Goblns charge you from the underbrush with sharpened blades. You face the large giant who has been threatening local villages, having exhausted negotiations you nock an arrow in your bow. One misstep in the dragons lair and the great beast awakes in a fury of piercing teeth and claws. Combat is an important aspect of gaming, and the difference between life and death for your character can sometimes depend upon these rules.

The Battle Map

In order to visualize where your character is in relation to other opponents and room or terrain features, many games rely on a battle map, which is a large 1” square map where each square represents 5’. There are many combat rules and Power descriptions that assume that your combat is staged on a battle map. If you do not wish to use a battle map, the rules in this chapter apply to this form of battle as well.

If you are using a battle map, we recommend that you find something to properly represent your character. Ideally you will have a painted miniature. However, anything can suffice, from a die you are not using to some of the munchies you brought to the game.

Rounds and Turns

Combat is broken down into rounds where each person gets a turn. One round represents approximately six seconds, and 10 rounds represents a minute of time. During each round, everyone gets a turn to say what actions they wish to take and react to the conditions of the battlefield. The order in which people take turns is predefined at the beginning of combat through their initiative roll, which will be discussed shortly. Combat continues each round until the combat encounter is resolved, at which point initiative ends and the game continues.

A Combat Encounter

The first thing you normally do in combat is determine if anyone is surprised. After you determine which combatants are surprised, determine what distance your opponents first spot each other and set up the battle map. At this point, roll initiative to determine which order each person acts. If there is a surprise round, the combatants that are not surprised get to act in initiative order in a special surprise round. After the surprise round has been resolved, combat continues in rounds with each combatant getting their turn until combat is resolved.

Defenses

While you have many skills that you will use in combat, there are a number of defenses that are always active in combat. You must keep your attention focused all around you, and as such there are a number of defenses that tend to be constant that others must meet or exceed when they attack you. The same thing applies when you attack other creatures, even objects! The core defenses are: armored, agility, endurance, reasoning and willpower.

Agility Defense.

Your agility defense is what opponents must overcome when they wish to touch you, attack you with a blast that you might otherwise dodge, or otherwise strike you when armor doesn’t factor in and your agility and speed matter most. Your Agility Defense is:

Armored Defense.

Your armored defense does not only include your agility defense, but also any armor you are wearing. This is the most common for missile weapon and melee attacks, as they must all overcome both your ability to dodge and your armor. Your Armored Defense is:

Endurance Defense.

Your endurance defense is your ability to withstand physical trauma, poisons, and other stresses on your body, as well as opposed physical attacks, such as in a grapple. Your Endurance Defense is:

Reasoning Defense.

Your reasoning defense is your ability to interact and truly understand your environment. While not used as frequently as some of the other defenses, many spells and hidden attacks will target this defense. Your Reasoning Defense is:

Willpower Defense.

Your willpower defense is your mental prowess. Any contest of the mind will attack your willpower defense, as well as many fear-based effects. Your Willpower Defense is:

In order to succeed against a defense, one needs to match or beat the value of the defense with all their modifiers included. There are some aspects and powers that allow someone to increase or decrease their defenses. It is important that the defender always have an opportunity to apply trigger conditions before the attacker, but they do not have to do that until after the attack is announced and before any dice are cast.

Features



Your Powers and Aspects, as well as the action defined in combat, sometimes specify a type of attack, or name a condition as a result of your action. These are all very important and defined here.

Hit Points

Hit Points represent a beings health. Your Hit Point Maximum represents the total health your character has as a composite of energy, endurance, ability to withstand damage, bleeding, bruising, and more. If you have 30 hit points maximum, and you have 30 hit points currently, you are at full health. Conversely when you are reduced to less than zero hit points, you are in shock and dying. If your character has 15 hit points of a maximum of 30, then you are at half of your health. Damage, whether it be from fire, sword, falling, or starvation, is defined in hit points. If you take 10 points of fire damage, it means you take 10 hit points of fire damage, which represents a third of your 30 maximum. Your current hit points are reduced to represent this damage. In time, you replenish your hit points through rest. Also, as you gain experience and levels, your maximum hit points increase to represent your ability to better dodge those blows, and better withstand that fall.

