"The plan survives until contact. That's why we have backup plans."
Commanders are tactical leaders who coordinate squad actions, boost ally performance, and turn chaos into coordinated strikes. They see the battlefield as a chess board and move their pieces with precision.
Commanders excel at:
They are the squad's brain - directing action and multiplying effectiveness.
Commanders carry the weight of responsibility. When plans go wrong and people die, it's the Commander who made the call. Good Commanders learn from failures; the best ones minimize them in the first place.
Consider:
| Skill | Application |
|---|---|
| Combat Tactics | Planning engagements, exploiting weaknesses |
| Persuasion | Inspiring allies, intimidating enemies |
| Perception | Reading the battlefield, spotting opportunities |
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sprint | A coordinated push; the Commander's bread and butter |
| Standup | Pre-mission briefing; nobody sits, nobody sleeps |
| Pivot | Rapid tactical shift; what happens when the plan meets reality |
| Backlog | The list of problems that haven't killed us yet |
| Scope Creep | A mission that keeps getting bigger; also a rifle that needs calibrating |
| Crunch Time | When the squad gives everything; also when the Commander asks too much |
| Stakeholder | Anyone who can get the squad killed or paid; sometimes both |
| Retrospective | Post-mission analysis; who lived, what worked, what didn't |
Operations log: Commander "Warden"; GRAD Detention Platform Kessler-9, Asteroid Belt CLASSIFIED
The first torpedo hit the eastern solar array at 0342. Warden was awake. Warden was always awake when the numbers looked wrong, and the numbers had looked wrong since midnight; a ship running dark at the edge of scanner range, transponder spoofing civilian freight, decelerating on a vector that didn't match any scheduled resupply.
Warden had placed three targeting beacons on the facility's outer hull at 0200. Precaution. The guards who suited up and carried them out into hard vacuum hadn't asked why. Nobody asks Warden why.
The second torpedo severed the communications relay. Standard tactic; blind the facility before the boarding action. Warden had expected it at 0340. It hit two minutes late. Sloppy.
"Coms Net, backup frequency. All teams, Channel Seven." Warden's voice was the same volume it always was. The facility housed 4,200 inmates, 380 guards, and one Commander who had never raised their voice in eleven years of service. There was no reason to start now.
The tactical display painted the picture in real time. Three boarding craft, military-surplus, running hot toward the northern docking ring. A fourth hanging back; command element, probably. Whoever planned this had money, equipment, and either very loyal people or very expendable ones. Given the target, probably the second.
"Alpha, seal the northern docking ring. Hard seal. Nobody in, nobody out. Bravo, fall back to secondary chokepoints in Corridor 14 and hold. Charlie, you're my reserve; rally at Central Hub and wait for my word."
Eighteen contacts breached the docking ring simultaneously at 0351; coordinated entry, flashbangs, suppressive fire. Military training. Professional.
Alpha held the first chokepoint for four minutes. Then the breaching charges started and the first guard went down. Corporal Yeun. Shrapnel through the faceplate. Warden noted the timestamp. 0355.
"Alpha, fall back to secondary positions. Bravo, shift two elements to cover the retreat. Don't get creative."
The plan was simple. Funnel them. Let the attackers push through the northern ring into Corridor 14; a long, straight, badly lit stretch of facility with no cover and prepared fire positions on both ends. A kill box that looked like an opportunity. Every Commander builds one into their defense plan. The trick is making the enemy choose to walk into it.
They walked into it. Ten of the eighteen pushed down Corridor 14 at 0403, trusting their momentum. Bravo opened fire from prepared positions. Clean crossfire. Six contacts dropped in the first eight seconds.
The surviving four fell back toward the docking ring. The other eight, the half that hadn't followed into the corridor, started cutting through the eastern maintenance bulkhead.
That wasn't in the plan.
Warden stared at the tactical display. The eastern maintenance route led to Cell Block Sigma; high-value inmates. Organised crime leadership, corporate war criminals, people with organisations on the outside who would pay extraction prices with a lot of zeroes. This wasn't a raid. It was a shopping trip.
