Combat begins when you or someone else attempts to shoot, hit, or otherwise harm someone.
The first thing to do is determine the order in which you may act – who is quick enough to strike first. This is done by drawing initiative cards.

Initiative and Rounds

Combat is divided into rounds. During each round everyone takes turns performing actions. When everyone is done, the round is over and another one begins.

Before the fighting begins, everyone involved draws a card to determine the order each participant (willing or otherwise) performs their actions in.
Take ten playing cards numbered 1 to 10. Shuffle them and let everyone participating in the fight draw one card each. The value of the card is your initiative.

Put your initiative card next to your character sheet so everyone can see it. The Director puts the cards of NPCs and creatures in front of them, so you can see them as well.
If you are facing multiple opponents identical to each other, the Director may choose to draw a single card for them as a group.

The one with the lowest initiative goes first.
They perform their actions, followed by the person with the second lowest initiative, and so on until everyone has finished their turn. Once this is done, the round is over, and you start a new round in the same turn order. You do not draw new cards during the fight.

A round is not an exact measure of time. Usually each turn lasts a few seconds – long enough to aim and shoot, or dive out of the way.

Swapping Initiative

You and another player character can choose to swap initiative cards during combat. You may only swap cards at the start of the round– before anyone has performed their actions.

Your player characters must be able to talk to each other in order to swap initiative. In combat, extra successes can be used to outmaneuver the opponent (see Actions), forcing them to swap initiative cards with you. If you are fighting a creature with multiple initiative cards, you get to pick the one you want.

Zones and Distance

The scene where combat takes place is divided into zones.
A zone is an area where it only takes a couple of steps to engage the enemy in close combat.
To hit enemies one zone away you need thrown weapons, while reaching someone two zones away requires a bow.

Zones can vary in size depending on terrain.

Usually it is an open space delimited by walls, stairs, a river or other similar features. When combat begins the Director can draw a map of the area and mark each zone. The Director can also mark places where it is possible to take cover.

Some obstacles can only be moved through, over or around by performing a Maneuver or passing an Action test. For example, it might take a successful Force test and a slow action to clear a pile of rubble blocking an exit.

Circumstances

If a fight takes place under particularly difficult circumstances, the Director may decide that certain Action tests are harder to pass. For example, when fighting in darkness you may need an extra success to Shoot.

The Director should only require extra successes when the circumstances clearly reduce the chance of success. Fog and dim light may contribute to the atmosphere, but should not affect Action tests.

Since some creatures are not affected by things like darkness, it can be tactical for them to choose the time and place of the confrontation. The player characters can also use such circumstances to their advantage.

Maneuver in Combat

Humans, animals, and most monsters can perform two Maneuvers per turn, one slow and one fast.

Slow Maneuvers take more time and usually involve a skill test. Fast Maneuvers are quick and rarely require a test to succeed; you might shout a word or two, or draw your weapon.

If you want, you can perform a fast Maneuver instead of your slow one and thus get two fast Maneuvers that round.

Some fast Maneuvers are reactions– usually a movement to evade attacks. Reactions may be performed at any time during the round.
This means that you can use your fast Maneuvers before your turn, or wait until after your turn to be ready for an enemy’s attacks. When using reactions to protect yourself, you must choose to spend your Maneuvers before you know whether your opponent’s attack roll fails or succeeds.

Typical Slow Maneuvers

Typical Fast Maneuvers

Movement in Combat

You can use a fast Maneuver to position yourself anywhere within your zone. If the enemy is hiding behind cover or located far away in the zone, you may have to spend a fast Maneuver to get close enough to make a close combat attack. Entering an adjacent zone also requires a fast Maneuver.

Close Combat (Strike or Force)

Unarmed attacks are performed with Force. When armed with melee weapons you Strike.

You need one success to hit your target, dealing damage as indicated on the Weapons table. The damage value shown is the number of Physical Harm that afflict the enemy as a result of your attack.

When rolling multiple successes you can choose to deal additional damage (for more on using extra successes in combat, see Actions). For each success the opponent suffers another Harm.

Human NPCs and animals suffer Harm, but the Director may have Harm points instead of writing out each Harm, but it works in a similar way. For example, an NPC who is hit for 3 damage takes 3 Harm points and gets 3 fewer dice on their next test.

Ranged Combat (Shoot)

Ranged attacks are performed with Shoot.

The Range value indicates how many zones your weapon can reach from where you are standing. A zero means that you can only use that weapon against enemies in the same zone, whereas a one or more means it possible to attack enemies in adjacent zones.

A sling with range 0–1 can be used in the same zone as your enemy or one zone away. A Longbow with range 1–3 can be used against enemies one, two, or three zones away from you, but not against those in the same zone.

Casting Magic (Cast)

See Overview of Casting.

Dodging and Parrying

When attacked, you can use your fast action to parry in close combat, or dodge an arrow or some other ranged attack. Both of these are reactions you can use at any time during the round, even if it is not your turn.
This means that you can choose to “save” your fast action in case you need to parry later in the round– but you can also use it before your turn.

