3:16 FAQs

I picked these out of a longer thread which was a mixture of checking rules, questions about when, why and how you'd want to use some of the options, and questions on levelling up.

So, these are the rules questions that came up along with their answers.

Advice
Q: I have the book, do you have any advice for me?
A: Do not plan ahead, just play the game.

Aliens Kills
Q: Just to verify: range has no effect on Troopers resisting alien attacks.
A: Yes, range is immaterial to them. If the aliens succeed then they kill all Troopers still in the encounter that they beat. How that happens is up to the GM, and it need not be from the aliens directly, e.g. a volcano showers the Troopers in lava, lightning strikes them, etc.

Changing Range
Q: How do you change range? Can I change if I cause 0 kills?
A: Yes. You can change range in three ways as detailed on pages 18 and 19:
(1) you make an NFA test to change range (charging or retreating) and if successful you change range on your turn irrespective of what the enemy does,
(2) you succeed at FA and beat the aliens roll (pushing them back or "breaking off") even if you cause 0 kills,
(3) the aliens succeed at AA and beat your roll (they choose to close on you or flee from you, and they move any PCs they beat on the roll individually).
There are examples on p. 23 and p. 75 of changing range.

Note: You can move out of, or be moved out of, combat by changing range to Beyond Far Range.

Changing Weapons
Q: Is changing weapons your whole action for the round?
A: Nope. You can change weapons as part of any successful NFA action. [Example on p. 23.]

Choosing Range
Q: When we roll for Dominance does everyone get put on the map at the same range?
A: Yes, as it says in the text: "Note that when the range is set all the PCs are initially at the same range."

Default Weapons
Q: Do you need to have the Special Items "readied" at the start of an encounter?
A: A default weapon has to be a weapon from the weapons list (Energy Rifle through to Shotgun). The "One Use Per Planet stuff" isn't in your hand, it's just stuff you call on when you need it and doesn't make you drop your weapon.

Errata?
Q: Hey, we have questions, are you going to have a new edition?
A: I am not changing any of the text in the book. I think that when you look at the rule wordings in the book in the context of where you are in play and what is happening in the fiction/at the table they are actually clear. When you play out an encounter following the steps in the book you'll find them guiding you through it. The exact wording of the present rules was something I worked pretty hard at and got a lot of feedback on.

No book is perfect and I may revisit the text at some point in the future. For the moment I am happy with the book as written. Most practically, I am working on a Play Summary that will highlight the relevant rules text on to a single sheet for easy reference in game, though.

Force Weakness
Q: Is Force Weakness your action for the round? (i.e. declare Force Weakness as action, roll NFA, only Force Weakness and optionally switch weapons)
A: Yes. Hope you succeed and roll high.

Levelling Up
Q: How does leveling work if highest kills are tied?
A: The tied PCs all go up.

Officer Resources
Q: Do Officers have access to ALL the resources below their rank?
A: Yes (well, they cascade down to Sergeant). Or you could rule that they have Gear down to Sergeant, but only the Resources at their rank, up to your play group to decide which they prefer.

Replacement Strengths
Q: Does my replacement gain a new Strength or is it an old one made available again?
A: It's an existing on for your level made available again: "The Flashbacks your dead PC had “Used” are also “Used” for your new PC except that one Strength is made “Available” again." on page 36.

Upgrading Weapons
Q: Is there ever a good reason to upgrade a rifle that does base 1 at Close rather than just upgrading hand-to-hand (which you can always switch to)?
A: You can switch to Hand-to-Hand for free, but you couldn't switch back to your rifle without an NFA roll.

Zero Kills
Q: When an alien ability prevents all kills, does that prevent the loss of the Threat Token too.
A: Yes. I was of the mind that 0 Kills = 0 Threat Tokens removed. You killed nothing, the Threat remains. I think these abilities are Armour and Ignore Wounds and it makes sense to me that the Threat Tokens remain as the aliens' armour takes the damage or the aliens just ignore the damage caused (however they do that in the fiction).

New Questions

PC vs PC Strengths/Weaknesses
Q: A PC uses a Strength against another PC does that kill the target PC?
A: Maybe. The Strength used resolves the "conflict at hand". Generally those conflicts are not just about killing each other.

However, if the conflict was solely about who kills who then it [probably/definitely] does, unless the target uses a Weakness to lose on their terms. In either case the conflict between them is definitively ended (not merely stopped or delayed).

If the conflict was about harming each other (but not explicitly to the death) then the outcome may be taking a kill instead of being made "Dead".

Basically, look at what the conflict at hand is and that is the limit to what is being won or lost.

Q: Can I get my own back on someone using a Strength on me by using a Weakness?
A: No. A Weakness is a loss. It's on your terms as long as the group are satisifed that it is indeed a loss.

Q: Vehicles: when does a vehicle get hit or act?
A: It is an extension of the driver or pilot and is a test of NFA.

Q: Grenades: do grenades only "work" on a successful FA roll by the user?
A: No. If you declare you are using grenades then they will go off this round. They will only kill the enemy on a successful FA roll. On an unsuccessful FA roll they will cause a kill to the user. Regardless of that they will kill anyone else who failed this round and is in close combat with the aliens when the grenades go off.

Q: Grenades: when do they go off?
A: If successful then grenades kill aliens on their successful roll number, I hand out "friendly fire" damage on the failure roll number (or just blanket to "failures" once all successes have been resolved).

Q: On p13 the sidearm is listed as d6/d6/0. But on p80 it's listed as d6/d6/-. I'm guessing the latter is correct?
A: Yes! Page 80 is correct and p. 13 is wrong. I also probably should have put an asterisk next to the grenades on pp. 12 and 13 too.

Hi there

I just joined CE, and having played 3:16 for a while now one of my players just made Lieutenant and thus gained access to the Drop Pod.

In it's description it states that the drop pod is destroyed if "you loose the first encounter".

I was just wondering what constitutes "loosing an encounter".

From the list on pg 19 on how to end encounters I reckon that if "everyone is dead" the players would be considered to have lost the encounter.

But what about an encounter where all the characters are removed from combat (by using weaknesses or being moved beyond far-range) leaving threat-counters still on the range-map?
My intuition says that that would be loosing as well, but I wanted to ask the questions.

Also, would there be any other way to loose an encounter?

Honestly, that's a judgement call that the players and ultimately the GM have to make when it comes up in game.

Did you lose the encounter? Yes or no. If yes then the drop pod is wrecked.

One example off the top of my head might be where you kill all your enemies but toast almost all your own men too with a nuclear grenade. The GM might view that as a Phyrric Victory and count the encounter lost. It's a judgement call.