"Charlie team. Eastern maintenance, double time. They're going for Sigma."
"Commander, that route isn't fortified. No prepared positions. We'd be meeting them in open —"
"I know, Sergeant. Get there before they do. You won't need fortifications if you're already waiting when they cut through."
Silence on the channel. Two seconds. Then boots, moving fast.
Charlie moved. Six guards, light kit, sprinting through a facility they knew better than anyone alive. They reached the Sigma junction forty seconds before the attackers cut through the bulkhead.
The fight in the eastern corridor lasted ninety seconds. Warden watched the tactical markers move, merge, separate, and, in two cases, go dark. Private Okafor. Specialist Tran. Both Charlie team. Both at the Sigma junction. Both there because Warden said get there before they do.
Charlie held. The attackers broke contact and fell back toward the hull breach.
Pivot.
"All teams, hostiles retreating to the northern docking ring. They're going to run." Warden looked at the three beacon markers on the tactical display; placed on the outer hull four hours ago, back when this was still a bad feeling about a number on a scanner. "Seal all internal routes to the docking ring. Every door, every hatch, every maintenance crawlway. Let them out."
"Commander, if we seal them out, they reach their boarding craft —"
"Yes they will."
Warden activated the comlink to orbit. The command ship had been holding station since midnight. Patient. Like its Commander.
"Fire mission. Beacons One, Two, and Three. Light missile, standard delay. Confirm."
The ship confirmed. Three rounds, three beacons, three-round delay.
"All personnel, clear the northern exterior hull. Repeat; clear the northern exterior hull. Inbound ordnance, eighteen seconds."
Eighteen seconds. Three rounds. Enough time to seal a bulkhead if you're already moving. Not enough to hesitate.
The first missile hit. Then the second. Then the third. The docking ring, the boarding craft, and everyone still attached to the outside of Kessler-9 ceased to exist in a sequence of white flashes that the facility's exterior cameras recorded and Warden would never watch. The fourth craft, the command element, fired its engines and ran. Warden noted the heading. Someone would follow up. Someone always followed up.
The facility lights stabilised. Alert status dropped from red to amber. Warden looked at the display one last time. Eighteen hostiles. All accounted for. Two guards KIA. One wounded. One facility breach requiring structural repair. Commissary schedule unaffected.
Then Warden opened a new file. Two names. Okafor. Tran. Service records. Performance reviews. Next-of-kin contact information. The casualty report was filled out in the same small, precise handwriting Warden used for every other form in the facility. Same format. Same margins. Because a form is a form, and the dead deserve the same clerical discipline as the living.
At 0600, Warden conducted the morning standup. Shift change. New rotations. Three additional guards assigned to the eastern maintenance route until the bulkhead was repaired. Sigma inmates on lockdown pending security audit. Debriefing at 0900. Questions?
No questions. The guards who'd been there long enough already knew; Warden remembers every name, files every report, and never mentions the ones who didn't walk back. Not because it doesn't matter. Because talking doesn't change the math, and the math is all a Commander has left when the plan meets the enemy and the enemy doesn't care about your spreadsheet.
Best Legacies: Mastermind, Soldier, Diplomat
Best Origins: Human, Rodi, Karani
Best Organizations: CONFED, CORSEC, MERCS
Recommended Skills: Espionage - Social, Espionage - Search, Systems - Sensors
Suggested Skills: Intel - Street Smarts, Medic - Triage
| Rank | Title |
|---|---|
| 2 | Squad Leader |
| 4 | Tactical Officer |
| 6 | Field Commander |
| 8 | Strike Commander |
| 10 | Supreme Commander |
New Commander operatives begin with the following standard-issue gear:
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Sidearm | Officer's pistol |
| Tactical Display | Portable holographic mapping system |
| Coms Net (Std) | Squad network hub (10km range) |
| Light Armor | Officer's protective gear |
| GPS Scanner | General Purpose Scanner (10m range) |
| Planning Tools | Strategic planning software and data |
| Targeting Beacon ×3 | Small reusable orbital targeting marker |
Commanders usually let the ship do the heavy lifting. But when you have to pull a trigger yourself, Weapon Training abilities keep your personal accuracy respectable; officers who can't shoot don't keep their squads' respect for long.
