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Anytime a sword is swung, an arrow is shot or a spell is cast a series of rolls are made to determine whether the action is succesful and whether damage is caused. Most rolls involve the Dominions Random Number or DRN. To fully understand Combat Mechanics start by reading up on how the DRN is calculated.
All offensive abilities in the game basically functions in the same way:
For melee attacks the attacker makes an attack roll at the same time as the defender makes a defense roll. These are compared. If the attack roll (with modifiers) is greater than the defense roll, it hits. If not, it misses.
Ranged combat and spellcasting are different from melee combat in that they do not use defense values. Instead, a precision roll is used to determine which square a missile or spell hits.
Once a hit is scored, another roll is made to determine how much damage is done.
Some types of damage have special attributes.
Combat Mechanics | ||
---|---|---|
Rolling to hit | Melee attacks | Attack Roll, Fatigue, Multiple Attacks, Attack Penalties, Repel, Trample, Area of Effect |
Ranged attacks & Spellcasting | Precision, Air Shield, Ranged Attack Penalties, Area of Effect, Storm | |
Damage | Physical | Blunt, Slashing, Piercing, Untyped |
Elemental | Fire, Shock, Cold, Poison, Acid, Salt | |
Damage Tags | Armor Piercing, Armor Negating, Magic, Fatigue Damage, Life Drain, Paralysis, Soul Slaying, Ignores Shield, Charge Bonus, Shield Destruction | |
Damage Prevention | Protection, Defense Roll, Physical Resistance, Elemental Resistance, Magic Resistance, Shields, Protective Force, Defensive Spells and Effects |