System	
  Reference	
   Document	
  5.1 	
   90	
  
The Order of Combat 
A	
  typical	
  combat	
  encounter	
  is	
  a	
  clash	
  between	
  two	
  
sides,	
  a	
  flurry	
  of	
  weapon	
  swings,	
  feints,	
  parries,	
  
footwork,	
  and	
  spellcasting.	
  The	
  game	
  organizes	
  the	
  
chaos	
  of	
  combat	
  into	
  a	
  cycle	
  of	
  rounds	
  and	
  turns.	
  A	
  
round	
  represents	
  about	
  6	
  seconds	
  in	
  the	
  game	
  
world.	
  During	
  a	
  round,	
  each	
  participant	
  in	
  a	
  battle	
  
takes	
  a	
  turn.	
  The	
  order	
  of	
  turns	
  is	
  determined	
  at	
  the	
  
beginning	
  of	
  a	
  combat	
  encounter,	
  when	
  everyone	
  
rolls	
  initiative.	
  Once	
  everyone	
  has	
  taken	
  a	
  turn,	
  the	
  
fight	
  continues	
  to	
  the	
  next	
  round	
  if	
  neither	
  side	
  has	
  
defeated	
  the	
  other. 	
  
Combat Step by Step  
1. Determine	
  surprise. 	
  The	
  GM	
  determines	
  whether	
  anyone
involved	
  in	
  the	
  combat	
  encounter	
  is	
  surprised. 	
  
2. Establish	
  positions. 	
  The	
  GM	
  decides	
  where	
  all	
  the
characters	
  and	
  monsters	
  are	
  located.	
  Given	
  the	
  
adventurers`	
  marching	
  order	
  or	
  their	
  stated	
  positions	
  in
the	
  room	
  or	
  other	
  location,	
  the	
   GM	
  figures	
  out	
  where	
  the	
  
adversaries	
  arehow	
  far	
  away	
  and	
  in	
  what	
  direction.
3. Roll	
  initiative.	
  Everyone	
  involved	
  in	
  the	
  combat	
  encounter
rolls	
  initiative,	
  determining	
  the	
  order	
  of 	
  combatants`	
  turns.
4. Take	
  turns.	
  Each	
  participant	
  in	
  the	
  battle	
  takes	
  a	
  turn	
  in
initiative	
  order.	
  
5. Begin	
  the	
  next	
  round. 	
  When	
  everyone	
  involved	
  in	
  the
combat	
  has	
  had	
  a	
  turn,	
  the	
  round	
  ends.	
  Repeat	
  step	
  4	
  until	
  
the	
  fighting	
  stops. 	
  
Surprise 
A	
  band	
  of	
  adventurers	
  sneaks	
  up	
  on	
  a	
  bandit	
  camp,	
  
springing	
  from	
  the	
  trees	
  to	
  attack	
  them.	
  A	
  gelatinous	
  
cube	
  glides	
  down	
  a	
  dungeon	
  passage,	
  unnoticed	
  by	
  
the	
  adventurers	
  until	
  the	
  cube	
  engulfs	
  one	
  of	
  them.	
  
In	
  these	
  situations,	
  one	
  side	
  of	
  the	
  battle	
  gains	
  
surprise	
  over	
  the	
  other.	
  
	
   The	
  GM	
  determines	
  who	
  might	
  be	
  surprised.	
  If	
  
neither	
  side	
  tries	
  to	
  be	
  stealthy,	
  they	
  automatically	
  
notice	
  each	
  other.	
  Otherwise,	
  the	
  GM	
  compares	
  the	
  
Dexterity	
  (Stealth)	
  checks	
  of	
  anyone	
  hiding	
  with	
  the	
  
passive	
  Wisdom	
  (Perception)	
  score	
  of	
  each 	
  creature	
  
on	
  the	
  opposing	
  side.	
  Any	
  character	
  or	
  monster	
  that	
  
doesn’t	
  notice	
  a	
  threat	
  is	
  surprised	
  at	
  the	
  start	
  of	
  the	
  
encounter.	
  
	
   If	
  you’re	
  surprised,	
  you	
  can’t	
  move	
  or	
  take	
  an	
  
action	
  on	
  your	
  first	
  turn	
  of	
  the	
  combat,	
  and	
  you	
  can’t	
  
take	
  a	
  reaction	
  until	
  t hat	
  turn	
  ends.	
  A	
  member	
  of	
  a	
  
group	
  can	
  be	
  surprised	
  even	
  if	
  the	
  other	
  members	
  
aren’t.	
  