| Layer | Source | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Core Weapon Training | 11 × Rank (automatic) | 110 |
| Weapon Skill | +1% per SP in weapon type | 10 |
| Weapon Familiarity | +1% per hit with this specific weapon | 20 |
| Weapon Training | Tactical / Expert / Master (+5% each, per weapon type/size) | 15 |
| Max Accuracy Bonus | 155 |
Every Commander has a ship in orbit. It's not a taxi; it's a weapons platform, logistics hub, and forward operating base rolled into one. AP purchases permanently outfit the ship, unlocking asset types, increasing quantities, upgrading delivery systems, and improving firepower. What you buy stays bought. Unless raiders loot it of course.
All targeting methods are used to direct fire missions, dropship deliveries, and vehicle drops. The Targeting Beacon is free; additional methods cost AP.
| Method | Cost | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Targeting Beacon | Free | Small item, thrown or placed as 1 Action. Physical marker. Starts with 3. |
| Laser Targeting | 2 AP | Designate a visible target as 1 Action. Requires maintained line of sight. |
| Programmatic Targeting | 2 AP | Pre-program coordinates/waypoints before calling. No LOS needed but less accurate on movement. |
| Satellite Overlay | 2 AP | Target any position visible on satellite map. Requires Orbital Recon active over the area. |
Targeting Beacons are Small items (25 credits each). They can be placed at your feet (1 Action) or thrown like a grenade to a target point (1 Action, standard grenade range). Once active, the beacon broadcasts a lock signal until recovered or disarmed. Beacons are generally destroyed on impact.
Disarming: An enemy who reaches a beacon can disarm it (1 Action, no roll required). If a missile is already in flight when its beacon is disarmed, the Commander has two options:
Crafting: New beacons can be fabricated during downtime. Requires an Electronics - Programming roll AND an Engineering - Rigging roll, plus 1 Part per beacon. Beacons restock to 3 during R&R if the Commander has access to the ship.
These are available to every Commander at no AP cost. The ship always has something in the hold.
Activation: 1 Action
Frequency: Once per mission
Effect: Call down a basic supply drop (general supplies worth up to 200 credits). 1-round delay.
Activation: 1 Action
Frequency: Once per mission
Effect: Call a single light missile strike on your beacon. Deals 1 Hit to all targets within 3m of target point. Requires clear sky. 3-round delay.
The Ship Loadout Sub-Tree is a separate ability section from the main Ability Tree. All abilities cost AP from the same pool. Loadout abilities determine what your ship carries and deploys; the main Ability Tree determines what you can do on the ground.
Each AP purchase permanently outfits the ship. Abilities marked (repeatable) can be purchased multiple times.
Cost: 3 AP (repeatable)
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Each purchase adds 1 light missile to the ship's loadout per mission. 3m blast radius. 3-round delay. Requires clear sky.
Cost: 3 AP
Activation: 1 Action per waypoint
Requires: Tier 1, Light Missile
Effect: Light missiles gain 1 waypoint; can navigate around a single corner or through a doorway. Each waypoint costs 1 Action to program before calling the strike.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1, Guided Missile I
Effect: +1 waypoint to guided missiles (total 2).
Cost: 6 AP (repeatable)
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 2, Light Missile
Effect: Each purchase adds 1 medium missile to the ship's loadout per mission. 5m blast radius. 3-round delay. Requires clear sky (or guided path).
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: 1 Action per waypoint
Requires: Tier 2, Guided Missile I
Effect: All missiles gain 2 waypoints (replaces Guided I base). Can navigate corridors and enter structures. Each waypoint costs 1 Action to program.
