Ranged Combat and Distance

Overview

Ranged combat uses the same structure as melee combat. Distance, cover, visibility, and targeting determine permission, pressure, and consequence.

The goal is not precise measurement. The goal is to make range matter clearly across the focus eras defined in System Design Principles: ME bows and thrown weapons, IN muskets and rifles, MO firearms and vehicles, PM drones and smart weapons, ES shipboard weapons and orbital sensors, and FF exotic weapons, ritual attacks, and resonance guidance.

Distance Bands

Use distance bands when exact measurement is not important.

Band Meaning Typical Effects

Engaged

Close enough for hand-to-hand contact, grappling, knives, shields, bayonets, or point-blank danger.

Ranged attacks are pressured unless the weapon or position supports close use.

Near

A few steps to a short rush; conversation, thrown weapons, pistols, short bows, and quick charges matter.

Most combatants can close or break line with one exchange.

Short

Across a room, street, clearing, deck, bridge, or small battlefield lane.

Common range for bows, firearms, spells, and visible targeting.

Long

Across a field, rooftop gap, ravine, large hall, hangar, or vehicle approach.

Requires a suitable weapon, clear line, sensor help, prepared position, or strong Talent.

Far

Beyond ordinary unaided combat range, but still reachable by specialized gear, magic, vehicles, or sensors.

Usually requires tags such as Precise, Smart, Resonant, Orbital, Ritual, or a dedicated Talent.

Beyond Scene

Outside the immediate exchange area.

Treated as a scene objective, hazard, countdown, travel problem, ritual procedure, vehicle action, or orbital event.

Distance bands describe action relevance first. For theatre-of-mind play, use the fictional meanings above. For miniatures, maps, or digital implementation, use the tactical measurement overlay below.

Tactical Measurement

Use tactical measurement when exact position matters. The metric system is the primary measurement standard. One tactical unit represents roughly 1.5 m at personal scale. On a map, that equals one square, one hex, or 2.5 cm of freeform tabletop movement. Imperial equivalents may be included as optional references.

Band Grid Distance Freeform Tabletop Approximate Real Distance

Engaged

Same or adjacent square/hex.

Up to 2.5 cm.

Up to 1.5 m

Near

Up to 4 squares/hexes.

Up to 10 cm.

Up to 6 m

Short

Up to 12 squares/hexes.

Up to 30 cm.

Up to 18 m

Long

Up to 30 squares/hexes.

Up to 75 cm.

Up to 45 m

Far

Up to 100 squares/hexes.

Up to 250 cm.

Up to 150 m

Beyond Scene

More than 100 squares/hexes or outside the map.

More than 250 cm or outside the table.

More than 150 m

Optional imperial reference: one tactical unit is about 5 ft in the fiction and about 1 inch on a freeform tabletop. If a group prefers inch-based wargame measurement, use the same tactical-unit counts as inches.

For rectangle grids, count the shortest path by squares. Diagonal movement counts as one square by default; use alternating 1 and 2 diagonal costs only if the table wants more tactical precision.

For hex grids, count the shortest path by hexes. Hexes are the cleanest option when facing, arcs, or open-field movement matter.

For freeform tabletop play, measure from the closest relevant point of the acting model or base to the closest relevant point of the target model or base. Large creatures, vehicles, and vessels use the closest exposed hull, body, or system unless the action targets a specific weak point.

For CRPG implementation, store distances internally in meters and map them to the same bands. The default thresholds are: Engaged at 0-1.5 m, Near above 1.5-6 m, Short above 6-18 m, Long above 18-45 m, Far above 45-150 m, and Beyond Scene above 150 m or outside the loaded encounter space.

Vertical distance counts when it changes reach, cover, falling risk, visibility, or line of effect. Do not recalculate exact three-dimensional distance unless the scene is tactical enough to benefit from it; otherwise, use the higher or more dangerous band when elevation clearly matters.

Movement and Positioning

Movement is part of the exchange, not a separate turn phase. A character can usually shift position while attacking, defending, covering, casting, reloading, or helping, but the table should decide whether the movement is incidental or the main intent.

Use these movement categories when exact position matters.

Movement Type Grid Distance Freeform Tabletop Real Distance Use

Step

Up to 1 square/hex.

Up to 2.5 cm.

Up to 1.5 m.

