Example Combat

Awl, Gnat, Molnvarg, and Tal are all level 1 PCs. They have tracked a group of armed bandits to some nearby woodlands. They have not yet been spotted, and must move in closer before launching their attack.

Combat always follows the same fixed sequence — see How Combat Works for the full rule. In brief:

1. Determine if any combatant is surprised
2. Roll initiative for those not surprised
3. Complete the surprise round
4. Roll initiative for surprised combatants
5. Begin the first normal round of combat

The PCs begin their approach toward the bandits. Because they have cover (rather than concealment), they may each attempt a Stealth check to Hide, contested by the Perception checks of the nearby bandits.

Since none of the bandits are currently Observing them (no bandit has yet made a successful Perception check with a precise sense), the PCs are unseen — worth a +40 bonus to Stealth if stationary, or +20 while moving. Since they're moving through the trees, the +20 applies:

• Awl rolls a 30
• Gnat rolls a 25
• Molnvarg rolls a 25
• Tal rolls a 22

Each bandit makes 4 Perception checks:

• Bandit #1 only spots Tal
• Bandit #2 spots nobody
• Bandit #3 spots nobody

Because Bandit #1 spotted Tal with a precise sense (sight), Bandit #1 is now Observing him — but has noticed none of the other PCs, who all remain unseen to him.

Bandit #1 has spotted a PC and is not surprised — but he's noticed only Tal, so the rest of the party remains unseen to him. Bandit #2 and Bandit #3 are both surprised, with every PC unseen to them; surprised characters are Flat-Footed until they've had a chance to act.

Only characters who aren't surprised roll initiative for the surprise round, adding their Dex modifier as usual:

• Bandit #1 rolls a 19
• Tal rolls a 16
• Gnat rolls a 12
• Awl rolls a 7
• Molnvarg rolls a 5

During a surprise round, an acting creature can take either a standard or move action, plus a swift action — the full list of named actions lives in the Combat Actions browser.

Bandit #1 spots Tal and spends a move action getting to cover, then uses his Quick Draw feat to draw his needler pistol as a swift action instead of the usual move action required to Draw or Sheathe a Weapon.

Tal spends a standard action to cast a spell. For a ranged spell attack like Energy Ray, several things stack up:

First, Tal needs line of effect to the target. Because of his position among the trees, his line of effect reaches only part of the bandit's square, giving the bandit cover from the attack.

Second, Energy Ray has a range of close, and the bandit is at medium range (30 feet) — a cumulative −2 for each full range increment beyond the first.

Finally, Tal is currently unseen by this bandit, so the bandit is Flat-Footed against Tal's first attack (on top of already being flat-footed from being surprised).

Tal rolls a 17 against the bandit's effective EAC of 12 — a hit, dealing 3 (1d3) fire damage and reducing Bandit #2's HP to 10.

Gnat is already holding her tactical spear, so she doesn't need a move action to draw it. She spends a standard action to throw it at Bandit #2, whom Tal just wounded. She's only 10 feet from the bandit, well within her spear's 20-foot maximum thrown range.

Gnat rolls a natural 1 — an automatic miss (see Automatic Misses and Hits). Per the rules for Missing with a Thrown Weapon, she rolls 1d8 to find where it lands: another 1, meaning it falls short in a straight line toward her. A 1d4 roll of 2 means the spear lands 2 squares short of the bandit.

Awl has a Mk 1 stickybomb grenade prepped. He throws it at the grid intersection closest to Bandits #2 and #3 — since he doesn't have a clear shot through the trees, the intersection itself gets a cover bonus, same as any other target.

Awl rolls a 12 against the intersection's effective AC of 9 — the grenade lands on target and explodes, forcing both bandits to attempt Reflex saves against its entangle effect (see Grenades). The DC is 10 (base) + 0 (half the item's level, rounded down — see Rounding) + 2 (Awl's Dex modifier) − 2 (his range penalty, which also applies to the save DC) = 10.

Bandit #3 rolls an 11, adding his +2 Reflex save bonus for a total of 13 — he resists. Bandit #2 rolls a natural 1: an automatic failure (see Automatic Failures and Successes). He gains the Entangled condition for 5 rounds, the duration set by a 2d4 roll.

Molnvarg uses a swift action to change his grip on his shirren-eye rifle from one-handed to two-handed, then spends a standard action to fire at the entangled Bandit #2 — taking a −4 penalty for a nonlethal shot.

Molnvarg rolls a natural 20 — an automatic hit — and his total of 19 clears the bandit's effective KAC of 8, scoring a critical hit. The shirren-eye rifle has no critical property, but he still rolls two sets of damage dice: 11 damage, dropping the bandit to 0 HP and unconscious.

Because he's at least 10 feet from his target, still in cover, and made only a single ranged attack, Molnvarg counts as Sniping, letting him attempt a Stealth check to hide again as part of the attack at a −20 penalty. He rolls a 10, successfully hiding from Bandit #3 (who is now only aware of his location, not observing him) — Bandit #1 is still observing him.

