Turn Order

When combat ensues, the game becomes turn-based. The turn order is determined by the combatants' vigilance where those with the highest value go first.

During one round of combat, each combatant gets a turn in the turn order.

If you have the same vigilance value as an NPC, you may go first. If you have the same vigilance value as another player character, you may either agree on who goes first or both roll for dexterity. In the latter case, the one with the higher result goes first.

Actions

Each combatant may perform one regular action, one movement action, one quick action and any amount of boost actions during each round of combat. You decide the order in which you take your actions.

Regular Actions

You can perform your regular action only during your own turn. A regular action is usually an attack or an ability check.

During your turn, you may forgo one regular action. If you do, you may either perform an additional movement action this turn or an additional quick action until your next turn.

Movement Actions

You may only take a movement action during your own turn. The most common use of a movement action is traveling a distance of fields equal to your movement value.

Your movement value is five plus half the modifier of your athletics ability.

Examples for other movement actions are switching weapons, reloading a weapon with the aspect long reload, climbing a ladder, standing up from the ground or swinging on a chandelier. In some cases you might need to make an ability check to be able to successfully perform your movement action.

You may combine traveling fields with a smaller movement such as dropping an item and/or drawing a weapon.

Quick Actions

Quick actions allow you to interrupt enemies and generally act outside of your own turn. Whenever any combatant performs any kind of action, you may respond to that action with a quick action. Such a response is then resolved before that action and might even prevent it.

If multiple participants want to respond to an action, the priority is passed in the turn order. When a response is responded to, the latest response is always resolved first. You may also let a quick action resolve, then respond to the action underneath again.

You can imagine the actions as a stack of cards where everyone may put cards (quick actions) on top and the stack is resolved from the top down.

Boost Actions

A boost action may be added to any other action to improve or alter its effects. Choose all boost actions you want to apply to another action as soon as you declare to perform it. Often, boost actions will grant you additional dice to specific actions. There is no limit to the amount of boost actions you can take during one round.

Attacking

To execute an attack, make the appropriate ability check. The damage you deal to your target is the difference between your ability check and the target's defend difficulty.

When attacking as a regular action, the cost is 1 vigor when making an assault check and 1 focus when making a check for shooting.

Wielding a weapon grants you advantage to attack rolls depending on the weapon category (see items).

Defending

Note: Defending is not an action by itself. It is part of the attacker's action.

To actively defend yourself against an attack, make a defend check. The amount of damage you take is the difference between your adversary's attack difficulty and your ability check.

Each active defense costs 1 vigor.

Armor and shields grant you advantage to defense depending on their respective category (see items).

If you are not wearing a shield, you cannot actively defend yourself from throwing and ranged weapons.

You can choose not to defend yourself actively. In that case, your defense does not cost you vigor and you make an ability check for toughness instead of defend. You gain the advantage of your armor to that roll, but you also gain 2d6 disadvantage.

Ambush

If you are ambushed, you may only perform a quick action during the first round of combat.

Preparing an Action

You may spend your regular action to prepare an action for later. In that case you choose a regular action and until your next turn, you may perform it as a quick action.

Preventing an Action

If your action is prevented somehow, it does not have any effect. The action slot still counts as used and you cannot use a different action instead of the one that was prevented. You may still use any other actions you have left.