Combat Modifiers

Favorable and Unfavorable Conditions

Depending on the situation, you may gain bonuses or take penalties on your attack roll. Generally, any situational modifier created by the attacker’s position or tactics applies to the attack roll, while any situational modifier created by the defender’s position, state, or tactics applies to the defender’s AC. Your GM judges what bonuses and penalties apply, using the following tables as guides.

Attacker is...	Modifier	Defender is...	Modifier
On higher ground	+1 on attack	Behind Cover	+4 AC
Flanking	+2 on attack	Off-guard	-2 AC, no dex bonus
Prone	+4 on attack	Prone	+4 or -4  AC(see Prone)
Squeezing though a space	-4 on attack	Squeezing though a space	-4 AC

Cover

One of the best defenses available is cover. By taking cover behind a tree, a wall, the side of a wagon, or the battlements of a castle, you can protect yourself from attacks, especially ranged attacks, and also from being spotted. To determine whether your target has cover from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target’s square passes through a square or border that blocks line of effect or provides cover, or through a square occupied by a creature, the target has cover (+4 to AC).

When making a melee attack against an adjacent target, your target has cover if any line from your square to the target’s square goes through a wall (including a low wall).

When making a melee attack against a target that isn’t adjacent to you (such as with a reach weapon), use the rules for determining cover from ranged attacks.

Low Obstacles and Cover: A low obstacle (such as a wall no higher than half your height) provides cover, but only to creatures within 30 feet (6 squares) of it. The attacker can ignore the cover if they are closer to the obstacle than their target.

Cover and Reaction Attack: You can’t execute a reaction attack against an opponent with cover relative to you.

Cover and Reflex Saves: Cover grants you a +2 bonus on Reflex saves against attacks that originate or burst out from a point on the other side of the cover from you, such as a red dragon’s breath weapon or a lightning bolt.

Cover and Stealth Checks: You can use cover to make a Stealth check. Without cover, you usually need concealment (see below) to make a Stealth check.

Soft Cover: Creatures, even your enemies, can provide you with cover against ranged attacks, giving you a +4 bonus to AC. However, such soft cover provides no bonus on Reflex saves, nor does soft cover allow you to make a stealth check.

Big Creatures and Cover: Any creature with a space larger than 5 feet (1 square) determines cover against melee attacks slightly differently than smaller creatures do. Such a creature can choose any square that it occupies to determine if an opponent has cover against its melee attacks. Similarly, when making a melee attack against such a creature, you can pick any of the squares it occupies to determine if it has cover against you.

Total Cover: If you don’t have line of effect to your target (for instance, if they are completely behind a high wall), they are considered to have total cover from you. You can’t make an attack against a target that has total cover.

Varying Degrees of Cover: In some cases, cover may provide a greater bonus to AC and Reflex saves. For instance, a character peering around a corner or through an arrow slit has even better cover than a character standing behind a low wall or an obstacle. In such situations, the GM can double the normal cover bonuses to AC and Reflex saves (to +8 and +4, respectively). A creature with this improved cover takes half damage from any effect that allows partial damage on a reflex save, and no damage on a successful save. Furthermore, improved cover provides a +10 bonus on Stealth checks.

The GM may impose other penalties or restrictions to attacks depending on the details of the cover. For example, to strike effectively through a narrow opening, you need to use a long piercing weapon, such as an arrow or a spear. A battleaxe or a pick just isn’t going to get through an arrow slit.

Concealment

Besides cover, another way to avoid attacks is to make it hard for opponents to know where you are. Concealment encompasses all circumstances where nothing physically blocks a blow or shot but where something interferes with an attacker’s accuracy. Concealment gives the subject of a successful attack a chance that the attacker missed because of the concealment.

Typically, concealment is provided by fog, smoke, a shadowy area, darkness, tall grass, foliage, or magical effects that make it difficult to pinpoint a target’s location.

To determine whether your target has concealment from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target’s square passes through a square or border that provides concealment, the target has concealment. When making a melee attack against an adjacent target, your target has concealment if his space is entirely within an effect that grants concealment (such as a cloud of smoke). When making a melee attack against a target that isn’t adjacent to you (for instance, with a reach weapon), use the rules for determining concealment from ranged attacks.

In addition, some magical effects provide concealment against all attacks, regardless of whether any intervening concealment exists.

Concealment Miss Chance: Concealment gives the subject of a successful attack a 20% chance that the attacker missed because of the concealment. If the attacker hits, the defender must make a miss chance percentile roll to avoid being struck. (To expedite play, make both rolls at the same time). Multiple concealment conditions (such as a defender in a fog and under the effect of a blur spell) stack, but only up to a 50% miss chance.

Concealment and Stealth Checks: You can use concealment to make a Stealth check. Without concealment, you usually need cover to make a Stealth check.

Total Concealment: If you have line of effect to a target but not line of sight (for instance, if they are in total darkness or invisible, or if you’re blinded), they are considered to have total concealment from you. You can’t attack an opponent that has total concealment, though you can attack into a square that you think they occupy. A successful attack into a square occupied by an enemy with total concealment has a 50% miss chance (instead of the normal 20% miss chance for an opponent with concealment).

