Combat is resolved through opposed values: an attacker makes an Action Roll called Attack Roll and compares the result against a defender’s Defense. The outcome may result in a Miss, a Light Hit, a Medium Hit, or a Critical Hit.
Attack Roll
To attack, make an Action Roll called Attack Roll, using the relevant Attribute, Proficiency, and Specialization:
Result = d20 + Attribute + Proficiency + Specialization
Attributes → The most relevant Derived Attribute.
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Strength for melee
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Perception for ranged
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Agility may replace Strength for light or finesse weapons
Proficiency → general combat training (e.g. Melee Combat)
Specialization → specific weapon group (e.g. Straight Swords).
Specialization → specific weapon group (e.g. Straight Swords).
Defense
Defense shows how hard a character or creature is to hit. It combines agility, dodging, and blocking.
Defense = d20 + Agility + Dodge Bonus + Block Bonus
Attack Roll result is compared against Defense to determine the Hit Strength. If the Attack Roll result is lower than Defense, the attack misses.
Defense
Defense + 6
Defense + 12
→
→
→
Light Hit (1H)
Medium Hit (2H)
Critical Hit (3H)
This way the more accurately you strike, the greater the Hit Strength — and the more damage the attack will deal.
Damage
Every successful attack or harmful effect deals damage, which reduces a character’s Hit Points (HP).
Damage is usually determined by the Hit Strength of an attack:
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Light Hit (1H) → lowest damage value
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Medium Hit (2H) → middle damage value
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Critical Hit (3H) → highest damage value, plus the weapon’s or ability’s Critical Feature
Each weapon or ability lists three damage values, one for each Hit Strength.
Examples:
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Longsword: 3, 5, 7
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Flanged Mace: 2, 6, 8
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Longbow: 4, 5, 6
Guard Points
Guard Points (GP) represent a combatant’s ability to defend themselves before an attack connects. When you are hit, you may spend one Guard Point to perform a Dodge or a Block.
Guard reduces damage only. It does not reduce the Hit Strength of the attack.
Dodge
Spend 1 GP when you are hit by a single attack to reduce its Hit Strength by 1 (minimum 0)
If this reduces the attack’s Hit Strength to 0, you may immediately move 1 space.
If you have the Evasion talent, roll your Dodge Die. On a 5+, reduce the attack’s Hit Strength by 2 instead.
Example:
A longsword (3, 5, 7) lands a Medium Hit for 5 damage.
You Dodge the attack, reducing it to Light Hit (3 damage).
Block
Spend 1 GP when you are hit by a single attack to reduce the damage by up to 3
Damage cannot be reduced below 1
If you have the Deflect talent (or you're carrying a shield), roll your Block Die. Reduce the damage by the rolled result (minimum 3) instead of 3 (still minimum 1 damage).
Example:
A longsword (3, 5, 7) lands a Medium Hit for 5 damage.
You Block the attack, reducing damage by 3.
Two Weapon Fighting
When attacking with a weapon in each hand, roll two d20s at the same time — one for the main hand, one for the off-hand.
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Choose the higher roll (before adding bonuses).
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Apply your Attack Roll bonuses (Attribute, Proficiency, Specialization) to the chosen die.
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You hit with the weapon tied to that die.
Off-hand Restriction
The off-hand weapon can only hit with Hit Strength 1 (Light Hit), even if the Attack Roll result would qualify for Medium or Critical.
Double Hit
If both dice show the same number, you strike with both weapons at the same time. The main hand deals damage as normal and the off-hand its restricted to Light Hit.
Without the Two-Weapon Fighting talent, you're usually better off using a single weapon.
Area Attacks
Some weapons, techniques, or abilities affect more than one target at once.
Single Roll
The attacker makes one attack roll, compared separately against each affected creature.
Defense
Each target defends separately. You cannot use Guard to Block Area Attacks — only Dodge.
Minimum Damage
On a successful defense, a target still suffers damage equal to Hit Strength 1. This minimum damage does not apply if the attack missed completely before any Guard Points were used.