Underkeep Play Demo

Underkeep Combat Explained (2026)

A round in Underkeep ends only after the whole party has acted. The store text says you have to manage both stamina and mana. Damage numbers and status words show up in the combat log.

Turn-based fight against a skeleton, with damage numbers and a combat log
Image: Rake in Grass / Steam. Checked 5 Nov 2026.
Dark demo corridor with poison and bleed icons beside the combat log
Image: Rake in Grass / Steam. Checked 5 Nov 2026. Demo app 4346510.
Status names. “Design target” is the May 2025 post. “Seen in a screenshot” is not the same as a full rules entry.
ConditionStatus of the evidence
BurnNamed as a design target, May 2025
BleedDesign target, and the word bleeding appears in a store screenshot log
FreezeDesign target, May 2025
StunDesign target, May 2025
PoisonDesign target; a poison icon is visible in the demo shot
DiseasedWord visible in a store screenshot log. No separate rules post

Resources that are named

Stamina and mana are the two pools the store page tells you to watch. Paladin is tied to a resource called Zeal. Blood Mage spends bones taken from enemies. Other classes have no published pool. I am not assigning mana to the Wizard just because that is traditional.

Alchemy, on purpose small

The April 2026 post confirms an alchemy system and says the interface was kept simple because the team does not want brewing to become mandatory. No recipe list shipped with that post. A crafting table with invented ingredients would be fiction.

Gear and reach

The launch review says equipment can add skills, and you can change gear during a fight to take the bonus. The same month as the alchemy note, the studio lengthened staves so a caster with an empty mana pool still has a melee option. That is reach, not a rank system. Hit chance, resistance math, and how much a rest restores are all unpublished. Three difficulty levels mainly scale these fights and can be flipped without restarting.

Questions

When does a turn end?

After every party member has acted, according to the 4 Nov 2026 review.

Do I have to use alchemy?

The developer said they do not want alchemy to be mandatory, and they kept the screen simple.

What status effects exist?

Burn, bleed, freeze, stun, and poison were design targets. Bleeding, diseased, and a poison icon also appear in screenshots.

Sources