Combat

Combat in Nine Springs is turn-based, in the style of Underrail and the classic Fallout games, while exploration runs in real time. A fight starts when an enemy spots you, when you attack, or when you press Enter while exploring. In the last two cases you act first, and enemies who haven’t noticed you stay unaware, so you can set up a sneak attack.

Numbers on this page are draft values from the prototype and will change.

Action and movement points

Pool	Amount	Used for
AP (action points)	50	Attacks, techniques, items, reloading, and movement
MP (movement points)	30 + 5 per point of Agility above 5	Movement only

• You are not locked to tiles. You walk straight to any point you fit, at any angle, and paths bend only around obstacles.
• Moving costs 10 points per tile of distance. MP is spent first, then AP.
• Up to 10 unused AP carry over into your next turn. MP never carries over.
• One combat round is six seconds of game time.

Reach and range

• Melee weapons have a reach: a knife reaches 0.5 tiles, a sword or pipe 1, a polearm 2.
• Ranged weapons have an optimal range and a maximum range. Aim falls off for every tile beyond the optimal range, and darkness around the target makes it worse.
• Firearms use magazines and need reloading. Energy weapons use a charge, and you swap in a power cell to refill them.
• You carry two weapon sets, each with two hands: a one-handed weapon in each, or one two-handed weapon. Swapping sets costs a little AP.

Hitting

• Melee attacks test your Martial skill against the target’s Dodge.
• Ranged attacks test Firearms, Throwing or Tech Weapons against the target’s Evasion.
• Force moves test your Force skill against Dodge or Evasion, or Willpower for mental attacks.
• The ratio between the two skills sets the odds, so a fight between equals stays even as both sides level up. Cover, range, height, lighting and status effects modify the result.

Body and wounds

There is no single health bar. Every body has six parts with their own HP: the head, the torso, two arms and two legs. Hits land on one of them, and skilled attackers land more on the head and torso.

• A hurt leg slows you; a disabled one leaves you crawling.
• A hurt weapon arm spoils your aim; a disabled one can’t hold the weapon.
• Cuts and stabs bleed until they clot or you bandage them.
• A badly hurt head or torso knocks you out. Destroy either one and you’re dead.

A knocked-out enemy counts as beaten. Sparing, looting or finishing them is your choice.

Height and falls

Maps have several height levels joined by stairs, ladders and catwalks. Higher ground helps your aim, and falls hurt. Nine Springs is a city built down a shaft, so knocking someone off a catwalk is a real tactic.