Fights in Void Drifters happen in airlocks, on docking platforms, in station corridors packed with conduit and crew, aboard ships while the hull is taking fire, and on hostile planetary surfaces. Personal weapons run from sidearms and blades to carbines and boarding shotguns. Environment and position affect most of the rules in this chapter.
This chapter covers combat from the player's perspective: how to take a turn, how to attack, how damage works, and what happens when someone goes down. It also covers what you and your crewmates can do in a ship fight, without duplicating the full ship combat rules, which live in the Vehicles Manual.
When Combat Starts
The GM calls for structured play when the order of actions matters. Combat is the most common trigger. Before anyone acts, everyone rolls Initiative.
Initiative
When a fight starts from a prepared position or while characters are already alert:
Savvy + Perception
When a fight starts without warning, from ambush, or because a friendly situation turned hostile in an instant:
Willpower + Readiness
The GM will tell you which applies. Roll the check and count net Successes. Initiative slots are ranked by net Successes and alternate between player slots and GM slots. On your side's slot, you choose which character acts. On the GM's slot, the GM chooses which enemy acts. Ties between player slots and GM slots favor the players.
The order stays fixed for the whole encounter unless a specific ability changes it.
Surprise
A character caught completely off guard rolls Willpower + Readiness for initiative, and the GM may add Bane Dice, place them out of position, or deny them prepared equipment based on how badly the ambush landed. Surprise changes how fast you respond; it does not generally remove your turn entirely.
Your Turn
On your turn, you may take:
- One Action: A significant activity that requires a check or meaningful effort
- Up to two Maneuvers: Minor activities that support or set up your Action
The first Maneuver is free. A second Maneuver costs either your Action or 2 Strain. You cannot take more than two Maneuvers in a turn.
Quick Actions (a short word to an ally, dropping a held item, pressing a simple control) cost nothing and may happen at any point during your turn.
Common Actions
| Action | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Attack | Make a combat check. See Attacking below. |
| Use a Skill | Make a skill check under time pressure (Medicine on a wounded ally, Electronics to lock a door) |
| Aid an Ally | Provide a meaningful assist; add a Boon Die or Ability Die to their next check this turn |
| Activate an Ability | Use a talent, species ability, or special capability that costs an Action |
| Interact with the Environment | Complex environmental interaction: cut power, throw a switch to vent atmosphere, manually override a lock |
Common Maneuvers
| Maneuver | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Move | Move one range band (Engaged to Short, Short to Medium) |
| Draw or Stow | Ready a weapon, holster a sidearm, retrieve an item from a bag |
| Take Cover | Position yourself behind available cover; you gain its benefit until you leave it |
| Drop Prone | Fall prone; adds 1 Bane Die to ranged attacks against you, 1 Boon Die to melee |
| Aim | Add 1 Boon Die to your next ranged attack this turn |
| Catch Breath | Recover 1 Strain (once per encounter; does not cost your Action) |
Range and Position
Void Drifters uses abstract range bands. You are not tracking exact distances; you are tracking how close you are to other characters and what that means for your options.
| Band | Description |
|---|---|
| Engaged | Within immediate reach; melee contact is possible |
| Short | Across a room or small area; clear line of sight |
| Medium | Across a battlefield or open corridor |
| Long | Distant but visible; at the edge of effective personal weapon range |
| Extreme | At the limits of perception or capability |
Moving between Engaged, Short, and Medium costs one Maneuver per band. Moving between Medium and Long, or Long and Extreme, costs two Maneuvers per band.
Cover
Cover matters. Get behind it when you can.
Light cover (cargo containers, furniture, a doorframe): +1 Ranged Defense Heavy cover (structural pillars, vehicle chassis, interior walls): +2 Ranged Defense
Cover applies only while you are behind it. Moving out of cover ends the benefit. Cover does not protect against melee attacks unless you are clearly using it to block.
Attacking
Building the Attack Pool
Choose which combat skill applies: Unarmed, Melee, or Ranged. Build your positive pool from the linked characteristic and skill rank. The difficulty is set by range and conditions.
