2.0 Combat

Turns
Every battle starts by rolling initiative. That means every creature makes an intelligence check (d20 + int), the outcomes of which determine the turn order, with the highest roll getting their turn first.

Each round in combat represents about 6 seconds. Every round, each participant gets two actions.

Actions
An action can be spent to either move up to your speed or to make an attack. They don’t have to be self-isolated: you can, for example, move half your speed, attack, then move the other half. To spend both your actions attacking is called a full attack. There are many other actions you can take. Anything one could do in real life, and then some, is possible in-game, at the DM’s discretion. Some actions are full-round actions, which means they take up both of your actions for the round.

Free actions
Most simple action, such as grabbing an item off a table or handing an item to someone, are free actions, at the DM's discretion. As a general rule, you can do one such action for free every turn. You can draw one two-handed or two one-handed weapons (including shields) as a free action, but sheathing one weapon and drawing another in one turn requires an action. Very easy actions, such as drawing an arrow from your quiver, can be done nigh-indefinitely.

Sneaky steps
If you spend your turn only making non-movement actions, such as a full attack, you may move one square for free at any point during your turn. This is called a sneaky step. Creatures with 1 speed can't take sneaky steps.

Readying actions
During your turn, you can choose to ready an action. To do this, you specify a condition and an action. If, between the end of your current turn and the start of your next, the condition is fulfilled, you execute the action. Example: “If an enemy approaches me, I make a melee attack against them.” This allows you to act outside of your turn, but you have to give up an action in your current turn to do it. If the condition doesn’t occur, the action is wasted. If the condition occurs multiple times, you only get to act on it once, unless you spent both your actions to ready the same action twice.

Basic combat
Combat, at its most basic, is an exchange of three potential actions: attacks, combat maneuvers and special abilities.

Attacking
You can make an attack by rolling d20 and adding your dexterity, and possibly other modifiers. If the result equals or exceeds the target’s defence, you score a hit and deal damage according to your weapon type and strength score.

Melee attacks have a range of 1 square, unless your melee range is increased by having a large character or using a reach weapon.

Ranged attacks can be made at a distance, but suffer from certain penalties. They have a range increment, the distance they can cover before taking penalties. An attack with a range increment of X takes a -1 penalty for every X squares between attacker and target. Range increments are given on the Equipment page.

Additionally, you take disadvantage on ranged attacks if you're within the melee range of an enemy, whether they're the target of the attack or not.

Combat maneuvers
Beside direct attacks, there are many other things you can do in combat, such as disarming. These are called combat maneuvers, and are resolved as opposed checks. Common options are listed at 2.0 Combat maneuvers, but other maneuvers can be attempted at the DM's discretion.

Special abilities (saving throws)
Many creatures have special abilities, natural or magical or otherwise. These are often based on saving throws instead of attack rolls or opposed checks. Saving throws (also called saves) are checks made by the defender to resist certain effects. The DC is always stated in the effect's description. If the effect is created by a creature, the DC is usually 10 + one of the creature's stats.

Saving throws come in two types: one-time saves and recurring saves.

A one-time save is rolled upon activation of the effect. On a success, the effect is either negated or reduced, as described in the effect's description. On a fail, it takes effect normally.

Recurring saves come with effects that last longer than 1 round, and are characterized by the phrase "X save ends.", where X is a certain stat, usually con or int. This means that, as long as the effect remains active, you get to attempt the saving throw at the start of each of your turns. On a fail, the effect remains active and takes place normally. On a success, the effect ends.

Crits and crit fails
When making an attack roll, if the die lands on a 1, the attack is an automatic miss. This is called a crit fail. If the die lands on a 20, it’s an automatic hit, and you deal double damage. This is called a crit. At the DM’s discretion, a crit or crit fail may cause additional effects.

Flanking
If you and an ally are flanking an enemy, you both gain a +2 bonus on melee attack rolls against that enemy. Flanking occurs when both attackers have melee weapons at the ready, are within melee range of the defender and are on opposite sides of the defender. When in doubt, draw a line from the centre of your square to that of your ally. If the line passes through two opposite borders or corners of the opponent's space, you're flanking. Creatures that take up more than one square can chose one of their squares are the origin of the attack for the purpose of flanking.

Elements
Any damage dealt without a stated element is physical, but other elements exist too. Certain creatures are vulnerable, resistant or immune to certain elements. Vulnerable creatures take double damage, resistant ones half and immune ones none at all. The following damage elements exist: physical, fire, frost, lightning, poison, holy, unholy and psychic. Lastly, there is force damage, which has the special property that no creature or object has vulnerability, resistance or immunity to it. It exists as an easy way to identify effects that bypass damage resistance.

Stealth and sneak attacks
You can attempt to go unseen by making a stealth check (d20 + dex), opposed by a perception check (d20 + int) from anyone who might spot you. These checks are made when you first enter stealth, and then repeated at the start of each of your turns as long as you remain in stealth. You generally need to be concealed in some way, e.g. behind an object or by darkness, to attempt a stealth check, otherwise it fails automatically. After the first successful stealth check, you can move out of concealment, but must begin and end your turn concealed, or your stealth automatically fails. Stealth ends immediately after making an attack.

Attacking a creature that's unaware of you (because of stealth or other reasons) is called a sneak attack. Sneak attacks ignore the target's agility and shield bonus to defence, treating their defence as 10 + armour. Additionally, if you hit, you deal double damage as if you'd rolled a crit. (If you roll a crit on top of this, you deal a total of triple damage, not quadruple.) Alternatively, you can choose to deal normal damage and daze the target for one round instead. The extra damage and dazing effect works only on melee attacks and ranged attacks made within the first range increment.

Dual wielding and shield bashing
When wielding a one-handed weapon in each hand, you may make two attacks as part of one action, one with each weapon. However, the off-hand attack deals half damage. If you make a full attack action this way, you can make up to four attacks, two of which deal half damage. Unarmed strikes count as one-handed weapons for the purpose of dual-wielding.

When wielding a shield, you get a different benefit (beside the +2 to defence). When taking a full attack action, you can make a free shove attempt with your shield. Shields can also be used as an improvised off-hand weapon for dual wielding, but you don't get the free shove attempt when using them this way.