Pattern Ghost

Compared to Champions Online or Star Trek Online, I would agree with the stingy observation. I have only played one other MMO (Neverwinter Beta) and did not get far enough to make an informed observation. With SW:TOR, I dropped a few bucks on it (extra movement stuff and additional crew (gathering/crafting) skills and went to preferred status. The two biggest advantages are the ability to e-mail objects (not credits - sub only) to other players and the ability to trade between players. Having six character slots is nice also. The one thing I really like about SW:TOR is the storylines. They are voice-acted pretty well and engaging enough that I can look past the MMO aspects of the game. As I progress further into the game, the story aspect gets weaker though and the MMO grinding gets stronger. I may not actually finish the game if the trend does not stabilize into a happy medium soon.
 
One of my biggest complaints about the game is that Jedi are among the weakest of characters. The Trooper/Bounty Hunter are both more sturdy and able to deal more damage out to larger groups of enemies. That's a design thing though. I have not had many problems actually surviving but I often think "my Commando (Trooper prestige class) could have done this easier/with less damage taken." While I don't want or even think it appropriate to have Jedi monstrously more powerful than anybody else, they should not be flimsy either. The same cannot be said of the Sith side of the house. My Sith Warrior (the Sith mirror to the Jedi Knight) seems to be just as powerful as my Bounty Hunter (Sith mirror to Trooper). I did note that some people on the SW:TOR forums mentioned that the Jedi Knight does not come into their own until the mid 30s level range. I'll have to see about that.

... Bullettes?

Live pokémon. Gotta catch 'em all! It's a red-eyed crocodile skink* (Tribolonotus gracilis).
 
 
*I can't believe "skink" isn't in the spell checker dictionary.

Spider-Lizard, Spider-Lizard, he can do anything a Spider-Lizard can do . . .
 

Ok, this one is a cross-post, so sue me.
 

Ok, this one is a cross-post, so sue me.
 

Really?
 
 
 
Seems hard for some folks.

Even if she really is a "dishonest, manipulative, ignorant schemer", which I don't believe, that still just makes her just another internet troll and that doesn't make her deserving of death threats and rape threats.  If there are guys out there getting significantly more harassment for the same "crimes", they don't deserve it either.

I think you overlooked, "Take precautions, fine." The point is that we don't do much about teaching boys about respecting someone else's choices; we all too often place the responsibility of preventing rape on girls' shoulders instead. We should help women to defend themselves against others, but the bulk of the work should be in primary prevention (i.e., working on interventions for men who might take advantage of women). I'm not talking about grabbing women in parking garages and raping them; I'm talking about coercion, manipulation, taking advantage of inebriation, etc. The messages that we get from our culture tell us that women are here to please (heterosexual) men, and we have to work on undoing this in some way if we are going to create a better world where everyone understands what consent is. For those that don't or refuse, yes, take precautions against them.

Re: Interesting article about Sexism in Geek Communities
 

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0933.html
 
I love Julio's parting line

Re: Interesting article about Sexism in Geek Communities
 

 
This is entirely out of the context of whatever the discussion on that other board may have been, and in the context of cold, hard reality.
 
Everyone, including women, should be taught both how to avoid trouble, and how to defend themselves in the first place. Because the world isn't always a nice place.
 
My brother, who lives in an upscale area in NJ, has three lovely daughters. They're now 18, 17, and 13. They're all very bright girls, academically and socially adept, and my brother has made an effort from an early age to both provide for them and make sure they're safe. They've been all taken martial arts and self defense training, but haven't made a hobby of it (they're all into dance heavily). They've all been required to go everywhere with a large group of friends, and since high school this has included about half their school's football and wrestling teams. They've been trained to keep the parents informed of their destinations and locations at all times, and to have cell phones on them at all times. They don't hang out in any particularly dangerous locations.
 
About a week and a half ago, my eldest niece, despite all of this, left her group with her boyfriend and went to sit on a pier with him overlooking a river walk. Six other kids their age, four male and two female, approached them from behind and started throwing large rocks at them. The first throw hit my niece about halfway between her eye and her temple, and gave her a serious concussion. Fortunately, her and her boyfriend realized she was seriously injured and did the smart thing and withdrew to get medical attention. Fortunately, the little monsters that attacked them were satisfied with a brief stoning, and laughed as they very casually strolled off. The police in that area have 12 units available in a four square mile radius, four cars on the road at any one time. They were utterly incapable of preventing the incident, even though a unit was only a block away, and when that officer was notified, he utterly failed to properly report the incident and canvas the area for the little bastards.
 