Skill-based Attacks

Whenever you wish to take an attack, you follow a very similar procedure as you would to determine success or failure with a skill. You roll a 20-sided die, add in your appropriate Skill modifier, and any combat modifiers that apply. The total of your Skill modifier plus any combat modifiers is your Attack Bonus. A +6 Attack Bonus means that to determine success, you must roll d20 +6 and compare that to the defense you are attacking. If you meet or exceed the defense, your attack is successful.

Natural Attacks

Every creature gets a Natural Attack which incorporates their common natural weapons. This includes punching, biting, tail slaps, head buts, and any other part of your body that you determine would be to your best advantage to strike with. Your Natural Attack is detailed as part of your Standard Attack.

Melee Attacks

A melee weapon is any weapon that is not thrown, but instead used to attack an opponent in a square you threaten using hand-to-hand combat. This incorporates swords, clubs, and even chairs. A Melee Attack is an attack that incorporates both melee and natural weapons.

Ranged Attacks

A ranged attack incorporates both thrown weapons and fired projectiles such as arrows and bolts. There are two types of ranged attacks: Thrown Weapon Attacks and Missile Attacks.

Standard Attacks

A Standard Attack is an attack with a melee, natural, thrown, or ranged weapon. You may not use a Power in a Standard Attack, unless the Power is a trigger effect. For all Standard Attacks, you attack your opponents Armored Defense with a d20 + your relevant skill + any attack modifiers. Your relevant skill is as follows:

Melee Attack. If the weapon is considered a light weapon (meaning its size is smaller than your character’s size, such as a small weapon on a medium creature), you may use either your Athletics Skill Modifier or your Stealth Skill Modifier (whichever is better). If the weapon is the same size or larger than you are, you must use your Athletics Skill Modifier. The same skill applies to both the attack and damage bonus.

Natural Attack. You may use either your Stealth Skill Modifier, or Athletics Skill Modifier if your natural attack is a light weapon (whichever is better). Some natural weapons are sized much larger, like the claws of a giant crab. They can only use your Athletics Skill Modifier for their attack. The same skill applies to both the attack and damage bonus.

Thrown Weapon Attack. You may use either your Athletics Skill Modifier or Stealth Skill Modifier if your thrown weapon is a light weapon (whichever is better). Some thrown weapons are sized much larger, like a long spear. They can only use your Athletics Skill Modifier for their attack. The same skill applies to both the attack and damage bonus.

Missile Weapon Attack. You use your Stealth Skill or Intuition Skill (whichever is better). There is no modifier for damage beyond what the weapon offers.

Attack of Opportunity

A combatant can create an Attack of Opportunity whenever they move or do something that creates a vulnerability that an opponent can take advantage of. When a combatant does something that creates an Attack of Opportunity, any combatant may take a Standard Attack who threatens the combatant. No matter what you do in a turn, any single combatant can only take one Attack of Opportunity in a single combat turn. However, this does not preclude the combatant from taking advantage of another Attack of Opportunity in another creatures turn. An Attack of Opportunity is created in two conditions, movement out of a space and a standard action that generates an Attack of Opportunity.

Movement of out a square. Whenever your character leaves a square and moves into another square you generate an Attack of Opportunity. Note that if you shift out of a space, for instance if you tumble or take the withdraw standard action, you do not create an Attack of Opportunity.

Standard Actions. Some standard actions, such as Casting a Spell or attacking with a ranged weapon, generate Attack of Opportunitys. Even if your movement does not, a standard action that generates an Attack of Opportunity generates one in every square you move through that round. This includes your first and last square, even if you shift out of that square.

Taking an Attack of Opportunity allows the opponent to make a single Standard Attack as a triggered action that does not change the attackers initiative or combat order. When the attack is resolved, the combatant may continue their action unimpeded.

Criticals and Fumbles

Critical Attack. Each weapon or attack has a critical threat range. If one is not specified, the critical threat range is always at least 20. The critical threat range specifies the value you must roll naturally on a d20 or higher. If you roll that value, and the modified result is considered a successful attack on a target, the result is considered a Critical Attack. For example, a critical threat range of 18+ means that a natural roll of 18, 19, or 20 and that also results in a successful attack is considered a Critical Attack. Since a natural roll of 20 on a d20 is always a hit, a natural 20 is always a Critical Attack.

In any Critical Attack, there are a number of special power or item trigger effects that may be applied, depending on the character. These effects frequently allow you to apply extra damage or continuing effects to an opponent.

