Yesterday’s WoW: the RPG session got cancelled due to Adult Responsibilities (don’t you just hate those?), so no further reports on the kobold-infested mine for now. Instead, I thought I’d write up a very brief summary of the main rules that tend to come up in battles. Because let’s face it, I could use the summary myself, and it might be handy to have something to refer my players to, this being a lot crunchier than we’re used to.
So, to make a very short story of a long and convoluted system, here’s your options when fighting for the glory of the good ol’ Alliance:
ACTIONS
On your turn, you may take either:
- One full-round action.
- One standard action and one move action.
- Two move actions.
Examples of full-round actions are:
- Run (move 4x your Speed).
- Charge (move between 2 and 2x your Speed squares, then make an attack with +2 to the roll; take -2 to AC until your next turn).
- Withdraw from melee combat (move your Speed squares away from a threatened square without triggering an attack of opportunity)
- Prepare an action to be taken if some condition applies before your next turn.
Examples of standard actions are:
- Make a melee or ranged attack with a weapon you have readied.
- Cast a spell.
- Make an Aid Another action (make an attack roll or skill check against DC 10; if successful, give an ally +2 to a relevant roll or check on their next turn).
- Use a scroll or drink a potion that you have readied.
- Declare full defense (+4 to AC until your next turn).
Examples of move actions are:
- Move your Speed (6 squares for Medium creatures, 4 squares for Small creatures).
- Ready a weapon, scroll, potion, or other item.
- Sheathe or otherwise put away a weapon or other item (just dropping it on the ground does not require an action).
- Rise from prone.
- Pick up something from the ground.
- Load a crossbow.
In addition to your regular actions, you may also take a 5-foot step on your turn, moving 1 square in any direction. This does not trigger attacks of opportunity, even if you move out of a threatened square. You may only take a 5-foot step if you have not otherwise moved from the spot this turn.
ATTACKS AND DAMAGE
An attack roll is 1d20+attack bonus vs AC. If you succeed, you roll damage per the weapon you’re wielding. Rolling high enough (usually a natural 20, but sometimes lower numbers can count) causes a threat. If you roll a threat, roll again, and if the second roll is also a success, the result is a crit; roll damage twice and apply the sum. If the second roll fails, the attack merely succeeds as normal. A natural 20 on an attack roll is always a hit, and a roll of 1 is always a miss. This only applies to attack rolls!
Making a ranged attack against an enemy who is adjacent to a friendly character inflicts a -4 penalty from needing to make sure you don’t hit your friend. In addition, making a ranged attack through squares that has other characters in it gives the target a +4 cover bonus to AC.
When making a melee attack, you may declare that you fight defensively; this gives you a -4 to the attack roll, but a +2 dodge bonus to AC until your next turn.
A weapon must be readied before it can be used to attack. You can only have one weapon readied at the time. Note that you can ready a weapon before combat has started as long as that makes sense with the situation (“I draw my sword and slowly advance towards the cavern entrance”). It takes a move action to ready a weapon.
A crossbow must be loaded before it can be used to attack with. If you are carrying a crossbow, we will assume that you keep it loaded, so you don’t have to load it before firing it the first time in a fight. You have to load it before each subsequent shot, though. It takes a move action to load a crossbow.
Making an attack usually takes a standard action.
BLEEDING
When your HP is reduced to a negative number, you are unconscious and bleeding out. Every round on your turn, roll 1d100. If you roll higher than your Stamina, you lose 1 additional HP and must repeat the process on your next turn. If you roll equal to or lower than your Stamina, you stabilise and don’t need to roll again unless you take more damage. If you regain at least 1 HP from magical healing, you also stabilise, and also if someone performs first aid on you and succeeds on a Heal or Spirit check with a DC of 10+the number of HP you’re below 0.
If your negative HP ever equals your Stamina, you die.
THREATENED SQUARES AND ATTACKS OF OPPORTUNITY
You threaten a square if you are able to make an armed melee attack against it. If one of your allies is threatening the square that an enemy is standing on, and you can draw a straight line between yourself and the ally that crosses any part of the enemy, you get a +2 flanking bonus to melee attack rolls against the enemy.
