COMBAT

The Order of Combat Your Turn

A typical combat encounter is a clash between two sides, a On your turn, you can move a distance up to your speed
flurry of weapon swings, feints, parries, footwork, and and take one action. You decide whether to move first or take
mutation use. The game organizes the chaos of combat into a your action first. Your speed sometimes called your walking
cycle of rounds and turns. A round represents about 6 speed is noted on your character sheet. The most common
seconds in the game world. During a round, each participant actions you can take are described in the “Actions” section.
in a battle takes a turn. The order of turns is determined at Many class features and other abilities provide additional
the beginning of a combat encounter, when everyone rolls options for your action. You can forgo moving, taking an
initiative. Once everyone has taken a turn, the fight continues action, or doing anything at all on your turn. If you can’t
to the next round if neither side has defeated the other. decide what to do on your turn, consider taking the Dodge or
Ready action.
Combat Step by Step
Determine surprise: The GM determines whether anyone Bonus Actions
involved in the combat encounter is surprised. Various class features, mutations, and other abilities let
Establish positions: The GM decides where all the you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus
characters and creatures are located. Given the adventurers’ action. The Cunning Action feature, for example, allows a
marching order or their stated positions in the room or other Scout to take a bonus action. You can take a bonus action
location, the GM figures out where the adversaries are? how only when a special ability, mutation, or other feature of the
far away and in what direction. game states that you can do something as a bonus action.
Roll initiative: Everyone involved in the combat encounter You otherwise don’t have a bonus action to take. You can take
rolls initiative, determining the order of combatants’ turns. only one bonus action on your turn, so you must choose
Take turns: Each participant in the battle takes a turn in which bonus action to use when you have more than one
initiative order. available. You choose when to take a bonus action during
Begin the next round: When everyone involved in the your turn, unless the bonus action’s timing is specified, and
combat has had a turn, the round ends. Repeat until the anything that deprives you of your ability to take actions also
fighting stops. prevents you from taking a bonus action.
Surprise A band of adventurers sneaks up on a bandit Other Activity on Your Turn
camp, springing from the trees to attack them. A Security Your turn can include a variety of flourishes that require
robot glides down a complex passage, unnoticed by the neither your action nor your move. You can communicate
adventurers until the robot fires lasers at one of them. In however you are able, through brief utterances and gestures,
these situations, one side of the battle gains surprise over the as you take your turn. You can also interact with one object or
other. The GM determines who might be surprised. If neither feature of the environment for free, during either your move
side tries to be stealthy, they automatically notice each other. or your action. For example, you could open a door during
Otherwise, the GM compares the Dexterity (Stealth) checks your move as you stride toward a foe, or you could draw your
of anyone hiding with the passive Wisdom (Perception) score weapon as part of the same action you use to attack. If you
of each creature on the opposing side. Any character or want to interact with a second object, you need to use your
creature that doesn’t notice a threat is surprised at the start action. Some tech items and other special objects always
of the encounter. If you’re surprised, you can’t move or take an require an action to use, as stated in their descriptions. The
action on your first turn of the combat, and you can’t take a GM might require you to use an action for any of these
reaction until that turn ends. A member of a group can be activities when it needs special care or when it presents an
surprised even if the other members aren’t. unusual obstacle. For instance, the GM could reasonably
expect you to use an action to open a stuck door or turn a
Initiative crank to lower a drawbridge.
Initiative determines the order of turns during combat.
When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity Reactions
check to determine their place in the initiative order. The GM Certain special abilities, mutations, and situations allow
makes one roll for an entire group of identical creatures, so you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an
each member of the group acts at the same time. The GM instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur
ranks the combatants in order from the one with the highest on your turn or on someone else’s. The opportunity attack is
Dexterity check total to the one with the lowest. This is the the most common type of reaction. When you take a reaction,
order (called the initiative order) in which they act during you can’t take another one until the start of your next turn. If
each round. The initiative order remains the same from the reaction interrupts another creature’s turn, that creature
round to round. If a tie occurs, the GM decides the order can continue its turn right after the reaction.
among tied GM-controlled creatures, and the players decide
the order among their tied characters. The GM can decide
the order if the tie is between a creature and a player
character. Optionally, the GM can have the tied characters
and creatures each roll a d20 to determine the order, highest
roll going first.
Movement and Position Interacting with Objects around You
In combat, characters and creatures are in constant Here are a few examples of the sorts of thing you can do in
motion, often using movement and position to gain the upper tandem with your movement and action: draw or sheathe a
hand. On your turn, you can move a distance up to your sword, open or close a door, withdraw a Medikit from your
speed. You can use as much or as little of your speed as you backpack, pick up a dropped axe take a bauble from a table,
like on your turn, following the rules here. Your movement stuff some food into your mouth, plant a banner in the
can include jumping, climbing, and swimming. These ground, fish a few coins from your belt pouch, throw a lever
different modes of movement can be combined with walking, or a switch, pull a torch from a sconce, take a book from a
or they can constitute your entire move. However you’re shelf you can reach, extinguish a small flame, don a mask,
moving, you deduct the distance of each part of your move pull the hood of your cloak up and over your head, put your
from your speed until it is used up or until you are done ear to a door, kick a small stone, turn a key in a lock, tap the
moving. floor with a 10- foot pole, hand an item to another character,
reload a clip or energy cell, draw out an energy cell or clip for
Breaking Up Your Move a weapon, load individual rounds into a clip or weapon.
You can break up your movement on your turn, using some
of your speed before and after your action. For example, if Moving Around Other Creatures
you have a speed of 30 feet, you can move 10 feet, take your You can move through a non-hostile creature’s space. In
action, and then move 20 feet. contrast, you can move through a hostile creature’s space
only if the creature is at least two sizes larger or smaller than
Moving between Attacks you. Remember that another creature’s space is difficult
If you take an action that includes more than one weapon terrain for you. Whether a creature is a friend or an enemy,
attack, you can break up your movement even further by you can’t willingly end your move in its space. If you leave a
moving between those attacks. For example, an Enforcer who hostile creature’s reach during your move, you provoke an
can make two attacks with the Extra Attack feature and who opportunity attack.
has a speed of 25 feet could move 10 feet, make an attack,
move 15 feet, and then attack again. Flying Movement
Flying creatures enjoy many benefits of mobility, but they
Using Different Speeds must also deal with the danger of falling. If a flying creature is
If you have more than one speed, such as your walking knocked prone, has its speed reduced to 0, or is otherwise
speed and a flying speed, you can switch back and forth deprived of the ability to move, the creature falls, unless it has
between your speeds during your move. Whenever you the ability to hover or it is being held aloft by telekinesis or
switch, subtract the distance you’ve already moved from the anti-gravity, such as by telekinetic flight or a robots flying.
new speed. The result determines how much farther you can
move. If the result is 0 or less, you can’t use the new speed Creature Size
during the current move. For example, if you have a speed of Each creature takes up a different amount of space. Table:
30 and a flying speed of 60 because a wizard cast the fly spell Size Categories shows how much space a creature of a
on you, you could fly 20 feet, then walk 10 feet, and then leap particular size controls in combat. Objects sometimes use the
into the air to fly 30 feet more. same size categories.
Difficult Terrain Size Categories
Combat rarely takes place in bare rooms or on featureless Size Space in Ft Size Space in Ft
plains. Boulder-strewn caverns, briar- choked forests, Tiny 2 1/2 by 2 1/2 Large 10 X 10
treacherous staircases the setting of a typical fight contains
difficult terrain. Every foot of movement in difficult terrain Small 5 by 5 Huge 15 x 15
costs 1 extra foot. This rule is true even if multiple things in a Medium 5 by 5 Gargantuan 20 x 20 or more
space count as difficult terrain. Low furniture, rubble,
undergrowth, steep stairs, snow, and shallow bogs are A creature’s space is the area in feet that it effectively
examples of difficult terrain. The space of another creature, controls in combat, not an expression of its physical
whether hostile or not, also counts as difficult terrain. dimensions. A typical Medium creature isn’t 5 feet wide, for
example, but it does control a space that wide. If a Medium
Being Prone Serf stands in a 5-foot-wide doorway, other creatures can’t get
Combatants often find themselves lying on the ground, through unless the Serf lets them. A creature’s space also
either because they are knocked down or because they throw reflects the area it needs to fight effectively. For that reason,
themselves down. In the game, they are prone. You can drop there’s a limit to the number of creatures that can surround
prone without using any of your speed. Standing up takes another creature in combat. Assuming Medium combatants,
more effort; doing so costs an amount of movement equal to eight creatures can fit in a 5-foot radius around another one.
half your speed. For example, if your speed is 30 feet, you Because larger creatures take up more space, fewer of them
must spend 15 feet of movement to stand up. You can’t stand can surround a creature. If five Large creatures crowd
up if you don’t have enough movement left or if your speed is around a Medium or smaller one, there’s little room for
0. To move while prone, you must crawl or use mutations anyone else. In contrast, as many as twenty Medium
such as teleportation. Every foot of movement while crawling creatures can surround a Gargantuan one.
costs 1 extra foot. Crawling 1 foot in difficult terrain,
therefore, costs 3 feet of movement.