In addition, a natural 20 Critical Attack offers some additional benefits. On a natural 20 Critical Attack, the strike ignores any DR your opponent may have. If the Critical Attack specifies any continuing effects, the Continuing DC increases by 2 if it is a baneful effect, and decreases by 2 if it is a boon effect. Additional effects that might happen, depending on the GMs desire.

Critical Attack. Occurs on a natural roll of 20 with any attack roll dealing damage or imposing a condition. You add 1d6 to your damage and you ignore any DR your opponent may have. If it is a condition that is continuing, the Continuing DC increases by 2. Any special power triggers may also take effect. In addition, you may have additional effects that might happen, depending on the GMs desire.

Fumble Attack. Occurs on a natural roll of a 1. Roll a random combat fumble effect from the fumble effect chart (Appendix A). Fumbles are combat condition effects. You stumble back, something in your eye, etc.

Threatening Squares

You threaten each square in which you can reach with a melee or natural attack with whatever you have equipped on at the time. If a combatant creates an Attack of Opportunity in a square, anyone who threatens that square may take an Attack of Opportunity against that combatant.

Recovery Hit Points

There are many ways you can recover from your injuries. You may take a Rest action, be healed, recover from shock, and more. Your character’s recovery hit points is d6 + your Endurance Skill modifier.

Resistance

Resistance is an effect that makes you immune to an elemental effect. Common resistances are Resistance - Fire, Resistance - Cold, Resistance - Acid, and Resistance - Electricity. You subtract the Resistance amount from any damage you suffer of that type. If the reduced damage is zero or less, you suffer no damage from that type. If you suffer 20 points of regular damage and 5 points of fire damage, and you are resistant to fire 8. Then you negate the 5 points of fire damage, yet still take the 20 points of regular damage that you are not resistant to.

Sensitivity

Being sensitive to a type of damage, such as Fire, Cold, Acid, Divine, or Sonic makes the damage much more severe. Any hit point damage done with that element ignores Damage Reduction and additionally inflicts any effect or damage listed with the sensitivity. For example, Sensitivity - Cold (Slow Continuing 12) means that any cold damage ignores DR and additionally inflicts a slow condition on the target Continuing 12. Sensitivity is applied after any resistance and before damage reduction. If you have both Sensitivity - Fire (+d6 damage) and Resistance - Fire 5, you apply the resistance to the damage, and then the sensitivity takes effect if you suffer any damage of that type. For example, you would not take any damage from 5 points of fire damage, but you would take d6+3 points if the initial damage was 8 points of fire.

Damage Reduction (DR)

Damage Reduction (DR) is an effect that applies to all hit point damage you receive, unless the damage specifies that it ignores Damage Reduction. Whenever you suffer hit point damage, subtract the DR from the total damage before subtracting it from your hit points total. No matter how high your DR, you must always take at least 1 HP of damage. For example, if you had DR 10, and you take 9 points of damage, you still suffer 1 HP of damage. If you have DR 10, and suffer 14 HP of damage, you only take 4 HP of damage. Damage Reduction applies after sensitivity and resistance have been factored in.

Shock Check

Shock checks occur when you suffer a massive blow, or sometimes through special attacks. A Shock Check is:

If you fail your check you suffer the condition specified.

Massive Damage

Whenever you suffer half your total hit points (rounded down) in a single blow you must do a Shock Check. If you fail, you fall unconscious (see the unconscious condition for more details on waking from unconsciousness).

Death and Dying

When you fall below 0 hit points, you are staggered. Whenever you are first staggered, you must immediately make a Shock Check to stop from falling unconscious. You must also make a Shock Check at the end of every standard action you take, as well as at any time you suffer additional damage if at the end of the action you have less than 0 hit points. Any failure means you immediately fall unconscious.

If you are below 0 hit points AND are unconscious, you are now dying. You must continue to make a Shock Check at the end of every one of your turns, and again at any time you suffer damage. Once you fail 3 additional Shock Checks, your character dies. Also, if your damage brings you to negative half your maximum hit points or less (rounded down), you die immediately.

If you roll a natural 20 on any Shock Check while dying, you are stabilized and do not need to make a Shock Check again unless you take additional damage. In addition, a natural 20 Shock Check while dying automatically heals you your Recovery Hit Points (You still may have fewer than 0 hit points though). Even if you are stabilized, you still must make a Shock Check once every hour as long as the dying condition persists to remain stable. If you succeed at this check, you immediately heal your Recovery Hit Points. If you fail, you once again staggered.

