A Situation is a mechanical term that describes the current theme or context of a moment within a Scene or Encounter. Many Abilities, Items, Cyberware and other effects only function, or function differently, during particular Situations.
There is no exhaustive list of Situations. Instead, all Players should discuss the current circumstances and determine which themes apply to the Situation, as Appropriate. Common Situations include martial, academic, medical and social.
A Situation may have multiple themes at the same time, as Appropriate.
Example: The Chop Doc's Profession Ability specifies that it provides a Bonus Die in medical Situations. To determine if the Bonus Die is applied, the Players will discuss if the current moment feels like a medical Situation. During a surgery is an obvious medical Situation, where as slicing a computer terminal is probably not, where as buying drugs or being in a fire fight is probably based on the exact specifics of the Roll being performed.
Ash's Aside
Since Situations are a matter of perspective, it's possible to get bogged down in whether or not a Situation matches a specified theme. Is two people negotiating a caseation of combat, during a firefight a social Situation? Who knows. It's up to y'all. However, my advice is to make a ruling fast and get on with the game, not getting bogged down in the minutiae of semantics. I recommend the rule of cool. If it seems to allow or no allow things, then go for it. And if all of the Players truly can't agree, either allow the GM to make a ruling or alternatively, just roll a Die or Flip a Coin and move on with the game.
Wuntch's Whatever
Howdy, Situations can be a fickle thing, as a GM and a Cast Member they can often go unnoticed or inversely be declared off-handedly. I can tell you from first hand experience Gming can be overwhelming, so as a Cast Member, you should always feel empowered to help out by prompting and discussing the theme of a Situation when you or other CMs have Abilities that are appropriate in certain Situations. The GM doesn't want you to lose out on your abilities but often has a pile of other stuff going on to manage, so they aren't always going to declare what a Situation may be when setting the scene. Remember its always Appropriate to have a discussion.
Version 0.5c - Jun 2026