COMBAT

Combat begins when two or more parties have identified each other as a threat or the first attack has been made. Each person should then roll for initiative, using a d20 to determine the order that combatants will take their turns.

Sometimes there will be numerous weaker combatants fighting with or against your friends. For each type of enemy, it can be helpful to roll one initiative roll, allowing all identical combatants to act at the same time.

A fight begins when two or more parties have identified each other as a threat or the first attack has been made. Place a marker on the grid to mark each person’s location at the beginning of the conflict. Then, have each person present roll a d20. The highest roller goes first, followed by the second highest, and so on and so forth. Your guide should make a note of this order.

Each of you and all of your foes will have a turn in combat in which you can perform three actions which are divided up into two types: the first two actions are standard actions, and the third is a readied action. You can do various things with these actions. Start by executing your two standard actions by selecting them from the following list.

Skills: Skills are usually special attacks that require you to have a specific weapon type equipped and require that you spend energy points (ep). Each turn, by default, you regain 1ep. When activating a skill, subtract the cost from your ep and follow the instructions as described. You may also activate a skill from a discipline in this way. Unless otherwise noted, you consume 1ep when doing so.
Attack: Execute a basic attack at any enemy within your range and line of sight. Roll a d20 when attacking. Accuracy values affect your roll, and you can spend energy to improve it even more. If the result is equal to or greater than your target’s agility score, deal damage equal to your might. If you are on the receiving end of an attack, subtract your protection value, if you have one, from the damage you have suffered. If an attack is made with a bow or a firearm, it consumes the ammunition stored in it and must be reloaded before firing again.
Move: By default, people are able to move 5 metres with a move action. Moving over difficult terrain, like leaping over a fence for example, takes up two metres instead of one. If you are locked in melee range with an enemy, moving will provoke a basic attack from that person, so be careful about where you are trying to move.
Shift: A shift is a sidestep or a backstep that allows you to move 1 metre without provoking attacks. Useful in close combat situations.
Swap: In the heat of combat swapping weapons will consume either one action or 1 ep. It is your choice which it consumes.
Reload: After firing off a physical projectile, bows and firearms must be reloaded using an action.

Now that you have executed your two standard actions, you can choose to spend 1ep at the end of each turn to ready an action. Readied actions, unlike standard actions, can happen at any time during combat; just announce that it is happening. If an opponent is trying to attack you, a readied action can be used to shift out of the way, or to make a basic attack to interrupt them. By default, readied actions take precedent over other actions until they are resolved, but actions that have “initiative” will occur before a readied action, unless that readied action has initiative too. Use your readied actions to change the tide of a battle, but be careful: if you run out of ep, you will be vulnerable.

After you have chosen if you will ready an action or not, your turn ends and the next character’s turn begins. At any time, you may also choose to delay your turn until later in the turn order. Unlike a readied action, delaying your turn does not allow you to interrupt someone else’s turn with your actions. Instead, you may choose to reinsert your turn anywhere in the turn order after someone’s turn has resolved.

If someone is reduced to zero health over the course of the fight, they are not out of the fight quite yet, but they are “at the brink” and may choose to forfeit. They can continue to act as normal, but taking additional damage will trigger a roll at the brink. When all combatants forfeit, die, or are otherwise unable to fight, combat ends. The victors are granted 1 point of morale for their victory, and the defeated lose 1.