So, while the onus may be on the bad guys not to be bad, it's entirely naive to rely on the kindness of thugs and low lives.
 
I really wish my niece hadn't had to have this lesson literally drilled into her head this way.

Re: Interesting article about Sexism in Geek Communities
 

Re: Interesting article about Sexism in Geek Communities
 

 
NO, it is NOT.
 
EMPHATICALLY NOT.
 
It is a grave disservice to paint advocates of crime prevention and avoidance training and self defense as victim blamers. In fact, it's ass-backwards. The reason for promoting awareness and self defense is to help people avoid being victims. PEOPLE. Not just women. Everybody should at least learn basic crime prevention and learn how to not look like a victim. Self defense is another matter. Many people don't have the stomach for physical conflict, and that's a personal issue.
 
However, when you say "It's not that easy for most women to fight back. Remember that most women are much smaller than the average male and not as strong," you are promoting a VICTIM MINDSET. You do not have to win to defend against rape. You should NEVER allow anyone to take you to a secondary location, because your chance of dying skyrockets; it's an almost certain death. No matter if you think you can win or not, you can delay and you can make noise, and possibly save your life. Do you know how many girls and women have died because of this mindset, because when threatened by a male, they gave in and allowed themselves to be taken to a secondary location???
 
You know what the sad part is? ALL of this is simple stuff. All of the required behaviors can be learned. They may not save you, but they can damned sure decrease your odds of becoming a victim.
 
I'm goddamned sick of people twisting the argument on preserving one's life and securing one's person to one based on gender. This is not about gender. This is about realizing that there are evil people in this world and learning to avoid them and prevent them from doing you harm.

Re: Interesting article about Sexism in Geek Communities
 

 
This is entirely out of the context of whatever the discussion on that other board may have been, and in the context of cold, hard reality.
 
Everyone, including women, should be taught both how to avoid trouble, and how to defend themselves in the first place. Because the world isn't always a nice place.
 
My brother, who lives in an upscale area in NJ, has three lovely daughters. They're now 18, 17, and 13. They're all very bright girls, academically and socially adept, and my brother has made an effort from an early age to both provide for them and make sure they're safe. They've been all taken martial arts and self defense training, but haven't made a hobby of it (they're all into dance heavily). They've all been required to go everywhere with a large group of friends, and since high school this has included about half their school's football and wrestling teams. They've been trained to keep the parents informed of their destinations and locations at all times, and to have cell phones on them at all times. They don't hang out in any particularly dangerous locations.
 
About a week and a half ago, my eldest niece, despite all of this, left her group with her boyfriend and went to sit on a pier with him overlooking a river walk. Six other kids their age, four male and two female, approached them from behind and started throwing large rocks at them. The first throw hit my niece about halfway between her eye and her temple, and gave her a serious concussion. Fortunately, her and her boyfriend realized she was seriously injured and did the smart thing and withdrew to get medical attention. Fortunately, the little monsters that attacked them were satisfied with a brief stoning, and laughed as they very casually strolled off. The police in that area have 12 units available in a four square mile radius, four cars on the road at any one time. They were utterly incapable of preventing the incident, even though a unit was only a block away, and when that officer was notified, he utterly failed to properly report the incident and canvas the area for the little bastards.
 
So, while the onus may be on the bad guys not to be bad, it's entirely naive to rely on the kindness of thugs and low lives.
 
I really wish my niece hadn't had to have this lesson literally drilled into her head this way.

OK, I'll take a shot at a simple combat example. I'll use some Heroic level types and keep things very simple. We'll skip hit locations, encumberance,knockdown, bleeding, impairment, Endurance tracking, and basically anything that would slow us down. Just barebones stuff, which should be sufficient to run a few sample battles to get the basics out there.
 
The good guys will be a fighting type and a really crappy mage with one spell. The opposition will be three smelly orcs. We're doing this on the cheap, and groomed orcs simply cost too much.
 
