Dustriders 5E Quickplay Cheat Sheet

In Dustriders, there can be a lot of things to keep track of. This cheat sheet aims to make that more digestible, especially if it's been a long time since you last played.

At the start of a combat encounter, you roll for initiative, rolling a D20 and adding your Dexterity modifier to your roll, so does every other participant in the encounter. Some features enhance your Initiative Rolls.

When you start your turn, you have your Movement, an Action, a Bonus Action, and a Free Action. While it is not your turn, certain conditions allow you to take a Reaction. You can take one of each type of action unless otherwise specified. The actions you can take are determined by your character and class features, position on the map, spells, and equipment.

Order of Operations (On-Foot Combat)

When it is your turn in Combat, follow the following order of operations when you make an Attack or take other Actions. It's been broken up into 10 steps that follow the core gameplay loop of on-foot combat.

Before you spend any of your movement, or take your actions and use an ability, feature, spell, or weapon, go through the first 4 steps to help determine what to do.

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1. Is the target in range of your abilities, features, spells, or weapons you want to use on your turn? If not, you may want to move.
2. What is your target's Armor Grade?
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Your DM can tell you what the Armor Grade of an opponent is, or they can describe to you what the target's appearance is to give hints.

3. Are they behind Cover?
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If you can draw a line straight from your token to your target and there's no obstacles between you and them, they are not behind cover.

If you are behind your own cover, that cover does not count as cover for your chosen target.

You can neutralize their cover by flanking them, by moving into a position that there is a direct line between you and your chosen target.

You can also neutralize their cover by moving into a space adjacent to and opposite their cover.

4. Do you wish to move on your turn?
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Decide if you want to take the Dash action or if you wish to perform other actions.

You can split your movement up between actions however you want.

If an opponent is within melee range of you, they may try to take an Opportunity Attack against you if you leave their reach.

Once you have gone through the first 4 steps, determine what to do next.

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5. Does the Action you wish to take on your turn create an Area of Effect (A) or does it need an Attack Roll (B)? Or is it some other Action (C)?
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If you're using a weapon, does it have ammunition or charges available? If not, reload.

If you're casting a spell, make sure you have low enough Volatility to cast.

A. If it's an Area of Effect, like a shotgun shell blast, a spell, or a grenade, measure the space and make sure your targets are within range. Then decide where you want the Area of Effect (AoE) to be placed.
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The targets caught in the area will need to make a saving throw against your Area of Effect's save DC, according to your abilities, features, or weapons.

If the target or targets are behind cover from where the source of the Area of Effect (AoE) is, they have Advantage on their Saving Throws.

If you wish to avoid hurting your allies, check to make sure the Area of Effect's placement doesn't cover them as well.

B. If it needs an Attack Roll, Roll a D20 and add your Proficiency Bonus (if Proficient) and your Ability Modifier (specified by the ability, feature, or weapon), and any other bonuses granted by features or the weapon itself.
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If you have Advantage on your attack roll, that means you roll two D20's and keep the higher roll. If you have Disadvantage on your attack roll, it's the other way around and you keep the lower of the two rolls.

In melee range, if you and another ally are on opposite sides of a hostile target, you gain Advantage on your attack roll with a melee weapon or an unarmed strike.

This is a check against your chosen target's Evasion (AC in D&D 5e).

If you meet or exceed their Evasion, your attack hits.

If the target is outside of a ranged attack's effective range, you roll with Disadvantage.

C. If you are performing some other Action, refer to the Player Actions section of this page.

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6. Roll for Damage (Where applicable). Roll the type and number of damage dice specified by your action.
7. Did you break the target's Poise?
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If you dealt an amount of damage greater than or equal to half the target's current HP, before accounting for their Armor Grade, they are knocked Prone.

If you're using a weapon that deals double the damage to Poise, then you only need to deal an amount greater than or equal to a quarter of the target's current HP before mitigations.

If the target is flying and you break their Poise, they fall and take Falling damage for every 10 feet they fell.

8. Did your damage dice beat the target(s) Armor Grade or Elemental Resistances?
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If you have made an Armor Piercing attack, the target's Armor Grade is treated as if it were lower by the same number as the AP rating. For example: An AP I attack means a target with Armor Grade 3 is treated as if they have Armor Grade 2 instead.

Each individual damage dice in a physical attack only counts if it beats a target's Armor Grade. Against an Armor Grade of 2, a roll of a 3 or higher deals damage, any 2's or 1's are removed from the total damage roll.

Same rule applies for Elemental Resistance mods. Some opponents will be equipped with Elemental Resistance mods. If an attack has the same damage type as the Elemental Resistance mod, then a roll must beat the number of stacked mods equipped by the opponent.

9. Make sure you don't have any other actions or movement you wish to use this turn. Then declare you wish to end your turn.
10. While it is not your turn, check to see if there are any Reactions you can take. If there are not, plan for your next turn. Keep an eye on what other players are doing while you wait on your next turn, so you can make an informed decision.

Player Actions

Movement

You can move up to a distance equal to your movement speed.

