Dice guide

Dice aren’t required for every interaction on the server, but you are unlikely to explore the High Risk Zone or take part in a server event without meeting some form of dice roll or dice combat. Your dice stats reflect your character’s skills, traits, and attributes, so the character you wrote is represented in both gameplay and dice scenes.

If you attend a major event without knowing the basics of the dice system, you may be asked to leave the event.

How to read this guide

• Read the Combat section properly. The actions are your full set of options in a fight, and knowing what’s available is most of playing well.
• Read the Death and Injury System before you need it. When a character goes down, the window to help closes fast. Knowing how medical assistance works is the difference between saving someone and watching them die.
• Everything else is reference. Skill values, backgrounds, Robustness, and traits are numbers the dice panel applies for you. Read your own rows once at character creation and you’re done. Crafting only matters when you’re filing a ticket.

1Combat

Storyteller-run scenes may adjust these rules to fit specific NPCs or hazards. Otherwise, players follow them directly.

Core rules

• Ties. In every scenario, ties go to the defender.
• Advantage and disadvantage. Roll twice. Advantage takes the higher roll; disadvantage takes the lower.
• Critical success. A roll of 12 (and sometimes 10) is a critical success. It always succeeds, even against a higher roll. If both rolls in a contest are critical successes, the tie goes to the defender (see Parrying).
• Critical failure. A roll of 2 (“snake eyes”) is a critical failure. On a ranged attack with a firearm, the weapon jams: your next action must be a Reload roll (DC 10) to clear it. Otherwise it carries no extra mechanical penalty.

A critical success will sometimes have special additional effects, which the system indicates when one is rolled.

Initiative and turn order

Initiative rolls set turn order at the start of dice combat, in the dice panel. Characters generally start with their weapons already in hand, unless ambushed or robbed.

Ties go to the higher initiative bonus. If that also ties, re-roll. Save the initiative order to a text file or OOC chat: closing the dice panel wipes it.

A round is every character taking one turn. A turn is one action plus movement. Reactions, such as attacks of opportunity, can happen outside your turn in specific cases.

Movement

Movement is tile-based; toggle the movement button to see your range. Base movement is 6 tiles per turn.

• A ranged attack in the same turn you move is rolled with disadvantage, whether you move first or attack first.

Stealth & ambushing

To attempt an ambush, you must already be crouched (in-game sneak active) before you spot the other character. Crouching after you’ve spotted them doesn’t count; there is no retroactive ambush.

• One side crouched. The crouched character rolls Hiding; the other rolls Perception. If Hiding beats Perception, the sneaking side goes first in initiative, guaranteed, with no roll for turn order.
• Both sides crouched. Each side rolls Hiding against the other’s Perception. Whichever side beats the opponent’s Perception goes first, guaranteed. If both succeed or both fail, roll initiative as normal.
• In a group. The side that wins the ambush rolls initiative among themselves and acts first, in their own order. Everyone else then rolls initiative and acts after, in their own order. The round continues normally: no bonus turns, only initiative priority.

Storyteller noteIf crouch timing is disputed, a screen recording from either player’s perspective is valid evidence. Otherwise, the Storyteller’s read of when each character was crouched is final.

2Combat options

Your full set of options in a fight. Passive and triggered options happen automatically or cost only a reaction or your movement; actions cost your one action for the turn. Whoever applies a status effect (area effects, damage over time, Suppressive Fire, and so on) is responsible for tracking it.

Find a combat option

Passive & triggered

Parrying

Cost

Automatic, on a tied roll.

Effect

The defender wins the tie by default.

Note

Both sides may agree to re-roll instead.

Engaging

Melee’s counter to kiting

Cost

Triggered by movement.

Requires

A melee weapon, or unarmed.

Effect

Entering a target’s melee range (1 tile; 2 for spears) engages them. Leaving that range triggers an attack of opportunity unless you disengage first.

Attacks of opportunity

Cost

Reaction. One per round, resets on your turn.

Requires

A target leaves your engagement range.

Effect

Make a free attack against them.

Note

Ranged weapons can’t make an attack of opportunity as a ranged attack, only an Improvised Weapon roll. Spears (Sentinel) trigger when a target enters your 2-tile range instead of leaving it, and on a hit the target can’t advance any closer.

Prone

Cost

Uses your movement, not your action, to go prone or stand back up.

Effect

Ranged defense is rolled with advantage. Melee attacks against you get advantage.

Note

You can only crawl 1 tile, and you can’t engage others. Doesn’t stack with cover: in cover you get the flat +6 only, not advantage as well.

Human shield

Soft counter to ranged

Cost

Passive.

Requires

Grappling or restraining someone, or standing adjacent to a willing ally.

Effect

You count as in cover against ranged attacks (+6 ranged defense). Failed attacks against you hit the shield instead.

Note

Ranged attacks still follow line of sight.

Restrained

Alternative win condition

Cost

A state, not an action.

Requires

4 points from a held grapple, or physical restraints on a willing target.

Effect

Fully out of the fight: can’t move, attack, or hold a weapon (disarmed), and can’t escape without outside help.

