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Chapter 9: Combat

The clatter of a sword striking against a shield. side. Any character or monster that doesn’t notice a
The terrible rending sound as monstrous claws tear threat is surprised at the start of the encounter.
through armor. A brilliant flash of light as a ball of flame If you’re surprised, you can’t move or take an action
blossoms from a wizard’s spell. The sharp tang of blood on your first turn of the combat, and you can’t take a re-
in the air, cutting through the stench of vile monsters. action until that turn ends. A member of a group can be
Roars of fury, shouts of triumph, cries of pain. Combat in surprised even if the other members aren’t.
D&D can be chaotic, deadly, and thrilling.
This chapter provides the rules you need for your char- Initiative
acters and monsters to engage in combat, whether it is
Initiative determines the order of turns during combat.
a brief skirmish or an extended conflict in a dungeon or
When combat starts, every participant makes a Dexterity
on a field of battle. Throughout this chapter, the rules ad-
check to determine their place in the initiative order. The
dress you, the player or Dungeon Master. The Dungeon
DM makes one roll for an entire group of identical crea-
Master controls all the monsters and nonplayer charac-
tures, so each member of the group acts at the same time.
ters involved in combat, and each other player controls an
The DM ranks the combatants in order from the one
adventurer. “You” can also mean the character or mon-
with the highest Dexterity check total to the one with
ster that you control.
the lowest. This is the order (called the initiative order)
The Order of Combat in which they act during each round. The initiative order
remains the same from round to round.
A typical combat encounter is a clash between two sides, If a tie occurs, the DM decides the order among tied
a flurry of weapon swings, feints, parries, footwork, and DM-controlled creatures, and the players decide the or-
spellcasting. The game organizes the chaos of combat der among their tied characters. The DM can decide the
into a cycle of rounds and turns. A round represents order if the tie is between a monster and a player charac-
about 6 seconds in the game world. During a round, each ter. Optionally, the DM can have the tied characters and
participant in a battle takes a turn. The order of turns is monsters each roll a d20 to determine the order, highest
determined at the beginning of a combat encounter, when roll going first.
everyone rolls initiative. Once everyone has taken a turn, Your Turn
the fight continues to the next round if neither side has
defeated the other. On your turn, you can move a distance up to your speed
Surprise and take one action. You decide whether to move first or
take your action first. Your speed—sometimes called your
A band of adventurers sneaks up on a bandit camp, walking speed—is noted on your character sheet.
springing from the trees to attack them. A gelatinous The most common actions you can take are described
cube glides down a dungeon passage, unnoticed by the in the “Actions in Combat” section later in this chapter.
adventurers until the cube engulfs one of them. In these Many class features and other abilities provide additional
situations, one side of the battle gains surprise over options for your action.
the other. The “Movement and Position” section later in this chap-
The DM determines who might be surprised. If nei- ter gives the rules for your move.
ther side tries to be stealthy, they automatically notice You can forgo moving, taking an action, or doing any-
each other. Otherwise, the DM compares the Dexterity thing at all on your turn. If you can’t decide what to do on
(Stealth) checks of anyone hiding with the passive Wis- your turn, consider taking the Dodge or Ready action, as
dom (Perception) score of each creature on the opposing described in “Actions in Combat.”
Bonus Actions
Combat Step by Step
Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you
1. Determine surprise. The DM determines whether anyone take an additional action on your turn called a bonus ac-
involved in the combat encounter is surprised. tion. The Cunning Action feature, for example, allows a
2. Establish positions. The DM decides where all the rogue to take a bonus action. You can take a bonus action
characters and monsters are located. Given the only when a special ability, spell, or other feature of the
adventurers’ marching order or their stated positions in game states that you can do something as a bonus action.
the room or other location, the DM figures out where the You otherwise don’t have a bonus action to take.
adversaries are—how far away and in what direction.
3. Roll initiative. Everyone involved in the combat You can take only one bonus action on your turn, so you
encounter rolls initiative, determining the order of must choose which bonus action to use when you have
combatants’ turns. more than one available.
4. Take turns. Each participant in the battle takes a turn in You choose when to take a bonus action during your
initiative order. turn, unless the bonus action’s timing is specified, and
5. Begin the next round. When everyone involved in the anything that deprives you of your ability to take actions
combat has had a turn, the round ends. Repeat step 4 also prevents you from taking a bonus action.
until the fighting stops.

Chapter 9: Combat
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D&D Basic Rules (Version 1.0). Not for resale. Permission granted to print and photocopy this document for personal use only.