Dragonbane Combat Assistant
Dragonbane Combat Assistant enhances combat and spellcasting with comprehensive validation, automation, and smart integrations for the Dragonbane RPG system.
Installation
- In Foundry VTT: Add-on Modules → Install Module
- Manifest URL:
https://github.com/kergalli/dragonbane-action-rules/releases/latest/download/module.json - Enable in Manage Modules
Key Features
Spell Support & Validation
- Animations for every spell - Triggers Automated Animations (and its sounds) for spells AA's native handler skips — non-damaging ranked spells and Magic Tricks — so buffs, debuffs, and utility spells animate just like damaging ones. No spell-data changes required.
- Smart targeting enforcement - Range and touch spells require exactly one target, personal spells auto-target the caster
- Intelligent range checking - Validates spell casting distances before allowing the roll
- Automatic status effects - Successful spells apply appropriate status effects to correct targets (self-buffs to caster, debuffs to target)
- Template spell handling - Template spells (cones, spheres) auto-target caster for visual effects while deferring area targeting
- Spell exclusion system - Simple comma-separated list to exclude specific spells from validation
Combat Validation & Enhancement
- Target selection enforcement - Prevents accidental attacks into empty space
- Smart weapon range validation - Prevents impossible attacks before they happen
- Contextual thrown weapon support - Thrown weapons work in melee (up to 2m/4m) AND at range (up to 2x weapon range)
- Smart distance calculation - Handles multi-grid tokens and diagonal movement correctly
- Melee range enforcement - Standard melee weapons require adjacency, long weapons can reach 1 square away
- Ranged range enforcement - Ranged weapons can target up to 2x their base range
Monster Action Prevention
- Pre-roll confirmation dialogs - Intercepts Parry and Disarm attempts against monsters before the roll happens
- Educational approach - Informs players about rules with clear dialog messages before they attempt invalid actions
- Prevents invalid advancement - Blocks the roll entirely when user cancels, avoiding skill advancement on impossible actions
- Smart bypass for edge cases - Allows exceptions when user clicks "Proceed" for rare situations where rules permit
Automatic Rule Display
- Shows combat rules when you need them - Only on successful special attacks (Parry, Topple, Disarm, Find Weak Spot)
- Weapon durability when parrying - Shows weapon durability in chat for easy comparison
- Weapon feature bonuses - Displays topple weapon bonuses (+1 Boon) automatically
- Mark Weapon Broken button - Appears on parry rules for easy weapon damage tracking, updates character sheet directly from chat
- AOE Rule Reminder - Reminds players that AOE spells can be dodged but not parried and that targets can be exempted from AOE effects by taking a bane
Year Zero Engine Combat Integration
- Single action tracking - Seamless integration with YZE Combat module for action management
- Automatic detection - Monitors chat for combat actions using intelligent pattern matching
- Token-specific tracking - Each combatant tracked independently with action numbering
- Smart exclusions - Ignores damage rolls, healing, reaction spells, attribute tests, table rolls, and other non-action activities
- Token Action HUD integration - Automatically excludes utility rolls from Token Action HUD Dragonbane
- Override control - Alt+V shortcut for manual control when automatic detection needs adjustment
Character Monitoring Systems
Encumbrance Monitoring
- Event-driven monitoring - Instantly detects when characters become over-encumbered
- Comprehensive change detection - Monitors coins, item equip/unequip, item addition/removal, quantity changes, STR attribute changes
- Automatic status effects - Applies configurable status effects when carrying too many items
- Folder-based filtering - Monitor specific actor folders (default: "Party") or all characters
- Smart notifications - UI notifications with optional chat reminders about STR roll requirements
Unforgiving Grudge Tracking
- Automatic damage detection - Monitors when characters with "Unforgiving" kin ability take damage
- Interactive grudge management - Creates and maintains personalized grudge journals for each character
- Smart damage correlation - Links attack rolls to damage application for accurate tracking
- One-click grudge addition - "Add to Grudge List" button appears in chat for qualifying damage events
- Detailed grudge entries - Records attacker name, damage amount, location, date, and critical hit status
