Basic Combat Rules

Combat Basics

At some point, you may encounter combat in the World of Vala. The following are combat rules one must remember as one takes on the challenges of the World. Traditionally, combat within the World of Vala is turn-based, where every creature’s (player character and non-player character) turn takes place over the course of 10 Seconds. Before a combat phase may begin, creatures will roll a 1d20Dexterity roll to indicate initiative place in combat, where the higher the number, the higher the place in initiative order.

Your character can often speak and act freely, but during a fight, participants take turns. On your turn, your character usually just moves and performs one main action at any point before, during, or after moving, but you can do each of the following in any order you wish:

• Move (up to your speed, including jumping or other forms of movement)

• Act (using the attack action)

• Speak (up to a short sentence while acting/LM discretion)

• Interact (with one minor object, like drawing your weapon or opening a door)

• Take a Bonus Action (only if you have a bonus action ability)

• Combat Reminders: The following are reminders that may help on your combat journey within the World of Vala:

  • You don’t have to move, but if you choose to, you can move a distance up to your speed. You can move before or after you take an action, or you can move first, take an action, and then move again, as long as the total distance moved doesn’t exceed your speed.

  • If your action permits multiple attacks, you can move between attacks so long as you haven’t used all of your move distance based on your speed.

  • Your move can include jumping onto or off of things, jumping over things, climbing walls or ropes, swinging on ropes or chandeliers, or moving in any way that your character is capable of, such as swimming or flying, for example.

  • You can interact with one object as part of either your move or your action.

  • Players may duel-wield weapons, but the second/off-hand weapon will deal half as much damage, and while duel-wielding, your AC is reduced by 1. You also can’t cast spells that are cast by weaving if you are duel-wielding. You may attack with both weapons during one attack action. If you have a Strength score of 20 or above, you may wield two-handed weapons with one hand.

  • When in combat, a player can decide whether they are using lethal or non-lethal damage. If a player is using non-lethal damage, an enemy will be knocked out when reduced to 0 hitpoints rather than die.

  • You are allowed one reaction each turn. A reaction is an action that is triggered by an external event. A special ability, spell, or other feature of the game may allow you to react to a specific triggering event.

  • If an opponent attempts to move past you or attacks you and then attempts to move away, you get a free swing at him. This is called an opportunity attack, and it is the most common reaction.

Combat Tactics

Within the World of Vala, every character, regardless of race, country of origin, or school, has the choice to utilize any combat tactics. These tactics are the basics of fighting that anyone can utilize in a combat scenario.

• Attack

  The most basic combat tactic. You can make one melee or ranged attack. Some features may allow you to make more than one attack with this action.

• Cast a Spell

  You can cast any spell that you have the mana to cast. It must have the casting time of one action if you want to do it in one turn.

• Dash

  Rather than performing any other action, you spend the entire round moving. This allows you to move twice as far this round. It is effectively a double move action. [You use your dash action to move your speed then use your move to go that distance again.]

• Disengage

  If you start the round within 5 feet of an opponent that can see you, you can use this action to move away from him without provoking an opportunity attack. (The disengage action does not include a move. You use the disengage action to avoid an opportunity attack while you use your move to travel up to your speed.)

• Dodge

  This is a total defense action. You spend the round trying to avoid being hit. Until the start of your next turn, any attack roll made against you has a disadvantage.

• Help

  You can use your action to help an ally attack an opponent within 5 feet of you. You don’t make an attack yourself, but when your alley attacks, their first attack roll is made with advantage. Or you can help them with any other task. If you are in a position to do so, and your assistance could reasonably be seen to be of help, they will gain an advantage in their ability check to accomplish the task.

• Hide

  The act of hiding requires an action to attempt. You must make a Dexterity (Stealth) contested roll against your opponent to see if you successfully hide from your opponent.

• Ready

  Rather than taking an action during your turn, you wait for some specific event and then take your action as a reaction. You can still move up to the distance indicated by your move rate, but you can take no other action this round. You must specify two things: What the triggering event will be and what action you will take.

