Combat

A combat round consists of two phases: the player phase and the enemy phase. During the player phase, each player takes a turn. During the enemy phase, the referee takes a turn on behalf of the players’ enemies. A new round then begins.

Within a phase, characters on the same side may take their turns in any order.

When combat starts, every player rolls an initiative check. This is a Dexterity check with a DC of 11 + the Dexterity score of the enemy creatures (using the most important enemy if there are several kinds).

Characters that succeed on their initiative checks are able to act in the first player phase (before the first enemy phase). Characters that fail their initiative checks are not able to act until the second player phase (after the first enemy phase).

A surprise round occurs when one or more creatures initiate combat against enemies that are unaware of them (or unaware that they are a threat). During the surprise round, the creatures that initiated combat can each take a single turn. Other creatures are considered stunned until the surprise round is complete. Stunned creatures have a lower AC (see Stunned AC) and cannot move or act in any way. Once the surprise round is complete, initiative is rolled and combat begins normally.

Generally, a character’s action in the surprise round is implied by how combat was initiated. For example, if you are hiding behind a bush, and see a goblin walking past, and shoot an arrow at him—then that’s the surprise round.

Multiple characters can participate in a surprise round only if they coordinate their actions in advance, such as by attacking on a count of three. For example, if Leeroy Jenkins launches a spontaneous surprise attack, his allies do not act in the surprise round.

On your turn, you can take one standard action. You can also move a distance based on your speed. Within the fiction of the game, your movement and your action take place simultaneously. For example, you could stride across the room while casting a spell.

A free action is an action that takes almost no time or effort. Free actions include speaking a few words, dropping something you are holding, ceasing to concentrate on a spell, and dropping prone to the ground. This category also includes minor actions performed as part of a larger action, such as drawing a sword before attacking, or taking an arrow from your quiver before shooting it. You can take any number of free actions on your turn, within the bounds of reason and common sense. The referee is the authority here.

Certain situations allow you to take a reaction. A reaction is an action taken in response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur even on another character’s turn. You are limited to one reaction per round. That is, once you take a reaction, you can't take another one until the start of your next turn. The most common reactions are opportunity attacks and readied actions, both of which are described later in this chapter.

Reactive movement. There are two special cases where you can move on another creature’s turn: moving to intercept, and moving to pursue. These cases are discussed later in this chapter. Reactive movement does not use up your reaction. However, if you move on another creature’s turn, you must deduct this movement from your movement allowance on your own next turn.

The most common standard actions include the following.

Attack. The most straightforward standard action is to attack an enemy.

Cast a spell. Most spells require a standard action to cast. Some spells have a different casting time, which will be indicated in the spell description. See the Spellcasting for more details on casting spells.

Concentrate on a spell. Some spells require total concentration to control or keep in effect. While concentrating on a spell, you cannot take other standard actions.

Use a special ability. Various special abilities require a standard action to use.

Use an item. You can use an item such as a potion or scroll. If the item is deeply buried in your backpack, you will need to spend one standard action to retrieve it, and a second turn’s standard action to use it.

Dodge. If you take no action except defending yourself, you gain a +4 dodge bonus to your AC and a +2 bonus to Reflex saving throws during the next enemy phase.

Grapple. Grab onto an opponent and try to wrestle them into submission. See the Advanced Combat Rules for more details on grappling.

Ready an action. Sometimes you want to wait for a particular moment before you act.  To ready an action, specify what trigger you’re waiting for and what action you intend to take when the trigger occurs. For example: “I’m readying an action to pull the lever as soon as the ogre steps onto the trap door,” or “I’m waiting to fire my crossbow until I see the whites of their eyes!” If the trigger occurs before your next turn, you can spend your reaction to take your readied action (though you are not forced to).

