Combat is a Scene in which characters attempt to harm, hinder, or out-manoeuvre each other through force, weaponry, magic, or similar danger.

Narateer's preferred combat model is the Combat Exchange.

A Combat Exchange is one dangerous beat in which an attacker presses and an aware defender decides whether to evade, answer with force, or preserve their effort. Melee Exchanges represent footwork, pressure, feints, cuts, parries, and the moment one combatant gains the better line. Ranged Exchanges represent exchanged fire, changing aim, evasive movement, and the moment one combatant lands the decisive shot.

It is not "I attack, then you defend, then you attack." It is a contested exchange of tempo.

Core Combat Attributes

Each Skill has its own fixed Linked Vital, as listed in Skills List. Use the Skill required by the procedure; do not choose a different Linked Vital for an individual check.

Light weapons may use Strength or Agility for damage. Heavy weapons use Strength for damage. Weapon damage always uses the applied Damage Vital after the weapon's Damage Vital Cap is enforced.

Skill Level In Combat

During your activation, proactive combat actions are limited by the Skill used.

Proactive Melee uses during your activation = Melee SL + 1

Proactive Ranged uses during your activation = Ranged SL + 1

Minimum = 1 proactive use of either Skill, even at SL 0.

Melee uses include separate exchanges, shoves, trips, feints, disarms, grapples, or other initiated Melee actions. Ranged uses include separate ranged weapon attacks or other initiated distance-based targeting actions.

The Skill Level being used also limits Boost on the roll.

Maximum Boost AD = Skill Level being tested

Skill Level does not grant default rerolls. Rerolls come from Advantage, Disadvantage, class powers, equipment traits, conditions, or specific rules.

Example: Mira has Melee SL 3. She may initiate up to four proactive Melee actions during her activation and may add up to 3 Boost AD to any one Melee roll, provided she has enough Ready AD. Sera has Ranged SL 2, so she may initiate up to three proactive Ranged actions and add up to 2 Boost AD to a Ranged roll.

Tempo

The combatant whose activation it is normally has Tempo.

Tempo means they are the one pressing the immediate moment. They choose whether to initiate an exchange, where pressure is applied, and how much AD they commit.

Having Tempo does not mean the other combatant is passive. If the responder is aware, able to act, can make the declared response in the fiction, and has Ready AD available, they may answer the exchange.

Combat Exchange Flow

1. The combatant with Tempo declares a Melee or Ranged Exchange and names the target.
2. Confirm the tempo-holder has not exceeded the proactive-use limit for the attacking Skill.
3. The tempo-holder spends the weapon's Base Attack Cost.
4. The tempo-holder may Boost within the attacking Skill Level and available Ready AD.
5. If the responder is aware and able to act, they choose No Response, Full Guard, or Clash.
6. The responder commits the AD required by that response and any legal Boost AD.
7. Roll all committed AD.
8. Resolve Edge and explicit reroll rules.
9. Compare the final totals.
10. If a combatant who can deal damage wins the exchange, calculate Wounds.

Attack Dice = weapon Base Attack Cost + Boost AD

Example: Mira surges at Orin with an arming sword. Its Base Attack Cost is 1 AD, and she adds 2 Boost AD. She commits 3 AD to the exchange.

Exchange Responses

No Response

If the responder is unaware, unable to act, out of Ready AD, unable to make a legal response, incapacitated, or chooses not to answer, they make no roll.

The tempo-holder rolls against target number 0. Cover, range, visibility, position, conditions, or special rules may still impose Edge, prevent the attack, or otherwise modify the exchange.

Full Guard

Full Guard means the responder is focused entirely on not being hurt.

• Against a Melee Exchange, Full Guard uses Melee.
• Against a Ranged Exchange, Full Guard uses Acrobatics.

Full Guard has a Base Cost of 1 AD. It always rolls with Advantage and may Boost within the Skill Level being used.

