Actions and Reactions
Time
Time in this game is tracked in either turn-based mode, or narrative mode.
Narrative Mode
Narrative mode is the default where players narrate their actions and the Arbiter describes the results of those actions. In narrative mode, players don't take turns and there's no need to track time precisely.
Turn-Based Mode
Turn-based mode is used for combat or for complicated situations where time matters (e.g. escaping from a collapsing building, sneaking past a group of guards).
When the game enters turn-based mode, the Arbiter will call for all participants to roll Awareness (including non-player creatures within the scene). The creature with the highest result acts first; play then proceeds in descending order. In the case of a tie, choose an order for those tied creatures randomly.
Speed and Actions
All abilities (skill abilities and spells) have a speed; this represents loosely how long they take to perform.
Turns in this game are not of a fixed length. No abilities in this game list specific measurements of time for their duration, so precisely how long a turn takes doesn't ever matter. Abilities are only separated into fast enough for turn-based mode (actions, attacks, and reactions), and too slow for when time matters (ritual speed).
Action
Action-speed abilities must be used on your turn. You get two actions on each of your turns, so can use up to two action-speed abilities of any kind (two skill abilities, two spells, or one of each).
Actions could include throwing an item, attempting to see through a distortion spell, or pressing a conspicuous button; they cannot deal damage to other creatures unless they are attacks.
Attack
Attack can be thought of as a special kind of action. They still take one of your actions on your turn to use, but you can only use at most one attack-speed ability on each of your turns.
Attacks always require a contested roll, unless you're attacking a willing creature or an object, and are entitled to deal 1 damage.
Nothing you do can cause damage to another creature unless it's part of an attack action.
Collapse a building with an action-speed spell, and every creature inside is entitled to survive unharmed — your adversary might jump out of a window and miraculously survive or instantly teleport safely outside. Your Arbiter may still decide that dangerous events hurt bystanders if they think it would be more interesting!
You might want to do something that doesn't match any of your attack-speed actions, but that your Arbiter agrees should deal damage. This is an improvised attack (taking an attack action). Your Arbiter will choose attack and defence skills and a range for your attack; choose one creature within that range to target, attacking as usual with those skills.
Reaction
Reaction-speed abilities do not take an action to use, and do not have to be used on your turn. Rather, they will specify certain conditions that must be met. You have one reaction to use — split between skill abilities and spells — and regain it at the start of each of your turns.
Ritual
Ritual-speed abilities are too slow to be used in turn-based mode — if you're running in initiative order, or the number of turns that are passing matters (e.g. you're paying a skill point cost every turn for an ability), then you can't use ritual-speed abilities.
Outside of turn-based mode, however, ritual-speed abilities have no fixed time requirement. If you're travelling or exploring, you can use ritual-speed abilities as often as you like without worrying about how long they take.