When you take your action on your turn, you can take one of the actions presented here, an action you gained from your class or a special feature, or an action that you improvise. Every creature can use basic actions except in some extreme circumstances, and many of those actions are used very frequently. Most notably, you'll use Interact, Step, Stride, and Strike a great deal. Many monsters have action options of their own in their stat blocks.

When you describe an action not detailed elsewhere in the rules, the DM tells you whether that action is possible and what kind of roll you need to make, if any, to determine success or failure.

Types of Actions

Cast a Spell

Spellcasters such as Black Mages and Geomancers, as well as many monsters, have access to spells and can use them to great effect in combat. Each spell has a casting time, which specifies whether the caster must use an action, a reaction, minutes, or even hours to cast the spell. Casting a spell is, therefore, not necessarily an action. Most spells do have a casting time of 2 actions, so a spellcaster often uses his or her action in combat to cast such a spell.

Crawl ◈

Requirements. You are Prone and your Speed is at least 4m.

You move 2m by crawling and continue to stay

Prone

Delay ◇

Trigger. Your turn begins.

You can use this free action when your turn begins, waiting for the right moment to act. The rest of your turn doesn't happen yet. Instead, you're removed from the initiative order. You can return to the initiative order as a free action triggered by the end of any other creature's turn. This permanently changes your initiative to the new position. You can't use reactions until you return to the initiative order. If you Delay an entire round without returning to the initiative order, the actions from the Delayed turn are lost, your initiative doesn't change, and your next turn occurs at your original position in the initiative order.

When you Delay, any persistent damage or other negative effects that normally occur at the start or end of your turn occur immediately when you use the Delay action. Any beneficial effects that would end at any point during your turn also end. The GM might determine that other effects end when you Delay as well. Essentially, you can't Delay to avoid negative consequences that would happen on your turn or to extend beneficial effects that would end on your turn.

Dodge ◈◈

When you take the Dodge action, you focus entirely on avoiding attacks. Until the start of your next turn, any attack roll made against you has Disadvantage if you can see the attacker, and you make Dexterity saving throws with Advantage.

You lose this benefit if you are

Incapacitated

Drop Prone ◈

You fall

Prone

Escape ◈

You attempt to escape from being

Grappled

Critical Success (+10). You get free and remove the Grappled condition imposed by your chosen target. You can then move up to 2m.
Success. You get free and remove the Grappled condition imposed by your chosen target.
Critical Failure (–10). You don't get free, and you can't attempt to Escape again until your next turn.

Help ◈ + ⮌

Trigger. An ally is about to use an action that requires a skill check or attack roll.

Requirements. The ally is willing to accept your help, and you have prepared to help (see below).

You try to help your ally with a task. To use this reaction, you must first use one action to prepare to help. You must explain to the GM exactly how you're trying to help, and they determine whether you can Help your ally. For example, you might say to your GM that you will try to do a basic flourish of magickal sparks to distract a nearby enemy when an ally attacks them, and the GM might ask you to make an Arcana check. Helping an ally in combat usually requires you to be adjacent to an ally or an enemy.

When you use your Help reaction, attempt a skill check or attack roll of a type decided by the GM. The typical DC is 13, but the GM might adjust this DC for particularly hard or easy tasks. The GM can even allow you to Help with d20 rolls other than skill checks and attack rolls.

Critical Success (+10). You grant your ally Advantage on the triggering ability check or attack roll. If they already had Advantage, they gain a +4 bonus instead.
Success. You grant your ally a +2 bonus to the triggering ability check or attack roll.

Interact ◈

You use your hand or hands to manipulate an object or the terrain. You can grab an unattended or stored object, open a door, or produce some similar effect. This action can also be used to swap a weapon that you are wielding with a weapon that is sheathed. You might have to attempt a skill check to determine if your Interact action was successful.

Leap ◈

You take a careful, short jump. You can Leap up to 3m horizontally if your Speed is at least 6m, or up to 4.5m horizontally if your Speed is at least 10m. You land in the space where your Leap ends (meaning you can typically clear a 1.5m gap, or a 3m gap if your Speed is 10m or more).

