Copperhead:
Well, by the book, there isn't an extra combat phase. You roll initiative normally. If someone would normally get one combat phase per turn, they get none - and the attacker gets their full set of phases before the target can do anything. And then initiative gets rolled again normally. As you've adjusted it, the surprised target is less vulnerable when the attacker has high initiative because they're guaranteed to be able to do a free action or dodge after the attacker has taken one combat phase.
That is correct. Usually that's a benefit to PCs, since NPCs are either trained thugs with initiative boosters, or worthless nobodies. Whereas PCs frequently have mages or techies (or riggers) with low initiative.
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As I understand things by the book, it would work like this:
We all roll initiative. I get 26. Goon 1 gets 19, Goon 2 gets 17, Techie gets 8 (for purposes of this example)
(Bear in mind, all three goons have Wired Reflexes 2 or 3, so most likely we're looking at 20-somethings across the board. In that case, you get off shot 1 against goon1, nailing him, then in the second round Goon2 and Goon3 both act with full pool and freedom and things continue normally. Otherwise, yes, in the situation you gave, the fast ambusher dominates everyone. I'll go ahead and update the rules thread.)
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I didn't think I could take aim before combat began because the elf noticed me which I thought kicked things off. If I can take multiple aim actions, I'll certainly do that (let me know one way or the other)
We were playing fast and loose with actions. But yes, while he's getting out of the car, you can aim.
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Given Goon 1 and Goon 2's close proximity, I'd probably be better off using cover fire. No penalties for range or recoil.
That's also an option. I'd be curious how to see how that plays out, although normally cover fire isn't great.
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(P.S. Sorry to everyone else for all the rules mumbo jumbo. In the future, I can take this sort of discussion offline into a PM, but I thought some might be interested in how it worked and resolved.)
Fortunately, your actions don't really impact anyone else's, so gameplay can continue as normal.