Physical Feats

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Below are rules for common physical tasks of importance to adventurers. For tasks not listed here, make DX rolls for matters of precision and HT rolls for feats of endurance. To determine weight moved or work done, use Basic Lift. Movement speed should generally be proportional to Basic Move. Also see basic attributes and secondary characteristics.

Climbing

To climb anything more difficult than a ladder, roll against Climbing skill. This defaults to DX-5. Modifiers to the roll depend on the difficulty of the climb (see below). In all cases, subtract your encumbrance level from your roll as well. Climbing while heavily laden is a dangerous matter!

Make one roll to start the climb and another roll every five minutes. Any failure means you fall (see Falling). If you secured yourself with a rope, you will fall only to the end of the rope unless you rolled a critical failure.

The table below gives skill modifiers and climbing speeds for some common climbs. In most cases, use the speeds in the "Regular" column. The "Combat" column is for climbs inspired by rage or terror, which always cost at least 1 FP – or double the FP cost given in an adventure or assessed by the GM. Climbs in combat require a Move maneuver.

Type of Climb	Modifier	Combat	Regular
Ladder going up	no roll	3 rungs/sec	1 rung/sec
Ladder going down	no roll	2 rungs/sec	1 rung/sec
Ordinary tree	+5	1 ft/sec	1 ft/3 sec
Ordinary mountain	0	1 ft/2 sec	10 ft/min
Vertical stone wall	-3	1 ft/5 sec	4 ft/min
Modern building	-3	1 ft/10 sec	2 ft/min
Rope-up	-2	1 ft/sec	20 ft/min
Rope-down
(w/o equipment)	-1	2 ft/sec	30 ft/min
(w/ equipment)	-1	12 ft/sec	12 ft/sec

Digging

Digging rate depends on the type of soil, the digger's Basic Lift (that is, ST×ST/5), and the quality of the tools available.

Loose Soil, Sand, etc.: A man can dig 2×BL cubic feet per hour (cf/hr). Ordinary Soil: A man can dig BL cf/hr. One man with a pick can break up 4×BL cf/hr, making it into loose soil, which is easier to remove. The most efficient way to dig is with one man with a pick, and two shovelers clearing behind him.

Hard Soil, Clay, etc.: Must be broken up first by a pick, at 2×BL cf/hr, and then shoveled at 2×BL cf/hr. A lone man with both pick and shovel can only remove 0.6×BL cf/hr – he loses time switching between tools.

Hard Rock: Must be broken by a pick at BL cf/hr (or slower, for very hard rock!), and then shoveled at BL cf/hr.

All of the above assumes iron or steel tools! Halve speeds for wooden tools (common at TL5 and below). Divide by 4 (or more) for improvised tools – bare hands, mess kits, etc.

Hiking

Sustainable cross-country speed on foot depends on ground Move. Start with Basic Move and reduce it for encumbrance (see Encumbrance and Move), injury (see General Injury), and exhaustion (see Lost Fatigue Points), as applicable. The distance in miles you can march in one day, under ideal conditions, equals 10 × Move.

If you have the Enhanced Move (Ground) advantage, you may apply your movement multiple to this distance. For instance, Enhanced Move 1 (Ground) multiplies Move by two, doubling daily marching distance. See Enhanced Move.

A successful roll against Hiking skill increases marching distance by 20%. Roll daily. A group led by someone with Leadership skill at 12+ may make a single roll against the group's average Hiking skill. (Hiking defaults to HT-5 for those who have not studied it.) Success lets the entire group march 20% farther; failure means the whole group must forgo the bonus.

When these rules result in different speeds for different members of a party, the party must either move at the speed of its slowest member or split up. Note that a party that has opted to make a single Hiking roll for the entire group has already chosen not to split up!

Terrain

Once you know your ideal daily mileage, modify it for terrain as follows:

Very Bad: Deep snow, dense forest, jungle, mountains, soft sand, or swamp. ×0.20.

Bad: Broken ground (including streams), forest, or steep hills.×0.50.

Average: Light forest or rolling hills ×1.00.

Good: Hard-packed desert or level plains. ×1.25.

Weather

Weather conditions can further modify distance traveled:

Rain: Rain halves off-road speed in any terrain. See Roads (below) for the effects of rain on roads.

