Combat
Combat | Attacking | Stunts | Environment | Extras | Morale | Special Attacks | Mass Combat | Social Combat
Battle is an inevitable facet of Exalted. The Time of Tumult has arrived, with the Realm tottering on the brink of civil war in the absence of its Empress and the Deathlords mobilizing invasions against the living. Across the world, the Solar Exalted have returned, casting down the corrupt orders of old to rebuild anew. Epic battles between epic heroes are a hallmark of the setting. The following rules show how to conduct combat scenes during game play.
Step One: First Actions
Action Options Summary
Activate Charm/Combo/Power (Varies/Varies): Use a Charm, Charm Combo or other magical power. Rules depend on the effect used.
Aim (3/-1): Prepare an attack against a target, increasing Accuracy proportional to the time spent aiming.
Attack (Varies/-1): Assault a single target, either unarmed or using a weapon.
Dash (3/-2): Sprint at top speed.
Flurry (Varies/Varies): Take multiple actions in a quick cascade. May be attacks or miscellaneous actions.
Guard (3/None): Optimized defensive stance.
Inactive (5/Special): Do nothing. This action is not voluntarily, but it may be forced on a character through immobility or hostile magic.
Miscellaneous Action (5/Varies): Perform some task unrelated (or perhaps tangentially connected) to combat.
Move (0/None): Sprint short distance. Reflexive.
During most scenes, time flows abstractly. Events happen in their narrated order without too much attention being paid to the moment-by-moment chronology. In contrast, tense situations such as combat require that the players and the Storyteller know exactly when each character acts relative to one another. Combat time passes in abstract increments called ticks, each of which is approximately one second long by default, but may vary slightly depending on what happens during the tick. Combat always advances from tick 0 forward one tick at a time until the end of battle.
Whenever a character wishes to take an action that would precipitate or require combat time, her player declares a Join Battle action. Doing so projects hostility or at least intense physical readiness, generally drawing immediate attention from everyone who can perceive her and allowing all such witnesses to perform Join Battle actions as well. Not every Storyteller character must join battle simply because they can. For the sake of expediency, assume that any uninvolved and/or unimportant bystanders do not do so.
If the initiator is hidden or wishes to conceal her intent, this is handled as an unexpected attack, requiring a contested roll between the initiator's player and the players of everyone present who might possibly notice the character (see pp. 155- 156 for full details). Resolve this surprise check before rolling for Join Battle. Only those who beat the initiator may perform a Join Battle action unless someone who succeeds calls out a warning (in which case anyone who hears the shout may Join Battle in response to the attacker's blown cover). Those attacked before their first action have their normal DV, but characters attacked by surprise have a Parry and Dodge DV of 0 and can use only those defenses that indicate they are effective against attacks of which the character isn’t aware. See Unexpected Attacks.
A Join Battle action is a roll of (Wits + Awareness) at standard difficulty. This is a reflexive roll and may benefit normally from Charms, stunts and other bonuses. The reaction count for the combat scene is a value equal to the highest number of successes rolled by anyone who simultaneously joins at the start of combat. If no one notices a hidden or covert assailant, he still performs a Join Battle action normally, with his successes establishing the reaction count. The First Action of each character equals (reaction count – successes), to a maximum value of 6. Any character who botches a Join Battle roll automatically has a First Action of 6. The fastest character (or characters, in the event of tied rolls generating multiple First Actions on 0) takes his first actual actions in battle immediately, whether attacking or doing some other task (see Action Options).
Step Two: Actions
Characters act for the first time in combat when the tick count reaches the point where they have their First Action (see Join Battle), and they may take any action desired, but they must act. Doing nothing is itself an action, whether a character is waiting in a guard position or paralyzed. At the beginning of combat, characters start with their full DV, subject to any modifiers that apply. Once a character takes her first action in combat, she must wait a number of ticks equal to the Speed rating of her action before she acts again. This delay resets with the Speed of each new action and forms the basic cycling structure of combat. In addition to Speed, most actions also have a defense penalty, determining how much the action reduces the character's Defense Value until her next action refreshes this trait.
Simultaneous Actions
When multiple characters act on the same tick, their actions occur simultaneously. Nothing actually happens until every action is rolled and the tick is concluded, so actions disregard the effects of "previous" rolls made in the same tick. Therefore, two combatants can strike and even kill one another on the same tick. Ideally, players will not abuse out-of-game knowledge to adjust actions based on what they know another character is doing. However, if the Storyteller feels that players can’t help themselves, or if he simply wishes to remove the temptation, he can have players declare and roll actions in any arbitrary order, switching around from tick to tick so that uncertainty prevails. Alternatively, the Storyteller can decide to give faster characters the edge in simultaneous contests by having characters declare actions in order of lowest (Wits + Awareness) and working up. Finally, the Storyteller can go to the other extreme and freely allow players to metagame for the best cinematic results, playing off one another's choices in a cooperative manner. However the Storyteller decides to resolve simultaneous actions, he should discuss the matter with players in advance so that everyone understands what to expect.
