If playing in person without software assistance, it is recommended to use the card props provided, although other methods are possible. If cards are used, the diagram below shows the order in which cards should be placed on the table top. One stack of cards plus a stance card would be laid out for each combatant. In the case of multiple combatants being controlled by a player or the GM, it is recommended to use a token to denote which stacks correspond to each Actor in the combat. For combat involving many opponents, instead use the Mass Combat rules and layout, as individual piles for each combatant will quickly overwhelm the play table. The words on the card layout below correspond to the ND1 Action Codes and a brief summary of each is provided below. Cards are selected and laid on the table in the order shown below face down except in the case of the Stance card. Cards are placed in this order to correspond to the order in which they may be discovered by opponents during the Observe Foe phase of combat, so that the number of cards that are flipped face up will always correspond to the order in which they can be discovered per the Observe Foe table.

1. Stance (body position): this card is placed face up directly to the left of the Combat Stack. Under normal circumstances, all opponents should be able to observe how their opponent is standing at the beginning of a combat round.
2. Stat Bid: This is the total of all Stat Points that the Actor bid on the Specific Action being performed. For example, if 2 AGI and 1 STR were bid on the Specific Action, that is the Stat Bid. Only the highest degree of success during the Observe Foe phase of combat will reveal this card, because knowing this tells the opponent exactly how many points of each stat to bid to counter the action.
3. Action Score: the Action Score is the total from summing all points from the Stat Bid. Discovering this during the Observe Foe phase tells the opponent how many total points were bid on the Specific Action, but not from which stat pool, so there is still some mystery about how to counter it.
4. Location: the Body Location that the Specific Action will strike if successful.
5. Specific Action: the exact action that the Actor will attempt this combat round. For example, a Downward Strike.
6. Action Type: thesub-category of action to be performed, such as Melee, Missile, Move, Spell, Object, etc.
7. Classifier: the category of action to be performed, such as Combat, Mental, Social, Stealth, etc. This card is placed face down on top of the combat stack. Although this is combat, the Actor may try to talk their way out, cast as spell, or simply run. The Observe Foe phase may reveal what opposing actors intend to do.

The card layout below illustrates how the tabletop would look if the result from the Observe Foe combat phase were 2. In this case, the Classification, Action Type, Specific Action, and strike Location cards would be placed face up in a row to the right of the combat stack.

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