The Combat Round

(Back to Combat)

It is confusing for everyone when multiple players act and speak at once, so to maintain order, combat is structured into rounds, with each player taking one turn in each round.

A combat round is a deliberately elastic unit of time in which everyone wishing to act and capable of doing so has a chance to complete at least one action. An investigator's equality of opportunity is much more important than the notion that a combat round must represent a precise amount of real-world time. When every investigator and other Keeper-controlled characters have had an opportunity to act, that combat round is over and the next round can begin.

Dexterity and the Order of Attack

The question of who gets the first opportunity to attack can be an important issue in a fight Determine the order of attack by ranking the combatant's DEX from highest to lowest. In the case of a draw, the side with the higher combat skill goes first.

 Actions in a Combat Round 

On their turn in DEX order (highest to lowest) each character may use their action:


 * To initiate an attack using the Fighting or Firearms skill *
 * To perform a Fighting Maneuver
 * To flee from the combat.
 * To cast a spell.
 * To perform some other action requiring time and perhaps a dice roll, such as picking a lock while others fight.

*Note that some monsters are capable of multiple attacks in one round: these all take place on the monster's turn.

A character may elect to delay acting until another character has acted. If this leads to more than one character wishing to act simultaneously, the one with the highest DEX takes priority. If both insist on waiting for the other, the round may end with neither of them acting and therefore losing their action, after which play will continue with the usual order of combat next round.