Adjust angle, enter or leave Engaged, get behind adjacent cover, or avoid crowding.

Move

Up to 4 squares/hexes.

Up to 10 cm.

Up to 6 m.

Reposition while still doing something else.

Rush

Up to 8 squares/hexes.

Up to 20 cm.

Up to 12 m.

Make movement the main action, close fast, retreat, cross a lane, or reach cover under pressure.

Sprint

Up to 12 squares/hexes.

Up to 30 cm.

Up to 18 m.

Full commitment to speed; usually gives up clean attack, casting, careful aim, or complex work.

Move is the default incidental movement inside an exchange. Rush or Sprint should usually be declared as the exchange intent or attached to a defense roll, escape roll, rescue roll, charge, or objective action.

Situation Default Handling

Reposition without immediate threat

Usually no roll; update position and continue the exchange.

Reposition while attacking or helping

Allow up to Move if the route is clear and the action still makes sense.

Close from Near to Engaged

Usually possible with Move; apply pressure if the target controls approach with Reach, cover, overwatch, or group pressure.

Close from Short to Engaged

Requires Rush, cover-to-cover movement, speed, surprise, or a successful exchange.

Cross exposed fire

Treat as an objective; success changes position, failure causes pressure, wound, or pin.

Retreat from Engaged

Usually requires defense, disengage, shove, cover, ally help, speed, or accepting pressure.

Reach cover

If cover is within Step or Move, it can be incidental unless someone is actively preventing it. Under fire, use the cover rules below.

Difficult terrain

Reduce movement one category, add pressure, or require the movement to be the exchange intent.

Climbing, swimming, crawling, vacuum movement, zero-g, or unstable footing

Use Move only with permission; otherwise treat movement as the main intent.

On a grid or CRPG map, movement should leave a concrete state: new band, cover state, exposure state, engagement state, or objective progress. In theatre-of-mind play, use the same categories as pacing language: step, move, rush, sprint.

Fast, Powered, mounted movement, vehicles, magic, cybernetics, or species traits can increase movement by one category when they directly apply. Heavy Armor, Bulky, wounds, burdened cargo, difficult terrain, suppression, or maintained magic can reduce movement by one category or make movement the main intent.

Era Range Profiles

Use these profiles to choose which tags, pressures, and permissions are most likely to matter in a ranged scene.

Era Common Ranged Threats Range Notes

ME

Bows, crossbows, slings, thrown weapons, siege engines, ritual signs.

Near and Short dominate. Long usually needs a prepared line, elevated position, massed fire, magic, or strong Talent.

IN

Pistols, muskets, rifles, artillery, steam weapons, signal-assisted batteries.

Reload, smoke, noise, formation fire, and poor visibility often matter as much as raw range.

MO

Rifles, automatic weapons, optics, grenades, vehicles, radios, aircraft support.

Cover, suppression, spotting, and movement between positions become central tactical pressures.

PM

Smart weapons, drones, sensor locks, jamming, cybernetic targeting, remote turrets.

Detection and counter-detection are often the real contest before a clean shot is possible.

ES

Shipboard weapons, vacuum-rated arms, breaching charges, habitat defenses, orbital sensors.

Ranged consequences often threaten hulls, air, sealed doors, cargo, docking routes, or station systems.

FF

Exotic weapons, adaptive shields, autonomous swarms, resonance guidance, mythic-scale systems.

Permission, guidance, shielding, and system state decide whether the attack can land cleanly at all.

Era profiles are defaults, not locks. A low-tech world can have FF magic, and a far-future colony can still fight with ME tools when supply fails.

Weapon Range Profiles

Weapon range profiles define the bands where an attack form normally has permission. They are broad defaults, not item statistics. Specific gear, Talent, magic, sensors, tags, terrain, or era assumptions can extend, restrict, or pressure a profile.

Profile Comfortable Bands Pressured Extension Typical Tags or Limits

Close Melee

Engaged

Near only with charge, lunge, surprise, or position.

Fast, Concealable, Cutting, Crushing, Stun.

Reach Melee

Engaged, Near

Short only as formation, braced line, vehicle mount, monster reach, or magic.

Reach, Guarding, Piercing, Hooking.

Thrown

Near

Short with pressure; Long only with special gear, Talent, or magic.

Silent, Concealable, Limited, Volatile.