Cost: 4 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2, Guided Missile II, Expanded Waypoints I
Effect: +1 waypoint to guided missiles (total 4 with both expansions).
Cost: 10 AP (repeatable)
Activation: 3 Actions
Requires: Tier 2, Medium Missile
Effect: Each purchase adds 1 heavy missile to the ship's loadout per mission. 8m blast radius. 3-round delay. Penetrates light roofing on a clear day.
Cost: 10 AP
Activation: 1 Action per waypoint
Requires: Tier 2, Guided Missile II
Effect: All missiles gain 3 waypoints (replaces Guided II base). Can navigate tunnels, ductwork, complex interiors. Each waypoint costs 1 Action to program.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2, Guided Missile III, Expanded Waypoints II
Effect: +1 waypoint to guided missiles (total 6 with all expansions).
Laser strikes arrive immediately (no delay) but have environmental constraints. All laser strikes deal Thermal damage. Damage follows warhead upgrade tiers (see below).
Cost: 3 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Immediate orbital laser strike. Thermal damage. Requires clear line of sight AND clear skies. 2m radius.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 2, Light Laser Strike
Effect: Immediate orbital laser strike. Thermal damage. Penetrates cloud cover but NOT dense atmosphere. 3m radius.
Cost: 10 AP
Activation: 3 Actions
Requires: Tier 2, Medium Laser Strike
Effect: Immediate orbital laser strike. Thermal damage. Penetrates clouds and dense atmosphere. On a clear day, penetrates roofs of medium dwellings. 4m radius.
All orbital strikes (missiles, lasers, artillery) start at 1 Hit. Damage upgrades increase Hits globally. Each weapon type has a damage cap based on its tier:
| Weapon Tier | Damage Cap |
|---|---|
| Light (T1) | 3 Hits |
| Medium (T2) | 6 Hits |
| Heavy / Artillery (T3) | 10 Hits |
Cost: 2 AP (repeatable, max 2 purchases)
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: +1 Hit to all orbital strikes. Light weapons cap at 3 Hits.
Cost: 4 AP (repeatable, max 3 purchases)
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2, Warhead Upgrade T1 (×2)
Effect: +1 Hit to medium+ orbital strikes. Medium weapons cap at 6 Hits.
Cost: 6 AP (repeatable, max 4 purchases)
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2, Warhead Upgrade T2 (×3)
Effect: +1 Hit to heavy/artillery orbital strikes. Heavy weapons cap at 10 Hits.
Missiles and artillery default to Chemical (explosive) damage. Warhead type upgrades unlock alternate damage types. Switching the loaded warhead type costs 1 Action (the ship needs time to swap ordnance). The selected type applies to all subsequent strikes until changed again.
Laser strikes always deal Thermal damage and are not affected by warhead type upgrades.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Unlocks Blunt, Pierce, and Slash warhead types for all missiles and artillery. Choose one type per strike.
Cost: 4 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: Unlocks Thermal, Radiation, and Electrical (EMP) warhead types for all missiles and artillery. Choose one type per strike.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: Unlocks Grav and other exotic warhead types for all missiles and artillery. Choose one type per strike.
Reduces delivery delay for ALL call-downs (missiles, vehicles, pods, artillery). Laser strikes remain immediate.
Cost: 3 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Reduce all delays by 1 round. Missiles: 3→2 rounds. Other assets: next turn → end of current round.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2, Rapid Deployment I
Effect: Reduce all delays by 1 additional round (total −2). Missiles: 3→1 round (minimum). Other assets arrive immediately.
All vehicles use electric power cells as standard (see Plasma Fuel Upgrade below).
