FMA Suggestion: Free Fall

	I've played a few FMA scenarios, and I've found it to be a very
entertaining game. However, recently I've been trying to adapt it to a
free-fall situation (indoors for now, but I'm also working on draft
vacuum rules). Note that while I've done SOME playtesting of these
rules, they have not been as extensively playtested as I would like
(which is why I'm posting them- maybe some other people who have more
time will tell me where I screwed up).

	Legal note: I wrote this. I hereby grant to Ground Zero Games
the right
to do anything they want with it. I ask only that if part of these rules
make it into published material, that my name be mentioned somewhere, if
convenient. Anyone else who wants to modify it- go ahead, but send
suggested modifications to the list. Please don't put it up on a web
page without the permission of Ground Zero Games. Ok, that's done with.

	FMA Free Fall Rules:

	1) Introduction

	While combat in the GZG universe (and thus FMA) will normally be
taking
place on a planet, there are situations where forces will confront each
other in free fall. Some such situations include boarding actions,
attempts to capture space stations, and attempts to capture asteroids or
planetoids on which the enemy has established a presence. While
artificial gravity has been hinted at, there's no reason why it couldn't
fail, or be turned off by the defenders.

	2) Notes on scenarios

	These rules are designed to simulate free fall indoors (the
corridors
of a spacecraft, space station, etc.). I have found that double-sided
tape and scenery made of cardboard work well for scenarios, but I'm also
considering gluing small magnets to the bases of the figures, and using
metal sheet for corridors. Generally, I just stick the activation marker
(and other relevant markers) onto the figures/bases.
	Generally, I lay out the corridor section with walls and floor
in the
proper orientation, and the ceiling either alongside, or above, or
wherever convenient. It is useful to try to preserve the orientation of
the ceiling relative to the corridor if possible.

	3) Basic Definitions

	Status: A character in free fall is in one of three basic
situations
		-Grappled: Whether using a spacesuit with mag boots or
just holding
onto the 
			wall, the character is at a fixed point, and not
moving.
		-Controlled Flight: The character has pushed off a wall
intentionally,
is 
			using suit jets, or has a PA suit with jets.
		-Uncontrolled Flight: The character let go of his
handhold, hit the
wrong 
			jets, or was toppled by the impact of a weapon.
	Control Roll: A character may at some time have to make a
control role.
Any 
		character who fails a control roll is now in
uncontrolled flight. This
is the 
		only way a character will enter uncontrolled flight. A
control roll is
a 
		skill role, pitting the character's Free Fall skill
against a
difficulty 
		roll.

	4) New Actions

	Walk: A character with mag boots may try to walk without
becoming
detached. Any character trying to walk in free fall is considered to be
Heavily Encumbered (4").

	Run: A character may try to go farther, but at the expense of
safety.
Running requires a control roll. Running 6" is an easy task, running 8"
is an average task, and so forth.

	Jump: A character may try to move from any spot to any other
spot
provided there is a clear (obstacle-free) line of sight between them and
their destination. A jump is handled by a series of range bands (much
like throwing a grenade), with the player rolling the character's Free
Fall skill die against a target number of the number of range bands the
character is attempting to jump. Failure means that the character
scatters (as a grenade, parallel to the surface at the destination) AND
the character must make a control roll. The jump range bands are as
follows:
	Space suited, no jets: 2"
	No suit or jets: 4"
	Space suit with jets: 6"
	Powered Armor with jets: 8"

	Grapple: A character may attempt to grab hold of a nearby
handhold (or
attach magnetic boots if the character is equipped with them). Any
character who takes a move or fire action MUST spend their other action
grappling or make a control roll (Difficult task). If a character is not
near a wall (ie if characters in uncontrolled flight are moving
randomly), that character may not attempt to grapple.

	Regain Control: A character in a suit or PA with jetpacks may
attempt
to regain control if in uncontrolled flight. To regain control, the
character makes a control roll versus an Easy difficulty.

	Close Combat: If a character is touching another character, the
character may initiate close combat. Close combat functions as in the
standard FMA rules, except that the winner must make a control roll
(Average task) after combat. The loser is automatically in uncontrolled
flight.

	Other actions remain the same, with the exception of "Move"
which is
eliminated, and "Close Combat" which is modified as above.

	5) New and modified rules

	Characters in uncontrolled flight: Decide ahead of time what to
do
about a character in uncontrolled flight. Here are some possibilities:
	-The character stays where they were when they lost control.
	-The character drifts 1" per turn, in a random direction (D12,
where
1-6 is perpendicular to the nearest surface VERTICALLY, and 7-12 is
perpendicular to the nearest surface HORIZONTALLY (picture a clock cut
in half, and joined to form a cross).

	Suppression: Whenever a character is suppressed, that character
must
make a control roll (this simulates the effect of surprise/impact in a
free fall situation). The control roll is as follows:
	Character with mag boots AND jets: Easy
	Character with jets: Average
	Character with mag boots: Difficult (the character tries to hit
the
dirt, thus losing the contact between his boots and the hull)
	Character with neither mag boots or jets: Very Difficult (it's
easy to
let go of a handgrip when someone's shooting at you).

	Two-part move: If a character is trying to make a move which
would take
up too many range bands, the character may take 2 actions on the move,
and double the size of every range band (note that the character is
therefore NOT grappled and MUST grapple before attempting another move
or fire action).

	Failing to Grapple: If a character makes a move action, and has
not yet
grappled by the END of his/her NEXT activation, the character must make
a control roll (Difficult) to avoid going into uncontrolled flight.

	New Equipment:

	Space Suit: Counts as D10 armor, comes with mag boots. May come
with a
jet pack
	PA: May come with mag boots or a jet pack

	Point Costs (note: these are VERY arbitrary- playtest should
firm this up)

Space suit: Same cost as D10 armor +10 for mag boots.
Mag Boots: 10 pts (can be added to a PA, comes with a space suit)
Jet Pack: 15 pts (can be added to a PA or space suit)

As far as I can see, that's all my notes. If anyone has any comments or
questions, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks for paying attention,
Brian Quirt