Short Ranged

Near, Short

Engaged with pressure; Long with pressure, aim, or excellent position.

Pistols, hand crossbows, short bows, compact spell forms.

Field Ranged

Short, Long

Near with pressure; Far with setup, elevation, optics, massed fire, or Talent.

Bows, crossbows, rifles, muskets, many attack spells.

Precision Ranged

Long, Far

Short with pressure; Beyond Scene with sensors, spotter, ritual trace, or prepared position.

Precise, Limited, Revealing, Smart.

Area Ranged

Short, Long

Near or Far depending on payload and safety; often pressured near allies.

Area, Volatile, Limited, Breach, Reload.

Artillery or Siege

Far, Beyond Scene

Long if directly crewed or dangerously close.

Area, Breach, Reload, Industrial, Ritual, Orbital.

Sensor-Guided

Depends on weapon; often extends one band.

Fails or becomes pressured without lock, signal, trace, line, or guidance.

Smart, Networked, Electronic, Revealing, Resonant.

Ritual or Trace

Scene-defined; often Far or Beyond Scene.

Requires setup, link, place, name, offering, focus, or visible condition.

Ritual, Attuned, Bound, Draining, Resonant.

Vehicle or Vessel

Use vehicle or vessel scale.

Personal-scale targets treat it as scale mismatch unless permission exists.

Breach, Area, Orbital, Exotic, system damage.

Comfortable bands do not remove risk. They only mean the attack form is plausible without special permission. Pressured extension means the action can be attempted when the fiction supports it, but the roll should account for exposure, poor angle, aiming time, ammunition strain, unstable magic, sensor noise, or collateral risk.

When a profile and tag disagree, use the more specific rule. A Concealable pistol may work better at Engaged than an ordinary rifle. A Reach weapon may dominate Near until bypassed. A Smart weapon can extend range only if its guidance is intact.

Targeting States

Targeting states answer whether an attacker can identify, aim at, lock onto, or meaningfully affect a target. Use them after distance and weapon range are known.

State Meaning Default Handling

Clear Line

The target is visible, identifiable, and in line of effect.

Attack, guide, suppress, or affect normally if range permission exists.

Obscured

The target is partly hidden by smoke, darkness, crowding, weather, glare, cover edge, sensor noise, or motion.

Attack is possible, but pressured unless the tool, Talent, sensor, magic, or position answers the obstruction.

Concealed

The target’s exact position is uncertain, but the attacker has a plausible area, trace, sound, signal, or route.

Requires setup, area effect, sensor sweep, magical trace, prediction, or accepts pressure and collateral risk.

Hidden

The attacker does not know where the target is in a useful way.

Cannot be directly targeted until revealed, detected, guessed as an area, or forced to act.

Locked

A sensor, spell, mark, trace, spotter, or guidance system has a usable fix on the target.

Can ignore some visibility pressure, but still needs range, line, signal, trace, or guidance permission.

Spoofed or Veiled

The target state may be false, masked, duplicated, jammed, glamoured, or misidentified.

Attacks may hit the wrong place, lose lock, reveal the attacker, waste ammunition, trigger backlash, or require confirmation first.

Targeting state and cover state are related but separate. A target can be visible behind Hard Cover, hidden with no cover, locked through smoke, or spoofed while standing in the open.

Change Common Routes

Improve targeting

Move for angle, Set Up, reveal with light, flush with area threat, use Revealing, gain sensor lock, follow trace, mark with magic, or coordinate with an ally.

Worsen targeting

Take cover, use smoke, darkness, crowding, terrain, stealth, jamming, decoys, Veiled, Stealth, or break line of effect.

Break a lock

Leave sensor arc, disrupt signal, cut trace, use warding, enter cover, spoof identity, jam network, damage the spotter, or change scale.

For CRPG use, store targeting as a state on the relationship between observer and target, not only on the target. One character may have Clear Line while another has only Concealed, and a drone network may have Locked while an unaided character does not.

Detection and Stealth

Detection and stealth change targeting states. Use them when a character tries to hide, reveal, track, spoof, break a lock, or act from concealment.

Action Requirement Default Result

Hide

The character needs cover, concealment, darkness, crowding, terrain, magic, signal noise, distraction, or a relevant tag.

