5.5 Combat Time

This section explains how time passes in combat.

5.5.1 Rounds

Combat takes place in a series of rounds, which represent about six seconds of time. Each round of a combat is divided into two phases: the movement phase and the action phase (see Phases). After both phases are complete, the round ends and the next round begins.

5.5.2 Phases

There are two phases in each round: a movement phase and an action phase. Each phase specifies the types of actions that can be taken during that phase. As a special case, free actions may be taken during any phase.

Phases does not represent a specific amount of time. In the narrative universe of Rise, movements and actions are intertwined and can happen simultaneously, just as in real life. Phases are simply a useful abstraction to keep combat organized.

The Movement Phase

During the movement phase, you can make one movement. The most common movement is the hustle ability, which allows you to move a distance equal to your speed. For details, see Movement and Positioning.

The Action Phase

During the action phase, you can take one minor action and one standard action. Alternately, you can make a movement or take an additional minor action in place of your standard action. Most of the time, you will simply take a single standard action.

5.5.3 Actions

You can take actions in combat to defeat your foes. There are three types of actions: standard actions, minor actions, and free actions. In addition, you can use movement during the movement phase (see Movement and Positioning).

Standard Actions

Most significant activities require a standard action. This includes attacking with a weapon, casting a spell, and using many special abilities. Using a standard action generally takes about three seconds of time within the game, and it requires most of your attention during that time.

You can take one standard action during the action phase of each round.

Minor Actions

Some special abilities that take a small amount of time or attention require a minor action. You can take a minor action in the middle of other actions. You cannot use a minor action during the movement phase.

You can take one minor action during the action phase of each round. In addition, you can choose to replace your standard action during the action phase with an additional minor action. However, you cannot use the same minor action twice in a single round unless an ability specifies otherwise.

Free Actions

Some activities that take very little time or attention require a free action. You can take a free action in the middle of other actions.

You can take any number of free actions per round, within reason. There is no intrinsic distinction between a free action and something that isn’t listed as requiring an action at all. However, some free action abilities specify a limit on how often they can be used. For example, manipulating objects is a free action, but you can only manipulate an object as a free action once per round (see Manipulating Objects).

5.5.4 Resolving Actions

Actions in combat are partially sequential, and partially simultaneous. You and your allies who can see or otherwise communicate with each other generally act as a single allied group. One at a time, each person in the allied group declares their actions, rolls all relevant dice, and applies the results appropriately. You can freely choose the order in which people act within the allied group, as long as everyone agrees with the order chosen. If one of your allies acts before you, you can learn the result of their action before deciding your own action. For example, if they knock an enemy prone (half speed, -2 Armor and Ref), that enemy would suffer the appropriate defense penalties against your attacks.

Although your actions resolve sequentially within your allied group, they resolve simultaneously with the actions of anyone outside your allied group. Essentially, you locally resolve the effects of your actions within your allied group, but those actions do not globally resolve until later. This means that you cannot interrupt enemy actions, even by killing them. Generally, you won’t know what actions your enemies will take until after you have already resolved your action. However, their actions will resolve as if they had acted before you, not after you. This goes both ways, of course. You can freely decide your actions without knowing what your enemy is doing because their actions cannot interrupt yours.

Once all allied groups have locally resolved their actions, the results of all of those actions is announced. Then, each allied group updates their own status to reflect the actions that all of the other allied groups took during the same phase. When resolving these effects, assume that actions outside of your allied group resolve before actions inside of your allied group, as long as they don’t alter the effects of your own actions. For example, you cannot avoid an enemy attack simply by moving away from them. However, an enemy’s attack does not interrupt your movement - even if it knocks you unconscious. You simply fall unconscious at your new location after the movement.

Once all of the actions have been globally resolved, the phase ends. In a typical combat, this just means that the GM will tell you what the monsters did to you after you tell the GM what you did to them.

With this system, it’s possible for two combatants to kill each other during the same phase, leaving both dead! This might seem strange if you’re used to other games which always resolve one action at a time. However, this situation is not uncommon in fantasty fiction, and it’s certainly possible in real life.