First, some basic stats:
 
Fighter Guy
 
20 STR
18 DEX
15 CON
12 BDY
8 PD
4 ED
3 SPD
7 REC
30 STN
7" Running
Armor: Chain, Def 6, 11- (Helmet and hauberk)
Weapon: Sword, Damage 1d6+1, StrMin 12 (Gets +1 DC for STR, total of 1.5d6)
Levels: +1 w/All Combat, +2 w/Swords (3 pt. level)
 
Magic Guy
 
10 STR
15 DEX
13 CON
10 BDY
5 PD
5 ED
3 SPD
5 REC
22 STN
6" Running
Armor: Magic Robes, Def 4, 14- (Long robes)
Weapon: Dagger, Damage 1d6-1, StrMin 6
Spell: Flame Wad: 6d6EB, Area Effect: Hex. Gestures, Incantations, 4 Charges.
Levels: +1 w/Dagger (2 pt. level)
 
Smelly Orcs
 
15 STR
12 DEX
13 CON
10 BDY
5 PD
3 ED
2 SPD
6 REC
25 STN
6" Running
Armor: Smelly Hides, Def 4, 11- (Hides cover heads, hands, lower legs)
Weapon: Battle Axe, Damage 2d6, StrMin 13
Levels: +1 w/Axes (3 pt. level)
 
 
Ok, our smelly orcs are walking down the 10 foot wide corridor looking for intruders, and our fighter and magic type are intruding in another 10 foot wide corridor that runs parallel. The two groups each reach the head of their respective corridors at the same time. They look both ways before crossing, and spot each other. No need to roll Perception checks, since featureless ten foot wide corridors are so boring that almost anything stands out like a sore thumb. The two groups are 5" apart (10 meters). The Fighter and Mage are side by side, the Orcs marching in single file.
 
Combat begins on Phase 12.
 
Dex order is:
 
Fighter (18)
Mage (15)
Orcs (12)
 
Phase 12:
 
The Fighter decides to wait for the orcs to close before attacking, and holds his action.
 
The Mage makes a bunch of annoying sounds, hops around a bit, and casts his Fire Wad at the leading Orc. The glowing globe of wizardly flame flies from his hand. He needs to hit a Hex, so the DCV is 3. Since the Range is 5", the Mage has a -2 penalty to OCV. So... He needs to roll 11 + OCV (5-2) - DCV (3) = 11 or less to hit the hex. He rolls a 13, a miss. (I told you he was a crappy mage...). He missed, to the GM decides the shot was a little short, and hit the hex in front of the lead orc. This only took a half phase, but since he attacked, the Mage is done for the phase.
 
Orc 1 is a bit ticked by the Fire Wad, and decides to advance on the mage so he can chop him up. We're not worrying about which Orc goes first, because they're all minor guys, and it makes sense to move them in their march order. Orc 1 makes a half move and holds his second half phase, putting him 3" closer to the invaders, or 2" away. His companions do likewise, forming an inverted V behind him.
 
The Fighter decides to step up to the plate and take out the lead orc. He moves up to the Orc, which is a half move b/c he hasn't moved over half his 7" movement (4"), then he takes a swing. The orc decides to use his held half phase action to Block. The fighter puts all of his levels in offense, giving him an OCV of 9 (6 base, plus 3 levels), and a DCV of 6 (base only). The Orc puts his level into OCV, giving him an OCV of 5 and a DCV of 4. Since the Block will negate the Fighter's attack if it succeeds, we'll roll that first:
 
Orc rolls an OCV vs. OCV attack roll. 11 + OCV (5) - OCV (9) = 7 or less. Orc rolls an 11, and fails to block.
 
Now, the Fighter rolls his attack: 11 + OCV (9) - DCV (4) = 16 or less to hit. Fighter rolls a 7, which is ironic b/c that'd have worked for the Orc.
 
Now, instead of hit location, I've given the armor activation values per the armor table in Fred. So, we'll roll to see if the armor "activates," or to determine if the fighter hit an armored or unarmored area on the Orc. Activation roll is... a 5. Whew, good for the Orc.
 