Snow: Ankle-deep snow halves speed in any terrain. Anything deeper divides speed by 4 or more. Exception: Skis allow travelers to treat any depth of snow as Average terrain. Replace Hiking skill with Skiing skill when traveling on skis.

Ice: Cold combined with moisture – due to rain, sleet, snowmelt, etc. – results in ice. A coating of ice halves speed in any terrain. Solid ice, such as a frozen lake or river, is effectively its own terrain type; treat it as Bad terrain. Exception: Treat solid ice as Good terrain for those with skates. Skating skill replaces Hiking skill when traveling on skates.

Roads

In fine weather, most roads count as Average terrain, regardless of the surrounding terrain. The best roads might even count as Good terrain, giving a bonus.

In rain, low-quality roads – unsurfaced dirt or gravel – turn to mud. Treat them as Very Bad terrain. Better roads behave as Average (but never Good) terrain in the rain.

In snow or ice, treat roads as Average terrain, but apply the movement penalties given under Weather unless the road is cleared.

Time Required and Fatigue Cost

These rules assume you spend the entire day preparing for your hike, hiking, or resting, leaving no time for study or other activities. This is true however small your daily mileage – the heavier your load and the worse the traveling conditions, the more slowly you walk and the more frequently you stop to rest.

Should you interrupt your travels for adventuring matters, you will be missing FP when you stop. See Fatigue Costs for details.

Holding Your Breath

Adventurers often need to hold their breath – whether to dive or to survive poison gas, strangulation, vacuum, etc. Your HT determines the length of time you can hold your breath, as follows:

No Exertion (e.g., sitting quietly or meditating): HT×10 seconds.

Mild Exertion (e.g., operating a vehicle, treading water, or walking): HT×4 seconds.

Heavy Exertion (e.g., climbing, combat, or running): HT seconds.

These times assume you have one second to take a deep breath (requires a Concentrate maneuver in combat). Multiply all times by 1.5 if you hyperventilate first – or by 2.5 if you hyperventilate with pure oxygen. A successful roll against Breath Control skill multiplies these times by a further factor of 1.5. However, if you are surprised and don't have a chance to take a deep breath – e.g., when a gas grenade goes off in combat – halve these times instead.

Regardless of circumstances, each level of the Breath-Holding advantage doubles the time you can hold your breath.

At the end of this time, you start to lose 1 FP per second. At 0 FP, you must make a Will roll every second or fall unconscious, and are likely to die unless you are rescued. See Suffocation for details.

Jumping

Optional Jumping Rules

The following rules for jumping are optional. Only use them if you enjoy extra detail!

ST and Jumping

Basic Move is a ready-made measure of jumping ability – after all, it measures running speed, and running is just a series of rapid hops. However, unnaturally strong supers and monsters in fiction can often make mighty leaps without being speedsters. To emulate this, the GM may allow those with Basic Lift in excess of body weight to use the higher of ST/4 (round down) or Basic Move in the jumping distance formulas.

Jumping with Encumbrance

For added realism, multiply jumping distances by the encumbrance factors given under Encumbrance and Move: ×1 for None, ×0.8 for Light, ×0.6 for Medium, ×0.4 for Heavy, and ×0.2 for Extra-Heavy.

When you want to jump over something with a Size Modifier 3 less than yours or smaller (which encompasses most "ordinary" obstacles), the GM should say, "Okay, you jumped over it," and get on with play. Such jumps succeed automatically. But when the obstacle seems really significant, or if the GM put it there as a deliberate hazard, use the following rules.

Jumping Distance

Your Basic Move determines jumping distance, as follows:

High Jump: (6 × Basic Move) - 10 inches. For example, a Basic Move of 6 lets you jump 26" straight up. For a running jump, add the number of yards you run to Basic Move in this formula. Maximum running high jump height is twice standing high jump height.

Broad Jump: (2 × Basic Move) - 3 feet. For example, a Basic Move of 6 lets you jump 9 feet from a standing start. For a running jump, add the number of yards you run to Basic Move in this formula. Maximum running broad-jump distance is twice standing broad-jump distance.

Those with the Enhanced Move (Ground) advantage may apply their movement multiplier to Basic Move before inserting it into these formulas when they have a running start. This is instead of adding the number of yards run! For instance, a horse with Basic Move 6 and Enhanced Move 1 makes running jumps as if its Basic Move were 12.

