Combat Rules

Story Lens

Steel, Space, and Seconds

Combat rewards position and timing, not just big numbers

At the bridge choke point, Tamsin did not win by hitting hardest. She stepped inside the spear line, forced the raider backward into uneven stones, and bought her ally one clean opening. The fight turned because of placement, not damage alone.

Combat rules in OpenRPG model that tempo. Initiative, reach, line of sight, and pressure all matter from round to round. You can still be heroic, but heroics land best when the table can see the tactical trade you made to earn them.

• Resolve intent, then position, then roll — so fiction and mechanics stay synchronized.
• Treat advantages like cover, spacing, and setup as real resources that shape outcomes.
• Escalate danger when players overextend, and reward disciplined teamwork with cleaner turns.

Introduction

Fights in OpenRPG resolve in seconds of in-world time, but at the table they play out with full tactical depth.

Combat in OpenRPG is unforgiving. Most fights last seconds — a skirmish ends in one or two exchanges, a larger battle in minutes. At the table, the same combat takes longer: each combatant acts in turn, positioning and consequences compound round by round, and a fight involving many factions can fill a session. That pacing is intentional. The tactical detail is what makes the danger feel real.

Dice Mechanics

Combat checks use the same difficulty ladder as the rest of the game — pick the skill, pick the tier, and the sheet provides the target number.

When a combat check matters, choose the relevant skill, then the difficulty tier. The character sheet already shows the target number for that skill at each tier, so you do not build the number yourself. Roll percentile dice and compare the result to that target.

• Attack: choose the relevant combat skill, pick the difficulty tier, and roll against the sheet's target number.
• Defend: choose the defending skill and resolve the same way — the sheet provides the target number.
• Skill use in combat: checks like climbing, shouting commands, or forcing a door during a fight work the same way — each resolves against that skill's target number at the chosen tier.

Difficulty - Combat

Difficulty tier reflects the situation, not the opponent's level. The tier picks the column; the character sheet provides the number.

Difficulty tier reflects the situation — terrain, position, light, footing — not the opponent's level. A level-5 wolf in an open field is still Moderate. Level makes a creature dangerous through its attributes: higher reflexes mean a harder evasion number, higher coordination means a more accurate strike. The tier tells you which column to read; the attributes determine what you are rolling against.

Quick GM Rubric

Movement

Movement is measured in hexes — one hex equals one metre. A combat round is approximately six seconds. Characters may move before and after their main action.

Each combatant has a base movement value derived from their Reflexes, Endurance, and Wits. This value is the number of hexes they can move in a single combat round. Movement may be split freely before and after the main action on a combatant's turn.

• Base movement is measured in hexes. One hex equals one metre.
• A combat round is approximately six seconds.
• Movement may be split — a combatant may move, take their main action, then move again with any remaining movement.
• Sprint speed is base movement ×2 and costs the main action.
• Fleeing costs the full round with no main action, allowing greater distance than a sprint.
• Difficult terrain increases movement cost. Ground obstacles, strong wind, and water flow each apply penalties.

Consequences

Consequences are threshold-based effects triggered by hit outcomes, ranging from short-term penalties to lasting injuries.

When an attack lands, the GM assesses whether the outcome crosses a consequence threshold. Consequences may be physical or mental, short-term or long-term, and can modify skills or attributes.

Surprise

A character caught off guard when combat begins loses their first-round action and cannot act until the second round.

Surprise is assessed when one side initiates combat without warning — an ambush, a sudden draw, or an attack from outside a character's awareness. The GM determines whether surprise applies based on the situation. Characters with passive detection skills such as Sense Ambush or Trap Detection may receive a check to avoid being caught off guard; a failed check or no applicable skill means the character is surprised. A surprised character loses their first-round action entirely and joins normal initiative order from round two onward.

• A surprised character loses their entire first-round action — they cannot attack, defend, or move until round two.
• The GM may apply surprise to one side, individual characters, or no one, depending on the scene.
• Passive detection skills (Sense Ambush, Trap Detection) give a character a chance to avoid surprise; the GM sets the difficulty tier from the fiction.
• A character who is surprised but not incapacitated still benefits from any passive armor or damage reduction.

Initiative and Turn Order

Initiative is a sheet-calculated interoperable skill. Combatants act in descending order each round; the GM tracks the sequence.

Each combatant's initiative is an interoperable skill value calculated on the character sheet — no roll required. Before combat begins, the GM records the order from highest to lowest. That sequence holds for the duration of the fight. When every active combatant has taken their turn, the round ends and the cycle repeats from the top.

• Ties are broken by Reflexes first, then Wits. If still tied, the GM determines the order.
• A combatant who joins mid-combat enters the order at their initiative value and acts when their position next comes around.
• Incapacitated or fled combatants are removed from the order.

Turn-Based Combat

Combat is resolved in rounds, usually representing 1 to 6 seconds of real time, with a repeatable sequence for each exchange.

1. Assess Surprise: characters caught off guard may lose the first round.
2. Determine Initiative: highest initiative acts first, with Reflexes and Wits breaking ties.
3. Calculate Fatigue: combat actions reduce stamina, and severe exhaustion imposes escalating action penalties.
4. Apply Active Consequences: both short-term and long-term penalties may modify the turn.
5. Resolve Attacker Action: choose attack type, determine skill, apply modifiers, and roll percentile dice.
6. Resolve Defender Action: choose defense type, determine skill, apply modifiers, and roll percentile dice.
7. Resolve Hit and Damage: determine location, severity, weapon damage, and possible armor sundering.
8. Apply Consequences: if thresholds are crossed, assign short-term or long-term effects.
9. Record Fatigue: both attacker and defender track expenditure after the exchange.
10. End of Round: once everyone has acted, return to Step 1 and repeat until combat ends.

Attack and Defense Resolution

Attacks and defenses follow parallel structures: choose the method, determine skill, apply modifiers, then resolve on percentile dice. Both sides roll against their own skill-derived target.

Attacker Action

• Choose attack type or weapon: ranged, thrown, one-handed, two-handed, polearms, shield, unarmed, or other.
• Determine the relevant combat skill from the combat skills reference.
• Apply modifiers, including difficulty, weapon effects, and active consequences.
• Roll percentile dice: 96–100 is a critical success, 01–05 is a critical failure. Ordinary success still requires beating the current target number.

Defender Action

If the attack roll succeeds, the defender selects a defense from the options available to them and rolls against their own skill-derived target number at the current difficulty tier.

Hit, Consequences, and End of Round

Once an attack lands, the exchange shifts to location, damage, consequence thresholds, fatigue accounting, and round continuation.

• If an attack lands, roll for location, assess severity, roll weapon damage, and check for armor sundering.
• On a critical success or fumble by either side, consult the Red Ledger for location, severity, and additional effects.
• If consequence thresholds are crossed, the GM decides whether the effect is short-term or long-term and assigns the relevant penalty or bonus.
• Record fatigue changes for both attacker and defender after the exchange.
• At the end of the round, repeat the process from Step 1 until the fight ends.