Niche D20During a turn of combat a character is granted what are known as Action Points (AP), with each point representative of the time and effort it takes to perform a task within that turn; usually within the timeframe of a single 6-second combat round.
At the start of a creature’s turn it gains 5 AP which can be used to perform various actions. Some types of actions, such as Reactions, can be performed outside of a creature’s turn and are tracked separately from a character’s pool of AP. Some actions are labeled as “free actions” which means that they usually have no limit on how often they can be performed on a character’s turn and have no AP cost, but are not available outside of the character’s turn unless specified.
By default, almost no actions directly use all 5 action points, though some actions can be modified by increasing their cost to use more, or even all, of a character’s Action Points.
Described below are a number of basic actions available to all characters and the associated AP cost for those actions.
1-Point Actions
Draw or Stow a Weapon or Item
Drawing a weapon or item usually requires 1 AP to perform. Objects retrieved in this way must be easily accessible such as in a sheath, bandolier, holster, belt pouch, or similar container that keeps them unobstructed and within reach. Ammunition such as arrows, bolts, or bullets are drawn as a free action as part of the act of reloading so long as those items are easily accessible such as in a quiver, bandolier, or bullet pouch.
Objects stowed in a backpack (or other containers intended for storage rather than accessibility) require more effort to retrieve and require 3 AP to retrieve as it involves searching for and retrieving the item from a bulky or sealed container.
Stowing a weapon or item is similar to drawing one and requires 2 AP, and may be stowed in a larger container such as a backpack for the same AP cost as it is easier to stow an item than retrieve from such containers.
By default, a creature can only draw or stow a single item at a time with this action but, if it has the Two-Weapon Fighting feat, it can draw two light or one-handed weapons in the same action.
Open or Close Door
A door that is within a creature’s reach may be opened or closed (or any other obstruction that could be moved out of the way with similar effort may be pushed, pulled, or slid to clear or block a passage) for 1 AP, or as a Reaction combined with another movement action. This allows a creature to approach, open, and move through a door without otherwise interrupting their movement. This cannot be done as part of the Charge or Run actions, or as part of forced movement. If a door must be unlocked or unbarred before it can be opened or closed, this may require additional actions (potentially requiring 2 AP or more) and cannot be done as a part of other movement.
Closing a door cannot be done as part of movement and requires its own separate action.
Shift
The Shift action moves a creature 5 feet and requires 1 AP. Shift never provokes an attack of opportunity from movement. Shift can be used before, during, or after other actions on the turn.
Shift can only be used if the creature’s movement isn’t hampered by difficult terrain or if impaired vision would prevent it from moving normally, such as being unable to see in darkness. Any creature with a speed of 5 feet or less cannot take a Shift action, as moving even 5 feet requires normal movement for such a slow creature. When taking the Shift action, a creature may not utilize a form of movement for which it does not have a listed speed (such as swimming or flying).
2-Point Actions
Move
A creature can move up to its speed for 2 AP. A creature’s speed is usually determined by their race or creature type, with most player races having a base speed of 30 feet. Each space of movement is treated as 5 feet of distance, and as such a creature with a 30 foot movement speed could use their 2 AP action to move anywhere between 1 to 6 spaces with one use of this action. Unless otherwise specified, any voluntary movement provokes attacks of opportunity when leaving a space within an opponent’s threatened area.
Movement made as part of climbing or swimming is either made at ¼ of a creature’s land speed, or using the creature’s climb or swim speed if they possess one. A creature may only move by flying if the creature normally possesses or is granted a fly speed. Each of these special forms of movement may require skill checks to perform (see Athletics and Acrobatics).
Crawl
When prone, a creature may move by crawling, though doing so is considerably slower than normal movement. For 2 AP a creature may crawl at a maximum of ¼ of its total move speed (minimum 5 feet). This movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.
Mount or Dismount
Mounting or dismounting from another creature requires 2 AP (see mounted combat rules for more information).
Stand-Up
When prone, a creature may spend 2 AP to attempt to stand up again, though doing so provokes attacks of opportunity.
Pick Up Item
You may spend 2 AP to pick up an item that is in your square or a square adjacent to your own. This AP cost is the same if the object is on the floor or a raised surface (such as a table or pedestal). Picking up an item provokes attacks of opportunity.