Action Options
The following list of actions encompasses virtually everything a character might do in battle. Each option has its associated Speed rating and defense penalty listed in parentheses at the beginning, separated by a slash. Actions designated as reflexive (including move and the activation of reflexive Charms) may have a defense penalty, but they are Speed 0 because they can be performed on any tick (even if the character does not or cannot take any other actions). Reflexive actions do not refresh a character's DV, nor do they count as true actions for the purposes of effects that last until a character's next action.
Activate Charm/Power/Combo (Varies/Varies)
Most supernatural beings in Exalted define their magical capabilities in the context of Charms, whether they are Chosen, spirits or even Fair Folk. Even with the vast range of powers that exist in Creation and beyond, all Charms and powers follow certain rules for combat timing depending on their listed type.
Permanent: These Charms automatically activate when learned and remain active thereafter.
Reflexive: Magical beings may activate a reflexive Charm on any tick, whether or not they have an action that tick. They may use the same Charm multiple times on the same tick if circumstances permit (for instance, repeatedly activating a defensive Charm in response to every attack made against them), but they cannot use the same Charm more than once in response to the same action or event.
Characters may not use a reflexive Charm unless they have not activated any other Charms since before the tick when they last took an action. For example, a Solar cannot use Heavenly Guardian Defense if he used Seven Shadow Evasion on or since his last action, though he could repeatedly deploy Seven Shadow Evasion. Terrestrial Exalted are the sole exception to this rule, capable of activating any reflexive Charm at any time, regardless of what other Charms they have recently used.
Supplemental: Characters may use supplemental Charms only during a tick in which they take an action. This type of Charm always enhances an action in some way. The same supplemental Charm may be activated multiple times on the tick if the character flurries, but no more times than the number of actions in the flurry that the Charm can enhance. Characters cannot use a supplemental Charm if they activate any other Charms during a tick.
Extra Action: This type of Charm provides a magical flurry, granting a cascade of separate actions that occur in rapid succession on a single tick (usually without imposing multiple action penalties). Characters may only use an extra action Charm on a tick in which they act, and they cannot activate the Charm more than once in the tick. Furthermore, characters cannot use an extra action Charm if they activate any other Charms during the tick, nor may they take any non-reflexive actions except those granted by the Charm (including actions performed as a non-magical flurry).
Simple: This type of Charm constitutes an action unto itself, so characters can activate only such magic as their sole action on a tick when they are permitted to act. Unless a simple Charm has a Speed rating listed in parentheses beside its type, it has a Speed of 6 by default. Characters cannot activate a simple Charm multiple times on the same tick, nor may they perform any other non-reflexive actions.
Combos: Through the use of a Combo, a magical being may link multiple Charms together and activate them on the same tick. The rules for building Combos and using them in combat timing are found on page Combos.
Aim (3/-1)
The character concentrates on a particular target (declared when the action is selected). Against an animate opponent, such concentration helps him to strike a vulnerable area at the most opportune moment. Against inanimate targets, he scrutinizes points of structural weakness. The character can abort the aim and attack his studied opponent on any tick after the first, adding one die to the attack roll for every tick spent aiming. Aborting to any other action is impossible. Aborting an aim is also like aborting a guard in that the attack does not refresh DV, even though it counts as a normal action in all other respects. Instead, the character must wait for the Speed of the attack to pass before his DV refreshes. If the character aborts DV to do anything besides attack his scrutinized target, he loses two dice from the action as an internal penalty from his divided attention.
If the character completes a full aim cycle, he still does not refresh DV, but he may use the new action to attack the studied target with three bonus dice. Alternatively, he can enter a new aiming cycle with the action. In this case, DV does not decrease further and neither does the character add more bonus dice. However, the full bonus stays "banked" through as many aim cycles as desired until used (by attacking the target) or forfeited (by using an action to do anything else). This is used to simulate a character "covering" targets. Aim cannot be part of a flurry.
Attack (Varies/-1)
The character launches a single attack at a target, either unarmed or using a weapon. Because attacking is the most complicated action possible in Exalted, see the Attacking page. The Speed of an attack is the Speed of the weapon or attack maneuver used.
Thrust (Varies/-2)
A Thrust action is identical to an Attack action, save that its DV penalty is -2 and it carries the Piercing tag. A Thrusting weapon is required for a Thrust action.