• Search

  You can use your action to attempt to find something. The LM might require you to make a Wisdom (Perception) check or an Intelligence (Investigation) check.

• Use an Object

  An object may require an action for you to use it, or you may need to use this action to interact with more than one object around.

• Disarm

  When you take the Attack action on your turn to make a melee weapon attack, you may declare that you are attempting to disarm the target. On a hit, the target must make a Strength or Dexterity check, contested by your Strength or Dexterity check. If you succeed, the target drops the object you choose. The object lands at its feet.

• Evasive Attack

  When you take the Attack action on your turn, you may choose to take a -2 penalty. You gain +2 to your AC against weapon attacks made by your target against you until the start of your next turn.

• Feint

  As a bonus action on your turn, you may feint an attack, choosing one creature within 5 feet of you as your target. You have an advantage on your next attack roll against that target.

• Lunge

  When you take the Attack action on your turn to make a melee weapon attack, you may lunge, adding 5 feet to your weapon range. If you do, you suffer a -2 penalty to your AC until the start of your next turn.

• Parry

  When another creature damages you with a melee attack, you may use your reaction to reduce the damage by an amount equal to your Dexterity modifier.

• Riposte

  When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you may use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against the creature. Roll 1d4 for damage.

• Power Attack

  When you take the Attack action on your turn to make a melee weapon attack, you may attempt to overpower their defenses with brute strength. If you do, you take a -2 penalty to the attack and add your Strength modifier to the damage. This stacks with any other extra damage you would otherwise deal with your melee weapon attack, including if you already added your Strength modifier.

• All Out Attack

  An all-out attack can only be initiated when a target is unable to move in any direction. A creature must use its entire turn (including action, bonus action, movement, etc) to initiate the all-out attack. All creatures with the target within reach may attack the target as a reaction.

• Roll with a Punch

  When you are hit by a melee weapon attack that deals bludgeoning damage, you can use your reaction to attempt to turn your body in the direction of the impact to lessen the blow. When you attempt to roll with a punch, roll 1d6 and add your level. If the result is equal to or greater than the attack’s damage, you have resistance to bludgeoning damage for that attack. Regardless of if the attempt succeeds, you have disadvantage on attack rolls on your following turn.

• Delay

  You may use your reaction to delay your decisions until later in the round, effectively watching and waiting before you act. After each turn, the player may state they will take their actions, but they may not interrupt another character’s turn to do so. (A player may preemptively state how many turns they would like to delay for.) A player may not delay their actions beyond the end of the round- they must either use their turn or forfeit it. You cannot take the delay action more than once in a round. Upon taking the delay reaction, a character may not take the ready or dodge actions. This is your turn. Any effects which would trigger or take effect on your turn happen when you take this action; you are delaying your choice to act, not the turn itself. The purpose is to give characters with higher initiative more freedom of choice, as they can decide to be reactive to unpredictable changes, while slower characters cannot; they are at the mercy of higher initiative characters. By preventing characters from delaying beyond the end of the round, you cannot have a situation where everyone delays a full round just to manually rearrange the initiative order; they’ve already taken their turns, you’re just waiting for their actions. If everyone were to delay to the end of the round, their actions would simply take place in initiative order.

• Improvised Action

  When you want to attempt something that is not covered by any of the above actions, you can use an improvised action.

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Conditions

Conditions alter a creature’s capabilities in a variety of ways and can arise as a result of a spell, a class feature, a monster’s attack, or other effect. Most conditions, such as blindness, are impairments, but a few, such as invisibility, can be advantageous. A condition lasts either until it is countered (the prone condition is countered by standing up, for example) or for a duration specified by the effect. If multiple effects impose the same condition on a creature, each instance of the condition has its own duration, but the condition’s effects don’t get worse. A creature either has a condition or doesn’t.

• Bleeding

  While a creature is bleeding, they take 1d6 slashing damage whenever they move more than 5 feet on its turn.

