Combat

Initiative

AX.C.10.01

Surprise Round

A Surprise Round occurs when one side of a conflict is completely unaware of the other before combat begins.

Each potentially surprised character rolls Wit + Notice
Threshold: 3, or the ambushing character's Stealth Talent value, whichever is higher

Success: The character acts normally in the first Turn. Failure: The character cannot act or react during the first Turn.

Initiative

At the start of combat, all players roll 1D6 to determine when they act each Turn.

5 or higher: Act at the Top of the Turn
4 or lower: Act at the Bottom of the Turn

GM-controlled creatures and characters always act between the Top and Bottom of each Turn.

Holding

A character may Hold their action to shift to the opposite sequence for that Turn only. They reset to their rolled position at the start of the next Turn.

Example, Holding from Bottom: A character rolls Bottom. They Hold, acting at the Top of the next Turn instead. The following Turn they return to Bottom.

Example, Holding from Top: A character rolls Top. They Hold, acting at the Bottom of the same Turn instead. The following Turn they return to Top.

Action Economy

AX.C.10.02

During your Turn you may take the following actions.

ONE Primary Action per Turn
ONE Minor Action per Turn
Unlimited Free Actions per Turn

Primary Actions

The most significant thing a character does on their Turn. Attacking, casting, dashing, and most special abilities are Primary Actions. See AX.C.11.03 for a full list.

Minor Actions

A secondary action taken in addition to the Primary Action. Examples include standing up from Prone, drawing a weapon, or using a quick-activation item.

Free Actions

Instantaneous or trivial actions that carry no meaningful time cost. Examples include dropping an item, speaking a short phrase, or activating a passive ability. The GM may limit Free Actions if a player is attempting to abuse the category.

Reactions

Reactions occur outside of a character's normal Turn in response to a specific trigger. A character may take one Reaction per Turn cycle. Examples include Opportunity Attacks and Triggered Abilities. See AX.C.11.03 for a full list.

The Combat Cycle

Determine if a Surprise Round applies (see AX.C.10.01)
All players roll Initiative (see AX.C.10.01)
Top of Turn: Characters who rolled 5 or higher act
GM Turn: All GM-controlled creatures and characters act
Bottom of Turn: Characters who rolled 4 or lower act
Return to step 3 and repeat until combat is resolved

Combat Actions

AX.C.10.03

Primary Actions

Attack: Make a Strike or Precision attack roll against a target. See Damage below for what happens on a hit.
Cast/Activate: Use a special ability, Odd Talent, or device (timing may vary by ability)
Dash: Move up to Far range (60 ft) this Turn instead of Near range. No other Primary Action may be taken.
Block/Parry: Increase your Defense by 1 until the start of your next Turn
Help/Assist: Give an ally Advantage on their next roll
Ready/Hold: Prepare an action triggered by a specific condition, or delay your action until the end of the current Turn
Use Item: Apply medicine, activate a device, consume a consumable

For a full list of Primary Actions and Reactions, see AX.C.10.03.

Move Actions

A character may move up to Near range (30 ft) as their Move Action each Turn.

Mount/Dismount: Get on or off a vehicle or mount. Costs the Move Action for that Turn.

Reactions

Opportunity Attack: Attack an enemy that moves out of Close range without disengaging
Save vs Effect: Resist or avoid a spell, trap, or other unexpected effect
Triggered Ability: Some special abilities activate as a Reaction to a specific condition

For a full list of Primary Actions and Reactions, see AX.C.10.03.

Damage

When an attack meets or exceeds the target's Defense, the attack hits and deals damage.

Damage = the number of successes rolled on the attack.

Defense determines whether the attack hits. It does not reduce damage. Every success on a successful attack roll translates directly to 1 point of Health damage applied to the target.

Example: A character rolls 4 dice on an attack and scores 3 successes. The target's Defense is 2. The attack hits (3 ≥ 2) and deals 3 damage.

Example: The same roll against a target with Defense 4. The attack misses (3 < 4). No damage is dealt regardless of successes rolled.

Damage is applied to the target's current Health. See AX.C.11 for damage types, Health loss effects, and conditions that may result from taking damage.

