Table of Contents

Combat

The life of an adventurer is dangerous, and sooner or later, you will find yourself at the wrong end of a sword or a monster's claws. In those moments, we need a much more rigid set of rules than during the conversation phase of the game.

Combat Time

Combat is broken down into two measures of time -

Turn -

A turn is the moment of time it takes a single character to take their actions.

Round -

A round is made up of everyone's turn.

All at once in order

During each combat round, every character is considered to act at during the same in-game time, but still takes turns based on their Initiative. A character's turn takes 6-10 seconds, but so does the entire Round.

Initiative

When combat breaks out, every participant rolls a d20. Your result determines the order you act in, starting at 1 and counting up. If two characters roll the same number, the character with the higher AGI acts first.

Surprise

If you perform an action that the GM determines surprises your target, you get to act at Initiative 0 for the first round. At the beginning of the second round, roll your initiative as usual and join the initiative count from there.

Waiting

On your turn, you can opt to hold your action and wait until later in the round. This allows you two options -

  • Gain a Second Reaction - Instead of a normal action, you can take a second reaction for the round.
  • Interrupt the Initiative Order - Take your normal action at a later initiative count and keep that count for the remainder of combat.

Losing your turn - If you wait too long, you act last in the round and have your Initiative count set to 20.

Actions

In combat, you can take one of each of the following actions -

Movement

You may move up to your movement rate each round. You can move before or after your action or even break your movement up with an action.

Combat Action

Not everything is possible in the heat of combat. The list below is an example of what constitutes an action during combat.

Free Actions

Free Actions are minor things like drawing a weapon or dropping prone. Free actions do not count as an action, but you may only perform one per round, and it must be taken on your turn.

  • Draw Weapon
  • Change Position
  • Drop Item
  • Speak/Shout

Reactions

Reactions happen when it isn't your turn. These are actions triggered by some outside stimuli. You may perform one Reaction every round.

  • Parry: Both melee and ranged attacks can be parried. Ranged attacks, however, require a shield to parry.
  • Dodge: Jumping out of the way of a melee or ranged attack.
  • Counter Attack: You may only counterattack melee attacks.
  • Helping: You grant another character Favor on their action.

Combat Actions

  • Activate Knack: Use a Knack
  • Dash: You use your action to make another move.
  • Defend: Gain Advantage on Parry rolls until the beginning of your next turn.
  • Disengage: Move away without provoking an opportunity attack.
  • Disrupt: You impose Disadvantage on a character within 2 meters.
  • Equip/Unequip Helmet: Armor and helmets are important for protecting your skin in a fight.
  • Evade: Gain Advantage on Evasion rolls until the beginning of your next turn.
  • First Aid: Administer first aid to a wounded character. The character stabilizes and no longer ticks down their Death Clock.
  • Helping: You grant another character Favor on their action. This may also be used as a reaction
  • Melee Attack: You make a melee attack against a single target within 2 meters (4 if you have a long weapon).
  • Pick Up an Item: Grab an item within 2 meters.
  • Rally: You persuade another character to shake off a single condition.
  • Ranged Attack: You make a ranged attack against a single target within range.
  • Round Rest: You spend a round catching your breath and regain d6 WP. You may only benefit from one Round Rest per combat encounter.
  • Use Item: You activate an item at hand or within 2 meters.

Position

Your character's posture and position matter in combat. By default, you are considered to be standing.

Crouch -

Kneeling or crouching makes you a smaller target but hinders your movement. When crouched, your movement is halved, but attacks against you are made against a Threshold of 6.

Prone -

Lying on your belly or back. When lying prone, you may only crawl. Ranged attacks targeting a prone target are made against a Threshold of 12.

Changing Position -

Dropping to a crouch or prone is a free action. Rising from a crouch is a free action, but rising from prone uses up one-half of your movement.

Sneak Attacks

When you make an attack on your target undetected, you can make a Sneak Attack roll. First, you must succeed against Sneaking with Disadvantage to get within 2 meters of your target.

Your next attack against the target is made with Advantage, and your target cannot use their reaction to defend themselves.

Ambush -

Setting an ambush allows you to use your reaction to make a Sneak Attack. Your target needs to succeed against Awareness to spot the ambush.

Cover

Putting something solid between you and your attackers is the best way to avoid being hit in combat. When behind cover, attacks against you have to overcome a threshold based on the amount of cover you are using.

Cover PercentageThreshold
25%3
50%8
75%13
90%16
100%18

Striking Cover

When attacking a target behind cover, if your roll result is less than the cover's Threshold value, you strike the cover instead. Roll damage as usual and apply it to the cover.