Combat Concepts

Resistance to X
Take 1/2 damage from X, rounded up
Armor X
Reduce all incoming damage by X
AoE
Area of effect, usually has a specific pattern. Only one space in an area of effect is the attack space and requires a roll, the others apply area effects automatically.
Auto-hit
This attack doesn’t require an attack roll but automatically hits.
Charge
When used on a slow turn, this ability becomes more powerful.
Cleanse
A character that’s cleansed can either remove all blights, end a mark, or save against all statuses
Combo
Actions with Combo have two or more versions. When you use any combo action, all your combo actions use the next part of their combo when next used. Combos loop back to their first part after their last part. Combos carry over between turns.
Cover
Gain resistance to ranged damage from any attack you have cover from
Cure
A character that’s Cured gains Vigor 1
Damage
Every class has a damage die. Damage comes in three varieties, light (1 die), heavy (2 dice), or critical (3 dice).
Bonus Damage
Roll one more damage die each time you gain bonus damage and choose the highest 1, 2, or 3, depending on the base damage.
Boost Damage
Increase damage to the next level (light→heavy for example). If boosted past critical, becomes Godly
Godly damage
Cannot be reduced by armor or resistance, and ignores vigor
Dash
Special movement that ignores engagement and doesn’t trigger interrupts
Elixir
Heal 50% hp outside of combat per elixir drank. Start with 2 by default.
Fly
A flying character has melee evasion and ignores all terrain effects and movement penalties (including vigilance) from non-flying characters, terrain, and objects. Can move over but not end their turn in edges.
Fray damage
Low fixed damage.
Immune to X
Not affected by X in any way. A character that’s immune to damage or effects doesn’t even count as taking them.
Intangible
Can be targeted, but immune to all damage, effects, conditions, and blights. Doesn’t cause obstruction.
Mark
Place your mark on a specific character. You can only place one mark at a time on each enemy or ally and each ability can only place one mark. If you place a new mark on a character with a mark from you, you can choose which to keep or which to discard.
Obstruction
Can’t move through something that causes obstruction. By default this means foes and terrain.
Phasing
Can ignore obstruction and pass through, but not end your turn in, terrain or characters.
Shove X
Move a character involuntarily X spaces in a straight line away from you. If they would move into another character’s space, or a piece of terrain, they Collide and stop, taking fray damage.
Slay
An effect that triggers when this action reduces a character to 0 hp or forces them to surrender. Can only trigger once per action.
Slow
Go after all other characters. If multiple characters take slow turns, it takes the same order as regular turns (ally/enemy/ally)
Stance
Ongoing effect. A character can only have one stance active at a time and can drop a stance by taking a new stance or as a free action at the start of their turn. When a stance refreshes, regain its effects.
Summon
A character controlled by its Summoner. Abilities that target allied characters cannot target summons unless specifically mentioned. Summons don’t cause engagement, take turns, actions, or movement on their own unless specified. By default, summons have defenses and health equal to their summoner’s and hp equal to 50% of their summoner’s. When reduced to 0 HP, they are removed from the battlefield instead of becoming defeated. They are also removed if their summoner is defeated.
Teleport
Instantly move to a free space within range X. You cannot teleport while winded or if your speed is 0.
Terrain effect
Something that creates or modifies the terrain spaces on the battlefield.

Blights

The Blights are Burning, Electrified, Poisoned, and Frostbite. A character takes piercing damage at the start of their turns equal to the number of unique blights they are afflicted by (up to 4). Abilities become stronger when used against a character suffering from these blights, depending on the ability. Blights can only be cleared by Cleanse or other abilities that specify they can clear blights. Blights cannot reduce a character past 1 hp.

Statuses

Blind
Can only target adjacent spaces
Dazed
+1 curse on attacks
Hatred of X
When taking actions against a foe, must include X character as a target for the action to be valid, as long as that character is in line of sight and in range 3 of either you or your target.
Winded
Cannot dash, teleport, or fly
Pacified
Max damage reduced to 1. Breaks on taking damage from an ability or action.
Stunned
Take 1 less action. Unlike other statuses, automatically clears at the end of your turn. Doesn’t stack.
Staggered
Attackers gain +1 Boon against a staggered character
Slow
Must take slow turns
Vulnerable
All damage taken increased by 1

Special states

Bloody
Under 50% hp
Incapacitated
Speed reduced to 0, can’t take actions, movement, or use abilities. Immune to all damage. Characters that are defeated and incapacitated by default when reduced to 0 HP. Player characters take a wound when they’re defeated.

Ongoing Statuses

Ongoing statuses cannot be purged or removed (for example, by becoming sturdy or unstoppable).

Positive Effects

Counter
Deal fray damage to your attacker after being attacked, hit or miss.
Defiance
Prevents hit points from being reduced past 1 hp. When this triggers, remove this effect.
Dodge
Immune to all damage and effects on miss or successful save. Resistant to damage from non-attack spaces of area effects.
Evasion
Roll a d6 when targeted by an attack. On a 4+, the attack automatically misses. Check before the attack roll.
Guardian
Special interrupt. When an ally you can see in range 3 is targeted by an attack, you can dash up to 2 spaces towards that ally, ignoring vigilance. Then, if you’re adjacent, you can change the target of the attack to you.
Pierce
Ignores armor.
Regeneration X
Gain vigor X at the end of your turn
Skirmisher
Can move diagonally
Stealth
Cannot be directly targeted except from an adjacent space. Breaks on taking or dealing damage.
Sturdy
Immune to shove, daze, stagger, and stun
True strike
Ignores dodge, evasion, and does not trigger guardian
Unstoppable
Immune to all statuses and can’t be shoved.
Vigilance
Foes can’t dash in your engagement and can’t move through your space
Vigor X
Gain a shield that goes over your hit points, equal to X times your health value. Damage goes to Vigor before Hit Points. Vigor does not stack, and when you gain Vigor you can choose to keep the old value or gain the new value. Lose all vigor at the end of combat.

Special rules for Foes

Repeatable X
This action is repeatable X number of times in a turn, ignoring the no repeats rule, including the 1/round attack limit!
Multiattack X
This action can make attack rolls against up to X characters in range instead of just 1
Recharge X+
After this ability is used, it can’t be used again until it recharges. Roll a d6 at the start of the foe’s turn. Recharge abilities when the recharge die number is at the listed number or above.

Foe special classes:

Mob
Mobs are weak, numerous enemies with 1 hp. They can be used for a more ‘heroic’ feeling game where characters cut down enemy after enemy. They can overwhelm characters in numbers. When you take an enemy turn, you can take a turn for up to 5 mob-type foes. Mobs only have one type of damage (no light/heavy/ critical, etc) which can’t be boosted, are removed from the battlefield when defeated, and don’t trigger slay effects when defeated.
Elite
Elites are more powerful foes that take additional turns and have increased hp. They are akin to ‘mini-boss’ encounters in a role playing game, representing a more powerful or skill enemy.
Monstrosity
The most powerful foes in ICON. Monstrosities are fights worthy of an entire group, and meant to represent huge or legendary monsters, such as wyrms, giants, or elder demons. They take multiple turns, have phases (different actions and abilities based on different situations), have attackable locations that can disable or weaken their attacks, deal high damage, and have high hp.

Large foes (size 2+):

All the following information about a foe is open to the players if they ask: