Turn Rotation
Just like your racing heartbeat, even combat follows a rhythm.
In Symphony of Glory, structured play follows a turn-based system. Each participant takes turns acting, looping back to the start after everyone has gone. This loop is called a round.
Each round can be summed up as the span of 10 seconds. So, one full minute would equate to 6 rounds of turns.
You may use this timing to track duration-based effects or time-sensitive events.
Initiative #
At the start of turn-based play, all participants roll Initiative to determine the order of turns.
Rank all participants from highest to lowest based on the results of their Initiative rolls.
In the event of ties, you may refer to this tiebreaker chart:
WHO TIED?
WHO GOES FIRST?
NPC & NPC
GM decides.
Player & NPC
Higher Initiative Score; favoring the Player if tied.
Player & Player
Players decide amongst themselves.
Surprise #
Some situations start with one side caught off guard, such as a party’s successful stealth attack or an unexpected ambush while the party rests.
If a character is Surprised, they begin the encounter Staggered for 1 round.
Action Points #
Action Points represent your stamina and time economy during turn-based encounters.
By default, when turn-based play begins, everyone starts with 0 AP.
At the start of each character’s turn, they gain +4 AP. This is your default AP recovery rate, which is the number of action points you naturally regenerate at the start of each turn.
Unspent AP carries over into subsequent turns—you may save it for more taxing actions or spend them on Reactions.
Characters may reserve up to a maximum of 6 AP, any AP earned beyond one’s maximum AP is wasted.
Temporary AP #
Some specific effects may grant you the chance to exceed your maximum AP count. This comes in the form of temporary AP, capable of being spent like normal AP.
However, it will not carry over into your next turn, expiring at the start of it.
On Your Turn #
The order of operations with each turn goes as follows:
Start of Your Turn #
1. AP Recovery
Regain AP equal to your AP Recovery Rate, up to your Maximum AP.
All Temporary AP expires.
2. Cooldowns
Lower all ongoing cooldowns by 1 round.
3. Conditions
If an effect allows you to repeat a saving throw or contest to resist it, you may do so.
4. Dying
If you are Dying, you lose 10 HP due to HP drain.
5. Falling
If you are in free fall, you plummet up 500 meters.
During Your Turn #
You may perform any number of actions you can afford, limited only by your AP, conditions, and cooldowns.
End of Your Turn #
Conditions
Reduce the remaining duration of all your ongoing effects and conditions by 1 round.