With the surprise round over, the remaining surprised combatants roll initiative. Bandit #2 rolls too, despite being unconscious — his Dex bonus is +0 while Helpless.

• Bandit #1's initiative is 19
• Tal's initiative is 16
• Bandit #3 rolls a 13
• Gnat's initiative is 12
• Awl's initiative is 7
• Bandit #2 rolls a 7
• Molnvarg's initiative is 5

With the surprise round over, Bandit #1 has his full suite of actions. He drops Prone as a swift action for a +4 bonus to AC against ranged attacks (at the cost of −4 against melee), then uses a move action to draw his survival knife into his off hand.

Having drawn his needler pistol the previous round, he fires it at Gnat with his standard action, hitting for 2 damage and injecting her with turbocurarine, which deals 4 more — first removed from her 6 stamina points before touching her HP.

Gnat fails her DC 14 Fortitude save against the poison and becomes sluggish — a −2 penalty to Reflex saves, Dex-based rolls, and ability DCs, plus Flat-Footed. She must save again on her next turn.

Tal spends a move action to close 30 feet to the prone Bandit #1, then a standard action to cast Jolting Surge — a melee attack against the bandit's EAC. Casting a spell while threatened would normally provoke an Attack of Opportunity, but Jolting Surge specifically says otherwise.

Because the target is Prone and Tal is attacking in melee, the bandit takes a −4 penalty to AC, offsetting Tal's low Strength. He hits for 10 damage.

Bandit #3 spends a full action to Charge, drawing his cestus battleglove, closing the distance, and attacking in one motion. He ends up adjacent to Tal, who is now flanked — both bandits wield melee weapons and threaten his space, granting Bandit #3 a +2 to his attack roll. He hits, and the 7 damage — on top of wounds from earlier that day — knocks Tal unconscious.

Gnat spends a move action to draw her taclash. At 10 feet from Bandit #1, its reach property lets her threaten him from range. She uses a standard action to attempt a disarm combat maneuver — a melee attack roll against the bandit's KAC + 8 (20), with the taclash's disarm property adding +2. She succeeds, plucking the needler pistol from his hand.

She then attempts her pending save against the poison, passing her DC 14 Fortitude check — the poison itself is purged, though she remains sluggish on the progression track; unlike diseases, poisons and drugs need bed rest (or long-term care) to step back toward healthy.

Awl spends a move action to draw his arc pistol and a standard action to fire at Bandit #3. He rolls a natural 20, triggering the pistol's arc critical effect and catching Bandit #1 in the arc as well. Bandit #3 takes double damage from the crit; the arc's own damage isn't multiplied by the critical hit, but it lands another painful hit on Bandit #1, already down to a handful of HP from Tal's earlier Jolting Surge.

Still hidden from Bandit #3, Molnvarg spends his move action to Reload, then his standard action to fire. The bandit is flat-footed against an attack from hiding (see Attacking from Hiding), and the hit finishes him off — ending the combat.

Tal is at 0 HP and unconscious at combat's end, losing 1 Resolve Point at the end of each turn until stable (see Dying). He has a couple of ways to spend Resolve Points:

• Stabilize — one-quarter his maximum RP (minimum 1, maximum 3) on his turn.
• Stay In The Fight — if already stable or knocked out by nonlethal damage, 1 RP at the start of his turn to regain 1 HP, become conscious, and act normally; he can't stabilize and stay in the fight in the same round.

After Tal wakes, the party spends 1 RP each and takes 10 minutes of interrupted rest to recover all stamina points, in lieu of a full night's sleep. A full night's rest (Recovering Hit Points Naturally) restores all stamina, daily spell uses, and 1 HP per character level; 24 hours of complete bed rest recovers 2 HP per level. With only one medkit on hand, the party can also attempt a DC 25 Medicine check to Treat Deadly Wounds, recovering 1 HP per level once per 24 hours.

With the bandits defeated, the PCs collect their gear — sellable for roughly 10% of its base price (see Selling Equipment). In a typical settlement they can spend those credits on items up to their character level + 1; in a major settlement, up to character level + 2 (see Item Level).

As Awl, Molnvarg, Tal, and Gnat move on from this small adventure to the next, we'll see them again — this time in their roles as the heroes (or villains) of We Shall Catch Larks.

• Ability damage/penalties/drain
• Augmentations
• Counting self as ally
• Damage reduction/energy resistance (Damage Reduction (DR) · Energy Resistance)
• Diagonals
• Double movement cost/minimum movement (Double Movement Cost · Minimum Movement)
• Fusions and Fusion Seals
• Improvised Weapons
• Large creatures
• Moving Through Occupied Squares
• Multiplying More Than Once
• Negative levels (see Ability damage, above)
• Rerolls and Rolling Twice
• Spell concentration
• Spell resistance
• Temporary Hit Points
• Using weapons/armor without proficiency (Weapon Proficiency · Armor Proficiency)
• Willingly failing saves
• ...and much more

This scenario only tags the named actions it actually uses — the full set of standard, move, swift, full, reaction, and other actions lives in the Combat Actions browser, and the complete tactical rulebook is browsable under Tactical Rules.