Combat Basics

Almost inevitably, the life of an adventurer is a violent one. In combat, every second counts; players take their actions in six second rounds and move and position themselves on a grid of 5-ft squares. Despite this added structure, combat is by no means a separate game. All the problem solving and clever improvisation used outside of combat are just as important here.

How Combat Works

Combat takes place in six second rounds, during which each combatant acts out a turn. Combat flows through the following steps:

1.  The GM determines which characters are aware of their opponents at the start of the battle. If some but not all of the combatants are aware of their opponents, a surprise round happens before regular rounds of combat begin. If no one or everyone starts the battle aware, there is no surprise round.

Surprise Rounds: The combatants who are aware of the opponents can act in the surprise round, so they roll for initiative. In initiative order (highest to lowest), combatants who started the battle aware of their opponents each take one action (either a major action or a minor action) during the surprise round. Combatants who were unaware do not get to act in the surprise round. If no one or everyone starts the battle aware, there is no surprise round.

2.  A regular round of combat begins with each combatant rolling an initiative check. 

3.  Combatants act in initiative order (highest to lowest).

Initiative Ties: When two characters tie on their initiative check, they act at the exact same moment. Their players declare their actions simultaneously. All their actions are treated as happening simultaneously (it is totally possible for two combatants to skewer each other). If their actions directly conflict (such as passing through the same doorway, or grabbing the same item), the GM may call for an opposed check, as appropriate.

4.  When everyone has taken their turn, a new round begins at step two.

Combat Statistics

Attack Roll

An attack roll represents your attempt to strike your opponent on your turn in a round. When you make an attack roll, you roll a d20 and add your attack bonus. (Other modifiers may also apply to this roll.) If your result equals or beats the target’s Armor Class, you hit and deal damage.

Automatic Misses and Hits: A natural 1 (the d20 comes up 1) on an attack roll is always a miss. A natural 20 (the d20 comes up 20) is always a critical hit. 

Attack Bonus

Your attack bonus with a melee weapon is: Base combat bonus + Strength modifier

With a ranged weapon, your attack bonus is: Base combat bonus + Dexterity modifier + range penalty

Strength Modifier: Strength helps you swing a weapon harder and faster, so your Strength modifier applies to melee attack rolls. When wielding a light weapon or a weapon with the finesse tag, you can opt to use your Dexterity modifier instead of your strength modifier.

Dexterity Modifier: Dexterity measures coordination and steadiness, so your Dexterity modifier applies to attacks with ranged weapons.

Damage

When your attack succeeds, you deal damage to the target. When the target has as many points of damage as they have hit-points, they might be knocked unconscious or killed. The type of weapon used (see Weapons) determines the amount of damage you deal. 

Your damage with a weapon is: Weapon damage die + Base combat bonus + Strength modifier

Minimum Damage: If penalties reduce the damage result to less than 1, a hit still deals 1 point of damage.

Base Combat Bonus: When you hit with a weapon with which you are proficient, add your BCB to damage.

Strength Bonus: When you hit with a melee or thrown weapon, add your Strength modifier to the damage result. Other ranged weapons don’t normally benefit from a strength bonus.
Off-Hand Weapon: When you deal damage with a weapon in your off hand, you add only 1/2 your Strength bonus.
Wielding a Weapon Two-Handed: When you deal damage with a weapon that you are wielding two-handed, you add 1-1/2 times your Strength bonus. However, you don’t get this higher Strength bonus when using a light weapon with two hands (see Weapon Tags).

Armor Class

Your Armor Class (AC) represents how hard it is for opponents to land a solid, damaging blow on you. To hit you, an attack roll must equal or exceed your AC. The average, unarmored peasant has an AC of 10.

Your AC is equal to: 10 + armor bonus + shield bonus + Dexterity modifier

Armor and Shield Bonuses: Your armor and shield each provide a bonus to your AC. This bonus represents their ability to protect you from blows.

Dexterity Modifier: If your Dexterity is high, you are adept at dodging blows. If your Dexterity is low, you are inept at it. That’s why you apply your Dexterity modifier to your AC.

Note that armor limits your Dexterity bonus, so if you’re wearing armor, you might not be able to apply your whole Dexterity bonus to your AC (see Armor).

Sometimes you can’t use your Dexterity bonus (if you have one). If you can’t react to a blow, you can’t use your Dexterity bonus to AC. (If you don’t have a Dexterity bonus, nothing happens.) You lose your Dexterity bonus when you're caught off-guard: when an invisible opponent attacks you, when you’re hanging on the face of a crumbling cliff high above a river of lava, or when you’re surprised at the beginning of a combat.

Touch Attacks: Some attacks disregard armor. For example, a wizard’s touch with a shocking grasp spell hurts you regardless of what armor you’re wearing or how thick your skin happens to be. In these cases, the attacker makes a touch attack roll (either ranged or melee). When you are the target of a touch attack, your AC doesn’t include any armor bonus. All other modifiers apply normally.

Other Modifiers: Many other factors modify your AC: cover, magic, feats, and defensive or reckless actions can all alter your AC.

