Turn Order:  A round of combat lasts roughly 4-8 seconds in Halenoth.  With every new round each participant in a battle, takes a turn.  Turns are decided by an initiative roll which occurs at the beginning of each encounter.  Once the order has been completed, the order begins anew. Combat ends once one party has defeated the other(s).

Initiative: This skill is rolled to determine the order of combat.  Initiative is a Dexterity based skill.

What can one do on their turn? Due to the time constraints of writing and the medium Halenoth uses, combat will primarily be attacks. 

Every round, combatants will be allowed one action and one reaction. An action may only be taken on a player’s turn.

Reactions may be carried out once per round in a response to another creature’s action. Reactions are limited only to specific skills and may only be used once per round.

 

Armor Class (AC):  AC is decided by your class, and can be improved by leveling and other methods. This number determines how easy or hard you are to hit, for example. Your AC is 15. That means your attacker must score an attack roll of 15 and above, in order to perform a damage roll against you. If they roll beneath that number, it is counted as a miss. 

 

Hit Points:  If you are dropped to 0 hit points, you are rendered unconscious.  However, should you be dropped to below double your max HP value, you are instantly killed.  HP is determined by a combination of race, class, and character levels. 

 

Critical Hits:  When you roll a natural 20 on an attack roll, you automatically deal double damage for your damage dice. Additionally, status effects can occur at GM’s discretion.
 

Attacking in Combat: 
1.  Choose a target
2. Roll 1d20+ your AR level to determine a successful attack against the target's AC. 
3. Roll damage on a successful attack roll (Will vary depending on Class)

If there’s ever any question on whether or not something you’re doing counts as an attack, the rule is simple: If you’re making an attack roll, you’re making an attack. 

 

Combat Actions: In Halenoth each turn of combat is separated into one of two major categories.

 

Standard Actions: A standard action most often involves spell casting, attack rolls and rolling for damage. Typically, these rolls may only be made once per round and only when it is your turn in the combat order. Fast Actions and Reactions Like Standard Actions, Fast Actions may only be made once per round. Additionally, they may only be carried out once it is your turn in the combat order. Fast actions are typically minor buffs or abilities and can be used in the same turn as that of a Standard Action. Unlike both Standard and Fast Actions, Reactions may be used during any point in a turn order where they may apply. Like the aforementioned two, a Reaction may only be used once per round.

 

NOTE: A player that utilizes a Fast Action during their turn forgoes the opportunity to utilize a Reaction ability for the remainder of the round. Similarly, a player utilizing a Reaction ability before their turn in the combat order forgoes the opportunity to utilize a Fast Action for the remainder of the round.

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Downed State: In combat, downed state is different than a knock out. A player reaches downed state when they sustain half their total health in the negatives. For example, a warrior's total HP is 60. At the end of combat, their health is -30 or lower. Once this happens a player must make death saving throws to fight for life. 

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Fight for Life:  If you are downed in combat by a foe with murderous intent, you begin to roll life throws.  All life throws are unmodified d20s. Best ⅔, two successes and you’re up, two failures, and you’re dead.  However, rolling a natural 20 breeds instant success, while rolling a natural 1 causes instant death.

Stabilizing a downed player:  All players in fight for life are able to be stabilized.  This can happen in one of two ways. Either another player can heal them, instantly rendering them conscious. Or they can attempt to stabilize them with a successful medicine check.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Death only occurs at a GM’s discretion.  However, we would like Halenoth to be and feel dangerous. So should a player put themselves into a deadly situation, they should be ready to accept the consequences. 

Debilitating effects and class utility:  There are hard crowd controls (loss of turn), and soft crowd control (restricted actions for turn).  Certain spells and class abilities can cause or offset these debilitating effects.