A typical combat encounter is a clash between two sides, a flurry of weapon swings, feints, parries, footwork, and spellcasting. The game organizes the chaos of combat into a cycle of rounds and turns. A round represents 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 a combat encounter, when everyone rolls initiative. Once everyone has taken a turn, the fight continues to the next round if neither side has defeated the other. <br> ___ ### Surprise A band of adventurers sneaks up on a bandit camp, springing from the trees to attack them. A gelatinous cube glides down a dungeon passage, unnoticed by the adventurers until the cube engulfs one of them. In these situations, one side of the battle gains surprise over the other. The DM determines who might be surprised. If neither side tries to be stealthy, they automatically notice each other. Otherwise, the DM compares the Dexterity ([[Abilities & Skills#Stealth|Stealth]]) checks of anyone hiding with the [[Abilities & Skills#Passive Checks|passive]] Wisdom ([[Abilities & Skills#Perception|Perception]]) score of each creature on the opposing side. Any character or monster that doesn't notice a threat is surprised at the start of the encounter. If you're surprised, you can't move or take an action on your first turn of the combat, and you can't take a reaction until the first round of combat ends. A member of a group can be surprised even if the other members aren't. <br> ___ ### Initiative 🛠 Initiative determines the order of turns during combat. When combat starts, every participant makes a special initiative roll to determine their place in the initiative order. Instead of the normal d20 used for most checks, the initiative roll is made with a d10. The DM then sorts each combatant on it's team into one of two categories: Quick or Standard. If a character's total initiative score is an 8 or higher, they are added to their team's Quick group. If their initiative score is a 7 or lower, they are added to their team's Standard group. Once the combatants on all sides have been sorted into their correct groups, combat begins with the Quick group that makes the most narrative sense to attack first. If the player group are being attacked, it might make the most sense for the adversaries to go first, or vice versa. From there, the two groups go back and forth. For example: A group of Kobolds attacks the players. Initiative is rolled, the Kobolds are divided into Quick and Standard groups, as are the players. Because the Kobolds initiated the attack, the Quick Adversaries attack first, followed by the Quick Players, then the Standard Adversaries, then the Standard Players. After the last group has gone, resolve any lair actions or events that happen outside of a normal characters turn, and then begin the next round of combat starting again with the Quick Adversaries. During a groups turn, all creatures within that group perform their turns at the same time. If more than one creature wants to perform an action that would contradict one another, the tie is broken by the characters initiative scores. Creatures that can perform legendary actions may use any number of them in any segment of combat aside from their own. <br> ___ ### Your Turn On your turn, you can move a distance up to your movement speed and take one action. You decide whether to move first or take your action first. Your movement speeds are noted on your character sheet. The most common actions you can take are described in the Actions in Combat section. Many class features and other abilities provide additional options for your action. The [[Movement and Position|Movement and Position]] section gives the rules for your move. You can forgo moving, taking an action, or doing anything at all on your turn. If you can't decide what to do on your turn, consider taking the Dodge or Ready action, as described in [[Actions in Combat|Actions in Combat]]. <br> ##### Bonus Actions Various class features, spells, and other abilities let you take an additional action on your turn called a bonus action. You can take a bonus action only when a special ability, spell, or other feature of the game states that you can do something as a bonus action. You otherwise don't have a bonus action to take. You can take only one bonus action on your turn, so you must choose which bonus action to use when you have more than one available. You choose when to take a bonus action during your turn, unless the bonus action's timing is specified, and anything that deprives you of your ability to take actions also prevents you from taking a bonus action. <br><br> ##### Reactions Certain special abilities, spells, and situations allow you to take a special action called a reaction. A reaction is an instant response to a trigger of some kind, which can occur on your turn or on someone else's. An [[Making an Attack#Opportunity Attacks|opportunity attack]], is a common type of reaction. When you take a reaction, you can't take another one until the start of your next turn. If the reaction interrupts another creature's turn, that creature can continue its turn right after the reaction. <br><br> ##### Other Activity on Your Turn Your turn can include a variety of flourishes that require neither your action nor your move. You may communicate however you are able, through brief utterances and gestures, as you take your turn. As an Item Interaction, you can drop, don, doff or swap an item in one of your hands to another. Swapping from one-hand to two-hands with a [[Armour & Weapons#Versatile|Versatile]] weapon does not count as an object interaction. You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action. For example, you could open a door during your move as you stride toward a foe. If you want to interact with a second object, you need to use your action. Some magic items and other special objects always require an action to use, as stated in their descriptions. The DM might require you to use an action for any of these activities when it needs special care or when it presents an unusual obstacle. For instance, the DM could reasonably expect you to use an action to open a stuck door or turn a crank to lower a drawbridge.