Combat

Adventurers encounter many dangerous monsters and nefarious villains. In those moments, combat often breaks out.

The Order of Combat

A typical combat encounter is a clash betweer two sides, a flurry of weapon swings, feints, parries, footwork, and spellcasting. The game organizes combat into a cycle of rounds and turns. A Round reoresents 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 combat when everyone rolls Initiative. Once everyone has taken a turn, the fight continues to the next round if neither side is defeated.

Combat Step by Step

Combat unfolds in these steps:

Establish Position

The DM determines where all the characters and monster are located. Given the adventurers marching order or their stated position in the room or other location, the DM figures out where adversaries are-how far away, and what dicrection.
Roll Initiative

Everyone involved in the combat encounter rolls Initiative determining the order of combatants' turns.
Take Turns

Each participant in the battle takes a turn in Initiative order. When everyone involved in the combat has had a turn, the round ends. Repeat this step until fighting stops.

Initiative

"Roll for Initiative!"

Initiative determines the order in which characters and creatures act during combat in Dungeons & Dragons. Intitiative is made with a Dexterity Ability Check. The DM rolls for monsters. For a group of indentical creatures, the DM makes a singe roll, so each member of the group has the same Initiative.

Surprise

If a combatant is suprised by combat starting, that combatant has Disadvantage on their Initiative roll, this is relevant during ambushes.

Initiative Order

Turn Order The DM organizes all participants from highest to lowest Initiative roll. This order dictates who acts first, second, and so on, throughout each round of combat.

Tie-Breakers If two or more participants have the same Initiative roll, the participant with the higher Dexterity score goes first.

Your Turn

During your turn, you can do the following on any order:

Move up to your Speed
Take one Action
Take one Bonus Action (If you have a feature that uses it)

Communicating

You can communicate however you are able-through bried uttarances and gestures-as you take your turn. Doing so uses neither your action nor your move.

Extended communications, such as detailes explanation of something or an attempt to persuade a foe, requires an action. The Influence action is the main way you try to influence a monster.

Interacting with Things

You can interact with one object or feature of the environment for free during either your move as you stride toward a foe.

If you want to interact with a second object, you need to take the Utilise action. Some magic items and other special object always requires an action to use, as stted in their descriptions.

Doing Nothing

You can forgo moving, taking an action, or doing anything at all on your turn. If you can't decide what to do, consider taking the defensive Dodge action or the Ready action to delay acting.

Ending Combat

Combat ends when one side or the other is defeated, which can mean the creatures are killed or koncked out, or have surrendered or fled. Combat can also end when both sides agree to end it.

Movement and Position

On your turn, tou can move a distance equal to yout Speed or less. Or you can decide not to move.

Your Movement can include Climbing, Crawling, Jumping, and Swimming. These different modes of Movement can be combined with your regular Movement, or they can constitute your entire move.

However you're moving with your Speed, you deduct the distance of each part of your move from it until it is used up or until you are done moving, whichever comes first.

A character's Speed is determined during character creation. A monster Speed is noted in the monster's stat block. See the rules glossary for more about Speed aswell as about special speeds, such as Burrow Speed, Climb Speed, Fly Speed, or Swim Speed.

Grid-based Movement

Playing on a grid follows these rules:

Squares

On a grid, each square represents 5 feet. A character with 30 feet of Movement speed can move up to 6 squares per turn.

Speed

Rather than moving foot by foot, move square by square on the Grid using your Speed in 5-foot segments. You can translate your Speed into squares by dividing it by 5. For example, a Speed of 30 feet translate into 6 squuares. Consider writing your Speed in sqyares on your character sheet

Entering a Square

To enter a square, you must have enough Movement left to pay for entering. It cost 1 square (5 feet) of Movement to enter an unoccupied square that's adjacent to your space. A square of Difficult Terrain costs 2 squares to enter (10 feet). Other effects might make a square cost even more.

Corners

Diagonal Movement can't cross the corner of a wall, a large tree, or another terrain feature that fills the space.

Ranges

To determine the range on a grid between two things—whether creatures or objects—count squares from a square adjacent to one of them and stop counting nf the space of the other one. Count by the shortest route.

Difficult Terrain

Combatants are often slowed down by Difficult Terrain; Low furniture, rubble, undergrowth, steep stairs, snow, and shallow bogs are examples of Difficult Terrain.

Every foot of Movement in Difficult Terrain costs 1 extra foot, even if multiple things in a space count as Difficult terrain

Breaking Up Your Move

You can break up your move, using some of its Movement before and after any action, Bonus Action, or Reaction you take on the same turn. For example, if you have a Speed of 30 feet, you could go 10 feet, take an action, and then go 20 feet.

Dropping Prone

On your turn, you can give yourself the Prone condition without using an action or any of your Speed, but you can't do so if your Speed is 0.

Creature Size

A creature belongs to a size category, which ditermines the width of the square space the creature occupies on a map, as showns on the Creature Size table and Space table. That table lists the sizes from smallest (Tiny) to largest (Gargantuan). A creature's space is the area that it effectively controls in combat and the area it needs to fight effectively.

Creature Size and Space

Size	Space (Feet)	Space (Square)
Tiny	2½ by 2½ feet	4 per square
Small	5 by 5 feet	1 square
Medium	5 by 5 feet	1 square
Large	10 by 10 feet	4 square (2 by 2)
Huge	15 by 15 feet	9 square (3 by 3)
Gargantuan	20 by 20 feet	16 square (4 by 4)

Moving around Other Creatures

During your move, you can pass through the space of an ally, a creature that has the Incapacitated condition, a Tiny creature, or a creature that is two sizes larger or smaller than you.