Defense of Possessions
Attempts to attack equipment or items on the character's person (for example, to slash apart a treaty stuck through a loop on the character's belt) are treated as attacks directed at the character, and may be defended against as normal.
Dash (3/-2)
The character runs flat out, sprinting at speeds up to (Dexterity + 6 – current wound penalties – armor mobility penalty) yards per tick. The minimum rate of a dash is two yards per tick. Unlike a basic move, dashing is not reflexive, and it sharply penalizes defense. Characters suffer a DV penalty of -2 during the tick and cannot parry at all without a stunt or magical assistance.
Dashing is normally accomplished without a roll, but it may require a (Dexterity + Athletics) roll in order to cross treacherous terrain to avoid mishap, at Storyteller discretion.
If the terrain or the character's capabilities allow, a dash may involve another mode of locomotion besides running, such as swimming or climbing (both at Dexterity yards per tick, and both modes generally require rolls to accomplish) or flying (rate dependent on the means of flight).
Flurry (Varies/Varies)
The character launches a quick series of blows or otherwise performs multiple actions rolled on a single tick. Characters can draw their weapon at the beginning of a flurry of attacks, subject to the -1 DV penalty for their miscellaneous action.
Barring the aid of magic, this option imposes normal multiple action penalties on all rolls. The Speed rating of a flurry equals the highest Speed rating of any action taken as part of the cascade. Each action in the flurry imposes its own defense penalty as normal for that action. In the case of attacks, a weapon cannot be used to attack more times in a flurry than its Rate. (See Weapons page for rates of common weapons.)
Certain actions are barred from being part of a flurry, as stated in their descriptions. If, when his player declares the flurry, the character chooses an action that later becomes invalid (for example, killing a target on the first blow of a series), he may choose to abort the flurry rather than carry out the invalid action. The flurry ends with the aborted action—characters cannot pick and choose among actions in a flurry when one becomes invalid. The flurry remains as long as it was when the character chose to undertake it (even if the longest action is one of those dropped), but the character takes the DV penalty for only those actions he actually undertook.
Guard (3/None)
The character focuses entirely on avoiding attacks made against her, dodging or blocking as best suits her training. This action does not reduce a character's Defense Value. On any tick in which a character is guarding, her player can abort the defense and take any other action desired except to aim or to perform another guard. This new action does not refresh DV but is a normal action in all other ways. Therefore, the character must wait for a number of ticks to pass according to the Speed of the new action to refresh DV and act again. Guard cannot be part of a flurry.
Inactive (5/Special)
The character is unconscious, paralyzed, helpless or otherwise unable to decide her own actions. Players cannot choose for their characters to be inactive, except perhaps by arranging for some form of incapacitation. The state of inactivity automatically happens whenever the appropriate conditions arise. This means that a character who is grabbed during the interval before her next action immediately aborts that action state to enter inactive. Likewise, the state of inactivity ends as abruptly as it begins, as soon as the conditions causing it withdraw. On the next available tick, the character may act normally with refreshed DV and a full range of options. Characters who are inactive cannot defend themselves; they start the action at DV 0.
Miscellaneous Action (5/Varies)
The character uses her action to do something that doesn’t fit neatly into any of the other options, such as picking a lock in a hurry or trying to decipher the controls of a complicated First Age weapon in time to save her friends. Storytellers should keep in mind that a tick is a very short span of time, approximately one second. Even if a character focuses on the chosen task until her next action to the exclusion of everything else, this probably won't give her more than about five seconds in which to work. If the task will take much longer than that, the Storyteller should try to break the task into smaller pieces that the character can accomplish in such an interval.
The DV penalty for performing a non-combat action depends on whether the character wishes to focus completely on the task at hand without paying attention to the battle raging around her or whether she tries to keep one eye out for danger. In the former case, the character’s intense concentration forfeits all DV if the character has a positive DV (negative DV ratings are not increased to zero, but are still treated as zero). In the latter case, the character generally suffers a -1 penalty to DV (the number can vary with the action), but her distraction also subtracts two dice from any roll made to accomplish her task. Miscellaneous actions of the second variety can be part of a flurry as long as the sequence of actions makes sense (Storyteller discretion). In that case, the character suffers the appropriate multiple action dice penalty to the miscellaneous action roll instead of the usual -2. Common examples of miscellaneous actions include:
Blockage Movement (-1 DV)
(From latest errata.)
