Action Time
Let’s Get Dangerous
When things get tense and it starts to matter who does what in which order, narrative time ends and action time begins. Action time is most commonly used to handle scuffles, but it has other uses as well. Anything that would be considered an action scene in a movie can be handled with action time.
While narrative time is loose, action time is more tightly defined. Once it begins the GM tracks time in 15-second increments called rounds (so there are 4 rounds in a minute). During each round, every pony or creature in the encounter gets an opportunity to act. Once everypony has taken a turn, the round ends a new one begins.
When action time begins, the following procedure is used.
Some actions take a negligible amount of time, such as dropping something you’re holding or yelling for help. They are known as free actions and they don’t count towards your usual limitation on actions. The rules will note when something is a free action.
ALL-OUT ATTACK
You attack one adjacent enemy in a hoof-to-hoof scuffle, throwing the full weight of your Body behind the attack even though your ability to react to counterattacks will suffer. If you hit, you get to upgrade the damage, but whether or not this attack hits, you suffer –1 to your Defense until your next turn.
CHARGE
You may move up to half your Speed (rounded down) in yards and then make a melee attack against an adjacent enemy. You gain an upgrade on your attack roll.
DEFEND
You concentrate on defending yourself this round. Until the beginning of your next turn, you gain a +2 bonus to your Defense.
HEAL
You provide some quick first aid to an injured ally. You must be adjacent to your ally and you must have bandages ready. This is a Difficulty 4 Mind test. If you are successful, your ally gets back an amount of Health equal to the roll of your Mind die. A pony cannot benefit from another heal action until they take additional damage.
MELEE ATTACK
You attack one adjacent enemy in a hoof-to-hoof scuffle. An enemy within 2 yards of you is considered adjacent.
RANGED ATTACK
You fire or throw a missile weapon at one visible enemy within range.
RUN
You can move up to double your Speed in yards. You cannot take this action if you are prone (you’d need to use the Move action to stand up first).
ACTIVATE
This action allows you to start using certain powers or items, such as fighting styles and potions.
AIM
You take the measure of your opponent and plan your next strike. If your next action is a melee attack or ranged attack, you gain an upgrade on your attack die.
GUARD UP
You put your skill to use balancing action and defense. Add +1 or +2 (your choice) to your Defense until the end of this round. However, you suffer a downgrade or a double downgrade based on the amount you choose as a penalty to all tests you make, even opposed tests, for the remainder of the current round as well. (This is a key difference between the guard up and defend actions. Guard up only lasts until the end of the round, where defend lasts until the beginning of your next turn.) If you choose this minor action, you must do it before any major action you take this turn.
MOVE
You can move up to your Speed in yards. You can also go prone, stand up, or mount an animal or vehicle, but if you do so you can only move at half Speed (rounded down). If you start a round prone and do not stand up, you may only move at half Speed.
PREPARE
You pick one major action that you prepare to execute and then end your turn. Any time until your next turn, you can interrupt another pony and take your prepared action immediately. If you don’t use it by your next turn, the action is lost. You cannot take the prepared action if you’ve already taken a major action on your turn.
PRESS THE ATTACK
You stand ready to pursue an enemy if they should fall back or flee your blows. Declare an adjacent enemy combatant when you do this action. Until the beginning of your next turn, if that enemy moves away from you, you may immediately move up to your Speed in yards in direct pursuit of that enemy at no additional cost in actions. This occurs immediately after your foe’s movement, before they can do anything else. However, you can only use this minor action on an enemy you have already successfully struck in a melee scuffle this turn (whether you inflicted damage or not). When you make your move, it need not bring you adjacent to that enemy if you can’t go that fast. In that case, you simply move as far as you can before stopping. You are free to forego some or all of the movement this action allows when your enemy triggers it, if you wish.
READY
You can unsheathe a weapon, pull out a potion, or otherwise ready an item that is stowed. As part of this action, you can put away something already in hoof. You could thus put away your bow and a draw a sword, for example.
STAND FIRM
You lower your weight and prepare to resist any and all efforts to move you from the place where you stand. Until the beginning of your next turn, any enemy who uses the Skirmish or Knock Prone stunts to move you or knock you to the ground must succeed in an opposed test pitting their Body die vs. your Body die in order to move you or knock you prone. This test can only be attempted after your opponent spends the relevant stunt points, which are nevertheless expended to no effect if you win the test. An opponent who attempts to Skirmish you more than once as part of a single attack (to move you more than 2 yards) only makes a single opposed test against you, with all of the skirmishing movement hanging in the balance.
- The GM says, “Roll for initiative.” Action time is now in effect.
- Each player makes an initiative roll. This is a Body test. The GM rolls initiative for each major NPC and each group of minor NPCs (major NPCs act individually, while minor NPCs act together in groups).
- The GM compares the test results of all the ponies and arranges them from highest to lowest into an initiative list. This is the order that the ponies will take their turns in each round of the scuffle. If there’s a tie, players before NPCs. If it’s still a tie, whoever has the higher ability wins.
- The pony at the top of the initiative list takes their turn. On a turn, a pony can take a major action and a minor action or two minor actions. Once the actions are resolved, this pony’s turn is over.
- The next pony on the initiative list takes their turn.
- Repeat step 5 until each pony has taken a turn.
- Once each pony has taken a turn, the round ends and a new one begins. Continue steps 4-7 each round. Initiative does not need to be rolled each round. The order remains set for the duration of the scuffle. If new ponies join the encounter, they roll initiative at the start of the round they appear and are added to the initiative list.
- When the encounter is finished, the GM declares that action time is over. Narrative time now resumes.
Taking Actions
When it’s your turn in a round, you tell the GM what you want to do. On your turn you can take a major action and a minor action or two minor actions. You can take these in any order and can take fewer actions if you like. You can talk while taking your actions, but since a round is only 15 seconds long, what you can say is limited. A list of the most common major and minor actions follows. You are not limited to these actions. If you want to do something else, just tell the GM and they will adjudicate it. The GM may require you to take an ability test depending on what you are trying to do. There are two additional actions of importance: cast and reload. Cast is used with a mage’s spells and reload is used with missile weapons. Depending on the spell, weapon, and related talents, cast and reload can be major actions, minor actions, or free actions. See Bodahn’s Goods and Flemeth Zecora’s Black Grimoire for more information.Stacking Effects
As a rule of thumb across the whole of Tails of Thedastria, the effects of different talents, specials, spells, stunts, items of equipment, and the like stack with each other when they apply to the same test or circumstance, but the effects of multiple instances of the very same thing do not stack. For example, a rogue’s Backstab talent inflicts extra damage based on its die when used successfully, and any pony under the effects of the spell frost weapons inflicts that die as penetrating damage. A rogue in both circumstances inflicts 2 extra dice worth of damage on a hit, the sum of both effects. As a counterexample, the same rogue in the company of two different allies, both having the Champion talent, might find themselves within 8 yards of both of them while both are in Rally mode. The D8 effect of this talent gives a +1 Defense bonus to allies. These bonuses do not stack to give a +2 bonus to the rogue’s Defense since they arise from exactly the same talent. The rogue’s bonus is only +1 to Defense. This rule is stated more explicitly as it pertains to spells in Flemeth Zecroa’s Black Grimoire. Exceptions exist only when specific talents, powers, spells, stunts, or pieces of equipment explicitly override this general rule.Major Actions
Minor Actions
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments