Section III: Tempo & Actions

Every action in combat has a Tempo—the time it takes to execute, measured in Ticks.

Fast actions let you act again sooner. Slow actions create gaps where enemies can respond. This tradeoff is the tactical heart of combat.

Instant Actions (Tempo 0)

Instant actions are so brief they don’t advance your position. You can perform them freely during your turn.

Fast Actions (Tempo 2–3)

Fast actions sacrifice safety for speed. All Fast actions with Tempo 3 or less trigger the Exposed condition (see Battlefield tab) unless specifically exempt.

Standard Actions (Base Tempo)

Standard actions use your weapon’s Base Tempo with no modification. These are the reliable, professional options—neither rushed nor elaborate.

Slow Actions (Base + Modifier)

Slow actions take additional time but provide special benefits—precision, power, or effects impossible through standard attacks.

Weapon Base Tempos

Section IV: The Exposure Rule

Acting in rapid succession leaves you vulnerable. If you’re firing as fast as you can, you’re not watching your back.

Becoming Exposed

You become Exposed immediately after completing any action with Tempo 3 or less, unless that action is specifically noted as exempt.

Exposure Effect

While Exposed, attackers gain −1 TN against you (easier to hit). This penalty lasts until the start of your next turn.

Section V: Movement & Range

Position matters. A gunfight is won by the one who controls the ground.

Range Bands

The Veil & Lead uses abstract range bands rather than precise measurements. Each band represents a tactical zone with different characteristics.

Range and Weapons

Shotguns cannot effectively engage targets beyond Far range. Attempts automatically fail. Scopes provide Roll +2 at Far range only.

Movement Actions

Cover

Cover represents physical protection between you and the attacker. Cover modifies the TN to hit you.

Changing Cover: You can Take Cover (Tempo 3) to move to an adjacent piece of cover. You can also Interact (Tempo 4) to create cover—flipping tables, kicking over barrels.

Section VI: Attacking

The Attack Sequence

Defense Rating

A character’s Defense represents how difficult they are to hit when actively engaged in combat.

Typical Defense Range: 9–13 before situational modifiers.

The Complete Attack Example

Section VII: Firing into Melee

When allies and enemies are tangled together in close combat, shooting into the fray risks hitting the wrong person.

Avoiding the Risk

Scatter Weapons

Shotguns and other Scatter weapons are especially dangerous in melee: if the attack misses by any margin (not just 1–2), roll for wrong target. Roll 1d6: 1–4 hits ally, 5–6 clean miss. Scatter weapons spray a wide cone—firing them near allies is reckless.

Section VIII: Damage & Injury

Calculating Damage

Damage cannot be reduced below 0—a hit that doesn’t penetrate armor simply doesn’t hurt.

Weapon Rating Reference

Armor Rating Reference

The Health Track

Example: An IRON 3 character has 11 Vitality. They are Healthy above 5 HP, Wounded at 5 or below, Downed at 0, and Dead at −5.

The Wounded Threshold

When you cross from Healthy to Wounded (drop to or below half Vitality), you suffer −1 die to all physical actions (attacks, athletics, grappling). This is a Pool Penalty and stacks with other Pool Penalties (to the −5 cap).

Section IX: Grievous Wounds

Not all injuries are equal. A bullet that barely grazes you is different from one that shatters bone.

Triggering a Grievous Wound

The Grievous Wound Table

Roll 1d8 when a Grievous Wound is inflicted:

Grievous Wound Notes

• Armor with the Hardened quality (like Boiler Plate) negates the first Grievous Wound of the scene. The damage still applies; only the Grievous Wound is prevented.
• Multiple Grievous Wounds stack. A character can be Concussed with a Broken Arm and Internal Bleeding simultaneously.
• Limb targeting: If the attack was a Called Shot to a specific limb, Broken Bone automatically affects that limb.
• Arterial Hit causes Bleeding Out even if the character still has HP remaining. They’re conscious but hemorrhaging.

Section X: Downed & Death

Bleeding Out

When you reach 0 Vitality, you are Downed:

• You collapse where you stand
• You cannot take actions except Crawl (2m, Tempo 6) or Speak (Tempo 0)
• At the start of each of your turns, you lose 1 Vitality
• You can be Stabilized by an ally with medical training

A Downed character is not out of the fight—they can call out warnings, provide information, even crawl toward cover—but they are dying.

Death Threshold

Example: A character with IRON 1 is Downed at 0 Vitality. At the start of their next turn, they drop to −1. Then −2. Then −3. At −3, they die. Their allies had 3 turns to save them.

Stabilization

An ally can attempt to stabilize a Bleeding Out character:

• Action: Medicine check (Tempo 6)
• TN: 11 + (how far below 0 the patient is)
• Success: Bleeding stops immediately. Patient remains Downed at current Vitality but stops losing HP.
• Failure: Patient continues Bleeding Out. Can try again.
• Fumble: Patient immediately loses 1 additional Vitality.

Medical Kit: Using a Medical Kit provides a +2 Roll Bonus to the stabilization attempt.

Section XI: Combat Conditions

Conditions represent states that affect a character’s combat effectiveness. Each condition has a trigger, an effect, and a method to clear it.

Section XII: Advanced Timing

The Wait (Nudging)

You can choose to wait, adding +1 to your current Tick. You’re hesitating, watching, reading the situation. There is no limit to how many times you can Wait, but each Wait moves you further down the timeline.

