Exalted/Rules/Turn Sequence

Initiative
Roll Wits+Agility and record it as Initiative.

Turn Sequence
All characters perform one Action in Initiative order.

Actions
The Exalt may perform one Action (which may be an Attack) and one Move, or a Full Move each Turn. Any number of Defenses may be performed each Turn.

Attack
Make an Attack versus the opponent's Defense.

Defense
The opponent rolls a Defense, adding 1 success to it per Initiative sacrificed. Further Defenses increase the Difficulty of Defending by one per Defense per Turn. This is called the onslaught penalty and resets at the end of each Turn.

Maneuver
Maneuver Actions lower the Initiative of a target, and sometimes increase your own. It may be performed with Attacks and Maneuvers. Attacks only lower the opponents Initiative, while Maneuvers also increase your own.

Basic Maneuver
Dexterity or Wits+Athletics or Battle versus Dexterity or Perception+Athetlics or Battle. 1 success drains 1 Initiative from the target and raises the Exalt's Initiative by 1.

Crash
Anyone that has 0 or less Initiative, is said to be in Initiative Crash, or simply Crash.

Decisive Attack
A Decisive Attack may only be performed against someone that has Crashed, and adds 1 success per Initiative sacrificed to the Attack. After the Attack, both the target and the Exalt roll new Initiative pools. This is called an Initiative Reset.

Multiple Attacks
Some Effects allow the Exalt to split a dice pool into several Attacks, or Attack several times.

Maneuver Defense
To defend against Maneuver, you may use Attack and Maneuver Defenses.

Total Defense
The Exalt may sacrifice an Action to roll Wits+Agi and gain the result as extra Initiative.

Move
Each Move the Exalt may move one range band.

Rush
This is a contested Action to charge someone from Short or Medium Range, Dexterity+Athletics vs target's Dexterity+[Athletics or Dodge]. Success allows for an Action at short range to the target.

Surprise Attack
A surprise attack is an attack launched from hiding against an opponent who knows he’s in battle and who is actively on the lookout for attacks, even if he isn’t sure exactly where all of his opponents are at the moment. A target faced with a surprise attack suffers -5 dice (minimum 1) against that attack.

Ambush
The Ambush Action is a Gambit that causes the target to lose track of the Exalt. The Exalt may then perform a Decisive Attack on the target, who may not use Initiative to Defend. Both attacker and target Initiative resets after the ambush Decisive Attack.

Grapple
A Decisive Attack that does no Damage, but stops the target from taking any non-Grapple Actions. Does not reset the attacker or target Initiative until released.