Hit Points

Your hit points (HP) represent your character’s ability to use skill, stamina, and toughness to turn a dangerous or even lethal strike into a less serious one.  Your hit points are based on your class and level, and your Constitution modifier applies as well.

Bloodied: When your accumulated damage equals at least half your HP, you become bloodied. A bloodied character takes a -1 penalty on attacks and checks (including initiative checks).

Wounded: When your accumulated damage equals at least three-quarters of your HP, you are wounded. A wounded character takes an additional -1 penalty on attacks and checks, which stacks with the penalty for being bloodied. Damage past this point represents dangerous injuries which take time to heal (see Healing Wounds).

Wound Points: Each time a blow deals damage to you past this threshold, record the severity of the wound (how many points over the wounded threshold did this wound give you?) and its location (determined by the GM). Wound points count as damage, but can't be removed as easily.

Nasty Wounds: Some wounds are especially punishing. Wounds caused by critical hits or by critically failing a saving throw are nasty wounds, which impose greater penalties and are harder to heal. 

Dying: When your accumulated damage equals or exceeds your HP, you are dead or in very bad shape (see below).

Nonlethal Damage: Some attacks deal nonlethal damage. Nonlethal damage does not cause wounds. If such an attack deals enough damage to cause the target to make a Death save, they are unconscious on a failed save, instead of dying. If they fail by 10 or more, they are dying instead of dead.

Recovering from Damage: Most damage is easy enough to recover from, but wounds can take a long time to heal. When you have a few minutes out of combat to catch your breath, you can roll some or all of your recovery dice to remove damage (see Rest and Recovery). Wounds points can only be removed as wounds are healed, a process can take weeks.

Death and Dying

A character can only take so much damage before they drop. When a character accumulates damage equal to their HP, they must attempt a Death saving throw. The DC of this save is based on how much the damage exceeds their HP.

The Death Save DC is equal to: 10 + 1 per 2 points of excess damage.

Success: the character is staggered.
Failure by less than 10: the character is dying.
Failure by 10 or more: the character is dead.

Staggered: A staggered character is conscious, but can only take a single minor or major action each turn. They move at half speed, unless aided by others. Taking most minor actions doesn’t risk further injury, but if a staggered character takes any major action (or any action the GM deems strenuous), they must succeed on another Death save to remain staggered; otherwise, they become dying after they complete the action. If a staggered character takes any lethal damage they must make a new Death save, but any result other than dead means the character is now dying.

Dying: A dying character is unconscious (or nearly so) and near death. At the end of each round, a dying character must make another Death save. Whether you succeed or fail, you take 1 Constitution damage. Each success or failure does nothing else until you have tallied 3 failures or 4 successes. If you accumulate 3 failures, you die. If you accumulate 4 successes, you become stable.

Critical Failures and Successes: A natural twenty causes a dying character to immediately become stable, and a natural one causes a character to immediately die.

Taking More Damage: If a dying character takes damage, they must immediately roll a new death save against the new attack (to see if they die immediately). If they survive this attack, they continue to roll death saves (likely with a higher save DC).

Helping a Dying Character: An adjacent character can make a heal check as a full round action to try to help a dying character (see Heal).

Stable: A stable character is unconscious. Every hour, a stable character must succeed on a Death save to remain stable. Whether or not you succeed, you take one point of Constitution damage.

Success by 5 or more: the character becomes conscious and is staggered.
Success by less than 5: the character remains stable and unconscious.
Failure: the character is again dying.

Helping a Dying Character:  An adjacent character can make a heal check to try to help a stable character (see Heal).

Dead: A dead character’s soul has departed.

Initiative

Your initiative score is a measure of your character’s ability to predict and react to other combatants. Like other checks, an initiative roll is 1d20 plus your modifier.

Your modifier on initiative checks is equal to: Base Combat Bonus + Dexterity modifier

Movement Speed

Your movement speed is the distance (in feet) your character can travel with a single move action. Encumbrance from armor and carried equipment can reduce your character's movement speed (See Armor and Encumbrance).

Saving Throws

If you are subject to an unusual or magical attack, you may be allowed a saving throw to escape or reduce the effect. Like an attack roll, a saving throw is a d20 roll plus a bonus based on your class, level, and sometimes an ability score.

Your saving throw modifier is: Base save bonus + ability modifier

Base Save Bonus: A saving throw modifier derived from character class and level. Base save bonuses increase at different rates for different character classes.

Critical Failures and Successes: A natural 1 (the d20 comes up 1) on a saving throw roll is always a failure. A natural 20 (the d20 comes up 20) is always a success. 

Saving Throw Types: The five kinds of saving throws are Charm, Reflex, Death, Fear and Spell:

Charm: Charm saves resist mental control and manipulation. A character’s Charm save equals their base save bonus + their Charisma OR Wisdom bonus, whichever is higher.

Reflex: Reflex saves resist area attacks. A character's Reflex save equals their base save bonus + their Dexterity bonus.

Death: Death saves resist death. A character’s Death save equals their base save bonus only.

Fear: Fear saves resist terror. A character’s Fear save equals their base save bonus only.

Spell: Spell saves resist magic spells and effects. A character’s Spell save equals their base save bonus only.

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