Cost: 3 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Call down a combat motorbike. 1-round delay.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Size | Medium |
| Speed | 20m |
| Structure (SP) | 8 |
| DR | 1 |
| Hardness | ; |
| Crew | 1 (rider) |
| Weapon Mounts | ; |
| Cargo | 2x1M (panniers) |
| Range | 100km (electric) / 600km (plasma) |
Cost: 3 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Call down a quad bike. 1-round delay.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Size | Medium |
| Speed | 16m |
| Structure (SP) | 12 |
| DR | 2 |
| Hardness | ; |
| Crew | 2 (rider + passenger) |
| Weapon Mounts | 1S (rear pintle) |
| Cargo | 4M |
| Range | 100km (electric) / 600km (plasma) |
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: Call down an all-terrain vehicle. 1-round delay.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Size | Large |
| Speed | 12m |
| Structure (SP) | 20 |
| DR | 3 |
| Hardness | 1 |
| Crew | 2 (driver + passenger) |
| Weapon Mounts | 1S (roof pintle) |
| Cargo | 4L |
| Range | 50km (electric) / 300km (plasma) |
Cost: 3 AP (repeatable)
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1, Combat Motorcycle
Effect: Each purchase adds +1 combat motorcycle call-down per mission.
Cost: 3 AP (repeatable)
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1, Quad Bike
Effect: Each purchase adds +1 quad bike call-down per mission.
Cost: 6 AP (repeatable)
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2, ATV
Effect: Each purchase adds +1 ATV call-down per mission.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: All vehicles are upgraded from electric to plasma fuel cells. Motorcycles and quad bikes: 100km → 600km range. ATVs: 50km → 300km range. Tank is unaffected (vehicle-grade power plant).
Cost: 4 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: All vehicles gain +1 Large cargo slot.
Cost: 10 AP
Activation: 3 Actions
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: Call down a heavily armoured tracked vehicle. 2-round delay.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Size | Large |
| Speed | 8m |
| Structure (SP) | 50 |
| DR | 8 |
| Hardness | 3 |
| Crew | 4 (driver, gunner, commander, loader) |
| Weapon Mounts | 1L (turret) + 1M (coax) + 1S (pintle) |
| Cargo | 4S 2M 1L |
| Power | Plasma cell (vehicle-grade) |
| Range | 100km |
| Special | Enclosed (crew protected from small arms), stabilised platform |
Orbital kinetic strike; tungsten rods dropped from orbit. No warhead, no fuel, just mass and gravity. Damage follows warhead upgrades (damage tier matches the highest radius upgrade purchased). Requires clear sky. 3-round delay. Destroys structures and fortifications.
Cost: 3 AP
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Orbital kinetic strike. 1 target point, 4m radius. 3-round delay. Requires clear sky.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1, Kinetic Bombardment
Effect: Kinetic Bombardment radius increases to 8m.
Cost: 4 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2, Expanded Bombardment Radius I
Effect: Kinetic Bombardment radius increases to 16m.
Cost: 4 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2, Expanded Bombardment Radius II
Effect: Kinetic Bombardment radius increases to 32m.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 3, Expanded Bombardment Radius III
Effect: Kinetic Bombardment radius increases to 64m.
Cost: 2 AP (repeatable)
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1, Kinetic Bombardment
Effect: Each purchase adds +1 additional target point (each with full radius and damage). Multiple rods drop simultaneously.
Cost: 4 AP (repeatable)
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2, Battery Fire I
Effect: Each purchase adds +1 additional target point.
Cost: 6 AP (repeatable)
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 3, Battery Fire II
Effect: Each purchase adds +1 additional target point.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Satellite scan or loitering recon drone (100m radius). Reveals enemy positions, structural layouts, entry points. Intel relayed to tactical display. Enables Satellite Overlay targeting over the scanned area. 1-round delay per sweep.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Deploy a comms relay extending squad comms to 25km (military grade). Medium item, persists until destroyed or recovered. 1-round delay.
Cost: 3 AP (repeatable)
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Each purchase adds 1 supply pod per mission. Large container, ammo/meds/equipment worth up to 500 credits. 1-round delay.