Resolve this Advantage through the normal Edge Phase. It does not stack with another source of Advantage, and Disadvantage cancels it normally.

If the Full Guard result equals or exceeds the tempo-holder's result, the attack is stopped and neither combatant deals damage.

If the tempo-holder wins, calculate Wounds normally.

A combatant using Full Guard cannot deal damage in that exchange.

Example: If Orin chooses Full Guard and his final total equals Mira's, he stops her attack. The tie favours Full Guard because its purpose is to prevent the hit, but Orin cannot wound Mira in return.

Against a Ranged Exchange, Acrobatics is mandatory for Full Guard. A responder with Acrobatics SL 0 may still commit the required 1 AD and roll it with Advantage, but cannot add Boost AD.

Clash

Clash means both combatants commit to harming the other inside the same exchange.

The responder must have a legal attack that can reach the tempo-holder and pays that attack's Base Attack Cost before adding any legal Boost AD.

• In a Melee Exchange, both combatants roll Melee.
• In a Ranged Exchange, both combatants roll Ranged.

The higher final total wins the exchange. Only the winner may deal damage, using their own weapon and active Damage Vital.

If both results are tied, neither combatant lands a clean hit.

Melee Exchanges

A Melee Exchange requires the combatants to be within the reach needed for their declared attacks.

• The tempo-holder attacks with Melee.
• Melee Full Guard uses Melee with Advantage and cannot deal damage.
• Melee Clash uses Melee and allows the winner to deal damage.

Opportunity Attacks

Moving within an opponent’s melee reach can give them an opening to attack you.

When You Can React

After a creature moves from one Space within your melee reach to another Space within your melee reach, you may make an Opportunity Attack against it.

An Opportunity Attack is a Reaction. You must be able to perceive the creature, make a legal melee attack against it and pay the attack’s cost.

Check each movement step separately:

The direction does not matter. Moving forwards, backwards or sideways can create the same opening.

The same trigger applies whether the creature moves willingly or is moved by another effect. Follow any specific rule that prevents Reactions to that movement.

Reach alone does not allow an attack through a wall or other obstruction.

Resolving the Attack

The creature completes its step and spends any required movement before you react.

Initiate a Melee Exchange against it at its new position. This Reaction allows you to initiate the Exchange outside your own Activation. You are the initiator for this Exchange; it does not give you a new Activation.

Pay your weapon’s normal Base Attack Cost. You may Boost normally. The moving creature chooses a legal Exchange Response as usual.

Resolve the Exchange before the creature continues moving or takes another Action. It remains in the Space it reached unless an effect moves it elsewhere.

An Opportunity Attack does not automatically stop movement. After the Exchange, the creature may continue if it has movement remaining and is still able to move.

If several opponents can react to the same step, identify their opportunities before resolving any of them. Resolve them in initiative order, or table order if no initiative order is in use. Before each attack, check that the attacker can still perceive, reach and legally attack the creature. Finish these Reactions before the next step.

Further Opportunities

Each qualifying step creates a new opportunity. You may react again whenever the requirements are met and you have enough Ready AD.

Opportunity Attacks do not consume proactive Melee uses.

If a Power or another rule says that movement does not trigger Reactions, it does not trigger Opportunity Attacks.

Moving Around an Opponent

Moving around a creature does not, by itself, hide you from it or prevent it from responding to your attack.

An aware creature can follow your movement. Reaching a position behind its miniature does not automatically grant Advantage or make your attack unseen.

Other Scene Modes

In Story and Cinematic Modes, use the same distinction: entering or leaving melee reach does not trigger an Opportunity Attack. Moving between positions that are both within melee reach can trigger one.

Agree on those positions before resolving the movement. Resolve the Reaction at the position the creature reaches.

Ranged Exchanges

A Ranged Exchange requires a valid target, line of sight, ammunition, and a ranged weapon that is loaded or otherwise ready to fire. The target must be within that weapon's Maximum Range. An attack beyond Effective Range but within Maximum Range has Disadvantage. A target beyond Maximum Range cannot be targeted with that weapon. See Range.

• The tempo-holder attacks with Ranged.
• Ranged Full Guard uses Acrobatics with Advantage and cannot deal damage.
• Ranged Clash uses Ranged and allows the winner to deal damage.

To choose Ranged Clash, the responder must have a ranged weapon that is loaded or otherwise ready to fire, must have ammunition if the weapon requires it, and must be able to target the tempo-holder within that weapon's Maximum Range. If the tempo-holder is beyond the responder's Effective Range but within their Maximum Range, the responder's Ranged Clash roll has Disadvantage. A responder who cannot make that return attack may still choose Ranged Full Guard or No Response.

When both combatants exchange fire, each uses their own weapon's Base Attack Cost, Boost limit, ammunition, damage values, and weapon state. Firing expends ammunition and resolves the weapon's Loading state whether that combatant wins or loses the exchange.

Example: Sera fires her bow at Veyr. Veyr is aware and has a loaded light crossbow, so he may Ranged Clash. Sera rolls Ranged with her committed attack dice; Veyr rolls Ranged with his committed response dice. They are exchanging fire, and the higher final total determines whose shot lands.

Winning An Exchange

Compare the final totals.

Winner = higher final total

Tie = no clean hit

Winning an exchange does not automatically cause damage. Only a combatant whose declared action or response can deal damage proceeds to Calculating Wounds.

• Clash can deal damage if it wins.
• Full Guard cannot deal damage, even if its roll is higher.
• No Response cannot deal damage.

Melee example, continued: Orin chooses Clash and commits 2 AD. Mira rolls 4 dots and Orin rolls 2 dots. Mira wins by 2. Because her declared sword attack can deal damage, she continues to Calculating Wounds with a Hit Margin of 2.

Calculating Wounds

When a damaging Combat Exchange, spell, or other effect scores a hit, calculate harm in the following order unless its rule supplies a different damage procedure.

Hit Margin

Hit Margin measures how decisively the attack or effect succeeded.

Hit Margin = Winner's total - Loser's total

For an attack against a fixed target number, use:

Hit Margin = Attacker's final total - target number

Use the exact, unrounded Hit Margin when calculating Wound Margin.

Strike Rating

Strike Rating measures the force and weapon threat behind a clean hit.

Strike Rating = Weapon Damage + min(active Damage Vital, Damage Vital Cap)

A spell or other effect may supply a fixed Strike Rating. Use that value instead of the weapon formula. If a Power modifies a weapon attack's Strike Rating, calculate the weapon's normal Strike Rating first, then apply the stated modifier.

There is no separate Damage Rating in this pipeline.

Protection Rating

Protection Rating measures passive protection against the hit.

Protection Rating = armour Soak + other explicit modifiers, if any

Shields and defensive weapons do not add a default extra defence pool to Combat Exchange resolution. They may still matter through equipment traits, fictional positioning, cover, class powers, or special rules, but they are not part of the default exchange math.

Wound Margin

Wound Margin measures how much harm gets through after dominance, weapon threat, force, armour, and any explicit protection modifiers.

Wound Margin = Hit Margin + Strike Rating - Protection Rating

If Wound Margin is 0 or less, the hit causes no Wound.

Wound Conversion

Harm Domains And Types

Every source that can cause Wounds has a Harm Domain and a Harm Type. The Domain is the broad family of harm; the Type is the formal subtype within that family. Write the complete classification as Domain (Type), such as Physical (Piercing).

This classification describes how the harm affects the target. It does not add another roll, value, or Wound.

At the table, state the result as: “You suffer 2 Wounds from Physical (Piercing) harm.”