You can’t execute a reaction attack against an opponent with total concealment, even if you know what square or squares the opponent occupies.

Ignoring Concealment: Concealment isn’t always effective. For instance, a shadowy area or darkness doesn’t provide any concealment against an opponent who can see in darkness.

Varying Degrees of Concealment: As with cover, it’s usually not worth differentiating between more degrees of concealment than described above. However, the GM may rule that certain situations provide more or less than typical concealment, and modify the miss chance accordingly. For instance, a light fog might only provide a 10% miss chance, while near-total darkness could provide a 40% miss chance (and a +10 circumstance bonus on Hide checks).

Helpless Defenders

A helpless opponent is someone who is bound, sleeping, paralyzed, unconscious, or otherwise at your mercy.

Regular Attack: A helpless character is worse than off-guard; they take a –4 penalty to AC against melee attacks, and their Dexterity modifier to AC is treated as if it were –5.

Coup de Grace: As a full-round action, you can use a melee weapon to deliver a coup de grace to a helpless opponent. You can also use a projectile weapon, provided you are adjacent to the target.

Roll your attack with an additional +4 bonus to hit (and the target already has a -9 penalty to their AC, see above). If you hit, the target dies unless they succeed on a Death save (DC 10 + damage dealt). If they succeed, they are staggered and their damage now equals their hp.

It may be more difficult (or even impossible) to land a killing blow on massive creatures, or those with bizarre anatomies.

You can deliver a coup de grace against a creature with total concealment, but doing this requires two consecutive full-round actions (one to “find” the creature once you’ve determined what square it’s in, and one to deliver the coup de grace).

Conditions

Many conditions can affect your ability to fight; these are the most common.

Confusion: These conditions hinder the mind and body, and are usually gained by magic or specific physical effects.

Blinded: Unable to see. A blind character is off-guard and must move at half speed or risk falling (unless aided by others). All creatures are treated as having total concealment relative to a blinded character.

Dazed:  A dazed character can take no actions (other than reactions), but takes no penalty to AC. Some magical effects can daze creatures.

Deafened: Unable to hear. A deaf character takes a -4 penalty on initiative checks and has a 20% chance to fumble to verbal components of spells.

Debilitated: A debilitated character is crippled by pain or nausea, and can take only a single minor action each turn.

Disoriented: A disoriented character is slower to react, often because its sight has been weakened; it takes a -2 penalty on attacks and AC. Sand thrown into eyes and sudden flashes of light can disorient creatures.

Sickened:  A sickened character counts as bloodied and takes a -2 penalty on saving throws (except death saving throws). Poison and illness can sicken a creature.

Stunned:  A stunned drops anything they are holding, takes no actions, and is off-guard. Some magic can stun creatures.

Exhaustion: These conditions are gained by overexertion and sleeplessness. They are covered in greater detail in Exhaustion.

Fatigued: A fatigued character takes a -2 penalty to all ability scores and a -5 ft penalty to speed. 

Exhausted: An exhausted character takes an additional -2 penalty to all ability scores and can't run or charge.

Unconscious: An unconscious character is helpless.

Injury: These conditions are gained by taking damage. They are covered in greater detail in Hit Points and Death and Dying.

Bloodied: A bloodied character takes a -1 penalty on attacks and checks (including initiative checks). A character who has taken damage equal to half their hp is bloodied.

Wounded: A wounded character takes a -1 penalty on attacks and checks (including initiative checks). A character is bloodied as long as they have any wound points.

Staggered: A staggered character is barely standing. They can only take a single minor or major action each turn, and move at half speed, unless aided by others. Worse yet, they risk more serious injury if they take any strenuous action or if they take more damage. A creature is staggered when it has taken damage equal to or greater than its hp.

Dying: A dying character is unconscious and helpless, and could slip away at any moment. A creature is dying when it has taken damage greater than its hp and failed a death save.

Stable: A stable character is unconscious and helpless, and their condition could improve or worsen over time. A creature becomes stable if they don't die right away.

Dead: A dead character's soul has departed their body.

Fear: These conditions are gained by witnessing horrifying things, like the grisly death of a comrade, or by facing terrifying monsters. Fear can usually be overcome with a successful save.

Shaken: A shaken character takes a -2 penalty on attacks, checks and saves.

Frightened: A frightened is shaken, and retreats from the source of their terror, fighting only if cornered.

Panicked: A panicked character is shaken, and flees senselessly from the source of their terror, cowering if cornered.

Cowering: A cowering character is off-guard and takes no actions.

Combat: These conditions occur frequently in battle.

Flanking: When making a melee attack, you get a +2 flanking bonus on the attack roll if your opponent is threatened by an ally on the opponent’s opposite side.

Held: A held character is entangled in some way or held in a grapple???. They are mostly limited to struggling against whatever has them held.

Off-Guard: An off guard character takes a -2 penalty to AC, loses their dexterity bonus to AC and Reflex saves, and cannot take reactions. You are off-guard against any attack that surprises you. You are no longer off-guard when you get a chance to act.

Prone: On the ground. A prone character takes a -4 penalty to AC against melee attacks, but a +4 bonus against ranged attacks. Your melee attacks while prone are at a -4 penalty, and you can't make ranged attacks except with a crossbow.