You can't willingly end a move in a space occupied by another creature. If you somehow end a turn in a space with another creature, you have the Prone condition unless you are Tiny or are of a larger size than the other creature.

Making an Attack

When you take the Attack action, you make an attack. Some other actions, Bonus Actions, and Reactions also let you make an attack. Whether you strike with a Melee weapon, fire a Ranged weapon, or make an attack roll as part of a spell, an attack has the following structure:

Choose a Target. Pick a target within your attack's range: a creature, an object, or a location.
Determine Modifiers. The DM determines whether the target has Cover (see the next section) and whether you have Advantage or Disadvantage against the target. In addition, spells, special abilities, and other effects can apply penalties or bonuses to your attack roll.
Resolve the Attack. Make the attack roll, as detailed earlier in this chapter. On a hit, you roll damage unless the particular attack has rules that specify otherwise. Some attacks cause special effects in addition to or instead of damage.

Cover

Walls, trees, creatures, and other obstacles can provide cover, making a target more difficult to harm. As detailed in the Cover table, there are three degrees of cover, each of which gives a different benefit to a target.

A target can benefit from cover only when an attack or other effect originates on the opposite side of the 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 tree trunk that gives Three-Quarters Cover, the target has Three-Quarters Cover.

Cover

Degree	Benefit to Target	Offered By...
Half	+2 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws	Another creature or an object that covers at least half of the target
Three-Quarters	+5 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws	An object that covers at least three-quarters of the target
Total	Can't be targeted directly	An object that covers the whole target

Unseen Attackers and Targets

When you make an attack roll against a target you can't see, you have Disadvantage on the roll. This is true whether you're guessing the target's location or targeting a creature you can hear but not see. If the target isn't in the location you targeted, you miss.

When a creature can't see you, you have Advantage on attack rolls against it.

If you are hidden when you make an attack roll, you give away your location when the attack hits or misses.

Ranged Attacks

When you make a ranged attack, you fire a bow, hurl an axe, or otherwise send projectiles to strike a foe at a distance. Many spells also involve making a ranged attack.

Range

You can make ranged attacks only against targets within a specified range. If a ranged attack, such as one made with a spell, has a single range, you can't attack a target beyond this range.

Some ranged attacks, such as those made with a Longbow, have two ranges. The smaller number is the normal range, and the larger number is the long range. Your attack roll has Disadvantage when your target is beyond normal range, and you can't attack a target beyond long range.

Ranged Attacks in Close Combat

Aiming a ranged attack is more difficult when a foe is next to you. When you make a ranged attack roll with a weapon, a spell, or some other means, you have Disadvantage on the roll if you are within 5 feet of an enemy who can see you and doesn't have the Incapacitated condition (see the rules glossary).

Melee Attacks

A melee attack allows you to attack a target within your reach. A melee attack typically uses a handheld weapon or an Unarmed Strike. Many monsters make melee attacks with claws, teeth, or other body parts. A few spells also involve melee attacks.

Reach

A creature has a 5-foot reach and can thus attack targets within 5 feet when making a melee attack. Certain creatures have melee attacks with a reach greater than 5 feet, as noted in their descriptions.

Opportunity Attacks

Combatants watch for enemies to drop their guard. If you move heedlessly past your foes, you put yourself in danger by provoking an Opportunity Attack.

Avoiding Opportunity Attack You can avoid provoking an Opportunity Attack by taking the Disengage action. You also don't provoke an Opportunity Attack when you Teleport or when you are moved without using your Movement, action, Bonus Action, or Reaction. For example, you don't provoke an Opportunity Attack if an explosion hurls you out of a foe's reach or if you fall past an enemy.

Making an Opportunity Attack You can make an Opportunity Attack when a creature that you can see leaves your reach. To make the attack, take a Reaction to make one melee attack with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike against that creature. The attack occurs right before it leaves your reach.

Mounted Combat

A willing creature that is at least one size larger than a rider and that has an appropriate anatomy can serve as a mount, using the following rules.

Mounting and Dismounting

During your move, you can mount a creature that is within 5 feet of you or dismount. Doing so costs an amount of Movement equal to half your Speed (round down). For example, if your Speed is 30 feet, you spend 15 feet of Movement to mount a horse.

Controlling a Mount

You can control a mount only if it has been trained to accept a rider. Domesticated horses, mules, and similar creatures have such training.

The Initiative of a controlled mount changes to match yours when you mount it. It moves on your turn as you direct it, and it has only three action options during that turn: Dash, Disengage, and Dodge. A controlled mount can move and act even on the turn that you mount it.

In contrast, an independent mount-one that lets you ride but ignores your control—retains its place in the Initiative order and moves and acts as it likes.

Falling Off

If an effect is about to move your mount against its will while you're on it, you must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or fall off, landing with the Prone condition (see the rules glossary) in an unoccupied space within 5 feet of the mount.

While mounted, you must make the same save if you're knocked Prone or the mount is.

Underwater Combat

A fight underwater follows these rules.

Impeded Weapons

When making a melee attack roll with a weapon underwater, a creature that lacks a Swim Speed has Disadvantage on the attack roll unless the weapon deals Piercing damage.

A ranged attack roll with a weapon underwater automatically misses a target beyond the weapon's normal range, and the attack roll has Disadvantage against a target within normal range.

Fire Resistance

Anything underwater has Resistance to Fire damage (explained in "Damage and Healing").