- Journal organization - Automatically creates organized folders and formatted grudge tables
- ⚠️ GM Setup Required - Click "Setup Grudge Folders for All PCs" in settings after assigning Dwarf characters to players
Custom Weapon Features
- House rule support - Add custom weapon features via comma-separated list for tracking campaign-specific properties
- Optional tooltips - Give any custom feature a hover tooltip by adding it after a
|(e.g.Wounding|Inflicts an extra wound on a critical hit) - Tracking only - Features appear in weapon checkboxes but don't implement mechanical effects automatically
Configuration
Access: Game Settings → Configure Settings → Dragonbane Combat Assistant
Spell Support
- Spell Exclusions - Comma-separated list of spell names to exclude from validation
- Enable Automatic Status Effects - Apply appropriate status effects when spells succeed
Spell Validation
- Enable Spell Target Validation - Requires target selection for range/touch spells, auto-targets caster for personal spells
- Enable Spell Range Validation - Validates spell casting distances before allowing the roll
Attack Validation
- Enable Target Selection Enforcement - Requires target selection for all attacks
- Enable Range Checking - Validates weapon ranges before allowing attacks
Rules Display
- Display Delay - Displays rules 0-10 seconds after roll is made, helpful if using Dice So Nice
- Show Weapon Durability on Parry - Displays weapon durability for parrying weapons
- Monster Action Prevention - Interrupts disarm and parry attacks against monsters with confirmation dialog
Optional Rule Reminders
- Enable Shove Reminders - Shows shove opportunities when conditions are met
- Enable Parry Movement Reminders - Shows movement options on successful parries
- Enable Dodge Movement Reminders - Shows movement options on successful EVADE rolls
Character Monitoring
- Enable Encumbrance Monitoring - Automatically detects over-encumbered characters
- Target Actor Folders - Which folders to monitor (default: "Party")
- Status Effect Settings - Customize name, icon, and behavior of encumbrance status effects
- Enable Unforgiving Tracker - Automatically tracks damage dealt to characters with the Unforgiving kin ability
Custom Features
- Custom Weapon Features - Add house rule or campaign-specific weapon properties via comma-separated list. Optionally add a hover tooltip to any feature by placing it after a
|.
Example Custom Features:
English: Articulated, Heavy, Small, Vampiric, Wounding|Inflicts an extra wound on a critical hit
Swedish: Ledad, Tung, Liten, Sårande, Vampyrisk|Ger ett extra sår vid en kritisk träff
Features without a | have no tooltip; the part before the | is the feature name shown in the checkbox, and the part after is the hover text.
YZE Integration
- Enable YZE Integration - Automatic action tracking with Year Zero Engine Combat module
- YZE Action Exclusions - Configure additional rolls to exclude from action tracking (for custom content only)
- YZE Action Inclusions - Abilities - Specify heroic and kin abilities that should count as actions
🆕 Automatic Token Action HUD Integration:
When using Token Action HUD Dragonbane, these are automatically excluded without configuration:
- Fear Tests - WIL resistance rolls and Fear Effect table rolls
- Light Tests - Light source duration tests
- Death Rolls - CON survival tests
- Severe Injury Tests - CON survival tests
Example YZE Action Exclusions (for manual/custom exclusions only):
English: Custom Ritual, Special Investigation, Unique Ability Name
Swedish: Specialundersökning, Unik Förmåga
Example YZE Action Inclusions - Abilities:
English: Battle Cry, Berserker, Companion, Master Carpenter, Musician, Body Slam, Hunting Instincts, Raise Spirits
Swedish: Bärsärk, Följeslagare, Jaktsinne, Mästersnickare, Stridsrop, Tackling, Tonkonst, Uppmuntra
Advanced
- Debug Mode - Enable detailed console logging for troubleshooting
Usage & Special Cases
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Function | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Alt + V | Override All | Temporarily disable/enable all validation rules and action tracking |
Fully customizable through Configure Controls in Foundry
Spell Animations (Automated Animations)
The module triggers Automated Animations for spells its native Dragonbane handler doesn't cover on its own — non-damaging ranked spells and Magic Tricks. Damaging spells continue to animate through AA's own handler as before. There is nothing to enable: if Automated Animations is installed and a spell has an animation configured, it plays automatically when cast. The module no longer modifies spell data to make this work.
