Shadowrun free action series#

Only allowing one Free Action would mean to some reading the rules that you cannot run and drop something at the same time, hence the freedom to expand the amount of free actions to fit the shared view of the scene. Basically, characters have 1 free action. As an example of this, if the character wants to run instead of walk, it burns a free action. The intention of the rules seems to be to not control and limit every aspect of character action, while also not leaving a large hole for abuse. If the player can describe how it works, and the GM is fine with it, that is fine. Using a Simple Action to Take Cover and adding a Free Action after that to Drop Prone, but pausing to communicate in word and gesture before they Take Cover and somewhere along the way dropping what is in their hands is attempting to compress a lot of time into the Phase and focuses on one thing happening after the other. Free Actions are minor things (dropping something, saying a word) which require little to no attention to carry out and can be completed while the character is performing their Simple Actions or Complex Action.

Shadowrun free action series#

Where that sequence runs into some trouble is that it is a linear series of discrete actions. In the question, a sequence of events is provided as an example. Free Actions are an aspect of activity in an Action Phase that cover all the little things which could be occurring at the same time as the meatier actions. It's not set up in a comparative relationship like 2 Simple Actions = 1 Complex Action.

Essentially, this is a situational determination based on the description from the player, the sequence of events, and the GM's ruling. The description of Free Actions on page 163 of the core rule book for 5th Edition covers your question, I believe.