If you Leap vertically, you can move up to 1m vertically and 1.5m horizontally onto an elevated surface.

Jumping a greater distance requires using the Athletics skill.

Ready ◈◈ + ⮌

Sometimes you want to get the jump on a foe or wait for a particular circumstance before you act. To do so, you can take the Ready action on your turn, which lets you act using your reaction before the start of your next turn.

You prepare to use an action that will occur outside your turn. Choose a single action or free action you can use, and designate a trigger. Your turn then ends. If the trigger you designated occurs before the start of your next turn, you can use the chosen action as a reaction (provided you still meet the requirements to use it). You can't Ready a free action that already has a trigger.

If you have a multiple attack penalty and your readied action is an attack action, your readied attack takes the multiple attack penalty you had at the time you used Ready. This is one of the few times the multiple attack penalty applies when it's not your turn.

Release ◇

You release something you're holding in your hand or hands. This might mean dropping an item, removing one hand from your weapon while continuing to hold it in another hand, releasing a rope suspending a chandelier, or performing a similar action.

Search ◈

When you take the Search action, you devote your attention to finding something. Depending on the nature of your search, the GM might have you make a Wisdom (Perception) check or an Intelligence (Investigation) check.

If you're looking for creatures, choose an area you're scanning. If precision is necessary, the GM can have you select a 12m Cone centred on you, or a 6m radius Sphere within line of sight. You might take a penalty if you choose an area that's far away. You make a Wisdom (Perception) check, and the result is compared to the Dexterity (Stealth) DC of the hidden creatures in the area.

If you're using Search to look for objects (including secret doors and hazards), you search up to a 4m square adjacent to you. You make an Intelligence (Investigation) check, and the result is compared to the DC to detect each object in the area.

Stand ◈

You stand up from

Prone

Step ◈

You carefully move 2m. Unlike most types of movement, Stepping doesn't trigger reactions, such as Attacks of Opportunity, that can be triggered by move actions or upon leaving or entering a square.

You can't Step into Difficult Terrain, and you can't Step using a Speed other than your land Speed.

Stride ◈

You move up to your Speed.

Strike ◈

The most common action to take in combat is the Strike action, whether you are swinging a sword, firing an arrow from a bow, or brawling with your fists.

With this action, you make one melee or ranged attack, making an attack roll and comparing it against the target's Armour Class (AC).

(After using this action, or any other action with the "Attack" tag, you suffer a Multiple Attack Penalty. The second time you use an action with the "Attack" tag, you take a –5 penalty to the roll. On the third or subsequent time, you take a –10 penalty.)

Critical Success (+10). As success, but you deal double damage.
Success. You deal damage according to the weapon damage, including any modifiers, bonuses, and penalties you have to damage.

Take Cover ◈

You press yourself against a wall or duck behind an obstacle to take better advantage of cover. If you currently have half cover, you instead gain three-quarters cover, which provides a +5 bonus to AC and Dexterity Saving Throws. Otherwise, you gain the benefits of half cover (a +2 bonus instead).

This lasts until you move from your current space, use an attack action, become unconscious, or end this effect as a free action.

These actions are useful under specific circumstances. Some require you to have a special movement type.

Types of Actions

Arrest a Fall ⮌

Trigger. You fall.

Requirements. You have a fly Speed.

You attempt an Acrobatics check to slow your fall. The DC is typically 15, but it might be higher due to air turbulence or other circumstances.

Success. You fall gently, taking no damage from the fall.

Avert Gaze ◈

You avert your gaze from danger. You gain Advantage on saves against visual abilities that require you to look at a creature or object, such as a medusa's petrifying gaze. Your gaze remains averted until the start of your next turn.

Burrow ◈

Requirements. You have a burrow Speed.

You dig your way through dirt, sand, or a similar loose material at a rate up to your burrow Speed. You can't burrow through rock or other substances denser than dirt unless you have an ability that allows you to do so.

Dismiss ◈

You end one spell effect or magick item effect. This must be an effect you are allowed to dismiss, as defined by the spell or item. Dismissal might end the effect entirely or might end it just for a certain target or targets, depending on the spell or item.

