<Cybercore>

"Three jobs. Sometimes in the same five minutes."

The Three Modes

Operations covers the three modes you'll spend most sessions in. They aren't strict phases, combat can collapse back into exploration the moment the last enemy drops, and a social encounter can turn into combat in one bad word, but the rule sets are distinct, and knowing which one you're in matters.

  • Combat; initiative, attacks, defences, cover, grappling, dying. When weapons clear leather.
  • Exploration; sweeps, hazards, scouting, environmental systems. When the threat is the place, not the people.
  • Social; negotiation, deception, intimidation, factions. When the trigger you're pulling is somebody else's choice.

Core Gameplay

A handful of rules apply across every mode. These sit at the umbrella level rather than buried inside one pillar.

  • Action Economy; Actions, Extra Actions, Heroic Actions, Maneuvers. What you can do on your turn.
  • Movement; Run vs Move-and-Act, terrain, climbing, wading, zero-g.
  • Areas & Distance; blast, cone, line, zone. Reusable for AoE weapons and environmental hazards alike.
  • Time & Turns; Rounds, Turns, Sweeps. The clock at three different zoom levels.
  • Recovery Cycles; Stim Break, Lockdown, R&R. How you put yourself back together between bad days.

How The Modes Hand Off

Combat handles second-by-second decisions on a hex grid. Exploration zooms out to the sweep; a chunk of time long enough to scan, search, or move through a hazardous zone. Social runs at conversational pace, with opposed checks and Reputation doing most of the mechanical work.

The same character sheet covers all three. Your Skills, your Energy pool, your Heroic Energy; all carry across. What changes is the clock, the threat, and which dice you're picking up.