Combat is a continuous cycle that only ends when one side flees or falls. There are two forms of combat character combat and ship combat. Character combat takes place between the characters of the players and some opponents. Ship combat tends to be a fight against the player's vessel and an enemy vessel. However, there can be more than two combatants in ship combat.
Below is Character Combat, for ship combat go to the
Ship Combat page.
Character Combat
Character combat can take place in the imagination of the players or on a battle map. It's between the player characters and whatever enemy they come across in the world. Character combat always follows this pattern:
- Combat is initiated by a violent interaction occurring between the players or the enemy.
- The Game Master, GM, identifies who is aware that combat is initiated. This may have been a surprise attack. Anyone that was caught unaware receives the Surprised condition for this round.
- Each combatant rolls for the initiative, creating the combat order.
- Going down the combat order each participant takes their turn.
- The GM explains any environmental events that may occur.
- The round ends, anyone with the surprise condition loses it, and then combat goes back to step 4 starting with the character who is first in the combat order.
This pattern will go in a cycle from step 4 to step 6 until the fighting stops.
Initiative and Combat Order
The Initiative is the phase just before the combat order is decided. Each player rolls a d8 and adds half their Athletics skill to the roll. The highest value roll goes first in Combat Order followed by the second highest and so on.
If there is a tie when determining initiative then the combatant with the higher Athletics skill goes before the other. If they are still tied then both roll a d8 and the one who rolled the highest goes before the other.
The Combat Order is the positioning of the turn of everyone in combat. First to Last. After the final combatant completes their turn the GM may say that an environmental event occurs. They will explain the event and then combat will return to the top of the combat order.
Surprise
If neither side of combat was successfully caught off guard then no one is surprised. Generally, this is because both sides of the fight noticed each other before pulling out their weapons. However, when the players or enemies successfully sneak around the enemy or attack when they were hidden the GM may say the others are surprised.
The
Surprised condition prevents you from using an action on your turn and you can only use a reaction after your turn is over. A member of a group can have this condition even if the rest of the group doesn't have it.
Action Dice Pool
This is your set number of Action Dice, the specific d8s, that you can use in a round to perform actions and reactions. Actions and reactions require you to pay for them with a single action die. You remove the action die from your pool before performing the action or reaction.
Some actions or reactions will require more than one action die to use them.
Your action dice pool recovers all used action dice at the start of your turn.
A Turn
At the start of your turn, your action dice pool recovers all its used dice. On your turn, you are able to use as many actions as you have action dice in your action dice pool. But you can only take
one attack action on your turn. Some abilities may allow for additional attack actions though.
You can only use actions on your turn.
You cannot perform the same action twice unless otherwise specified by the action.
On your turn, you can also move a distance up to your
speed. you can check your speed on your character sheet.
Your class, weapons, and additional customization will give you unique actions you can use. But there are a set of basic actions that everyone can perform. Check the
Basic Actions and Reactions page.
You forgo using all your actions or moving on your turn if you wish.
Reactions
Reactions are a special form of action. They can be used at any time in a round, not just on your turn. They usually require a certain event before they can be used. You may use as many reactions as you have action dice in your action die pool.
You cannot perform the same reaction twice unless otherwise specified by the reaction.
Reactions are acquired through the same method as actions, but there are reactions that every creature can perform. Check the
Basic Actions and Reactions page.
Environmental Event
This is when the environment of the battlefield changes or has an effect activated that occurs during combat.
It depends on the environment the fight is taking place in and it's up to GM discretion if they use this feature.
Some examples of Environmental Events are:
- Gas Leak, everyone within 20ft of a specific location takes 1d6 toxic damage.
- Terrain Alteration, a wall collapses or a section of the floor falls. The GM uses this to change the battlefield.
- Lights Out, the power throughout the battlefield goes out and now the fight takes place in darkness.
Check the
Environments page for more Environmental Events.
Positioning and Movement
You can move up to your speed during your turn. This will be necessary to reach better positions during combat.
You can move between actions.
If you have more than one type of speed then when you switch to the new movement type subtract the distance you’ve already moved from the new speed. The result determines how much further you can move. If the result is 0 or less, you can’t use the new speed during the current move.
You don't have to use all your speed on your turn. But when you do use movement it does take away from your total speed. Additionally, your movement does follow these rules depending on the situation.
Climbing
When climbing your movement is slower. As a result every 1ft you move when climbing counts for 2ft instead.
If you have a Climb or Magclimb speed this doesn't apply to you.
Jumping
Normal Jumping doesn't cost movement. Jumping rules are as follows:
- Jumping, is when you are jumping in a direction that isn't up. You can jump a number of feet equal to your Athletics skill divided by three this way.
- Long Jumping, is when you move 10ft and then jump forward. You can jump a number of feet equal to half your Athletics skill this way.
- If you Jump up you can reach a height of (half your height + Athletics skill divided by three) in feet.
- High Jumping, is when you move 10ft and then jump up. You can reach a height of (half your height + half your Athletics skill) in feet.
Swimming
When swimming your movement is slower. As a result every 1ft you move when swimming counts for 2ft instead.
If you have a swim speed this doesn't apply to you.
Crawling and Crouching
When moving while crouching and walking you are slower. As a result every 1ft you move counts for 2ft instead.
When crawling you receive the
prone condition.
Sneaking
When sneaking you are being careful to not be heard or seen, this slows your pace. As a result every 1ft you move when sneaking counts for 2ft instead.
Some abilities may ignore this restriction.
Difficult Terrain
This is any sort of obstruction to your path or uneven ground making it hard to move.
When moving through difficult terrain every 1ft you move counts as 2ft.
