Pursuits & Battles

Pursuits & Battles Rules

Pursuits Overview

Objective: Win three rounds before your opponent, or eliminate/disrupt pursuers.

Rounds: Contested skill tests with secret rolls and bluffing.

Obstacles: Spend Chronicle Points to introduce sudden challenges.

1. Pursuits Round Structure

Step 1: Choose Approach

The pursued selects a skill test (default: Piloting vs. Piloting), or substitutes another skill (e.g., Stealth vs. Detect).

Step 2: Roll in Secret

Both sides roll their dice pool, counting successes:

4+ = 1 success

6 = 2 successes

Step 3: Declare & Bluff

Players announce their claimed successes—truthfully or not.

Step 4: Challenge or Accept

Accept: Highest declared success wins the round.

Call "Liar!": Reveal true rolls.

Correct call → Accuser wins 2 rounds.

Wrong call → Accused wins 2 rounds.

2. Obstacles – Sudden Hazards

Either side may spend 1 Chronicle Point to introduce an obstacle, forcing the opponent to face an additional skill test.

Creating an Obstacle

Declare the obstacle (e.g., "A collapsing bridge!" or "Sudden sensor jam!").

Set the Test:

Skill: Must fit the fiction (e.g., Engineering to fix engines, Athletics to leap gaps).

Difficulty: 3 + Tier (where Tier is 1-5, scaling with threat level).

Example: A Tier 2 chase has a Difficulty 5 (3 + 2).

Effects of Obstacles

If the target fails → They lose one of their already-won rounds.

If they succeed → The chase continues unaffected.

Obstacle Limits:

No more than one obstacle per round.

A single round cannot lose more than one won round from obstacles.

3. Winning the Chase

First to three round wins succeeds.

Alternate Endings:

Destroy/disable pursuers or their vehicles.

Escape via Stealth or breaking line of sight.

Force surrender via Intimidation or Deception.

Example Chase with Obstacles

The rogue smuggler Kess (Tier 2) is fleeing imperial enforcers through a derelict space station.

Round 1: Kess wins with Deception. (1-0)

Round 2: The GM spends a Chronicle Point to create an obstacle—"A ruptured coolant pipe blocks your path! Roll Engineering (Difficulty 5)!" Kess fails and loses her first round win (back to 0-0).

Round 3: Kess uses Stealth and wins again. (1-0)

Round 4: Kess spends her own Chronicle Point to drop a cargo container in the pursuer’s path, forcing a Piloting (Difficulty 5) test. The enforcer fails, losing their next potential round win.

Round 5: Kess wins a final round, escaping!

Battle Setup

1. Create the Battle Map

The GM divides the battlefield into 3-12 key segments (examples below). Each segment can offer tactical advantages:

Segment Type	Control Benefit
High Ground	+1 die to gunnery, detect and small arms rolls from this zone
Flanking Position	half defence on on targets
Sensor Blind Zone	Stealth tests gain +2 dice here
Supply Depot	Regain 1 Chronicle Point per turn held
Command Relay	Interfacing tests auto-succeed here
Killbox	Forces passing through are targeted by gunnery test

The GM should also tell players how many enemy commanders their are for the purpose of battle commanders are are combatant whose stats are used to contest the players tests. each player character gets to act on their combined turn as normal but the game can only act with a number of commanders that they have. if a the gm has one commander then that can only act with them.

2. Define Victory Conditions

Players/GM win by achieving one of:

Controlling >50% of segments at battle's end

Seizing a Key Segment (e.g., Enemy Flagship's Bridge)

Breaking enemy Morale (take 3+ segments in one turn)

Holding 3 segments for 3 consecutive turns

Battle Turn Structure

Seizing The Initiative

Both sides roll Organization in secret:

Higher success count chooses to act first or second this turn.

Tie: Simultaneous actions (resolve conflicts via opposed tests).

Calling liar:

Correct call: you go first every round of the battle
Wrong call: you go last every round of the battle

Phase 2: Segment Actions

The active side picks one segment to attack and declares their approach:

