Rules and hints for improvisation and creativity in combat situations

[Kelly Pedersen]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

This seems like a great place for Player Guidance or the Serendipity advantage. "None of my weapons can hurt this slug without it killing me. I make a run for it, but I want to use Player Guidance (or Serendipity) to find something that does".

That's what I'd do, yeah, particularly the Player Guidance suggestion. As an addition to that, you could consider a house rule of giving out some "free" player guidance for good Tactics or Observation skills. The way I'd work that is allowing characters to take a turn to roll Per-based Tactics or Observation (as a Concentrate maneuver). If they succeed, they get two free points to use for Player Guidance, plus one additional point for every 5 points of margin of success. The points have to be used during the combat or encounter, and they also go away if there's a significant change of scenery within the combat.

Compare that to the rule that allows an opposed Tactics rule before the battle to get your side re-rolls (Martial Arts, p. 60). That one has to be done before the fight begins, but it potentially gives a lot more "point-equivalents" (I think treating a use of Luck, which is what each re-roll effectively is, as worth 1 point is pretty reasonable), and they can be transferred to anyone on your side, too.