extraordinary circumstances, where dramatically appropriate, the GM may allow intelligent creatures who normally get one attack to use the extra attack rules, provided that they are also available to players. As NPCs lack Stability ratings, extra firearm attacks simply cost them 6 Shooting points.
evasive Maneuvers
By going evasive , you can opt to fight defensively, decreasing both your chance of being hit and your chance of hitting anyone else. For every 2 Athletics or 4 Fleeing points you spend, your Hit Threshold increases by 1, for a maximum increase of 3. When you try to hit anyone else, their Hit Thresholds against you increase by 2 for every 1 point your Hit Threshold increased. While evasive, you duck, weave, backtrack, and otherwise concentrate on not being hit. Announce that you’re going evasive at the beginning of your action for the round; doing so does not cost an action itself. The effects last until the beginning of your next action, at which point you can renew them (provided you can afford the cost.)
Badly pressed and running out of Scuffling points, Blake attempts to fend off a clootie while waiting for other members of his team to thunder down the corridor to his rescue. His player, Alex, declares evasive action and spends 4 Athletics on a 2 point Hit Threshold increase, taking Blake’s threshold from 4 to 6. The clootie’s Threshold increases (against Blake’s attacks only) from 4 to 8.
extra attacks
By pushing yourself, you can attempt more than one attack by round, provided that your rating in the ability you’re fighting with is 12 or more. Scuffling: After reaching or exceeding your opponent’s Hit Threshold, you may spend 3 Scuffling, plus 2 Health, to immediately launch a second attack. The Scuffling points are not applied to your roll; they are the cost of the extra attack. However, you may still spend further points to boost that test result.
Blake Santos grapples with a possessed sales clerk in a department store invaded by the Outer Dark. She’s bitten his ankle, tearing an alarming chunk out of it. He responds by kicking her in the face. After spending 2 Scuffling, he rolls a 1, just barely meeting her Hit Threshold. He rolls 4 for his damage die, which, with a kick doing -1 damage, reduces her Health from 6 to 3. She’s still not far enough away from his ankle for his taste, so Blake
• ducking behind cover • batting the grenade away
• catching the grenade and throwing into a convenient hole, pond, or bucket of water. In an open environment, other characters within three meters of the grenade suffer one instance of damage, which they can avoid by spending 4 Athletics points.
In a contained environment, such as a vehicle, trench, or small room, all other characters within three meters are subject to three instances of damage. They can avoid one instance by spending 3 Athletics points and two instances by spending 5 Athletics points.
Where multiple characters stand to be damaged by a grenade, one of them can leap on it by making a Difficulty 5 Athletics test. This is available as a free action taken during the grenade-thrower’s round. Only one character can attempt to jump on
Feints
When engaged in a Scuffling contest with an opponent, you can put him off guard with a series of false blows meant not to do harm, but to maneuver yourself or others into a better position against him for future blows. Forgo an attack against your opponent. You then may spend up to 3 Scuffling points to reduce his Hit Threshold by the number of Scuffling points spent. His Hit Threshold remains lowered until the end of your action in the following round. A target currently suffering a reduced Hit Threshold due to one feint can not have it further reduced by another. Feints are most effective when multiple PCs battle a single tough opponent.
Blake Santos and Aparna Dhawan fight kickboxer-turned-mutant Anaconda Jackson. As his Hit Threshold is a daunting 7, they’ve been making only costly headway against him. Blake elects to feint against him. He forgoes his next attack to instead spend 3 Scuffling to reduce the Hit Threshold by 3, to 4. Aparna then spends 2 points on her Scuffling to hit him. She succeeds, dropping him from 12 to 11 Health. Anaconda hits Blake, taking him from 8 to 4 Health. Blake then spends 2 Scuffling points on his follow-up attack, for a result of 5. He takes Anaconda from 11 to 8 Health. Now that Blake has completed his action, Anaconda’s Hit Threshold goes back up to 7. But now Aparna decides to feint...
grenades
A grenade is a thrown weapon with a damage modifier of 2. It can be accurately used within a range of fifty meters. Characters use Athletics to throw grenades, checking their rolls against a Difficulty equal to the target’s Hit Threshold. If a grenade attack overcomes the target’s Hit Threshold, the target suffers up to three instances of damage. The victim can nullify one instance of damage by spending 4 Athletics points and two instances by spending a total of 6 Athletics points. These expenditures represent extraordinary actions to minimize harm done by the grenade. They can, for example, be described as: