Chapter 05 · Core Rules
Reactive Combat
Combatants declare actions and react to one another: raise a shield against an arrow, strike a mage during an incantation, or put a wall in the path of a fireball. When the order matters, a Reflex duel determines which action happens first.
A round contains three ticks. Each character has reserves of attacks, spell actions, and general actions, plus dedicated dodges. The reserves show how much they can do in a round; the Action Board shows how much fits into each tick.
Action Tokens and the Action Board
The character's class gives their action reserves. Each attack, spell action, or general action is represented by one token. Feats, spells, and equipment can change these reserves.
The Action Board has one row for each tick. Each row contains the same number of slots, calculated from the largest of the three reserves:
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.
The player can leave slots empty. They spend tokens only for actions they take.
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-action token. A Standard spell takes two ticks: one to begin casting, one to sustain and release it. Quicken Spell reduces casting to one tick and one spell action, at an increased spell-slot cost.
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.
Retrieving equipment. Drawing a sheathed weapon or taking a flask from a belt, a cartridge from its pouch, or a wand from the hip takes a 1-tick general action. Retrieving something stowed in a backpack, bedroll, saddlebag, or the bottom of a satchel takes a 2-tick general action. Follow the rules for sustained actions below.
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.
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.
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 9 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. Players declare their actions and can respond as others reveal theirs.
Declaring first reveals your intent and gives opponents the information they need to react. The character who declares their action first gains +5 to the Reflex duel or +25% to their result, at the GM's discretion. The percentage applies to the total after rolling the d20; round down the final result. The GM can adjust the bonus for the table; some groups use about 10%.
Roll only when the order changes what happens. 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 let both occur in that order. On a tie, roll again.
When several actions compete for the same instant, each participant rolls once and the results order every action from highest to lowest. Tied participants reroll without changing the rest of the order.
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. Each creature must understand the order and be capable of carrying it out.
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.
The shared result orders every coordinated action, including responses to the same danger. Each member keeps their own Action Board, tokens, dodges, movement, HP, DR, range, and targets. Effects apply to each creature individually.
A Ranger can strike while their companion bites another enemy. Both attacks occur together, and each spends its own attack token. One may be knocked prone or unable to dodge while the other remains able to act.
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 Level 1 Fighter has 3 attacks, 2 spell actions, 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 |
With one slot per tick, drinking a potion at tick 2 would leave no room to sustain the spell. The spell would 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.
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.
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 at least 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. See Martial Combat and Defenses for grouping attacks and the equipment needed to parry them.
Example 5—Two Actions Counter Each Other
At tick 1, an archer declares a shot at a mage. The mage responds with a quickened Elemental Wall of stone between them. Both actions take one tick and fit on their respective Action Boards.
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.
Chapter Summary
- A round contains three ticks, represented by the three rows of the Action Board.
- Attacks, spell actions, and general actions each have their own token reserve.
- 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 spell 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.