Basic 2v2 Encounter

Minimal scenario for bootstrapping core combat mechanics. No narrative, pure mechanics.

The Space

A rectangular room, 20m x 10m.

       20m
  ┌──────────────────────┐
  │                      │
  │  [C1]          [C2]  │
  │                      │
  │         [W]          │  10m
  │                      │
  │  [C3]          [C4]  │
  │                      │
  └──────────────────────┘

  [W]  = Low wall (1m high, 4m wide, center of room)
  [C1] - [C4] = Chest-high crate clusters (hard cover, ~1m x 1m)

Low wall (W): Center of room, 1m tall, 4m wide. Can crouch behind for full cover. Can shoot over while standing (exposed from chest up). Divides the room loosely into two halves.
Crate clusters (C1-C4): One in each quadrant. Hard cover, roughly chest-high when crouching. Characters can lean out to shoot, exposing part of their body.
Floor: Flat, no elevation changes.
Lighting: Normal, full visibility throughout.

The Combatants

Four identical soldiers. Two teams of two.

Team Alpha: A1 and A2

Starting position: South wall, near C3 and C4 respectively.

Team Bravo: B1 and B2

Starting position: North wall, near C1 and C2 respectively.

Shared Stats (All Four)

Attribute	Value
Firearms	3 (Proficient)
Tactics	2 (Competent)
Awareness	2 (Competent)
Agility	3
Endurance	3
Strength	3
Willpower	2

No specializations. No traits. Baseline competent soldiers.

Shared Loadout (All Four)

Item	Notes
Combat rifle	Standard semi-auto, effective at all ranges in this space
Sidearm	Backup
Medium body armor	Torso + upper arms covered, plates front and back
Helmet	Ballistic, covers top and sides of head, face exposed
Frag grenade x1
Smoke grenade x1
Combat rig	4 rifle magazines (30 rounds each = 120 total), sidearm mag x2, medical pouch
Medical pouch	Bandages, hemostatic agent, one pain stim

Starting Conditions

Both teams are aware of each other (no ambush, no surprise).
Both teams start behind their respective crate clusters.
Distance between opposing cover: ~8m (C3 to C1, or C4 to C2), ~10m diagonal.
Distance across the center wall: ~3-4m from wall to nearest crate cluster.
Everyone is in cover at the start.
Both teams want to eliminate the other.

The Fight: Reasoning Through Mechanics

Moment 0: Initiative

Both teams are aware, both are in cover. Combat begins.

The first question: who goes first?

Options:

Individual initiative: Each of the 4 soldiers rolls independently. Turn order might be B2, A1, B1, A2 — interleaved. This means teammates don’t necessarily act together.
Team initiative: Each team rolls once. Winning team’s members all go first, then losing team. Feels more coordinated but creates a big advantage for the winning team.
Side-based with individual order: Team that wins initiative picks which of their members goes first, then alternating sides. E.g., A1, B1, A2, B2.

What matters for the feel: In a milsim, coordinated team action matters. Two soldiers working together should feel different from two individuals. But pure team initiative can be crushing — the winning team gets to alpha-strike before the losers react at all.

Proposal: Side-based alternating. Winning side picks one member to act. Then losing side picks one. Alternate. This gives the initiative winner a slight edge (they act first) without letting them steamroll.

With identical stats, let’s say Alpha wins initiative this time.

Moment 1: A1’s Turn

A1 is behind crate C3. B1 is behind crate C1, directly across (~8m). B2 is behind C2, diagonal (~10m).

What does A1 want to do?

A1 has several options a player might consider:

Lean out and shoot at B1 (nearest target, 8m, but B1 is in cover)
Throw the smoke grenade toward the center wall to create concealment for a push
Move toward the center wall (closer to the enemy, but better position for grenades/flanking)
Throw the frag grenade at B1’s position behind C1
Stay in cover and wait (overwatch — shoot the first enemy who exposes themselves)

This is where the action economy question becomes concrete.

How much can A1 do in one turn? Let’s reason about it:

Option A: Simple 2-action system

A character gets 2 Actions per turn.
Moving a short distance (up to ~5m) = 1 Action
Shooting = 1 Action
Throwing a grenade = 1 Action
Using a medical item = 1 Action
Reloading = 1 Action
Going prone / standing up = 1 Action (or free?)

Under this system, A1 could: Move + Shoot, or Shoot + Shoot (standing still), or Throw grenade + Duck back, etc.

Option B: Time-budget system

A character has, say, 5 seconds of activity per turn.
Moving 5m = ~2 seconds
Aimed shot = ~2 seconds
Snap shot = ~1 second
Throwing grenade = ~2 seconds
Reloading = ~3 seconds

Under this system, A1 could: Move 5m (2s) + snap shot (1s) + duck (1s) = 4s used. More granular but more complex.

Option C: Move + Action

Like D&D: one move, one action per turn.
Simpler, but might feel restrictive for a milsim.

My lean: Option A (2-action system) feels like the right balance. Simple enough to reason about, flexible enough that players have meaningful choices. The time-budget system is more realistic but might be fiddly even for a VTT. We can always refine later.

Moment 1 (continued): A1 Decides to Shoot B1

Let’s say A1 decides: lean out from C3, take a shot at B1 behind C1. Uses both actions to aim carefully (2 actions = aimed shot with bonus accuracy).

Now we need: the attack resolution.

Here’s what feeds into the calculation:

Factor	Value	Effect
A1 Firearms skill	3 (Proficient)	Base accuracy
Weapon	Combat rifle, semi-auto	Weapon accuracy modifier
Range	8m	Short range for a rifle — no penalty
Aiming	2 actions spent (aimed shot)	Accuracy bonus
A1 status	Healthy, not suppressed	No penalties
Target: B1	Behind crate C1	Only partially exposed (leaning to return fire?) or fully behind cover?