Improvise an action. The above is by no means an exhaustive list of possible actions in combat. You could swing on a chandelier, throw sand in a foe’s eyes, or shout, “What’s that? Behind you!” It is the referee’s duty to accept any reasonable action that ought to be possible given the fiction of the game. The referee determines whether a dice roll is required and what the results of the action will be.

When you make an attack, your attack roll determines whether the attack hits or misses. To make an attack roll, roll 1d20 and add the appropriate modifiers. If the result is greater than or equal to the target's Armor Class (AC), the attack hits. The main modifiers added to an attack roll are:

1d20 + Ability Modifier + Base Attack Bonus + Size Modifier

Ability Modifier. The ability modifier used for a mêlée attack is Strength, and the ability modifier used for a ranged attack is Dexterity. As an exception, a creature attacking with a light weapon may choose to apply Dexterity (rather than Strength) to its attack roll.

Base Attack Bonus. Your base attack bonus is determined by your class and level.

Size Modifier. It is easier for a small creature to hit a large target than for a large creature to hit a small one. This is reflected by the size modifier to attack.

The same size modifier is also added to a creature’s AC. This has the effect that two creatures of the same size strike each other normally—the attack modifier and the AC modifier cancel out.

Other Modifiers. Other possible modifiers include magic modifiers and circumstance modifiers. As usual, multiple magic bonuses or magic penalties do not stack.

When you hit with a weapon, you deal damage based on the type of weapon or attack. For example, a long sword deals 1d8 slashing damage.

Strength Modifier. When you deal damage with a weapon, add your Strength modifier to the damage. This may reduce the damage if your Strength modifier is negative, to a minimum of 1 damage. Some exceptions apply based on weapon size and grip and for bows and crossbows.

If you roll a natural 20 on your attack roll, you score a critical hit. This means your attack hits automatically and deals the maximum possible damage.

If you roll a natural 1, your attack misses automatically.

Instead of using a weapon to make a mêlée weapon attack, you can use an unarmed strike such as a punch or kick. On a hit, an unarmed strike deals 1 bludgeoning damage (plus your Strength modifier). All characters are proficient with unarmed strikes.

If you wish, when you make an unarmed strike, you can choose to treat the attack as a light weapon. This allows you to use your Dexterity modifier instead of Strength for your attack roll, but means you can only add half your Strength bonus (if any) to damage.

If you make an unarmed strike against an armed opponent, you provoke an opportunity attack, as described later in this chapter. A monk counts as armed at all times, as do creatures with claws, fangs, or other natural weapons.

AC = 10 + Armour Bonus + Shield Bonus + Natural Armour Bonus
+ Capped Dexterity Modifier + Dodge Bonus + Size Modifier + Magic Bonus

Capped Dexterity modifier. If you are wearing no armour or light armour, add your full Dexterity modifier to AC. If you are wearing medium or heavy armour, your Dexterity modifier to AC is limited as shown in the armour table. A negative Dexterity modifier is not capped by armour.

Armour and shield bonuses. These are the bonuses granted by your armour and shield. You cannot benefit from more than one armour bonus or more than one shield bonus. If you have more than one (one from an item and one from a spell), only the higher modifier in each category counts.

Natural armour bonuses. Natural armour is an AC bonus granted to a creature by scales, fur, or unusually tough skin. Most humanoid creatures have no natural armour.

Dodge bonus. A dodge bonus represents an experienced combatant’s improved ability to block or avoid blows. Multiple dodge bonuses from different sources stack. All player characters gain a dodge bonus upon reaching level 5 (see Level-Related Benefits). You can also gain a +1 dodge bonus by taking the Dodge feat.

Magic bonus. A magic bonus is usually provided by magic armour or another magic item. If you have multiple magic bonuses to AC, only the highest bonus counts.

Size modifier. A smaller creature is harder to hit than a larger creature. A creature’s size modifier to AC is the same as its size modifier to attack.

Stunned creatures are unable to dodge effectively. As a result, attacks against a stunned creature are made against the creature’s Stunned AC, a lower Armour Class that does not include Dexterity or dodge bonuses. A Dexterity penalty, if any, still applies.