Attack Difficulty
| Attack | Default Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Melee or Unarmed at Engaged | Average |
| Ranged at Engaged (personal space is tight) | Easy + 1 Bane Die |
| Ranged at Short | Easy |
| Ranged at Medium | Average |
| Ranged at Long | Hard |
| Ranged at Extreme | Severe |
The GM may add Bane Dice for poor visibility, a moving target, awkward footing, firing into a crowd, or other situational factors. Cover applies as Ranged Defense (see below).
Defense
Melee Defense and Ranged Defense both begin at 0 and increase through equipment and talents. When an attacker targets you:
- Add 1 Bane Die to the attack pool for each point of relevant Defense
- Cover adds to Ranged Defense
Rolling the Attack
Roll the assembled pool. Resolve as a standard check:
- At least 1 net Success: The attack hits.
- No net Successes: The attack misses.
- Additional Successes: Add +1 damage per extra Success beyond the first.
- Boons: See the Combat Boon Spends table below.
- Breakthroughs: Inflict a Critical Injury (in addition to the hit).
- Calamities on an attack: Something bad also happens: your weapon misfires, you stumble, you alert something worse, you hit the wrong target.
Damage and Wounds
A hit deals the weapon's base damage plus 1 per additional Success. Apply the target's Resistance:
Wounds suffered = Damage − Resistance (minimum 0)
Resistance = half Might (rounded up) + armor bonus.
If a hit results in 0 Wounds after Resistance, the attack connects but causes no meaningful injury.
Combat Boon Spends
| Cost | Effect |
|---|---|
| Recover 1 Strain if there is no stronger use | |
| Gain a positional advantage, keep hold of an item, or set up an ally's next check | |
| Inflict a fitting temporary condition (Disoriented, Prone, Staggered) | |
| Activate a weapon quality that costs 2 Boons (Blast, Burn, Burst, Stun) | |
| Notice an additional detail, opening, or incoming threat | |
| Crit rating | Inflict a Critical Injury (spend Boons equal to the weapon's Crit rating) |
| Inflict a Critical Injury when spent on the attack |
Critical Injuries
A Critical Injury is triggered when:
- A character suffers a hit while already incapacitated by Wounds
- An attacker spends a Breakthrough on the attack
- An attack generates net Boons equal to or greater than the weapon's Crit rating, and those Boons are spent to inflict it
To resolve: Roll d100 and add +10 for each Critical Injury the target already has. Consult the Critical Injury table.
Each Critical Injury continues adding +10 to future Critical Injury rolls until that specific injury is removed through medical care. Multiple untreated Critical Injuries compound quickly.
The Void Drifters Critical Injury table is in the GM Guide. Until you have the GM Guide, the default Critical Injury table in the Exodus NDS Core Rules applies.
Wounds, Strain, and Going Down
Wound Points
Wound Points = 10 + Might
When your accumulated Wounds meet or exceed your Wound Points, you are incapacitated: unconscious, helpless, or otherwise out of the fight. You remain incapacitated until current Wounds fall below your Wound Points through recovery or medical aid.
Strain Points
Strain Points = 10 + Willpower
Strain accumulates from taking damage (some weapons and abilities inflict Strain directly), voluntarily pushing yourself (taking a second Maneuver costs 2 Strain), and some environmental or social pressures. When Strain meets or exceeds your Strain Points, you are also incapacitated.
You can suffer Strain strategically: pushing yourself in a crucial moment. But Strain that builds without recovery ends fights.
Incapacitation
When incapacitated by Wounds: you are out of the encounter. After it ends, you stabilize unless stated otherwise.
When incapacitated by Strain: you are out of the encounter but recover more quickly. After a full rest, your current Strain drops to half your Strain Points rather than clearing completely.
A character incapacitated by Wounds who takes another hit triggers a Critical Injury automatically.
Ending an Encounter
Structured play ends when the conflict is resolved: enemies are defeated or have fled, the crew has escaped or surrendered, or the situation no longer requires tracking precise turns.
After the encounter:
- Characters incapacitated by Wounds stabilize (they do not die automatically from Wounds alone unless a Critical Injury says otherwise)
- Characters recover Strain equal to Willpower
- Critical Injuries persist until treated through Medicine checks
Field Medicine During a Fight
A character may use their Action to provide urgent medical aid to an Engaged character.