Range Bands

All distances in AxiomRPG are expressed as Range Bands. Foot equivalents are provided as a quick reference for grid play.

Band	Distance
Touch	Contact only
Close	0–5 ft (0–1 square)
Near	6–30 ft (2–6 squares)
Far	31–60 ft (7–12 squares)
Distant	61–120 ft (13–24 squares)
Remote	121+ ft (25+ squares)

Combat Conditions

AX.C.10.04

Combat conditions represent positional and situational states that impair a character's ability to act effectively in the moment. These are distinct from persistent Health conditions (see AX.C.12), which reduce Attributes over time.

Pool penalties apply to the relevant dice pool for that action. Attacker Advantage lowers the success threshold to 4+ for any attack made against the affected character.

Prone

The character is on the ground.

Melee attack pools made by this character: -2D
Ranged attack pools made against this character: -1D (reduced profile)
Melee attackers against this character roll with Advantage
Standing up costs the character their Minor Action

Restrained

The character cannot move. Movement is zero for the duration of the condition.

All attack pools made by this character: -2D
Attackers against this character roll with Advantage
Escape requires a successful Body + Athletics or Speed + Acrobatics roll against a Threshold set by the restraint source

Stunned

The character is dazed and non-functional.

Cannot take any action or reaction this Turn
Attackers against this character roll with Advantage

Blinded

The character cannot perceive their environment visually.

All attack pools: -3D
All sight-based Notice pools: -3D
Attackers who can see the character roll with Advantage

Frightened

The character is overwhelmed by fear.

All action pools: -2D while the source of fear is visible or present
Cannot voluntarily move toward the source of fear

Exhausted

The character has been pushed past their physical limits.

All action pools: -1D
Movement halved

Combat Tactics

AX.C.10.05

Cover & Positioning

Partial Cover: +1 Defense (half behind object)
Full Cover: Cannot be targeted (completely behind object)
High Ground: +1 to ranged attacks from elevated position
Flanking: If you and an ally are on opposite sides of enemy, both gain a Bonus, +1D, on melee attacks

Defense

AX.C.10.06

A character's Defense is the number of successes an attacker must roll to hit them.

Defense Calculation

Defense = 1 + (Speed Value + Armor Value) ÷ 3, round down. Minimum Defense is 1.

Defense Calculation Chart

Speed	Armor Weight	Armor Value	Base Defense	Calculation	Defense
2D	None	0	1 +	(2+0)÷3=0	1
3D	None	0	1 +	(3+0)÷3=1	2
3D	Light	1	1 +	(3+1)÷3=1	2
4D	Light	1	1 +	(4+1)÷3=1	2
4D	Medium	2	1 +	(4+2)÷3=1	2
5D	Medium	2	1 +	(5+2)÷3=1	2
5D	Heavy	3	1 +	(5+3)÷3=2	3
6D	Heavy	3	1 +	(6+3)÷3=3	4

Most combatants have Defense 2. Elite warriors with high Speed and heavy armor could reach Defense 3-4.

Armor Value

Armor protection depends on the weight of the armor reflecting materials and coverage.

Light: +1
Medium: +2
Heavy: +3

How a character describes their armor is up to them, the rating is the only mechanical value of concern.

Armor Penalty

Armor applies a penalty to a character's dice pools equal to the Armor Value. This penalty applies to Athletics, Acrobatics, and Odd Talent action pools.

Light: -1D
Medium: -2D
Heavy: -3D

A character can off-set the Armor Penalty by improving their Endurance Talent.

For every 2D in Endurance, the Armor Penalty to Movement Challenges is reduced by 1.

Endurance	Penalty Reduction
1D	0
2D	1D
3D	0
4D	2D
5D	0
6D	3D

Shields

A shield provides the benefit of partial cover to the wielder, resulting in +1 to Defense.

Shields also offer the following additional maneuver options.

Bulwark – While standing adjacent to an ally who is also wielding a shield, you both gain the benefit of full cover.
Shield Bash – Use your shield as a weapon to Strike an opponent. You lose any defensive benefits provided by the shield.

Medium and Large shields require 1 hand to operate effectively. Characters cannot use a heavy, great or two-handed weapon while using a shield.