On success, worsen observer targeting by one or more steps: Clear Line to Obscured, Obscured to Concealed, or Concealed to Hidden.

Sneak or reposition unseen

The route must plausibly support stealth.

On success, move without improving enemy targeting; on cost, leave trace, lose time, split from allies, or become Obscured instead of Hidden.

Reveal

The observer uses light, movement, angle, sound, sensor, Revealing, magic, pressure, or deduction.

On success, improve targeting by one or more steps: Hidden to Concealed, Concealed to Obscured, or Obscured to Clear Line.

Gain lock

The observer uses sensor, mark, spotter, trace, smart weapon, ritual link, or networked help.

On success, create Locked if the lock source remains valid.

Break lock

The target leaves arc, jams, spoofs, wards, cuts trace, changes signature, damages the spotter, or changes scale.

On success, remove Locked, reduce it to Concealed, or turn it into Spoofed or Veiled.

Spoof or veil

The target uses decoys, false signal, glamour, false aura, disguise, hacking, or veiling magic.

On success, create Spoofed or Veiled; attacks may require confirmation or risk false positives.

Stealth normally needs permission. A character cannot become Hidden in an empty lit corridor without magic, smoke, distraction, invisibility, sensor spoofing, or some other explanation. Likewise, detection cannot reveal what no method can plausibly sense.

Use the current exchange structure instead of adding a separate stealth turn. If stealth is the main intent, roll for it. If stealth supports another action, treat it as permission, pressure, or consequence. If the situation is obvious, update the targeting state without a roll.

Situation Default Handling

Attacking from Hidden

Usually improves the attack position, but reveals the attacker to at least Obscured or Clear Line afterward unless the method is Silent, Veiled, remote, or indirect.

Attacking from Concealed

Usually applies pressure to the defender or reduces enemy response, but may reveal the attacker’s route or position.

Searching under pressure

Resolve as an exchange; failure may waste time, expose the searcher, or let the hidden threat act first.

Area threat against Concealed or Hidden

May affect the zone without exact targeting, but creates collateral, resource, or position risk.

Networked detection

One observer’s Locked state can help others if Networked communication remains intact.

Magical detection

Requires a trace, permission, place, name, sympathy, method, or Talent; wards and veils can contest it.

For CRPG use, detection should update observer-target state, not global visibility alone. Store source, confidence, and expiry. A heat sensor, drone lock, blood trace, line of sight, and divine mark can all create Locked, but they should have different break conditions.

Ranged Exchange Procedure

Use this procedure when a player character attacks, defends, covers, suppresses, spots, guides, or avoids fire at range.

  1. Identify distance band and line of effect.

  2. Identify targeting state, cover, concealment, visibility, sensor state, and any active detection or stealth method.

  3. Check whether the weapon range profile, magic, tool, or Talent has permission at that range.

  4. Apply pressure from being engaged, exposed, rushed, suppressed, obscured, reloading, tracked, or out-ranged.

  5. Resolve the exchange using .

  6. Apply wounds, pressure, position change, ammunition or charge costs, revealed position, and momentum.

Ranged combat should usually change position. A shot can pin, reveal, scatter, break cover, force movement, open a charge, or shut down an approach even when it does not wound.

Cover and Exposure

Cover answers harm. Concealment answers detection. Some things do both.

State Meaning Default Effect

Exposed

The target is visible and has no meaningful protection.

Ranged attacks apply normally; harsh consequences are easier to justify.

Exposed Under Fire

The target is visible, lacks meaningful protection, and is being actively shot, suppressed, tracked, or bracketed.

Defense Clean Success does not fully seize momentum unless the target reaches cover, breaks line of fire, suppresses the attacker, or changes the firing angle.

Concealed

The target is hard to see, locate, sense, or identify.

Use the Concealed, Hidden, Locked, or Spoofed or Veiled targeting state to decide whether the attacker has permission.

Partial Cover

The target has protection from some angles.

Can cancel a clean shot, reduce wound severity, or force position first.

Hard Cover

The target is behind serious protection.

Usually prevents ordinary harm unless bypassed, breached, flanked, or suppressed.

Moving Cover

Vehicle, shield-bearer, drone, formation, crowd, or magic moves with the target.

Creates pressure, may expose helpers, and can be broken by focused action.

Cover should be concrete. A stone wall, shield line, ruined engine block, sanctified door, bulkhead, crowd, smoke, and resonance veil create different consequences.