Without Charms, blocking another individual's movement is a Miscellaneous Speed 5, DV -1 action. It requires that the character be directly interposed between the individual or individuals whose movement he is attempting to restrict and the place he is attempting to keep them from reaching (such as a doorway, or another character). When the targets attempt to move past the blocker, make a contested ([Strength or Dexterity] + Athletics) roll for both parties. Ties favor the blocker. If the blocker wins, the target cannot move past him toward the blocked destination. If the target wins, she may move as she wishes. A single blocker may impede up to three targets per Blockade Movement action at a time. Blockade Movement may be flurried to impede more than three individuals at once, if needed.
Defend Other (-1 DV)
(From latest errata.)
Without Charms, defending another individual is a Speed 5, DV -1 Miscellaneous action. It requires that the character be within (Dexterity) yards of his ward, and allows him to interpose his Parry DV against attacks which target the individual he is protecting. If an attacker bypasses the character's Parry DV, she has the option of either letting the attack continue on to the guardian’s ward (in which case the attack will need to use its remaining successes to also beat the ward's DVs), or she may simply let the attack strike the guardian himself. Parry-based perfect defenses such as Heavenly Guardian Defense may be used to automatically guard others, while dodge-based perfect defenses such as Seven Shadow Evasion do not impede attacks against the character's ward at all. Only one Defend Other action may be placed in a flurry.
Unless explicitly noted otherwise, perfect defenses with a Duration longer than Instant apply to only one protected character per activation. To protect oneself requires one activation, and protecting anyone with a Defend Other action requires a separate activation per ward.
If multiple characters attempt to defend a single target, one guardian (generally the individual with the highest Parry DV) becomes the leader of the guard, who actually applies his DV against attacks. Each additional character guarding the same ward raises the leader's Parry DV by 1 when defending the ward. Up to five characters may simultaneously guard one human-sized ward on open ground.
Join Battle (Special/-0 DV)
Most often, a battle ends with fewer participants than it started, whether through death, incapacitation or retreat. However, it is also possible for characters to join a battle already in progress. So long as a bystander does nothing that has any impact on any of the combatants, the Storyteller can wait until combat ends for the fighters to learn what the bystander did while they fought. In effect, bystanders do not functionally exist within the context of a battle (except possibly as mobile scenery) until they actually do something requiring notice (or until one of the combatants deliberately notices them through an action). In the former case, a character can enter combat on any tick by declaring this miscellaneous action, which has a Speed equal to (the reaction count established at the beginning of combat – successes on a [Wits + Awareness roll]). The Speed has a maximum of 6 and a minimum of 0. In the case of a zero Speed, the character proceeds immediately to declare another action for that tick as if Join Battle was a reflexive action. Otherwise, the character must wait until her next action to do anything. Alternatively, a character enters battle as she is acted upon (typically as the target of an attack). During the tick when the first action affects her, the bystander automatically performs the Join Battle action. In many cases, attacking someone who does not have a reason to expect that she will be brought into a battle qualifies as a Surprise Attack, but the Storyteller must adjudicate such situations on a case-by-case basis.
Coordinating Attacks
In a horde, combatants concern themselves with only their own targets, trusting companions to fight their own battles. Yet disciplined fighting units often concentrate attacks against powerful opponents in order to overcome their opponents' defenses. In particular, Dragon-Blooded members of the Wyld Hunt rely on "pack tactics" to defeat the individually superior Celestial Exalted.
Coordinating a group of attackers to assault a single target has the usual Speed 5 for a miscellaneous action and requires a (Charisma + War) roll from the player of the group's commander. The difficulty is half the number of participants in the group, rounded down. Should the commander wish to benefit from the coordination for his own attacks, his player must include the character into the group when determining difficulty. If the roll fails, the coordination attempt fails, so wise commanders do not overextend their organizational skill. If the roll succeeds, the coordination opens a “window of opportunity” on the tick when the commander next acts. Every member of the group who attacks the designated target on that tick reduces the target's DV by the number of successes rolled on the coordination roll. This penalty cannot exceed the number of attackers in the group. For example, if the commander wants to link six archers into a firing squad, his player rolls (Charisma + War) at difficulty 3. With two or fewer successes, the attempt fails. With three successes, the DV penalty suffered by the target against the squad’s attacks is -3. With six or more successes, the penalty increases to its maximum value of -6. Synchronizing a barrage of attacks generally requires the participants to aim and/or guard so that they can abort and attack on the appropriate tick.
Drawing and Readying Weapons (-1 DV)
In many cases, combat begins at the point in which characters draw weapons. In other situations, a character might find herself ambushed or she might wish to trade out one weapon for another. A character may use a miscellaneous action to unsheathe, draw or otherwise ready as many weapons as she has hands and weapons available (grabbing a sledge in both hands, unsheathing a short sword in each hand, grabbing a fistful of shuriken in each hand, etc.).
