SM Combat Systems

The COMSYS Overview
It would be wonderful if Speculation didn't require combat systems. It would mark us as an evolved species if we could run an exciting simulation of how people come together to help each other when times are tough. We could even make a game that focused on that – but such a game would not reflect the current reality of the world, much less simulate it.

The Speculation Combat System (COMSYS) relies on a process called "running the clock." Players declare their character's actions and the Ref determines the actual sequence. The committed actions are taken and the players are given another chance to assess and decide their next move.

Who Does What?
The Ref normally sets the scene for the players, who role-play through the scenario. That doesn't change during potential conflict situations. However, when things get tactical, the Ref has a behind-the-scenes tool to sort what happens when. COMSYS calls it "running the clock." This tracks what the actual order of actions are based on what the players describe they do. Running the clock can be as tight and technical or loose and fast as fits the mood of the table.

If conflict does break out, the Ref may need to scratch some distance notes for tasks that have "Dynamic Degrees of Difficulty" (ranged targeting). Beyond that, with only a few players, combat may unfold entirely in the theater of the mind. For more complicated fights, a tabletop tactical map could be handy.

Well, I Declare...
At the beginning of the clock, Players should state a simple goal for the encounter ("I intend to arrest the badguy!"). This helps clarify overall intent. After the goal, the player then declares the specific action their character takes to start that process. Running the clock depends on those declarations and this is called "committing to the action."First actions are usually akin to drawing a weapon, targeting, shouting, diving for cover or withdrawing from the area. The exact situation will vary depending on how the player has role-played the character in the situation. If they're on a combat mission, they'll likely have their weapon out, at the ready, and prepared to fire. If they're walking down a crowded city street, they'll have to draw their weapon. If they're a police officer, they'll draw and shout a verbal command. If they're a criminal, they'll draw and may shout an epithet. If they're a terrorist, they'll draw and may shout a prayer. If they're a quick-draw artist, they'll let the gun do the talking.



The Combat System

 * 1) Start the Clock
 * 2) Declare an Action
 * 3) Determine Order
 * 4) Resolve Actions in Order
 * 5) Repeat the cycle as necessary

Start the Clock
The COMSYS timeline runs on 100ths of a second, the same as the average stopwatch. Most of the time, Refs keep a loose clock going in the back of their head, no actual tracking involved.
 * Once somebody, including an NPC, commits to an action that can affect another character, whether that's simply looking for tactical advantage or as concrete as an attack, the Ref starts running a technical clock.
 * Details on Running the Clock

Declare an Action
The player will express an overall intent, but will specify a single action as their first step and commit the character to that course of action. If the characters are already in point-blank or contact range, this could be a punch, a stab or a slice. If gunfire is expected, an action could be a dive behind cover, drawing or raising a weapon, a sprint to cover, or aiming and firing a weapon if it's already in hand.
 * The actions that are declared are a the key part of the sequence the clock tracks.
 * Simple actions, such as "drop to the ground," are likely successful by default but the Ref may require a luck roll due to mitigating circumstances (the person who wanted to drop was standing in a cactus patch). Simple actions still carry an associated time element.
 * Actions which require fine motor control count as a task and will have an associated Degree of Difficulty (DoD). Complex actions carry a longer time element.
 * Certain tasks, such as aiming and firing a weapon (a process called "targeting"), are a special kind of task that use a Dynamic Degree of Difficulty (D/DoD). This is a role-played decision that has consequences in both time and accuracy metrics. In a Speed Game, targeting is the only action that will be measured on the timeline.

Determine Order
Each of the declared acts takes time and the Ref determines what the actual sequence is after the declarations are made.
 * While the sequence is set, it may be preempted depending on the success of the faster character.

Resolve Actions in Order

 * Each role-played action beyond something simple is considered a "task" and has either a Degree of Difficulty (DoD) or a Dynamic DoD (D/DoD). Each action/task in the sequence affects the success of subsequent actions.
 * The actions are resolved in the sequence they occur. If that action doesn't directly affect another character, the character whose action is resolved may assess what they see and decide on their next action. One character may have two or three actions before any others finish their first, depending on circumstances.
 * A character who executes an action that has an effect on another character, such as inflicting damage, may interrupt and possibly prevent that other character's action. There are two categories of action where this is common:
 * Ranged Attacks
 * Melee Attacks
 * Certain actions that fall within a tenth of a second of each other are close enough to simultaneous that even if they are directly opposed actions, such as pulling a trigger, the results of the lead action may not be enough to stop the following action.

Repeat the cycle as necessary

 * The shorter the act is, and the results decided, the sooner the player will be able to declare their next action. Not all actions take the same amount of time.
 * This process continues until combatants withdraw, surrender or are incapacitated.

Referee Assistance
No matter how straight-forward a system is, combat itself is still complex. To help Refs through a fight, we've created cheat-sheets and guides.
 * The Clock: a timeline sheet [PDF].
 * The Rule of Time: a ruler with time actions, for use with the clock sheets.
 * D/DoD tables: for when you can't math.

Example Combat

 * Learning any system can be a bit daunting, but a simulation-type can be a particular challenge. Here's a walkthrough of combat situations.

Practical Player Advice

 * Players may eventually get a feel for multiplying the Ref-described approximate distances to figure their chance of a shot's success. They might even adjust their targeting method accordingly. This is good. It reflects a similar skill by professionals.
 * You may have also heard of "cover fire." This is shooting in the enemies direction even if the character knows they're unlikely to hit – but he wants to "keep their heads down."  Role-play that for a second:  The Ref says: "He's on full auto, the muzzle flash is pointing at you, and little pings are going off all around your ears."  What would you do (let's assume that clean underwear is nowhere convenient)?

Practical Ref Advice

 * When marking time sheets, college rule lined paper is a good tool, with each line as 10 points. Ten lines equals a second, then go in columns.
 * Plastic sheets and dry-erase markers are also a worthy investment. This works for tactical maps, timelines, injury marking and good player ideas worthy of experience points.
 * Campaigns or scenarios may provide maps, and the tactical ones are great to go in a sheet protector for dry erase workshopping.
 * What makes a tactical map? This could be nearly any picture, diagram or layout, but what makes it a solution is a feature resolution where individual buildings or terrain markers are visible and where a range scale can be estimated (for casual games) or determined (for technical games).