When the crew finally arrives at the adventure's first “interesting” location, tactical concerns – such as who carries what, while partnered with whom – become important. Certain situations arise often enough that the players should decide in advance how the team tackles them.

The SOP Rule: If the players want to change any of the things discussed here – what communicators or lights they're using, who's on point, their degree of stealth, etc. – they must tell the GM! Otherwise, they're following whatever procedure they used last time. However, the kind GM may permit a group Soldier or Tactics roll, subject to Got You Covered, and on a success let the players change plans retroactively because their characters would have known what to do.

No matter how fast and loose the GM plays with other gear, the players must declare what communicators they're carrying, if only so the GM knows who can contact whom, and whether the bad guys can eavesdrop.

Like Attracts Like: Normally, only like systems can communicate – phones (cell, land, or satellite) with other phones, radios with other radios, etc. – unless the group makes an Assistance Roll to set up a “patch” between systems (usually trivial – roll at +5). A wire rat can use Quick Gadgeteer to patch in the field; this requires a successful Electronics Operation (Communications) roll.

Static: If there's any doubt as to whether a message gets out – thanks to enemy action, sunspots, etc. – the player of the person sending the message should write down what he wants to say and hand the note to the GM, who will then secretly roll against the sender's Electronics Operation (Communications) skill. Success means the GM passes along the message. Failure means he says nothing. Critical failure means a dangerously garbled message. If bad guys are actively interfering using high-tech gear, apply BAD; ordinary failure gives them valuable information, while critical failure lets them introduce a false message!

Tactical Networks: If everybody is using a real-time communicator to stay in touch, and there's reason to suspect difficulty, roll as above but for the whole group, subject to Got You Covered. Once the network “goes down” (any failure), it's traditional in the movies for it to stay down.

Please Set Phones to “Vibrate”: A common disaster in modern movies is the ringing cell phone or crackling radio that betrays the hero's presence. If any roll above critically fails, the GM may have the message not get through, as for a normal failure, and decide that the victim accidentally flipped a switch, unplugged his headset, etc. When he next tries Camouflage, Shadowing, or Stealth, an unwanted, unexpected call automatically gives him away!

Dropping a Dime: A hero might be without a phone or a radio for many reasons: dead battery, escaping prison, and so on. Finding a working payphone in the city is automatic when time doesn't matter – but in a hurry, make an Urban Survival roll once per minute of frantic searching until you succeed. A use of Serendipity always turns up a phone (or some sap whose phone you can commandeer), and can even put you next to a payphone just as someone tries to call you!

One problem facing the GM of a modern or futuristic campaign is cheap, reliable, high-tech communicators – notably mobile phones. Plots that rely on isolation simply fail when the heroes can summon help or share clues by pushing a button. With clever planning, though, it's possible to work around this without straining willing suspension of disbelief.

“Track His Cell!”: Cell phones are easily tracked; see Bugs, Beacons, and Wires. Against high-tech bad guys, carrying one is a serious liability. Letting the players know this can often solve the problem!

Blackout: No communicator works well through thick walls. Road tunnels and basements block ordinary cell phones. More than a thin layer of metal stops any radio – as does a deliberately shielded room. Heavy electrical equipment can effectively jam communications.

But Will It Blend?: Communicators are fragile. Dropping, soaking, or bashing one will do it in. And the GM can always let the player decide whether it's his PC or his PC's cell phone that stops an enemy bullet…

The System Is Down: Cell phones don't work without a network – in extremely poor countries, 1,000 miles from civilization, etc. Even in areas with coverage, a traveler's phone may be of the wrong type. Neither affects satellite phones, but cellular and satellite service alike can experience “accounting errors,” especially if enemy hackers are at work!

The players should agree on formations for operations on foot: single-file through a door, a loose line in the jungle, and so on. Even a crew that operates entirely in built-up areas may do this, possibly specifying that certain team members are across the street, a block ahead, etc. In all cases, note who's in front (“on point”), which is likely to change depending on whether the squad is sneaking (where an assassin or an infiltrator is best) or kicking in doors (a job for a shooter!). Similar guidelines apply when traveling in vehicles. Indicate who's in what vehicle, and seated where. If there's more than one vehicle, decide on a standard convoy order. When it becomes important to know who can speak to whom, who can see by what light sources, whose weapons cover what arcs of fire, who's in front when trouble hits, and so on, the GM will use the current order.

When moving at night, the squad will be blind unless they bring night-vision gear or light sources. Each player should specify his PCs' usual light. Tactical lights on guns are hands-free and almost ubiquitous among action heroes. Other options force the wielder to operate one-handed. Any light eliminates darkness penalties to combat and vision for anyone who can see what's in its radius or beam. With a directional beam, the light's wielder decides where the beam points. Some stats for common lights:

Match or Lighter: 1-yard radius.*

Glow Stick: 2-yard radius.

