Actions are a way to differentiate between the various types of things a character can do during combat. When, for example, the words "act" and "attack" were used above, what that means is that Actions were taken in order to achieve their goals.
Types of Actions: Action, Quick Action, Special Action, Reaction, and Movement.
This may seem like a lot, but in reality it is uncommon to have to deal with more than one at a time. Action, Quick Action, and Movement are what will be used most often and the rest are clearly labeled as part of abilities. Unless otherwise stated, only one of each of these action types can be taken each turn. Movement is an exception and can be used between and around the other types.
During a character's turn, they are allowed to Move up to their movement speed, take one Quick Action, and one Action. Reactions and Special Actions require specific abilities or circumstances to be taken. Movement may be taken between other actions during a player's turn and does not have to be taken all at once.
Types of Actions
Action is the broad term denoting the potential things a character can do during their turn. Below are the descriptions of all the major types of actions.
Action
This is the broadest category of actions and most characters will perform one of these during their turn. There are a few important Actions available to all characters: Attack, Bandage, Disengage, Dash, Defend, Stabilize and Ready. Shapers may also shape an element manipulation as an Action, although some of them require more than one turn as written in their descriptions.
Attack: Attacking with a weapon is the most common Action during combat. Shaping an attack manipulation such as Element Bolt also falls into this category.
Bandage: Any character may pay 1 EP to gain 1 HP or to reduce the Bleeding status effect by 1 to a minimum of 0.
Coup de Grace: Melee attacks against helpless opponents are made with ADV. Hits against helpless characters are automatically critical hits. Status effects such as Sleep, Paralysis, and Incapacitated are examples of helpless states.
Disengage: Spend 1 EP and Attacks of Opportunity cannot be made against the character for the remainder of this turn.
Dash: Spend 1 EP and a character's movement speed increases by 10 ft or 5 x (Air + Earth modifiers), whichever is higher, until the start of their next turn.
Defend: Spend 1 EP and attacks targeting this character have DISADV until the start of their next turn. The character cannot attack for any reason until it is their turn again in the next round.
Inspect: A character may Inspect an object, terrain, or otherwise take a close look at something of interest. A d20 roll is made and the Dominant modifier is added. The higher the result, the better the information received within the context of the situation.
Stabilize: When an ally is Incapacitated, this Action is used to halt the descent towards death. To pass a Stabilization check a character must be adjacent to the Incapacitated character and roll a d20, adding their Dominant Element modifier. If they meet or exceed the Area DC, the countdown timer to death stops and the Incapacitated character is now Stable with 0 HP.
Ready: A Ready Action is any Action held back until some criterion is met. For instance, a character may forgo making an attack during their turn and wait until an enemy passes through a door. When the criterion is met, the action triggers immediately.
Quick Action
Quick Actions are simple and require very little time. Examples are shouting a warning, drawing a sword, or turning a knob to open a door. Only one of these can be done each turn and they do not affect the performance of other actions. Multiple Quick Actions can be taken in a turn, but after the first they will take the place of a character's Action. Exactly where the limit is on how many Quick Actions can be taken over the course of a player's turn is context dependent and should be discussed by the GM and player.
Special Action
A Special Action is only ever taken as part of an ability and is usually taken in addition to an Action. All information regarding Special Actions will be in the ability descriptions.
Reaction
A Reaction is usually triggered during another player's or NPC's turn. The most common Reaction is an Attack of Opportunity, which is described below. Any other Reactions will be noted in ability descriptions. Unless otherwise stated, a player may choose whether or not to take a Reaction.