Fly ◈

Requirements. You have a fly Speed

You move through the air up to your fly Speed. Moving upward (straight up or diagonally) uses the rules for moving through Difficult Terrain. You can move straight down 4m for every 2m of movement you spend. If you Fly to the ground, you don't take falling damage. You can use an action to Fly 0m to hover in place. If you're airborne at the end of your turn and didn't use a Fly action this round, you fall.

Grab an Edge ⮌

Trigger. You fall from or past an edge or handhold.

Requirements. Your hands are not tied behind your back or otherwise restrained.

When you fall off or past an edge or other handhold, you can try to grab it, potentially stopping your fall. You must succeed at a Dexterity saving throw, with the DC determined by the GM. If you grab the edge or handhold, you can then Climb up using Athletics.

Critical Success (+10). You grab the edge or handhold, whether or not you have a hand free, typically by using a suitable held item to catch yourself (catching a battle axe on a ledge, for example). You still take damage from the distance fallen so far, but you treat the fall as though it were 9m shorter.
Success. If you have at least one hand free, you grab the edge or handhold, stopping your fall. You still take damage from the distance fallen so far, but you treat the fall as though it were 6m shorter. If you have no hands free, you continue to fall as if you had failed the check.
Critical Failure (–10). You continue to fall, and you immediately take half falling damage based on the distance you have fallen so far.

Mount ◈

Requirements. You are adjacent to a creature that is at least one size larger than you and is willing to be your mount.

You move onto the creature and ride it. If you're already mounted, you can instead use this action to dismount, moving off the mount into a space adjacent to it.

Point Out ◈

Requirements. A creature is undetected by one or more of your allies but isn't undetected by you.

You indicate a creature that you can see to one or more allies, gesturing in a direction and describing the distance verbally. That creature is hidden to your allies, rather than undetected. This works only for allies who can see you and are in a position where they could potentially detect the target. If your allies can't hear or understand you, they must succeed at a Perception check against the creature's Stealth DC or they misunderstand and believe the target is in a different location.

Raise a Shield ◈

Requirements. You are wielding a shield.

You position your shield to protect yourself. When you have Raised a Shield, you gain its listed bonus to AC. Your shield remains raised until the start of your next turn.

Sustain a Skill ◈

Requirements. You have at least one skill active with a concentration duration.

Choose one skill with a concentration duration you have in effect. The duration of that skill continues until the end of your next turn. Some skills might have slightly different or expanded effects if you sustain them. Sustaining a Skill for more than 10 minutes (100 rounds) ends the spell and makes you

Exhausted 1

If your Sustain a Skill action is disrupted, the spell immediately ends.

Acrobatics measures your ability to perform tasks requiring coordination and grace. When you use the Escape basic action, you can use Dexterity (Acrobatics) instead of Strength (Athletics).

Balance ◈

Requirements. You are in a square that contains a narrow surface, uneven ground, or another similar feature.

You move across a narrow surface or uneven ground, attempting an Acrobatics check against its Balance DC. Attacks made against you have Advantage while on a narrow surface or uneven ground.

Critical Success (+10). You move up to your Speed.
Success. You move up to your Speed, treating it as Difficult Terrain.
Failure. You must remain stationary to keep your balance (wasting the action) or you fall. If you fall, your turn ends.
Critical Failure (–10). You fall and your turn ends.

Tumble ◈

You move up to your Speed. During this movement, you can try to move through the space of one enemy. Attempt an Acrobatics check against the enemy's Dexterity Save DC, as soon as you try to enter its space.

Success. You move through the enemy's space, treating the squares in its space as Difficult Terrain. If you don't have enough Speed to move all the way through its space, you get the same effect as a failure.
Failure. Your movement ends, and you trigger reactions as if you had moved out of the square you started in.

Athletics allows you to perform deeds of physical prowess. When you use the Escape basic action, you can use Strength (Athletics) instead of Dexterity (Acrobatics).

Climb ◈

Requirements. You have both hands free.

You move up, down, or across an incline. Unless it's particularly easy, you must attempt an Athletics check. The GM determines the DC based on the nature of the incline and environmental circumstances. Creatures have Advantage on Attack Rolls against you unless you have a climb Speed.