3-Point Actions
Focused Attack
A creature may spend 3 AP to make a single attack with a weapon. Feats, features, and other abilities may modify the effect of the Focused Attack action either for no additional AP cost or by requiring payment of additional AP beyond base action cost. Some special actions granted by feats, features, or other sources may allow for one or more attacks to be made as part of that special action, but are not themselves the Focused Attack action for the purpose of effects that modify the Focused Attack action.
Make An Additional Attack
Once a creature has taken the Focused Attack action, it may choose to spend 1 additional AP to make an additional attack; it may continue to spend AP in this way as long as it has AP to spend. The additional attacks are not considered Focused Attack actions and thus cannot be modified by features and effects that modify Attack actions, but may be modified by anything that alters attacks in general. In addition, each extra attack suffers a cumulative -5 penalty to hit (thus, a 2nd attack would be at a -5 penalty and a 3rd would be at a -10 penalty).
| Author’s Note: What is the difference between an Additional Attack and a Bonus Attack? A bonus attack is an extra attack made similar to an additional attack but does not count as additional attacks for the purpose of calculating the cumulative penalty from additional attacks nor is the cumulative penalty applied to them. Some bonus attacks may have their own penalty to themselves in addition to any other global or ongoing penalties like any other attack, but unless otherwise specified this penalty is not part of the cumulative penalty. |
More Than one Focused Attack Per Round
If a creature would gain enough AP to make a second focused attack in a round they may do so, but all attacks made as part of the second focused attack, including off-hand and other such attacks, are made at a -5 penalty. This penalty stacks with itself if somehow a creature would gain the ability to make additional focused attacks beyond this in the round.
Charge
A creature may choose to increase the base AP cost of the Focused Attack by 1 to move up to its speed before making the attack. Before performing a Charge, the creature must designate the target of the charge and have line of sight to the target. A creature can increase the cost of the charge by an additional 1 to move their speed an additional time as part of the charge.
To Charge, a creature must be at least 10 feet away from the target and be able to cross that distance with one of its movement types (example: a creature without a swim speed cannot Charge while swimming). The path to the target must be clear and cannot pass through difficult terrain, obstacles, or anything else that would hinder the creature’s movement towards the target. The creature must move into the closest space from which they can attack the target; this space cannot be blocked or occupied in any way. Other creatures can block the path to a target, but Helpless creatures do not hinder the charge. Movement taken as part of a Charge provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.
At the end of the charge, the Focused Attack made by the charging creature gains a +2 bonus on the attack roll. After performing the charge, the charging creature takes a -2 penalty to AC until the start of its next turn.
Special Charges
Sometimes a creature may be able to perform a Charge via swinging, falling, sliding, or through some other situation that allows it to rush towards a target but not through its own movement. When performing a Special Charge by swinging, falling, or sliding, the creature must instead move at least 20 feet and start on a higher elevation than the target in order to gain enough momentum to receive the bonus. This action otherwise behaves as normal for a Charge and uses the normal amount of AP (4 AP usually) to perform this action unless otherwise specified by a feature.
Aid
A creature can provide assistance to an ally for 3 AP.
Assistance on attack rolls or armor check rolls can be provided against a target within the creature’s threatened area. The creature makes an attack roll and, if the result is greater than 10, successfully grants the ally a +2 bonus on their next attack roll or maneuver check against the target or a +2 bonus to AC for the target’s first attack made against it; this bonus lasts for 1 round. The same ally can be aided by multiple creatures and the bonus from multiple creatures may stack with itself.
Aid may also be used to assist with skill checks, so long as the creature is within appropriate range to assist the ally with the effort (example: assisting an Athletics check to climb may require the assisting creature to be adjacent to the ally, but assisting on a Knowledge check would only require that the creatures be able to communicate with each other). Rather than an attack roll, the creature makes a skill check with the relevant skill and, if the result is greater than 10, successfully grants a +2 bonus to the ally’s skill check; this bonus lasts for 1 round. Some activities, such as picking a lock, may have limitations to how many creatures can assist at the same time.
