Strikes and blocks
Combat · Strike · Intercept · Sabotage
Declaring a strike
Section titled “Declaring a strike”During Operations, a READY Personnel that is not under ORIENTATION and not STATIONED may strike one target; it becomes EXHAUSTED:
- an opposing Personnel — any Personnel may do this;
- an opposing Facility — RAIDER only;
- the opposing reactor — RAIDER only.
Only RAIDER-trait Personnel can touch a reactor or a Facility. DEFENSE Personnel fight people and block.
Blocking
Section titled “Blocking”The defender may intercept any strike with one STATIONED Personnel that is not exhausted. Damage is simultaneous: the striker deals ATK to the blocker, the blocker deals ATK to the striker. Two exceptions:
- GUARD blockers deal their damage first; if the striker dies, it deals nothing.
- A striker holding the M80 AMR deals its damage first when it fights a Personnel. Against a GUARD blocker the two cancel out and damage is simultaneous.
A blocked strike deals nothing to its original target. The Senior Guard’s “HACK value is 0” is a reminder of the same rule: a blocked reactor strike never hacks.
Unblocked strikes
Section titled “Unblocked strikes”| Target | Result |
|---|---|
| Personnel | Striker deals ATK; the target deals its ATK back (they fight). Both take persistent damage. |
| Facility | Striker deals ATK to Integrity. At 0, the Facility is destroyed — and any GRANTS it gave is gone at once. |
| Reactor | HEAT (ATK × 100) to the defender’s core. Sabotage of coolant valves, feedwater and rods is abstracted into that one number. A Personnel with HACK n may instead add n HACK counters. |
Protection
Section titled “Protection”- Stationing is the only way to block, and it is opt-in and visible: a roster of ready-but-unstationed guards cannot intercept.
- GUARD (first strike when blocking) is the SECFOR / GSP signature. Junior Watchman, Senior Guard, Reserve Enlisted and the TRT Squad Leader all have it.
- The TRT Squad Leader, while stationed, stops RAIDERS striking your Facilities outright.
- LOCKDOWN (Class 2 Lockdown, Plant Director’s Exhaust) is the executive answer: nothing of yours can be struck until your next Shift End, and no HACK counters can be added — at the cost of that shift’s Power Order.
- ARMOR on the VT-6 “Monarch” ignores every source with ATK ≤ 1, which is every Conscript that is not in a pack of three.
- Bloxian Support Operative cannot be blocked by ATK 0 Personnel: an operator-only roster cannot stop it.
A worked exchange
Section titled “A worked exchange”Player A (DEFENSE) has a stationed Junior Watchman with a Weston SMG (ATK 2, HP 3+1, GUARD) and an exhausted Reactor Operator. Player B (ASSAULT) has three WNAF Conscripts (ATK 2 each with Chainbreaker) and a Federal Ranger (ATK 2, HACK 1) with a Hacking Device (HACK 2 total).
- Conscript #1 strikes A’s reactor. A intercepts with the Watchman: GUARD deals 2 first, the Conscript (HP 2) dies, no damage back.
- Conscript #2 strikes the reactor. A has no other stationed, ready unit. Unblocked: HEAT 200.
- The Ranger strikes the reactor, unblocked. B chooses hack: 2 HACK counters on A’s SKALA panel.
- B deploys a Hostile Raid in the Incident phase. A’s next Base Load will be +150 K, or +200 K if a third counter lands.
The Watchman traded one Conscript for nothing; the other two strikes cost A 200 K and two counters. Two stationed guards would have held.