Make a Medicine check. Difficulty defaults to Average for battlefield care; the GM may adjust for severity, available tools, or unsafe conditions. Success may stop ongoing Wound effects (Bleeding), prevent immediate worsening, or stabilize a Critical Injury entry enough to keep a character alive until proper care is available.
Field treatment does not remove a Critical Injury. It manages the immediate crisis.
Improvised tools, hazardous surroundings, or rushing add Bane Dice.
Common Conditions in Combat
| Condition | Effect | Ends |
|---|---|---|
| Staggered | Cannot take Actions this turn; may still take Maneuvers | Start of your next turn |
| Disoriented | Add 1 Bane Die to all checks | As specified by the effect |
| Prone | Ranged attacks vs you add 1 Bane Die; melee attacks add 1 Boon Die | Spend 1 Maneuver to stand |
| Immobilized | Cannot take Maneuvers that involve movement | As specified by the effect |
| Restrained | Immobilized + 1 Bane Die to checks requiring free movement | Escape or release |
| Bleeding | Suffer 1 Wound at the start of each turn | Average Medicine check ends it |
| Burning | Suffer ongoing Wounds each turn | An Action to extinguish (may require a check) |
| Hidden | Attacks against you add 1 Bane Die; your first attack from concealment adds 1 Boon Die | You act, attack, make noise, or are discovered |
Gravity and Environment
Fights in Void Drifters rarely happen in ideal conditions. Environment shapes the encounter.
Zero gravity: Moving requires something to push off or pull along. Without magnetic boots or handholds, movement between range bands requires an Athletics check. Ranged attacks that hit may move an unbraced target (spend 2 Boons). Melee attacks without bracing add 1 Bane Die. Full gravity rules are in Chapter Ten.
Low gravity: Movement is faster but imprecise. Athletics checks to jump or sprint succeed more easily but controlling where you land is a Reflexes check. Ranged attacks at Short range are Easy instead of the standard difficulty.
Vacuum and hostile atmosphere: Suit integrity matters. A character in a compromised suit may need to make Fortitude checks to stay functional as the encounter progresses. This is the GM's call based on severity.
Crowded spaces: Ship corridors, freeport markets, and cramped docking bays may impose Bane Dice on ranged attacks to avoid hitting bystanders, and may restrict movement (the GM may rule that a specific band is unavailable, or that reaching it requires a Reflexes check).
Your Crew in a Ship Fight
When your ship enters combat, personal combat rules and ship combat rules run in parallel. Full ship combat rules are in the Vehicles Manual. This section covers what each crew role does at their station from a player's perspective.
Ship combat uses the same structured play rules (rounds, turns, Actions and Maneuvers) but actions are taken at crew stations. What station you are at determines what you can contribute.
Crew Stations and What They Do
| Station | Skill | What You Do |
|---|---|---|
| Helm | Pilot | Control the ship's movement, positioning, and evasion. Your Pilot checks establish range bands with the enemy ship and determine approach angles. |
| Weapons | Gunnery | Fire the ship's weapons, operate point defense, manage targeting solutions. Gunnery checks are your attack rolls at ship scale. |
| Engineering | Craft or Electronics | Manage power, repair damage between rounds, transfer power to priority systems, run jury-rigs on failing components. |
| Sensors / Comms | Electronics | Manage sensor sweeps, electronic countermeasures, signal intercepts, and information about enemy ships and their movements. |
| Astrogation | Astrogation | Plot emergency transits, calculate evasion corridors, or prepare slipstream exit options if the ship needs to run. |
| Command / Leadership | Leadership | A character without a dedicated station can coordinate the crew; a successful Leadership check may add Boon Dice to a crewmember's next check. |
A character without a station can take personal actions (fight off boarders, provide medical aid to a wounded crew member, assist a crewmember with their check) using personal combat rules.
Boarding Actions
When a hostile crew breaches your ship, or your crew breaches theirs, personal combat begins inside the vessel. Range bands inside a ship are typically Engaged, Short, and occasionally Medium (for long corridors or open cargo bays). Cover is abundant: bulkheads, equipment racks, hatchways. Melee and short-ranged weapons become more viable; long-range weapons are liabilities.
If the ship's structural integrity is in question, ranged weapon misses and Calamities may add hull breach complications at the GM's discretion.
