When you do something like move, attack, or cast a spell, you are using an ability. This chapter covers the rules of all types of abilities, their activation time, and how to read them.
In a fight, all combatants have access to three types of abilities: actions 🅐, maneuvers 🅜, and reactions 🅡. The game uses abilities to govern how much you can do at a time.
Actions are highlighted by an encircled A and are the most common type of ability. The most common ability is Strike, but many of your class abilities and spells also have an activation time of 1 action. You can use one action ability on each of your turns.
Maneuvers are indicated by an encircled M. These abilities allow you to move and engage with the battlefield in some way. The most common maneuver is Move, but spellcasters will often also need to use their maneuver to Sustain spells. In addition to your action, you can use one maneuver ability on each of your turns.
Reactions are a special type of action that can be used outside of your own turn. All reactions have a trigger, which details when you can activate your reaction, often outside of your turn. A common example for a reaction is Counter Strike, which allows you to Strike a foe that offers an opening as a reaction, rather than action.
Free actions don't require you to spend an action, maneuver, or even reaction. A free action might have a trigger like a reaction does. If so, you can use it just like a reaction—even if it's not your turn. However, you can use only one free action per trigger, so if you have multiple free actions with the same trigger, you have to decide which to use. If a free action doesn't have a trigger, you use it like an action, just without spending your action or maneuver for the turn.
Some abilities call on the use of another ability, usually one of the simple abilities, in a different circumstance or with different effects. This nested ability still has its normal traits and effects, but it's modified in any way listed in the larger ability. The nested action doesn't gain any of the traits of the larger ability unless specified. The ability that allows you to use a nested ability doesn't require you to spend your maneuver, action, movement, resource, or so on; that cost is already factored in.