Likewise if you roll a natural 1 on and Shock Check, it functions as if you just failed 2 Shock Checks.

Once the creature is restored to 0 or more hit points, the creature is no longer dying, but may still suffer any unconscious condition.

Anyone may use a Intuition Skill check DC 15 to stabilize a creature. If you succeed, the creature also receives their Recovery Hit Points if they were dying.

Any magic restoring hit points allows an immediate Intuition Skill check to stabilize the creature with a bonus of the Power Level to the roll. In addition, if the target creature is restored to 0 or more hit points, any unconscious condition is removed.

Resolving Attacks Against Multiple Opponents

When you use a power that specifies multiple targets, you roll your attack separately against each opponent. However, you only roll damage once. If you successfully strike more than one opponent, they each take the same damage for the attack. If you critical multiple opponents, the additional effects are resolved for each of them.

If your attack specifies an area of effect, you only roll the attack once against all creatures defenses. Damage is likewise only rolled once. If there is secondary damage, it is resolved based on the original damage roll.

Combat Modifiers

Using Two Weapons

Your character may choose to wield more than one weapon. If you have multiple weapons equipped, you may choose whichever weapon you have equipped for any Action or Attack of Opportunity. In addition if you forgo a shield and fight with at least one light weapon, you get a +1 bonus to any attack action made with either of these weapons. You may only fight with multiple weapons if none of the weapons are sized larger than your size. A medium sized character would be able to use a medium and small sized weapon, but not a large and small sized weapon.

Using Larger Weapons

If you wield a weapon sized larger than you, you cannot normally fight effectively with two weapons. If you wield a shield with a weapon one size larger than you, you suffer a -1 penalty to both attack and damage with the weapon (you always do at least 1 point of damage). If you wield a weapon two sizes larger than you, you must use both hands to wield the weapon, and you can not effectively use the weapon on a mount.

Ranged Weapon Increments

You suffer a -2 penalty to your attack for every range increment beyond the first. The number of range increments depends largely on what type of ranged weapon you are using.

Thrown weapon attacks. You may extend as many range increments as the skill modifier you are using to attack. If you are attacking with your Athletics Skill modifier, and your modifier is +6, you may extend 5 range increments beyond the first, with a -10 penalty to your attack.

Missile weapon attacks. You can extend 4 increments beyond the first for a total of 5 increments.

Terrain Advantage

If you are attacking from higher ground, such as a staircase, a bar table, or just a rocky slope, you receive a +1 bonus to your attack. This is repeated in the mounted combat section where it applies to mounted combat as well.

Mounted Combat

If you are riding a mount, you can spend a Move Action to direct your mount in combat, which can include a move, a second move in the same turn, or both move and a charge in the same turn. All movement would be at your mounts base move.

Control your mount. If the mount is not trained in combat (such as a riding horse instead of a warhorse), or if you have less than a Intuition Skill modifier of +3, you must make a

if your mount is being threatened in the beginning of any of your turns. If you fail this check your mount will flee. If the mount is trained in combat you do not have to make this check.

If your mount is trained in combat and you do have at least a Intuition +1, you may as a Standard Action spur your mount to attack an opponent, or you are welcome to spend your Standard Action normally. You also do not have to make a Intuition skill check to control your mount in combat. Your mount will not normally attack an opponent on its own.

If you are attacking from a mount, you are considered to be on higher ground, which gives you a +1 to your attack rolls.

Adjustments for Size

Size modifiers are calculated in all your skills through your attribute scores. However, sometimes you may find yourself larger or smaller than normal due to magical effects. Please refer to the last chapter on creating races to find out size modifiers for these extraordinary conditions.

Cover and Concealment

When a combatant has cover from another creature it receives a +2 to all of their defenses. When a combatant has superior cover it receives a +4 bonus to all of their defenses. Concealment is the same way! Concealment offers a +2 bonus, and superior concealment offers a +4 bonus to all their defenses. What is important to note is that the total bonus for cover AND concealment cannot exceed +4. So a +2 cover and +2 concealment, a +4 cover, and a +2 cover and +4 concealment all add up to only a +4 total bonus.

Cover and concealment do not apply if the attack targets an area that the opponent is in. A thrown flask of oil against a target offers the opportunity to apply cover or concealment, but a large blast of flame covering the targets area does not.

