Declare Intentions

The activity of player characters and player character-directed creatures must be stated clearly to the DM or written during the declaration phase of the combat round.

During this phase of the round, (short!) clarifying questions may be put to the DM without penalty. However, any coordinating discussion by the players or dithering will be assessed by the Dungeon Master as a Delay. (See Delay or Ready.)

Certain major actions must be announced prior to the round while others may be written but not announced. These can be presented on the segment they will occur (the player can, of course, choose to announce their actions if permitted by the DM).

Major Actions vs. Minor Actions. A major action is a significant activity on the part of the character and only one such action is normally allowed per round. Typical examples are attacking or spell use. A minor action is a short non-material (in terms of effort/time/complexity) action that may be done before or after a major action. Typical examples are speaking (shouting something brief), dropping items in the hand, or moving. Major actions must be declared during the Declare Intentions phase of the round. Minor actions typically do not need to be declared unless related to a major action (e.g. moving somewhere then attacking with a missile weapon). Typically, only one minor action of the same type can be accomplished per round (depending on the action type—the DM may allow a creature to vocalize short phrases more than once in a round for example).

Moving. A creature can move during the round as a minor action. Movement occurs as each segment of the round is called out by the Dungeon Master. Movement can occur either before or after a major action but not both before and after.

In any case, the intention by the player character must be clear and (relatively) precise. E.g. “I move 30 feet north behind the altar and then cast a 3-segment spell.” (The player having written down the spell to be cast, the completion segment that includes the time spent moving, as well as the target of the spell.)

The DM does not need to announce DM-controlled entity actions, but should write them down.

In each case where there is any question, the DM will assign or adjudicate time in segments to complete each action. Actions could occupy a character well into the next round or beyond. (See Typical Time Requirements.)

Spell Casting or Spell-like Abilities

Any spell casting using spells or spell-like abilities by player-controlled entities must be announced during the declaration phase along with the casting time (i.e. "My character is casting a 3-segment spell"). The player must then write the name of the spell/ability, completion segment, and the specific target or point of origin.

Melee Attack

Melee attacks declared must target creatures already in melee with the attacking creature. That said, there are a few special circumstances that may apply to creatures entering melee. (See Melee, Entering Melee.)

Changing an Action

See Combat Actions, Changing an Action. It is possible to change one's major action during the round, but this will cause that character's new action(s) to be delayed.

What you can do in one round

Even though the combat round is one minute long and spans 10 segments, a character—life at stake, can make one basic action in that round, be it an attack, casting a spell, drinking a potion, or tending a fallen comrade. The basic action, however, may involve several lesser actions.

While the relative time in segments will preclude certain action combinations, the DM will have the final say on what can be done in a round.

In general, one major action along with some movement and one or more minor actions can be done in one round.

See below for examples.

Moving and Doing Something

As noted above, a creature can move each segment as a minor action either before or after a major action. Thus, a creature can move one segment, see what others are doing and move again (possibly in a different direction) the next segment—without altering their major action (assuming their major action is not affected by the movement). Certain circumstances will present special rules regarding the effects of movement, for example breaking off from melee or entering melee. If a creature enters melee (range) with an opponent, they cannot also attack unless the movement was part of a charge. Without special circumstances, a melee attack can only be declared against an opponent already in melee range. (See Melee, Entering Melee.)

Using Innate or Spell-like Abilities

Some innate abilities allow use as a minor action allowing the creature to separately perform a major action (e.g. gaze abilities). These will be noted in the creature description. Otherwise, any ability, innate or spell-like, can be used as a major action precluding other major actions.

Examples of Major Actions

See also Typical Time Requirements.

• Make a melee attack or set of attacks vs. an opponent in melee range
• Parry
• Charge into melee range and attack
• Move to the limit of his or her movement rate
• Use a missile weapon (e.g. throw an axe) and move to enter melee
• Cast a spell with a casting time under 10 segments
• Use an innate or spell-like ability
• Drink a potion
• Use a magical item
• Attempt to open a stuck or secret door ("Manipulate the door")
• Retrieve a dropped weapon or object
• Light a torch ("Manipulate, complex")
• Bind a character’s wounds
• Search a body
• Hammer in a spike ("Use a tool")

Examples of Minor Actions

There are also actions that take less time, things the character does without affecting his ability to perform a more important task. In most cases, minor actions will consume some time (normally 1 segment; although some minor actions will be listed without a time component which means they do not use up time in the round) and minor actions normally cannot be performed in the middle of a major action (i.e. You cannot drop something in your hand in the middle of using a 5 segment bow attack requiring two-hands; the dropping must occur first or after).

Examples of minor actions include the following.

• Shout warnings, brief instructions, or demands for surrender, but not conversations where a reply is expected.
• Change weapons by dropping one and drawing another.
• Sheathe a weapon or ready a shield.
• Drop (but not throw) excess equipment, such as backpacks, lanterns, or torches.
• Use a gaze attack or in some (specially noted) cases, active an aura-type innate ability.
• Using an aim action with a missile weapon against creatures moving toward melee with said missile weapon wielder.

In any case with all of the above, major or minor actions normally require time spent (in segments) and a combat round has but 10 segments. Thus, any set of actions requiring more than 10 segments of activity will continue into the next round and could preclude further activity that round.