Airborne Combat

Piloting

Agility

Intuition

Presence

Short Description

With Airborne Combat you can fight while you are flying with personal propulsion - whether magical or technological.

Success Criteria

Roll d100 + your Airborne Combat skill vs. DR 100

Effects

You manage to keep your hand steady and your mind on top of a 3D battleground allowing you to use weapons, skills and magic with less penalties while flying. On a success you negate 15 in penalties.

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For each 10 in success rate you negate another 5 in penalties.

Modifiers and Restrictions

+20 DR if using this skill while falling instead of flying

+15 DR in Zero G or free fall

-10 DR with specialised AI-enhanced guidance or flight stabilisers

Action Examples

Your ally casts a fly spell on you. While hurling through the air you attempt to swing your longsword against a birdbeast attacking you. Roll vs. DR 100 and negate 15 out of the normal -30 penalty for melee while airborne.

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You jump from a airplane. Midair you attempt to use your engineering skills to repair a dysfunctional parachute. You roll on your Airborne Combat to negate the -20 penalty to skills during personal flight. Roll vs. DR 120 (100 + 20 DR for falling).

Long Description

Fighting during personal flight is anything but easy. Normal penalties are: Melee attacks -30, Ranged attacks -20, skills, spells or tech actions -15. With this skill you can negate these penalties allowing you to fight and act normally while flying.

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Normally you will negate penalties from one type of actions for the rest of the battle. If you change from spells to melee you will have to make a new attempt to use your Airborne Combat skill.

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At the DM's discretion you may gain bonuses to your actions if you negate more penalties than you suffer. You might surprise - or gain advantages from higher ground - when charging opponents on the ground with your valkyrie spear.

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Sequencing

Sequenced with attacks, skills, spells and tech modules during personal flight.

Potential Counters

Not normally countered.

How to use this page

All the information above is intended as a guide to help you navigate the many situations that can arise during your game. Since it's both impossible—and frankly uninspiring—to plan for every possible outcome, players are encouraged to think creatively when using their skills. Game Masters, in turn, are encouraged to embrace and support that creativity.

Whenever possible, aim to resolve situations through narrative choices, logical thinking and role playing. If that’s not feasible, agree on a Difficulty Rating (DR) using the provided Success Criteria and Modifiers. These are not rigid rules, but suggestions - starting points to help you find the right level of challenge. The player describes their intended action, and the Game Master proposes a DR. This should be open to brief discussion at the table, ideally resulting in consensus. If not, the Game Master has the final say.

It’s important to emphasize that all suggested effects, modifiers, and action examples are exactly that: suggestions. If you’re unsure how to resolve something, they offer a reliable fallback—but wherever possible, we encourage you to push boundaries. That’s where some of the most memorable and exciting moments in play are born.

Sequencing and Potential Counters are far from exhaustive. With hundreds of skills, spells, and tech modules in the game, the possibilities are too vast to list. You’re encouraged to explore combinations that make sense in your story and setting and in the situations that arise in your game. Sequencing and countering are core to Cosmic Odyssey - they’re where strategic depth meets dramatic flair, and where legendary moments often take shape. Even if no sequencing and counters are mentioned, some certainly exists and can be smartly utilized.

So explore boldly, improvise wisely, and enjoy the game as it unfolds around your choices.