Skill	Typically Opposed By	Battle Tactic (Attack)
Athletics	Athletics / Piloting	Breaching Assault: You hurl your forces against a defensive line, attempting to smash through by raw physical force. Contest an Athletics test to hold the line and repel the breakthrough.
Aid	Resolve / Endurance	Evacuation Under Fire:You pull critically damaged units or wounded personnel from a contested position. Oppose a Resolve test to prevent the enemy from recovering their assets.
Deceive	Insight	Feigned Retreat: You simulate a collapse to draw defenders out of fortified positions. Contest an Insight test to see through the ruse before walking into a trap.
Demand	Resolve	Overwhelming Ultimatum:You issue a command so absolute that enemy forces waver. Oppose a Resolve test to keep your units from breaking under the psychological pressure.
Detect	Subterfuge / Stealth	Reconnaissance Strike:You sweep the battlespace to locate and eliminate hidden threats. Contest a Subterfuge test to keep your ambushes concealed.
Endurance	Endurance	Unrelenting Advance:You absorb punishing fire and continue the advance, refusing to be stopped. Oppose an Endurance test to withstand the same punishment and hold ground.
Engineering	Engineering / Interfacing	Structural Sabotage:You target enemy fortifications, ships, or terrain to collapse their defenses. Contest an Engineering test to reinforce structures before they fail.
Gunnery	Piloting	Devastating Barrage: You concentrate firepower to saturate an area, forcing enemies to scatter. Oppose a Piloting test to maneuver through the bombardment without breaking formation.
Insight	Deceive / Subterfuge	Counter-Deception:You analyze enemy movements to predict and preempt their next attack. Contest a Deceive test to keep your true intentions hidden.
Interfacing	Interfacing / Insight	Network Domination:You seize control of enemy communications, sensors, or automated systems. Oppose an Insight test to detect the intrusion before critical systems are compromised.
Knowledge	Knowledge / Cunning	Tactical Exploitation:You identify a critical weakness in enemy formations or ship layouts and strike precisely. Contest a Knowledge test to recognize and cover the vulnerability.
Melee	Melee / Athletics	Close Quarters Assault: You close to grappling range, where formation and firepower give way to blade and fist. Oppose an Athletics test to keep distance and repel boarders.
Organisation	Organisation	Coordinated Pincer: You orchestrate a multi-pronged attack that forces enemies to defend on two fronts. Contest an Organisation test to intercept one prong before it links up.
Persuasion	Insight / Resolve	Defection Call: You broadcast a message so compelling that enemy units consider switching sides. Oppose a Resolve test to keep troops loyal to the cause.
Piloting	Piloting / Gunnery	High-Speed Breakthrough: You execute a daring maneuver to punch through enemy lines at a weak point. Contest a Gunnery test to target and disable the lead element.
Resolve	Demand / Resolve	Desperate Stand: You rally your forces to hold a position against overwhelming odds. Oppose a Demand test to break their spirit and force a rout.
Small Arms	Subterfuge	Sweeping Offensive:You clear a contested position methodically, leaving no cover for the enemy. Contest a Subterfuge test to ambush the advancing force.
Stealth	Detect	Infiltrating Strike: You slip through gaps in enemy detection to strike an undefended flank. Oppose a Detect test to spot and seal the gap before the strike lands.
Subterfuge	Insight / Detect	Supply Sabotage:You destroy or contaminate enemy ammunition, fuel, or logistics. Contest a Detect test to locate and neutralize the sabotage before it detonates.
Survival	Endurance / Detect	Environmental Weapon:You turn the battlespace itself against the enemy, using storms, radiation, or wildlife. Oppose an Endurance test to endure the hazard without breaking formation.

How to Use This Table in Battle

Resolution Steps

Both sides roll in secret (successes: 4+=1, 6=2).

Declare claimed successes (bluffing allowed).

Opponent chooses:

Accept: Higher claim wins the segment.

Call "Liar!": Reveal true rolls.

Correct call: Caller takes the segment and gets to roll again to take another this turn.
Wrong call: Accused holds it and gets to roll again to take another this turn.

Chronicle Points

Creating an Crisis

Declare the Crisis (e.g., "A food shortage" or "break in morale!").

Set the Test:

Skill: Must fit the fiction (e.g., Organisation to secure supply lines, Demand to quell dissent).

Difficulty: 3 + Tier (where Tier is 1-5, scaling with threat level).

Example: A Tier 2 Battle has a Difficulty 5 (3 + 2).

Effects of Crisis

If the target fails → They lose a segment.

If they succeed → The battle continues unaffected.

Obstacle Limits:

No more than one crisis per round.

Example Battle: Raid on the Iron Talon

Players assault a pirate battleship's docking bays.

Segments:

Approach Vector (Piloting)

Point-Defense Grid (Gunnery)

Hangar Bay (Key Segment)

Engine Sector (Engineering)

Turn 1: Players fake a retreat (Deceive vs. Insight), tricking pirates into abandoning the Point-Defense Grid.

Turn 2: GM spends a Chronicle Point to trigger "Emergency bulkheads!" in the Hangar. Players fail Engineering test and are locked out losing that segment.

Turn 3: Players use Interfacing to hack the bulkheads, then seize the Hangar and Engine Sector—breaking pirate morale!