Combat Basics

Source: Terra Magia Core Rules p.30

Terra Magia is a hectic world, where conflicts frequently become violent. At the start of a fight, or any other dangerous situation in which every second is critical, the first thing that you need to do is roll your Engagement.

Each character rolls a 20-sided die, adding their Swiftness and Intuition to the result, and informs the GM of the total which is their Engagement for this fight or tense encounter.

During the fight, all participants act in order of highest Engagement to lowest. In the event of a tie, the character with the highest Swiftness stat goes first; further ties are settled by Intuition, then by Willpower, then by number of Terra Tokens.

If a character wishes to move their position in the turn order they must use both major actions and their minor action. This allows them to move their position in the turn order as well as the battlefield with their remaining movement action.

Source: Terra Magia Core Rules p.31-36

• A Round: A fight or encounter is made up of any number of rounds. Each round takes roughly six seconds for everyone to take there turn. Once each character takes their turn going in order from the person with highest Engagement roll to the lowest  then that round has been completed. Once the round end, all once per round abilities and actions reset.

• A Turn: Each turn is made up of five actions, three Major Actions, a Minor Action, and a Reaction. Reactions are reset at the start of your turn but are used on another character's turn as a response to one of their actions or environmental effect. While they all have their typical uses which will be listed in this section, there are spells and perks that consume one or mo.re of these actions to use. If an action is less time consuming it can be done as an action that is more time consuming. Major actions are the most time consuming, Movement actions are the second most time consuming, next are Minor actions and least time consuming are Reactions.

• Major Actions

  • Attack: An attack action is any action that targets and purposely damages a character. This can include martial, ranged and magical attacks. These actions require the roll of one of the corresponding combat skills. When making an attack action it is split into two rolls the “Target” roll and the “Damage rolls”. You can use both of your major actions to attack but the second attack is at a -4 penalty to the target roll. If your second attack misses you stumble and enemies have advantage to their target rolls until the start of your next turn.

    • Target Roll: When making a targeting roll, you roll a d10 plus the stat and the combat skill of your choosing and any bonuses indicated by the description of the weapon. The number needed to succeed a target roll is the AR, which is indicated on a creature's stat sheet. 

    • Damage Roll: A group of dice indicated in the description of the spell or weapon used is rolled and the total is the damage the target takes. Unless enhanced by perks unarmed damage Attacking without a weapon deals 1d4 plus your PWR.

  • Defend: You take a defensive position which increases your AR by +1 or by whatever the AR of any shield/defensive weapon you have at the ready.

  • Command: Give orders to constructs, machines, or pets that you control. Each command action can be the equivalent of a major and minor, or major and movement actions the target is capable of performing.

  • Use Complex Item:  The use of any item that requires a check roll to use successfully.

  • Prep: Select any action, you can use that action as a reaction before the start of your next turn. 

  • Physical Skill: Attempting an action that requires a physical skill check.

  • Assist: Roll a successful Average check of what ever skill you're using to help your ally with a specified goal this gives your ally +2 advantage dice to their roll.

  • First Aid: Can perform a Hard Medicine to heal a target's VP. With a success the target is healed for an amount equal to your Logic stat. If you succeed with at least 10 degrees of success the target is heald for double your Logic stat. On a failed check the target is not healed, if failed with 10 degrees of failure or more the target takes damage equal to your Logic stat.

  • Move: Traversing any amount up to your total Movement Speed. This movement can be stopped and continued  to conduct other actions in between so long as you have not reached your total movement for the round.

  • Jump: When you hop around the battle field as needed. Each hop can only be as far as your calculated Jump Distance, but you can jump as many times as needed so long as you have not exceeded your movement speed limit.

  • Leap: Can add your half of your power stat in meters to a jump but this consume entire movement action regardless of the distance covered. This does not require.

  • Full Sprint: Move double your movement distance but forfeit any Reaction this round.

  • Cautious Step: Move at half speed but avoid any Reaction Attacks and gain an advantage dice to Stealth checks.

• Minor Actions

  • Take Cover:  You properly position yourself behind any chest high wall, stray pillar, or otherwise effect barrier. There are two kinds of cover Partial and Full which are outlined in the Combat Details section starting on page 36.

  • Use Simple Item: Use an item in your possession or in the environment that doesn’t require a skill check. For example, opening an unlocked door, pulling a lever, drinking a potion, activating a remote explosive, ect.

  • Equip & Un-Equip:  Sheathe and/or draw a weapon or other item on your person. When you put away a one handed weapon you can replace it with another one handed weapon if your other hand was empty.

  • Reload:  Swapping in and out any ammo cartridge that a weapon needs. Some weapons may require a greater amount of time to reload than just a minor action, these will be listed in the weapons descriptions as actions that need to be consumed.

  • Mental Skill:  When you attempt to use a purely mental skill during a tense situations.

• Reactions

  • Dodge: You roll a dodge check to see if you are able to avoid the damage of an attack. Dodging martial attacks requires an Average check, while dodging fire arms requires a Hard check. This however is opposing an attack so success is dependent on if you get more degrees of success than the attack that you’re trying dodge.

  • Block:  Roll a block check to see if you can protect yourself from some or all damage. Blocking requires an average check for martial and hard check for ranged attacks, with the success depending on if you get more degrees of success than the attacker. Shields and weapons with the blocking property are needed to block effectively. Attempting a block without a shield or weapon increases the threshold by one category.

  • Attack: When an enemy walks past your reach you can take a single attack at them without any consecutive attack penalties. Can’t be done with fire arms as this isn’t enough time to aim, it’s just an instinctive swing.