The Player's Compendium/Dice And Taking Action

The Dice

Dice are what make the game move forward. The determine the outcome of your actions and they provide variance to your abilities. Rolling dice is like playing with an extra player at the table that nobody can influence. Sometimes the dice can be cruel, causing you to fail in your weakest moments, but sometimes they can help you tell incredible tales of triumph and heroism.

Die Rank

This system uses 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 20 sided dice. The standard notation that will be used throughout this book to refer to dice with a different number of sides comes in the form of the letter d, followed by the number of side. For example, 'd6' would refer to a six sided die, which is 'standard die' which you will likely be most familiar with from playing other varieties of games. You will also see some notation formatted as 2d8 or 6d4. In these instances, the number before the d represents the number of dice. So, if you see 6d4, that means you need to roll 6 four sided dice. The term 'die rank' or 'dice rank' will be used to refer to the number of sides on a die. Some features or rules may tell you to increase or decrease the dice rank. When you increase the dice rank, you change it to the next highest die in the standard set. For example, if you increase the dice rank of the d6, it would become a d8. If you were to decrease the dice rank of the d6, it would become a d4.

There are some exceptional cases. First and foremost, the notations d2, d3 and d100 may also show up. While specialized dice with 2, 3 and even 100 sides do exist, you don't need them to emulate these dice ranks. For a d2, simply pick any die, then assign odd numbers to either 1 or 2, and then even numbers to the opposite. For d3, roll a d6 and divide the result by 2, rounding down. For a d100, roll 2 d10s; before rolling assign one d10 to be the 10s unit, and the other to be the 1s unit. For example, if the first die is a 6 and the second is a 3, you have rolled a 63. If both dice roll 0 then you have rolled a 100. These exceptional dice ranks are excluded when a feature or rules says to increase or decrease the dice rank. This means that the lowest a dice rank can typically be decreased to is d4 and the highest d20.

Finally, there are some instances, especially for damage rolls, where 2d4 and 2d6 are used to replace the dice ranks d8 and d12. This is because rolling two dice instead of one provides a more consistent result. When you are told to increase the dice rank of these, a 2d4 is treated like a d8: increased to a d10 and decreased to a d6; 2d6 is treated like a d12: increased to a d20 and decreased to a d10.

Rolling

There are three primary tests conducted using dice, all of which use the 20 sided die. Attack rolls, ability checks and saving throws. Attack rolls determine whether or not an attack successfully strikes the target of the attack. Ability checks determine whether or not a character is successful in taking some action which requires some degree of skill. The degree of skill required (the minimum roll necessary to succeed) is determined by the game master prior to the player rolling the die. Guidelines for setting the minimal roll for any given situation can be found in The Game Master's Codex. Saving throws represent the character's ability to avoid the negative consequences of a situation, by dodging or withstanding an effect.

Advantage & Disadvantage

In some instances, a player may be able to roll their dice with advantage or disadvantage. In both instances, the player rolls two dice. In the case of advantage, the player uses the die which rolled the higher value. In the case of disadvantage, they use the die which rolled the lower value.

Contested Rolls

A contested roll is one in which one roll is compared against the other, with one representing an attempt to perform an action, and the other representing an attempt to thwart that action. The action completes successfully so long as the value of that die roll is greater than or equal to the die repressing the attempt to thwart the action.

Modifiers

In some cases, modifiers may be added to a dice roll. This can take the form of either a static value which is added to the rolled value, a dynamic modifier calculated based off of the player's statistics, or some combination of the two.

Proficiency

Proficiency is one of the most common forms of modifier. When a creature has proficiency in a particular ability, area of expertise or domain of knowledge, they are able to add their Level Bonus to any d20 rolls associated with that variety of task.

Saving Throws

Saving throws represent your ability to make a last-ditch effort to prevent yourself from succumbing to a negative effect. Saving throws exist for four of the eight primary stats: Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Willpower (WIL), Fortitude (FOR). When you make a saving throw, you add the associated modifier, as well as any additional bonuses granted by actions, abilities or class features.

Taking Action

Action Categories

Actions are divided into five categories. Some actions may be taken under multiple categories, depending on the circumstances within which it is performed. For example, an action that provides a buff, may be taken as a Defensive action, if it is performed on yourself, or a Utility action if used on an ally. However, any actions which can be taken under multiple categories will explicitly state so, and define the exact circumstances under which they can be taken in each category.

Offensive

Actions categorized as offensive are designed to aggress against opponents, inflict damage or otherwise incapacitate. Not every action that inflicts damage is necessarily an offensive action.

Defensive

Defensive actions are ones designed to reduce damage taken, buff yourself, or fortify your position. This category also includes actions taken to free yourself from restraint, such as grappling.