Use these governing rules whenever harm is classified:

• If a rule states the classification, use it.
• Otherwise, the Guide chooses the closest listed Domain and Type according to what is actually harming the target, not what created the effect. Magic does not automatically make harm Supernatural.
• Set the classification when the harmful effect is declared or becomes clear, before resolving any rule that depends on its Domain or Type.
• Give one Wound result one classification. Do not split it into several Types because its description could fit more than one. If a rule creates distinct harms, classify and resolve each one separately.
• A rule that names only a Domain applies to every Type within that Domain.
• If no Type is an exact match, use the closest listed Type rather than creating a new one during play.

Examples: A mundane sword cut and an enchanted sword cut can both be Physical (Slashing). A conjured flame is Elemental (Fire). A thunderous pressure wave is Physical (Impact), while its electrical discharge is Elemental (Lightning). A poisoned arrow may cause Physical (Piercing) harm on impact and also inflict Lingering Harm: Poisoned. Its later Wounds default to Affliction (Poison) harm. A terror spell that attacks the mind is Supernatural (Psychic).

Earth, water, wind, sound, and similar descriptions are often sources rather than Types. Classify their actual effect: stone shards may be Physical (Piercing), a crashing wave or thunderclap may be Physical (Impact), and drowning is Affliction (Suffocation).

Harm Types classify Wounds; Conditions and Statuses describe effects on a character. These are separate rules: a Harm Type does not automatically impose a matching Condition, and a Condition causes Wounds only if its rule says so. For example, poison may impose Disadvantage without causing Affliction (Poison) Wounds, while Lingering Harm: Burning causes Elemental (Fire) Wounds over time.

Applying Wounds

For each Wound dealt:

• Reduce the target's Vitality by 1.
• The target chooses 1 Ready AD or Ready MD and moves it into the Wounded pool as Wounded AD.
• Only when neither Ready AD nor Ready MD remain may the target choose 1 Used AD or Used MD instead, also moving it to Wounded AD.
• The character taking the Wound chooses between AD and MD within the required state. Ready dice always come before Used dice, regardless of type.

If no unwounded dice remain, further Wounds still reduce Vitality. Resolve collapse and recovery from the resulting VIT.

Example: Wounds during Trance. Senna has 1 Ready AD, 2 Ready MD and 1 Used AD. She suffers 2 Wounds and chooses to move both Ready MD to Wounded AD. If she suffers another Wound, she must take her remaining Ready AD before her Used AD.

This means a hard hit can immediately reduce the target's ability to act, answer, or press tempo.

Lingering Harm

Lingering Harm is an ongoing condition that causes Wounds over time. It is not a Harm Domain or Harm Type.

Write each instance as Lingering Harm: Form, such as Lingering Harm: Bleeding. The Form names what persists; the Harm classification states what kind of Wounds each tick causes.

Unless its source says otherwise, Lingering Harm causes 1 Wound at the end of each round until treated. Use these default classifications:

A source may state a different Harm classification, number of Wounds, tick timing, duration, or ending condition. Its explicit rule overrides these defaults.

A rule that names a Form interacts with the ongoing condition. A rule that names a Harm Domain or Harm Type interacts with the Wounds it causes. For example, ending Lingering Harm: Poisoned removes the ongoing condition; reducing Affliction (Poison) harm applies when that condition causes Wounds of that classification.

Separate sources of Lingering Harm stack, even when they have the same Form. Track and resolve each source separately.

Worked Example: One Melee Exchange

Mira drives Orin backwards with a fast sword cut. The fiction and commitment have already been established: Mira committed 3 AD, Orin answered with a 2 AD Clash, and their final totals were 4 to 2.

1. Hit Margin: Mira won by 2.
2. Strike Rating: Her arming sword has Weapon Damage 2. She uses Agility 3 as its active Damage Vital, within its cap of 3, for Strike Rating 5.
3. Protection Rating: Orin's leather armour has Soak 1.
4. Wound Margin: 2 + 5 - 1 = 6.
5. Wounds: Wound Margin 6 converts to 3 Wounds.

