Editing Within a Pause (section)

==Combat in a Pause==

As important as investigation is in a Pause, combat can be equally important. The characters need to defend themselves from the Aberrations that threaten their progress. If the enemies have their way, all the characters will either be dead or Locked Out, resulting in an unresolved Pause that may lead to irrevocable damage to the Universe, damage that will likely affect everyone in the normal Time Flow.

Combat in Pause is organized by '''rounds'''. A round is divided into '''turns''' for each '''participant''', both character and enemy alike. Each participant may only have one turn per round, unless indicated otherwise by the Coordinator. Each turn is comprised of a series of '''phases''' in which the participant is allowed to move and act in the Pause.

The basic flow of battle is as follows:

'''Begin Round'''

* Participants roll initiative

''Begin Each Turn''

* Movement
* Actions

''End Each Turn''

* Participants recover Personal Time

'''End Round'''

===Initiative===

At the beginning of every round, all of the participants roll '''1d10''' each to determine turn order for the round. The highest number starts first, the lowest going last in the round. In the case of ties, the participant with the '''higher PER Trait score''' takes priority. If there is still a tie, the participant with the '''higher AGI Trait score''' then takes priority.

During this phase, participants may also choose to re-roll their initiative roll by spending a point of Personal Time, placing one of the dice from that pool to the External Time pool before the turns even begin.

When the turn order has been decided, each participant takes their turn. At the beginning of each turn, the participant may move themselves as well as to take actions. The order of doing so is entirely up to the participant.

===Movement===

In this phase, a participant has three options, barring any special situations that may prove otherwise. Bear in mind that in the -2 and -3 boxes of critical status, a participant's movement cost is increased by one point of Personal Time.

In '''''Pause''''', the basic movement rate is fifteen (15) for walking through the still air within a Pause, or about three to four steps, depending on the character – remember that the participant has to move the air directly around him or herself in order to walk. Running is even more difficult, as the participant has to move the air a little further ahead of him or herself in order to get any distance.

The three options are as follows:

* '''Stay still:''' 0 PT; no target number
* '''Walk fifteen (15) feet:''' 1 PT; no target number
* '''Run thirty (30) feet:''' 2 PT; target number 5

When running, a critical success means that the participant was a little faster than though, moving him or her forty-five (45) feet. A failure translates to moving only fifteen (15) feet, as the air in front of the participant was not moved and thus slowed him or her down. Meanwhile, a critical failure means that the participant was unable to move at all, essentially staying in the same place in the end.

===Actions===

In this phase, the participant may perform any number of actions other than moving, provided that he or she has the necessary Personal Time to do so. Bear in mind that participants in any of the critical status boxes must add one point of Personal Time to the cost of each action he or she wants to do.

The following is a list of common actions a participant can do in a Pause. However, this does not limit the participant in what he or she can actually do, as long as the Coordinator allows it within reason.

* '''Changing Anchor modes:''' Change between weapon and tool modes; 1 PT, no target number
* '''Melee attacks:''' Attack an enemy adjacent to yourself; 2 PT; target number varies by enemy; STR modifier
* '''Ranged attacks:''' Attack an enemy some distance away from yourself; 3+ PT, varying by enemy; target number varies by enemy; AGI modifier
* '''Bracing for enemy attacks:''' Reduce physical damage of enemy attack during the same round by 1 lgt; 1 PT; target number 6; HEA modifier
* '''Manually interacting with objects:''' Manipulate objects adjacent to yourself; 2 PT; target number 6; STR modifier
* '''Throwing objects:''' Throw an object some distance from yourself; 3+ PT varying by distance and object; target number varies by distance; STR modifier for distance; AGI modifier for accuracy after distance roll
* '''Using Domains:''' Use one of the Domains at your disposal; PT cost and target number varies by each Domain; KNO modifier for success of Domain use; PER modifier for accuracy after success roll
* '''Unlocking an ally from Lock Out:''' Give some of your Personal Time to an ally, one point of which going to External Time; takes 2 rounds to activate; 2+ PT; target number 6; PER modifier

===Attacking===

A participant's offense is a straightforward process. First, the participant attacking or using an offensive Domain declares his or her attack or Domain, as well as the intended target.

After the declaration, the participant uses necessary modifiers to adjust their roll before the roll: STR modifier for melee attacks; AGI modifier for ranged attacks; and KNO modifier for the use of a Domain. In this case, a bonus allows the offender to re-roll his or her lowest die while a penalty forces him or her to remove the highest die from the roll.

After the offender's roll, the defender then applies his or her own modifiers: HEA for melee and ranged attacks; PER modifier for Domains. A bonus allows the defender to remove the offender's highest die while a penalty allows the offender to re-roll the lowest die.

If the attack or Domain achieves the target number assigned by the Coordinator after all the modifiers have been taken into consideration, the appropriate effect takes place. In the case of attacks, if the defender has braced for an attack in the same turn before the attacker, he or she takes one light wound away from the total damage of the attack.

===Personal Time Recovery===

At the end of the round (when everyone has taken their turns,) the dice in the External Time pool are evenly distributed back to the participants as fresh Personal Time for the next round. Any left over dice in the pool are then up for grabs.

All participants roll '''1d10''', as they did for the initiative roll. The participant with the highest number takes all the remaining dice in the pool for him or herself. In the case of a tie, the participant with the '''higher PER Trait score''' wins the dice. If there is still a tie, the remaining dice stay in the External Dice pool until the next round's recovery phase.