Actions

Action-Points (AP) are a critically important resource that determines the time and energy cost of actions in combat and time-sensitive situations. Actions/Commands often cost a certain amount of Action-Points to execute and recover quickly to allow the character to move and act. By default, characters have base amount of 100 AP to work with and gain additional MaxAP through character progression. Action-Points is described as being an abstraction of speed, reflexes and execution of actions a character performs within the time permitted on their turn; higher MaxAP indicates the character is generally faster in executing multiple commands whereas discounts to specific actions to cheapen their AP cost means faster and more efficient execution of specific actions.

Glossary

Action / Command

An Action or Command are interchangeable terms to describe a character skill or ability that has a meaningful effect upon the game environment. Commands are usually called by players to their characters.

Action Points

Action Points (AP) are a special resource that determines how many actions a character can execute per round. All characters have a minimum of 100 Action-Points in order to execute actions regardless of their build. AP is an abstraction of time and speed that a character has to act during a combat scenario. When a character has insufficient AP to execute an action, the character runs out of time to complete any action before their turn ends and another begins.

Action Overflow

Action Overflow is a mechanic that can be used by character to execute an action even if they have insufficient AP to pay the entire cost. The Action-Points gained from ending the character's turn must cover the remainder cost of the action, or the action will fail. This is considered a risky tactic because doing so will limit a character's ability to act outside their turn and the actions they can take in the next turn.

Action Types

Standard Action

A Standard Action usually costs 50 AP to execute. Also known as a basic action, a character may be able to execute multiple standard actions in a turn. Standard actions are the most common type of action performed by a character, and any action not specifically referred to by type will be considered to be a Standard action.

Advanced Action

An Advanced action usually costs 100 AP instead of 50. These types are actions are usually longer to execute and more elaborate to perform than Standard Actions. However, if a character gains additional MaxAP or is able to discount the AP cost of certain actions, a character may be able to execute multiple advanced actions in a single round.

Full-Round Action

A Full-Round Action has a fixed cost equal to the character's Max AP to execute, nothing short of AP discounts can lower the cost of these types of actions. A character may use Action Overflow to execute a command with a Full-Round Action cost, but only if the amount of AP they gain at the end of their turn can cover the cost. Full-Round actions may be used for powerful abilities that really do take up a character's entire turn and cannot necessarily be sped-up or interleaved with other actions.

Quick-Action

A Quick Action usually costs 25 AP and used for actions that do not demand a lot of time or effort to execute. There may be limitations to how many times one can perform a Quick action, unless otherwise stated, this limit is once per round.

Free Action

A Free Action costs no AP to execute, but may have severe limitations to how many times this can be performed per round. Like a Quick Action, this limit is once per round unless specified, however this once is per action not all actions; multiple free actions can be executed in the same round, but the same free action cannot. It is more likely a Free Action can be afforded in conjunction with another action that costs AP, such as a mode-change. Talking may be considered a Free action with the limitation that one cannot speak longer than the total time taken to perform any and all actions that round, or if the round contains no actions, no more than 6 to 8 seconds of speaking.

Mechanics

AP Recovery: Start and End of Turn

Characters usually begin with either Half or ALL their Max AP at the beginning of battle, as determined by the Game-Master. From that point on, characters use commands/actions and spend AP to play. When a character ends their turn, they regain Half of their Max AP, up to their MaxAP stat. The character gains another Half of AP at the start of their next turn.

The purpose of splitting AP recovery in half is to serve the Action Overflow and Reaction game mechanics. Reactions outside a character's turn cannot function without the necessary AP to pay the cost, and Overflow cannot be afforded if the character lacks the necessary AP gained from ending its turn. If a character does not spend AP for either of these actions, they should have recovered all their AP by the start of their next turn.