Stunned AC = 10 + Armour Bonus + Shield Bonus + Natural Armour Bonus
+ Dexterity Modifier (only if negative) + Size Modifier + Magic Bonus

Characters who are surprised at the beginning of combat are stunned until initiative is rolled and normal combat begins. A character’s Stunned AC is also used in any other case where the character cannot dodge or anticipate blows. For example, attacks by unseen or invisible creatures are resolved against the target’s Stunned AC.

A touch attack is an attack that ignores armour. For example, many spells can be delivered with a touch.

A touch attack is rolled the same as a normal attack roll, but is resolved against the defender’s Touch AC, a lower AC that doesn’t include any armour bonus, shield bonus, or natural armour bonus. Other AC modifiers (such as size and Dexterity) apply normally.

Touch AC = 10 + Capped Dexterity Modifier + Dodge Bonus + Size Modifier + Magic Bonus

In the event that a touch attack occurs against a stunned creature, the target’s AC is reduced according to the rules for both Stunned AC (no Dexterity or dodge bonuses) and Touch AC (no armour or shield bonuses). The only remaining AC bonuses are size and magic modifiers.

Stunned Touch AC = 10 + Size Modifier + Magic Bonus

Normal movement does not prevent you from taking other actions during your turn, provided you remain within reach of anything required by your action for long enough to complete the action. Remember that if you move your maximum distance, you are moving throughout your entire turn.

Quick interactions. Most common actions are quick enough to perform at any point before, during, or after a move. These actions include grabbing an item from a table, delivering a touch spell, or making an attack.

Prolonged interactions. On the other hand, some actions are impossible to perform while moving, such as picking a lock, rummaging through a treasure chest, or winding a winch to raise a portcullis. Such prolonged interactions require you to spend your entire turn next to the object in question.

If you move on your turn, you may choose to dash. This doubles your movement speed for the turn. Dashing does not take a standard action, but imposes some limitations and drawbacks on your actions.

Balance check. When you dash, the referee may require you to make a Balance check if the terrain presents any risk of slipping or tripping. On a failure, you stumble and stop at the first point of difficulty.

Multiple attacks. On a turn when you dash, you cannot make more than one attack with the same weapon, even if you are normally able to do so. If you can normally make multiple attacks using different weapons, you can still make one attack with each.

Ranged attacks. Ranged attacks made while dashing suffer disadvantage since it is hard to aim while on the run.

Other actions. While dashing, you cannot perform any action that requires precise body movements or careful manipulation of objects—such as casting a spell, drinking a potion, or searching for an object in your pack. You can still concentrate on a previously cast spell while dashing.

Difficult terrain (thick undergrowth, steep slopes, mud, and the like) costs twice as much movement to traverse as open terrain. Extremely difficult terrain may cost even more.

It is impossible to dash through difficult terrain that physically blocks movement to a significant degree, such as waist-deep water or snow.

It is important to know which creatures are engaged in mêlée with one another. When one creature makes a mêlée attack against another, the two creatures become engaged. Creatures can also become engaged when one creature moves to intercept another. It is possible to be engaged with more than one opponent at a time.

It’s dangerous to let your guard down in the thick of battle. If you take any action that significantly hinders your ability to defend yourself, each creature engaged with you can use its reaction to make a mêlée attack against you. These extra attacks are known as opportunity attacks. The following actions provoke opportunity attacks:

The opportunity attack is resolved before the action that provoked it is completed.

Making an opportunity attack never provokes an opportunity attack from its target, even if you make an unarmed strike or close in to attack an opponent with a greater reach. The target of an opportunity attack is, by definition, too busy to fight back.

Closing in. It’s not easy to get at someone who has a much longer weapon than you do. The first time you attempt a mêlée attack against a creature with a longer reach, you must close in to mêlée range, provoking an opportunity attack from your target. Once you have closed in, you remain in mêlée range until you and your opponent disengage, or until you close in on a different target.

