Combat & Action Scenes

Daggerheart has no initiative, rounds, or fixed action counts, in or out of combat. The spotlight moves to whichever character is leading the action.

The Flow of Combat

The players keep the spotlight, passing it among themselves, until someone fails a roll, rolls with Fear, or the GM spends Fear to interrupt. Then play passes to the GM, who makes a move to spotlight an adversary and can spend Fear to spotlight more. While the GM has the spotlight, you can't spend resources or roll unless a feature or a reaction roll allows it.

When spotlighted, an adversary can:

• move within Close range and make a standard attack
• move within Close range and use an action
• clear a condition
• move anywhere within Far or Very Far range

Optional spotlight tracker. Some tables give each player action tokens, three is recommended, and remove one per action roll or significant spotlight action. Everyone refills when all players have spent their tokens.

Attacking

Your attack roll uses the trait your weapon or spell requires, and it's compared to the adversary's Difficulty. Adversaries don't use Evasion. When an adversary attacks you, the GM rolls a d20 plus its attack modifier against your Evasion.

On a hit, roll damage:

• Weapon damage: roll a number of damage dice equal to your Proficiency, then add any flat modifier. Proficiency starts at 1 and can reach 6.
• Critical damage: start with the maximum value of your damage dice, then add a normal damage roll and its modifiers.
• Several sources of damage from one move are added together before they're compared to thresholds.
• Unarmed attacks use Strength or Finesse and deal d4 physical damage using your Proficiency.

Declare any bonuses before you roll damage.

Damage Types

• Physical (phy): mundane blows, blades, and bows.
• Magic (mag): most harmful spells and magic weapons.
• Direct damage can't be reduced by Armor Slots.
• Resistance halves damage of that type before thresholds, and doesn't stack. Immunity prevents it. Apply resistance or immunity first, then Armor Slots. Against mixed physical and magic damage, you benefit only if you resist both types.

Range

A listed range is a maximum, measured from the effect's source. When you make an action roll, you can also move anywhere within Close range that is plausibly and easily reachable. Moving farther without another action roll, or climbing, jumping, or swimming to get somewhere, takes an Agility Roll.

Optional defined ranges on a 1-inch grid: Melee 1 square, Very Close 3, Close 6, Far 12, Very Far 13 or more.

Groups, Cover, and Sight

• To affect a group, the targets must be within Very Close range of a chosen point. Make one attack roll against each target's Difficulty, roll damage once, and apply it to every target you hit.
• Partial cover gives attacks against you disadvantage. Full cover usually prevents targeting, though area effects may still apply.
• You must see a target to target it. Darkness raises Difficulties or imposes disadvantage.