| name | gm-combat |
| description | D&D-kit combat mechanics — initiative, attack/damage resolution, XP-by-CR awards, combat modifiers, and death saves. Load when a hostile action is declared or combat starts in a campaign whose World Kit is dnd5e. For non-D&D kits, use the generic core (game_core.py) and the active ruleset instead. |
Combat Mechanics (D&D kit)
Persist combat with bash tools/gm-combat.sh (start/add-enemy/hp/condition/next-turn/end) so HP and initiative survive resumes.
Flow
- Get enemy stats (
features/dnd-api/monsters/dnd_monster.py "[creature]" --combat or quick: AC 13, HP 15, +3, 1d6+1).
- Initiative:
uv run python lib/dice.py "1d20+[dex]" per combatant; order high→low.
- Each turn: attack
1d20+bonus vs AC; on hit roll damage; update HP via gm-combat.sh hp.
- Resolution: award XP, handle loot (persist BEFORE narrating), advance time.
XP by Challenge Rating
| CR | XP | CR | XP | CR | XP |
|---|
| 0 | 10 | 4 | 1,100 | 10 | 5,900 |
| 1/8 | 25 | 5 | 1,800 | 11 | 7,200 |
| 1/4 | 50 | 6 | 2,300 | 13 | 10,000 |
| 1/2 | 100 | 7 | 2,900 | 15 | 13,000 |
| 1 | 200 | 8 | 3,900 | 17 | 18,000 |
| 2 | 450 | 9 | 5,000 | 20 | 25,000 |
| 3 | 700 | | | | |
Bonus: clever tactics +25%, creative environment +10-25%, social victory +50%.
Non-kill wins still earn XP. When a fight is won WITHOUT a kill — driving the enemy off a ledge, baiting two enemies into each other, an environmental kill, a daring escape from a lethal foe, surviving telegraphed over-CR odds — award it like a kill: bash tools/gm-player.sh award --tier minor|major|legendary --reason "..." (kit-aware, level-scaled; co-awards followers in DCC). See gm-craft → Reward the spectacle. Combat's CR→XP is just one source of XP among many.
Modifiers
Advantage = 2d20 keep high; Disadvantage = keep low. Half cover +2 AC; 3/4 cover +5. Flanking = advantage (melee). Prone: advantage melee / disadvantage ranged. Crit (nat 20) = double damage dice then add mods. Nat 1 = auto-miss.
Death & Dying
0 HP → unconscious + death saves (DC 10 Con each turn): 3 successes = stable, 3 failures = death. Nat 20 = 1 HP + conscious. Nat 1 = 2 failures. Damage ≥ max HP = instant death.
Death is real and reachable — don't fudge saves to keep a doomed PC alive. Telegraph lethal fights first (an over-CR enemy should read as deadly), but once the player commits against the odds, let the dice fall. On PC death, run the Death Protocol (CLAUDE.md): persist → narrate → offer the character hand-off. The session does not end.
