3 COMBAT

It is a fact of life that combat in 2030 Tokyo happens frighteningly frequently. And more than not, the street samurai of the zaibatsu are either dishing it out or soaking it up depending on the corporate policies of that particular day. Because of this, accuracy and detail are generally held back at the expense of speed of play. Every combat should be a furious few minutes of action with exploding concrete, bullets everywhere, shattering plexiglass, shrapnel and gunsmoke! The faster the combat is run the more atmospheric it will feel. Remember, this is not a wargame - get combat over with before the players realize almost what's going on. Just like the real thing ...

GET IT STARTED

In one smooth move Bosatsu pulled the autopistol from its holster beneath his white Ginza suit. He grabbed the guy's jacket and thrust the muzzle roughly up against his forehead. "You wanna play games? Then play with this! You're gonna love it - a 10mm jacketed flat-nose round that's gonna punch a hole in the back of your head the size of my fist and suck out what passes for a brain!" The man exhaled sharply. "Good - now tell me where I can find Kiroshi ..."

All combat takes place in 10 second combat "rounds" and is practically simultaneous. Hand-to-hand combat goes first, followed by gunfire, and lastly, by movement. Characters can walk 10m or run 20m per round (half that if performing some action). If two characters shoot at each other and hit, they are both wounded and fall over. Clever killers use tactics to get around this rule. The most often used is the ambush.

AMBUSHING
Try lying in wait for your target and opening fire when your victim shows up. Your target can make an Awareness roll to spot you. He gets +2 to spot you if you do not have the Stealth skill, and a -2 if you are hiding in a dark or well concealed place. If successful, you get a full free round of combat with which to pour as much flying metal into your victim as possible. Chances are he's got to pull a weapon as well so you may even get two free rounds of combat. An ambushed target can duck into cover while pulling a gun, but neither count for this free round.

FIREARM FACTS OF LIFE
To hit someone, roll equal to or under the relevant weapon skill. Apply these modifiers:

 NOTE: Successful rolls with a "doubles" result is a critical hit! The player increases the damage inflicted by one level.

AMMUNITION
To simplify book-keeping and keep combat fast-paced and breathless, ignore ammunition supplies. What?! Honest, it works fine, just assume that these toughened street hombres carry whatever ammo they need for the job in hand, and scavenge more when they need it. Only on a fumble roll will the gun go "click" and the agent start panicking. If that was his first shot, then his gun jammed. Now instead of people counting off bullets, you have lots of dramatic gun jams and really panicky moments! Ammo values for weapons have still been included on the Weapon Table for completeness.

DRAWING A GUN
A gun that is slung or holstered will take a full round to draw before use. You can move, duck or whatever while doing so. The skill Iaijutsu allows the use of a holstered gun immediately.

"BUSTING CAPS"
Full automatic fire, in ZAIBATSU, is expressed as a five-round burst of gunfire. This gives the firer one extra attack roll to use on the same target. Alternatively, this second attack roll can be used againgst one other target adjacent to the main target. Roll even if this adjacent target is your buddy. They are working on smart bullets, honest, but we're still waiting ...

The minigun has a twenty-round burst, which gives it four extra attack rolls

COVERING A TARGET
You've made your Stealth roll and stepped out of a doorway to hold the bad-guy up with a gun. He can't pull on you, it'll take a round, and you will shoot him dead (remember that +3 for close range gunfire?). So he must pull his gun using Stealth, and then go for a round of simultaneous combat, OR make a Deceive roll and lay into you with fists and feet before you can fire. The only way to stop him is take his gun, and tie-wrap his wrists together. Note: if he fails that Stealth roll or Deceive roll, you notice in that split second and get to shoot him.

MARTIAL ARTS
There are several very useful martial arts skills in ZAIBATSU. They are Karate (Offensive), Aikido (Defensive), Nekode, Iaijutsu, Chambara and Bujutsu. But aren't these skills out-of-date when even the cheapest streetkid packs a fully automatic pistol? Not really. It takes a round to draw a gun, no time at all to punch someone. Anyone trying to fire a gun at someone who is going to punch them, must wait till the attack is made and will have his gun knocked out of his hands if hit.

Hand-to-hand attacks always go first, so if the target is within 3m (hand-to-hand range) then this is the best thing to attempt. There are five general attacks that can be chosen for a particular attack: Strike (punch, kick etc), Power Strike (powerful kick, punch etc), Choke/Break, Hold and Throw. For each, the player rolls 2d for 7-. If he succeeds, the character's attack succeeds. Use the following modifiers:

If the 2d roll indicates a failure then he is hit by a strike and suffers 1 Stun. If that failure is made up of a 'doubles' result (two-Fives, for example) then the opponent has successfully landed a power-strike and the character suffers 2 Stuns of damage and is knocked back 1d metres. If he hits anything on the way (like a wall) he suffers another Stun!

Use of hand weapons is resolved in exactly the same way with the skills Bujutsu (knives, chains, sticks etc) and Nekode. Typical Bujutsu weapons roll 1d on the Damage Level Table, Nekode also rolls 1d on that table. Most blades can critical (move damage up a level).