Cost: 3 AP
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Drop a field medical station. Large deployable. Provides Boon(1) to all Medic - Triage rolls within 3m. Contains basic medical supplies. 1-round delay.
Cost: 3 AP
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Drop a field workshop. Large deployable. Provides Boon(1) to all Engineering rolls within 3m. Contains basic tools and spare parts. 1-round delay.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: Drop a mobile laboratory. Large deployable. Provides Boon(1) to all Science and Intel - Analysis rolls within 3m. Contains instruments and scanning equipment. 1-round delay.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: A robot aboard the command ship collects equipment the squad left onboard, loads it into a dropship, and deploys it to the squad's position. Targets via any unlocked targeting method. The dropship must fly through the atmosphere; 5-minute delay (not a drop pod, an actual landing). Contents arrive intact.
Cost: 4 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2, Custom Dropship
Effect: Upgraded heat shielding on the dropship allows a steeper atmospheric entry. Dropship delay halved to 3 minutes.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 2, Custom Dropship
Effect: The dropship skips atmospheric braking and punches through at combat speed. Arrives in 3 rounds instead of minutes. The dropship is always destroyed on impact. Roll d100 vs Mission TL for the contents: success and they survive intact, failure damages them (−1d6 Quality), critical failure destroys them entirely. When time matters more than the cargo manifest, you slam it down.
All call-downs, pods, vehicles, dropships, come in hot. Anything under the landing zone is generally destroyed. Creatures nearby hear the hiss and roar of atmospheric entry and can move clear, but anything directly beneath the drop pod has nowhere to go.
Base impact: All call-downs deal damage to everything within 10m of the landing point and leave a crater. Creatures in the area hear the incoming drop and may move out of the way as an Extra Action (the sound is hard to miss).
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Braking thrusters on all drop pods reduce the impact zone to 4m radius. Less collateral, cleaner landings.
Cost: 4 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: Reinforced blast plates on all drop pods increase the impact zone to 20m radius. The pod doesn't land softer; it lands harder, on purpose.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: Aerodynamic fins silence the atmospheric entry, no hiss, no roar. Creatures in the impact zone no longer hear the drop coming. The Commander rolls d100 vs Mission TL for each creature in the vicinity. Creatures that fail the check do not notice the incoming drop, unless they are actively searching on their turn. When combined with Slammed Down, the reduced entry time gives even less warning, gain Boon(Tier) to the roll against Mission TL.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: Designate one ally as your 2IC. They can call down orbital assets using your targeting methods and ship loadout as though they were the Commander. Only one 2IC at a time. Reassigning costs 1 Action.
Cost: 10 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 2
Frequency: Once per mission
Effect: Emergency extraction pod. Lands at target point, carries 2 people to orbit. 1-round delay. When corporate says "exit strategy," the Commander takes it literally.
All Commander abilities are purchased with Ability Points (AP) during R&R.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 1
Frequency: Once per round
Effect: Designate an ally within voice range. They gain Boon(1) to their next action and may take it immediately (out of combat order).
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 1
Frequency: Once per round
Effect: Select one ally within voice range who may immediately spend an Extra Action to move up to their full Speed. The Commander calls the direction; the ally trusts the call.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 1
Effect: Allies within 10m may stand up or go Prone as an Extra Action (instead of spending 1 Action). The Commander's squad stays on their feet; or gets off them when it matters.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 1
Frequency: Once per encounter
Effect: Allies within 10m suppress Wound effects (removing Wound-based Bane penalties) as though treated until end of combat. Discipline holds the line when flesh fails.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: Extra Action
Requires: Tier 1
Frequency: Once per round
Effect: Grant an ally within voice range Boon(1) to their next roll. You cannot move this turn. A Commander who plants their feet and directs the fight is worth more than one who runs.
