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Chapter 8: Combat
Combat Specifics
Types of Actions
During a 6 second combat round each character, on their initiative turn, gets an opportunity to act. Characters are able to take one move action and one standard action.
Actions overview
Move Action: A move action lets a character move their base movement speed (30 feet or 6 squares by default), or draw a weapon, or close a window, etc. A character that spends their move action without moving, such as picking up an object, can make a 5 foot step before, during or after the action.
- See also Move Actions detailed.
Standard Action: A standard action (also call a combat action) allows a character to fire a weapon or cast a spell.
The standard action can be substituted for a second move action if needed. This would allow a character to move twice their base movement speed, or move and sheath a weapon for example.
The move action and standard action can be taken in either order. That is, a character can cast a spell and then move if they choose to do so.
- See also Standard Actions detailed.
Full-Round Action: Some actions require more time and use up both a character’s move action and standard action. These are called full-round actions. Although your movement action is used up in a full-round action, you may still make one 5 foot step before, during or after the action.
Experienced characters may make a full-attack, which allows them to make more than one attack with a single weapon. The full-attack is a common use of a full-round action.
- See also Full-Round Actions detailed.
Move Actions
With the exception of specific movement-related skills, most move actions don’t require a check.
Move
The simplest move action is moving your speed.
If you take this kind of move action during your turn, you can’t also take a 5-foot step.
Spending both actions towards movement results in doubling your movement or running. See Speed (Movement)
Climb, swim, crawl
Many nonstandard modes of movement are covered under this category, including climbing (up to one-third of your speed) and swimming (up to one-third of your speed).
Accelerated Climbing: A good climb check (at least 5 better than the
Crawling: You can crawl 5 feet as a move action. Crawling incurs
Draw, Sheathe or Holster a Weapon
Drawing a weapon so that you can use it in combat, or putting it away so that you have a free hand, requires a move action. This action also applies to weapon-like objects carried in easy reach, such as Comlinks. If your weapon or weapon-like object is stored in a pack or otherwise out of easy reach, the GM may require a full-round action to find and get the object.
The quickdraw feat or spell makes drawing or sheathing weapons a free action.
Drawing ammunition for use with a ranged weapon (such as a bolt for a crossbow) is a free action. Loading a bolt is a move action.
Strapping a Eldlandrian Heavy Shield to your arm to gain its shield bonus to your AC, or unstrapping and dropping the shield so you can use your shield hand for another purpose requires a move action.
Manipulate an Item
In most cases, moving or manipulating an item is a move action.
This includes retrieving or putting away a stored item, picking up an item, moving a heavy object, or opening a door.
Empowering a device
Empowering a device is fairly quick. A character can grab an accessible item and empower it (providing a character has enough Empowerment Points) as a move action. Alternatively, a character can empower 2 devices, provided the devices are already in hand. A common example is a character quick drawing a pair of weapons as a free action (providing they have the ability to quick draw) and then empowering the weapons as a move action.
It should be noted that items do not have to be held to in order to remain empowered. Most holstered or sheathed weapons are empowered, ready to be used when needed. An item that is no longer in a character’s possession becomes unempowered after a short time.
Getting up
Some spells or attacks can knock a character down (prone) and requires a move action to get back up. Other times the description may indicate that the character is knocked completely down, and requires a full-round action to get up on their turn.
Examples of Move Actions
- Move your base movement
- Get up from a prone position
- Calm a frightened mount
- Move 40 feet or more on a mount or bike
- Direct or redirect an active spell
- Draw a weapon
- Load a light or heavy crossbow
- Open or close a door
- Mount a horse or dismount
- Move a heavy object
- Pick up an item
- Sheathe or holster a weapon
- Ready or loose a shield
- Empower 1 or 2 devices
- Unempower 1 or 2 devices
- Unempower 1 device and empower another device
Standard Actions (Combat Action)
The standard action lets a character perform an action that accomplishes more than move a short distance or pick up an object. The standard action lets a character attack with a sword or fire a pistol or cast a spell or perform a skill. The standard action is sometimes called a combat action or attack option.
Attack
Making an attack is a standard action. An attack may be a an armed melee attack, an unarmed melee attack, or a ranged attack.
Melee attacks
With a normal melee weapon, you can strike any opponent within 5 feet. If using a grid map, this means that the opponent is in an adjacent square.