This rule refers only to significant differences in reach, such as the difference between a spear and a sword. For game purposes, most small and medium creatures have a natural reach of 5 feet, and this is not changed by weapons like axes and swords. Reach weapons, such as most pole-arms, increase a character’s reach to 10 feet. Some creatures have natural reach due to their large size or long tentacles.

Variant opportunity attacks. An opportunity attack does not have to be used to deal damage. You could use an opportunity attack to smash the dark wizard’s potion bottle as he tries to drink, grab onto his arms to stop him casting a spell, or stick out a leg to trip him as he rushes past. The referee will determine what type of dice roll is required.

Disengaging as an opportunity attack. If you wish, when you are presented with the chance to make an opportunity attack, you can instead use your reaction to disengage from mêlée while your opponent’s guard is down.

Once you are engaged in mêlée, it can be difficult to get away.

Backing away. If you are engaged with a creature and you move away from it, it has the option to pursue you unless it is also engaged with another creature. If the creature does not pursue, you become disengaged. If it does pursue, it can move up to its base speed to follow you. As long as it has enough movement to keep up, you remain engaged. A creature that pursues an opponent deducts this movement from its movement allowance on its next turn.

A creature engaged with multiple opponents cannot choose to pursue if one of them retreats; it is too busy with the one that stays behind. If they all retreat, it can only pursue the last creature to fall back (until its own turn, when it can move as it likes).

Running away. If you turn and dash away from your opponent, you disengage and the opponent does not get to pursue (until its own turn). However, you provoke an opportunity attack, since you turn your back on your opponent as you flee.

Moving past. If move past or circle around your opponent, you provoke an attack from that opponent. To visualize this rule, imagine a line drawn through your opponent, dividing the battlefield into a near half and a far half (based on your position at the start of your turn). If you cross the line, you provoke the attack. You can then continue your move.

If you are unengaged, and a hostile creature tries to move past you (such as to attack a friend behind you), you can move to intercept. This means you move up to your base speed and engage the hostile creature. If the hostile creature persists in moving past you, it provokes an opportunity attack from you (in keeping with the usual rules for moving past an opponent while engaged). If you move to intercept, you must deduct this movement from your movement allowance on your next turn.

For simplicity, units of 5 feet are often used in combat. A medium (human-sized) creature is assumed to control an area 5 feet in diameter. This implies that up to two medium creatures can comfortably fight abreast in a hallway 10 feet wide. Of course, more creatures can physically fit into such a space, but the referee may apply circumstance penalties to creatures without adequate room to swing their weapons.

The space occupied by a larger creature depends on its size and shape. A long creature (such as a giant snake) may not need a space any wider than a human being, but its body could stretch out to fill a whole hallway. A tall creature (such as an ogre) doesn’t need much extra space from side to side, but it will struggle to fight in a room with a low ceiling.

If you make a ranged attack against a creature engaged in mêlée, and your attack fails with a natural 1 or with a modified roll of 9 or less, you must make a new ranged attack roll against the original target’s opponent. If there are multiple creatures engaged with the original target, the new target is selected at random. Do not add your base attack bonus, Dexterity modifier, size bonus, or any other skill-based modifier to the new attack roll, since you were not deliberately aiming at the new target. Any magic bonus still applies, however. A natural 20 indicates a critical hit against the wrong target.

Large creatures. When firing at a creature of size Large or larger, there is no risk of hitting the wrong target if you have a clear shot at some part of its body at least 5 feet away from any other target. The same consideration applies to combatants fighting from a distance with reach weapons.

Dying. When your hit points drop to 0 or below, you are badly wounded and close to death. At the end of each of your turns, you must make a death saving throw. This is an unmodified d20 roll against a DC of 10. On a failure, you lose 1 hit point as your wounds take their toll. On a natural 20, you stabilize (see the next section). Otherwise, your condition remains the same.

