Combat

To make things go a bit easier when the rough stuff starts, the action is divided into segments, known as Turns. A game Turn represents a short bit of time � five seconds or so � during which characters can attack and defend. During a Turn, a normal character can attack once and defend from one attack without penalties. Experienced or fast characters can make more than one attack during a Turn.

At the beginning of each Turn, the players declare the intentions of their Cast Member. This is where they say, "I want to aim my crossbow," or "I cast a Spell." You decide if that action is possible in one Turn. Most simple actions are, but if a character wants to knock a large hole in a wall with her axe, she is going to need more than five seconds.

Then you determine who attacks first. The simpliest way is to have each character roll and add their Dexterity (and any Fast Reaction Time bonuses).

Once initiative is determined, the intended tasks are rolled. Usually, a character may only take one action per Turn, but those with Dexterity 5 or greater gain extra actions according to the Additional Actions Table.

Additional Actions Table
Dexterity	Additional Actions
5-6	1
7-8	2
9-10	3
11-12	4
Every extra 2 points thereafter	+1 extra action

As it is difficult to do more than two things at once (or walk and chew gum for some of us), additional actions suffer cumulative penalties of -2. The player only rolls once � successive attacks or defenses each reduce the total by two. If the target defends against any of those attacks, the character can no longer continue attacking on that Turn.