Moving Around Creatures
You can pass through the space taken up by a friendly creature. However, to pass through the space of the enemy you must be two sizes smaller than them. It is considered difficult terrain.
Here is a size chart.
| Size |
Space Taken Up |
| Colossal |
20ft cubed or larger |
| Huge |
15ft cubed |
| Large |
10ft cubed |
| Medium |
5ft cubed |
| Small |
2 1/2ft cubed |
| Tiny |
1ft cubed or smaller |
Squeezing Through
In most cases, a creature can fit into a space that is suitable for a creature one size smaller than it. So a Medium creature can squeeze through a small space. However, when doing this the creature is considered to be crawling.
Attacking
Attacks always explain what must be done in their descriptions. However, in most cases, attacks follow this pattern:
- The attacker chooses their target within the attack's range.
- The attacker rolls damage for their attack using the damage dice specified by the attack and then adds that attack's modifier. This is the total damage of the attack. The damage total corresponds to how well-aimed the attack was. The higher the damage the better aimed, the lower the damage the worse aimed.
- The target decides if it will use the dodge reaction, if it can, and makes its dodge roll. The total of the dodge roll is subtracted from the damage roll total.
- The target takes the excess damage. If there is no damage to be taken then the target is considered to have completely dodged the roll.
Cover
Nearly any obstacle can provide cover during combat, even creatures. A target can benefit from cover only when an attack or other effect originates on the opposite side of the cover.
There are three levels of cover. If a target is behind multiple sources of cover, only the most protective degree of cover applies; the degrees aren’t added together. For example, if a target is behind a creature that gives half cover and a crate that gives three-quarters cover, the target has three-quarters cover.
Half cover applies when a creature in cover has at least half its body covered.
Three-Quarters cover applies when a creature in cover has at least three-quarters of its body covered.
Full cover applies when a creature in cover is completely concealed by an obstacle.
Each level of cover lowers the total of the damage roll by a certain amount.
| Cover Level |
Damage Reduction |
| Half Cover |
Damage is reduced by a quarter |
| Three-Quarters Cover |
Damage is reduced by half |
| Full Cover |
Damage is fully reduced to 0 |
Taking Damage
When a creature is dealt damage it subtracts the damage taken from its Hit Points. The Hit Points of a creature represent the damage it can take before being seriously injured.
If a creature would ever take damage that is more than double its hit points it has left it rolls a d4 and subtracts the total rolled from the corresponding ability score that the damage type targets. This also applies if a creature has 0 hit points.
If a creature would ever take damage that is more than double its hit point maximum it rolls a d4 for each of its ability scores and subtracts the total rolled from the corresponding ability score.
If a creature with no hit points takes damage and one of its ability scores is 0 the previous rulings roll a d6 instead of a d4.
Damage Types
Each attack has a damage type and each damage type targets a specific ability score of a creature. When a creature is forced to roll a d4 to remove points from an ability score use this chart to know which ability should lose points.
| Damage Types |
Ability Score |
| Kinetic Damage |
Dexterity |
| Cold Damage |
Dexterity |
| Energy Damage |
Charisma |
| Pathogen Damage |
Charisma |
| Fire Damage |
Constitution |
| Toxic Damage |
Constitution |
| Acid Damage |
Strength |
| Force Damage |
Strength |
| Radiation Damage |
Fortitude |
| Psychic Damage |
Fortitude |
Resistances, Vulnerabilities, & Immunity
Some creatures or even objects can withstand certain damage types better than others, while some are more easily harmed by some damage types.
If a creature or object has a
resistance to a damage type it reduces the damage dealt to them of that type by half. For example, A creature with Acid resistance is dealt 1d6 + 4 acid damage for a total of 6 acid damage. It will take 3 acid damage instead.
If a creature or object has a
vulnerability to a damage type it instead takes double the damage dealt of that damage type. For example, A creature with Energy vulnerability is dealt 1d4 energy damage for a total of 2 energy damage. It will take 4 energy damage instead.
If a creature or object has an
immunity to a damage type it reduces the damage dealt to them of that type to 0.
0 in an Ability Score
A 0 in an ability score translates to a creature having an extremely serious injury. These injuries translate to creatures having the following burdens:
- Strength, the creature drops whatever it's carrying and can't use its hands.
- Dexterity, the creature's speed drops to 5ft.
- Constitution, on each of the creature's turns it rolls a d4 for each of its ability scores and subtracts the roll from the total.
- Charisma, the creature's action dice pool is reduced to 1 action die.
- Fortitude, the creature receives the Madness condition.
Healing
Damage isn't permeant in Secrets of Sol if the creature is still alive after the fight. Technically even death can be undone with the right tools. Anytime a creature receives healing from an action, reaction, or ability doing the healing, the process always specifies the amount of hit points a creature gains. When a creature is healed for a certain number of hit points it adds the total of the healing to its hit point total. A creature
cannot be healed past its hit point maximum.
Ability Scores can also be healed. The source of the healing will specify how many ability score points are healed. Sometimes it's a roll and sometimes it's a set number.
A dead creature can't regain hitpoints or heal its ability scores.
Death
If a creature ever has two of its ability scores become 0 it dies instantly.
Additionally, if a creature ever takes damage that is equal to or greater than its hit point maximum multiplied by three it dies instantly.
Knocking a Creature Out
Occasionally an attack intends to just knock a creature out, not kill them. When a creature has no hit points left an enemy can attempt to knock the creature out. Using a melee attack the attacker deals damage to the creature. Before the creature rolls to reduce its ability scores it rolls an
Endurance Skill Challenge against the damage dealt. If they fail the creature receives the Unconcious condition.
They remain knocked out for 1d4 hours.
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