Actions in combat

I have a few questions regarding combat that maybe you all could answer:
1.
a. I noticed the dodge and parry option. It seems that you would dodge every time you are in a combat. Am i understanding this wrong or is that correct?
b. should NPC characters dodge at every chance as well?
2. If your character is hiding in a room (say behind a crate) and an enemy walks in:
a. should the enemy do an observe upon entering the room to see if they notice you? should it be a (listen) or an (observe)?
b. The character wants to lean out and surprise attack the enemy... should another observe take place to see if the enemy notices the movement?
3. How do you handle running away? You roll a TN(5) but does that mean you escape? Or can the enemy also run after you?

i guess thats it for now..thanks for the help

1. Parry is good because it uses a character's Armed Combat or Unarmed Combat skill to do so, applying all sorts of modifiers plus a parry modifier (if applicable). Its better because its the same thing your opponent is using against you. Its ok because its effects only last for one action. Dodge is ok being a reaction used to compete against a skill, but it does have edges and abilities that will aid in increasing the bonus. Dodge is best in that its effects (replace your Defense score) last until its your turn again in initiative or you decide to roll again and beat the current score. Dodge is good in that it can't lower your Defense. Dodge is ok in that there are attacks that can only be dodged and not parried.

1a. That would depend on the NPC's Swiftness score, bonuses for Dodge, how many Courage he has, and how many rounds you want him to last.

2a. That would be Narrator's discretion, but I would say yes. If the character is hiding and not moving, the opposed test could be Observe (Spot), Observe (Listen) <--- this one much higher TN, or other sort of sensing ability.

2b. Yes again and see above. Also at this time, I would initiate combat, calling for initiative.

3. Athletics (Run) with opposed tests. Ranged weapons are great for tagging those who run away, but don't forget the TN modifiers for hitting moving targets.

Characters get 2 actions per combat round, so unless all they do is shoot then yes they should be dodging. You can take an aditional action at a -5 and soldier or security types often get an additional action anyway (as professional abilities etc) so using them to aim or dodge is a good idea..

Parry is decidedly more useful than Dodge when you use it, but it's extremelly limited in use: You can dodge anything, but you can only parry other armed combat strikes.. you cannot parry a phaser blast! Parry is decidedly easy to do, because it's an armed combat skill test, Dodge is just a quickness test, and even with the Dodge Trait, it's very hard to get a bigger modifier in Dodge than in Armed Combat.. it's cheaper to buy with picks!

Cover is an option with Dodge however, dodging behind an object will give you aditional bonuses, but you can't really dodge in melee combat, since your oponent is right next to you (but this is down to the narator's discretion of course!)

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Cover is an option with Dodge however, dodging behind an object will give you additional bonuses, but you can't really dodge in melee combat, since your oponent is right next to you (but this is down to the narator's discretion of course!)

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I don't think I agree with your interpretations here.

Dodge is a combat action. Movement is also a combat action. If a charactrer is not behind cover, but wishes to move behind cover, he should, in my opinion use a move action such as jog. Using the Dodge action does not innately grant the character any movement as far as I am aware.

Moreover, the Dodge action is a reaction. You cannot declare a Dodge until someone attempts to attack your character, which can only happen on another character's turn. Since your character can only move on his own turn, you could not "Dodge into cover".

Lastly, a correction - having an opponent "right next to you" does not preclude your character from using a Dodge action. Dodge can be used in response to any attack, including armed and unarmed attacks made by adjacent foes.

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3. How do you handle running away? You roll a TN(5) but does that mean you escape? Or can the enemy also run after you?

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Easy. You use the Sprint action to get the hell out of Dodge (the city, not the combat action). If you assume Sprint to be a full-round action, then it implies continuous movement and as such, would indeed smack a "moving target" penalty on anyone that was trying to shoot you.

If your attacker wants to pursue you, then he pretty much has to use a Sprint action, too, and you're no longer under attack.

Thank you for all your replies. it has clarifeid much for me....
I have another question now...
If two characters are fighting in close range (withing striking distance... say with a ba'tleth or a club) can one of the characters use a phaser? It seems that there should be a penalty for trying to use one so close (like the enemy knocks it out of your hand or something).

