Combat Rules

=Firearms in Microgravity/Freefall Situations

Using firearms in microgravity: Unless a firearm has the MicroGrav adaptation, firing it in gravity less than 1G can incur certain penalties, dependent on gravity, the shooter's mass, the mass of the round being fired, and the muzzle velocity of the round being fired.  A character of at least average mass (55+ Kg) will have no penalties as long as they can brace themselves against a solid object (or possibly by expending a use from their rocket boots (if they have any)), as long as they are firing average-sized rifle and pistol rounds.  For example, a Dragunov SVD incurs no penalties, since it fires a rifle-sized round.  Anti-material rounds may incur penalties due to their high velocity and larger mass.  Shotguns may also suffer penalties due to their increased recoil.

Firing a weapon on autofire can incur penalties and possibly move the character as well if they are not braced when firing in extremely low gravity.    For example, firing a HK G3A3 on full-auto will move the character back 3 squares, and if they are not acted upon by an outside force (such as hitting a wall, using maneuvering thrusters, or digging their feet into the ground (a move action)), they will continue to move backwards 3 squares every round.  Determining the amount of squares that firing on autofire without a tripod or other weapon mount moves you back can be done using the following formula: $SquaresMoved=\left\lfloor {(A_{b}*({\frac {V*M_{b}}{M_{c}}}))*6)\div 1.5}\right\rfloor$

• $A_{b}$ equals the number of bullets used per autofire burst (Normally 10 bullets)
• $M_{b}$ is the mass of the bullet in grams (only the bullet - not the cartridge plus the bullet)
• $M_{c}$ is the mass of the firer of the weapon in grams.

Now, since I don’t want people running math like this at the gaming table, if you haven't pre-determined this result, just assume you go back 3 squares - which is pretty much the standard result (assuming a roughly 55kg character firing a standard-size rifle round).

Fight Defensively

As a Standard Action, you can concentrate more on protecting yourself than hurting your enemies. You can take a -5 penalty on your Attack Rolls and gain a +2 dodge bonus to your Reflex Defense until the start of your next turn. If you choose to make no Attacks until your next turn (Not even Attacks of Opportunity), you gain a +5 dodge bonus to your Reflex Defense until the start of your next turn. If you are Trained in the Acrobatics skill, you instead gain a +5 dodge bonus to your Reflex Defense when you Fight Defensively, or a +10 dodge bonus if you choose to make no Attacks.