Critical Success (+10). You move up, across, or safely down the incline for 1.5m plus 1.5m per 6m of your land Speed (a total of 3m for most PCs).
Success. You move up, across, or safely down the incline for 1.5m per 6m of your land Speed (a total of 1.5m for most PCs, minimum 1.5m if your Speed is below 6m).
Critical Failure (–10). You fall. If you began the climb on stable ground, you fall and land prone.

Sample Climb Tasks

Disarm ◈

Requirements. You have at least one hand free. The target can't be more than one size larger than you.

You try to knock an item out of a creature's grasp. Make a Strength (Athletics) check against your target's Dexterity Save DC.

Critical Success (+10). You knock the item out of the target's grasp. It falls to the ground in the target's space.
Success. You weaken your target's grasp on the item. Further attempts to Disarm the target of that item gain a +2 bonus, and the target takes a –2 penalty to attacks with the item or or other checks requiring a firm grasp on the item. The creature can end the effect by Interacting to change its grip on the item; otherwise, it lasts as long as the creature holds the item.
Critical Failure (–10). You lose your balance, and attacks against you have Advantage until the start of your next turn.

Grapple ◈

Requirements. You have at least one free hand or have your target grappled or restrained. Your target isn't more than one size larger than you.

You attempt to

Grapple

Critical Success (+10). Your target is Restrained until the end of your next turn and thereafter it is Grappled, unless your target Escapes.
Success. Your target is Grappled until your target Escapes.

High Jump ◈◈

You Stride, then make a vertical Leap and attempt a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check to increase the height of your jump. If you didn't Stride at least 4m, you automatically fail your check. This DC might be increased or decreased due to the situation, as determined by the GM.

Critical Success (+10). Increase the maximum vertical distance to 3m, or increase the maximum vertical distance to 1.5m and maximum horizontal distance to 3m.
Success. Increase the maximum vertical distance to 1.5m.
Failure. You Leap normally (i.e. move up to 1m vertically and 1.5m horizontally onto an elevated surface).
Critical Failure (–10). You don't Leap at all, and instead you fall prone in your space.

Long Jump ◈◈

You Stride, then make a horizontal Leap and attempt a Strength (Athletics) check to increase the length of your jump. The DC of the Athletics check is equal to twice the total distance in metres you're attempting to move during your Leap (so you'd need to succeed at a DC 12 check to Leap 6m). You can't Leap farther than your Speed.

If you didn't Stride at least 4m, or if you attempt to jump in a different direction than your Stride, you automatically fail your check. This DC might be increased or decreased due to the situation, as determined by the GM.

Success. Increase the maximum horizontal distance you Leap to the desired distance.
Failure. You Leap normally (i.e. up to 3m horizontally if your Speed is at least 6m, or up to 4.5m horizontally if your Speed is at least 10m).
Critical Failure (–10). You Leap normally, but then fall and land prone.

Shove ◈

Requirements. You have at least one hand free. The target can't be more than one size larger than you.

You push a creature away from you. Make a Strength (Athletics) check against your target's Strength (Athletics) DC.

Critical Success (+10). You push your target up to 4m away from you. You can Stride after it, but you must move the same distance and in the same direction.
Success. You push your target back 2m. You can Stride after it, but you must move the same distance and in the same direction.
Critical Failure (–10). You lose your balance, fall, and land Prone.

Trip ◈

Requirements. You have at least one hand free. The target can't be more than one size larger than you.

You try to knock a creature

Prone

Critical Success (+10). The target falls and lands Prone and takes 1d6 Blunt damage.
Success. The target falls and lands Prone.
Critical Failure (–10). You lose your balance, fall, and land Prone.

You can trick and mislead others using disguises, lies, and other forms of subterfuge.

Create a Diversion ◈

With a gesture, a trick, or some distracting words, you can create a diversion that draws creatures' attention elsewhere. If you use a gesture or trick, this action gains the Manipulate trait. If you use distracting words, it gains the Auditory and Linguistic traits.

