Combat
Pathfinder Core Rulebook, page 176
In the wild parts of the world where monsters hold dominion, a sharp sword and sturdy shield are a far more effective means of communication than words. Combat is a common part of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, and the following rules explain this crucial process.
In this section
- How Combat Works Combat is cyclical; everybody acts in turn in a regular cycle of rounds. Combat follows this sequence:
- Combat Statistics This section summarizes the statistics that determine success in combat, then details how to use them.
- Actions in Combat During one turn, there are a wide variety of actions that your character can perform, from swinging a sword to casting a spell.
- Injury and Death Your hit points measure how hard you are to kill. No matter how many hit points you lose, your character isn’t hindered in any way until your hit points drop to 0 or lower.
- Movement, Position, and Distance Miniatures are on the 30mm scale—a miniature of a 6-foot-tall man is approximately 30mm tall. A square on the battle grid is 1 inch across, representing a 5-foot-by-5-foot area.
- Big and Little Creatures in Combat Creatures smaller than Small or larger than Medium have special rules relating to position.
- Combat Modifiers A number of factors and conditions can influence an attack roll. Many of these situations grant a bonus or penalty on attack rolls or to a defender’s Armor Class.
- Special Attacks This section discusses all of the various standard maneuvers you can perform during combat other than normal attacks, casting spells, or using other class abilities.
- Special Initiative Actions Here are ways to change when you act during combat by altering your place in the initiative order.