The Hold (Overwatch)

Instead of acting, you may Hold your action:

1. Remove your token from the track
2. Declare a trigger condition (“When someone comes through that door,” “When he reaches for his gun,” “When the Mindweaver starts channeling”)
3. You are now on Overwatch

When your trigger occurs:

• Interrupt the timeline immediately
• Take your held action
• The triggering action then resolves (if the triggering character survives)
• Place your token at Current Tick + your action’s Tempo

The Duel (Held vs. Held)

When two characters have both declared Holds with mutually triggering conditions—each waiting for the other to move—you have a Duel.

Section XIII: Special Combat Situations

Mounted Combat

Fighting from horseback changes the dynamics of battle.

Panic Triggers: Mount takes damage, loud explosions nearby, supernatural presence (ECHO + Ride TN 13 to control).

Fighting Withdrawal

To escape an Engaged enemy without giving them a free attack:

• Action: Disengage (Tempo 4)
• Move at Speed
• Cannot attack this turn
• The enemy cannot make a free attack

Alternatively, have an ally engage the enemy, or simply accept the free attack and run.

Two-Weapon Fighting

Fighting with a weapon in each hand:

• Main Hand: Attacks as normal
• Off-Hand Attack: Additional attack at −2 dice (Pool Penalty), +1 Tempo added to the combined action

Example: A character with two knives (Tempo 3 each) attacks with both. Main hand at full pool, off-hand at −2 dice. Total Tempo: 3 + 1 = 4.

Coup de Grâce

Executing a helpless target (Downed, Unconscious, Bound).

• Action: Standard attack action, auto-hit (no roll needed)
• Damage: Maximum (as if you rolled the highest possible sum with maximum Steps)

The moral weight of this action is for the character—and the table—to bear.

The Horde (Mob Rules)

Sometimes you aren’t fighting a person; you’re fighting a swarm. A Horde is a group of 3–10 identical enemies that function as a single combatant to streamline play.

Section XIV: Healing & Recovery

In-Combat Healing

First Aid Limitations: Can only heal each character once per scene with First Aid. Further healing requires proper rest or Psionic intervention.

Short Rest (10 Minutes)

You aren’t sleeping. You are leaning against a wall, shaking, smoking a cigarette, and trying to stop your hands from trembling.

• Strain: Recover 1 Strain
• HP: Recover 1 HP with a successful Medicine check (TN 11)
• Conditions: Most temporary conditions (Suppressed, Stunned) clear automatically

Long Rest (8 Hours)

You are eating a meal, drinking water, and actually shutting your brain off to sleep. This is the only way to truly flush the “static” of the Veil out of your system.

• HP: Recover IRON HP
• Strain: Recover all Strain
• Mettle: Recover all Mettle
• Grievous Wounds: Attempt to clear 1 Grievous Wound with a Medicine check (TN varies by wound)
• Erosion: Does NOT recover from rest (see Book III)

Limitation: Must consume food and water. Must have a secure perimeter (camp security/watches).

Medical Attention

Professional care from a doctor or clinic:

• Full HP recovery: 24–48 hours under care
• Grievous Wounds: Can be cleared with proper treatment and time
• Cost: §50–200 depending on severity and location

Section XV: Combat Pacing

Tension Pool in Combat

The Veil responds to violence. Combat itself feeds the darkness.

• Automatic Tension Die: +1 die to the Tension Pool when combat begins (Tick 0)
• Sustained Violence: +1 die every 10 Ticks of combat

Long fights attract attention. The screaming of the rails, the blood in the sand—the Current feels it.

Ideal Combat Duration

Most combats should last:

• 10–20 Ticks (3–5 actions per PC)
• At least one side takes serious damage (the stakes should be real)
• 2–3 meaningful tactical decisions (move to cover, change targets, use abilities)
• Clear resolution (victory, retreat, negotiation, or death)

Signs Combat is Dragging

• Tick count exceeds 30
• Players are calculating optimal Tempo instead of roleplaying
• No one has taken a Wound
• The same attacks are being repeated without change

Solutions for Stalled Combat

When combat drags, introduce change:

• Environmental Hazard: The building starts to collapse. Fire spreads. The cliff edge crumbles.
• Reinforcements or Retreat: More enemies arrive—or the enemies fall back to a better position.
• Tension Pool Rupture: The Veil tears. Something manifests. Suddenly, everyone has a common enemy.
• Narrative Cut: “You win, but you’re exhausted. Mark off double the ammunition and take 1 Strain each. When the smoke clears…” Skip to the aftermath.

Post-Combat Beat

Every combat should end with a moment to breathe:

1. Describe the aftermath: The silence, the smoke, the bodies
2. Account for resources: Ammunition spent, equipment damaged
3. Scavenging opportunity: What can be taken from the fallen?
4. Tension Pool check: How close is the next Rupture?
5. Character moment: How do the characters react? Fear? Relief? Regret?

Combat should have weight. Make the players feel it.

Appendix: Quick Reference

All critical combat tables consolidated for at-a-glance use during play.

Initiative Results

Common Action Tempos

Range Band TN Modifiers

Cover TN Modifiers

Damage Formula

Health States

Conditions Summary

Grievous Wound Table