Initiative 
Initiative	
  determines	
  the	
  order	
  of	
  turns	
  during	
  
combat.	
  When	
  combat	
  starts,	
  every	
  participant	
  
makes	
  a	
  Dexterity	
  check	
  to	
  determine	
  their	
  place	
  in	
  
the	
  initiative	
  order.	
  The	
  GM	
  makes	
  one	
  roll	
  for	
  an	
  
entire	
  group	
  of	
  identical	
  creatures,	
  so	
  each	
  member	
  of	
  
the	
  group	
  acts	
  at	
  the	
  same	
  time. 	
  
	
   The	
  GM	
  ranks	
  the	
  combatants	
  in	
  order	
  from	
  the	
  
one	
  with	
  the	
  highest	
  Dexterity	
  check	
  total	
  to	
  the	
  one	
  
with	
  the	
  lowest.	
  This	
  is	
  the	
   order	
  (called	
  the	
  
initiative	
  order)	
  in	
  which	
  they	
  act	
  during	
  each	
  round.	
  
The	
  initiative	
  order	
  remains	
  the	
  same	
  from	
  round	
  to	
  
round.	
  
	
   If	
  a	
  tie	
  occurs,	
  the	
  GM	
  decides	
  the	
  order	
  among	
  
tied	
  GM-­‐‑controlled	
  creatures,	
  and	
  the	
  players	
  decide	
  
the	
  order	
  among	
  their	
   tied	
  characters.	
  The	
  GM	
  can	
  
decide	
  the	
  order	
  if	
  the	
  tie	
  is	
  between	
  a	
  monster	
  and	
  
a	
  player	
  character.	
  Optionally,	
  the	
  GM	
  can	
  have	
  the	
  
tied	
  characters	
  and	
  monsters	
  each	
  roll	
  a	
  d20	
  to	
  
determine	
  the	
  order,	
  highest	
  roll	
  going	
  first. 	
  
Your Turn 
On	
  your	
  turn,	
  you	
   can move	
  a	
  distance	
  up	
  to	
  your	
  
speed	
  and take	
  one	
  action .	
  You	
  decide	
  whether	
  to	
  
move	
  first	
  or	
  take	
  your	
  action	
  first.	
  Your	
  speed —
sometimes	
  called	
  your	
  walking	
  speed —is	
  noted	
  on	
  
your	
  character	
  sheet. 	
  
	
   The	
  most	
  common	
  actions	
  you	
  can	
  take	
  are	
  
described	
  in	
  th e	
  “Actions	
  in	
  Combat”	
  section .	
  Many	
  
class	
  features	
  and	
  other	
  abilities	
  provide	
  additional	
  
options	
  for	
  your	
  action. 	
  
	
   The	
  “Movement	
  and	
  Position”	
  section	
  gives	
  the	
  
rules	
  for	
  your	
  move. 	
  
	
   You	
  can	
  forgo	
  moving,	
  taking	
  an	
  action,	
  or	
  doing	
  
anything	
  at	
  all	
  on	
  your 	
  turn.	
  If	
  you	
  can’t	
  decide	
  what	
  
to	
  do	
  on	
  your	
  turn,	
  consider	
  taking	
  the	
  Dodge	
  or	
  
Ready	
  action,	
  as	
  described	
  in	
  “Actions	
  in	
  Combat.” 	
  
Bonus Actions 
Various	
  class	
  features,	
  spells,	
  and	
  other	
  abilities	
  let	
  
you	
  take	
  an	
  additional	
  action	
  on	
  your	
  turn	
  called	
  a	
  
bonus	
  action.	
  The	
  Cunning	
  Action	
  feature,	
  for	
  
example,	
  allows	
  a	
  rogue	
  to	
  take	
  a	
  bonus	
  action.	
  You	
  
can	
  take	
  a	
  bonus	
  action	
  only	
  when	
  a	
  special	
  ability,	
  
spell,	
  or	
  other	
  feature	
  of	
  the	
  game	
  states	
  that	
  you	
  can	
  
do	
  something	
  as	
  a	
  bonus	
  action.	
  You	
  otherwise	
  don’t 	
  
have	
  a	
  bonus	
  action	
  to	
  take. 	
  
	
   You	
  can	
  take	
  only	
  one	
  bonus	
  action	
  on	
  your	
  turn,	
  
so	
  you	
  must	
  choose	
  which	
  bonus	
  action	
  to	
  use	
  when	
  
you	
  have	
  more	
  than	
  one	
  available. 	
  
	
   You	
  choose	
  when	
  to	
  take	
  a	
  bonus	
  action	
  during	
  
your	
  turn,	
  unless	
  the	
  bonus	
  action’s	
  timing	
  i s	
  