These steps were compiled by James Nostack?

Step 1 - Intentions.

Everybody involved in the conflict states their intentions, in no particular order.

Here are some possible intentions--

• Hurt somebody
• Defend yourself to the exclusion of everything else
• Perform a sorcerous ritual
• Aim a gun (firing without aiming gives you a penalty)
• Command your Demon (or else it uses its "best" judgment!)
• Perform some other task (defuse a bomb, climb a wall, etc.)

Step 2 - Determine Modifiers.

Here, you tally up modifiers for the rolls. Important modifiers to keep in mind--

• Roleplaying bonuses/penalties, listed on page 19.
• "Rollover" bonuses from causally connected actions.
• "Snapshot" rituals use 1 die as the base.
• Total Defense gives you +2 dice.
• Using firearms without aiming gives 1-3 dice penalty.
• Temporary & Permanent Damage///

Note that sorcerers, and only sorcerers, can "push through" a certain amount of damage:

• Damage must be between Stamina and 2 x Stamina
• Roll original Will vs. the number of dice you want to use in your "real" action

Step 3 - Roll for Order.

Everyone rolls dice. This establishes the order for action. Depending on results later on, you might end up adding more dice to one side or the other, which will have an effect on performance but not on the order, which is fixed at this stage.

Step 4 - Reaction Rolls.

In Step 3, you not only determined order, but also performance. Now, whoever is the "direct object" of that performance rolls to react.

• Challenges -- use the rules for overcoming challenges
• Sorcery -- use the table for sorcerous rituals.

Combat

This is where things get a little tricky.

Reacting when you haven't acted yet.

If you were attacked while waiting to implement your action, you have two options: either abort the action (which means you can defend with Stamina plus modifiers), or suck up the hit (which means you defend with 1 die plus modifiers) and perform your action at the appointed time.

(An Important Note on Sucking It Up. When someone wallops you and you choose to persist in your action rather than defend yourself, you'll be reacting with 1 die (subject to modifiers). This means it's pretty likely you're going to get hurt, and damage in Sorcerer is expressed as penalties to your action roll. Now, there's a problem with that, because you already rolled for your action in Step 3. "But I've already rolled my performance in Step 3! How can I be penalized after the fact?" Answer: your target gets bonus dice to resist your action when the time comes, equal to the penalty you should have taken.)

Reacting when you have already acted in this round.

If you already used your action in this round, you can defend using your Stamina plus any relevant modifiers.

Regardless of whether you're reacting before or after your action, you can defend against an infinite number of attacks.

Getting Clobbered by Lots of Dudes.

Okay, let's say you're being pummeled by Thug A and Thug B. Thug A attacks; you defend; Thug A ends up beating your ass so bad that you don't have any dice with which to defend against Thug B's attack. "So, what happens? I'm penalized so bad I can't even defend, so how do we resolve the attack?" Answer: you get enough bonus dice to boost your score to 1; Thug B gets an equal amount. (Like, if your score was -3, both you and Thug B would get 4 bonus dice.)

Step 5 - Apply Consequences.

Look at the damage chart. Please note that Temporary damage applies to your Next Roll--for whatever purpose that may be. After that roll is made, that particular bunch of Temporary damage goes away.

Step 6 - Finishing Up.

Is the fight over? If not, go back to Step 1.

If yes, eliminate all Temporary Damage. Reduce Lasting Damage by half (or use a demon's Vitality score, if you have one). This determines how badly you've really been hurt--

• Stamina or less: you're banged up, but probably okay.
• Less than 2 x Stamina: ouch! You probably need to go to a hospital for broken bones or a stab wound.
• Greater than 2 x Stamina: you've sustained mortal injuries, and probably need a surgeon or intensive care.