Combat
Find the complete combat rules for initiative, actions, attacks, movement, positioning, special maneuvers, damage, and recovery.
Rounds, initiative, attacks, damage, defenses, and the basic combat sequence.
Actions & ReactionsStandard, move, full-round, free, readied, and opportunity actions.
Movement & PositionSpeed, terrain, cover, concealment, reach, and positioning.
Special Attacks & InjuryCombat maneuvers, modifiers, hit-point loss, dying, and recovery.
Combat rulebooks
How Combat WorksCombat Fundamentals
InitiativeCombat Fundamentals
Combat StatisticsCombat Fundamentals
Actions in CombatActions & Reactions
Attacks of OpportunityActions & Reactions
Special Initiative ActionsActions & Reactions
Movement, Position, and DistanceMovement & Position
Combat ModifiersMovement & Position
Special AttacksSpecial Attacks & Injury
Injury and DeathSpecial Attacks & Injury
Combat quick reference
Combat Fundamentals
- Ability Damage
- Armor Class
- Attack Bonus
- Attack Roll
- Automatic Failures and Successes
- Automatic Misses and Hits
- Base Attack Bonus
- Base Save Bonus
- Combat Statistics
- Damage
- Hit Points
- Minimum Damage
- Multiplying Damage
- Other Modifiers
- Saving Throw Difficulty Class
- Saving Throw Types
- Saving Throws
- Speed
- Strength Bonus
- Touch Attacks
- How Combat Works
- Determining Awareness
- Flat-Footed
- Inaction
- Initiative
- Initiative Checks
- Surprise
- The Surprise Round
- Unaware Combatants
Actions & Reactions
- Accelerated Climbing
- Action Types
- Actions In Combat
- Activate Magic Item
- Attack
- Attack Rolls
- Attacks of Opportunity
- Automatic Misses and Hits
- Cast a Spell
- Cast a Spell
- Casting a Metamagic Spell
- Casting on the Defensive
- Casting Time
- Cease Concentration on Spell
- Cleave
- Concentrating to Maintain a Spell
- Concentration
- Crawling
- Critical Hits
- Damage Rolls
- Deciding between an Attack or a Full Attack
- Direct or Redirect a Spell
- Dismiss a Spell
- Draw or Sheathe a Weapon
- Drop an Item
- Drop Prone
- Extraordinary Abilities
- Fast Mount or Dismount
- Fighting Defensively as a Full-Round Action
- Fighting Defensively as a Standard Action
- Free Action
- Free Actions
- Full Attack
- Full-Round Action
- Full-Round Actions
- Immediate Action
- Immediate Actions
- Manipulate an Item
- Melee Attacks
- Miscellaneous Actions
- Mount/Dismount a Steed
- Move
- Move 5 Feet through Difficult Terrain
- Move Action
- Move Actions
- Multiple Attacks
- Not an Action
- Ranged Attacks
- Ready or Loose a Shield
- Restricted Activity
- Restricted Withdraw
- Run
- Shooting or Throwing into a Melee
- Speak
- Spell Completion Items
- Spell Components
- Spell Trigger, Command Word, or Use-Activated Items
- Spell-Like Abilities
- Stand Up
- Standard Action
- Standard Actions
- Start/Complete Full-Round Action
- Supernatural Abilities
- Swift Action
- Swift Actions
- Take 5-Foot Step
- The Combat Round
- Total Defense
- Touch Spells in Combat
- Unarmed Attacks
- Use Feat
- Use Skill
- Use Special Ability
- Use Special Ability
- Withdraw
- Attacks Of Opportunity
- Making an Attack of Opportunity
- Provoking an Attack of Opportunity
- Threatened Squares
- Delay
- Distracting Spellcasters
- Initiative Consequences of Delaying
- Initiative Consequences of Readying
- Ready
- Readying a Weapon against a Charge
- Readying an Action
- Readying to Counterspell