At the table: “Mira slips inside Orin's mace and cuts across his guarded side. Hit Margin 2, plus Strike Rating 5, minus Protection 1: Wound Margin 6. That is 3 Wounds.”

Orin has no MD. He loses 3 Vitality and moves 3 AD into Wounded, taking Ready AD first. One roll produced the exchange result and the numbers already on the character sheets resolved the harm.

Worked Example: One Ranged Exchange

Sera fires at Veyr through a gap in a broken wall. She commits 3 AD to her bow attack. Veyr is aware and has a loaded light crossbow, so he chooses Ranged Clash and commits 2 AD. Sera rolls 3 dots and Veyr rolls 1 dot. Sera wins the exchange, so her arrow lands with a Hit Margin of 2.

1. Hit Margin: Sera's 3 dots - Veyr's 1 dot = 2.
2. Strike Rating: Her bow has Weapon Damage 2. A loaded projectile uses Agility for damage; Sera's Agility 3 meets the bow's cap of 3, for Strike Rating 5.
3. Protection Rating: Veyr's leather armour has Soak 1.
4. Wound Margin: 2 + 5 - 1 = 6.
5. Wounds: Wound Margin 6 converts to 3 Wounds.

At the table: “Sera beats Veyr's return fire by 2. Her bow's Strike Rating is 5, and Veyr has Protection 1. Wound Margin 6 means 3 Wounds.”

Veyr has no MD. He loses 3 Vitality and moves 3 AD into Wounded, taking Ready AD first. Both combatants used Ranged because both fired. If Veyr had chosen Full Guard instead, he would have rolled Acrobatics with Advantage and could not have wounded Sera.

Continuation Checks

After Wounds are applied, first resolve the combatant’s state. Only a combatant who remains Active (VIT above 0) makes a Continuation Check when either of the following occurs:

• Their current Vitality falls below half their Maximum Vitality for the first time in that combat.
• A single damage source causes more Wounds than half their Maximum Vitality in one resolution.

Collapsed characters do not make Continuation Checks. Follow the recovery procedure for their state.

If the same damage source meets both conditions, make only one Continuation Check.

To make a Continuation Check, make a Side Roll using dice equal to Resilience.

• 1 or more dots: The combatant passes and may continue fighting.
• 0 dots: The combatant fails and cannot continue the current fight on the same terms. Resolve an appropriate consequence from the fiction, such as retreat, surrender, collapse, or another end to their participation in the combat.

Example: Veyr had Maximum Vitality 4 and was unhurt before Sera's arrow. Three Wounds reduce him to Vitality 1, so he remains Active. The same damage both drops him below half Vitality and causes more Wounds than half his Maximum Vitality, so he makes only one Continuation Check. With Resilience 2, he makes a 2-die Side Roll. A Hit and a Miss total 1 dot, so he passes and may continue fighting.

Tactical Notes

• Heavy attacks are strong because they commit to a decisive exchange.
• Double Tap creates repeated pressure without going all-in on one roll.
• Flurry can still pressure Ready AD, but proactive Skill uses prevent unlimited attack spam.
• Defensive play now means choosing Full Guard often. It survives pressure well but cannot win if it never Clashes or presses Tempo.
• Armour matters after the exchange is won. It does not stop the opponent from winning the exchange.
• Full Guard is a simple defensive posture: it rolls with Advantage to stop the attack and cannot deal damage.
• Undefended targets are vulnerable because target number 0 means any positive result can land.

Combat Lab Strategy Reference

These strategy names are used in the combat lab and matrix tests. They describe spending priorities, not equipment type.

Players are not locked into these named strategies. They are testing profiles and useful shorthand for common combat behaviours.

Combat Modifiers

• Only one source of Advantage and one source of Disadvantage can apply per roll; they do not stack.
• If both apply, they cancel.
• The Guide may apply Adv / Disadv for other situational factors (wind, footing, chaos, etc.).

Hidden and Unseen Creatures

Hide determines who you are hidden from, how you move while hidden and what reveals you. Being hidden does not make you physically invisible.