Attempt a single Deception check and compare it to the Insight DCs of the creatures whose attention you're trying to divert. Whether or not you succeed, creatures you attempt to divert gain a +5 bonus to their Insight DCs against your attempts to Create a Diversion for 1 minute.

Success. You become hidden to each creature whose Insight DC is less than or equal to your result. (The hidden condition allows you to Sneak away.) This lasts until the end of your turn or until you do anything except Step or use the Hide or the Sneak action of the Stealth skill. If you Strike a creature, you have Advantage on that attack, and you then become observed. If you do anything else, you become observed just before you act unless the GM determines otherwise.
Failure. You don't divert the attention of any creatures whose Insight DC exceeds your result, and those creatures are aware you were trying to trick them.

Feint ◈

Requirements. You are within melee reach of the opponent you attempt to Feint.

With a misleading flourish, you leave an opponent unprepared for your real attack. Attempt a Deception check against that opponent's Insight DC.

Critical Success (+10). You throw your enemy's defenses against you entirely off. You have Advantage with melee attacks that you attempt against it until the end of your next turn.
Success Your foe is fooled, but only momentarily. You have Advantage with the next melee attack that you attempt against it before the end of your current turn.
Critical Failure (–10). Your feint backfires. The target has Advantage on melee attacks against you until the end of your next turn.

You bend others to your will using threats.

Demoralise ◈

With a sudden shout, a well-timed taunt, or a cutting putdown, you can shake an enemy's resolve. Choose a creature within 10m of you whom you're aware of. Make a Charisma (Intimidation) check against the target's Wisdom Save DC, causing the target to become

Frightened

Critical Success (+10). The target becomes Frightened 2.
Success. The target becomes Frightened 1.

To remember useful information on a topic, you can attempt to Recall Knowledge. You might know basic information about something without needing to attempt a check, but Recall Knowledge requires you to stop and think for a moment so you can recollect more specific facts and apply them. You might even need to spend time investigating first. For instance, to use Medicine to learn the cause of death, you might need to conduct a forensic examination before attempting to Recall Knowledge.

Recall Knowledge ◈

You attempt a skill check to try to remember a bit of knowledge regarding a topic related to that skill. The GM determines the DCs for such checks and which skills apply.

The following skills can be used to Recall Knowledge, getting information about the listed topics. In some cases, you can get the GM's permission to use a different but related skill, usually against a higher DC than normal. Some topics might appear on multiple lists, but the skills could give different information. For example, Arcana might tell you about the magickal defenses of a golem, whereas Smiths' Tools could tell you about its sturdy resistance to physical attacks.

• Arcana: Arcane theories, magickal traditions, creatures of arcane significance, and arcane planes.
• History: Local history, key personalities, legal institutions, societal structure, and humanoid culture.
• Medicine: Diseases, poisons, wounds, and forensics.
• Nature: The environment, flora, geography, weather, creatures of natural origin, and natural planes.
• Religion: Divine agents, divine planes, theology, obscure myths, and creatures of religious significance.
• Tools: The subject matter of the tool (e.g. Alchemist's Supplies: alchemical reactions and creatures; or Tinker's Tools: engineering and constructs).

You can patch up wounds and help people recover from diseases and poisons. Even if you're untrained in Medicine, you can use it to Recall Knowledge.

Administer First Aid ◈◈

You perform first aid on an adjacent creature that is dying or bleeding. If a creature is both dying and bleeding, choose which ailment you're trying to treat before you roll. You can Administer First Aid again to attempt to remedy the other effect.

Stabilise. Make a Medicine check on a creature that has 0 Hit Points and is dying, to try and stabilise it. The DC is equal to 10 + the number of Death Saving Throws that the target has failed.

Stop Bleeding. Make a Medicine check on a creature that has the

Sap

Treat Wounds

Requirements. You are holding a Healer's Kit, or you are wearing it and have a hand free.

You can spend 10 minutes and expend one use of the kit to try and treat a living creature's wounds. Make a Wisdom (Medicine) check, choosing the DC from the table below depending on how much you want to heal. The creature can't regain HP from this again for 1 hour (starting from when you began treating the wounds). On a successful check, you also remove all of a creatures Wounds.