- Special Initiative Actions
Movement & Position
- Big Creatures and Cover
- Combat Modifiers
- Concealment
- Concealment and Hide Checks
- Concealment Miss Chance
- Coup de Grace
- Cover
- Cover and Attacks of Opportunity
- Cover and Hide Checks
- Cover and Reflex Saves
- Favorable and Unfavorable Conditions
- Flanking
- Helpless Defenders
- Ignoring Concealment
- Low Obstacles and Cover
- Regular Attack
- Soft Cover
- Total Concealment
- Total Cover
- Varying Degrees of Concealment
- Varying Degrees of Cover
- Weapon, Armor, and Shield Proficiency
- Accidentally Ending Movement in an Illegal Space
- Big and Little Creatures In Combat
- Bonuses to Speed
- Closest Creature
- Designated Exceptions
- Diagonals
- Difficult Terrain
- Double Movement Cost
- Encumbrance
- Ending Your Movement
- Friend
- Hampered Movement
- Large, Huge, Gargantuan, and Colossal Creatures
- Measuring Distance
- Minimum Movement
- Movement in Combat
- Moving through a Square
- Obstacles
- Opponent
- Overrun
- Special Movement Rules
- Square Occupied by Creature Three Sizes Larger or Smaller
- Squeezing
- Tactical Movement
- Terrain and Obstacles
- Tiny, Diminutive, and Fine Creatures
- Tumbling
- Very Small Creature
Special Attacks & Injury
- Dead (-10 Hit Points or Lower)
- Dealing Nonlethal Damage
- Disabled (0 Hit Points)
- Dying (-1 to -9 Hit Points)
- Effects of Hit Point Damage
- Healing
- Healing Ability Damage
- Healing Limits
- Healing Nonlethal Damage
- Increases in Constitution Score and Current Hit Points
- Injury and Death
- Loss Of Hit Points
- Magical Healing
- Massive Damage
- Natural Healing
- Nonlethal Damage
- Recovering with Help
- Recovering without Help
- Stable Characters and Recovery
- Staggered and Unconscious
- Temporary Hit Points
- What Hit Points Represent
- Activate a Magic Item
- Aid Another
- Attack Your Opponent
- Attacking on a Charge
- Being Tripped (Prone)
- Bolstering Undead
- Break Another’s Pin
- Bull Rush
- Bull Rush Results
- Cast a Spell
- Casting Spells while Mounted
- Charge
- Combat while Mounted
- Commanded
- Damage Your Opponent
- Destroying Undead
- Disarm
- Dispelling Turning
- Double Weapons
- Draw a Light Weapon
- Effect and Duration of Turning
- Escape from Grapple
- Evil Clerics and Undead
- Feint
- Feinting as a Move Action
- Grabbing Items
- Grapple
- Grapple Checks
- Grappling Consequences
- Horses in Combat
- If You Are Dropped
- If Your Mount Falls in Battle
- If You’re Grappling
- If You’re Pinned by an Opponent
- If You’re Pinning an Opponent
- Improved Overrun
- Initiating a Bull Rush
- Joining a Grapple
- Lances and Charge Attacks
- Making a Trip Attack
- Mounted Combat
- Mounted Overrun (Trample)
- Move
- Movement During a Charge
- Multiple Grapplers
- Neutral Clerics and Undead
- No Dexterity Bonus
- No Movement
- No Threatened Squares
- Overrun
- Paladins and Undead
- Pin Your Opponent
- Range
- Rebuked
- Retrieve a Spell Component
- Shield Bash Attacks
- Special Size Modifier
- Starting a Grapple
- Step 3
- Sunder
- Sundering a Carried or Worn Object
- Throw Splash Weapon
- Thrown Weapons
- Times per Day
- Trip
- Tripping a Mounted Opponent
- Tripping with a Weapon
- Turn Or Rebuke Undead
- Turning Check
- Turning Checks
- Turning Damage
- Turning Other Creatures
- Two-Weapon Fighting
- Use Opponent’s Weapon
- Weapons Readied against a Charge