• Blinded

  A blinded creature can’t see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have disadvantage.

• Burning

  While a creature is burning, they take 1d10 fire damage at the start of their turn and an additional 1d10 fire damage for every one of their turns they’ve ended while burning. As an action, a character can put out the fire on them, provided they are not in a burning area.

• Charmed

  A charmed creature can’t attack the charmer or target the charmer with harmful abilities or magical effects. The charmer has advantage on any ability check to interact socially with the creature.

• Dazed

  While a creature is dazed, they cannot take bonus actions and have disadvantage on mental checks.

• Deafened

  A deafened creature can’t hear and automatically fails any ability check that requires hearing.

• Frightened

  A frightened creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of its fear is within line of sight. The creature can’t willingly move closer to the source of its fear.

• Grappled

  A grappled creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed. The condition ends if the grappler is incapacitated. The condition also ends if the grappled creature successfully completes a strength roll contested against the grappler’s strength roll.

• Impaired

  While impaired, your movement is halved, and you suffer a -2 penalty to AC and Dexterity saving throws.

• Incapacitated

  An incapacitated creature can’t take actions or reactions.

• Invisible

  An invisible creature is impossible to see without the aid of magic or a special sense. For the purpose of hiding, the creature is heavily obscured. The creature’s location can be detected by any noise it makes or any tracks it leaves. Attack rolls against the creature have disadvantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have advantage.

• Marked

  While a creature is marked, all attack rolls against them are at advantage.

• Nauseated

  While a creature is nauseated, its movement speed is halved, and the only action they can take on its turn is throwing up.

• Panicked

  When a creature becomes panicked, they drop any objects they are holding and, on their turn, can only move away from the creature or object that caused their panic as quickly as possible.

• Paralyzed

  A paralyzed creature is incapacitated and can’t move or speak. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage. Any attack that hits the creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature.

• Petrified

  A petrified creature is transformed, along with any nonmagical object it is wearing or carrying, into a solid inanimate substance (usually stone). Its weight increases by a factor of ten, and it ceases aging. The creature is incapacitated, can’t move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws. The creature has resistance to all damage. The creature is immune to poison and disease, although a poison or disease already in its system is suspended, not neutralized.

• Poisoned

  A poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks. Poisoned creatures also take a base 1d4 damage every 10 seconds.

• Prone

  A prone creature’s only movement option is to crawl (when crawling movement speed is maxed at 5 ft.), unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition. The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls. An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage.

• Restrained

  A restrained creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have disadvantage. The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.

• Sickened

  While a creature is sickened, they suffer a -2 penalty to all attack rolls, ability checks, and saving throws.

• Stunned

  A stunned creature is incapacitated, can’t move, and can speak only falteringly. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.

• Taunted

  While a creature is taunted, they have disadvantage on attack rolls against creatures other than the one that taunted them and have advantage on attack rolls against that creature. description

• Unconscious

  An unconscious creature is incapacitated, can’t move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings. The creature drops whatever it’s holding and falls prone. The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage. Any attack that hits the creature is a critical hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature.

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Damage Types

As players delve into any adventure in the World of Vala, they’ll soon discover that there are innumerable ways for a character to meet an untimely end. The end result is usually the same when hit with each type — loss of HP — but some characters or creatures may be resistant or weak to certain damage types.

• Arcane

  Any sort of generic magic damage that utilizes the simplest type of magic in the World of Vala.

• Blood

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from Blood Magic is classified as blood damage.

• Bludgeoning

  Any sort of damage done by blunt force attacks, such as hammers, falls, or constriction, deals bludgeoning damage.

• Chaos

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from Chaos Magic is classified as chaos damage.

• Cold

  Any sort of damage that deals with ice or general coldness is classified as cold damage.

• Cosmic

  Any sort of damage that deals with cosmic mana is classified as cosmic damage.

• Daemon

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from Daemons is classified as daemon damage.