Ready An Action
A creature may ready an action, preparing to perform it later, for 3 AP. The type of action that can be readied in this way must cost 3 AP or less.
As part of readying an action, the creature specifies a triggering condition for the action to occur as well as whether the readied action will take place before or after the triggering condition takes place; once the condition has been met, the readied action occurs. This does not adjust the creature’s place in the initiative order, as the action is taken out-of-turn.
If the readied action was set to occur after the triggering condition, it happens immediately and has priority over any other actions or Reactions that are set to take place (such as if a feature allowed a creature to attempt a Trip maneuver after a successful attack); however, Reactions can still be used in response to a readied action if they are relevant (such as Raise Shield).
If the readied action was set to occur before the triggering condition, it happens immediately before the triggering condition would take place and interrupts that action, possibly causing it to be wasted if it is no longer possible to complete. If a movement action is readied and triggered by an condition that involves an attack roll or save attack roll, moving out of that effect’s range or line of effect does not invalidate it entirely; instead this provides a +1 bonus to AC or saving throw rolls for each AP of the readied action (for example, a Shift action stepping away from a melee attack would provide a +1 bonus to AC against that attack). Likewise, moving behind cover as a part of a readied movement action provides the normal cover bonus or a bonus equal to the number of AP spent, whichever is lower. A condition based on an unknown outcome (such as a successful attack against an ally) cannot be set to have a readied action occur before it, only after.
A creature may Shift as part of their readied action by increasing the AP cost of readying the action by 1.
Example
A creature may attempt to distract a spellcaster with a readied Focused Attack action, using the trigger of “if that creature starts casting a spell” and specifying that the action would occur before the condition. When the designated creature begins to cast, the readied Focused Attack action would take place prior to the resolution of the spell. A successful hit would force the spellcaster to make a Concentration check to avoid failing to cast the spell and losing the action.
Feint
A creature may make a Bluff skill check to Feint as a 3 AP action. This check is opposed by the target’s Mental(Foc) save, or the target may instead make a Sense Motive skill check in place of the save. If successful, the target is Flat-Footed against the next melee attack made by the feinting creature before the end of the feinting creature’s next turn. For each degree of success, this lasts for one additional attack (but still ends at the end of the feinting creature’s next turn). Feinting against a creature who is not a humanoid or monstrous humanoid creature imparts a -4 penalty to the Bluff check, while a Feint against a target with an intelligence of 1 or 2 imparts a -8 penalty to the Bluff check.
Use a Skill
Many skills require 3 AP use during a combat turn, but some may be lower or higher AP cost actions, free actions when used on their own or when combined with another action such as movement, or have activation times measured in minutes. The individual skills will define the action required to perform that skill.
Total Defense
A creature may raise its guard in preparation for incoming attacks as a 3 AP action. Taking a Total Defense action grants a +4 dodge bonus to AC until the start of the creature’s next turn. A creature does not threaten any spaces while taking a Total Defense action.
A creature may choose to activate Total Defense as a 4 AP action; doing so increases the dodge bonus by an additional +2, and also grants a +2 circumstance bonus to Physical and Resilience saves.
Throwing and Catching an Object
A creature can attempt to throw an object to another creature for it to catch, if the creatures are too far away to simply hand off the object or directly apply the effect (such as an alchemical item). Throwing an object is a 3 AP action which requires a ranged touch attack from the thrower, using all appropriate bonuses and penalties for a ranged touch attack. If the object is not a throwing weapon, this is treated as an improvised weapon throw which applies a -2 penalty to the attack roll and provokes attacks of opportunity as normal for nonproficiency. The thrower must be capable of lifting the object for it to be thrown.
The creature catching the object must spend a Reaction and make a melee touch attack to catch the object. If the result of the melee touch attack plus the result of the thrower’s ranged touch attack exceeds a value of 10 + 5 per 5 feet of distance from the thrower, the pass is a success. The catching creature must have at least one free hand to catch the object.