The fighter rolls damage: A 2 and for the half die a 1 = 3 BODY. Stun multiplier roll is 5-1 = 4, so 12 STUN. The Orc's 4 rPD stops the Body damage, and his total of 9 PD stops most of the STUN. Only 3 STUN get through.
 
The remaining two Orcs still have half a phase left, and decide to run down the edges of the corridor (squeeeeezing past the Fighter) to flank the Mage. That ends their phase.
 
POST Segment 12.
 
Everyone gets a Post Segment 12 Recovery. Since we're not tracking END, we don't sweat it, just Recover STUN. Orc 1 has 3 STUN damage, and a Recovery of 6. So, he's back up to snuff post 12.
 
The next segment anyone can act is Phase 4. Both the Fighter and Mage can act.
 
Phase 4:
 
The Fighter goes first again. He decides to shift two of his levels to DCV this turn, and take another stab at Orc 1. That sets his OCV to 7 and DCV to 8. The Orc is still at DCV of 4, so the Fighter needs 11 + 7 - 4 = 14 or less to hit. He rolls a 10. We check the armor activation again an d get a 13! The fighter has landed a shot in an unarmored location. (We'll decide what it is after rolling damage.) The damage roll is (1.5d6) 7 BODY, and the STUN roll is (1d6-1) 4-1 = 3 for 21 STUN. Since the armor doesn't defend against the attack, the Orc takes the full brunt of the damage, dropping him to 3 BODY and 4 STUN. The Orc takes more STUN damage than his CON and is also Stunned. The Orc's DCV is halved to 2, and he cannot act until his next phase(segment 6), which he'll have to burn to recover from being Stunned. Of course, the Orc could have aborted to a Block or Dodge, but the GM (me) decided that his last phase made him a little overconfident, and besides, he's a minor character. Since I've decided the armor doesn't cover the lower arms or legs, and his neck/face, I'll just say the sword ripped a huge gash out of the Orc's thigh, sinking deep into muscle and bone. (Just for the sake of description, since we're not using the options for hit location and impairment. Can still do an on the fly call and say that the Orc's running will be impeded by the wound, but he's likely to die pretty soon anyway, so we won't bother.)
 
The Mage acts next. He decides to toast one of the orcs with another shot of Fire Wad. This time, he'll be attacking an adjacent hex (DCV 0), and have no range penalty. A smart orc would abort to a Dive For Cover at this point, but these aren't smart orcs and Dive for Cover is an optional move, so we're not using it right now. (But it's handy to keep in mind.) So, the Mage needs 11 + 4 (OCV) - 0 (DCV) = 15 or less. He rolls...11! Orc 2 takes a 6d6 FireWad to the ... well, to the orc, since it fills the hex. So, we roll Activation for the Armor (event though the special effect is partial coverage, the activation roll is still made), and get...11. So, the armor applies. Damage rolled is 23 STUN and 6 BODY, for a total of 13 STUN and no BODY damage. Orc 2 now has 12 STUN left.
 
Next segment anyone acts is on 6, which is the Orcs' turn.
 
We'll let Orc1 go first. He uses a full phase to recover from being Stunned.
 
Orc2, the Orc of Toastyness, decides to Grab the Mage to stop all that hopping around and waving of arms. He needs 11 + (4-1) - 5 = 9 or less to Grab the Mage. The Grab maneuver puts him at a DCV of 3. He rolls an...11. Oops.
 
Orc3 laughs at his bleeding and toasty partners and takes a swipe at the Mage, putting his level in OCV. He needs 11 + 5 - 5 = 11 or less to hit. He rolls...15. Some days Orcs have no luck.
 
Next... Phase 8. Fighter and Mage are up.
 
Fighter goes first, decides to finish off Orc1. Orc1 is bac k up to full DCV, having recovered from being Stunned on Phase 6. The Fighter decides to put all of his levels into OCV, so he needs 11 + 9 - 4 = 16 or less to hit. He rolls...11. Armor activation roll is 9. Damage roll is 5 BODY and for STUN he rolls 1-1 = 0 (minimum stun multiple is 1) for a total of 5 STUN. The Orc takes 1 BODY, dropping him to 2 BODY, and no STUN.
 
