Combat Skills

Combat Skills determine how good a character is at combat. There are six different types of combat skills:

• Unarmed Combat - using no weapons. Uses Fortitude as the base trait (except when using the Brawling skill. Medics gain a +1 bonus to this.
• Blunt Weapons - using object to bludgeon. Uses Strength as the base trait. Charmers gain a +1 bonus to this.
• Edged Weapons - knives, axes, and other sharpened objects. Uses Dexterity as the base trait. Outlaws gain a +1 bonus to this.
• Archery - bows and crossbows. Uses Charisma as the base trait. Hunters gain a +1 bonus to this.
• Explosive Weapons - bombs, mines, and other explosives. Uses Fortitude as the base trait. Fixers gain a +1 bonus to this.
• Firearms - all kinds of guns. Uses Perception as the base trait. Mercs gain a +1 bonus to this plus one other combat skill.
• Special Skills - special combat skills that enhance one of the above skills (see Sniping, Brawling, Incapacitation).

Character Creation Starter Points

Upon Character Creation, players are allotted 39 total points to put into basic Skills and combat points.

Upgrading Combat Skills

Players may upgrade Combat Skills by purchasing them with Experience Points. Characters of the Merc Archetype have an advantage:

• cost for the Merc Archetype: 1000 XP for 1 combat skill point
• cost for all other Archetypes: 1500 XP for 1 combat skill point

Special Skills

Sniping and Brawling are considered a Special Skill, meaning they are a special Combat Skill. This means that they enhance the combat skill being used. In other words, if a character has a Sniping score of 4 and a Firearms score of 6, which do you use? In cases of special skills like this, always use the weapon skill to perform the task and use the Sniping score as Luck Points. The same principle applies to Brawling and Incapacitation. The Brawling/Incapacitate score is used as Luck Points, while the Unarmed skill is used to perform the task.