The Continuum Game Mechanics FAQ

The Continuum roleplaying game has been in existence for about five years now officially, and there are many elements of the game system that have aspects to them that make the players, and GMs, think a little bit. This Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) page is designed to answer some of the commonly asked questions about one of the more complex Continuum game elements - Game Mechanics.

Game Mechanics Frequently Asked Questions

In the combat example, in the Continuum RPG, page 26, it seems that even though Sven is penalized by -3 (ignoring the error here in terms of the fact that he suffered 2 IPs, not 3 IPs), he should be able to act, as his Quick is 3. However, the section seems to indicate that people who are injured act sooner...

One could argue an adrenaline boost here, but... <g> If it isn't clear, no character can get a new combat action from being wounded; if they don't have an action to declare during the beginning of the stage, then they don't go that stage. The way the stages are divided by Quick, it is occasionally possible to go earlier in the bout than one might have if one's Quick is lowered, but one will never gain an action that bout this way (and the character is more likely to lose one).

Note that in the example, Sven did go; he attempted to attack Harry and failed. Continuum , page 23 (under "Melee") states: "If the defending character is able to take an action in the stage they are being attacked, they may choose to counterattack as their roll in the competitive action, even if they would normally take their action later that stage. If they choose to counterattack, then that is their action for the stage."

What is a Spanner's Age as opposed to his chronological age? How do you calculate this?

A spanner's Age is the stuff that she's done in her (personal, subjective) past - as distinct from a leveller's "future". For example, let's say I span Up a year, and stay there for six months, and then span back Down to a second or two after my original departure. Those events that take place over those six months are in my Age.

Chronological age is a (relatively) simple concept from there: If I was thirty years old when I departed in that example, I would be thirty years and six months when I returned (though a leveller would expect me to still be only thirty, and that scar is sure going to be difficult to explain).

Special thanks to Chris Adams, Dave Fooden, Barbara Manui, David Trimboli, and the folks on the Continuum Mailing List for their help in the compiling of this FAQ information.

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