Combat Rules

Combat rules

Outside of battle, players freely interact with the game world, informing the DM of their actions while the DM describes the environment and its reactions. However, once battle ensues, the game transitions to a turn-based system. The unit with the highest Agility modifier takes the first turn, followed by the next highest, and so forth. Each turn consists of one Attack Action (AA), one Move Action (MA), and two Bonus Actions (BA). Once all units on the battlefield have taken their turn, the round concludes and a new round begins. The battle continues until all units from one team are defeated, flee the battle, or lose the will to fight. At the end of the battle, victorious units have their MP replenished to full.

A turn = 1AA, 1MA, 2BA

Attack Action

The Attack action can be used for the following:

To attack
To pay the cast time of a spell
Pick up an item off the ground
Draw or sheathe a weapon
Talk briefly during combat
To get up out of prone.
disengage from an enemy's melee zone without provoking a free hit.

Move Action

The move action can be used for the following:

To move (traditionally 6 spaces)
To pay the cast time of a spell
Pick up an item off the ground
Draw or sheathe a weapon
Talk briefly during combat
To get up out of prone.

When sneaking, swimming, climbing, carrying max capacity, etc. you move half spaces.

Bonus Actions

Bonus actions can be used for the following:

Pick up an item off the ground
Draw or sheathe a weapon
Talk briefly during combat
Toggle the effects of spells cast
Increase damage dealt with melee weapons by +1 for that round
Boost chance to hit by +1
Enhance ability to dodge by +1
Move an additional 2 spaces
Use one Move Action and both Bonus Actions to gain an additional attack (without feats or Strength modifier)
Use two Bonus Actions to disengage from an enemy's melee zone without provoking a free hit.
To get up out of prone. (even if it’s not currently your turn, however doing so removes the bonus action from your next turn.)

Initiative/Initiating: In combat, initiative determines the order in which characters take their turns. Once the battle has commenced, the character with the highest Agility modifier among both enemies and allies goes first, followed by the character with the next highest modifier, and so forth. However, if someone initiates combat by attacking before the battle officially starts, they are placed last in the initiative lineup, regardless of their Agility modifier. Additionally, during combat, a character may choose to delay their turn in the initiative lineup for the round.

Attacking

Attacking requires using one Attack Action. To determine if your attack hits, roll a twenty-sided die (d20) and add your Accuracy modifier. If the total equals or exceeds the target's Agility modifier plus 10, your attack successfully hits and deals damage. However, if the total is lower than the target's Agility modifier plus 10, your attack misses.

The method of dealing damage varies depending on the weapon or spell you're using. Check the “Weapons” tab of this website to see the options.

Wounds/Aiming: In combat, any physical attack can be aimed at a specific part of the target's body. Different targets yield different effects:

Fatal Targets: Aimed at vital areas such as the throat, heart, or head. If a wound is dealt these attacks have a ¼ chance to add 16 additional damage to the attack.

Slowing Targets: Focusing on areas like the legs or feet. If a wound is dealt these attacks decrease the target's movement by 2 and their Agility modifier by 1.

Weakening Targets: Focusing on areas like the arms. If a wound is dealt these attacks lower the target's Strength modifier by one and remove 1 Bonus Action from them.

Disrupting Targets: Aimed at sensitive areas like the eyes, ears, nose or hands. If a wound is dealt these attacks lower the target's Accuracy modifier by 1 for the entire battle and by 3 for the current round.

Center Mass: Although it inflicts no specific wound, aiming for the center mass adds +1 accuracy to the attack itself

A wound occurs when a single attack deals 6 or more damage to a target. This must be 6 or more net damage, calculated after accounting for all reductions from armor, resistances, guarding feats, and other mitigating factors. A wound can be eliminated if the target receives 6 or more hit points from a single instance of healing, or if a spell or other ability explicitly states that it removes a wound

Spell Casting

Spells will tell you in their cast time, how many actions they require to perform. Spells have an option under notes to change or improve its effects using bonus actions.

Auto Fails/Criticals

When you roll a natural 20 on the d20, it's called a critical hit. In addition to being a fantastic roll, critical hits have extra beneficial effects. There's also a chance for a critical hit to escalate into a super critical. After rolling a critical hit, roll a d4. If it lands on 4, your critical hit becomes a super critical, which provides even greater benefits for you and your party. But the excitement doesn't stop there. If you roll a 4, roll a d6. If it lands on 6, roll a d8, and so on. Each successful dice roll multiplies the beneficial effects significantly.