Performing certain actions in a square threatened by an enemy triggers an attack of opportunity from that enemy. Common actions that trigger an attack of opportunity are:
- Moving out of the threatened square in any way other than with a 5-foot step or a withdraw action.
- Sheathing a weapon (but not readying one).
- Picking up something from the ground.
- Making an unarmed melee attack.
- Making a ranged attack.
- Casting a spell without casting defensively.
- Rising from prone.
An attack of opportunity is resolved in all ways as a regular melee attack, and subject to all the same modifiers. You can not choose to fight defensively with it, however. If you fought defensively on your last turn, any attack of opportunity you make also has the -4 penalty.
A character must have a melee weapon readied to perform an attack of opportunity.
A character can normally only perform one attack of opportunity per round.
Note that reach weapons threaten squares 2 squares away from the wielder, but do not threaten the squares immediately around him.
CASTING SPELLS
Casting most spells require the use of one free hand; you can’t cast most spells with a weapon in one hand and a shield or torch in the other without first dropping or sheathing one of them. When casting a spell would trigger an attack of opportunity, you may choose to cast defensively.
- When casting defensively, make a Concentration or Stamina check against DC 15+spell level. If you succeed, the spell takes effect normally and does not trigger an attack of opportunity. If the check fails, the spell slot is exhausted to no effect. The Combat Casting Feat provides a +4 bonus to the Concentration or Stamina check for casting defensively.
- When hit with an attack of opportunity brought on by casting a spell and taking damage, make a Concentration or Stamina check against DC 10+damage taken+spell level; if you succeed, the spell goes off normally, and if it fails, the spell slot is exhausted to no effect.
Casting a spell usually takes a standard action.
MOVING
Once again, your options for moving are:
- Spend a move action to move your Speed in squares. If you choose to take two move actions in a turn, you may use both to move, thus moving 2 x your Speed in squares.
- Spend a full-round action to run 4 x your Speed in squares.
- Charge as a full-round action to move between 2 and 2x your Speed squares and make an attack at the end of it (you can’t charge without having anything to attack).
- Withdraw as a full-round action to move your Speed in squares without triggering attacks of opportunity.
- Take a 5-foot step to move 1 square without triggering attacks of opportunity. This is a free action, but you may only do this if you have not moved in any other way during the turn.
As part of your movement in a turn, you may move through squares occupied by friendly units, but not through squares occupied by enemies; nor may you end your turn in a square occupied by another unit unless one or the other of you is Fine or smaller.
Your Speed is 6 if you’re a Medium character, or 4 if you’re a Small character. Wearing armour or carrying a heavy burden can reduce your Speed.
Remember that moving through threatened squares trigger attacks of opportunity unless movement is a 5-foot step or a full-round withdraw action.
PREPARED ACTIONS
As a full-round action, you can define a standard action or move action that you will take if some condition occurs before your next turn. You may choose any condition you like, but the GM is the one who decides whether it has in fact occurred or not. If the condition occurs, you take your action (you may not choose to abort it) and it is resolved normally. If the condition does not occur before your next turn, nothing happens.
Examples of prepared actions are:
- “If an enemy within my range becomes unengaged in melee, I will fire my crossbow at it.”
- “If there are no friendly characters in the line of fire, I will cast Burning Hands at the nearest group of enemies, trying to catch as many of them as possible.”
- “If a friendly character within my reach takes more than 5 points of damage, I will cast Cure Light Wounds on them, casting defensively.”
- “If an enemy begins to move towards me, I will move away from them in the straightest line possible.”
The initiative count on which the prepared action triggered becomes your new initiative. Thus, after a prepared action riggers, you have to wait a full round before taking a new turn.
You can only perform one prepared action in a round; further triggers of the condition have no effect.
You may include a 5-foot step in a prepared action as long as you don’t otherwise use it to move from the spot.