Part 6: Adventuring ☰
This chapter details the basic and more simplistic aspects of running a combat encounter in Iron & Aether. More advanced mechanics and strategies are covered in the next chapter.
Combat begins when the PCs and a group of hostile creatures and/or NPCs abandon diplomacy and decide to settle their problems with violence, though that is not to say things cannot still be settled peacefully if a great enough effort is made. This chapter details the general flow and order of events in combat, as well as laying down a few general rules that should help things flow more smoothly.
At the start of combat, the order in which each combatant acts must be determined. To do so, record each fighter's Reflex and place them in descending order (i.e. the highest at the top and the lowest at the bottom); creatures who tie can be placed in any order, though PCs always win ties with NPCs. Then, at the start of each round, group allied combatants together by their place in initiative order, and have each member of the first group in initiative take their turn simultaneously, moving onto the next group once every combatant in the first group has finished their turn, and so on until every combatant has taken their turn. If combat has not resolved after the last participant has acted, then start over again at the top of the list, descending through it again until combat is over.
Creatures who join combat after it starts take their turns starting the round after they joined.
Example Initiative. As an example, say combat erupts between 3 PCs, 2 Trow, and 3 Wolves. The PCs have Reflexes of 4 (+4), 3.5 (+4), and 2 (+3); the Trow both have Reflexes of 3.5 (+4); the Wolves all have Reflexes of 2 (+3). The PC with a Reflex of 4 (+4) will be placed at the top of the initiative order and their compatriot with the Reflex of 3.5 (+4) will be placed immediately beneath them, then both Trow, then the third PC, and finally the Wolves go last. The first and second PCs will take their turns simultaneously, as will the Trow, then the third PC, then the Wolves. If the Trow are removed from combat, such as by dying or fleeing, then on the round after the last Trow is removed, all of the PCs will act simultaneously. On the other hand, if the third PC (the one acting between the Trow and the Wolves) is removed, then the Trow and the Wolves will still act separately unless they are allied for whatever reason.
This order can also be used for determining who gets to act when in non-combat situations, such as when searching a room, looting bodies after combat, talking to NPCs, or when resolving Downtime activities. In these cases, treat each PC as their own separate entity, as grouping them up would be redundant.
At the start of combat, the GM determines who, if anyone, is surprised. Surprised creatures are placed in the initiative order as normal, however they do not partake in the first round of combat and attacks against them during this time have advantage.
When combat starts, it is important to determine where everyone is placed on the battlefield, if that hasn’t been done already. If playing using a grid or some sort of map, this part should be trivial. If there is no such grid or the party has chosen to go the Theater of the Mind route, then the GM will, for the most part, determine where everyone on the battlefield is, with the help of the players and their chosen marching order or previously stated positions.
Once initiative and surprise have been determined and the combatants’ positions established, combat begins in earnest. Every round of combat lasts 3 seconds, and each creature’s turn describes what they are doing during that 3 seconds using their actions, reaction, and movement. Pay attention as each combatant takes their turn, so that when your turn comes around, you can quickly utilize it to its fullest potential.
When making an attack, the amount of time a character uses to do so is determined by the Time Cost of the weapon, though this amount may be reduced by their DEX. The amount of damage an attack deals is determined by the weapon's damage die and the attacking creature's proficiency with the weapon's type. Generally, there are two forms of attacks a character can make: melee attacks and ranged attacks.
Attacking in Melee. A creature is considered engaged in melee combat if they are within the range of >1 of an opponent's equipped melee weapons. Most melee weapons, unless they have the Short or Long property, have a range of 2m. Melee attacks are reduced by a creature’s M-DEF score.
Attacking at Range. A ranged weapon’s standard range and long range are listed next to their ammunition. If an attack is made in the weapon’s standard range, the attack is made as normal. If the attack is made in the weapon’s long range or against a prone target, then it has disadvantage. For Archery weapons, firing while prone also grants disadvantage, whereas with Firearm weapons, firing while prone grants advantage. Lastly, ranged attacks made in melee range with two-handed weapons have disadvantage, but such attacks with one-handed weapons do not. Ranged attacks are always reduced by a creature’s R-DEF score.
Should a creature voluntarily exit the melee range of one of their opponents, that opponent can use their reaction to make an Attack of Opportunity (or Opportunity Attack) against the moving creature. Additionally, a creature can also provoke an Opportunity Attack by casting a spell that has a range other than Touch or Self while in melee range of their opponent.
Whenever you make an attack of any kind (except for most spells), in addition to your damage dice, roll a single d20; if the result of this d20 roll is > the Crit Minimum (Crit Min) of your weapon, then the total of your damage roll for that attack is doubled. The Crit Min of a weapon, as well as the damage done by critical hits, may be altered according to certain class features, equipment, or other special exceptions. This does not apply to spells unless the spell itself explicitly says otherwise.
When a creature wields two Small or Medium melee weapons at once (Polearm weapons cannot be dual-wielded), their Worn Armor score is increased by their proficiency with whichever one of those weapons they are more proficient with. For example, if a character with 3 proficiency in Medium weapons and 1 proficiency in Small were to wield a rapier in one hand and a stiletto in the other, their Worn Armor score would increase by 3. In the case of dual-wielding Large weapons, the character must be Big or bigger and be able to wield each weapon one-handed (to wield a two-handed weapon in one hand, a character's STR score must be >1 + the STR requirement of the weapon).
The character loses this bonus if they become unable to use their arms (such as by being restrained or paralyzed) or if they wear armor that grants disadvantage on DEX checks, including Medium or Large shields.