Stuns
Any character, player or non-player, is knocked out for 3 turns as soon as he suffers 6 Stuns. He then wakes up and retains 1 Stun for one day. If knocked out again he retains 2 Stuns for a day, etc. Characters with Strength increase their Stun total by +2, with Muscle Matrix another +2.

VEHICLES IN COMBAT

There is one vehicle skill - Stunt Drive.

Car Chases
Stunt Driving is rolled when fleeing from or chasing another vehicle. Add a bonus depending on the speed of the vehicles involved.

For example, if the character is chasing a guy on a Dirt Bike in a Sports Car, then he gets just +2 (for the Sports Car, no modifier for the other guy's bike).

A typical chase requires three successive Stunt Drive rolls in a sequence of five. Success indicates the player character has got away or caught up with his opponent and able to open fire or try a stunt to cut his opponent off. Failure means the opponent is getting away. Give the player the option of trying a very dangerous stunt to catch up, it might involve jumping a railway crossing, a raised bridge or swerving past (or under!) an articulated lorry. Be imaginative! Roll Stunt Drive. Failure means an accident (a crash) and the opponent gets away, success means the race is back on! Start the pursuit again.

Crazy Stunts
Stunts can happen during or at the end of chases, or to avoid some horrible fate, or for one of many other reasons. Here are a few typical incidents:

• Cut-Off: Swing the car round at high speed to cut off another vehicle.
• Jump an obstacle (with a ramp).
• Swerve Around Obstacle
• Bootlegger Turn (180 degree spin)
• Reverse Bootlegger Turn (180 degree spin going in reverse)
• Two-Wheel Balance (roll each turn to continue)
• Wheelie (bikes only)
• Crazy Driving (such as stay on a sidewalk while driving 100kph!)

To carry out a stunt the player rolls Stunt Drive with a +2 bonus if it sounds reasonable enough. Failure means a crash at 40kph!

KILLING VEHICLES

When a gunman fires at a vehicle, all he wants to know is: did I stop it? ZAIBATSU uses a simple system of damage accumulation that differs from the wound level system applied to characters. Enough damage inflicted on a vehicle will invariably cause the thing to explode, fitting the dynamic and colourful nature of the game. Two figures are given below for a variety of vehicles, the first is the Disable Value, the second the Destruction Value. The damage roll normally rolled for a weapon is used directly, and added to previous damage suffered by a vehicle. When this total reaches the Disable or Destruction Value then the referee should roleplay the consequences. For example, when an autopistol is used on a human, 2d is rolled on the Wound Level Table, used on a car, that 2d value is directly inflicted on the vehicle.

Disabled vehicles have no power, the engine cuts out and control is lost. A car crashes (allow a Stunt Drive roll to avoid!), a hover car plummets to the ground, etc. Everyone on board immediately takes 1d damage, as well as whatever damage is sustained from the crash.

Destroyed vehicles catastrophically explode! This means sayonara buddy! All aboard immediately suffer 6d damage, forget drive rolls - you're toast! What's left of the vehicle will quickly come to a halt.

Targetting Passengers or Drivers

To hit a person onboard a vehicle, use the normal rules, with the target counted as being under cover (-2) and moving (-2). The chance is high (say 7 or less on 2d) that another person will be hit rather than the intended target (due to the difficulty of seeing the target, and of the vehicle's movement).

THE PROS AND CONS OF STREET ARMAMENT

Here we look at what advantages certain weapons give the cyberpunk up against the wall or caught in a firefight.

ANTIQUES
There are plenty of old guns knocking about in 21st century Tokyo, and although not especially favoured by the zaibatsu, they do have their uses.

AUTOPISTOLS
2030 handguns all fire caseless ammunition and all have rapid fire. They are virtual machine pistols capable of being holstered. They are very effective at short ranges. The high rate of fire of caseless ammo makes the guns very stable during autofire. Average calibre 10mm.

BULLPUPS
The technology that shrunk the submachinegun to handgun size also shrunk the fully-automatic military rifle down to SMG size. The "bullpup" nickname comes from the layout, the magazine is behind the trigger, not in front. Bullpups fire 6mm high velocity rounds.

FLAMERS
A popular flamethrower with a short range. Once hit, the target suffers 2d and is on fire; he must roll Agility to put it out each round or suffer 2d damage every combat round (ontop of the damage he's already sustained). The Dragon is a smaller handheld version with appalling range but excellent anti-personnel effects.

GRENADES
These have a maximum range of 20m (40m if the thrower possesses Strength or Superarms), and if required to land in a particularly small spot must be thrown with a successful Agility roll. A miss goes 1d x 2m wild, on 1,2 over, on 3,4 under, on 5 left, on 6 right of the target on 1d6. The fragmentation grenade inflicts 3d damage to anyone within 3m and 1d to anyone within 5m. Grenades other than Fragmentation are available:

GRENADE LAUNCHERS
The single-shot Grenade Launcher is usable on its own or can be clipped underneath the barrel of a shoulder weapon. It is individually loaded with special 40mm grenades and has a range of 50m, use the Heavy Weapons skill, and misses go wild as normal grenades.