Worked Example: The Docking Bay Fight
The crew of the Relentless Arc has just made a handoff at Anchorage 9, a mid-tier freeport station. Two agents of the Veridian Compact, who have been tracking the cargo, are waiting at the exit. The contact bolts. The agents draw.
The setup: Crew members Senna (a Felina scout) and Davan Kel (a human engineer) are at Short range from the two agents. Both sides are armed.
Initiative: The agents drew first, but Senna's player argues she was watching the crowd. The GM agrees: Senna rolls Savvy + Perception (she is a Felina with Predator Reflexes). Davan, caught mid-conversation with the contact, rolls Willpower + Readiness.
Senna gets 2 net Successes. Agent A gets 1. Davan gets 1. Agent B gets 0. Slots rank: player, GM, player/GM (tied, player wins). Senna goes first, then Agent A, then Davan, then Agent B.
Round 1:
Senna's turn (player slot). Senna uses her Maneuver to step to the side and get partial cover behind a cargo loader (+1 Ranged Defense). She uses her Action to fire her carbine at Agent A. Agility 3, Ranged 2: pool is 2 Mastery Dice and 1 Ability Die (3 dice, 2 upgraded). Agent A is at Short range, so difficulty is Easy: 1 Trial Die. Agent A has no Ranged Defense yet.
She rolls: 2 net Successes, 1 net Boon. The first Success hits. The second adds +1 damage. She spends the Boon to knock Agent A behind a support column, removing their ability to advance freely. Agent A is repositioned.
Agent A's turn (GM slot). Agent A, now behind the column, fires back at Senna at Short range (Easy difficulty, +1 Bane Die from Senna's cover). The GM rolls: 1 net Success, 1 net Bane. The shot hits for base damage. Senna's Resistance (Agility-heavy build, light armor) is 2. Base damage is 5, minus 2: Senna suffers 3 Wounds. The GM spends the Bane: Senna's cover partially cracks; it now only provides light cover.
Davan's turn (player slot). Davan has no weapon drawn. He uses his first Maneuver to draw his sidearm. He then uses his Action to take a second Maneuver, advancing from Short to Engaged with Agent B, who was moving to flank. Because his Action paid for that second Maneuver, he cannot also attack this turn. He calls out to Senna as a Quick Action: "Loader controls to your right."
Agent B's turn (GM slot). Agent B did not expect to be Engaged and fires their sidearm at Davan at Engaged range (Easy difficulty + 1 Bane Die for close quarters). The GM rolls: 0 net Successes. The shot misses.
Round 2:
Senna is at 3 Wounds (Wound Points 12, so still functional). Davan is now in close quarters with Agent B.
Senna's turn. She uses her Action to fire on Agent A again, this time calling a Boon spend to inflict Disoriented. She gets 1 net Success and 2 net Boons. The shot hits for base damage. She spends 2 Boons: Agent A is Disoriented (1 Bane Die to all checks until end of their next turn).
Agent A's turn. Disoriented, Agent A fires at Senna. The added Bane Die cancels a Boon. The GM rolls 1 net Success: the shot hits but generates no secondary effects. Senna takes 2 more Wounds (5 total, Wound Points 12, still up).
Davan's turn. Davan uses his Action to attack Agent B with his sidearm at Engaged range. He has Agility 2, Ranged 1: 1 Mastery Die and 1 Ability Die. Difficulty is Easy + 1 Bane Die (Engaged with a ranged weapon). He rolls: 2 net Successes, 1 net Bane. The shot hits; the extra Success adds +1 damage. The GM applies the Bane: Davan's position is exposed, and his cargo access badge clatters to the floor. Someone is going to ask questions about that.
Agent B is down to 2 Wounds (Wound Points 10, still in the fight but hurting).
Agent B's turn. Agent B, now wounded and at Engaged with an armed engineer, makes a judgment call. The GM has Agent B attempt to disengage: they spend their Action to back away to Short range (this costs their Action because they are Engaged and trying to break contact) and use a Maneuver to take cover. No attack this round.
Resolution: The fight continues until the agents break off or go down. Senna at 5 Wounds needs to be careful. Davan's lost badge is a complication that will surface later. The contact has not been recovered yet. The round structure has given both sides meaningful choices with real consequences.