Here's the thread for discussing rules issues.  I'll also be posting rule explanations in the first few posts.<br/><br/><strong><br/>Combat Rules</strong><br/><br/>Surprise: Combat often starts with one side attempting to catch the other off guard, and awareness tests are often necessary to not be caught flat footed.  The aggressor goes first during surprise, unless the defender succeeds their awareness test and attempts to act first, causing an initiative roll off as normal.  Characters who fail their awareness roll don't get to act on the first round of combat, but can act normally otherwise.  If at least one defender passes his or her awareness test, he or she may shout a warning to the group to enable the defenders to make reactions.<br/><br/>Initiative: Each character rolls 1d10+agility bonus to determine initiative order.  If suprised, a character can't roll initiative till the second round.<br/><br/>Turns: On a character's turn, a character gets a full action OR two half actions.  A character also receives one reaction per round, which can be used to respond to enemy attacks.<br/><br/>Full Actions:<br/><em>Aim (full):</em>The character gains a +20 bonus on his or her next attack<br/><em>All Out Attack:</em>The character attacks with a melee weapon with a +20 bonus, but may not make any defensive reactions this round<br/><em>Called Shot:</em>Make a melee or ranged attack and select a hit location instead of determining randomly; the attack suffers a -20 penalty<br/><em>Charge:</em>Move up to 3x your agility bonus in meters and make a melee attack with a +10 bonus; you must move at least 4 meters<br/><em>Defensive Stance:</em>Gain an additional reaction this turn, and opponents suffer a -20 penalty to attack<br/><em>Disengage:</em>Move up to your agility bonus in meters without provoking attacks from opponents who have engaged you in melee<br/><em>Full Auto Burst:</em>Attack with a +20 bonus using a gun capable of full auto, score 1 additional hit per degree of success, to a maximum of the full auto fire rate of the gun.  Each additional hit can be assigned to a different target within 2 meters.  On a die result of 94-00, the weapon jams.  May move up to agility bonus meters during a full auto burst, but suffer a -10 penalty to the attack instead of a +20 bonus.<br/><em>Guarded Attack:</em>Make a melee attack with a -10 penalty, gaining a +10 bonus on reaction rolls.<br/><em>Move (full):</em>The character moves up to twice his or her agility bonus.  Moving away from an opponent engaging the character in melee provokes an attack of opportunity.<br/><em>Multiple Attacks:</em>May use the swift attack or lightning attack talents, or, if wielding two weapons, may attack with both with a -30 penalty in the primary hand and a -50 penalty in the secondary hand.  (reduced to -30/-30 if the character has the ambidextrous talent.)  Ranged weapons may be fired on semi auto or full auto during multiple attacks.  If making multiple attacks with two weapons, all targets must be within 10 meters.  The suppressive fire action may be combined with multiple attacks, but only once.<br/><em>Overwatch:</em>Select a kill zone within a 45 degree arc of your character; the kill zone must be empty of enemy combatants.  Under conditions you specify, you may make a standard attack, semi auto burst, full auto attack, or suppressive fire before the beginning of your next turn, interrupting the turns of other characters if your agility bonus is higher than theirs.  Anyone inside the kill zone must make a pinning test.  Performing any action or reaction ends your overwatch action.<br/><em>Run:</em>Move up to 6 times your agility bonus.  Anyone attacking you with melee weapons gets a +20 bonus, and anyone attacking you with ranged weapons suffers a -20 penalty.  Moving away from an opponent engaging the character in melee provokes an attack of opportunity.<br/><em>Semi-Auto Burst:</em>Attack with a +10 bonus using a gun capable of semi-auto fire.  Score 1 additional hit per 2 degrees of success, up to a maximum of the gun's semi-auto fire rate.  Each additional hit can be assigned to a different target within 2 meters.  On a die result of 94-00, the weapon jams.  May move up to agility bonus meters during a full auto burst, but gain no bonus to the attack if you move.<br/><em>Stun:</em>Attack with a melee weapon with a -20 penalty.  