LASERS
A military portable laser is the size of a modern-day assault rifle and creates a very rapid temperature change in the target causing it to explode violently. The laser includes a low-lite telescopic sight and requires a liquid-metallic suspension battery, creating a 40-megawatt pulse for one-hundredth of a second.

MINIGUNS
A portable very-rapid fire machinegun using 5 electrically driven rotating barrels. Quite a bulky weapon with a backpack mounted 1,000 round magazine. Calibre is 6mm.

MISSILES & LAWs
Guided missiles and unguided missiles (Light Antitank Weapons, or LAWs) are all now portable and disposable. They do more damage to people than a well-placed grenade. Their real strength is their armour-piercing high explosive warhead which devastates vehicles and heavily armoured or well emplaced structures. One full combat round must be spent in preparing and aiming the launcher. The guided missile has +3 to hit, the LAW no bonus and once fired the firer can dump either launcher and make his getwaway. Both inflict 6d damage to anyone within the primary burst radius of 3m and 1d to anyone within 10m. A miss goes 1d x 5m wild, on 1,2 over, on 3,4 under, on 5 left, on 6 right of the target on 1d6.

RIOTGUNS
Forget shotguns, they're just so old-fashioned. Retro, man. Today's riotgun is a bullpup design, with a box magazine, and its caseless ammo has several different possible loadings! Normal steel shot has been replaced by a swarm of finned needle projectiles called beehives. Riotpistols are similar to Riotguns, but have only a quarter of the range (5m if beehive, 3m if explosive, for example).

SMARTGUNS
A robotic tripod-mounted sentry gun with buit-in radar scanner. This scans 90 degrees ahead of the weapon and opens fire on any target not wearing a "friendly" ID badge (you get 24 with the gun). It includes an ammunition hopper feed of 150 6mm rounds and requires someone with Robotics to set it up. Chaff grenades (¥4,000) are sometimes available that confuse the smartgun radar on 10-. The weapon then fires at -3 for 3 rounds.

A SAMPLE OF GUNS

Pistols - SIG P226, Heckler & Koch P7K3, Cholon .22 Streetfighter, Walther 9mm Enforcer

Revolvers - Colt Python, Smith & Wesson .408, Ruger .357 Combat

SMGs - Ingram MAC10, H&K MP5SD, Steyr AUG 9mm, ARES 9mm Folding, AKR

Assault Rifles - M16A3, Steyr AUG, Heckler & Koch G3, AK-47, AK-74, FA MAS

Pump Action Shotguns - Mossberg M500, Remington 870, SPAS-12

Autopistol - Ultra Uzi, Ingram MAC12, Heckler & Koch MP500K,

Riotpistol - Lansing Flechette F2000, Colt Advanced Sidearm Project (ASP)

Riotgun - Smith & Wesson M901 Riotgun, Pancor Jackhammer Mark 6

Bullpup - Heckler & Koch G18, FN P90, Intech T20

Dragon - ARES Dragon

Flamer - ARES IC7

Grenade Launcher - Intech 40mm GP Launcher

Laser - Steiner-Optic 9 40MW Combat Laser

Smartgun - Shinobizawa AI-120 Firefly

Minigun - General Dynamics 202 Gatling

LAW - Grumman 70mm Viper, ARMBRUST 67mm Recoilless

Guided Missile - Hitachi SADAR, Dassault M460 Self-Guiding

DAMAGE & WOUNDING

When a character is hit by a gun or other weapon, the relevant damage is rolled (1d, 2d etc) and checked on the Damage Level Table. This describes in detail the effects of each damage level. Note that a successful hit with a 'doubles' result indicates the damage suffered should be increased to the next level. Armour (flak jackets, concealable kevlar vest or subdermal armour) counteracts this last effect. Characters who take two Wounds are Dying. Also a Dying character who suffers a Wound or another Dying dies immediately.

Stuns : Any character, player or non-player, is knocked out for 3 turns as soon as he suffers 6 Stuns. He then wakes up and retains 1 Stun for one day. If knocked out again he retains 2 Stuns for a day, etc. Characters with Strength increase their Stun total by +2, with Muscle Matrix another +2. Yag provides a further 4 Stuns if required!

IF YOU'RE NOT DEAD, WHAT ARE YOU?

Wound
To prevent a Wound becoming worse, make a Meditech roll within half an hour (+2 if using a good medikit). To cure it permanently and get rid of the -2 penalty, the character usually needs surgery and 2 weeks rest..

Dying
To prevent a Dying character from meeting his venerable ancestors, a Meditech -2 roll must succeed, try the roll each minute(+2 if using a good medikit). It must, however, be rerolled after each hour until surgery is available. With emergency surgery in a fully-equipped operating theatre, the character will not die, and needs one months rest to recover.

Dead
If the body and brain are generally intact, 21st century doctors can revive the dead! A Meditech-2 roll on the spot within 2d minutes of death (with a Trauma Unit, ¥200,000) brings the character up to the state of just "Dying".

HIGH-VELOCITY FULL-BODY IMPACTS

Put another way, accidents...