Characters who have their hands or feet free do not need to take an action to use natural punch or kick attacks. Usually, drawing any other weapon is a diceless action. Only the most extreme conditions warrant a roll (a character half-dead from frostbite pulling his sword free with his numb and shaking hands), in which case use (Dexterity + appropriate combat Ability) at difficulty 1.
Even though readying is automatic, it still factors into multiple action penalties if performed as part of a flurry. Therefore, a character who draws her sword to behead an opponent in one motion is at -3 to the attack roll.
Finally, a flurry that only involves a character drawing a weapon and using it for attacks uses the Speed of the weapon, even if the Speed is less than 5. This is an exception to the usual rules for determining flurry Speed.
Rising from Prone (-1 DV)
If a character is knocked to the ground or otherwise loses her footing, she will certainly wish to get up as quickly as possible because she is at -1 external penalty to all non-reflexive physical actions as long as she remains supine. Like readying a weapon, rising is normally an automatic action that succeeds without a roll. Extreme conditions such as trying to stand in the middle of an earthquake or on the pitching deck of a tempest-tossed ship might require a (Dexterity + Athletics) roll, though. Even when rising is automatic, it still factors into multiple action penalties if characters wish to take additional actions as a flurry.
Jumping (-1 DV)
See Jumping for rules. In combat, a jump is a miscellaneous action with a -1 DV penalty that can be placed in a flurry as normal. However, a character can make only one jump in a flurry or on its own, so characters cannot take multiple actions to quickly leapfrog across a battlefield. Characters may move normally on a tick in which they jump, enabling such feats as running leaps or pouncing and tumbling into a short dash. Epic battles inherently involve acrobatics, so characters can take short jumps that do not vault obstacles within a standard move action, provided they do not use jumping to travel farther than a move allows. Characters need only declare an actual jump to pounce, cross chasms and the like.
Move (0/None)
The character sprints up to (Dexterity) yards per tick over land. Wound penalties subtract from this speed, as does the mobility penalty of any armor worn. The value cannot drop below a speed of one yard per tick. Unlike most actions, move is reflexive and does not normally require a roll, unless the terrain is particularly treacherous or slick. The only restriction on movement is that a character can either move or dash on the same tick, but not both (as the dash maneuver replaces and supersedes lesser movement).
A character's base movement rate increases or decreases depending on any number of factors, including Charms and terrain. Characters who are swimming or climbing halve their base movement rate (rounded down) and usually require a successful reflexive (Dexterity + Athletics) roll to move freely without mishap. Those who are flying by means of some enchantment, natural capability or device will have their base movement rate for flight listed.
See Next
Keeping Track of Time
Players and Storytellers can track the flow of time in any way they deem easiest. The following methods are only suggestions:
Dice: This method takes some of the burden of tracking actions off the Storyteller. Players make a note of the tick of their next action, and the Storyteller declares the advancing tick count normally. After taking First Actions, players set aside a die (or two, if necessary) showing the Speed rating of that action. At the beginning of every tick following, the player reduces this number by one. When the number reaches zero, the character may act that tick and reset the die accordingly. This process repeats as long as combat continues. The Storyteller can do the same for each combatant she controls, but this will quickly get cumbersome and use a lot of dice if she must do this for many characters. Players should be careful that they do not leave their Speed die where it might accidentally get mixed in with a dice roll.
Paper: The Storyteller places a piece of lined paper on the table where it is visible to everyone. On this paper, she logs tick numbers in a descending column down the left side, starting with the first tick on which combat begins. Across the top, she spaces initials or some other distinctive symbols to represent each combatant. As each character takes his First Action, the Storyteller writes an X at the appropriate intersection of column and row. She makes a second X a number of tick rows down equal to the Speed rating of the action. When the tick count reaches that row later in combat, the Storyteller directs the player that the character may act. After this action, the Storyteller writes in the next placeholder X, repeating the process as long as combat continues (and spilling onto other pages as needed). See the example sketch below. This method is very reliable, but may use a lot of paper over the course of a long combat, especially in a battle involving many combatants.
Counters: This method functions similar to the dice method, in that characters take their first actions on the appropriate tick. Upon doing so, each player sets aside a pile of tokens near her character sheet equal to the Speed rating of that action. These tokens may be anything small and uniform, from the glass Essence beads sold by White Wolf to pennies. At the beginning of every tick, the player removes a token from the pile and sets it aside. When the pile empties, the character may act again. The process repeats as long as combat continues. As with using dice, the Storyteller may find it cumbersome to maintain a token pile for each character he controls, so he may wish to use the paper method even if the players use counters.