A DUEL STRIFE is the most basic form of combat. It generally involves a small number of combatants dueling in a closed area. The goal is to reduce the HP of your enemies to zero.
Common terms:
HP: Your "health". Shown in pink on your character sheet. Damaging attacks reduce this. Don't let it fall to zero!
MP: Your "energy", "mana", whatever you want to call it. Generally, abilities more powerful than a basic attack use up this. Blue on your character sheet. It's restored by the number listed under RECHARGE each turn that you don't use it.
Move: This statistic is irrelevant to DUEL STRIFES. It will be detailed later. For moving around the battle, see ABSCOND.
Range: How many spaces away your character can attack. In a DUEL STRIFE, this just determines whether you can attack from the back row or not.
Rows:Although it's not immediately apparent, each team's side consists of a BACK ROW and a FRONT ROW. Right now, Jon and his BRO are in their respective FRONT ROWS. If there's a foe in a FRONT ROW and a foe in a BACK ROW, only the enemies up front can be targeted (unless otherwise noted).
Damage: How much damage your character (normally) does with their current equipment.
Attack: The bonus to your attack roll (each attack consists of two segments, attack and damage. If your attack roll of 1d20+Attack beats your target's Dodge, the hit lands and you usually do damage equal to your Damage!) This generally comes from your weapon skill - for example, Jon gets +2 due to his 2 in Artistry.
http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/Themes/core/images/bbc/bold.gifDodge: The stat your foe must exceed during an attack roll to hit you.
Now, as for actual combat options, every character has a few:
Major/minor actions: Each character can make one MAJOR and MINOR ACTION per turn. Neither are required, but you can, for example, Abscond and Aggress in the same turn!
Aggress: Your basic attack. Major action.
Abjure: Basic defense. Major action.
Abscond: Move back or forward a row. Minor action. If your movement isn't obstructed and you're near the edge of the BATTLE AREA, you can also flee combat altogether this way.
Other operandi: As you venture through the game and increase your skills, you'll gain more active abilities - both in combat and out! There are many ways to gain these, but only by using them can you discern their use.