You can continue to act while dying, but strenuous activity will only worsen your condition. If you take any standard action on your turn, or move more than half your speed, you automatically fail your death saving throw for the round. While dying, you count as exhausted, so you have disadvantage on physical ability checks and cannot dash.

If you remain at 0 or fewer hit points for more than a few minutes, you collapse to the ground and pass into blissful unconsciousness.

Dead. Once you reach −10 hit points, healing cannot save you. You can take no further actions, though you may still have time to whisper a few last words.

Please note that the size of the negative hit points “buffer” does not increase with character level. At higher levels, it is entirely possible to go from upright to dead without stopping at dying in between. This is not a bug. You must manage your buffer of positive hit points wisely to stay alive.

First aid. As a standard action, you can attempt to save a dying friend by binding their wounds, provided you have some kind of bandages or cloth available. This requires a Heal check with a DC of 10 minus the creature’s current hit points. (To clarify, subtracting the negative hit points yields a higher DC. For example, if your friend has −8 hit points, the DC is 18.) On a successful check, the creature becomes stabilized. It is possible to bind your own wounds, but this is more difficult, so the Heal check is made at disadvantage.

Stabilization. Once stabilized, you no longer need to make death saving throws. A stabilized creature that takes any damage, or takes any strenuous action, resumes dying. If your hit points increase above 0, you are no longer at risk of dying and can act normally.

Healing negative hit points. You must overcome your negative hit points before you can begin to recover positive hit points. For example, if you have −7 hit points and are healed of 5 damage, you will be left with −2 hit points. Another 5 points of healing would bring you up to 3 hit points.

Some spells and special abilities confer temporary hit points to a creature. These form a new pool separate from your normal hit points. When you take damage, the temporary hit points are lost first, and any leftover damage carries over to your normal hit points.

Lost temporary hit points can’t be restored by healing, and temporary hit points from multiple sources can't be added together. If you have temporary hit points and receive more of them, you decide whether to keep the ones you have or to gain the new ones.

If you can’t win in a straight fight, your main options are either to run away, or to put up such a fierce fight that your enemies lose heart and run away themselves.

A morale check represents a creature’s desire for self-preservation in the face of danger. Player characters do not need to make morale checks; it’s up to you to decide when you want to retreat. However, non-player characters and monsters must make morale checks to continue fighting in certain situations. Creatures that know no fear (such as zombies) never make morale checks.

Morale check triggers. A solitary creature must make a morale check when it loses 50% of its hit points. A group of creatures must make a single morale check as a group when they take 50% casualties, or if the leader of the group is defeated.

Making a morale check. A morale check is a d20 roll against a DC of 10. Creatures following a leader may add the leader’s Charisma modifier to their morale checks; solitary creatures add no modifier. Certain creatures are especially brave or cowardly, giving them advantage or disadvantage on morale checks.

Results of failure. Creatures that fail a morale check must either flee or surrender. Fleeing creatures may turn and fight to the death if unable to escape. Intelligent creatures may choose to make a strategic withdrawal before being forced to make a morale check, or even in spite of passing one—but a failed morale check indicates a disorderly rout.

Short-distance chase. Hot pursuit can be handled with opposed Run/Jump checks. The chase speed is the speed of the fastest pursuing creature. Creatures add a +2 bonus to their Run/Jump check for each 5 feet by which their speed exceeds the chase speed, and take a −2 penalty for each 5 feet by which their speed falls short of the chase speed. Pursuers suffer a -1 penalty for each increment of distance equal to the chase speed which separates them from their quarry when the chase begins. The referee may use a passive check for monsters and non-player characters.

Based on these checks, it should be apparent which characters, if any, are overtaken by their pursuers. Characters who are overtaken are thrust back into combat, with the pursuers automatically gaining the initiative. If only some characters are overtaken, the others may choose whether to keep running or to turn and help their slower companions. A character that fails to escape is too winded to try again for 10 minutes.