If a creature cannot see you but knows your position, its attacks against you have Disadvantage. If it cannot locate you, it cannot target you directly. It may still affect an area that includes you.

Your first attack while unseen by its target gains Advantage. If you attack while hidden, follow Hide for when the Exchange or your approach reveals you. An aware target may choose a legal Exchange Response normally; an unaware target follows No Response.

Conditions and Statuses

• No stacking of like effects: Multiple instances of the same condition don’t stack; use the worst intensity or duration. Lingering Harm is the exception and tracks each source separately.

Tips

Players: Create Advantage whenever possible—through positioning, teamwork, or exploiting the field. It boosts success and cancels Disadvantage before it costs you. Look for modifiers and conditions that tip the balance. Use cover. Treat Lingering Harm early before it grinds you down.

Narateer Guides: Make rulings quickly and confidently—pacing matters more than perfection. Keep control effects impactful but avoid overusing full lockdowns—they should feel earned. And remember to tick Lingering Harm each round if it hasn’t been treated.

“Close-Enough” Conditions Picker

When strange effects crop up, match to the closest existing condition, say the effect, and keep play moving.

• If out cold, use Unconscious. Being unaware of an attack does not make a character Unconscious; an unaware target follows No Response.
• If aware but can’t take physical actions, use Paralyzed.
• If held in place (net/grapple/roots), use Restrained; if only hampered, Hindered.
• If harm persists over time, use Lingering Harm; name its Form and use or override its default Harm classification and tick rate.
• If actions feel sloggy, use Slowed.
• If recovering effort or magical power is difficult, use Weakened.
• If rattled but functional, use Unnerved; if fear forces retreat, use Panicked.
• If on the ground, Prone.
• If can’t see or hear, Blinded or Deafened.
• If unseen, use the visibility rules above. Use Hide for concealment and the Invisible condition when an effect grants it.

Summary

• Combat uses the shared Combat Exchange procedure.
• Melee Exchanges use Melee for the attack, Full Guard, and Clash.
• Ranged Exchanges use Ranged for the attack and Clash.
• Ranged Full Guard always uses Acrobatics.
• The combatant with Tempo initiates the exchange.
• The responder may choose No Response, Full Guard, or Clash.
• Full Guard rolls with Advantage to stop the attack, but cannot deal damage.
• Clash lets either combatant win and deal damage.
• Ranged Clash requires a loaded or otherwise ready ranged weapon, ammunition, line of sight, and the tempo-holder within the weapon's Maximum Range.
• Ties land no clean hit.
• During your activation, proactive Melee uses are limited to Melee SL + 1, minimum 1.
• During your activation, proactive Ranged uses are limited to Ranged SL + 1, minimum 1.
• Boost is capped by the Skill Level being tested.
• Hit Margin = winner's total - loser's total.
• Strike Rating = Weapon Damage + min(active Damage Vital, Damage Vital Cap).
• Protection Rating = armour Soak, plus other explicit modifiers if any.
• Wound Margin = Hit Margin + Strike Rating - Protection Rating.
• Wounds: 1-2 = 1, 3-4 = 2, 5-6 = 3, 7-8 = 5, 9+ = 8.
• Harm is classified as Domain (Type), using the closest listed effect rather than the source that created it.
• Wounds take Ready AD or Ready MD first, then Used AD or Used MD only when neither kind of Ready die remains. The character taking the Wounds chooses which kind to take within that state. Each chosen die becomes Wounded AD.
• Only combatants who remain Active after Wounds make Continuation Checks: the first time current Vitality falls below half Maximum Vitality, or when one damage source causes more Wounds than half Maximum Vitality. Collapsed characters follow Death & Recovery instead.
• A Continuation Check is a Side Roll using dice equal to Resilience; 1 or more dots passes, while 0 dots fails.
• Older combat-loop material has been archived and is not an optional rule.