Below is an explanation of when a creature has cover, and when a creature is concealed.

• Cover.A creature has cover if there is cover, being a stone wall or a combatant, between the attacker and the target. To determine when there is cover, the attacker picks a vertex on the edge of the square they reside in. There is cover if any line drawn from this vertex to any vertex on the edge of the opponents square passes through an obstruction.
• Superior cover.A creature has superior cover if they qualify for having cover, if the cover is solid (such as stone or wood), and if the cover realistically covers more than 2/3 of their body. Taking cover behind a stone wall would qualify if the stone wall was sufficiently large. Taking cover behind a bush does not qualify.
• Concealment.A creature has concealment if the vision or primary sense organ of the attacker would find it difficult to sense the target. Fighting in fog, or firing arrows in the dark of night are all effective concealment.
• Superior Concealment.A creature has superior concealment if they cannot sense the target. If the target is invisible or hiding in a dark cavern, or if the attacker is blind are all legitimate reasons to grant superior concealment.

Surprise & Initiative

Surprise is determined at the beginning of each encounter before initiative. Each combatant must check against the difficulty class specified by the Game Master, and a failure means they are surprised. Normally, a surprise check is either an Intuition Skill Check or Perception Skill Check versus a DC of 20. If any opponent creature is more than 2 sizes larger than the their opponents, the DC is 2 less. Likewise if either side has more than 4 combatants, the opponents DC is 2 less. If either side is especially cautious, reduce their DC by 2 as well. These reductions and bonuses all stack! Add to the DC of each side the lowest Stealth Skill Modifier of your opponents.

If there are any members who are not surprised, they get to act in a first surprise round - but only if there are in fact combatants who are surprised. However, they are only limited to a Single Square Shift for their initial Move Action. They may still continue with the rest of their turn normally however, and can still exchange their Standard Action for another (and regular) Move Action, etc.

Initiative is rolled once at the beginning of each encounter immediately after surprise. You remain at the same initiative order each round of combat unless someone changes their position within initiative. Whomever rolls highest on Initiative goes first in each round, with ties going to the person with the longest hair.

The standard round begins with the combatant highest in initiative going first, and then continuing to the next highest initiative combatant until every player has had a chance to act. Then, initiative continues once again to the player with the highest initiative, and so on!

Until you have had a chance to take an action, you are considered Distracted. This means that you are more susceptible to attack until you have had a chance to act or react in combat.

Hero Points

You may be offered one or more Hero Points. Hero Points are granted for exceptional role playing, and sometimes just for supporting your group of players. This is where your list of traits comes in handy! Normally if you role play your character well, you would hope to get one or two additional Hero Points over the course of a single three hour long game session.

You may carry over only 1 hero point from game session to the next game session. If you have any hero points left over at the end of a game session, you may trade any beyond the first in for an EPS reward. No matter how many hero points you have, you still get one flat EPS reward.

You may spend your Hero Points during the course of the game to do any one of the following.

• Take an extra move action during combat
• Add +d6 to a single d20 roll that you roll (as an trigger action)
• Add +d6 to all defenses for 1 full round during combat. You roll once in your turn and the effects continue for a full round until the beginning of your next turn.
• Die bump. You can increase the value of your die roll up to its maximum value, as if you rolled that adjusted value. You can make a 19 into a 20 to critical. You can not use a die bump to avert a natural roll of a 1 however.
• Take your Bandage Action as a Quick Action without creating an Attack of Opportunity and without being Distracted during your turn. You do not get an additional Bandage Action.

Hero Points are a great way to reward your players for their role playing during the game. For them, it means striving to earn a bonus EPS reward, or possibly making that one attack really count that they care about. If each player has earned three hero points over the course of the evening, you are giving out way too many and unbalancing the game. Ideally, you will pose a challenge for each player over the course of the evening to test their traits, and if they play up to these traits and impress you, they should be rewarded.

Conditions

Asleep

You cannot take actions and you are unaware of your surroundings. You can wake with nearby noise such as combat with a willpower roll DC 15. If the noise is powerful or sharp (such as someone shouting) the DC is 10.

Bleeding

You suffer the amount specified each round as continuing damage, damage reduction does not apply. You can stop this using the Bandage Self action or immediately with any magical healing.

