Chapter 08 · Core Rules
Reactive Combat
Philosophy
Combat has no initiative order fixed at the start of an encounter. Combatants declare what they do; when two actions conflict in time, a Reflex duel determines which occurs first. The system lets a character see an arrow leave the bow and raise a shield, strike a mage before an incantation ends, or raise a wall before a fireball reaches them.
Combat is still divided into rounds to limit how much each participant can accomplish. A round contains three ticks. Each character has three action reserves—attacks, spells, and general actions—plus dedicated dodges. The reserves define what the character can attempt during the round; the Action Board defines what fits into each tick.
Action Tokens and the Action Board
A character has a pool of tokens in each category: attacks, spells, and general actions. As the character gains expertise in a category, that reserve grows. Expertise does more than permit repetition: attacks, incantations, or manipulations become fast and efficient enough to be combined with slower actions. An expert combatant can strike while drinking a potion; an expert mage can sustain an incantation while releasing a second power or manipulating an object.
The Action Board represents this fluidity. Each tick contains a number of generic slots:
Slots per tick = largest reserve ÷ 3, rounded up.
| Largest Reserve | Slots per Tick | Total over Three Ticks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 3 | 1 | 3 |
| 4 to 6 | 2 | 6 |
| 7 to 9 | 3 | 9 |
| 10 to 12 | 4 | 12 |
| 13 to 15 | 5 | 15 |
Calculate this when the character sheet changes, not at the start of every round. The sheet can simply record A 9 · S 3 · G 4—3 slots per tick. During combat, the player tracks spent tokens mentally or checks them off on the sheet.
The scale continues beyond the table: a reserve of 18 opens six slots per tick. The largest reserve determines capacity even when the character does not use that category during the round. A weapon master with 12 attacks therefore retains four slots when choosing to cast or manipulate objects instead.
Each slot accepts one attack, spell, or general action token. Categories can be mixed during the same tick, but every spent token leaves its own reserve. Unused tokens are lost at the end of the round; all reserves refill at the beginning of the next.
Important: the board defines available space, not a list of required actions. Having four slots and twelve attacks does not require filling them or attacking. Any other action placed on the board simply occupies space that could have held one of those attacks.
Action Categories
Attack. An ordinary attack lasts one tick and spends one attack token. A character with several slots and enough tokens can attack several times during the same tick.
Spell. Every tick spent casting or releasing a spell costs one spell token. A Standard spell normally requires two spell actions: one to begin casting and another during the next tick to sustain and release it. A quickened spell requires only one spell action and resolves immediately. This action cost is separate from mana: a Standard spell can require two actions while costing fewer slots than a spell made instantaneous with Quicken Spell.
General Action. Drinking a potion, opening a door, picking up an object, or mounting a horse normally lasts one tick and spends one general action token.
Reaching for something takes as long as it is buried. What a character carries ready comes to hand with a 1-tick general action: a sheathed weapon, a flask at the belt, a cartridge in its pouch, a wand at the hip. What is stowed takes a 2-tick general action, and follows the rule for actions spanning several ticks below—a backpack, a bedroll, a saddlebag, the bottom of a satchel. Where a thing is carried is therefore a decision made before the fight, not during it.
Dodge. A dodge is a reaction. It spends one dedicated dodge but occupies no Action Board slot.
Parry. A parry converts an attack into defense. It spends one attack token and occupies one slot during the tick when declared. Without both a token and a free slot, the character cannot parry.
Actions Spanning Multiple Ticks
An action that spans several ticks must be sustained without interruption. Every stage spends one action of the relevant category and occupies an available slot, though that slot can change from one tick to the next.
A Standard spell occupies one slot to begin casting, then another slot during the next tick to sustain and release it. Each stage spends one spell token.
The player must retain enough actions and reserve a slot for every stage. If they cannot or choose not to pay for the next stage at the required tick, the action is lost. A spell's incantation ends without effect, and actions already spent are not refunded. The damage interruption rules in 12 apply in addition to this requirement.
An action can cross a round boundary. It continues during the first tick of the next round, but committed actions do not recover until the action finishes or is lost. The GM places a marker on the board as a reminder.
Declaring, Reacting, and Resolving Priority
At the beginning of a tick, the GM asks what each combatant does. No one must fill the entire board in advance: actions can be declared as the fiction makes them relevant. The first character to declare risks revealing their intent and receives the declaration bonus from 1.
Roll nothing if every action can occur. When actions conflict—does an arrow leave before the wall rises, or does an attack reach the mage before the spell is released?—the participants make a Reflex duel. The winner acts first. That result can make the other action impossible, interrupt it, or merely change the tick's narration.
Controlled Creatures and Coordinated Groups
A character and creatures under their direct control can declare their actions together and resolve them at the same instant. An animal companion, trained mount, combat familiar, or summoned creature can form a coordinated group with its master. Coordination does not make a creature more intelligent: it must still understand and be capable of carrying out the order.
The group makes only one Reflex roll when its priority is contested:
- if a player character belongs to the group, use that character's Reflex;
- if the group is mounted, use the rider's Reflex;
- otherwise, use the best Reflex among the group's members.
Choose the member providing Reflex before rolling. Controlling several creatures never allows several rolls followed by keeping the best result.
The shared result orders every coordinated action. It also applies when members respond together to the same danger, but each member retains and spends their own tokens, slots, dodges, and other resources. Effects remain individual: one creature may be protected by DR, knocked prone, or unable to dodge even when its companion acts at the same moment.
Coordination merges no resources. Each member keeps their Action Board, attacks, spells, general actions, movement, HP, DR, range, and targets. A Ranger can strike while the companion bites another enemy. Both attacks occur together, but each spends the attack belonging to its source.
Subgroups. When several similar creatures fight together, the GM divides them before rolling according to position and intent. Eight scattered bandits might form one group of three in melee, two archers on a roof, and a final group of three on the move. Each subgroup rolls separately and acts together.
Large Battles. When tracking individual combatants or subgroups becomes unmanageable, leave tactical combat. The GM prescribes the chances of decisive maneuvers based on numbers, experience, command, terrain, equipment, magic, morale, and casualties. Return to ticks when an individual action deserves to be played: holding a gate, reaching a mage, or confronting a captain.
Example 1—A Starting Character
A character has 3 attacks, 2 spells, and 3 general actions. The largest reserve is 3, so the board has only one slot per tick.
| Tick | Slot | Reserves after the Tick |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Standard Spell—casting | A 3 · S 1 · G 3 |
| 2 | Standard Spell—release | A 3 · S 0 · G 3 |
| 3 | Attack | A 2 · S 0 · G 3 |
The character has three types of resources but only one slot per tick and therefore cannot drink a potion during the incantation. Abandoning the spell at tick 2 to drink would cause the spell to be lost.
Example 2—Two Slots per Tick
A character has 6 attacks, 4 spells, and 6 general actions. The largest reserve is 6, so every tick has two slots. The character can mix all three categories freely without exceeding their respective reserves.
The character chooses the following round:
| Tick | Slot 1 | Slot 2 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Attack | Standard Spell—casting |
| 2 | General Action | Standard Spell—release |
| 3 | Attack | General Action |
This spends 2 attacks, 2 spell actions, and 2 general actions. The slots could hold any other combination allowed by the available tokens.
Example 3—Mage-Fighter with Four Slots
A mage-fighter has 12 attacks, 4 spells, and 3 general actions. Attacks are the largest reserve and provide four slots during every tick.
The character wants to prepare a Standard spell, cast a second spell with Quicken Spell, attack, and leave time to drink a potion:
| Tick | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 | Slot 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Attack | Attack | Spell 1—casting | Spell 2—quickened |
| 2 | Attack | Attack | Spell 1—release | Drink a potion |
| 3 | Attack | Attack | Attack | Attack |
At tick 2, releasing the first spell spends a second spell token and occupies a new slot. It does not need to use the same column as the incantation.
If the character had already spent the final available spell action or filled every slot before release, the prepared spell would be lost. Planning a long incantation therefore means reserving both a future action and future board space.
Example 4—Parry, Volley, and Slot Count
A starting fighter has 3 attacks, so only one slot per tick. Three archers standing opposite fire together. The GM groups their arrows into one volley, and the fighter raises a shield. The fighter spends one attack, occupies the tick's slot, and makes one Reflex duel against the group. On a success, the fighter blocks all three arrows. Two attacks remain for later ticks, but nothing else fits into the first tick.
If two archers fire while a soldier charges from another direction, the arrows form one volley while the soldier's blow remains a separate attack. The fighter can use the slot to block the arrows, then spend the dedicated dodge against the soldier. The fighter could accept the blow instead, but cannot make a second parry without another slot.
With 4 attacks or more, the board has two slots per tick. The fighter can spend two attacks during the same tick: one to block the volley with the shield and another to parry the soldier's sword with a weapon. Progression allows several martial techniques in the same instant; it grants no free defense.
Example 5—Two Actions Counter Each Other
At tick 1, an archer declares a shot at a mage. The mage responds by casting a quickened Wall of Stone between them. Both actions last one tick and have a valid slot on their owner's board, but both cannot produce their full effect in either order.
The archer and mage make a Reflex duel. If the mage wins, the wall rises first and the arrow strikes it. If the archer wins, the arrow reaches the mage before the wall cuts the line of effect. The duel grants no additional action: it orders two actions already declared and paid for.
Chapter Summary
- A round contains three ticks, each with an Action Board.
- Every available action is an attack, spell, or general action token.
- The largest reserve determines the board: one slot for every three tokens, rounded up. Slots freely accept all three categories.
- Every stage of a long action spends one token and one slot. The action is lost if not sustained during the next tick.
- A Standard incantation normally requires two spell actions; a quickened spell requires only one at the cost of additional slots.
- Dodges are reactions outside the board. A parry spends an attack and occupies one slot during the tick.
- Make a Reflex duel only when the order of declared actions matters. With several participants, each rolls once and the results order every action.
- A character and controlled creatures can form a coordinated group. They act at the same instant with one Reflex roll but retain separate resources.