Surprise
OVERVIEW
When a combat scenario begins, what needs to be determined first is whether any combatants are surprised - this is important, as it determines whether any Characters can take simple actions prior to the start of combat, and before the Surprised characters can react.
If no characters are SURPRISED, then combat proceeds to the INITIATIVE CHECK.
| TRIGGER | MECHANIC | RESULT |
|---|---|---|
| Character AMBUSHED by HIDDEN foe | Character is SURPRISED. | SURPRISE ROUND ensues. |
| Comrade AMBUSHED by HIDDEN foe | Character is SURPRISED. | SURPRISE ROUND ensues. |
| Character BOTCHES INITIATIVE | Character is SURPRISED. | SURPRISE ROUND ensues. |
| Character INCAPACITATED or INSENSATE | Character is SURPRISED. | SURPRISE ROUND ensues. |
| ONE OR MORE Character SURPRISED | AWARE Characters gain 1 MOMENTUM | ACT, REACT, or MOVE |
| NO Characters are SURPRISED | SURPRISE ROUND bypassed. | Play proceeds to normal combat |
If any Characters are Surprised, then all Characters which are not surprised can spend 1 MOMENTUM point to ACT, REACT, or MOVE during the SURPRISE ROUND which ensues. Surprised Characters gain no MOMENTUM and cannot act.
The SURPRISED CONDITION expires after the SURPRISE ROUND
DETERMINING SURPRISE
There are three ways that a Character can be surprised:
- Character is successfully AMBUSHED by a HIDDEN opponent,
- Character BOTCHES their Initiative PROFICIENCY CHECK, or
- Character is affected by a CONDITION which has them INCAPACITATED or INSENSATE
AMBUSHED
Simply enough, if a Character is successfully AMBUSHED by an opponent which was previously HIDDEN from them, then they gain the SURPRISED CONDITION, and their attacker gets to act during the SURPRISE ROUND.
Similarly, if one of a Character’s comrades is successfully AMBUSHED by a previously HIDDEN opponent, and the Character had no idea the attack was coming, they too will gain the SURPRISED CONDITION.
INITIATIVE BOTCH
You’ll learn more about INITIATIVE in the next section, but when each Character rolls their INITIATIVE to determine combat order, they can potentiall BOTCH the roll while rolling low. If they do so, then they’ll gain the SURPRISED CONDITION and be inactive during the short SURPRISE ROUND.
INCAPACITATED OR INSENSATE
If a Character has a CONDITION which makes them either INCAPACITATED or INSENSATE at the moment when combat begins, then they will not be able to respond and will gain the SURPRISED CONDITION, although their other conditions will likely prevent them from acting during normal combat rounds as well.
PLAYING THE SURPRISE ROUND
The SURPRISE ROUND is a very short series of combat actions or reactions which take place prior to a more organized engagement.
Each Character not affected by the SURPRISED CONDITION gains 1 MOMENTUM, with which they can ACT, MOVE, or REACT exactly once. SURPRISED Characters cannot respond to these activities as they’re still getting their feet under them.