The Mage is next up, and decides to try to take out Orc2. He still needs a 15- to hit, and rolls a 6. Activation roll for the Orc's armor is a 7, so it activates. Damage is 26 STUN and 6 BODY. 17 STUN gets through the Orc's defenses (and no BODY), which is enough to K-O him, dropping him to -5 STUN. The mage has only one shot left of his Fire Wad spell.
 
Next phase anyone can go is 12. Everyone goes on 12. Everyone always goes on 12. Except Orc 2, since he's out cold. If he was a PC and not a minor Orc, we'd give him a post-12 Recovery, but since he's a bit player, we'll leave him out of the fight.
 
Fighter goes first, and takes another shot at Orc1, this time putting two levels with Swords into damage and the all combat level into OCV. This gives him an OCV 7, DCV 6, and a damage of 2d6. He needs an 11 + 7 - 4 = 14 or less to hit. He rolls... 8, and hits. Activation roll for the Orc's armor is a 14...going to REALLY suck to be an Orc. Damage roll is 8 BODY and .... well, Stun is immaterial since the Orc was just knocked to -6 BODY. Unless the PCs are really feeling generous and take time out to make a Paramedic roll, we'll just count him as dead. (Even though we're not using the Bleeding rule, common sense says... dead orc bit player, barring generous PCs.)
 
Mage goes next, and decides to use that last Firewad to soften up Orc3. Orc3 got cocky way back on Phase 6 and took a whack at the Mage, so he's still adjacent. So, that means the Mage still only needs a 15 or less to hit. He rolls...14. Activation for the Orc's armor is...a 10. Damage is 18 STUN and 3 BODY. The roll was three 5's and three 1's and ones don't do BODY. (Sixes do 2 BODY, and 2 thru 5 does 1 BODY, but you knew that b/c you read the book, right?) So, Orc3 takes 11 STUN after applying Armor and ED. That's not enough to Stun him.
 
Orc3 is up next. If he was a smart orc, he'd probably just surrender or run away, but he's not. He decides to take a shot at the Mage and try to take him out. He uses a Haymaker, which will add 4 DCs to his damage, and give him -5 on his DCV. He puts his level into OCV, giving him: 5 OCV, 0 DCV, and 3d6+1 damage. Orc3 needs 11 + 5 - 5 = 11 or less to hit. He rolls... 7! The attack won't land until Segment 1, however.
 
POST-Segment 12:
 
Mage Recovers 5 STUN, putting him at -8.
Orc3 Recovers 6 STUN, putting him at 20.
 
Segment 1, Haymaker Lands:
 
The Mage rolls activation for his Magic Robes...9. Damage is 11 Body and 44 STUN. The Mage takes 7 BODY and 35 STUN. Mage folds up like a cheap tent, and is at -13 STUN and 3 BODY.
 
Next Phase is 4. We'd probably want to stop the Mage from bleeding out at this point, but we're not using Bleeding rules, so...
 
Fighter decides to hack up Orc3. He moves 2" or so, and then Haymakers with his attack, throwing all three levels into DCV. This gives him an OCV of 6, DCV of 4, and Damage of 3d6+1 (Total of five DCs added. The sword is 1d6+1, which is 5 DCs, so the max that can be added is another 5 DCs from all sources, so Fighter can't use levels to boost damage since his STR and the Haymaker add up to 5 extra DCs) So, he needs... 11 + 6 - 0 = 17 or less. He rolls...8. Orc's armor activation roll is 15. Ouch. Going to suck to be him. Damage roll is...11 BODY and ... well, STUN doesn't matter, since the Orc is now at -1 BODY and out of the fight.
 
Fight's over. Time to bandage up Gimpy the Mage and hole up for a while...
 
Of course, that was way simplified and not terribly interesting from a game standpoint, b/c it was just a straight up head to head brawl. But combat can go pretty quick without all of the optional rules and by not tracking END. You can add in rules as you get used to the system to spice things up. Instead of armor based on Activation rolls, you can easily roll Hit Location and apply modifiers based on where the blow lands, though that requires a bit more looking up.
 
Knowing me, I made some stupid error in here, so if that happened, someone will hopefully correct it.

OK, I'll take a shot at a simple combat example. I'll use some Heroic level types and keep things very simple. We'll skip hit locations, encumberance,knockdown, bleeding, impairment, Endurance tracking, and basically anything that would slow us down. Just barebones stuff, which should be sufficient to run a few sample battles to get the basics out there.
 