Key question: Is B1 exposed?

B1 isn’t doing anything right now (it’s not B1’s turn). B1 is behind cover. So what can A1 actually shoot at?

This reveals an important design question: Can you shoot at someone who is fully behind cover?

Options:

No: If they’re fully behind cover, you can’t target them. You’d have to wait for them to expose themselves (overwatch) or force them out (grenades, flanking).
Suppression: You can shoot at their cover. You won’t hit them, but you suppress them — making it harder for them to act on their turn.
Partial cover is the norm: In practice, if someone is “behind” a crate, they’re probably peeking or ready to peek. The cover provides a penalty to hit, not immunity.

My lean: Cover should be a strong penalty to hit, but not immunity. A chest-high crate means the defender is mostly hidden but their head/shoulders might be slightly exposed, or the shooter is hoping for a moment when they shift. The alternative — no shot possible — makes the game feel static (everyone hides, nothing happens until someone moves).

Proposal: Cover provides a significant hit penalty AND reduces the number of body regions that can be hit (e.g., behind a chest-high crate, only head and upper shoulders are targetable).

So A1 takes an aimed shot at B1 who is behind C1.

Proposed resolution sequence:

Compute hit probability: Base from Firearms 3, modified by range (easy), aiming bonus (2 actions), target in cover (significant penalty). Let’s say this comes out to something like 40% chance to hit.
Roll: Let’s say A1 hits (rolled under 40).
Determine where the hit lands: A1 aimed center-mass, but B1 is behind a crate. The only exposed regions are head and shoulders. The hit lands on an exposed region — let’s say upper left shoulder.
Check armor: Medium body armor covers upper arms. The round hits the armor plate on the shoulder.
Determine penetration: Combat rifle vs. medium armor at 8m. Let’s say the armor stops full penetration but doesn’t completely negate it — blunt trauma transfers through.
Generate wound: “Blunt impact, left shoulder (armor-mitigated)” — Pain: Minor, Impairment: None, Stress: Light. B1 is shaken but functional.

If A1 had rolled higher (a worse hit), the shot might have:

Missed entirely (>40)
Hit the crate (cover stopped it completely)
Grazed an exposed area (minimal wound)

If A1 had rolled very well (low number = quality hit), it might have:

Hit the exposed head/face area — potentially fatal or severe despite helmet
Found a gap in the armor — full penetration, serious wound

Moment 2: B1’s Turn (Protective Reaction?)

Before B1 takes their actual turn, A1 just shot at them. Under the “protective reactions” concept:

Did B1 get to react when A1 leaned out?

This is the protective reaction question. Options:

No reaction: B1 just takes the hit (or not). It’s not their turn.
Passive protection: B1 is assumed to be staying low behind cover. The cover penalty already represents this.
Active reaction: B1 can spend a reaction to duck further into cover, reducing the hit chance even more. But they “use up” something — maybe one of their actions next turn, or a limited reaction resource.

My lean: The cover penalty already represents the default “staying behind cover” posture. Active reactions should exist but cost something — maybe you can spend one of your next turn’s actions to react now. So B1 could give up one action next turn to duck deeper into cover when A1 shoots.

Moment 2 (continued): B1’s Actual Turn

B1 took a minor hit (blunt impact through armor). It’s now B1’s turn.

B1’s options:

Return fire at A1 — A1 leaned out to shoot, is A1 still exposed? (Depends: did A1 duck back after shooting?)
Throw frag grenade at A1’s position — C3 is 8m away. If the grenade lands behind the crate, devastating.
Move to the center wall — Better position, but has to cross open space.
Suppress A1 — Keep shooting at A1’s cover to pin them down.
Coordinate with B2 — Call out A1’s position (does communication cost an action?).

Let’s say B1 decides to throw a frag grenade at C3 where A1 is hiding.

Grenade mechanics needed:

Throwing accuracy: Tactics 2 + range 8m = how accurate?
Landing point: Where exactly does it land relative to the target?
Fuse time: Does the target get a chance to react?
Blast radius and cover interaction: Does the crate protect A1 from a grenade that lands on the other side?
Fragmentation pattern: Directional or uniform?

The grenade lands near C3. A1 hears it bounce.

A1’s reaction: This is exactly where protective reactions matter most. A1 should be able to do something — dive away, kick it back, flatten themselves against the crate. The question is: what, and how effective is it?

Proposal: When a grenade lands near you, you get a free protective reaction (doesn’t cost actions). The quality of that reaction depends on your Agility and Tactics. Options:

Dive away (move ~2m, go prone, exposed briefly)
Flatten behind cover (hope the cover absorbs some blast)
Kick/throw it back (very hard — requires high Agility + Tactics check)

Summary: Mechanical Questions Surfaced So Far

Just from the first two moments of this simple fight:

Question	Options Discussed	Current Lean
Initiative	Individual / Team / Alternating	Side-based alternating
Actions per turn	2-action / Time-budget / Move+Action	2-action system
Aimed shots	Spend extra actions for accuracy	2 actions = aimed shot bonus
Cover	Immunity / Penalty / Partial exposure	Penalty + limits targetable regions
Shooting at cover	Allowed / Not allowed / Suppression only	Allowed with heavy penalty
Hit resolution	Probability → roll → region → armor → wound	Multi-step pipeline
Protective reactions	None / Free / Costs next-turn actions	Costs next-turn action (exception: grenades are free)
Grenade reactions	None / Free dodge / Skill check	Free reaction, quality based on stats

Next: Your Call

We can continue the fight (A2’s turn, B2’s turn, what happens after the grenade) or we can pause and discuss any of the mechanical proposals above. Which feels more useful right now?

Abeceus System

Explorer

encounter-basic-2v2