Defense represents a character's reaction to an opponent's attack. Every time a character is attacked and is aware of it - The result the Attack Check is compared to the Defense value.
Dodge Bonus
This is a bonus received from Defensive Talents such as Footwork and Evasion. There are three levels of proficiency: Basic, Advanced and Master and give respectively +2, +4 or +6, bonus to defense. Total dodge bonus cannot exceed +6.
Defense = 6 + Bonus from Agility + Dodge Bonus + Shield Bonus
Shield Bonus
There are two types of defense depending on what the character is defending against. They have additional bonuses that can increase its value and are defined as follows:
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Melee Defense
Used against melee weapon attacks. Can be increased by Talents: Parry and Evasive Footwork
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Ranged Defense
Used against attacks with standard ranged weapons. Can be further increased by talents: Evasion and Deflect Projectiles
This is a bonus received by being equipped with a shield. Standard shields only give +2 to defense but the Shield Mastery Talent can increase this bonus to +4 or even +6. Alternatively, talents such as Parry and Deflect Missiles also increase the shield bonus. Total shield bonus cannot exceed +6.
Defense Types
Block Points
In addition to the standard Defense, each character also has Block Points (BP). These allow the character to perform defensive reactions to potentially successful attacks. A newly created character has 3 Block Points.
Block Points regenerate much faster than standard Hit Points. They fully regenerate at Short Rest. Otherwise, they regenerate at a rate of one Block Point per hour.
Dodge
You move out of the way of the attack. You can use your Reaction and spend one Block Point to reduce the Hit Strength by 1.
You need to be able to move freely to Dodge the attack. If you reduce the Hit Strength to zero you can immediately move to the adjacent space. This movement does not provoke Attack of Opportunity from the attacker.
If you have Evasive Footwork or Evasion talent, you roll an additional dice and for every three points you roll, reduce the Strength of Hit by another point.
Block
You use your weapon to block the attack. You can use your Reaction and spend one Block Point to reduce the Damage by 3. ​
You cannot block ranged attacks unless you are carrying a shield (unless you posses Deflect Projectiles talent). If you reduce the Damage to zero you deflect the attack so hard that the enemy cannot make another attack against you on their turn.
If you have Parry or Deflect Projectiles talent, you roll an additional dice and further reduce the damage by the rolled amount.​
Area Attacks
Some attacks affect an area instead of targeting a single enemy. When defending against an Area Attack, both Block and Dodge are treated as if the character has no proficiency — talents that normally enhance these defenses, such as Parry or Evasion, do not apply.
Area attacks come in two sizes: small area and large area. The Area Attack Avoidance talent allows a character to Dodge area attacks normally, depending on the size of the effect and the talent's level.