Decaaut

Main Article: Actions

One decaAut (deca-aut, sometimes referred as a turn) is equal to 10 aut, or 10 arbitrary units of time. It is the time it takes for an untransformed, unstatused human to wait (with s or .) for one turn. It is also the 'standard' time for most actions in the game, and is therefore used as a general measurement of time. For example, decaAut (listed as "turns") is used to measure the game's Zot clock.

Most species and monsters take 1 decaAut to move, and it is the time it takes for all species in their natural form and condition to do many actions (like quaffing potions or casting the vast majority of spells). A primary exception is attack speed, which is often measured by delay; weapons can take from 0.7 to 3 decaAut to swing, before modifiers like shields and skill.

DecaAut are often considered turns, but they are technically distinct measures. The Time counter in the status bar only measures decaAut; the actual turn counter measures the amount of commands, irrespective of how long the command takes. For example, a Naga takes 1.4 decaAut to move, but this is counted as 1 turn for the turn counter. However, the Zot clock considers this as 1.4 "turns" for its purposes.