Those who have Super Jump double the final jumping distance for each level of that advantage. This is cumulative with the effects of Enhanced Move!

Remember that 12 inches equal one foot, and that 3 feet equal one yard (or one hex on a battle map).

Jumping During Combat

The jumping distance formulas assume you take the time to crouch and prepare for the jump. In combat, this takes two consecutive Concentrate maneuvers. Halve all distances if you jump without such preparation.

If you jump over a small obstacle during a fight (anything with a Size Modifier 3 less than yours or smaller), you must use a Move maneuver, and the jump costs one extra movement point.

To jump over a larger obstruction (e.g., a chair) or onto something (e.g., a table) during a fight takes your entire turn and requires a Move maneuver. Unless the jump is extreme, the GM will assume you can make the jump. (Don't interrupt a battle to cal culate jumping distance every time somebody jumps onto a chair!)

However, you must make a DX roll when you make a vertical jump or a long horizontal one. A difficult jump (into a pit, for instance) might give -1 to -5 to this DX roll. The GM determines whether you must roll, and at what penalty. On a failure, you fall. It takes two Change Posture maneuvers to stand up again. On a critical failure, you fall off the thing you jumped onto, or land badly if you were jumping down, and take normal falling damage for that height (see Falling).

To clamber onto a vertical obstacle without risking a DX roll, take two consecutive Move maneuvers. Success is automatic.

Jumping Skill

If you have the Jumping skill, you may substitute half your skill level, rounded down, for Basic Move in the distance formulas. In addition, you may roll against Jumping instead of DX whenever you make a difficult jump.

Lifting and Moving Things

Basic Lift – ST×ST/5 pounds – governs the weight you can pick up and move. The GM may let multiple characters add their BL (not their ST) whenever it seems reasonable; e.g., to carry a stretcher or pull a wagon.

One-Handed Lift: 2×BL (takes two seconds).

Two-Handed Lift: 8×BL (takes four seconds).

Shove and Knock Over: 12×BL. Double this if you have a running start. The GM can also make allowances for precariously balanced objects, to make them easier to tilt.

Carry on Back: 15×BL. Thus, you can carry more than you can lift by yourself...but every second that your encumbrance is over 10×BL (that is, Extra-Heavy encumbrance), you lose 1 FP.

Shift Slightly: Depending on your footing and the way you are braced, you could shift or rock 50×BL.

Pulling and Dragging

When you pull a load behind you unassisted, use its full weight. Halve effective weight if you are pulling a sledge over snow or ice, divide effective weight by 10 for a two-wheeled cart, and divide effective weight by 20 for a four-wheeled wagon. (Remember to add the weight of the sledge, cart, or wagon to that of the load before dividing!)

In all cases, if the surface is smooth and relatively level – for instance, a concrete floor, a proper road, or a frozen lake – halve the effective weight of the load. This is cumulative with the effects of a sledge, cart, or wagon.

Final effective weight pulled, after all modifiers, cannot exceed 15×BL if you are to have any hope of moving the object at all. Determine your encumbrance level using effective weight, and work out Move normally.

Lifting and Moving Things During Combat

In combat, you can pick up an item that weighs no more than your Basic Lift by taking a one-second Ready maneuver. To pick up anything heavier requires multiple, consecutive Ready maneuvers: two if using one hand, four if using two hands. To pick up an unwilling character, you must take a second to grapple him first (see Grappling). He may attempt to break free during the time it takes you to pick him up!

To kick, body-block, shove, or otherwise shift an obstacle in combat requires an Attack maneuver. You can move or knock over up to 12×BL this way. If you have enough space to run your full Move, you can knock over twice this weight (24×BL) by slamming into it at a run. This requires a Move maneuver. These rules are for inanimate objects; see Slam for rules governing attempts to knock over someone who can actively resist.

If using a combat map, be sure to mark the map or place a counter to indicate an object that has been knocked over. This is especially important for a feature that was drawn on the map! Likewise, objects picked up by fighters should be removed from the map.

In all cases, if an attempt seems reasonable, do not pause the battle to compare weight to BL. Use common sense. Make it fun!