Note

Rope or cuffs keep someone restrained after you let go; without them, walking away ends it. Restraints work instantly on a willing target, never an unwilling one. Meanwhile, the captor can still make one-handed attacks, and an adjacent ally can free the restrained character with an action.

1. Grappled
2. 4 points →
3. Restrained
4. with restraints →
5. Stays held, even if you walk away

Actions

One action per turn, unless noted otherwise under Passive & triggered above.

Attacking

Cost

1 action.

Effect

Make an attack roll (melee, ranged, or unarmed, depending on your weapon) against the target’s matching defense. Fire your gun in game once to match the ammo cost.

Dual wielding

Melee only

Cost

Give up your movement to attack twice.

Requires

Two one-handed melee weapons of the same category (two short blunts, or two short blades).

Effect

Make two attacks instead of one; the second is at disadvantage. You can’t move on a turn you attack twice.

Note

No ranged weapons: no dual pistols, and no mixing a gun with a blade. One-handed long blunt or long blade weapons gain nothing either. The panel uses whichever weapon is in your primary hand.

Reloading

Cost

1 action (DC 10).

Requires

A ranged weapon that is out of ammo.

Effect

Success reloads instantly; failure costs the turn.

Note

Bows never need this; crossbows do. A critical failure (natural 2) with a firearm jams it, and your next action must be a Reload roll.

Disengage

Breaks movement lockdown

Cost

1 action.

Requires

Being engaged, stunned from a crit, or suppressed.

Effect

Roll Resolve (DC 10). On a success you get your movement back: leave an engagement without triggering an attack of opportunity, or move while stunned or suppressed.

Note

Frees your movement only, never your action. On a failure the action is wasted, but no attack of opportunity triggers. No roll is needed against a single melee opponent; it’s DC 10 against two or more.

Drawing & swapping weapons

Cost

1 action if holstered or slung, 2 actions if not readily available.

Effect

Ready a different weapon. A weapon slung on your back or front counts as holstered.

Note

Drop your current weapon to swap in 1 action instead of 2. Picking a dropped weapon back up costs 1 action.

Assist

Universal skill boost

Cost

1 action (DC 10).

Requires

Being adjacent (1 tile) to the character you’re assisting.

Effect

Roll Resolve. On a success your ally gains an Assist stack worth +3 to their roll. Two helpers can stack it, to a maximum of +6.

Note

You can’t assist defense rolls. Your ally ticks the Assist box in the dice panel before they roll.

Disarming

Universal, forces unarmed

Cost

1 action, in place of a regular attack.

Requires

1 free hand.

Effect

A normal attack roll. On a success, the target drops their weapon.

Brace

Soft counter to melee

Cost

1 action.

Effect

Melee defense rolls with advantage until your next turn.

Suppressive fire

Ranged lockdown

Cost

1 action, uses 20 rounds.

Requires

A firearm with 20 or more rounds.

Effect

Target an enemy within range. No attack roll and no damage. The target can’t make ranged attacks, and can only move if the whole move keeps them in cover. With no cover to begin with, they can’t move at all.

Note

Ends at the start of your next turn. Doesn’t work on targets that can’t think rationally: zombies, animals, and so on.

Overwatch

Ranged counter to closing distance

Cost

1 action.

Requires

A ranged weapon.

Effect

Name a specific trigger, such as a doorway, a stretch of street, or a corner, and hold your attack until something moves toward it. The shot is made at disadvantage.

Note

Ends at the start of your next turn if not triggered.

Shoving

Displacement

Cost

1 action.

Effect

Contested Strength roll (the defender may resist with Fitness instead). On a success, push the target back 3 tiles. This is forced movement and doesn’t trigger their attack of opportunity.

Note

Works on allies too: a willing target simply fails. Falls deal 2 damage per storey, knock the target prone, and ignore armor.

Grappling

Hard counter to ranged

Cost

1 action to start; a free action to stop.

Requires

1 free hand.

Effect

Contested Strength roll (the defender may resist with Fitness instead). On a success, the target’s movement drops to 0, and they can’t trigger an attack of opportunity, swap weapons, or make a ranged attack. You hold the grapple without re-rolling, and can move at half speed while doing so.

Note

Escape: the target can spend their action on a contested Strength roll to break free. Prone: as an action, force them prone, with no roll; you both go down. Restrain: at 4 points, gaining 1 per turn held plus 1 per adjacent ally who spends their action helping (see Restrained).

1. 1 pt
2. →
3. 2 pt
4. →
5. 3 pt
6. →
7. Restrained

Dashing

Movement boost

Cost

1 action (can follow your normal movement).

Effect

Bonus distance based on Sprinting (see Skill rolls). Total movement ranges from 8 tiles (Sprinting 4) to 14 tiles (Sprinting 10).

Note

Arriving next to someone doesn’t engage them: no attacks or attacks of opportunity until your next turn.

3Cover & line of sight

Cover (+6) is the main source of bonus ranged defense. Prone’s advantage is the only other one, and the two don’t stack (see Prone). Cover is a toggle you check yourself; it isn’t calculated for you. Anything solid covering roughly half your character model counts: a car, a tree, a wall. Anything that wouldn’t realistically stop a bullet doesn’t, even if it blocks sight, like a bush or a thin fence. Use common sense.