Unarmed attacks
Striking for damage with punches, kicks, elbows, knees, etc is much like attacking with a melee weapon, except for the following:
- Attacks of Opportunity: Attacking unarmed provokes an attack of opportunity from the character you attack, provided she is armed. The attack of opportunity comes before your attack. An unarmed attack does not provoke attacks of opportunity from other foes nor does it provoke an attack of opportunity from an unarmed foe.
- Some creatures have natural physical weapons, and thus are not considered unarmed, just as a character with an active Liquid Crystal Dagger Power Alteration isn’t considered unarmed.
- Unarmed Strike Damage: A successful punch attack does damage equal to a character’s strength modifier (minimum 1 point).
- Non-lethal Damage: The GM may rule that a punch attack that causes an opponent to be reduced to -1 Hit Points (or lower) only results in unconsciousness.
- All attacks that cause damage have the potential to be lethal in the Spellchrome RPG. Damage from unarmed attacks is healed like any other damage; hopefully the damage will be less than if a melee weapon was used.
Armed attacks
An attack with a melee weapon, such as a sword or an improvised weapon, like a broken bottle. See Melee Attacks above.
Ranged attacks
With a ranged weapon, you can shoot or throw at any target that is within the weapon’s effective range and in line of sight.
See also: Weapon range
Attack with dual weapons
In the Spellchrome RPG, if you use a standard action to attack and you have another weapon in your offhand, you may attack with the second weapon using the same standard action.
If using two melee weapons a character suffers a -4 penalty to hit with both attacks. This penalty is negated if you have the Dual Melee Weapons Feat.
If using two ranged weapons a character suffers a -4 penalty to hit with both attacks. This penalty is negated if you have the Dual Ranged Weapons Feat.
When using two weapons, you can strike with either weapon first. Each attack can be any target within range, and does not have to be declared ahead of time.
Each successful attack’s damage is rolled separately. The Strength bonus for an offhanded melee weapon is the same as the primary handed melee weapon.
Related attack information
See also: Attack Rolls, Damage Rolls, Multiple Attacks, Firing into Melee.
Standard Actions Continued
Fighting Defensively as a Standard Action
You can choose to fight defensively when attacking. If you do so, you take a -4 penalty on all attacks for the combat round, and gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC starting on your action, remaining until the beginning of your next action in the next round.
Total Defence
You can defend yourself as a standard action. You get a +4 dodge bonus to your AC starting on your action and remaining until the beginning of your next action in the next round. You can’t make attacks of opportunity while using total defence. Because you are defending yourself as your standard action, you cannot attack, etc, but you can move or withdraw.
You can’t combine Total Defence and Fighting Defensively at the same time.
Cast a Spell
Most spells require 1 standard action to cast (see individual spell descriptions). You can cast such a spell either before or after you take a move action. You retain your Dexterity bonus to AC while casting.
Spell components
Some spells under their Casting description indicate a short incantation, or other verbal component. To cast a spell with a verbal component, your character must speak in a firm voice. If you’re gagged or otherwise can’t speak, you can’t cast such a spell.
Other spells indicate a specific movement, for example: a hand gesture of a closing fist. You can’t cast a spell with such a requirement while bound, grappling, or with both your hands full or occupied.
Concentration
You must be able to concentrate to cast a spell. If you can’t concentrate you can’t cast a spell. Environmental conditions (such as a horrendous storm) can be difficult to concentrate in, as can being pinned during a grapple or suffering extreme pain. Extreme pain can include suffering 10 or more damage to a character’s Hit Points (not Extraordinary Hit Points) since their last action. The GM should set the DC when she feels a concentration check is necessary. (A DC of 15 to 20 is usually appropriate.)
Failing a concentration check when casting a spell in the Spellchrome RPG wastes an action but not the Magic Point.
Casting Time
Most spells have a casting time of 1 standard action. A spell cast in this manner immediately takes effect.
Attacks of Opportunity, Casting Defensively
If you cast a spell while in melee range of a hostile opponent, you provoke an attack of opportunity. This can be avoided if the spell is cast defensively. To cast a spell defensively, make a Concentration check DC 15 when you would provoke an attack of opportunity (Concentration can be used untrained). Success means you cast the spell and do not provoke an attack of opportunity from any anybody who could have performed one against you. You do not need to make multiple Concentration checks for multiple foes. Failure means you cast your spell, but doing so also lets your guard down, which results in provoking an attack of opportunity from foes in range.
Dismiss a Spell
Dismissing an active spell is a standard action that doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity.