Important — animations must be configured in a cast-type category to play on cast. In AA's Automatic Recognition menu, an animation assigned to a spell under Melee, Range, On Token, Templates, Aura, or Preset will fire when the spell is cast. An animation assigned under the Active Effects category does not fire on cast — AA plays Active-Effect animations when the effect is applied to a token, through its own separate handler. So if a spell isn't animating when you cast it, check that its AA entry is under a cast-type category (e.g. On Token) rather than Active Effects.
Upgrading from an earlier version? Previous releases worked by writing a placeholder value into each non-damaging spell's damage field. On first launch, this version automatically cleans up that leftover data (a one-time notification confirms how many spells were tidied). No action is needed on your part.
Important Mechanics
Template Spells: Currently auto-target the caster for visual effects rather than placing templates for area targeting. Proper template placement might be added in the future.
Thrown Weapons: Work both in melee range (up to 2-4m) and at distance (up to 2x weapon range) with contextual validation.
Parrying Ranged Attacks: Target yourself when parrying a ranged attack with a weapon or shield. The range validation will understand you're defending at your position.
Marking Weapons Broken: The "Mark Weapon Broken" button only appears on parry rules when:
- A valid weapon was detected for the parry
- The weapon is not already broken
- You have permission to modify the weapon
Shove Conditions: Shove reminders only appear when:
- Using a melee weapon or thrown weapon in melee range
- Attack deals damage (excludes Topple/Disarm)
- Attacker is not a monster
- Target is not a monster
- Attacker's STR damage bonus ≥ target's STR damage bonus
Monster Action Prevention: Prevention dialogs only appear for Parry and Disarm attempts against monsters. All other actions proceed normally.
Custom Weapon Features: Features are for tracking purposes only and do not implement mechanical effects automatically. Use them to mark weapons with house rule properties or campaign-specific traits.
Integration Tips
Token Action HUD Integration: When using Token Action HUD Dragonbane, Fear Tests, Light Tests, Death Rolls, and Severe Injury Tests are automatically excluded from action counting. No manual configuration required.
Spell Exclusions: Add spell names to exclude specific spells from validation. Example: Protector, Heal Wound, Fireball
Manual Exclusions: Use YZE Action Exclusions setting only for custom content not covered by automatic detection (custom abilities, house rules, etc.)
Developer API
// Other modules can use the ignore flag system
await game.user.setFlag(
"token-action-hud-dragonbane",
"ignoreNextRollForActionCounting",
true,
);
await yourCustomRollFunction();
// Combat Assistant automatically respects this flag
System Requirements & Dependencies
Required
| Requirement | Version | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Foundry VTT | v14 | v14.364 verified |
| Dragonbane System | v4.0.0+ | v4.0.1 verified |
| socketlib | Latest | Required for status effects and cross-client communication |
Recommended
| Module | Purpose | Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Dragonbane Status Effects | Enhanced status icons | Provides thematic status effect icons when automatically applying spell effects |
| Automated Animations | Spell animations | Enables visual animations and sounds for spells and attacks; without it, spell animation has no effect |
Optional Integrations
| Module | Purpose | Integration Details |
|---|---|---|
| Year Zero Engine Combat | Action tracking | Automatic single action tracking with seamless YZE integration |
| Token Action HUD Dragonbane | Quick actions | Enhanced compatibility with automatic utility roll exclusions |
| Argon - Combat HUD (DRAGONBANE) | Combat interface | Compatible with Argon's enhanced combat interface |
Installation Notes
- socketlib is mandatory - the module will not function properly without it
- Install Dragonbane Status Effects before enabling automatic status effects for optimal visual experience
- Automated Animations should be installed and configured if you want spell animations; see the Spell Animations section above for how AA recognition categories work
Localization & Support
- Languages: Full support for English, Swedish, and Italian using official Dragonbane translation keys
- Community Contributors:
- dgladkov - Encumbrance fixes and distance calculations for large/huge tokens
- LuckyFrico - Italian language localization
- xdy - Swedish language improvements and localization fixes
- Support: GitHub Issues
- Documentation: Full Changelog
License & Disclaimer
MIT License.
This VTT module is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by Fria Ligan AB. This Supplement was created under Fria Ligan AB’s Dragonbane Third Party Supplement License.