Lifting Skill

A successful roll against Lifting skill increases your Basic Lift by 5% times your margin of success for the purpose of picking up heavy objects. For instance, if you have Lifting at 14, a roll of 9 lets you lift an extra 25%. Roll once per lift.

Running

Your running speed, or ground Move, is equal to your Basic Move score modified for encumbrance – see Encumbrance and Move. In combat, running is just a series of Move maneuvers. Use the more detailed rules below when it is important to know whether the heroes catch the plane, escape the savage pygmies, or whatever.

Sprinting

Sprinting is all-out running. It is very fast, but also fatiguing (see Fatigue Cost, below). Use it when you need to cover a short distance quickly, and can afford to arrive at your objective somewhat fatigued.

You can sprint if you run forward for two or more seconds. Add 20% to your Move after one second. For instance, with a Move of 7, you could sprint at 8.4 yards/second after running for one second at 7 yards/second.

On a battle map, where movement involves discrete one-yard hexes, drop all fractions to get a round Move score; in the example above, you would have Move 8. Assume that even the slowest sprinter gets +1 Move. Thus, sprinters with Move 9 or less can move one extra hex on a battle map.

If you have Enhanced Move (Ground), you can accelerate by your Basic Move every second until you reach top speed. Use your Enhanced Move multiplier instead of the 20% bonus above. For instance, with Basic Move 7 and Enhanced Move 2, you run at Move 7 the first second, Move 14 the next second, Move 21 the third second, and your top speed of Move 28 in the fourth second.

You may only move at your maximum sprinting speed if the ground is good and you are running more or less straight at some goal. Any deviation from "forward" movement requires you to run at normal ground Move for one second before you can resume sprinting.

Paced Running

If you need to run a long distance, you will want to pace yourself to avoid exhaustion. Paced running averages exactly half the sprinting speed calculated above. For instance, with a ground Move of 7, you would run at 4.2 yards/second on good ground; thus, you could run a 7-minute mile.

Fatigue Cost

After every 15 seconds of sprinting or every minute of paced running, roll against the higher of HT or Running skill. On a failure, you lose 1 FP. Once you are reduced to less than 1/3 your FP, halve your Move for any kind of running; see Fatigue.

Note that since paced running is half as fast as sprinting but burns FP at one-quarter the rate, you can run twice as far before you run out of energy. This is not true for those with the Machine meta-trait, because they do not fatigue – in general, such characters will always sprint.

Swimming

Unless you are Amphibious or Aquatic, you must roll against Swimming skill any time you enter water over your head. Swimming defaults to HT-4. Roll when you first enter the water, and again every five minutes.

Modifiers: +3 if you entered the water intentionally; a penalty equal to twice your encumbrance level (e.g., Heavy encumbrance gives -6); +1 if you are Overweight, +3 if Fat, or +5 if Very Fat (see Build).

On a failure, you inhale water! Lose 1 FP and roll again in five seconds – and so on, until you drown, are rescued (see Lifesaving, below), or make a successful Swimming roll and get your head above water. If you successfully recover, roll again in one minute; if you succeed, go back to making rolls five minutes apart. Yes, you can shout for help!

You may try to get rid of armor, etc. after making your first successful Swimming roll. Roll vs. DX for each item you try to remove; roll at -4 to remove shields, helmets, or torso armor. A failed roll means you inhale water, with penalties as above.

Once you reach 0 FP, you must make a Will roll every second or fall unconscious, and are likely to die unless you are rescued. See Suffocation for details.

Swimming Speed

Land-dwellers such as humans have water Move equal to Basic Move/5 (round down), although it is possible to modify this slightly; see Move in Other Environments. Minimum water Move for such characters is 1 yard/second.

Amphibious and Aquatic beings have water Move equal to their full Basic Move.

When swimming long distances, use a 10-second time scale. The number of yards you can swim in 10 seconds is equal to 10 times your water Move, modified downward for encumbrance (see Encumbrance and Move). For instance, water Move 1 and Heavy encumbrance would let you swim four yards in 10 seconds.

Fatigue Cost

After every minute of top-speed swimming, roll against the higher of HT or Swimming skill. On a failure, you lose 1 FP. Once you are reduced to less than 1/3 your FP, halve your water Move; see Fatigue.

If you are swimming slowly, or just staying afloat, make this roll every 30 minutes.

