How to Play in Combat

Your Turn

On each of your turns, you can do all five of these (in any order):

Common Actions

Anyone can take any of these on their turn:

• Attack. Make one weapon attack (or cast a spell that uses an Attack roll).
• Cast a Spell. Use a known spell. Some spells take a bonus action or reaction instead.
• Dash. Move up to your speed again. Total = 60 ft this turn.
• Disengage. Move without provoking opportunity attacks. Use when fleeing melee.
• Dodge. Until your next turn, attacks against you have disadvantage and you have advantage on DEX saves.
• Help. Give an ally advantage on their next attack against a creature within 5 ft of you, or aid them on a skill check.
• Hide. Make a Stealth check. You need cover or a distraction — you can't usually hide while someone is staring at you.
• Ready. Pick a trigger and an action. When the trigger happens, you take that action as a reaction.
• Search. Roll Perception or Investigation to find something.

Advantage & Disadvantage

• Advantage: roll 2d20, take the higher.
• Disadvantage: roll 2d20, take the lower.
• If you have both, they cancel — roll one die normally.

You almost always want to seek advantage: flank an enemy with an ally (kobold Pack Tactics!), Help an ally, get the Reckless Attack feature, hide first, etc.

Opportunity Attacks

If an enemy moves out of your reach (5 ft for most), you can spend your reaction to make one melee attack on them.

Cover

• Half cover (low wall, ally between you): +2 AC, +2 DEX saves.
• Three-quarters cover (arrow slit, doorway): +5 AC, +5 DEX saves.
• Total cover: can't be targeted directly.

Difficult Terrain

Rubble, mud, shallow water, the lava-river caverns. Each foot of movement costs 2. Dashing through it is half as effective.

Death Saves

When you drop to 0 HP and are stable but not yet dying, you fall unconscious. On your turns:

• Roll a d20 (no modifier).
• 10+: success. 9 or less: failure.
• 3 successes: stabilised at 0 HP. 3 failures: you die.
• Nat 20: regain 1 HP and wake up.
• Nat 1: counts as 2 failures.
• Taking damage at 0 HP costs you a failure. A crit costs you 2.

Critical Hits & Misses

• Nat 20 on an attack: critical hit. Roll all damage dice twice and add modifiers once. (Sneak Attack, Smite, Hex damage all also double.)
• Nat 1 on an attack: automatic miss, no matter the bonuses.

Saving Throws

When something forces a save, the DM tells you which ability — STR, DEX, CON, INT, WIS, or CHA. You roll 1d20 + your save bonus. Each PC is proficient in two specific saves (your character sheet has bonuses for all six).

• DEX saves: dodging fireballs, traps, area effects.
• CON saves: poison, exhaustion, maintaining concentration on a spell.
• WIS saves: charm, fear, mental compulsion (the Seductress!).
• STR / INT / CHA: less common but each has key uses.

Concentration

Some spells say "Concentration" — you can only have one going at a time. If you take damage while concentrating, make a CON save (DC 10 or half the damage taken, whichever is higher) or the spell ends.

Kobold Traits (everyone)

• Pack Tactics: advantage on attack rolls vs a creature if at least one ally is within 5 ft of it. Set up flanks!
• Sunlight Sensitivity: disadvantage on attacks and on Perception (sight) in direct sunlight. (Mostly irrelevant in the lair.)
• Darkvision 60 ft: see in dim light as if it were bright; in darkness as if it were dim.
• Grovel, Cower, & Beg (1/short rest): as an action, cower pathetically; allies within 10 ft get advantage on attacks against creatures that can see you, until the end of your next turn.