Gaining cover under active fire is usually an objective, not an incidental benefit. A player character who defends while Exposed Under Fire may avoid immediate harm on a Clean Success, but should need a Breakthrough, Cover from an ally, suppression, smoke, speed, magic, or a declared movement objective to fully seize momentum and reach a safer position. Crossing a kill zone should often require two position steps: first break line of fire, then reach cover, flank, or escape.

Player countermeasures should matter. If the acting character or an ally spends the exchange on smoke, suppression, shield advance, jamming, decoys, rapid movement, magic, or prepared cover, a Clean Success can count as one of the required position steps even while the character is still exposed. A Costly Success can also move the character forward when the countermeasure directly answers the firing angle, but it should leave pressure, ammunition loss, equipment strain, or a similar cost.

While Exposed Under Fire, use harsher default consequences: Trouble usually causes a Serious wound or major position loss, Unstable Result usually causes a Minor wound or pinned exposure, and Costly Success usually preserves movement or survival but adds combat pressure.

Engaged and Closing

Ranged weapons are weaker when the user is already under close pressure.

Situation Default Handling

Ranged user is Engaged by a melee threat

Apply combat pressure unless the weapon has Fast, Concealable, Stun, short-form permission, or the character has a suitable Talent.

Ranged user wants to shoot while retreating

Resolve as defense, escape, or covering fire rather than a clean attack if the enemy has momentum.

Melee character crosses open range

The ranged side can create pressure, but needs line of effect and time.

Melee character reaches cover-to-cover

Treat as position gain rather than automatic harm.

Reach weapon controls a close approach

It may keep the fight at Near or prevent a clean Engaged exchange until bypassed.

Closing distance should usually be playable, not automatic. A character can advance under shields, smoke, terrain, allies, magic, speed, stealth, or armor, but must answer the current ranged threat.

Shooting Into Groups

When a ranged attack targets a foe mixed with allies, bystanders, hostages, machinery, ritual objects, or fragile cover, make the risk explicit before the roll.

Situation Default Risk

Clear target in a crowd

Pressure from aiming, timing, or losing the shot.

Ally engaged with target

Cost may expose, graze, separate, or pressure the ally.

Fragile objective nearby

Cost may damage the objective instead of the intended target.

Area weapon near allies

The user must accept friendly-risk pressure or choose a different intent.

Smart or guided weapon

May reduce target-confusion pressure, but can be jammed, spoofed, veiled, or misidentified.

The player should know the likely collateral risk before rolling.

Suppression and Area Threats

Suppressive and area attacks are usually position tools first and wound tools second.

Intent Effect

Suppress

Apply pressure, pin a target, deny a route, protect an ally, or prevent clean movement.

Sweep

Threaten several exposed targets or force a group to scatter.

Breach

Break cover, open a route, damage a barrier, or remove a defensive position.

Saturate

Make an area dangerous to enter or remain in.

Flush

Drive a target out of cover, concealment, hiding, or a prepared position.

Tags such as Area, Limited, Reload, Volatile, Breach, Smart, Resonant, and Ritual should shape the cost and reliability of these actions.

Ammunition Charge and Heat

Do not count every shot by default. Track ammunition, charge, heat, fuel, ritual load, or unstable buildup when scarcity, reload timing, powerful effects, stealth, survival, or CRPG implementation matters.

Resource State Meaning Default Effect

Ready

The weapon, spell focus, battery, magazine, quiver, or charge is available for ordinary use.

No extra pressure.

Spent

The last meaningful shot, charge, prepared charm, loaded barrel, or burst has been used.

The next use requires reload, recharge, redraw, re-prime, or accepted pressure.

Low

The resource is running short, overheating, draining, or becoming unstable.

Costs can exhaust it, force conservative use, reveal scarcity, or add pressure.

Empty

The resource is unavailable until resupplied, recharged, cooled, repaired, or ritually reset.

The action is not available except as a bluff, improvised strike, or desperate overload.

Overheated or Unstable

The resource can still work, but continued use risks malfunction, backlash, fire, jam, venting, or magical flare.

Use is possible with pressure; Costly Success or worse should create equipment, wound, position, or scene consequences.

Use these triggers when a resource tag matters.

