Range Bands, Personal Scale

AGE OF REBELLION relies on broad terms to describe ranges and distances. Rather than have a player’s attention focused on a grid, counting squares, ACE OF REBELLION uses more abstract means to represent position, distances, and ranges, thus allowing the players to focus on the action and the adventure.
The distance between two points—people, objects, or adversaries—is defined by general range categories. These range categories are used to determine how far a ranged attack can reach, how far apart two people are from each other, how much effort is needed to move between two places, and so on. The most common ranges are short, medium, long, and extreme range. Another relative position—engaged—exists to represent characters who are in extremely close proximity to each other.

THE FIVE RANGE BANDS – Personal Scale
For ease of play, distance in AGE OF REBELLION is divided up into five different bands, from engaged to extreme. As always, the GM has the final say in determining the range between the attacker and the target. With the engaged status and the range bands, the GM is free to describe things dynamically and set scenes without having to worry about exact distances. Exact distances in meters do not matter. The details and adventure come first, creating a vivid picture in the minds of the players while allowing the GM to quickly provide the mechanical information they need to use their actions and build strategies.
ENGAGED
To reflect two or more targets who are grappling or otherwise engaged in hand-to-hand combat, there is a special range status called engaged. Two characters engaged with each other are in very close proximity. A Soldier needs to be engaged with a target to hit him with his vibrosword. Two or more characters engaged with each other is called an engagement. Engaged is also used to indicate that a person is close enough to an item to use it. A Slicer needs to be engaged with a security terminal to attempt to hack it. A Pilot needs to be engaged with his starship to board it. A Sharpshooter needs to be engaged with a tree if he wants to hide behind it for cover while scoping his target. The engaged status simply indicates that two things are close enough to each other to directly interact. Consider engaged as a subcategory of short range. Obviously, someone can be slightly farther away if they’re at short range, instead of being engaged with someone else. However, the difference in distance is relatively minor. Thus, spending a maneuver to move to engage someone or something is as much a matter of moving into combat cautiously enough to avoid receiving a blow unnecessarily as it is moving a physical distance.
SHORT RANGE
Short range indicates up to several meters between targets. Many thrown weapons and small firearms are most accurate at short range. Two people in short range of each other can talk comfortably without raising their voices. Moving to another spot within short range is usually easy to do and generally only requires one maneuver.
MEDIUM RANGE
Medium range can be up to several dozen meters away. More reliable pistols can reach to medium range, but few thrown weapons can reach this far. Two people within medium range of each other need to talk loudly to hear each other. Moving from short range to medium range takes little exertion, and generally requires one maneuver.
LONG RANGE
Long range is farther than a few dozen meters. Blaster rifles, mounted weapons, and weapons that use the Gunnery skill can reliably reach this far without too much trouble. Two people within long range of each other need to yell loudly to hear each other. Moving from medium range to long range requires two maneuvers, as it involves a greater distance and takes more time than moving between medium range and short range. This means that in most cases, a character cannot close the distance between short and long range in a single round, as it would take three maneuvers (one for short to medium, plus two for medium to long).
EXTREME RANGE
Extreme range is the farthest range at which two targets can interact. High-tech sniper weaponry and some vehicle-mounted armaments may reach out to this range. Two people at extreme range may not be able to hear each other even if they shout. Moving between long range and extreme range can be time-consuming and exerting, and it requires two maneuvers. This means that in most cases, a character can move the entire distance between long and extreme range in a single round, but will suffer strain or give up his action to do so.