If successful, roll 1d10+strength bonus while the target rolls 1d10+toughness bonus.  If the attacker's result is higher, stun the target for 1 round per point of difference between attacker and defender and inflict 1 point of fatigue<br/><em>Suppressing fire:</em>Make a full auto burst in a designated kill zone, forcing each opponent in the zone to make a pinning test.  Additionally, make a ballistic skill test with a -20 penalty.  If you succeed, you inflict 1 hit on a random enemy in the kill zone, plus 1 more hit for every 2 degrees of success.<br/><em>Tactical Advance:</em>Move up to twice your agility bonus, still gaining the benefit of the cover you started the move in as long as you end the move in cover.<br/><br/><br/>Half Actions:<br/><em>Aim (Half):</em>+10 bonus on your next attack<br/><em>Brace Heavy Weapon:</em>Negate the -30 penalty for firing a heavy weapon on the move.  The weapon may only be traversed 45 degrees while braced.<br/><em>Delay:</em>Bank a half action to use before the beginning of your next turn, interrupting the turns of other characters if your agility bonus is higher than theirs.<br/><em>Feint:</em>Make an opposed weapon skill test; if you win, your opponent may not dodge or parry your next attack, as long as it is your next action.<br/><em>Grapple:</em>Grappling works like a standard melee attack.  If it hits, the grappled characters cannot use reactions, must grapple each turn, are engaged in melee combat, and other attackers get a +20 bonus to attack grappled characters.<br/><em>Knockdown:</em>Make an opposed strength test, if the attacker wins, the defender is knocked prone.  If the attacker wins by 3 or more degrees of success, the defender takes damage as an unarmed attack and suffers 1 level of fatigue.  If the attacker moved this turn before attempting a knockdown, he or she gains a +10 bonus.<br/><em>Maneuver:</em>By making an opposed weapon skill test, the attacker can move the defender one meter in any direction.  The attacker may follow, or remain in place, in which case, he or she no longer counts as engaged in melee.<br/><em>Move (half):</em>Move up to your agility bonus in meters.  Moving away from an opponent engaging the character in melee provokes an attack of opportunity.<br/><em>Ready:</em>Draw or stow a weapon or piece of equipment.  Dropping an item is a free action.<br/><em>Stand:</em>Stand up from prone, or mount a vehicle or animal.<br/><em>Standard Attack:</em>Make a normal melee or ranged attack.<br/><br/>Cover:  Taking cover is very important for survival.  When pinned, a character must use their actions to seek cover.  A character may also use a dodge reaction to take cover, if cover is within the character's agility bonus.  The character gains the cover rating of the cover he or she gets into against the attack.  When attacking out of cover, the cover does not protect the character's arm and head, unless the character has an omni-scope or optical mechadendrite.<br/><br/>Melee Combat Factors:<br/>Target Suprised: +30<br/>Outnumbering foe 3 to 1: +20<br/>Foe Stunned: +20<br/>Outnumbering foe 2 to 1: +10<br/>Target Prone: +10<br/>Higher Ground: +10<br/>Unarmed Attack vs. Armed Opponent: -20<br/>Darkness: -20<br/>Unskilled Weapon User: -20<br/>Underwater: -30<br/><br/><br/>Ranged Combat Factors:<br/>Point Blank Range: +30  (does not apply in melee)<br/>Full Auto Burst: +20<br/>Semi Auto Burst: +10<br/>Short Range: +10<br/>Higher Ground: +10<br/>Target Prone: -10<br/>Long Range: -10<br/>Firing into Melee: -20<br/>Shooting in Smoke: -20<br/>Unskilled Weapon User: -20<br/>Extreme Range: -30<br/>Darkness: -30<br/>Full Cover: -30<br/><br/><br/>Dodge/Parry Factors:<br/><br/>Mud or Unstable Footing: -10<br/>Prone: -20<br/>Deep Snow: -20<br/>Underwater: -30<br/><br/><br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong>Squad Combat</strong></span><br/><br/>During combat, for convenience, identical characters can be joined into squads.  The minimum number o characters that can be joined into a squad are determined by the training and tactical flexibility of the unit.  Most skilled character types can be joined into 5 person squads, but some need to be deployed as 10 or even 20 person squads to be organized.<br/><br/><em>Squad Coherency:</em>Members of a squad must remain within fifteen meters of each other to remain in a unit.  If members of a squad are within five meters of each other, they are considered to be part of the same<strong>fire team</strong>.  A squad may have up to three fire teams at any one time, and characters which are eligible to be members of multiple fire teams may select which fire team to be part of.   A character who gets out of coherency with his squad is considered to be a member of a squad, uses his own initiative, and will probably run away from battle.<br/><br/><em>Squad Initiative:</em>Members of squads all act on the same initiative count, as one character.<br/><br/><em>Squad Actions:</em>Each member of a fire team takes the same action as every other member of the fire team.  This includes attack actions, with the following exceptions noted below.<br/><br/><em>Squad Attacks:</em>When a fire team attacks, all of its attacks are resolved as one action, using a single die roll.  The attack is resolved using the ballistic skill of one character in the squad, and the damage of the majority weapon in the fire team.  The bonuses and penalties on the attack are equal to those of the majority of the attacking members of the fire team.  Each character beyond the first who contributes to a squad attack adds a +10 bonus to the attack, and increases a maximum number of hits the attack may score by 1.<br/><span class="bbc_u">Single Shot or Melee Attack:</span>One extra hit per two degrees of success. max hits = number of attackers<br/><span class="bbc_u">Semi Auto, Two Weapons, or Swift Attack:</span>One extra hit per degree of success.  max hits = number of attackers + rate of fire (RoF 3 for melee weapons)<br/><span class="bbc_u">Full Auto, Three Melee Attacks:</span>Two extra hits per degree of success.  max hits =  number of attackers + rate of fire (5 for melee weapons)<br/><span class="bbc_u">Double Full Auto, Four Melee Attacks:</span>2.5 extra hits per degree of success.  max hits = number of attackers x2 + rate of fire (5 melee)<br/>Attacks which score mutliple hits strike a hit location according to table 9-5 on page 239 of the Rogue Trader rulebook.  Melee attacks which score multiple hits may be parried in multiple using the same mechanics for dodging a full auto attack, and dodging a volley of fire from a squad works in the same way.  (this rule is a little unfair, but it's meant to make individuals fighting against squads survivable for extremely skilled characters)<br/><br/><em>Damaging a Squad:</em>When attacking a squad with an attack that only scores one hit, such as a melee attack or a single shot, the attack is simply resolved against its target as normal.  When attacking a squad with an attack that inflicts multiple hits, such as a semi or full auto burst, or another squad attack, the first hit is assigned to the closest squad member, then to members of the character's fire team.  Once a hit has been assigned to each member of the fire team, a second hit may be assigned to a member of the fire team, or another member of the squad, if within 5m.  Squad members who aren't independent characters take critical damage resolved by the sudden death rule when their wounds reach 0.  (GM's discretion whether such characters die or are knocked unconscious)<br/><br/><em>Squad Pinning and Morale:</em>If a squad must make a pinning test, the test is made against the highest willpower rating of characters in the squad.  All members of the squad follow the result of this roll, becoming pinned or continuing to operate normally as determined by the result of the test.  If more than half of the members of a squad are removed as casualties, and the characters of the squad do not possess the fearless talent, the character with the highest willpower in the squad must make a fellowship test, to determine if the squad continues to fight.  Having the command skill trained provides a +10 bonus on this test, as do talents such as air of authority.  If the test is failed, the squad breaks and withdraws<br/><br/><em>Independent Characters:</em>A character may join a squad to gain the protection of the squad's damage rules.  An independent character in a squad can use his BS or WS to determine the results of squad attacks (instead of his normal attack) or may simply act as normal, as long as he remains in coherency with the squad.  A squad may only contain 3 independent characters at one time.