• Divine

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from a Divine creature is classified as divine damage.

• Draconic

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from Draconic Magic is classified as draconic damage.

• Magical Kinetic

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from Magical Bludgeoning, Piercing, or Slashing damage.

• Paradoxical

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from paradoxical magic is classified as paradoxical damage.

• Piercing

  Any sort of damage done by puncturing and impaling attacks, such as spears and monster bites, deals piercing damage.

• Primal

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from primal magic is classified as nature damage.

• Psychic

  Any sort of damage that deals with mental abilities deal psychic damage.

• Seismic

  Some damage is so overwhelming that it could only be described as seismic. With higher-level beings such as Gods, Daemon Lords, and other heavy hitters, their cataclysmic clashes shake the very realm. A creature is dealt seismic damage under the following circumstances.

  • When the Creature takes Maximum damage of an attack or effect.

  • When the creature fails a Contested Roll by 10 or more.

  • When the creature is dropped to 0 hit points without being killed.

  To determine the results of the damage, roll a 1d20 to determine the seismic effect that occurs. These effects assume a varied battleground, but can be adapted for a variety of locations.

  • 1: Launched into Orbit. The creature is sent flying an incredible distance before slowing just past the edges of the world’s atmosphere. Until returning, the creature is deafened and unable to breathe taking 1d20 cosmic damage.

  • 2: Sent Flying. The creature is sent flying vertically up to 300 feet, creating ripples that part the clouds.

  • 3: Localized Major Damage. Your strikes creates massive ripples which cause massive damage to nearby objects and structures, collapsing building and upheaving magma from the earth.

  • 4: Localized Minor Damage. Your strike creates ripples which cause minor damage to nearby objects and structures, shattering glass and cracking through solid rock.

  • 5-7: Blasted Through a Wall. The creature is blasted through the nearest vertical surface and continues for up to 100 feet, or until it impacts with another surface.

  • 8-10: Blasted Through the Ground. The creature is blasted through the nearest horizontal plane and continues falling, landing prone in an open cavern or similar space.

  • 11-13: Impact with Wall. The creature impacts with the nearest vertical surface, restraining them until they are freed.

  • 14-16: Impact with Ground. The creature impacts with the nearest horizontal plane, creating a small crater and knocking them prone.

  • 17-20: Shockwave. Your strike whips at the air, blowing away foliage, but otherwise not causing any adverse effect.

• Slashing

  Any sort of damage done by swords, axes, and monsters’ claws deals slashing damage.

• Soul

  Any sort of damage that targets and interacts with a creature’s soul is classified as soul damage.

• Spirit

  Any sort of damage that relates to energies from spirits. Each of the spirit mana is both weak and strong against. Elements deal double damage to the element they’re strong against, and deal reduced damage to elements they’re weak against.

  • Earth - Any sort of damage done by an attack that uses earth or is made of earth, such as the growing of trees or a rock slide, or done by earth-themed spells is treated as earth damage.

  • Fire - Any sort of damage done by an attack that uses fire or is made of fire, such as a warming effect to keep you warm on a cold night to a towering inferno, or done by fire-themed spirits is treated as fire damage.

  • Lightning - Any sort of damage done by an attack that uses lightning or is made of lightning, such as a small spark to generate electricity to a thunderstorm, or done by lightning-themed spells is treated as lightning damage.

  • Water - Any sort of damage done by an attack that uses water or is made of water, such as a wave or a tsunami, or done by water-themed spells is treated as water damage.

  • Wind - Any sort of damage done by an attack that uses air or is made of air, such as a gust of wind or a raging tornado, or done by air-themed spells is treated as wind damage.

• Soul

  Any sort of damage that targets and interacts with a creature’s soul is classified as soul damage.

• Umbral

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from Umbral Magic is classified as umbral damage.

• Vaconic

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from Vaconics is classified as vaconic damage.

• Void

  Any sort of damage whose origin comes from the Void is classified as void damage.