Hand Flare or Electric Lantern: 5-yard radius.

Mini Flashlight: 5-yard beam 1 yard wide.

Heavy Flashlight: 10-yard beam 1 yard wide.

Small Tactical Light: 25-yard beam 1 yard wide.

Large Tactical Light: 100-yard beam 1 yard wide.

* Blows out if the carrier attempts any DX-based roll (athletics, attack, defense, etc.), unless he can make a DX-4 roll. Relighting a lighter takes a second; a new match takes two seconds.

A backlit digital display – common on cell phones and GPS units – will light a 1 yard x 1 yard area in front of the user well enough to see at -3.

Except in the craziest movies, action heroes don't scream and brandish guns all the time. Gangsters lurk in alleys, commandos stalk through undergrowth, detectives and spies keep their pistols under jackets, and so forth. The GM should ask each player to describe his PC's “stealth mode,” and note the relevant skills and equipment modifiers. This will prevent arguments like whether the shooter had his machine gun under a trench coat!

When the shoe is on the other foot and the bad guys are being sneaky, simply use the indicated skills for the opposition and have the heroes make the indicated detection rolls.

Basic Stealth: When moving through wilderness, deserted factories, secret bases, and so on, roll against Stealth to be sneaky. A successful uncontested roll is all that's needed not to stand out to casual observers. If there are sentries, however, you must win a Quick Contest against their Hearing if you're behind something (climbing shoes give you +1), the better of Hearing or Vision if you're merely in the shadows, or Electronics Operation (Sensors) if they're using radar or the like. You can't sneak with a light source… which is why cinematic assassins and infiltrators favor night-vision gear.

Camouflage: Staying put behind something is an effective form of stealth, but there must be some concealment in the area. If there is, anybody looking for you must win a Quick Contest of Vision or Observation skill vs. your Camouflage skill – and you get +1 to +3 for clothing with the camouflage feature, provided it matches the setting. For hidden gear, roll a similar Contest using the Camouflage skill of whoever deployed the camouflage.

Concealed Carry: Roll just once against Holdout for all gear, at the modifier for the bulkiest item plus another -1 per item with a Holdout penalty (even -1) you try to hide at the same time. For guns, use Bulk, modified for holster type and quality; for body armor, use DR if rigid or DR/3 (round up) if flexible; and for other gear, use the listed modifier. Apply the +1 or +2 for undercover clothing, and/or +4 for a long coat, at the very end. This roll becomes a Quick Contest against Search for an enemy actively looking for weapons, and you must win not to arouse suspicions.

Man in the Crowd: In a crowded urban situation – such as at a nightclub or on a city street – it's possible to hide in the multitude. Simply make a successful Shadowing roll not to stand out. If security personnel are watching the crowd, though, you must win a Quick Contest against them, and they may use the better of Vision, Observation, or Per-based Streetwise. Treat reaction bonuses for styled clothing as a penalty to your roll!

Search the Trunk!: When driving around with suspicious items in a vehicle, roll once against Smuggling for everything, at a bonus equal to vehicle SM and with only half the usual Bulk or Holdout penalty, dropping fractions, for the bulkiest item. Thus, it's fairly easy to stash even a heavy sniper rifle (Bulk -7, halved to -3) in a car (SM +3). Treat this as a Quick Contest vs. Search if security personnel are actively checking vehicles – and then you must win.

Silent Communication: Gesture can stealthily communicate a simple concept – “two guards,” “move in,” etc. The player writes down his intended meaning, the GM rolls in secret, and success means the GM tells everyone the message. Failure, or an attempt to relate anything complex (e.g., “Ishida-san is here with six ninja”), means the GM says nothing. Critical failure means he lies. Communicators with headsets are also stealthy; see Communications for rules.

Tailing: To follow someone, you must win a Quick Contest of Shadowing vs. Vision (or Observation, if higher). A tie or a loss by 5 or less means you lose him. A worse loss means you're seen – which often results in a chase! Also use these rules when tailing someone in a vehicle, but your roll is against the lower of Driving or Shadowing, and you're at -2 if your quarry is on foot (he can duck into crowds and doorways – you can't!).

Counting heads, spotting obvious dangers like barbed-wire fences, and so on requires no special roll. For interesting details – e.g., the enemy has a machine gun or the fence is electrified – the GM rolls once against the crew's best Observation skill to see whether they notice. This becomes a Quick Contest vs. Stealth or Camouflage for hidden sentries; see Subtlety. Security Systems and Traps describe other important detection rules.