Squeezing into a Smaller Space Help
A creature can squeeze through a space that is large You can lend your aid to another creature in the completion
enough for a creature one size smaller than it. Thus, a Large of a task. When you take the Help action, the creature you aid
creature can squeeze through a passage that’s only 5 feet gains advantage on the next ability check it makes to perform
wide. While squeezing through a space, a creature must the task you are helping with, provided that it makes the
spend 1 extra foot for every foot it moves there, and it has check before the start of your next turn. Alternatively, you can
disadvantage on attack rolls and Dexterity saving throws. aid a friendly creature in attacking a creature within 5 feet of
Attack rolls against the creature have advantage while it’s in you. You feint, distract the target, or in some other way team
the smaller space. up to make your ally’s attack more effective. If your ally
attacks the target before your next turn, the first attack roll is
Actions in Combat made with advantage.
When you take your action on your turn, you can take one
of the actions presented here, an action you gained from your Hide
class or a special feature, or an action that you improvise. When you take the Hide action, you make a Dexterity
Many creatures have action options of their own in their stat (Stealth) check in an attempt to hide, following the rules for
blocks. When you describe an action not detailed elsewhere hiding. If you succeed, you gain certain benefits, as described
in the rules, the GM tells you whether that action is possible in the “Unseen Attackers and Targets” section.
and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine
success or failure. Multiattack
You can perform a Multiattack which allows you to attack
Activate Mutation multiple times in the order presented. You cannot substitute
It takes an action to activate many mutations. Some are these attacks for grapples or shoves. Otherwise it works the
attacks or defenses. The individual mutation explains exactly same as an Attack action.
what it can do as an action.
Ready
Aim Sometimes you want to get the jump on a foe or wait for a
While using a ranged weapon you may spend an action to particular circumstance before you act. To do so, you can take
aim at a target. While the target remains in sight and range the Ready action on your turn, which lets you act using your
you gain advantage on your next round attack with ranged reaction before the start of your next turn. First, you decide
weapons, provided no other action is taken and no new what perceivable circumstance will trigger your reaction.
conditions occur to you. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that
trigger, or you choose to move up to your speed in response
Attack to it. Examples include “If the cultist steps on the trapdoor,
The most common action to take in combat is the Attack I’ll pull the lever that opens it,” and “If the Badder steps next
action, whether you are swinging a sword, firing an arrow to me, I move away.” When the trigger occurs, you can either
from a bow, or brawling with your fists. With this action, you take your reaction right after the trigger finishes or ignore the
make one melee or ranged attack. See the “Making an trigger. Remember that you can take only one reaction per
Attack” section for the rules that govern attacks. Certain round. When you ready a Mutation, you activate it as normal
features, such as the Extra Attack feature of the Enforcer, but hold its energy, which you release with your reaction
allow you to make more than one attack with this action. when the trigger occurs. To be readied, a mutation must have
an activation time of 1 action, and holding onto the mutation
Dash requires concentration. If your concentration is broken, the
When you take the Dash action, you gain extra movement mutation dissipates without taking effect. For example, if you
for the current turn. The increase equals your speed, after are concentrating on Confusion and ready Force Field, your
applying any modifiers. With a speed of 30 feet, for example, Confusion mutation ends, and if you take damage before you
you can move up to 60 feet on your turn if you dash. Any activate the Force Field reaction, your concentration might be
increase or decrease to your speed changes this additional broken. You also expend the Mutation Points required when
movement by the same amount. If your speed of 30 feet is reading the action regardless of if you use it or not.
reduced to 15 feet, for instance, you can move up to 30 feet
this turn if you dash. Search
When you take the Search action, you devote your
Disengage attention to finding something. Depending on the nature of
If you take the Disengage action, your movement doesn’t your search, the GM might have you make a Wisdom
provoke opportunity attacks for the rest of the turn. (Perception) check or an Intelligence (Investigation) check.
