Combat Rules
Combat Rules
These rules are designed to encourage tactical movement.
Moving at half speed through threatened spaces does not provoke Attacks of Opportunity, unless otherwise specified.
Applies only to movement-related AoOs.
Movement must be declared at half speed (rounded down to the nearest 5 feet).
A creature may use Acrobatics to move at full speed through threatened spaces without provoking AoOs, per standard rules.
A failed check still provokes as normal.
The Combat Reflexes feat is updated as follows:
Grants 1 additional AoO per +2 Dexterity modifier (rounded down).
(e.g., Dex 18 = +4 mod = 2 AoOs total per round)
You may make Attacks of Opportunity against targets using Cautious Movement.
These AoOs suffer a –4 penalty to the attack roll.
As a swift action, you may use Disengage to escape a single threatening opponent safely.
Choose one creature currently threatening you.
For the remainder of your turn, the first 5 feet of movement away from that creature does not provoke an AoO.
This action still consumes your move action to move.
You may not use Disengage in combination with Cautious Movement.
Changes and additions to the base rules involving how armor works in combat. To benefit from any of these effects, you must be proficient with the armor used.
Armor reduces the damage of many physical attacks by absorbing or deflecting blows.
Light Armor: Grants DR 1/- vs Piercing & Slashing
(Only if the armor’s base AC bonus is 2 or higher)
Medium Armor: Grants DR 2/- vs Piercing & Slashing
Heavy Armor: Grants DR 3/- vs Piercing & Slashing
When armor is enhanced with a magical bonus to AC, it also increases the DR provided:
The first +1 enhancement bonus grants +1 DR.
Additional DR is gained again at +3 and +5 enhancement bonus.
Examples:
A +1 Breastplate (medium armor) grants DR 3/- vs Piercing & Slashing (base 2 + 1 from enhancement).
A +3 Breastplate grants DR 4/- vs Piercing & Slashing (base 2 + 2 from enhancements).
A +5 Breastplate grants DR 5/- vs Piercing & Slashing (base 2 + 3 from enhancements).
A gambeson is light armor that grants DR 3/- vs Bludgeoning damage.
It provides no DR against Piercing or Slashing.
It can be worn alone as light armor or layered under other armor.
When layered beneath armor that grants DR vs Piercing & Slashing, both DR types apply.
Certain weapons are designed to defeat armor and gain special rules against this DR system:
At their first range increment, crossbows and firearms bypass all DR granted by armor, including both base DR and enchantment-based DR.
DR from non-armor sources (e.g., class features, spells, or natural DR) is not bypassed.
Changes and additions to the Base Rules involving Shields and how they work in combat. In order to use any of these actions or benefits you must be proficient with the shield used.
Firearm attacks within the range increment where they would normally be made against the touch AC of the target, are instead made versus the targets Touch AC + Shield bonus if they have one.
When a critical hit is scored against you while you are wielding a shield, as an immediate action you can choose to give the shield the broken condition to convert the attack to a standard hit.
If the shield already has the broken condition and you activate this ability the shield is destroyed.
You must choose to do this before the damage is rolled.
A character wielding a shield may perform actions that require a free hand if they forgo all bonuses and benefits of the shield until the start of their next turn.
This includes the AC bonus and any/all enchantments and effects on or from the shield.
When two allies wielding heavy shields stand adjacent their shield bonus increases by +1.
The bonus from multiple adjacent allies with heavy shields stack.
If all characters in the shield wall take a total defense action this bonus is doubled.
This rule represents how dangerous battle can be and why sometimes it is best to avoid a conflict.
Condition: When a character is reduced to less than half their total HP, they gain a condition commonly referred to as "bloodied" and incur the following penalties.
-2 on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
A Natural 20 on an Attack Roll, Saving throw, Skill Check, or Ability check is not an automatic success. Instead it grants an additional +10 bonus to the roll total.
A Natural 20 on a save that would normally result in half damage instead deals no damage, other effects may still apply.
A Natural 1 on a Skill Check or Ability Check is not an automatic failure.
A Natural 1 on an Attack Roll is an automatic Failure.
A Natural 1 on a save doubles the damage dealt, and the duration of effects.
Weapon Damage: The base Weapon Damage Dice is automatically the maximum value. The additional multiplier is rolled, and all other modifiers are added only once.
Example: Critical hit is confirmed with a Composite(2) Longbow x3, Damage is 8+2d8+2(STR)
Spell Damage: The base spell Damage is automatically the maximum value. Additional damage is rolled, and all other modifiers are added only once.
All Spells that make Attack Rolls can be critical and are rolled normally, and then add 50% of the rolled DMG.
Spell Critical hits must be confirmed the same as weapon critical hits.
Example: Critical hit is confirmed with a Scorching Ray, Damage is 4d6 rolled (4,6,4,2) is 16 + 8(50% of 16) = 24 DMG.
If the natural result of your attack roll falls within a firearm’s misfire value, that shot misses, even if you would have otherwise hit the target. When an Advanced firearm misfires, it becomes jammed. While a firearm is jammed it cannot be used until a full round action is spent clearing the jam.
Characters with the Gunsmithing Feat can clear jams as a standard action.
At the start of a battle, each faction totals their individual initiatives and divides the total by the number of individuals (Rounding Up). Each faction involved in combat then rolls to determine the order in which they act. Factions act in order, counting down from the highest result to the lowest. In every round that follows, the factions act in the same order.
When a faction has not acted in combat yet its members are only flat-footed to attacks made by a faction with an initiative score greater then their own by 5 or more.
If two or more factions have the same initiative check result, the factions who are tied act in order of total initiative modifier (highest first). If there is still a tie, the tied factions should roll to determine which one of them goes before the other.
If you ever sustain a single attack that deals an amount of damage equal to half your total hit points (minimum 25 points of damage) or more and it doesn't kill you outright, you must make a DC 10 Fortitude save. If this saving throw fails, you drop to 0 HP and are staggered regardless of your current hit points. If you take half your total hit points or more in damage from multiple attacks, no one of which dealt more than half your total hit points (minimum 25), the massive trauma rule does not apply.
If you ever sustain a single attack that deals an amount of damage equal to half your total hit points (minimum 50 points of damage) or more and it doesn't kill you outright, you must make a DC 15 Fortitude save. If this saving throw fails, you die regardless of your current hit points. If you take half your total hit points or more in damage from multiple attacks, no one of which dealt more than half your total hit points (minimum 50), the massive damage rule does not apply.
*Note: Mythic Characters are immune to both of these effects;
Any character with a Base attack bonus of at least 1 and has 1 rank or more in Use Magic Device can activate a weapon's magical enchantment like Frost or Flaming as a move action instead of as a Standard Action. This does not include Casting Spells from Wands, Scrolls, or Staves.