Editing DragonQuest (section)

=== Combat ===
''DragonQuest'' uses a hex grid and miniatures for combat. Unlike other systems, where the miniatures are merely placeholders, ''DragonQuest'' requires that characters know their facing, as attacks from the flanks and rear are more effective than frontal assaults. Combat takes place in five-second "pulses" and characters may only move short distances while actively engaged in a melee.

Each character has a strike chance % based on (mostly) their manual dexterity and the base chance of the weapon used to attack. Additional factors, such as running into an attack or achieving surprise—as in an ambush—modify this base chance. The defender's defensive % is subtracted from this number, and percentile dice rolled to see if a hit is achieved. When a hit is delivered, the attacker rolls a d10, adds the weapon's attack bonus, and subtracts the target's armor rating. In some cases, such as a target with plate armor, few weapons can do much damage directly. Only certain special hits can damage the target severely. But with time, even the most heavily armored Knight can usually be worn-down.

Unlike other systems, which use "hit points" to tally damage, ''DragonQuest'' has a two-tiered system of fatigue and endurance. Normally a weapon does fatigue damage only, but an especially lucky hit may immediately cause ''endurance'' damage or even a ''grievous injury'', which allows the attacker to roll again on a table of nasty hits to the eyes, guts, etc. Once a character has lost all of his fatigue, he begins taking endurance damage instead. This is bad, since endurance damage requires magical intervention or extended bed rest to be recovered. Fatigue can be recovered by simply relaxing and getting a hot meal and a good night's sleep. Endurance damage may also increase susceptibility to infection, at the discretion of the referee.

Another ''DragonQuest'' feature is a three-tiered combat range system:  Ranged, Melee, and Close Combat. Ranged Combat typically involves bows, slings, and thrown knives, while Melee is swords, spears, maces and most other weapons. Close Combat in ''DragonQuest'' is wrestling on the ground with knives, fists, rocks, etc. ''DragonQuest'' allows a party of adventurers to be surrounded and ultimately overwhelmed by large numbers of peasants, who rather than attacking singly and being cut to ribbons, will instead seek to surround and leap into Close Combat to subdue and pin down Player Characters. Some weapons, such as daggers, can be used at all ranges, but most cannot and are useless when the character is being shot with bows or engaged in Close Combat.

''DragonQuest'' combat falls midway in complexity between ''D&D'' and systems such as ''[[Runequest]]'' or ''[[HârnMaster]]''. It can take several hours to resolve battles. Tactics, choice of weapon, and use of spells are keys to victory. A feature of ''DragonQuest'' is that novice characters and mighty adventurers have nearly the same ability to absorb damage—i.e. they can both be killed fairly easily (unlike ''D&D'' in which high-level characters can take remarkable amounts of damage without dying, but similar to ''Runequest'' where character hit points are mostly static). This requires parties to have a balance of fighting and magic skills, since a party cannot be centered on a single nigh-invulnerable figure (a "Conan the Barbarian" type).