tough, and one misstep turns a sprint into an uncoordi- nated jump, with a possibly unpleasant tumble at the end.
To reflect the level of coordination being maintained during the Walk/Run Movement rates, the character’s Movement rates are calculated differently. See the Movement in Space table for the new calculations.
Changes to climbing and jumping also occur in low-G environments. Climbing rates are the same as zero G, but the character does not receive the +2 dice pool bonus. Jumping distances are greatly increased in low-G environments. After making the Gymnastics + Agility [Physical] Test, a character can jump 3 meters per hit on a running jump and 2 meters per hit with a stand- ing jump, with their Physical Limit x 3 in meters serving as the limit on distance. These jumps reach a maximum vertical height of 1/2 the distance traveled horizontally. A standing vertical jump gets 1 meter per hit with a cap of Physical Limit x 2 in meters.
If there are structures or surfaces a jumping character can contact, they can continue to make jumps to reach greater heights, but all jumps after the first are consid- ered standing jumps to calculate distance and height. HEAVY GRAVITY
Characters are slowed by their extra weight in heavy-G environments. This means that moving faster becomes a lot more about strength than agility. To determine Movement in heavy-G environments consult the Movement in Space table.
Jumping and climbing are also affected in heavy-G environments due to the additional pull of gravity. Jump- ing attempts are determined by Gymnastics + Strength [Physical] Tests. Running jumps travel only 1 meter per hit, and standing jumps on get half a meter per hit. These jumps reach a maximum vertical height of 1/2 the dis- tance traveled horizontally. A standing vertical jump gets a half meter per 2 hits with the Physical Limit serv- ing as the maximum distance. Not a lot of slam dunks going on in those heavy-G basketball games.