Ok I agree with you on the Dodge issue, dodge does not give you movement, as it is an instinctual moving out of the way.

However you can declare a dodge as a half action. It might not be officially the rules, but you could always save a dodge up, especially because you got to go first, i.e. you know what your enemy is about to do. What I meant with regards to Dodge is it adds up with Cover, but you by definition can't be parrying and with cover. You can dodge at point blank range, but you can't have cover and dodge at point blank range.

There aren't rules for running away in Coda, in the same sense as there is in D&D 3.5 - I.e. you can't just leave the fight altogether... If you run to the limits of your ability, but the bad guys have long range weapons, then you can still be hit. Again cover applies here. If you run round a corner, or dive behind a bush then you may be impossible to hit (though the cover may not be tough enough to protect you completelly if a phaser is set to setting 16, though there aren't hard and fast rules for this!)

I don't recally anywhere in the rules that there's a penalty for using a phaser at point-blank range in melee combat. As I understand it, ranged weapons get a +2 bonus at anything w/i short range which is less than 5 m for a hand phaser.

In d20, using a ranged weapon while close enough to be in melee combat, gives the defender an attack of opportunity to make an melee attack BEFORE the person w/ the ranged weapon, even if that person has initiative.

In the Alternity system which I also play, there is penalty for using a long weapon, such as a rifle, at point blank range b/c of the difficulty of aiming the rifle at someone so close. There is no penalty for using a handgun at point blank range & there's even a bonus.

I don't think Coda has such rules above as d20 or Alternity. I suppose you could adopt one or more of such rules to your Coda house rules.

I personally would apply a -2 penalty for trying to use a phaser rifle or something similar at point blank range b/c it would be practically difficult to aim at someone standing so close. But I wouldn't assign any penalty for using a hand phaser at such close range b/c it very easy to point such a small weapon at someone standing so close. And remember that w/ phasers you don't have to hit the head or heart for it be an instantly fatal shot. Even a hit to the hand or foot can result in vaporization if the phaser is set for that.

That's why I recommend that PCs in phaser combat always dodge as one of their actions. Even a glancing blow can be fatal.

You're absolutely right, Jem'hadar. Phasers and disruptors in the Coda rules are extremely effective. If you're hit by one, you're either going to be knocked out, or you're going to suffer at LEAST a -5 penalty to all of your die rolls, and that's on the lowest setting!

This really pushes up the value of the Dodge trait (which adds +3 to Dodge attempts, but requires an Agility of 9+).

i think i like the idea of letting the defender make a melee attack before a phaser shot at close range: ... similar to a scene where a man whips around his gun and has it knocked out of his hand or is punched before being able to shoot (or something like that).

Also... in the Star Trek world, phasers cannot always be shot at close range because it would damage the shooter as well... I can think of many instancs where Tuvok ordered his security detail not to shoot because the range was too close...
perhaps, at extreme close range you could shoot but incur a damge roll against yourself as well.,

it has to be said that using phasers at extremelly short range on high settings in stupid because of the potential damage they can do - explode several metric tonnes of rock in to rubble.. when you're standing next to the explosion - OUCH! :)

While I like your idea from a romantic point of view, I can't see the players liking it if it happened to them, so such a thing should be down to initiative. I really would NOT like to see attacks of oportunity in Coda, most D20 prodcts don't even have it in these days :)

One of the benefits of Type I and Type II phasers is that they're very small. This allows them to be used at close range without penalty, and I'm sure that's not by accident. Since the Federation promotes the idea of peaceful interactions with other species, a Starfleet officer must be able to converse with an alien face-to-face and not show fear or suspicion. As a result, Starfleet is constantly putting its folks in potentially dangerous situations, but its for a good cause.

There is always risk, of course. When members of a new alien species are encountered, who knows how they will react? They might perceive a handshake as an attack. Instead of having encounters with unknown species take place at ten paces with weapons drawn and aimed, Starfleet officers are encounraged to be friendly, trusting and open. However, in the event such officers suddenly find themselves under attack, a weapon effective at point-blank range is a must for self-defense.

Point Blank range (which could probably include close-quarters combat) gives a +2 bonus to Ranged Combat attacks.