Combat v3.0

     Having run trials of the previous iterations of the APRPG combat system, I have come to the realization that it can't be handled in the same vein as the roleplaying elements. Roleplaying with damage tacked on doesn't feel challenging enough to be satisfying, and the previous combat rules left the players in too much danger to do anything except hunker down and shoot. Instead of adding more rules to a system that wasn't working, I took a page from Dungeon World's book, as well as home games I've worked on in the past. There simply isn't a way to make combat satisfying without the GM rolling, and if the bones for a system are already there, why reinvent the wheel? I'm mixing metaphors. Anyway, without further ado, Combat 3.0!

    The Major Changes

    Combat will now be settled with competing Skill checks, between the player and whichever enemy they're attacking and vise versa. To accomplish this, it is necessary to do away with the whole "Full Success, Mixed Success, Failure" mechanic while making direct attacks. In addition, invoking Aspects in combat will now cost a point of Stress per Aspect. This doesn't only count for the player, but for the enemies as well. That's right, enemies can have Aspects now. 

    How Combat Works

    Initiative

    Initiative must always be a sequence of player and enemy turns. The players can pick what order they want to attack in, but it is the GM's duty to place enemies between each player slot. Keep in mind, the number of enemies does not have to match the player count; the number of turns does. Combat will always progress as: 
Player>Enemy>Player>Enemy
But each of those enemy slots doesn't have to be a different enemy. To that end, I recommend keeping track of two separate initiative orders: one for the players, and one for the enemies. For example, if there are more players than enemies: 
Track 1: Player 1, Player 2, Player 3
Track 2: Enemy 1, Enemy 2
This would make the initiative order look something like this:
Player 1>Enemy 1>Player 2>Enemy 2>Player 3>Enemy 1>Player 1>Enemy 2
This ensures that the enemy has a fighting chance.
In the event that something goes terribly wrong, and we find a player making a last stand, the system works in their favor as well. Let's take a look:
Track 1: Player 1
Track 2: Enemy 1, Enemy 2, Enemy 3
This would make the initiative order as follows:
Player 1>Enemy 1>Player 1>Enemy 2>Player 1>Enemy 3>Player 1
This would give the player time to escape, fight back, or perform some truly legendary strategic actions.

    The Player's Turn

A player character has two Actions on their turn. The first and most obvious is to attack, which is accomplished by rolling a Skill check against an enemy's competing check. If the player succeeds, they successfully carry out the attack, dealing the appropriate damage for the weapon they are using. If their roll meets or exceeds a 10, they may pick an option from the following list:

• Hit 'em Where it Hurts: +1 Harm dealt
• Keep Your Guard Up: -1 Harm taken
• Take Advantage: +1 to your next roll
• Reveal a Weakness: +1 to another player's roll
• Knock 'em Back: Force the enemy to change locations
• Cause Lasting Damage: Inflict a Condition

The player can also choose to invoke any number of relevant Aspects to either increase the value of their roll by 1 per Aspect, or pick an option from the crit list above. For every Aspect invoked, regardless of purpose, the player must take a point of Stress. Should their Stress reach 8, they will take a condition called Fatigue. When Fatigued, the player can no longer invoke Aspects without taking 1 point of Harm per Aspect. In addition, the player cannot use Stress to remove this or any other conditions without taking a point of Harm. 

The second way to use an Action is to move up to 6 +/-Swift squares on the battle map. Given that the player has two Actions, they can use both to move, or both to attack, or one for each. 

Should the target of the attack manage to evade it, they will have the option of counter-attacking. They may then roll an attack against the one who attacked them. It is not possible to counter-attack against a counter-attack, to prevent a single turn lasting until one or both parties are dead.

    The Enemy's Turn

The enemy's turn functions more or less identically to the player's turn, rolling a Skill check against the player's opposing check. Should they succeed, they deal damage. Should they fail, they leave themselves open for a counter-attack. The enemy also has the option of invoking Aspects and using Stress.