Tag or Situation Trigger Common Consequence

Reload

After a shot, burst, volley, spell cartridge, crossbow crank, muzzle load, or heavy weapon cycle.

Reload becomes the next intent, or the user acts with pressure until reloaded.

Limited

On Costly Success, Unstable Result, Trouble, sustained fire, travel attrition, or heavy use.

Mark Low, Spent, or Empty; reduce options; force resupply or conserve.

Volatile

On use in confined spaces, near allies, around fragile cover, with unstable magic, or while damaged.

Add collateral risk, reveal position, damage cover, trigger backlash, or harm the user.

Suppression or area fire

When maintaining a zone denial effect.

Spend ammunition, heat, charge, attention, or position; stopping fire may release pinned enemies.

Smart or guided fire

When guidance, lock, or network is contested.

Spend charge, lose lock, create false positive, reveal signal, or require recalibration.

Ritual or magical load

When using prepared signs, offerings, stored resonance, or bound charges.

Consume component, strain caster, attract attention, destabilize focus, or require reset.

Reloading, cooling, or recharging can be incidental when the character is safe and has time. Under threat, it is usually an exchange intent, a Costly Success consequence, or an action enabled by cover, ally protection, speed, automation, or magic.

For CRPG use, resource pressure can be represented as a small state machine rather than full inventory accounting. Ordinary attacks can ignore resource state until a tag, encounter rule, or consequence changes Ready to Spent, Low, Empty, or Overheated or Unstable.

Thrown and Improvised Ranged Attacks

Thrown and improvised attacks work best at Near or Short range.

Attack Type Guidance

Thrown weapon

Usually needs Near or Short; may be Silent, Concealable, Piercing, Cutting, or Stun.

Hurled object

Often creates pressure, distraction, or position change more reliably than wounds.

Grenade or charge

Uses Area, Volatile, Limited, Breach, or similar tags.

Ritual token or charm

Uses magical tags such as Ritual, Attuned, Bound, Draining, or Nullifying.

Improvised shot

Possible with pressure when the object, distance, and intent make sense.

Improvised ranged attacks should stay useful, but not better than tools built for the job.

Magic Sensors and Guidance

Ranged targeting can come from sight, sound, heat, signal, spirit trace, resonance pattern, oath link, divination, drone feed, or other sensors.

Targeting Method Use

Direct sight

Works when the target is visible and range is plausible.

Sensor lock

Creates or contests the Locked targeting state; requires suitable gear, signal, line, calibration, or detection permission.

Magical trace

Requires a relevant Talent, tag, ritual link, residue, name, oath, blood, memory, or place connection.

Guided attack

Can ignore some visibility pressure from Obscured or Concealed, but may be jammed, veiled, warded, spoofed, disrupted, or misled.

Area reading

Can target a zone without identifying every occupant, but increases collateral and uncertainty.

Veiled, Warded, Nullifying, Stealth, Electronic, Networked, Resonant, Smart, and Revealing tags should interact directly with targeting states and detection.

Vehicle Orbital and Far-Scale Fire

Some ranged threats are larger than a personal exchange. See Scale Conflict and Vehicles when vehicles, vessels, armies, orbital weapons, or scale mismatch become the main structure of the scene.

Scale Handling

Vehicle weapon

Usually creates severe pressure, cover destruction, or Serious/Severe wounds unless the target has suitable protection or terrain.

Starship or orbital weapon

Treat as a scene threat, countdown, objective, or environmental disaster unless the scene is already vehicle-scale.

Sniper or artillery threat

Often begins as detection, cover, timing, counter-position, or escape rather than a simple attack roll.

Drone or autonomous weapon

Can be an active threat, group pressure, or remote extension of an enemy.

Ritual or resonance strike

Should require permission, setup, trace, line, offering, focus, or a visible scene condition.

When scale changes, do not simply increase damage forever. Change the type of problem: survival, shelter, evacuation, disabling guidance, breaking ritual line, jamming targeting, reaching a control point, or forcing the attacker to lose permission.

Future Use

Later ranged-combat work should define detailed example weapons by focus era, ammunition and charge pressure, sensor rules, vehicle-scale exchanges, drone control, magical targeting limits, and noncombat range uses such as scouting or rescue.

The current document is a distance and targeting chassis. It should be tested through mixed melee-ranged scenes before adding detailed weapon lists.