Maneuver (Action)

Heroic Action Role-Play

Maneuver governs you motor control and ability to maneuver and perform difficult physical stunts. This is complex body control and advanced maneuvers; normal movement stunts are governed by Dodge and it can sometimes be hard to draw a line between the two skills.

Unskilled Use

Maneuver skill defaults to Reflexes. Most aspects can be used unskilled, but since maneuvers are usually high-risk, it is dangerous to do so.

Use in Action

You can balance, parachute, rock climb, sneak, tumble, vault, swim, tightrope walk, and perform all the other advanced stunts reserved for the circus and for action movies. Don't bother to roll for normal actions, such as running or climbing a ladder, only for dramatic acts like jumping from car to car in a chase or tightrope-walking between buildings.

Knowledge

You know the world record and the names of the hundred best athletes in any field you ever practiced. This can be sporting fields, but also secret ones such as ninja clans and commandos. You know a lot of trivia about sports; rules, arenas, clubs, and other trivia. You know the rules and ceremonies of a thousand sports and competitions.

Contacts

You know practitioners, journalists, judges, and aficionados. Depending on your background, you might know people better in a specific field, such as sports, ninja, circus, or commando training. But in the athletic world, ability to do is more valued than talk, merely showing up and showing off at a training facility can usually win you some local contacts.

Stunts

List of specific stunts the skill can be used for, and rules for each using the standard power format.

Evasion

Standard Action

You can throw off pursuers by selecting a route they cannot easily follow. You need some terrain you can conceivably shake pursuit in, check out the Free Running rules. Make an opposed Maneuver roll against the Ride or Maneuver of the target. If several people are chasing you, you still have to concentrate on shaking one at a time or use the multi-target rules. If you succeed, the target loses three shots or must give up pursuit. It you score an Outcome matching the target's Reflexes, he loses shots equal to the Outcome and has to give up the chase or suffer some Setback.

Schticks or powers can modify this stunt by +5 or even +10, as appropriate for the situation. For example, it is very hard for someone to catch up with you if you fly off and they can't fly, but in this case it is usually quite easy for them to follow you at a distance unless you are also faster. You can usually avoid vehicles by going for congested terrain.

Free Running

Inherent

You can move over hindering terrain, run and leap over hazards and difficult ground that would normally slow or hinder others. The difficulty depends on the situation.

Obstacle	Difficulty
Rubble or other slowing obstacle.	5
Obstacle course, fences, walls up to 3m in height, tightrope.	10
Moving obstacles, fast traffic, slack ropes and swaying supports.	15
Running on walls.	20
Running on ceilings, flames, or slow missiles such as spears or arrows.	25
Running on clouds, flames, or bullets.	25
You end your move still in the hazard.	+5

Failure at free running means you hesitate. You can up the ante and try anyway (which gives you a reroll), but if you fail this second attempt you suffer a Setback.

Jump

Standard Action

You can make a jump equal to your Reflexes in meters as a running jump; A quarter of that is the height of the jump. The difficulty of the stunt is twice the distance or eight times the height in meters. This is for when you cannot "cheat" somehow. If you can use a pole, trampoline, rope or other aid, you can make a Maneuver roll with the length (or four times the height) of the jump in meters as the difficulty.

Free Running is the more common stunt. Use the jump stunt only when there is a distinct hazard to be passed trough, not for difficult ground in general.

Outmaneuver

Basic Action

You use this is combat to get a momentary advantage. It represents such maneuvers as outflanking, getting a height advantage, and causing someone to stumble. The roll will be heavily modified depending on how well you describe your stunt and use available props.

Make an opposed Maneuver roll against your target. If you succeed, add the Outcome as a modifier to your next skill roll against this target. You can also give away this advantage to someone else, effectively setting the target up for someone else's attack.

It you score an Outcome matching the target's Reflexes, you also inflict a Setback; the target suffers some direct penalty, as appropriate to the situation and how you described your outmaneuver. He might drop his weapon, fall over a cliff, temporarily show off his unarmored flank and so on.

Run Push

Basic Action

You can use this stunt to run at a higher Move rating for one action. This is useful as a temporary speed boost and for keeping up with a chase in open terrain, where your Move would not enough to participate in a chase. If you fail any action to keep up with the case, you fall behind and cannot re-enter the chase unless special circumstances permit it.

Make a Maneuver roll; for every 4 points you score on this roll, your effective Move is increased by one. A roll of 4 allows +1 Move, 8 allows +2 Move, 12 allows +3, 16 allows +4 and so on. The effect of the stunt lasts for the three shots it takes to take the action and for three short after that, allowing the next basic Action you make to benefit from this stunt.

Sneak

Basic Action

Make a Maneuver roll and compare it against the highest Spot rating among the opposition. If you fail and it is important to know who spotted you, observers can make opposed Spot rolls to see who noticed you first, but generally this is a moot point as long as the enemy is able to communicate. You must be in some plausible place of concealment to sneak, but the GM is expected to be lenient on this. Basically you need to give a suitably cinematic description of your stunt.

If successful you are under cover and hiding, effectively invisible. You cannot be selected as the target of an attack and gain a +3 bonus to Dodge against area attacks. Any attack you make gets a +3 attack bonus.

You need not make additional Maneuver rolls to stay hidden and can perform other actions as long as you remain still and under cover, but opponents can actively use Scan or schticks to find you. If you call attention to yourself, move, or take an action that directly affects someone other than yourself, you become visible. If you start hidden, move (thus revealing yourself), and then successfully sneak again, enemies have only a vague idea you are in the area.

Stay Low

Tigger Action (Defense)

When an opponent tries to Scan and find you, you can stay low and gain a +3 bonus of your Maneuver for defense.