The good guys will be a fighting type and a really crappy mage with one spell. The opposition will be three smelly orcs. We're doing this on the cheap, and groomed orcs simply cost too much.
 
First, some basic stats:
 
Fighter Guy
 
20 STR
18 DEX
15 CON
12 BDY
8 PD
4 ED
3 SPD
7 REC
30 STN
7" Running
Armor: Chain, Def 6, 11- (Helmet and hauberk)
Weapon: Sword, Damage 1d6+1, StrMin 12 (Gets +1 DC for STR, total of 1.5d6)
Levels: +1 w/All Combat, +2 w/Swords (3 pt. level)
 
Magic Guy
 
10 STR
15 DEX
13 CON
10 BDY
5 PD
5 ED
3 SPD
5 REC
22 STN
6" Running
Armor: Magic Robes, Def 4, 14- (Long robes)
Weapon: Dagger, Damage 1d6-1, StrMin 6
Spell: Flame Wad: 6d6EB, Area Effect: Hex. Gestures, Incantations, 4 Charges.
Levels: +1 w/Dagger (2 pt. level)
 
Smelly Orcs
 
15 STR
12 DEX
13 CON
10 BDY
5 PD
3 ED
2 SPD
6 REC
25 STN
6" Running
Armor: Smelly Hides, Def 4, 11- (Hides cover heads, hands, lower legs)
Weapon: Battle Axe, Damage 2d6, StrMin 13
Levels: +1 w/Axes (3 pt. level)
 
 
Ok, our smelly orcs are walking down the 10 foot wide corridor looking for intruders, and our fighter and magic type are intruding in another 10 foot wide corridor that runs parallel. The two groups each reach the head of their respective corridors at the same time. They look both ways before crossing, and spot each other. No need to roll Perception checks, since featureless ten foot wide corridors are so boring that almost anything stands out like a sore thumb. The two groups are 5" apart (10 meters). The Fighter and Mage are side by side, the Orcs marching in single file.
 
Combat begins on Phase 12.
 
Dex order is:
 
Fighter (18)
Mage (15)
Orcs (12)
 
Phase 12:
 
The Fighter decides to wait for the orcs to close before attacking, and holds his action.
 
The Mage makes a bunch of annoying sounds, hops around a bit, and casts his Fire Wad at the leading Orc. The glowing globe of wizardly flame flies from his hand. He needs to hit a Hex, so the DCV is 3. Since the Range is 5", the Mage has a -2 penalty to OCV. So... He needs to roll 11 + OCV (5-2) - DCV (3) = 11 or less to hit the hex. He rolls a 13, a miss. (I told you he was a crappy mage...). He missed, to the GM decides the shot was a little short, and hit the hex in front of the lead orc. This only took a half phase, but since he attacked, the Mage is done for the phase.
 
Orc 1 is a bit ticked by the Fire Wad, and decides to advance on the mage so he can chop him up. We're not worrying about which Orc goes first, because they're all minor guys, and it makes sense to move them in their march order. Orc 1 makes a half move and holds his second half phase, putting him 3" closer to the invaders, or 2" away. His companions do likewise, forming an inverted V behind him.
 
The Fighter decides to step up to the plate and take out the lead orc. He moves up to the Orc, which is a half move b/c he hasn't moved over half his 7" movement (4"), then he takes a swing. The orc decides to use his held half phase action to Block. The fighter puts all of his levels in offense, giving him an OCV of 9 (6 base, plus 3 levels), and a DCV of 6 (base only). The Orc puts his level into OCV, giving him an OCV of 5 and a DCV of 4. Since the Block will negate the Fighter's attack if it succeeds, we'll roll that first:
 
Orc rolls an OCV vs. OCV attack roll. 11 + OCV (5) - OCV (9) = 7 or less. Orc rolls an 11, and fails to block.
 
Now, the Fighter rolls his attack: 11 + OCV (9) - DCV (4) = 16 or less to hit. Fighter rolls a 7, which is ironic b/c that'd have worked for the Orc.
 
Now, instead of hit location, I've given the armor activation values per the armor table in Fred. So, we'll roll to see if the armor "activates," or to determine if the fighter hit an armored or unarmored area on the Orc. Activation roll is... a 5. Whew, good for the Orc.
 
The fighter rolls damage: A 2 and for the half die a 1 = 3 BODY. Stun multiplier roll is 5-1 = 4, so 12 STUN. The Orc's 4 rPD stops the Body damage, and his total of 9 PD stops most of the STUN. Only 3 STUN get through.
 
The remaining two Orcs still have half a phase left, and decide to run down the edges of the corridor (squeeeeezing past the Fighter) to flank the Mage. That ends their phase.
 
POST Segment 12.
 
Everyone gets a Post Segment 12 Recovery. Since we're not tracking END, we don't sweat it, just Recover STUN. Orc 1 has 3 STUN damage, and a Recovery of 6. So, he's back up to snuff post 12.
 
The next segment anyone can act is Phase 4. Both the Fighter and Mage can act.
 
Phase 4:
 
The Fighter goes first again. He decides to shift two of his levels to DCV this turn, and take another stab at Orc 1. That sets his OCV to 7 and DCV to 8. The Orc is still at DCV of 4, so the Fighter needs 11 + 7 - 4 = 14 or less to hit. He rolls a 10. We check the armor activation again an d get a 13! The fighter has landed a shot in an unarmored location. (We'll decide what it is after rolling damage.) The damage roll is (1.5d6) 7 BODY, and the STUN roll is (1d6-1) 4-1 = 3 for 21 STUN. Since the armor doesn't defend against the attack, the Orc takes the full brunt of the damage, dropping him to 3 BODY and 4 STUN. The Orc takes more STUN damage than his CON and is also Stunned. The Orc's DCV is halved to 2, and he cannot act until his next phase(segment 6), which he'll have to burn to recover from being Stunned. Of course, the Orc could have aborted to a Block or Dodge, but the GM (me) decided that his last phase made him a little overconfident, and besides, he's a minor character. Since I've decided the armor doesn't cover the lower arms or legs, and his neck/face, I'll just say the sword ripped a huge gash out of the Orc's thigh, sinking deep into muscle and bone. (Just for the sake of description, since we're not using the options for hit location and impairment. Can still do an on the fly call and say that the Orc's running will be impeded by the wound, but he's likely to die pretty soon anyway, so we won't bother.)
 
The Mage acts next. He decides to toast one of the orcs with another shot of Fire Wad. This time, he'll be attacking an adjacent hex (DCV 0), and have no range penalty. A smart orc would abort to a Dive For Cover at this point, but these aren't smart orcs and Dive for Cover is an optional move, so we're not using it right now. (But it's handy to keep in mind.) So, the Mage needs 11 + 4 (OCV) - 0 (DCV) = 15 or less. He rolls...11! Orc 2 takes a 6d6 FireWad to the ... well, to the orc, since it fills the hex. So, we roll Activation for the Armor (event though the special effect is partial coverage, the activation roll is still made), and get...11. So, the armor applies. Damage rolled is 23 STUN and 6 BODY, for a total of 13 STUN and no BODY damage. Orc 2 now has 12 STUN left.
 
Next segment anyone acts is on 6, which is the Orcs' turn.
 
We'll let Orc1 go first. He uses a full phase to recover from being Stunned.
 
Orc2, the Orc of Toastyness, decides to Grab the Mage to stop all that hopping around and waving of arms. He needs 11 + (4-1) - 5 = 9 or less to Grab the Mage. The Grab maneuver puts him at a DCV of 3. He rolls an...11. Oops.
 
Orc3 laughs at his bleeding and toasty partners and takes a swipe at the Mage, putting his level in OCV. He needs 11 + 5 - 5 = 11 or less to hit. He rolls...15. Some days Orcs have no luck.
 
Next... Phase 8. Fighter and Mage are up.
 
Fighter goes first, decides to finish off Orc1. Orc1 is bac k up to full DCV, having recovered from being Stunned on Phase 6. The Fighter decides to put all of his levels into OCV, so he needs 11 + 9 - 4 = 16 or less to hit. He rolls...11. Armor activation roll is 9. Damage roll is 5 BODY and for STUN he rolls 1-1 = 0 (minimum stun multiple is 1) for a total of 5 STUN. The Orc takes 1 BODY, dropping him to 2 BODY, and no STUN.
 
