Combat
A fight in Root and Stem uses the same graduated, five-tier Action Roll you already know from the Rolling the Dice chapter — to-hit, saves, and damage all flow from one core mechanic. There is no separate combat math to memorize.
Starting the Fight: Initiative
Before anyone swings, you settle the order. Roll initiative once at the start of the fight:
Initiative = d20 + DEX + RSV_MOD + PROF_MOD + Achievement bonuses
Highest result goes first. The d20 is used on purpose — initiative is a rolled ordering, not a tiered skill check, so it stays simple and snappy.
Your Turn
On your turn you say what your character does: move across the field, make an attack, cast a spell, help an ally, grab an item, or size up the room. Movement and positioning are handled narratively — there are no opportunity attacks, so you can reposition freely without inviting a punishment. When something blocks the way, the GM calls for an Action Roll.
Attacks: The Action Roll
An attack is just an Action Roll made against the target's Defense as a required tier. Build your bonus stack as normal (your relevant stat, your Stem Modifier, your weapon skill, PROF_MOD, GRACE, and any achievement bonuses), compute your SRC, pick your die, and read the tier you land on. Then compare it to the target's Defense tier below.
Defense
Defense is the required tier an attacker must reach to land a hit on you:
| Target | Required tier |
|---|---|
| Light / unarmored | Tier 3 |
| Armored | Tier 4 |
| Heavily armored / fortified | Tier 5 |
Notice what armor does: it raises the required tier rather than piling onto an unbounded flat number. A shield, a dodge, or good cover all push that tier up, making you harder to hit without breaking the system.
Damage by Tier
How hard you hit depends on the tier you rolled, not on rolling high for its own sake:
| Attack result | Effect |
|---|---|
| Tier 5 — Critical Success | Double damage |
| Tier 4 — Success | Full damage |
| Tier 3 — Partial Success | Half damage |
| Tier 2 — Failure | No damage, −1 Grace |
| Tier 1 — Critical Failure | No damage, drop your weapon or fall prone |
Health and Wounds
Your maximum Health is steady and predictable:
HP = 20 + (CON × 5) + (Level × 5)
A Wound is suffered only when the damage dealt exceeds your CON score + your Level. Smaller hits chip away at your HP; it takes a genuinely heavy blow to wound the body itself. When a wound lands, the severity is rolled on the Wound Table.
Reckless Actions
Sometimes you charge the impossible odds on purpose. Declare a Reckless Action before you roll for high risk and high reward.
- On a Reckless Success: you earn double XP, gain an adrenaline buff of +10 to STR/DEX/CON for the scene, raise Grace by +5, and pick up a Hero Point.
- On a Reckless Failure: you take an injury and your Grace drops by −5 — the crash after the rush.
Used well, recklessness is how ordinary characters pull off the legendary.