Dodge Use an Object
When you take the Dodge action, you focus entirely on You normally interact with an object while doing
avoiding attacks. Until the start of your next turn, any attack something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of an
roll made against you has disadvantage if you can see the attack. When an object requires your action for its use, you
attacker, and you make Dexterity saving throws with take the Use an Object action. This action is also useful when
advantage. You lose this benefit if you are incapacitated (as you want to interact with more than one object on your turn.
explained in appendix A) or if your speed drops to 0.
Making an Attack Unseen Attackers and Targets
Whether you’re striking with a melee weapon, firing a Combatants often try to escape their foes’ notice by hiding,
weapon at range, or making an attack roll as part of a activating light bending mutation, or lurking in darkness.
mutation, an attack has a simple structure. When you attack a target that you can’t see, you have
Choose a target: Pick a target within your attack’s range: a disadvantage on the attack roll. This is true whether you’re
creature, an object, or a location. guessing the target’s location or you’re targeting a creature
Determine modifiers: The GM determines whether the you can hear but not see. If the target isn’t in the location you
target has cover and whether you have advantage or targeted, you automatically miss, but the GM typically just
disadvantage against the target. In addition, mutations, says that the attack missed, not whether you guessed the
special abilities, and other effects can apply penalties or target’s location correctly. When a creature can’t see you, you
bonuses to your attack roll. have advantage on attack rolls against it. If you are hidden
Resolve the attack: You make the attack roll. On a hit, you both unseen and unheard when you make an attack, you give
roll damage, unless the particular attack has rules that away your location when the attack hits or misses. Being
specify otherwise. Some attacks cause special effects in invisible allows you to hide without having cover but does not
addition to or instead of damage. make you undetectable or prevent you from being targeted
If there’s ever any question whether something you’re doing (Unless sight is required as it is with many mutations and
counts as an attack, the rule is simple: if you’re making an abilities). You remain unseen and others are at disadvantage
attack roll, you’re making an attack. to hit you.
Attack Rolls Passive Perception
When you make an attack, your attack roll determines Passive perception is used to detect a creature that is
whether the attack hits or misses. To make an attack roll, roll hiding. If creatures want to locate a creature while hidden
a d20 and add the appropriate modifiers. If the total of the and their passive is not they have to expend the Search action
roll plus modifiers equals or exceeds the target’s Armor Class in order to make a roll against the creature’s hide check.
(AC), the attack hits. The AC of a character is determined at Special senses may ignore the effect of hiding such as being
character creation, whereas the AC of a creature is in its stat on the ground against Tremor sense.
block.
Ranged Attacks
Modifiers to the Roll When you make a ranged attack, you fire a bow or a
When a character makes an attack roll, the two most crossbow, hurl a hand axe, or otherwise send projectiles to
common modifiers to the roll are an ability modifier and the strike a foe at a distance. A creature might shoot spines from
character’s proficiency bonus. When a creature makes an its tail. Many mutations also involve making a ranged attack.
attack roll, it uses whatever modifier is provided in its stat
block. Range
Ability Modifier: The ability modifier used for a melee You can make ranged attacks only against targets within a
weapon attack is Strength, and the ability modifier used for a specified range. If a ranged attack, such as one made with a
ranged weapon attack is Dexterity. Weapons that have the mutation, has a single range, you can’t attack a target beyond
finesse or thrown property break this rule. Some mutations this range. Some ranged attacks, such as those made with a
also require an attack roll. longbow or a short bow, have two ranges. The smaller
Proficiency Bonus: You add your proficiency bonus to your number is the normal range, and the larger number is the
attack roll when you attack using a weapon with which you long range. Your attack roll has disadvantage when your
have proficiency, as well as when you attack with a spell. target is beyond normal range, and you can’t attack a target
beyond the long range.
Rolling 1 or 20
Sometimes fate blesses or curses a combatant, causing the Ranged Attacks in Close Combat
novice to hit and the veteran to miss. If the d20 roll for an Aiming a ranged attack is impossible when a foe is next to
attack is a 20, the attack hits regardless of any modifiers or you. You cannot make a ranged attack if you are within 5 feet
the target’s AC. This is called a critical hit. If the d20 roll for of a hostile creature who can see you and who isn’t
an attack is a 1, the attack misses regardless of any modifiers incapacitated.
or the target’s AC.