You dodge or parry by passing an Action test. You use Finesse to dodge, and Force or Strike to parry depending on whether or not you are armed.

Each success deducts one success from the enemy’s attack. If you deduct all the enemy’s successes, the attack misses. By rolling more successes than required you may choose to swap initiative cards with your enemy.

You must choose to dodge or parry before you know whether the enemy has succeeded with her attack.

Holding and Wrestling

When attempting to wrestle or grapple your opponent, you make a Force test. Your opponent can use a reaction to break free, also using Force.
If you succeed, they are restrained and cannot perform any actions other than breaking free or shouting.
Preventing your opponent from speaking by putting your hand over their mouth requires an extra success.

The opponent is restrained until you let them go or they break free.
Once per turn they may use a fast action to try and break free. You can use hold as a reaction.

The two of you then make an opposed roll for Force.
The person being held must get more successes than their opponent in order to break free. If you get the same number of successes the situation remains unchanged. If you do not use a reaction to hold them, they only require a single success to break free.

The person being held can parry, but cannot attack or flee until they manage to break free.

Fleeing and Chasing

To Flee you use Finesse or Sneak depending on what's appropriate for the situation. A successful Action test means that you leave the fight; if you fail, you remain in the same zone (in addition to any other outcomes). You cannot flee if doing so would require you to move through a zone occupied by an enemy (this does not include the zone the character starts their turn in).

An opponent standing in the same zone as you can try to prevent you from fleeing. They use a reaction to chase and then makes a Finesse or Track test. Each of their successes deducts one success from your result. If they manage to deduct all your successes, you stay in the fight. Both of you have moved one zone in the direction you were fleeing.

Ambush and Sneak Attack

In order to ambush or sneak attack your opponent you roll Sneak against Track or Read depending on the situation. If successful you may draw an extra initiative card and pick the best one. Each extra success adds +1 to your first Maneuver of the round.

If the sneak attack fails you are detected, and your opponent may draw an extra initiative card and pick the best one. If there are several ambushers only one of you makes a Sneak test and the result applies to all of you.

In some situations, the Director may decide that no Action tests are required in order to surprise your enemy. In that case, you may automatically draw an extra initiative card.

Injuries

As previously mentioned, taking damage causes you to suffer Harm– the type of damage (mental or physical) determines the type of Harm that afflicts you.
In combat, the weapon’s damage value indicates how many Levels of Harm you get.

See Harm & Healing.

Special Effects

Your player character might end up in, or even cause, an array of dangerous or frightening situations that are not directly involved with combat, although they can certainly occur during combat as well. The rules for the effects of these situations are presented below.

Fear

When encountering monsters, being exposed to magic, or feeling scared or stressed as a result of seeing something horrible like gore or dead bodies, it takes effort not to lose control and become mentally harmed.

In a situation where the Director calls for a Fear test, you make an Endure test.

Add additional dice equal to the number of player characters present in the scene (maximum +3 dice). Player characters who have Sever Mental Harm do not count.

If you make a Fear test during combat you use the number of player characters situated in the same zone as you.

The Fear value of the creature, magic, or occurrence indicates how many successes you need. If successful, you manage to control your emotions and can act normally. Extra successes have no effect.

On failure suffer 1 more Mental Harm than you would normally on a failure.

Fear Position and Outcome

Whether you flee, freeze, faint, or attack is up to you.

Lastly, it should be noted that if you take Harm from Fear in a situation that isn’t particularly hazardous, where the duration of the effect or your exact reaction is irrelevant, the Director can let you improvise your reaction and how long it lasts– for example if you are examining a mutilated corpse in an otherwise secure location.

Fire

Catching fire causes you to take damage and suffer a Physical Harm. If the fire is not extinguished, you will keep taking damage at the start of each subsequent round. The amount of damage depends on the intensity of the fire (see Fire table), but also on an automatic Endure test you make to reduce the damage.

Each success deducts 1 point of damage. The only actions you can perform while burning are attempts to extinguish the fire, flee, or shout.

Extinguishing the fire is a slow action and requires a successful Finesse test. More intense fires are harder to put out and require a greater number of successes. The successes are saved between rounds, which means that you can start extinguishing it on one turn and finish on your next.

Poison

Poison is measured in toxicity. A weak poison has toxicity 3, a strong one has toxicity 6, and an extremely potent one has 9 or more.
When you are subjected to poison, you and the Director make an opposed roll. The Director rolls as many dice as the poison’s toxicity, while you Endure.
If successful you do not take any damage. If it is a tie you suffer one Harm. If you fail, you suffer a number of Harm equal to the Director’s successes.

In subsequent rounds you keep acquiring Harm, though one fewer for each round.

The effect of the poison can be canceled by using an antidote.

Falling Damage

When you fall 10 feet or more onto a hard surface, the Director rolls an attack against your Endure. They roll a number of dice for each 5 feet you fall. For each success more than your Endure test, you get a Physical Harm. Armor offers no protection.

Tired, Hungry, Thirsty

If you do not eat, drink, or rest, the Director will ask you to make an Endure test, where failing means you suffer a Harm. The Director decides whether it is physical or mental.

Healing

See Healing.