You can observe details that others might miss.

Seek ◈

You scan an area for signs of creatures or objects. If you're looking for creatures, choose an area you're scanning. If precision is necessary, the GM can have you select a 12m cone or a 6m radius sphere within line of sight. You might take a penalty if you choose an area that's far away.

If you're using Seek to search for objects (including secret doors and hazards), you search up to a 4m square adjacent to you. The GM might determine you need to Seek as an activity, taking more actions or even minutes or hours if you're searching a particularly cluttered area.

The GM attempts a single secret Perception check for you and compares the result to the Stealth DCs of any undetected or hidden creatures in the area or the DC to detect each object in the area. A creature you detect might remain hidden, rather than becoming observed, if you're using an imprecise sense or if an effect (such as invisibility) prevents the subject from being observed.

Critical Success (+10). If you were searching for creatures, any undetected or hidden creature you critically succeeded against becomes observed by you. If you were searching for an object, you learn its location.
Success. If you were searching for creatures, any undetected creature you succeeded against becomes hidden from you instead of undetected, and any hidden creature you succeeded against becomes observed by you. If you were searching for an object, you learn its location or get a clue to its whereabouts, as determined by the GM.

You are skilled at avoiding detection, allowing you to slip past foes, hide, or conceal an item.

Types of Actions

Hide ◈

You huddle behind cover or deeper into concealment to become hidden, rather than observed. Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check against the passive Perception of each creature you're observed by, but that you have cover against or are concealed from. You gain half the bonus from cover (rounded up) to your check.

Success. If the creature could see you, you're now hidden from it instead of observed. If you were hidden from or undetected by the creature, you retain that condition.

If you successfully become hidden to a creature but then cease to have cover against it or be concealed from it, you become observed again. You cease being hidden if you do anything except Hide, Sneak, or Step. If you attempt to Attack a creature, you have Advantage on that attack, and you then become observed. If you do anything else, you become observed just before you act unless the GM determines otherwise. The GM might allow you to perform a particularly unobtrusive action without being noticed, possibly requiring another Stealth check.

If a creature uses Search to make you observed by it, you must successfully Hide to become hidden from it again.

Sneak ◈

You can attempt to move to another place while becoming or staying undetected. Stride up to half your Speed. (You can use Sneak while Burrowing, Climbing, Flying, or Swimming instead of Striding if you have the corresponding movement type; you must move at half that Speed.)

If you're undetected by a creature and it's impossible for that creature to observe you (for a typical creature, this includes when you're invisible, the observer is blinded, or you're in darkness and the creature can't see in darkness), for any critical failure you roll on a check to Sneak, you get a failure instead. You also continue to be undetected if you lose cover or greater cover against or are no longer concealed from such a creature.

At the end of your movement, the GM rolls your Stealth check in secret and compares the result to the Perception DC of each creature you were hidden from or undetected by at the start of your movement. If you have cover or greater cover from the creature throughout your Stride, you gain the +2 bonus from half cover (or +5 from 3/4 cover) to your Stealth check. Because you're moving, the bonus increase from Taking Cover doesn't apply. You don't get to roll against a creature if, at the end of your movement, you neither are concealed from it nor have cover or greater cover against it. You automatically become observed by such a creature.

Success. You're undetected by the creature during your movement and remain undetected by the creature at the end of it.

You become observed as soon as you do anything other than Hide, Sneak, or Step. If you attempt to Strike a creature, you have Advantage on the attack, and you then become observed. If you do anything else, you become observed just before you act unless the GM determines otherwise. The GM might allow you to perform a particularly unobtrusive action without being noticed, possibly requiring another Stealth check. If you speak or make a deliberate loud noise, you become hidden instead of undetected.

If a creature uses Seek and you become hidden to it as a result, you must Sneak if you want to become undetected by that creature again.

Failure. A telltale sound or other sign gives your position away, though you still remain unseen. You're hidden from the creature throughout your movement and remain so.

Critical Failure. You're spotted! You're observed by the creature throughout your movement and remain so. If you're invisible and were hidden from the creature, instead of being observed you're hidden throughout your movement and remain so.