You can’t shoot through someone or something solid. If a character who is neither prone nor in cover stands between you and your target, they block line of sight and give the target the cover bonus (+6 ranged defense). Exception: someone sharing your tile doesn’t block your shot.

Being prone puts you lower to the ground, so more things may realistically block your shot or sightline than usual. Use common sense.

4Armor

The dice panel applies these automatically. Armor gives Armor Hitpoints (AHP), used up before regular HP when you’re hit. Only gear with real ballistic protection counts; “bulletproof” jackets, kevlar gloves, and boots do not.

5Ranged combat

The panel handles damage, crit requirement, and crit damage. The two columns worth knowing are crit effect and passive: they describe what actually happens in the fight.

Ranged defense: 0, or 6 in cover. Ranged attack: Aiming + Perception bonus, both listed under Skill rolls, where the -1 ranged penalty is already worked into the Aiming values. Bows use Archery instead of Aiming; crossbows still use Aiming.

Storyteller noteBows and crossbows are treated as silent and stealthy for roleplay, the same as melee weapons, unlike firearms, which are loud even with a suppressor. This isn’t a formal mechanic, but Storytellers may apply it where relevant.

6Melee combat

The panel handles damage, crit requirement, and crit damage; the crit effect and passive columns describe what actually happens.

Melee attack and defense: ½ weapon skill (or ½ Nimble if unarmed) + Strength bonus (+1 at level 8, +2 at level 10).

7Defense

Roll the matching defense type against an attack: melee against melee, ranged against ranged. Ranged defense has no bonus unless the character is in cover. A critical defense roll succeeds automatically and negates crit effects. If attacker and defender both crit, parry rules apply.

8Worked example

A short skirmish showing the core pieces of combat in action.

What happens after a fight is covered in the Death and Injury System.

9Reference

Numbers the dice panel applies for you. Read your own rows once and you’re done; none of this needs memorizing.

Skill rolls

Skill rolls use the skills in Project Zomboid, plus any modded skills present. Most modifiers equal skill level ÷ 2, rounded down, with the exceptions below.

Archery is used for bows, not crossbows. PER is your Perception bonus:

10Character creation

Decide these once, when you make your character. The character planner adds everything up and shows the numbers the dice panel will use, and the application form checks the same rules.

Points

Every character is a Survivor with 12 points to spend, and starts with no skills and no gear. Raising Strength or Fitness, training a discipline and taking positive traits cost points. Lowering Strength or Fitness and taking negative traits give points back. Your background is free.

Backgrounds

Every character picks one build at creation (Average, Tall, Short, Broad-Framed or Narrow-Framed), and can add one temperament (Steady or Jumpy) on top. These are fixed facts and never change over a character’s life. Each gives one bonus and one matching drawback; Average gives neither.

Strength and Fitness

Both are fixed for life and start at 6. Strength adds to melee attack and defense: −1 at 4 or lower, +1 at 8, +2 at 10. Fitness adds to Health the same way, and half your Fitness adds to Fitness and Robustness rolls.

Disciplines

A discipline sets its skills at a fixed level for the character’s whole life. Skills without a discipline start at 0 and can be raised in play to 4. The three Fighter disciplines share Maintenance; the highest tier sets it.

Traits

Costs and dice effects as used on the server. Traits in the last column can’t be taken together; the planner and the application form enforce this.

From the NoWayOut Dice mod, version 2026.10.15.1.

Robustness

Robustness is your body’s raw durability. It always applies to the Permanent Injury roll (a high-Robustness character simply can’t roll the worst results), and it grants tiered benefits that never change mid-fight.

Armor’s sprinting penalty always applies, at every tier. Outrunning a threat is meant to cost you protection.

11Crafting

Handled through a ticket; nothing here comes up mid-scene.

Time & point threshold

Players roll to earn points toward a threshold equal to 2 × the minimum days requested (0.5–4 days, so 1–8 points). Staff set the required materials, usually from an equivalent recipe; if none exists, it’s worked out together.

• Instant (0.5 day) projects: sewing socks, minor whittling, basic soldering, tinting a window.
• 4+ day projects: a wedding dress, an ornate bookshelf, rerouting plumbing, painting a car.
• Rolls past the DC earn 2 points; failures earn 1. Critical successes (natural 12) earn 4 points, capped at two crits per project. Critical failures (natural 2) earn 0 points and may destroy materials, capped at one per project.

DC & complexity

DC reflects complexity, not time: a project can be slow but simple, or quick in expert hands.

Simultaneous projects

Up to four projects can run at once. Staff may deny a crafting ticket at their discretion.

Miscellaneous skill rolls

Skill rolls can be personal roleplay, or done with staff toward a specific goal. To roll toward a goal (for example Foraging to track a group, Trapping for food, or hunting an animal), open a ticket to discuss it. Other ideas go through a crafting ticket.

12Accessing the dice panel

The dice panel is in the Skills tab of the Health menu.