When it is not your turn to act in combat, you are in the Defensive Turn. During this phase you cannot move, use items, use skills, cast spells, use minor runic manipulations, or attack. You can only defend, evade, use defensive skills, or counter attack. You can however participate in story interaction — talking, reacting to events, and so on — even while in your defensive turn.
Defense Actions
During the Defensive Turn, you may only take the following actions:
- Defend: Attempt to reduce or absorb damage from an attack directed at you.
- Evade: Make an Evade check to avoid being hit entirely.
- Guard: If you have the Guard ability, you can defend others in addition to yourself.
- Use Defensive Skills: Any skill designated as a defensive skill can be used during your defensive turn.
- Counter Attack: If you have a counter attack skill, you can use it as your defensive action.
- Attack of Opportunity: If an enemy triggers an Attack of Opportunity, you can make use of it even during your defensive turn.
Special Defense Situations
Your ability to defend or evade is affected by where an attack comes from and what type of attack it is. Because your field of vision is limited to your front, attacks from the side or behind give you less time to react — reducing your ability to defend effectively. These penalties apply equally when you are the attacker and your target is caught off-guard.
| Defense Situation | Description | Effect on Defense |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Melee Attack from the Front, or Thrown Object (Thrown Object here means objects not designed as throwing weapons) |
A basic attack from directly in front of your character. | No penalty. |
| Attack From Behind or While Distracted | Any attack coming from behind, or while you are distracted. | Requires a successful Hard Perceive check to defend. −5 to Evade. |
| Attack From the Side | Any attack from the left or right of your character. | −2 to Evade. |
| Most Projectiles and Throwing Weapons (weapons designed for throwing) |
Defending against a projectile from a bow or other ranged weapon. | The weapon itself imposes a penalty to the defender's Evade. No additional situational penalty. |
| Explosions or Large Areas of Effect | Any area of effect attack covering more than one space. | Can only attempt an Evade check if you are just barely within the affected area. Otherwise cannot evade unless the spell or effect states otherwise. |
| Seen Single Target Spells | A spell affecting only one target that can be seen. | No penalty or bonus. |
| Invisible or Very Fast Single Target Spells | A single target spell that either cannot be seen or moves extremely fast. | −2 to Evade against very fast spells. −5 to Evade against invisible spells, and only if the defender can detect the spell with a Hard to Impossible Perceive check. |
| Covert Attacks | Any attack that is hard to notice. | Requires a Hard to Impossible Perceive check to defend against at all. |
Defensive Skills
Certain skills can be used to defend yourself or aid your allies during the defensive turn. Any skill designated as a defensive skill can be used here. Check your skill list for which of your skills qualify — defensive skills are your main tool for actively shaping what happens when you are being attacked.
Defending Against Spectators
If a spectator attacks you during the battle, defending against them works a little differently than defending against a participant.
First you must make a successful Perceive check to notice the incoming attack. If the spectator is hidden, apply any relevant penalties. If you succeed, you can defend normally. If you fail, you must take the damage without any defensive action.
Defending against a spectator does not pull them into the battle as a participant — unless you use a counter attack skill as your defensive action, in which case they become a participant.
Evade
You can attempt an Evade check any time your character is attacked — physical or magical — as long as all of the following are true:
- You know you are being attacked. If you have no awareness of the attack, you cannot evade.
- You are conscious.
- You are not prone — you must be standing and able to move.
- You are not Dazed. The Dazed status removes the ability to evade.
- You are not Berserked. The Berserk status removes the ability to evade.
- If you are in the middle of casting a spell, you must also make a Normal Focus check when you evade or are hit. Failing this check ends your spell casting.
Evade checks are free — they do not cost an action. You may make one and only one evade check each time you are attacked.
Evade Check Difficulty
The difficulty of an Evade check depends on the situation. For simpler play, you can treat all evade checks as Hard difficulty (15 or greater). The table below gives a fuller breakdown for groups that want more variety.
| Evade Situation | Description | Difficulty | Must Roll |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal — Evenly Matched | Both attacker and defender are at ground level and similar size. | Normal | 15 or greater |
| Flying Target | The defender is flying. | Normal +2 | 17 or greater |
| Small Target | The defender is 50% or more smaller than the attacker. | Hard | 20 or greater |
| Large Target | The defender is 50% or more larger than the attacker. | Easy +2 | 12 or greater |
| Prone, Trapped, or Stunned | The defender cannot move. | No evade possible | N/A |
| Dazed or Hindered | The defender is dazed, winded, or overburdened. | Impossible | 25 or greater |
| Can't See | The defender cannot see or detect the incoming attack. | No evade possible | N/A |
Other evade situations may arise — check with the GM for anything not listed here.
Taking Damage
When you are hit and fail or forgo a defensive action, damage is applied to your Vitality. How much damage gets through depends on your armor.
Your armor has four protective values:
- Physical Armor: Protects against physical damage. Roll the armor's Physical Armor dice and add any flat values — the result is how much physical damage is absorbed.
- Magical Armor: Protects against magical damage. Roll the armor's Magical Armor dice and add any flat values — the result is how much magical damage is absorbed.
- Defense: An additional flat reduction to physical damage. This is not added to your Defense trait — it only applies if you succeed at your Defense check. If you succeed, reduce the incoming physical damage by the armor's Defense score.
- Spirit: An additional flat reduction to magical damage. This is not added to your Spirit trait — it only applies if you succeed at your Spirit check. If you succeed, reduce the incoming magical damage by the armor's Spirit score.
Damage is always reduced in this order:
- Physical attack: Physical Armor first, then Defense (if Defense check succeeds). Whatever remains reduces Vitality.
- Magical attack: Magical Armor first, then Spirit (if Spirit check succeeds). Whatever remains reduces Vitality.
Bob has 20 Vitality. His armor has a Defense of 10 and Physical Armor of 2d8.
An enemy hits Bob for 20 damage and Bob fails his Evade check. Bob makes his Defense check and succeeds.
Bob rolls his Physical Armor: 2d8 = 6. Add Defense: 6 + 10 = 16 absorbed.
20 − 16 = 4 damage gets through.
20 Vitality − 4 = 16 Vitality remaining.
Bob is hurt but alive. Without his armor, that hit would have killed him.
Minimum Damage Rule: At least 1 point of damage must always affect the target's Vitality if the target does not evade, regardless of how much armor absorbs. The GM decides whether to apply this rule.
Death
If your character's Vitality reaches 0, your character is dead. Only very specific spells or services can bring someone back from death.
However, the moment your Vitality reaches 0 you may attempt a free Vitality Save to stand back up with 1 Vitality. You get one free Save check upon reaching 0. If you fail, your character stays dead. Each subsequent round you may try again at a cost of 1d20 XP per attempt. After 4 rounds without a successful save, your character is permanently dead and only a very powerful spell could hope to bring them back.