Characters may wish to drop equipment to reduce their encumbrance before rolling their Run/Jump checks. Dropping items of significant interest to one’s pursuers (such as food for hungry beasts, or treasure for most humanoids) may cause them to break off pursuit, obviating the need for a check entirely.

Long-distance chase. Pursuit over a long distance comes down to endurance rather than raw speed. For each hour of pursuit, each character involved makes an endurance check to hustle. A creature that fails the check gains exhaustion and can no longer sustain the speed required to give chase or evade pursuers.

Speed modifiers apply to endurance checks in a long-distance chase just as they do to Run/Jump checks in a short-distance chase. In a long-distance chase, either party may choose to increase the chase speed, up to the speed of their fastest member.

Hiding from pursuers. If the terrain permits it, a fleeing group might attempt to elude their pursuers rather than outpacing them. In this case, the fleeing creatures may make Camouflage checks, opposed by their pursuers’ Track or Spot checks. Other manoeuvres are no doubt possible, and may be handled at the discretion of the referee.

The combat rules tend to make combat sound like an abstract mathematical simulation. This section discusses a few more practical considerations.

The rules of the fictional world govern everything that happens in combat. For example, there is no specific rule saying whether you are allowed to walk through walls—because the answer is obvious. Attempting to describe every possible case is unnecessary in a game with a human referee.

Don’t get too bogged down by the intricacies of the combat rules. Remember the basic procedure of the game: say what you want to do and let the referee adjudicate what happens in response.

I recommend relying solely on verbal descriptions when it is possible to do so. This approach is usually faster, and tends to make the action of combat more vivid and exciting, whereas miniatures can make combat feel like an abstract board game. In my experience, the moment miniatures hit the table, players tend to stop role-playing and start counting squares. What could be further from the mindset of a romantic hero than to stop moving exactly 35 feet away of the enemy?

On the other hand, miniatures can significantly clarify complex combat situations, ensuring everyone is on the same page. Sometimes, keeping a clear picture in mind becomes impossible, like when four player characters and their animal companions enter combat against twelve medium spiders, five large spiders, two huge spiders, and three spider druids. My preference is to use miniatures only when the combat situation becomes too complex to handle without them.

When miniatures are used, I prefer to keep them as simple as possible. Dice or chess pieces are better than sculpted minis, since it is clear they are not meant to resemble the real creatures in the battle. I also prefer not to use a grid, since this imposes strange and unrealistic restrictions on movement. If scale measurements are required, they can be handled easily enough using a ruler.

If a whiteboard is available, simple diagrams can serve as a happy compromise. Such diagrams need not be exactly to scale. An adventurous referee may draw scenes of dungeon combat from a first-person perspective to enhance immersion.

A fast-moving battle can be the highlight of an adventure. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for combat to slow to a torturous crawl that saps all the energy and fun from what should be a thrilling encounter. Please observe the following to the fullest degree possible. (That said, combat speed naturally improves with practice, so just do the best you can.)

Avoid long discussions. Keep in mind that in reality you would not be able to hold extended strategic conferences in the midst of battle. Of course, I do understand if you need to slow down for a minute to clarify the situation or ask about the rules.

Know thyself. Be familiar with your character’s abilities and basic modes of attack, so you know your options and what to roll.

Think ahead. Plan your action while others are taking their turns. If you want to cast a spell, look it up in advance so you’re ready to go. Count out any dice you’re going to need.

Roll dice together. Roll your attack and damage dice simultaneously. Then you can quickly announce the result: “I attack the ogre with 17 to hit for 9 damage.”

Don’t worry too much. Turns are intended to be pretty quick. That’s why you are only allowed one action per turn. Don’t fret if all you get to do this turn is drink a potion; the sooner you get it over with, the sooner your next turn will arrive.