You can split this movement up, taking actions between moves.

You can drop Prone on your turn at the cost of 0 feet of movement. If you are Prone, enemies can make Melee Attacks against you with Advantage, and Ranged Attacks against you are with Disadvantage.

Standing up from being Prone costs half of your total movement speed.

If you take the Dash Action, you can move twice as far.

Intentionally dropping off of a ledge that is 10 feet or less does not cause falling damage nor cost additional movement.

Actions

Attack: You spend your Action to make an Attack Roll with a Weapon, your fists, or a Spell that requires an Attack Roll as an Action. You roll a D20, add your Proficiency Bonus (If Proficient) to the Attack Roll, and whichever Ability Modifier it requires. Some classes starting at 5th level and higher get an Extra Attack on their turn when they take the Attack action. You can Grapple as an Attack.

Cast a Spell: If the Spell specifies that it needs an Action, you spend your Action to cast it. In Dustriders, there is no restriction to whether or not you can cast a leveled Spell as a Bonus Action and another leveled spell as an Action in the same turn. You must raise your Volatility by the Spell's level at which it was cast unless otherwise specified.

Dash: You spend your Action to increase your movement speed to twice its listed walk, fly, swim, burrow, or climb speed.

Disengage: You spend your Action to escape a creature's reach without triggering an Opportunity Attack from them.

Dodge: You spend your Action to impose disadvantage on Attack Rolls made against you, and you make Dexterity Saving Throws with Advantage until the start of your next turn.

Help: You spend your Action to help an ally with a Skill Check or an Attack, giving them Advantage on the roll.

Hide: You spend your Action to Hide, making a Stealth (Dexterity) check against another target's Perception (Wisdom) roll. If you succeed, you give yourself Advantage on Attack Rolls made while hidden.

Grapple: As an Attack Action, make an Athletics (Strength) check to try to restrain a chosen target. The target will also make a skill check to avoid being Grappled. If its roll beats yours, it is not Grappled. While Grappled, a target is Restrained and Attack Rolls made against it have Advantage. Some Features and Abilities allow you to make a Grapple using a different action.

Ready an Action: You can hold an Action for when it's not your turn and describe what triggers that Action. When that Action is triggered, you spend your Reaction. For example: "When a target enters my line of sight, I Attack it."

Skill Check: You can spend your Action to make a Persuasion (Charisma) check to persuade a foe to drop their weapon or any other skill check like a Medicine (Wisdom) check to stabilize a dying target.

Switch Weapons: You can spend your Free Action and an Action to stow a 2-handed weapon and draw another 2-handed weapon that isn't in a holster. In Dustriders, you only need to do this if switching between Longarms, Exotic 2-handed Ranged Weapons, or Launchers. Otherwise, you may stow a 2-handed longarm and draw a different 2-handed longarm as part of a weapon attack if it is in a holster.

Bonus Actions

Cast a Spell: If a Spell or Cantrip has a casting time of a Bonus Action, you can cast it. In Dustriders, there is no restriction to whether or not you can cast a leveled Spell as a Bonus Action and another leveled spell as an Action in the same turn. You must raise your Volatility by the Spell's level at which it was cast unless otherwise specified.

Offhand Attack: If you are dual-wielding weapons, you can make an Attack with an offhand weapon as a Bonus Action. You do not add your Ability Modifier to the damage roll for this attack.

Other Actions: Some class features and species features use a Bonus Action.

Shove: In Dustriders 5E, you can shove a target as a Bonus Action. A Shove can either knock a target Prone or push it back from you. The target must not be more than one size larger than you are and must be within melee reach. You may attempt to Shove by making a contested Athletics (Strength) check against the target's Athletics (Strength) or Acrobatics (Dexterity) check.

Switch Weapons: You can spend your Free Action and a Bonus Action to stow any ranged weapon weapon and draw any other melee weapon or sidearm. In Dustriders, you can stow any 2-handed longarm or launcher to switch to a melee weapon or a sidearm that isn't in a holster. Otherwise, you may draw a holstered weapon as part of an attack without spending a Bonus Action.

Free Actions

Communicate: You have 6 seconds to shout or say something to another character or creature.

Object Interaction: You can spend your Free Action once per turn doing something like drawing your weapon, opening a door, drawing a torch from a wall, or a number of other quick and non-combat related activities. Some features and abilities in Dustriders use a Free Action instead of other actions.

Reactions

The only action you can take outside of your turn.

Cast a Spell: If a Spell or Cantrip has a casting time of a Reaction, you can cast it while it is not your turn. You must raise your Volatility by the Spell's level at which it was cast unless otherwise specified.

Brace: If you are going to be knocked Prone by having your Poise broken, you can instead spend your Reaction to Brace instead of being knocked Prone.

Opportunity Attack: When a target leaves your melee reach or another condition for an Opportunity Attack is met, you can spend your Reaction to make the Attack Roll to try and hit the t.

Readied Action: When your specified trigger occurs, you take your Readied Action as a Reaction.

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