Other Combat Topics

Cover is a physical barrier protecting at least 50% of your body in a meaningful way. If you are protected by cover you can hide and gain an increased benefit from a defensive action.

If you are fully blocked by cover (100% protected in a meaningful way) your foes don’t have “line of effect” to you, thus rendering you unable to be attacked. (Aka: “There is a wall in the way- they can’t hit you.”)

When an effect lasts for longer than a single action, such as a magic spell, it is said to have a “duration”. An effect’s duration includes the turn it is activated on and ends at the end of your turn that it ends on. This means an effect that lasts 3 turns works as follows: it starts on the turn it is activated, is active for a second turn, and it ends at the end of your third turn.

All active abilities end at the resolution of the turn they end on.

Sometimes a character gains the service of creatures who will unfailingly carry out their orders. This might be a loyal animal companion, a summoned monster, a faithful mount, or the mind-thrall a wicked psychic. Minions are different from other NPCs in the following ways:

• Control: The player directly controls their minions.
• Command: A player never needs to make a skill check to command a minion to do something.
• Turn: Minions take their turn at the same time as the player.
• Direct Minion: To control a minion/minions the character needs to take the “Direct Minion” action (which costs 1 action) each turn.
• 3 Collective Actions: All of a specific player’s minions share just 3 collective actions on their turn, though the player can allocate them however they like.
  • For example: If a character summons 3 creatures with the summon monster spell (who are minions) they could either have 1 of those creatures take 3 actions, all 3 of the creatures each take 1 action, or perhaps 1 of the creatures take 2 actions and another just take 1.
  • Reactions: If at least 1 of these actions go unused they may be reserved as a reaction usable by any minion.
• Attack Limit: A given minion may not attack more than once per round.
• Out Of Combat: Outside of combat, minions will follow you without needing to be ordered, but will otherwise take no actions without being ordered to.
• Minions of Minions: Minions cannot have minions.
• Hero Dice: You can spend your Hero Dice on your minion’s actions.

These are the default stipulations of minions. Specific rules can override these stipulations (as per normal). Abilities that grant minions are specific about the fact that they grant the player minions and all creatures should be assumed to be normal NPCs rather than minions by default.