If the pass is unsuccessful by less than 1 degree of failure, the object simply lands in the catching creature’s space; unsuccessfully caught, but still nearby. If the pass is unsuccessful by at least 1 degree of failure, the object instead falls at a halfway point between the catcher and thrower. If the throwing creature rolls a natural 1 on its ranged touch attack, the throw automatically fails and the object drops into a random space nearby the thrower (using the same rules as a missed splash weapon to determine the space, but treating the thrower as the target and using the catcher to determine the starting point for determination). If the catcher rolls a natural 1 on its melee touch attack, the catch automatically fails and the object drops into a random space nearby the catcher (using the same rules as a missed splash weapon to determine the space).
4-Point Actions
Execute
As a 4 AP action, a creature may use a melee weapon to Execute a Helpless target. Ranged weapons may also be used to Execute, but require the creature to be adjacent to the target. Performing an execution provokes attacks of opportunity.
As part of an Execute, the creature makes an attack against the target; this attack automatically hits and automatically scores a critical hit. If the target survives the damage from this attack, it then must make a Resilience(End) save against 10 + the damage dealt. If the target fails the save it immediately dies. The special functions of the Execute action are ineffective against creatures immune to critical hits, still being treated as an automatic hit and dealing normal weapon damage, but dealing no critical damage not requiring the creature to make a Resilience(End) save.
Move 5 Feet When Slowed
In some situations, a creature’s movement speed may be reduced to the point that it cannot move a single space with a normal movement action; this can be the result of spells or effects reducing the creature’s speed, or difficult terrain penalizing the movement too greatly. In these situations, a creature can spend 4 AP to move 5 feet in any direction that one of its movement modes would allow (a creature with only a land speed would not normally be able to move straight up) unless it is otherwise immobilized. Unlike a Shift, this movement provokes attacks of opportunity as normal.
Run
Rather than taking a 2 AP action to move, a creature can Run in a straight line as a 4 AP action. When running, a creature may move up to four times its speed using any movement type available to it; however, this movement must be in a straight line and cannot be impaired by difficult terrain. A creature that performs a Run action is Flat-Footed until the start of its next turn.
A creature can continuously Run for a number of rounds equal to 10 + its Endurance score. Once a creature has gone beyond this limit, they must make a DC 10 Tenacity check to continue running. The check must be repeated each round that the creature continues to run, increasing the DC by 2 for each previous time the check succeeded; upon a failed check, the creature must stop running and cannot use the Run action again until after completing a Short Rest. If the creature stops running before failing the Tenacity check, but has not yet completed a Short Rest, the next time that the creature takes the Run action the DC for the check continues from the last highest DC it had succeeded against. Once a creature completes a Short Rest, it may Run again for 10 + its Endurance score rounds before needing to make another Tenacity check.
Cast a Spell
Many spells require 4 AP to cast; however, some may have lower or higher AP costs and some may be cast as a Reaction.
Other Action Rules
Actions Beyond Your Maximum AP
Actions with a base cost beyond the maximum action points per turn cannot be completed in a single turn and instead must be completed over multiple turns.
If an action would require a base cost of 6 or more AP the action instead will cost the full 5 AP on your turn to begin performing. Once the creature’s next turn begins they must spend their available AP on this action, spending the AP required to complete this action until they have spent enough to complete the action (such as an action with a base cost of 11 would take 2 rounds of spending 5 AP plus 1 AP at the start of their turn on the 3rd). AP cannot be spent on other actions before this action completes. Once the total AP spent between turns equals out to the AP required for the action, the action then occurs.
For example a 7 AP action would require 5 AP on the first turn to begin, and at the start of their next turn they must then spend 2 of their 5 available AP to finish the action allowing the effect to occur.
Some actions may be able to be interrupted in this time, such as spells, as the entire time between the start of the action and the final AP being spent at the start of the next turn is considered to be performing the action, even if the effect had not occurred yet.
Effects that add additional cost, such as feats that add onto the focused attack, spells with the option to spend additional AP, or simply choosing to make additional attacks as part of a focused attack do not count for these are increases to the final AP cost of the action, rather than adjustments to the base cost.
Free Action
Free actions represent actions that take such a small amount of time or effort to perform that they do not interfere with other actions taken on a creature’s turn. A creature can perform more than one Free action in a single turn, though there may be limits on what is considered a reasonable number of Free actions taken within the same turn, as decided by the GM. Unless specified, a Free action cannot be taken outside of a creature’s turn.