Blind

You cannot succeed on any roll that relies primarily on sight. You also suffer a -5 penalty to your Agility Defense and Armored Defense unless the defense relies exclusively on the other senses.

Confused

Deafened

You are immune to sonic attacks. You suffer a -2 to all your Skill Attacks and Rolls, except Learning Skill. You outright fail any perception roll that relies only on sound.

Distracted

Anyone attacking or targeting a distracted individual gets a +2 bonus to their attack rolls against all of their defenses. A distracted individual cannot take Attack of Opportunitys.

Drowning

Dying

Please read Death and Dying in the Features section of the combat chapter.

Falling

When you are falling you take damage. You suffer 1d4 damage if you fall less than 10 feet. If you fall at least 10 feet or more, you suffer 1d10 damage for every 10 feet or fraction thereof you fall. If you land on a soft surface such as water, halve the distance you fall for purposes of calculating damage.

Flee

You must move directly away from the object you are fleeing from in the safest best manner you can. If the direct path away from the source of terror seems just as deadly, you are surprised instead.

Paralyzed

You cannot move or defend yourself, perform any action requiring movement, speech, or based on a skill using the Body or Dexterity Attributes. Your Agility Modifier and Stealth Modifier becomes -5.

Panicked

You suffer a -2 to all attack rolls and a -2 to your Willpower Defense. If you fumble a roll to resolve panic, you Flee.

Poisoned

Prone

While prone your base move is 1. You may stand up from prone as a move action (This movement leaves you Distracted). All skills based on the Body and Dexterity Attributes suffer a -2 penalty for being prone.

Enraged

You gain a +2 to all attacks, and a +2 to your Willpower Defense. The cost is that you are a poor defender, suffering a -2 penalty to your other defenses.

Levitated

You may move at half speed vertically, or as a move action move 1 square horizontally. You are also considered Distracted.

Slowed

You lose your Move Action in your Combat Turn. You may still exchange your Standard Action for a Move Action. You may also not Use a Power when Slowed, although you can use Item Powers and Trigger Powers.

Staggered

You take a -2 penalty to all Skills based on the Body attribute (Athletics, and Endurance). You may only take a standard action every turn, and are considered Distracted.

Stunned

You cannot make Attack of Opportunitys and are considered Distracted. In addition, you lose your Standard Action in your turn.

Surprised

You are considered Staggered but cannot take a standard action.

Unconscious

You are Asleep. You may attempt to wake from unconsciousness by making a Shock Check if in the last round or currently you received damage, healing, or a creature is adjacent to you and is not Stealthy (Stealth check DC 10). A success means you awaken, but are still prone.

Movement

There are three kinds of movement that all involve real movement both on and off the battlefield: move, shift, and teleport. Some expose you to attack, others do not. No matter what kind of movement it is, movement is defined in squares. Moving from one square to the next, whether orthogonal or diagonal costs the same amount. 

Move. You can move from one square to the next. Leaving a square with a move creates an Attack of Opportunity. This is the normal movement most creatures utilize. A creature with a move of 6 can move 6 squares in any direction with a Move Action. 

Shift. Shifting is the same as movement, although you do not create an Attack of Opportunity when shifting out of a square. 

Teleport. Teleporting is very different than moving. You still move from square to square within the maximum distance you have allocated through your teleport, but you appear instantly in the new location. You still pass through each square, but you do not create an Attack of Opportunity for movement or for your actions in any of the squares you teleported through. There are some powers and aspects that affect teleporting people, so you must still pick your path carefully. 

Difficult Movement

Difficult Movement. If you move through a constricted space due uneven or rocky terrain, a hall that is narrower than your size or shorter than your size, or through a terrain condition that would affect movement such as mud, ice, or high grass, your movement is halved. This means that for every square you move, it costs 2 squares from your movement total. Certain terrains will impose other Skill Checks to remain standing. 

Tactical Movement

Flanking. If you threaten an opponent and an ally threatens your opponent on the opposite side you are flanking. In order to count as the opposite side, you need to have an ally at least 3 squares away from you relative to the adjacent squares around the base of your opponent, if your opponent is size large or smaller. For larger base sizes the number of squares of distance is 2 x the base size + 1. For the most common base sizes, the minimum distance needed is listed here: 

For example, if you are fighting a huge creature (base size of 3x3), you need to have a threatening ally at least 7 squares away counting around the outside adjacent squares of your opponent. Please see diagram to demonstrate in detail what this means. 