Examples of Standard Actions
- 1 Attack (melee)
- 1 Attack (unarmed)
- 1 Attack (ranged)
- 1 Attack with dual melee weapons
- 1 Attack with dual ranged weapons
- Cast a spell with a 1 standard action casting time
- Concentrate to use an active spell
- Dismiss a spell
- Draw a hidden weapon.
- Escape a grapple
- Make a dying friend stable (see Heal skill)
- Total defense
- Use skill that takes 1 action
Full-Round Actions
A full-round action requires an entire round to complete. Thus, it can’t be coupled with a standard or a move action, though if it does not involve moving any distance, you can take a 5-foot step.
Full Attack
If you get more than one attack per round with a single weapon because your base attack bonus is high enough, (shown as +6/+1, for example) you must use a full-round action to get your additional attacks. You do not need to specify the targets of your attacks ahead of time. You can see how the earlier attacks turn out before assigning the later ones.
Understanding multiple attacks
Experienced characters eventually gain the option of using multiple attacks. Each additional attack with a single weapon cumulatively reduces your Attack Bonus by 5. [If they were all equal, higher level characters would never miss with any of their attacks, which would defeat the purpose of rolling dice to determine the outcome of combat.]
| Base Attack Bonuses By Level | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Level | Poor | Good | Best |
| 16 | +8 / +3 | +12 / +7 / +2 | +16 / +11 / +6 / +1 |
Above is a table showing the base attack bonus for a 16th level character. If your character, at level 16, had the Ranged Training: Advanced feat you would use the Best column. If you then used a full-round action to attack, you would roll to hit four times. The first attack would be a d20 +16 (and dexterity modifier), the second attack would be a d20 +11 (and dexterity modifier), the third attack would be a d20 +6 (and dexterity modifier), and the fourth attack would be a d20 +1 (and dexterity modifier).
(If the PC’s Dex modifier was +3, a line on the character sheet for the weapon would read: +19/+14/+9/+4)
Multiple attacks with the same weapon, such as in the example above, should be taken in order from highest bonus to lowest. Each attack can be any target with range, and does not have to be declared ahead of time.
The only movement you can take during a full attack is a 5-foot step. You may take the step before, after, or between your attacks. A character may only move distance once per round.
Deciding between an Attack or a Full Attack
After your first attack, you can decide to take a move action instead of making your remaining attacks, depending on how the first attack turns out. If you’ve already taken a 5-foot step, you can’t use your move action to move any distance, but you could still use a different kind of move action.
Cleave
The extra attack granted by the Cleave feat can be taken whenever they apply. This is an exception to the normal limit to the number of attacks you can take when not using a full attack action.
Full Attack with dual weapons
In the Spellchrome RPG, if you use a full-round action to use your multiple attacks and you have another weapon in your offhand, you may attack with the second weapon using the same full-round action. You gain the same amount of attacks with the offhand as you had with the main hand.
If using two melee weapons a character suffers a -4 penalty to hit on all attacks that round.
This penalty is negated if you have the Dual Melee Weapons Feat.
If using two ranged weapons a character suffers a -4 penalty to hit on all attacks that round.
This penalty is negated if you have the Dual Ranged Weapons Feat.
When using two weapons, you can strike with either weapon first. Resolve all the attacks for that weapon before moving on to the other weapon. Each attack can be any target with range, and does not have to be declared ahead of time.
Each successful attack’s damage is rolled separately. The Strength bonus for an offhanded melee weapon is the same as the primary handed melee weapon.
Examples of Full-Round Actions
- Full attack with one weapon
- Full attacks with dual weapons
- Escape from a net
- Extinguish flames
- Light a torch
- Use a skill that takes 1 round
- Use touch spell on up to six friends
- Getting up from being knocked completely down,
(see: Blasting Wind, EL-1 Stun Club)
Free Actions
Free actions don’t take any time at all, though there may be limits to the number of free actions you can perform in a turn. Free actions rarely incur attacks of opportunity. Some common free actions are described below.
In addition to free actions, Spellchrome uses null actions. Null actions apply to the Combat Focus category of spells, which are cast reflexively. Null actions are not counted as actions.
Drop an Item
Dropping an item in your space or into an adjacent square is a free action.
Drop Prone
Dropping to a prone position in your space is a free action.
Speak
In general, speaking is a free action that you can perform even when it isn’t your turn. Speaking more than a few sentences is generally beyond the limit of a free action. (Remember to try and indicate whether it is the player or the character that is saying something.)
Examples of Free Actions
- Cease concentration on a spell
- Drop an item
- Drop to the floor
- Speak a dozen or so words
Up Next: Combat Modifiers