Utility

Utility actions are ones which provide strategic, positional or power advantages. Healing abilities, whether used on yourself or others also fall into this category.

Reaction

Reactions take place in response to an action taken by an enemy or ally between your turns, or outside of combat. Reaction actions fall into two sub-categories: prepared and responsive. Prepared actions are declared before ending your turn, and often offer a stronger effect, however they prevent you from taking an alternative reaction in the moment. Responsive actions are decided in the moment upon an action being taken by an enemy or ally, but only if no other prepared reaction was declared on your previous turn. Some reactions can be taken as either prepared or responsive to varying results. Outside of combat, prepared actions must simply be declared prior to the action which incited the reaction occurs. Only one reaction can be prepared at any given time and with enough insight, any friend or enemy can see that you are preparing something.

Social & Skill

Social & skill actions allow you to interact with the world and those individuals within it. Through these actions you can persuade people to your side, threaten the enemy or solve a puzzle. Social actions allow your to learn new information, spread lies or plead for help. Skill actions allow you to perform complex tasks, often requiring more advanced knowledge of a particular topic or extensive practice. Despite this, anyone may generally attempt a skill action, however those with advanced knowledge or practice will have a far greater chance at success.

Basic Actions

Basic actions are simple actions that can always be taken (unless there is an exclusion on the category) and never contain any exclusions themselves. The default basic actions that anyone can perform are listed below.

• Basic Attack (OF): Using a weapon or an empty hand, perform simple strike against an opponent. (this may involve either a melee hit or a ranged attack)
• Fortify (DE): Add your level bonus to your AC until the end of your next turn. Your movement speed is reduced by 10ft until the end of your next turn.
• Provide Aid (UT): Assist an ally with any simple action such as untying a knot, equipping armour, moving an object or similar. This provides that ally with advantage on the first d20 roll they make to towards completing that action.
• Dodge (RE): This action can be either prepared or responsive. When responsive, an attack role against you becomes a contested role, using your DEX modifier. A success reduces the damage to half (rounded up). When prepared, on success the character takes no damage, and can move up to 5ft.
• Attack of Opportunity (RE): When an opponent leaves your melee range, you can take it as an opportunity to take an attack action against them.
• Talk (SS): Use your words to communicate with an individual or group.
• Examine (SS): Examine an object or area in an attempt to discover previously unrevealed details or attributes.

Actions In Initiative

Initiative

At the beginning of a combat encounter, all players, allies and enemies roll a d20, adding their DEX modifier. The creatures take their turns during a round of combat, starting with the highest roll, and making their way down to the lowest. Ties are broken by higher DEX, or higher INS failing that.

Taking Your Turn

During a player's turn, they can take up to three actions, one of each Offensive, Defensive and Utility. They can take these actions in any order they so choose. If an action has multiple sub-actions, these can be broken up and taken separately, with another action in between them, unless otherwise specified. During a round of combat, between turns, a player may also make a Reaction to something else occurring on the battlefield. Each player can only take a single reaction between each of its turns.

Action Exclusions

During combat, some actions will list exclusions with different categories. These exclusions come in two kinds: immediate and delayed. Immediate exclusions mean that that the action cannot be taken on the same turn as an action of the excluded category(ies). In the case of reactions being excluded, a reaction cannot be taken until after the character's next turn. Delayed exclusions mean that an action of the excluded category cannot be taken on the following turn. For reactions, this means that a reaction cannot be taken until after the turn following the next turn.

Movement

Any of these actions can be substituted for movement. However, when substituting a Utility action for a movement, you may only move the player's movement speed, divided by three, rounded down. When substituting Offensive or Defensive actions for movement, the character may take their entire movement speed. If an action category has been excluded by any another action, that category cannot be exchanged for movement.

Social & Skill

Similarly to movement, any Offensive, Defensive, or Utility action can be substituted for for an action of the Social & Skill category. The one exception to this is simple speech, which can be accomplished while you are performing other actions, and does not require the use of an action. If the speech you are performing provides a mechanical effect, however, such as a Social Manoeuvre, this requires an action, even if it is technically only speech.

Taking A Rest

Taking a rest allows you to recover from the strenuous activity you engage in while adventuring. There are two types of rest available. Players can take a long rest for a minimum of eight hours, with at least twelve hours between long rests and can also take short rests as frequently as they would like, lasting a minimum of thirty minutes.

During a long rest, the player regains all of their Hit Points. They must spend a significant majority of this time sleeping (typically 6 hours) unless specified otherwise. While not sleeping during this time, they must be doing low energy activities such as reading, talking, crafting or similar. You also regain all of your mana, will points, rapport points and/or stamina. Many abilities and class features also reset on a long rest.