If a creature is considered flanked, that creature is Distracted. 

(Flanking examples and diagrams)

Your Combat Turn

Your turn always ends by resolving continuing effects. If you have any active conditions, including lingering spell effects, Death and Dying rolls, or other effects that can be recovered or you suffer from, you resolve them at the end of your turn. You may resolve them in any order you wish, but you must resolve all conditions at the end of your turn after all your actions are complete. 

Before your turn ends and you must resolve any continuing effects, you may do the following in any order you wish.

• Free Action - say something quick, drop an item
• Quick Action - draw a weapon, potion or drop an item
• Move Action - move your standard move
• Standard Action - which can be any of the following

  Ready an Attack	Make a Standard Attack	Grab
  Delay	Cast a Spell	Grapple
  Pick Up an Object	Use a Power	Escape
  Retrieve an Item	Charge	Active Defense
  Bandage Self	Overrun	Coup de Grace
  Use a Skill	Press

You can substitute your Move Action for another Quick Action, and you can substitute your Standard Action for either a Move Action or a Quick Action. For instance, you may take three Quick Actions in 1 turn, or 2 Move Actions and 1 Quick Action by trading down one action for another.

Free Action

As a simple action, you can do a number of things that take no time at all, or can be done in conjunction with the rest of your turn. You may drop an item, say a sentence or two, or use a Hero Point. Unlike with the other three Action types, you can use as many Free Actions as you wish in a round. For instance, you may drop whatever is in your hands, say a few sentences, and later on use a Hero Point. You may not use your Free Action to speak a lengthy dialogue, however.

Quick Action

A quick action is a fast, short action that is not an attack or movement action, retrieving items from your pouch, drawing or sheathing a weapon

The Following is just a small list of the things you can do as a quick action.

Move Action

You may choose any movement below as your move action.

• Single Square Shift - You may make a 1 square Shift as your move action and not receive an Attack of Opportunity due to movement. However, any Standard Action you take can still create an Attack of Opportunity from either the square you left from OR the square you are moving to. A Single Square Shift only allows you to adjust your position, not avoid an Attack of Opportunity. Moving more than one square will still provoke an Attack of Opportunity for movement.
• Standard Move - You may move up to your full movement rate, and you may move through friendly combatants without penalty. If you have a move of 6, you may move 6 squares. You create an Attack of Opportunity when you leave each square.
• Athletics Move - You may make an Athletics Skill Check to jump, climb, or swim as part of your movement. This movement leaves you Distracted. You create an Attack of Opportunity when you leave each square.
• Run - You can run to cover more ground. When you run, you add +2 to your movement. If your move was 4, it is now 6 for the purposes of this move. However, running has several disadvantages. First, this movement leaves you Distracted until the beginning of your next turn. Second, you suffer a -2 penalty to any attack rolls until the beginning of your next turn.
• Crawl - You may crawl 1 square as a move action. This movement leaves you Distracted.
• Stand Up - You may stand up from prone. This movement leaves you Distracted.
• Direct a Mount - You may direct a mount you are on to move, double move, or move and charge during combat.
• Mount or Dismount - You may mount or dismount from a steed you are adjacent to.
• Move a heavy object - You may move or drag a heavy object at half your movement rate as a move action.

There are a number of tactical moves you can do with this. While you cannot escape a threatening opponent with any of these move actions, you can perform a number of actions such as:

Tactical Withdrawal. You take a Single Square Shift followed by a Standard Move. This allows you to safely retreat from an opponent who threatens you but does not have an ability to threaten the squares behind you.

Double Move Action

As a special action, you can decide to substitute your Standard Action for a second Move Action, and combine the two Move Actions into a single Move Action at twice your full movement rate. For instance, if your movement is 4 squares, you can take a Double Move Action and move 8 squares. This can matter if the first move would have left you in a precarious spot, such as in an occupied space, or if you are suffering a reduction to your movement and you would normally lose part of your movement.

Passive Action

A Passive Action is a subset of standard actions that include: Pick Up an Object, Retrieve an Item, Bandage Self, Use a Skill, and Make a Standard Attack. It also includes any Move Action, Quick Action, or Free Action. A Passive Action is usually granted as an additional bonus action of some powers and aspects. You may not Use a Power or Cast a Spell as part of a Passive Action.

Standard Actions