Negotiations have broken down, and you must pursue goals by other means. GR declares when the combat starts. They determine the order in which characters can act.
Each character can take two actions on their turn. The character can take any two actions, or even perform the same action twice. The character can also choose to take no action, which can be done to increase the dice pool.
Unlike a normal extended test, the player may roll dice multiple times before replenishing the dice pool. This happens, for instance, when they use both actions to attack. The pool is only replenished at the end of the turn. If another player rolls dice, as part of a reaction, they also replenish their pool at that point.
The pool is replenished regardless of how many actions were taken, which means that, if the player takes no actions, their pool strictly increases.
At the start of a combat encounter, characters build their dice pool. The initial size depends on the stat associated with the weapon the character is currently using, and whether the character is proficient with that weapon.
If the test succeeds, the margin of success is added to the weapon proficiency and the attacker rolls that many damage dice -- the dice specified in the weapon description -- and adds their damage stat, if the weapon allows for that. The final sum is subtracted from the defender's \stat{hp}.
Finally, the attacker removes the failure dice from their pool. At the end of the turn, they add \stat{con} dice back. This means that that if two attacks are made in the same turn, they both come from the same pool.
Besides attacking, movement is an important component of tactics in a skirmish. In normal circumstances, a character can move \SI{10}{\meter} per turn. Heavy armor can reduce this, so can certain spells and effects.
\subsection*{The Grid}
A common way of representing combat in role-playing games is by placing miniatures on a grid. Each square on the grid represents a \SI{1}{\meter}$\times$\SI{1}{\meter} square in the game world.
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The Grid is only a tool to make visualizing the battlefield easier. It simplifies measurement and reduces the math needed for conversions. Common accessories are made for a \SI{1}{"}$\times$\SI{1}{"} grid and sometimes scaled accordingly. This is a fantasy game, and it does not pay to get caught up on the details of scale. Use whatever grids, models, tokens, etc., you have available.
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Normally a character can move \SI{10}{\meter} per action (\SI{20}{\meter} per turn), which means you can move your miniature 10 squares. Moving diagonally costs two meters, i.e., the same as moving first in one direction, then in the other, at a right angle.
Each class has several abilities they can deploy in certain situations. Some augment a normal attack, while others have completely different effects. Note that some abilities are listed as \textit{passive} or \textit{reaction}. Passive abilities are always active, while reactions occur when someone else takes the specified action.
Dice used for abilities come from the same pool as basic attacks. In addition, some abilities force the player to discard more dice than just the failures.
Sometimes, even in the middle of an active fight, the circumstances may merit a character performing an action related to one of their non-combat skills.
If the desired action takes more than \SIlist{5}{\second} to complete, the GR might require you to use up your whole turn, or even make it an extended test stretching across multiple turns.
Instead of taking an action, your character can brace for an upcoming attack. You do this by declaring which attack you would like to defend against, in the form of a conditional statement. For example: ``if Barry the Guard attacks me with his halberd, I will dodge.'' This grants you temporary AC against that attack -- if it actually occurs -- equal to half your \stat{dex}, until your next turn.
Other actions can be prepared and then performed as a \textit{reaction}.
