Active Time Battle

~Active Time Battle System~

Characters have an Initiative score that is used to determine their acting order in combat as well as the number of actions they can take. Certain equipment, spells, abilities, etc may influence acting order without directly changing an Initiative score.

Initiative will generally be 3-ish at the minimum end and 8-ish at the high end.

At the beginning of combat, each character starts off at a Active Time (AT) tick equal to their Initiative score, and actions are taken in descending order from highest Active Time tick to lowest. On their Active Time tick, characters may spend AT on actions. (ex: movement is generally 1 AT for a character'ns normal movement range, and attacking with a weapon is generally 2 AT)

After resolving all of the actions at an Active Time tick, the character subtracts their used AT and is assigned to a new Active Time tick. If this is greater than 0, then they act again when combat reaches their new Active time tick. A character may choose to not take any action or to reserve some of their AT for the following round.

Each round, every character gains an amount of AT equal to their Initiative score, and this is used to determine their acting order and number of actions that round. A character may not have more AT at a given time than twice their Initiative score. A round of combat ends when no characters choose to make actions, whether they are reserving AT for the next round or simply at 0 AT.

Actions fall into several types.
Standard Actions cost at least 2 AT to perform and include basic attacks with weapons, using items, and using various combat techniques. Basic attacks and item use always cost 2 AT, but some combat techniques will have greater AT costs as marked or even consume a Standard and a Swift Action.

Swift Actions cost 1 AT and include movement, aiming, reloading a weapon, drawing or holstering a weapon, and other minor actions and combat techniques.

Instant Actions tend not to consume AT and are often merely required setup for further Standard Actions, such as activating Darkside.

Most actions occur immediately during a character's turn, with the exception of Delayed Actions, which are usually reserved for spellcasting. When a Delayed Action is taken, subtract the AT consumed - the Delayed Action resolves at the new AT the character is at. This can "borrow" from a character's next round's worth of AT.

A character may take any number of actions at once when it is their Active Time tick, but each additional Standard or Swift Action incurs a cumulative 1 AT cost for further actions of that category. For example, the first Swift Action used for movement in a turn costs 1 AT, but the second Swift Action of any sort that round costs 2 AT and the third 3 AT. A character may attack with a weapon or use an item for 2 AT, but then if they choose to do so again in the same turn, it will cost 3 AT. For this reason, multiple attacks usually are not possible except for exceptionally quick characters or those who have saved up AT for multiple turns.

Some actions are Reflexive, which means they can be activated outside of a character's Active Time tick. Attempting to dodge or block an attack is considered a Reflexive and Instant Action which means it can be done at any time and without AT cost. Some other Reflexive Actions may have AT costs, such as interrupting an enemy's attack to cover for an ally, and these actions may also "borrow" AT from the next round's worth, similar to Delayed Actions.

Misc. Related Things

Haste - The character gains additional AT per round equal to half of their Initiative Score.
Slow - The character gains AT per round equal to half of their Initiative Score instead of the full Score..
Quick - The character immediately gains AT equal to their Initiative Score and may immediately take actions using this AT.
Stop - The character losts AT equal to their Initiative Score. This may cause them to lose the chance to act this round and may subtract from their next round's AT gain.
Fastcast - The caster's spells resolve as if they were Standard Actions instead of Delayed Actions. Their AT cost is not affected.