A typical combat Encounter is a clash between two sides, a flurry of weapon swings, feints, parries, footwork, and spellcasting. The game organizes the chaos of combat into a cycle of Rounds and Turns.

A Round represents about 6 seconds in the game world. During a Round, each participant in a battle takes a Turn.

The order of Turns is determined at the beginning of a combat Encounter, when everyone rolls Alternating Initiative.

Once everyone has taken a Turn, the fight continues to the next Round if neither side has defeated the other, fled, or resolved the combat.