Maneuvers Overview

Just as Genesys uses an abstract method of describing combat, we similarly describe movement in broad strokes. Characters often do far more than shooting or swinging weapons in combat, like pulling out medical supplies to heal a wounded comrade, activating the systems to open a door, or scaling a wall to gain an advantage over their opponents.

Not all undertakings require a check. These minor activities, known as maneuvers, cover a wide range of activities that any character can perform. They require an investment of time and effort on the character’s part, but they are simple enough that there is no chance of failure when doing them. Technically, characters perform maneuvers during narrative gameplay as well as during structured gameplay, or encounters. However, maneuvers are tracked and defined during encounters, because characters’ time and efforts are more limited by the frantic pace of conflict.


Maneuver Limitations


Whether taking careful aim at an enemy, diving for cover behind a stack of cargo crates, or patching up a wounded friend, a character may perform one free maneuver on their turn. They may perform a second maneuver by voluntarily suffering two points of strain, thereby stretching themself to their limits in order to get more done. Characters may also perform a second maneuver through a particularly successful skill check (by spending a a generated on that check), or by other means listed elsewhere. However, regardless of the source, a single character may not perform more than two maneuvers during their turn.

Maneuvers Outside a Character’s Turn

In some cases, a character may be able to perform a maneuver when it’s not that character’s turn. An enemy soldier rolling horribly on a Stealth check to ambush a PC may generate a number of d on their check. The GM may decide that the blunder allows the would-be victim the opportunity to perform a maneuver, even though it’s the soldier’s turn. Any bonus maneuvers gained outside of a character’s turn do not count toward the limit of two maneuvers a character may perform during their turn—specifically because they occur outside of the character’s turn. These additional maneuvers are generally awarded at the Game Master’s discretion, and thus there is no hard-and-fast limit to the number of maneuvers that can be awarded in this manner. However, we encourage GMs to limit the number of out-of-turn maneuvers any character performs each round to one or two at most.

Types of Maneuvers

The following is a list of the maneuvers a character can perform during combat. Please note that this list is not exhaustive. The entire point of maneuvers is that they can cover any activity that is relatively easy to perform but still requires some amount of time and effort. While the maneuvers listed here are deliberately general to cover as many options as possible, if a player comes up with something they want their character to do that is not covered by this list, they should not dismiss the idea out of hand. Instead, they should explain what they’d like to accomplish to the GM, who can decide if it can realistically be performed in a single maneuver.

Some activities may require multiple maneuvers to perform. Generally, these maneuvers must be performed sequentially, without being interrupted by the character performing other maneuvers or actions, for the task to be successful.