Editing Stars Without Number: The High and the Mighty (section)

== Combat ==
*Surprise may be checked for if the groups run into each other unexpectedly or one side does not expect combat. Surprise will generally result on a 1-4 roll of a D12. You may notice this is equivalent to 1-2 on a D6. The reason this matters is that characters with the Perception skill may subtract their ranks (including rank 0) from the range of rolls that result in surprise. Therefore, someone with Perception 2 would be surprised only on a 1 on 1d12. Someone with Perception 3 could not be surprised under normal circumstances. 
*During the round you first move up to your movement rate, and then may take an action. This may be to charge, use a weapon or item, use a psychic power, reload, or similar things that may be done quickly. 
*Combat movement rates are cut in half. Rotating is free. You will by default end up directly facing whatever enemy you attack. Your front facing is the three hexes in front of your character. Enemies attacking via melee will have +2 when attacking from your 2 flank hexes or +4 from directly behind. These modifiers do not apply to ranged weapons.
*Hexes are generally two meters across; I may adjust this scale when there are Light or Heavy mechs in play.
*Lesser enemies may be arranged into Mobs ala Godbound.
*You may draw whatever weapon you intend on using as part of your action. It requires an action to re-sheathe or otherwise put away a weapon. If you don't want to do this, they may be dropped on the ground. Mech weapons are integral and need not be drawn or sheathed.
*Cover protects against ranged attacks. Light cover will typically give a -2 penalty to hit, heavy cover will give -4. The determination as to whether cover is light or heavy will depend on the degree of concealment, the density of the material, and the type of weapon being fired. A plywood door will not give meaningful protection against a rocket launcher, but a flimsy reflective surface might give cover against a laser weapon.
*A character armed with a melee weapon, or unarmed but possessiong Combat/melee skill of at least 1, may charge into melee as their action. They may move up to their normal movement rate and still make a melee attack. This attack is made at +2 to-hit and damage, but gives them a +2 penalty to their AC until their next action. 
*Characters who are armed with melee weapons (Unarmed counts if they have Combat/Melee at a skill level of at least 1) have a "zone of control" across their front arc. This has several effects.
**They may make a "free" melee attack at -2 to-hit against any enemy who attempts to use ranged attacks while in their zone of control. This may also apply to the use of certain psychic powers or other distracting activities. They may make a number of free melee attacks equal to their skill in Combat/Melee.
**Enemies also provoke this attack if they move out of any hex inside the zone of control at their full movement rate. It requires their move action to "step" one hex in whatever direction. This includes stepping into another hex in the same zone of control.
*Some weapons are a bit different.
**Gunnery weapons require a one-round cooldown between uses.
**Monoblades deal 2d6 damage.
**Void Carbines are designed not to damage starship internal systems. They also function like a suit ripper on a hit.
**Mag Rifles and Mag Pistols deal only 2d8 and 2d6 damage, respectively. However, Mag Rifles ignore 4 points of vehicle or suit mech armor, and Mag Pistols ignore 2 points. They are still ineffective against targets only affected by gunner-scale weaponry.
**Spike Throwers deal one less die of damage against armor as protective as a CFU or Pilot Suit. They deal two less dice of damage against vehicles or the like. 
**Personal-scale energy weapons receive +2 to hit rather than +1 to hit.
**Sidearms which are projectile weapons have the Ammo trait (it should have always worked this way anyway) but they use their own skill instead of gunnery to check at the end of combat to see if they've gone dry.
**If you have Ammunition Cells and a rocket launcher, you can state that you've got Anti-Personnel AND Anti-Vehicle rockets. Anti-Personnel rockets do 3d10 straight to mobs, but don't have the AP quality. Switching between types of ammunition takes a round, but only requires a free action. Your mech does it automatically in response to a simple mental command. You check at the end of combat only re: the types of rockets you have used, so you can run out of one but not the other.