Melee Attacks Moving a Grappled Creature: When you move, you can
Used in hand-to-hand combat, a melee attack allows you to drag or carry the grappled creature with you, but your speed
attack a foe within your reach. A melee attack typically uses a is halved, unless the creature is two or more sizes smaller
handheld weapon such as a sword, a war hammer, or an axe. than you.
A typical creature makes a melee attack when it strikes with
its claws, horns, teeth, tentacles, or other body part. A few Contests in Combat
mutations also involve making a melee attack. Most creatures Battle often involves pitting your prowess against that of
have a 5-foot reach and can thus attack targets within 5 feet your foe. Such a challenge is represented by a contest. This
of them when making a melee attack. Certain creatures section includes the most common contests that require an
(typically those larger than Medium) have melee attacks with action in combat: grappling and shoving a creature. The GM
a greater reach than 5 feet, as noted in their descriptions. can use these contests as models for improvising others.
Instead of using a weapon to make a melee weapon attack,
you can use an unarmed strike: a punch, kick, head-butt, or Shoving a Creature
similar forceful blow (none of which count as weapons). On a Using the Attack action, you can make a special melee
hit, an unarmed strike deals bludgeoning damage equal to 1 + attack to shove a creature, either to knock it prone or push it
your Strength modifier. You are proficient with your unarmed away from you. If you’re able to make multiple attacks with
strikes. the Attack action, this attack replaces one of them. The target
must be no more than one size larger than you and must be
Opportunity Attacks within your reach. Instead of making an attack roll, you make
In a fight, everyone is constantly watching for a chance to a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s
strike an enemy who is fleeing or passing by. Such a strike is Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the
called an opportunity attack. You can make an opportunity target chooses the ability to use). If you win the contest, you
attack when a hostile creature that you can see moves out of either knock the target prone or push it 5 feet away from you.
your reach. To make the opportunity attack, you use your
reaction to make one melee attack against the provoking Cover
creature. The attack occurs right before the creature leaves Walls, trees, creatures, and other obstacles can provide
your reach. You can avoid provoking an opportunity attack by cover during combat, making a target more difficult to harm.
taking the Disengage action. You also don’t provoke an A target can benefit from cover only when an attack or other
opportunity attack when you teleport or when someone or effect originates on the opposite side of the cover. There are
something moves you without using your movement, action, three degrees of cover. If a target is behind multiple sources
or reaction. For example, you don’t provoke an opportunity of cover, only the most protective degree of cover applies; the
attack if an explosion hurls you out of a foe’s reach or if degrees aren’t added together. For example, if a target is
gravity causes you to fall past an enemy. behind a creature that gives half cover and a tree trunk that
gives three-quarters cover, the target has three-quarters cover.
Two-Weapon Fighting A target with half cover has a +2 bonus to AC and Dexterity
When you take the Attack action and attack with a light saving throws. A target has half cover if an obstacle blocks at
melee weapon that you’re holding in one hand, you can use a least half of its body. The obstacle might be a low wall, a large
bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon piece of furniture, a narrow tree trunk, or a creature, whether
that you’re holding in the other hand. You don’t add your that creature is an enemy or a friend.
ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that A target with three-quarters cover has a +5 bonus to AC
modifier is negative. If either weapon has the thrown and Dexterity saving throws. A target has three-quarters
property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a cover if about three-quarters of it is covered by an obstacle.
melee attack with it. The obstacle might be a portcullis, an arrow slit, or a thick
tree trunk.
Grappling A target with total cover can’t be targeted directly by an
When you want to grab a creature or wrestle with it, you attack or a mutation, although some mutation can reach such
can use the Attack action to make a special melee attack, a a target by including it in an area of effect. A target has total
grapple. If you’re able to make multiple attacks with the cover if it is completely concealed by an obstacle.
Attack action, this attack replaces one of them. The target of
your grapple must be no more than one size larger than you
and must be within your reach. Using at least one free hand,
you try to seize the target by making a grapple check instead
of an attack roll: a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the
target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check
(the target chooses the ability to use). If you succeed, you
subject the target to the grappled condition (see appendix A).
The condition specifies the things that end it, and you can
release the target whenever you like (no action required).
Escaping a Grapple: A grappled creature can use its action
to escape. To do so, it must succeed on a Strength (Athletics)
or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by your Strength
(Athletics) check.