Running Your First D&D Combat

Adventurers fighting a dragon in a fiery cavern.

You've created your character, you understand the basics of the rules, and now it's time for the main event: your first combat encounter. This is where the dice fly, the stakes are high, and legends are born. As a player, understanding the flow of combat is key to feeling effective and having fun. As a new Dungeon Master, knowing how to manage this flow is your most important job. This guide breaks down the structure of a D&D combat round into a clear, step-by-step process.

Step 1: Setting the Scene & Determining Surprise

Before any dice are rolled, the Dungeon Master sets the scene. They describe the environment, the positions of the enemies, and the general mood. "You kick open the tomb door to find three skeletons, their bones rattling as they turn to face you. The air is cold and smells of dust and decay."

The DM might also determine if one side is surprised. If the heroes were sneaking successfully, they might surprise the skeletons. If the skeletons were hiding in ambush, they might surprise the heroes. A surprised creature can't move or take an action on its first turn of combat, which can be a massive advantage.

Step 2: Roll for Initiative! The Order of Battle

This is the official start of combat. The DM will say, "Roll for initiative." Everyone involved in the fight—both players and monsters—rolls a d20 and adds their character's initiative modifier (which is just your Dexterity modifier).

The DM then creates a list of all combatants, ordering them from the highest initiative roll to the lowest. This is the turn order for the entire combat. The character with the highest score goes first, and the one with the lowest goes last. Our Combat Tracker automates this for you, making it fast and easy.

Step 3: The Combat Round - A Cycle of Action

Combat in D&D progresses in rounds. During a round, every combatant gets to take one turn, following the initiative order. Once everyone from the top of the list to the bottom has had their turn, the round ends and a new one begins, starting again with whoever is at the top of the initiative order.

A single round represents about 6 seconds of in-game time. This helps to maintain a sense of urgency and understand why you can only do a limited number of things on your turn.

Step 4: A Player's Turn - Action, Movement, and More

When it's your turn, you have a set of resources you can spend. The three most important are:

Action: This is the main thing you do on your turn. The most common actions are Attack (to swing a weapon), Cast a Spell, Dash (to gain extra movement), Dodge (to become harder to hit), or Help (to give an ally advantage).
Movement: You can move a distance up to your character's speed. You can break this up however you like, moving some before your action and some after.
Bonus Action: Some class features or spells grant a special, quicker action you can take. This is an extra, not a given. If you don't have a feature that says "as a bonus action," you don't get one!

You also have one Reaction per round, which lets you act on someone else's turn in response to a specific trigger, like making an opportunity attack.

Step 5: Resolving an Attack - Did it Hit?

Making an attack is a simple two-step process:

Attack Roll: The attacker rolls a d20 and adds their relevant ability modifier (Strength for most melee, Dexterity for ranged and finesse) and their proficiency bonus. If the total equals or exceeds the target's Armor Class (AC), the attack is a success! It hits!
Damage Roll: If the attack hits, the attacker rolls the damage dice for their weapon or spell (e.g., a d8 for a longsword, 3d6 for a Fire Bolt) and adds the same ability modifier they used for the attack roll. This total is subtracted from the target's Hit Points (HP).

Step 6: The DM's Turn - Making Monsters Move

When it's a monster's turn, the DM follows the exact same rules as the players. They'll choose the monster's action (usually from the "Actions" section of its stat block), move it, and make attack rolls. A key part of being a good DM is deciding who the monsters attack. Do they go for the biggest, most immediate threat? The fragile-looking wizard in the back? Or the hero who just wounded them? These choices make monsters feel more intelligent and the combat more dynamic.