STEP 3: PARTICIPANTS TAKE TURNSBeginning at the top of the Initiative order, the players
and CM fill each Initiative slot one at a time with a char-
acter turn. If the Initiative slot is a Player Character Ini-
tiative slot, then the players agree on one Player Char-
acter to fill the slot from amongst the Player Characters
who have not acted that round. That Player Character
then takes this turn. If the Initiative slot is an NPC Ini-
tiative slot, then the CM chooses one NPC to fill the
slot from amongst the NPCs who have not acted that
round. That NPC then takes this turn. Note that some
starships can have multiple crew members in them.
STEP 4: ROUND ENDSOnce all NPCs and Player Characters have taken a
turn, the round ends. At this point, any effects that
last until the "end of the round" end. The CM also
determines if the ongoing action warrants additional
rounds, or if it has been resolved. If the ongoing action
continues, repeat step three using the same Initiative
order generated in step 1. If the action has been re-
solved and the encounter is over, proceed to step 5.STEP 5: ENCOUNTER ENDSOnce the action has been resolved, the CM ends the en-
counter. At this point, any character abilities that can only
be used "once per encounter" reset. Each Player Char-
acter also has a chance to catch his breath and recover
strain, and can take steps to help heal
any incapacitated characters.SMALL CRAFT COMBAT
Combat between small, one-person ships like starfight-
ers and patrol boats or speeder bikes or single-seat
airspeeders is relatively straightforward. The pilot, as
the sole crew aboard, has one starship maneuver and
one starship action (or two starship maneuvers) during
his turn. This means he can fly and fight aboard his
ship, or concentrate solely on flying. Small craft com-
bat (especially with high-speed vehicles like airspeed-
ers, speeder bikes, or starfighters) is quite abstracted.
As they are constantly moving and striving with one an-
other for the upper hand (and thanks to their incredible
speed and agility) it would be nearly impossible to map
out every move a starfighter makes. Instead, the Came
Master and players describe the actions the characters
and NPC take, embellish them with narrative flair, then
make their skill checks to resolve the actions.CAPITAL SHIP COMBAT
Combat in larger, capital-class starships of silhouette
5 or higher is, by necessity, more abstract due to the
complexity of the vessel and the number of crew mem-
bers involved. Similar to combat in small craft, capital
ships can only perform one starship maneuver and
one starship action (or two starship maneuvers) during
their turn. This is not an inherent quality of the ship,
however; it is based on the pilot or captain's actions
and starship maneuvers. Along with the pilot, each ad-
ditional crew member aboard can use his actions and
starship maneuvers to man weapons, operate sensors,
move about the ship, and generally engage in com-
bat along with the pilot. This all happens in the same
round, and is subject to Initiative order just like per-
sonal combat. Something to remember concerning
ship combat with vehicles of this immense size is
that each ship is likely to have hundreds or thou-
sands of crew. GMs and players should not
track all of their initiative slots and actions
during combat. Instead, only focus on
those individuals who are actually
doing things pertinent to the
ongoing encounter, and
feel free to ignore
the rest.