Drop an item
A creature may drop an item that it is currently holding as a free action. Items may be dropped into the creature’s space or into an adjacent space.
Reactions
A Reaction is a type of action that may be taken outside the normal flow of actions, they can be taken on a creature’s turn or outside of it, and often can interrupt other actions as they take place. A creature is allotted a number of Reactions per round equal to 1 + its Focus modifier (minimum 1), and gains an additional Reaction per 5 hit dice. Some features may allow a creature to have more reactions per round than normal.
As the name suggests, many Reactions require specific circumstances to be used and are taken in reaction to another event or action being taken. Creatures cannot take reactions while Flat-Footed.
While some abilities or feats may grant additional uses for a creature’s reactions, there are a number of default options that a creature may use as Reactions.
Drop Prone
When targeted by an attack roll, a creature may choose to drop prone as a Reaction. This may be done at any time. If done in response to an attack being declared but before the attack roll has been made, you may apply the appropriate modifiers for being prone for that attack.
Attacks of Opportunity
When a combatant in melee is distracted or lets down its guard through taking a reckless action, a nearby combatant may take advantage of this to attack as a Reaction. This type of Reaction is known as an attack of opportunity.
Actions that creatures take during their turn can provoke attacks of opportunity; whether an action provokes an opportunity attack is specified by each action. If an action does not state that it provokes attacks of opportunity, assume that it does not. Additionally, some features may cause a creature to provoke an attack of opportunity when it normally would not (such as being knocked Prone).
Threatened Area
A creature’s threatened area normally is any space within its natural reach or the reach of its melee weapon into which it could validly make an attack. For most medium sized creatures, this means that all adjacent spaces are treated as its threatened area as long as the creature is wielding a weapon or is proficient in unarmed strikes.
Some weapons or abilities, or simply being a creature of larger size, can cause a creature to have a greater area of reach and therefore threaten a larger area.
Making an Attack of Opportunity
An attack of opportunity is a single melee attack, and uses up one of a creature’s Reactions for the round to perform. Creatures are never required to take an opportunity attack when one is provoked, but only one opportunity attack can be made in response to a single provoking event. An attack of opportunity is made at a creature’s full normal attack bonus (including any penalties that might apply, such as from Power Stance), even if it has already made other attacks in the round.
An attack of opportunity (and any Reactions made in response to it) is resolved before the event that provoked it; the provoking event resolves normally after the attack of opportunity is resolved. A creature’s order in initiative is not changed by taking an attack of opportunity and the flow of combat continues as normal after resolving it. Unless stated otherwise, an attack of opportunity normally does not interrupt the action that provoked it unless the creature would be no longer capable of performing that action (such as being slain by the opportunity attack).
Delay Turn
At the start of a creature’s turn, before it has taken any action, it may choose to Delay its turn. When a creature delays its turn, it designates a different place in the initiative order later in the combat during which it wishes to act; this may be later in the same round or even during the next round. The creature’s initiative is adjusted to the desired value (including any fractional value necessary to ensure that it does not share the same initiative as another creature in the combat) and its current turn ends. Unlike a Readied Action, a turn cannot be delayed to interrupt another creature’s action.
If an effect would end at the beginning or end of the creature’s turn and the creature chooses to Delay its turn, that effect ends on the creature’s original turn and not its delayed turn. Similarly, an effect with a duration measured in rounds (that would count this duration based on the creature’s turn) counts down its duration at the creature’s original turn but not its delayed turn unless the delayed turn would be in the next combat round. In subsequent rounds, the duration counts down as normal on the creature’s turn.
Fighting Defensively
Before a creature has made any attacks on its turn, it may choose to Fight Defensively. A creature that chooses to Fight Defensively and makes attacks on its turn takes a -4 penalty on all attacks made and gains a +3 dodge bonus to its AC until the start of its next turn.
If the creature has a +8 BAB it may choose to take an additional -1 penalty on its attack rolls to gain an additional +1 dodge bonus to its AC; this penalty and bonus can be increased by 1 for every 8 points of BAB thereafter (as such, a creature with 16 BAB may choose to take a -5 penalty rather than a -6, but would only gain a +4 dodge bonus to AC instead of a +5 bonus).