Cost: 2 AP
Activation: Extra Action
Requires: Tier 1
Frequency: Once per turn
Effect: Your weapon scopes clearly need adjustment. Gain Boon(2) to your next attack roll this turn. The Commander sees what everyone else misses; including open sightlines.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: Extended Action (before combat)
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: When the squad has time to plan, designate specific roles and objectives for each participant. All participating allies gain Boon(1) to their first combat action. Each time an ally completes their designated objective, they gain a cumulative Boost(1) to subsequent actions (stacking). The plan rewards execution; the more the squad delivers, the sharper they get.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: Until the start of your next turn, any ally within voice range who fails a roll may immediately reroll it with Boon(1). Each ally may benefit from this once. The Commander barks adjustments faster than the squad can fail.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 2
Frequency: At will
Effect: Move an ally within voice range up to half their Speed as your action. The ally does not trigger free attacks and does not spend their own movement. Repositioning is the Commander's art; every square matters.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: Allies within 6m suppress Psych equal to your Tier (reducing Bother penalties accordingly). The Commander's presence is an anchor; when the squad believes in the mission, stress loses its grip.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: Extra Action (squad is ambushed or surprised)
Requires: Tier 2
Frequency: Once per mission
Effect: Negate a surprise round or ambush. The squad acts normally in the first round of combat instead of being caught Off Guard. We planned for this. We always plan for this.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 2
Frequency: Once per encounter
Effect: Grant one ally a minor flashback; the squad prepared for this contingency. The ally may produce one piece of non-weapon equipment worth up to 500 credits, or recall a relevant piece of intelligence about the current situation. The Commander's backlog always has something useful buried in it.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: Extended Action (after combat, ~10 minutes)
Requires: Tier 2
Frequency: Once per encounter
Effect: After combat, conduct an after-action review with the squad. Identify what went wrong and adapt. All participating allies gain Boon(1) to all rolls during the next encounter. Lessons learned are only useful if someone writes them down.
Cost: 6 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 2
Effect: When an ally scores a Critical Hit against a target, you learn its current HITS status (how many marked, how many remaining) and any active conditions. Information is ammunition; knowing what's already broken tells you what to break next.
Cost: 10 AP
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 3
Frequency: Once per encounter
Effect: Designate a single target. All allies who can see or hear the Commander may immediately make one attack against that target. Each hit beyond the first deals +1 Hit. When the Commander calls all hands, everyone answers.
Cost: 10 AP
Activation: Passive + Active
Requires: Tier 3
Frequency: Once per Mission (Active Component)
Passive: All allies within voice range gain Boost(1) to all rolls.
Active (Once Per Mission): Take complete control of combat order for 1 round. Arrange all participants (allies and enemies) in any order you choose. Allies may take their actions at any point in your designated order.
Cost: 10 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 3
Effect: All Commander abilities that specify a range or number of targets have those values doubled. Voice range abilities extend to comms range. Abilities targeting "up to X allies" now target up to 2X. The Commander's reach scales with the operation.
Cost: 10 AP
Activation: 1 Action
Requires: Tier 3
Frequency: Once per encounter
Effect: Allies within 10m gain +1 Energy for the current round. Overtime is authorized. The squad gives everything they have; and then a little more.
Cost: 10 AP
Activation: 2 Actions
Requires: Tier 3
Frequency: Once per mission
Effect: Deploy smoke grenades across the battlefield, blanketing a 20m radius around you. Up to 6 allies within the smoke may immediately reposition anywhere within the smoke as an Extra Action without triggering free attacks. Repositioned allies are Concealed until the start of your next turn. When the plan dies, the Commander writes a new one under cover.
Cost: 10 AP
Activation: Passive
Requires: Tier 3, Stakeholder Buy-In
Effect: Upgrade Stakeholder Buy-In. Allies within voice range suppress Psych equal to 2× your Tier (replacing the base amount from Stakeholder Buy-In for allies in both ranges). Allies who already have Shaken or Terrified conditions suppress their effects while in range. Good leadership doesn't make the fear disappear; it makes the squad too disciplined to care.
"Escape is always an option. A bad one."
— Warden, GRAD