Combat in Grimhowl is fast, brutal, and constantly shifting. Positioning, timing, teamwork, reactions, and
resource management all collide in a deadly flow of momentum and survival.
Every action matters.
Every hesitation costs blood.
Combat Rounds & Time
Many effects, abilities, and spells reference rounds or minutes for duration.
Initiative
Combat order is determined by awareness and readiness.
Initiative is resolved in the following order:
Turn Structure
At the start of your turn:
Repeat Action Penalty (RAP)
Repeating the same action during a round reduces effectiveness through fatigue, predictability, and
overcommitment.
| Attempt | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 1st | No penalty |
| 2nd | -1 Skill die |
| 3rd | -2 Skill dice |
| 4th | -3 Skill dice |
RAP only reduces:
You never lose:
Movement also suffers RAP:
RAP resets:
Movement & Positioning
Movement is determined primarily by:
Cover
Adventurers quickly learn that being difficult to hit is often better than being difficult to heal.
A character may spend an Action to take Cover behind a suitable object such as a wall, barricade,
overturned table, tree, or similar obstacle.
While in Cover:
Increase the DC of skills, abilities, and spells targeting your Parry or Dodge by +1.
A character loses Cover if they:
Move from their position
Are no longer protected by the object providing Cover
Or the source of their Cover is destroyed.
Cover does not protect against effects that do not target Parry or Dodge unless otherwise determined by
the GM.
Flanking
A target is considered Flanked when:
Skill-Based Movement
Many skills allow movement through ★ spends or successful checks.
Unless otherwise stated:
No movement effect may exceed your remaining movement value.
Examples include:
Athletics
Finesse
Dodge
Attack Resolution
Combat attacks follow a consistent resolution sequence.
Step 1 — Roll the Attack
The attacker rolls:
Step 2 — Defender Chooses Defense
The defender chooses ONE:
Passive defensive scaling — OR
An active Reaction.
These cannot both apply to the same attack.
Passive Defense
If the defender does not actively react:
| Defensive Rank | Incoming ★ Required per 1 Effective ★ |
|---|---|
| Rank I-II | 1★ = 1 effective ★ |
| Rank III-IV | 2★ = 1 effective ★ |
| Rank V | 3★ = 1 effective ★ |
Example:
An attacker generates 6★ against a Master defender.
Because the defender is Rank V:
Every 3★ becomes 1 effective ★.
The attack becomes:
2 effective ★.
Active Reactions
Instead of passive defense, a defender may spend an action to use:
Held Actions & Reactions
Actions may be held for later use during the round.
Held actions may be used for:
Reactions cannot trigger additional Reactions.
Damage Resolution
If an attack succeeds:
Area Damage
Some attacks, spells, and abilities affect more than one target at the same time. Rather than resolving a
separate attack against every creature, Grimhowl resolves a single attack and applies the results to
everyone caught within the area. This keeps area attacks fast while still allowing each creature's
individual defenses and resistances to matter.
Resolving an Area Attack
When making an area attack, follow these steps:
are unaffected.
4. Each affected creature may defend normally. If any defender possesses a higher Proficiency than
the target used for the attack, and chooses to use an appropriate Reaction, resolve the attack
using that higher Proficiency instead.
5. Roll damage once and apply it separately to every affected creature, allowing each creature's
Armor, Resistances, Weaknesses, and other defenses to modify the damage individually.
6. Spend any remaining ★. Damage bonuses apply to every affected creature, while all other ★
expenditures are resolved individually for each target.
Choosing Your Targets
You may always choose to attack a lower Defense DC than the highest creature within the area. Doing so
automatically excludes every creature with a higher Defense DC.
For example, if an area contains creatures with Defense DCs of 3, 3, and 4, you may:
Attack Defense DC 4, affecting all three creatures.
Attack Defense DC 3, affecting only the two DC 3 creatures.
You may not choose to exclude creatures based on their Proficiency. Only their Defense DC matters when
determining who is affected.
Shared Defense
Area attacks are resolved against the most capable defender within the chosen Defense DC.
For example, a group contains two adventurers, one with a Dodge DC of 3 (Expert), and the other is DC 4
(Trained). One is Trained, while the other is an Expert.
If the attack is targeting DC 4 and neither character uses a Dodge Reaction, the attack is resolved against
the Trained defender. However, if the Expert chooses to Dodge, their superior training is used instead,
reducing the remaining ★ for everyone protected by that defense.
This represents experienced defenders instinctively helping those around them react to the danger.
Spending ★
Any ★ spent to increase damage affects every creature struck by the attack.
For example:
1★: +1 Damage
2★: Increase the damage die size
These bonuses are applied to the attack itself before damage is rolled. All other ★ expenditures are
resolved individually for each affected creature.
If an ability costs 2★ to inflict ↓ Agility, affecting three creatures requires 6★, spending 2★ on each
target separately.
Physical Damage
Physical damage is mitigated through:
The controlling player chooses which Sigil applies before rolling resistance.
Energy Damage
Energy damage includes the following:
Elemental Damage
Gnawing Damage
Some injuries continue to worsen long after the initial blow lands. Gnawing damage represents ongoing
harm caused by effects such as fire, poison, acid, disease, curses, and other lingering afflictions. When a
creature is suffering Gnawing damage, they take that damage whenever they suffer damage from
another source.
Unlike most sources of damage, Gnawing damage stacks with the triggering damage.
Example
A character is suffering 1d6 Gnawing Fire damage.
They are later struck by an attack that deals 1d4 Fire damage.
The character suffers:
Damage Dice Upgrades
Effects that upgrade weapon damage dice increase:
Equipment Damage
Some attacks, abilities, and ★ spends may damage:
When a resistance source is damaged:
If multiple resistance sources are rolled:
Shell and natural weapons recover naturally:
Armor and shields require:
Example Attack Resolution
Darius has:
Because Darius is Expert:
His attack becomes:
Because the Orc is only Rank II:
The Orc suffers:
If the Orc were Rank III in Parry instead:
Darius’s 4★ would become:
If the Orc actively used Parry instead:
Delianna’s Note
“This isn’t chess, darling. It’s panic, steel, smoke, and split-second decisions. Hesitate too long and
someone starts measuring you for a grave.”