Conversely, rolling a natural 1 on the d20 results in an auto fail, regardless of your skill level. If you roll an auto fail, roll a d4. If it lands on 4, the auto fail turns into a tragedy, which is much worse. Then roll a d6, and so forth. The further it progresses, the more severe the consequences become for you and your party.

Combat specific Fails/Criticals: When you roll a natural 1 while attacking a unit, not only do you miss your attack, but if you were within that unit's melee zone, the unit immediately gains an opportunity to strike back with a free hit against you. If you rolled a tragedy, the consequences worsen: the unit gains a free critical hit against you, even if it doesn't have any remaining Free Hit Slots (FHS) for that round. If the tragedy escalates to a 6, the situation turns dire: the unit being attacked delivers a fatal blow, killing you instantly without any further rolls needed.

Conversely, when you roll a natural 20 while attacking, it's a critical hit, and you double the damage dealt. If it's a super critical, you double the damage a second time. If the super critical escalates to a 6, you achieve a decisive victory: the targeted foe is defeated instantly, with no further rolls required..

Other Combat Terms

Melee Zone

The Melee Zone refers to all the squares adjacent to a unit. In other words, it encompasses the immediate surroundings of the unit, including all squares directly adjacent to it.

Free Hits/Free Hit Slots (FHS)

Free hits are bonus attacks that you can make under specific circumstances without expending a move or attack action. There are several ways to gain a free hit:

When an enemy moves out of your melee zone or moves more than 2 spaces within your melee zone.
If an enemy attacking you rolls a 1 on the d20.
When a feat you possess grants you an additional attack action.

However, you're limited in the number of free hits you can make each round, known as Free Hit Slots (FHS). Your FHS is determined by your Agility modifier plus 1. If the resulting number is 0 or less, you do not have any free hit slots for that round.

Disengage

This term refers to the ability to leave enemy melee zones for the round without provoking free hits. You can disengage by using either 1 Attack Action (AA) or 2 Bonus Actions (BA), or through specific spells and abilities that grant disengagement.

Flat Footed

flat footed is when a unit isn’t able to dodge properly. Flat footed characters are a 5 to hit, regardless of what their agility may be. Times you would be flat footed are: when a unit successfully snuck up on you, when tied up, froze, paralyzed and so on. When you are prone you are semi flat footed. You are a 5 to hit plus your agility mod.

Prone

When a unit is lying down, it is considered prone. While prone you cannot dodge attacks and move ⅓ of your movement. To stand up from a prone position, it requires using one of the following actions: 1 Attack Action (AA), 1 Move Action (MA), or 1 Bonus Action (BA). Standing up can be done regardless of whether it is your turn, but it consumes the action you chose to use from your next turn. If there are no actions remaining from your next turn, you cannot stand up from prone.

Disarmed

Being disarmed means that an item, often the one you were holding, has been removed from your person. If your held item is disarmed and nearby, you can retrieve it using either 1 Attack Action (AA), 1 Move Action (MA), or 1 Bonus Action (BA).

Summoning Slots

is the number of summoned creatures you may have under your control at one time. The number of summoning slots you have is equal to your level.

Thralling

Un-thralled summoned units cast outside of battle only persist until the commencement of a battle. Un-thralled units summoned during a battle vanish at the battle's conclusion. However, you have the choice to retain summoned units both in and out of battle. To retain them, you must pay the unit's thrall cost, typically calculated as 6Mhp multiplied by the unit’s level. However each summoned, raised, called, or sparked unit will specify its thrall cost in the cost section of the spell description.

Summoning Sickness

Unless specified otherwise, a summoned unit cannot take actions or dodge during the first round after it is summoned.

Channeling

Any spell that requires more than one turn to cast or has an upkeep cost is considered as channeling. When a unit channels a spell, they are considered flat-footed until the spell is cast or canceled.

Flanking

When attacking a unit from behind, you gain a +1 bonus to accuracy.

Sneak Damage

If you attack a unit while undetected, they are considered flat-footed, and you gain an extra d4 damage on top of your normal attack. This additional damage is multiplied by critical hits.

Feats

Feats in most cases modify the rules for your character. Here are some examples of feats and how they change the rules.

Sneak attack: add another d4 to sneak damage.

Legion leader: gain 2 extra summoning slots.

Battle caster: dodge normally while channeling spells.

Maneuverer: move normally while sneaking, swimming, and tumbling.

Reach: increase melee zone to 2 spaces around you.

Weapon focus: increase damage of 3 chosen weapons by one dice roll.

Athlete: gain 2 more movement spaces.