Lifesaving

You can use the Swimming skill to rescue a drowning person. Make a Swimming roll at -5, plus or minus the difference in ST between you and the person you are rescuing. If the players think of good lifesaving techniques, the GM may give them a bonus to this roll.

On a failure, you inhale water and lose 1 FP, but may try again after one minute. On a critical failure, the victim nearly drowned you! This costs 6 FP, and you must break off the rescue attempt.

Throwing

See Throwing.

Extra Effort

TODO

Different Gravity

A world's gravity is measured in "Gs," with 1G being Earth-normal conditions. In comparison, Mars has 0.38G and the Moon has 0.17G.

Microgravity is extremely low gravity (e.g., that of an asteroid or small moon) – for game purposes, anything below 0.1G.

Zero gravity is weightlessness, or "free fall," as found in space and aboard any spacecraft not spinning, accelerating, or otherwise generating artificial gravity. In higher or lower gravity, mass stays the same, but weight changes.

Encumbrance and Move in Different Gravity

If local gravity is more than 1G, multiply the sum of your body weight and the weight of everything you're carrying by (local gravity in Gs)-1. This is the extra weight you're carrying due to high gravity. Add this to your encumbrance when determining Move.

Example: You weigh 150 lbs. and are carrying 30 lbs. of gear. On a 1.2-G world, that amounts to an extra weight of (150 + 30) × (1.2 - 1) = 36 lbs. Since you're already carrying 30 lbs., your total encumbrance is 66 lbs.

If local gravity is less than 1G, multiply the weight of the gear you're carrying by the local gravity, and use the modified weight to determine your encumbrance. There is a similar reduction in your body weight; this does not affect encumbrance, but it lets you jump further (see below). In very low gravity, you may be able to move faster than your Basic Move by making a series of running broad jumps instead of walking!

In zero gravity, you float in space (unless using magnetic boots, thrusters, etc.). If you can't fly, you must push off from a solid surface to move. Your Move when doing so is equal to ST/2, rounded down. You will keep going at that speed until you grab or collide with something!

Actions in Different Gravity

In gravities other than 1G, the jumping rules need modification. Multiply your normal jumping distances by the ratio of 1G to local gravity. For instance, under 1.25G, you jump 1/1.25 = 0.8 times as far, while under 0.2G, you jump 1/0.2 = 5 times as far. (Exception: Do not multiply the bonus high-jump distance you get from a running start!) If this lets you jump at least twice as far as normal, use the rules under Super Jump to determine how fast you can move by bounding along. When throwing, multiply distance by the ratio of 1G to local gravity, just as you would for jumping. Damage from thrown objects does not change, as this is based on mass.

Gravity also affects falls. Multiply terminal velocity by local gravity. See Falling for what this implies.

In zero gravity, your skills and DX rolls are affected as well; see Free Fall. This does not apply when firing beam weapons (unless they have Recoil 2 or more) or operating vehicles or tools specifically designed for zero gravity (e.g., a spacecraft).

G-Increments and Attribute Penalties

If local gravity differs from your home gravity (see Home Gravity), you might become disoriented and suffer physiological effects. The change in gravity you can tolerate without penalties is your "G-Increment." This is 0.2G unless you have the Improved G-Tolerance advantage.

In higher or lower gravity than usual, count the number of G-Increments from your home gravity, rounding down. This determines the penalties you suffer. For instance, an Earth native used to 1G treats 0.81G to 1.19G as zero G-Increments, but 0.8G or 1.2G counts as one G-Increment.

DX: You are at -1 DX per G-Increment of difference (-1 per two full G-Increments, if you have the G-Experience advantage). This applies to activities that require agility or judging ballistic trajectories; it affects Broadsword, Driving, and Guns, but not Beam Weapons or Lockpicking.

IQ: You are at -1 IQ per two full G-Increments of higher gravity, due to reduced blood flow to the brain and general fatigue. Lower gravity has no effect.

HT: You are at -1 HT per two full G-Increments of higher gravity, because the heart has to work harder. Lower your FP score by the same amount. There is no effect in lower gravity – although microgravity or zero gravity might cause space sickness (see Space Adaptation Syndrome), or even have lasting ill effects in the long term.

See Temporary Attribute Penalties to learn how attribute penalties affect secondary characteristics and skills.