The Mage is next up, and decides to try to take out Orc2. He still needs a 15- to hit, and rolls a 6. Activation roll for the Orc's armor is a 7, so it activates. Damage is 26 STUN and 6 BODY. 17 STUN gets through the Orc's defenses (and no BODY), which is enough to K-O him, dropping him to -5 STUN. The mage has only one shot left of his Fire Wad spell.
 
Next phase anyone can go is 12. Everyone goes on 12. Everyone always goes on 12. Except Orc 2, since he's out cold. If he was a PC and not a minor Orc, we'd give him a post-12 Recovery, but since he's a bit player, we'll leave him out of the fight.
 
Fighter goes first, and takes another shot at Orc1, this time putting two levels with Swords into damage and the all combat level into OCV. This gives him an OCV 7, DCV 6, and a damage of 2d6. He needs an 11 + 7 - 4 = 14 or less to hit. He rolls... 8, and hits. Activation roll for the Orc's armor is a 14...going to REALLY suck to be an Orc. Damage roll is 8 BODY and .... well, Stun is immaterial since the Orc was just knocked to -6 BODY. Unless the PCs are really feeling generous and take time out to make a Paramedic roll, we'll just count him as dead. (Even though we're not using the Bleeding rule, common sense says... dead orc bit player, barring generous PCs.)
 
Mage goes next, and decides to use that last Firewad to soften up Orc3. Orc3 got cocky way back on Phase 6 and took a whack at the Mage, so he's still adjacent. So, that means the Mage still only needs a 15 or less to hit. He rolls...14. Activation for the Orc's armor is...a 10. Damage is 18 STUN and 3 BODY. The roll was three 5's and three 1's and ones don't do BODY. (Sixes do 2 BODY, and 2 thru 5 does 1 BODY, but you knew that b/c you read the book, right?) So, Orc3 takes 11 STUN after applying Armor and ED. That's not enough to Stun him.
 
Orc3 is up next. If he was a smart orc, he'd probably just surrender or run away, but he's not. He decides to take a shot at the Mage and try to take him out. He uses a Haymaker, which will add 4 DCs to his damage, and give him -5 on his DCV. He puts his level into OCV, giving him: 5 OCV, 0 DCV, and 3d6+1 damage. Orc3 needs 11 + 5 - 5 = 11 or less to hit. He rolls... 7! The attack won't land until Segment 1, however.
 
POST-Segment 12:
 
Mage Recovers 5 STUN, putting him at -8.
Orc3 Recovers 6 STUN, putting him at 20.
 
Segment 1, Haymaker Lands:
 
The Mage rolls activation for his Magic Robes...9. Damage is 11 Body and 44 STUN. The Mage takes 7 BODY and 35 STUN. Mage folds up like a cheap tent, and is at -13 STUN and 3 BODY.
 
Next Phase is 4. We'd probably want to stop the Mage from bleeding out at this point, but we're not using Bleeding rules, so...
 
Fighter decides to hack up Orc3. He moves 2" or so, and then Haymakers with his attack, throwing all three levels into DCV. This gives him an OCV of 6, DCV of 4, and Damage of 3d6+1 (Total of five DCs added. The sword is 1d6+1, which is 5 DCs, so the max that can be added is another 5 DCs from all sources, so Fighter can't use levels to boost damage since his STR and the Haymaker add up to 5 extra DCs) So, he needs... 11 + 6 - 0 = 17 or less. He rolls...8. Orc's armor activation roll is 15. Ouch. Going to suck to be him. Damage roll is...11 BODY and ... well, STUN doesn't matter, since the Orc is now at -1 BODY and out of the fight.
 
Fight's over. Time to bandage up Gimpy the Mage and hole up for a while...
 
Of course, that was way simplified and not terribly interesting from a game standpoint, b/c it was just a straight up head to head brawl. But combat can go pretty quick without all of the optional rules and by not tracking END. You can add in rules as you get used to the system to spice things up. Instead of armor based on Activation rolls, you can easily roll Hit Location and apply modifiers based on where the blow lands, though that requires a bit more looking up.
 
Knowing me, I made some stupid error in here, so if that happened, someone will hopefully correct it.