The original Dark Future turn sequence seems a little bit strange, especially when you add in pedestrians. There are some slight inconsistencies (in my eyes) regarding actions and the move sequence. As such, I present a totally optional turn sequence here.
Unless stated, all normal Dark Future rules apply, and so does the Complete Turn Sequence. The biggest differences occur in the moving of vehicles and the lack of a pedestrian phase.
This system seems to work well for normal games, but when a lot of units are involved, it might start to slow down - we haven't tested it for large numbers of cars, bikes, pedestrians and other vehicles. Feedback is welcome.
The main change is that a turn
always has six phases. This becomes clear with the advent of the new movement chart. Because of this, there are always six chances of firing a weapon in the turn.
All normal events that should occur in a phase still happen, and they occur at normal time (so Phase 1 will still have some events that don't happen in additional phases). The main difference is that not all vehicles move in the same phase.
With the absence of the Pedestrian Phase, any events that should occur then (with the exception of pedestrian actions) should occur at the beginning of Phase 1.
Pedestrians do not now have a unique pedestrian phase. Instead, they move when vehicles do. In addition, pedestrians get to have an action
each phase, just like vehicles. This action obviously can't be a
move unless the character is allowed to move, but it does mean that a pedestrian can now fire a weapon six times in a turn, just like a vehicle.
To determine a pedestrians speed factor for the New Movement Chart, use the following table:
| Speed (cm) | Speed Factor |
|---|
| 0-8 cm | 1 |
| 9-16 cm | 2 |
| 17-24 cm | 3 |
A character no longer has a second move action because there is no pedestrian phase. Instead a character moves just as a vehicle does, and at the same time.
Unlike a vehicle, a pedestrian need only decide to move when it comes to their phase, however, they must move in the relevant phases, so if moving 9-16 cm, then they most in phase 3, they cannot decide which phase they wish their move to be.
A character with a second non-move action has a single additional action which can be used in any phase in addition to their normal action, thus giving them two actions that phase.
A character may only make one close combat action per turn, and a character making a close combat action may not make any other attack (close combat or using guns) that turn.
For characters with more additional actions (due to cyberware or other reasons), then each additional action may be a close combat action, but only one such action may be made per phase. Only additional actions may be additional close combat actions.
For normal characters being attacked by characters with multiple close combat actions, use the following rules. If a character is attacked and has used their close combat actions, then they may only defend in close combat, not attack. All the normal rules apply, but the character may not cause damage. This means that if the character wins the close combat action, no damage is caused to the opponent.
A character may fire a weapon as many times as they have actions. However, reloading a weapon takes a full 6 actions. For normal people, this means that it costs one turn to reload a weapon. For cybered characters, it will take less time, but the same amount of actions.
Some weapons may have a recharge time, listed in phases. This is the amount of time that the weapon takes to recharge before it can be fired again. This phase limit cannot be quicked by spending actions on it. If a weapon takes 3 phases to recharge, then it takes 3 phases, no matter how many actions a character has. Fast reaction characters are advised to not take slow recharging weapons if they wish to utilise the full extent of their many actions in combat.
All pedestrian wound effects are in force as normal, however a Stun result will cause the character to lose the next three phases worth of actions. Small dice are handy to record the level of stun that a character has.
The alternate turn sequence uses the following movement chart. Note that vehicles now don't move in sequentional phases.
| Phases |
| MPH | Speed Factor | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|
| 01-20 | 1 | X |
| 21-40 | 2 | X | | x |
| 41-60 | 3 | X | | x | | | x |
| 61-80 | 4 | X | | x | | x | x |
| 81-100 | 5 | X | x | x | | x | x |
| 101-120 | 6 | X | x | x | x | x | x |
| 121-140 | 7 | XX | x | x | x | x | x |
| 141-160 | 8 | XX | x | xx | x | x | x |
| 161-180 | 9 | XX | x | xx | x | x | xx |
| 181-200 | 10 | XX | x | xx | x | xx | xx |
| 201-220 | 11 | XX | xx | xx | x | xx | xx |
| 221-240 | 12 | XX | xx | xx | xx | xx | xx |
| 241-260 | 13 | XXX | xx | xx | xx | xx | xx |
| 261-280 | 14 | XXX | xx | xxx | xx | xx | xx |
| 281-300 | 15 | XXX | xx | xxx | xx | xx | xxx |
| 301-320 | 16 | XXX | xx | xxx | xx | xxx | xxx |
| 321-340 | 17 | XXX | xxx | xxx | xx | xxx | xxx |
| 341-360 | 18 | XXX | xxx | xxx | xxx | xxx | xxx |
The fastest unit moves first in a phase. This can be a vehicle or pedestrian.
In the case of ties, the unit in front moves first, or when this cannot be determined (due to the differing directions of travel, and off-road movement), then the unit with the lowest driving skill goes first.
Pedestrians always move last in ties with vehicles, but amongst themselves the highest running skill goes first.
Due to this new system, augmented reactions isn't quite as effective as it used to be. As such, if using these new rules, you might want to modify Augmented Reactions to the following. It costs $30,000 to get one additional action, and then each $20,000 gives the character an additional action on top of that, for a maximum of 6 extra actions. Only two actions may be taken in a phase, and only one of those may be a close combat action. As usual, these additional actions may not be used to move a pedestrian or vehicle again. A character may choose when to use their additional actions in the turn, but a total of two actions may be used in a phase (for a maximum of 12 shoot actions in a turn!).