Delayed and Repeated Effects

Some abilities cause additional attacks or effects “during your next action” or “during each of your subsequent actions”. Your action happens when you take your turn during the action phase. You can choose when those effects happen during that turn. Typically, you would resolve them first so you know their results, but you can do that after your other actions if you want. You can’t split those automatic effects from your other actions in the turn order, just like you can’t take your minor action separately from your standard action.

Swift Abilities

Abilities with the Swift tag resolve differently from most actions. Swift abilities resolve before all non-Swift abilities, so they can change the results of your enemy’s actions. However, Swift abilities are always simple, and cannot interrupt actions or make attack rolls. Generally, they change defenses or recover hit points or damage resistance. You declare Swift abilities during your normal turn within your allied group, and you don’t have to go first within your group or do anything special to use them.

For example, the total defense ability gives you a bonus to your defenses during the current phase. That ability has to resolve before your enemies attack you during that phase, or else it would be pointless. Some abilities have only part of their effect resolve early. For example, the reckless attack ability immediately reduces your defenses, which affects attacks made against you during the current phase, and makes a strike with the normal timing.

Action Resolution Summary

1.

Round begins - “start of round” resolve globally

2.

Movement phase begins - “start of phase” effects resolve globally

3.

Movements resolve globally, using initiative checks when strictly necessary

4.

Movement phase ends - “end of phase” effects resolve globally

5.

Action phase begins - “start of phase” effects resolve globally

6.

Swift abilities resolve globally

7.

Actions of your allied group resolve locally

8.

Actions of other allied groups resolve locally

9.

Actions of each allied group are announced, and resolve globally

10.

Action phase ends - “end of phase” effects resolve globally

11.

Round ends - “end of round” effects resolve globally

Deciding Action Order

Try not to spend too much time the exact order of everyone’s actions within your allied group. Most of the time, the exact order doesn’t matter. It’s generally fine to just start rolling dice if you already know what you’re going to do, and just act in the order that people decide their actions. The GM can help resolve situations where this is ambiguous.

Multi-Group Battles

Sometimes, there might be more than two groups in a battle. This works in basically the same way as a two-sided battle. Each allied group resolves sequentially with itself, but simultaneously with all enemy groups. It’s possible for two different groups to attack and kill the same creature, which wastes some of their actions. That’s a natural consequence of not coordinating effectively.

5.5.5 Simultaneous Damage and Healing

If you regain hit points or damage resistance and take damage simultaneously, apply all damaging effects before applying any healing effects. This means you gain and apply the effects of any vital wounds before you are healed. Most healing abilities are Swift, so this situation should be uncommon.

5.5.6 Conflicting Actions

Sometimes, actions that occur in the same phase can be mutually impossible. Almost all conflicting actions are the result of competing movements. When actions conflict, each creature involved rolls an initiative check. Your initiative modifier is equal to your Dexterity.

Starting from the highest check result and continuing to the lowest, each creature immediately resolves its chosen action. Creatures that resolve their action afterward accomplish as much of their intended action as possible before being blocked or otherwise prevented. For example, if three different creatures attempt to move into the same space, only the creature with the highest initiative check would actually enter that space. The other two creatures would take their intended path, but they would interrupt their movement when they cannot proceed farther, generally because they run into the space occupied by the first creature.

In general, directly conflicting actions are rare. Most movements do not conflict - even reactive movements, such as when one creature attempts to follow a withdrawing creature. In that case, no initiative check is necessary. Both creatures simply move as far as they can, and the creatures’ relative movement speeds determine who is more successful.

This does make it possible for creatures to be “stranded” out of melee range of any attackers. Player characters are normally allowed to break this symmetry by reactively using the sprint ability, while monsters cannot sprint. This can help prevents melee characters from feeling stuck or useless. In addition, the charge universal ability can be helpful in such cases.

Only One Movement Per Phase

Any effects which would change the same creature’s location in the same phase are conflicting, and only one is applied. For example, you can’t move your full speed onto a mount, and then have that mount move with you in the same phase. You also can’t move and then have an ally pick you up or shove you to move you farther. Only the first effect which would change your location is applied, and all other effects are ignored.