- Initiative: 1d6 rolled by each side
- Winner of initiative acts first. Morale checks made for monster.
- Movement (order of DEX)
- Missile attack (order of DEX)
- Spells are cast (order of DEX)
- Melee (order of DEX)
- Other side acts from 3-6
- New round begins with initiative
- A character may move 1/2 their movement rate and attack in melee
- A character may move 1/2 their movement rate and make one attack with missile
- A character moving their full movement rate cannot attack with missile or melee unless charging
- No movement is allowed when casting spells
- unless attacker stops movement with the first 5' of encountering opponent's front or flank, opponent gains Attack of Opportunity
- Full movement and melee is allowed if movement is greater than half rate and in a straight line.
- Defender gains Attack of Opportunity
- Attacker does double damage
- Fighting Retreat allows a character to move backwards at 1/2 movement without penalty providing a clear path
- Full Retreat a character can move backwards at full movement but incurs an Attack of Opportunity without use of shield and opponent gains +2 to hit.
As mentioned above AOO occur in only three instances;
- defending against a charge
- attacking an opponent in Full Retreat
- an opponent passing within 5' of character
Flanking: Having opponents positioned to the left and right of a target are considered in flanking position and gain +1 to hit and negates benefit from target's shield'
Attack from Behind: Rear position grants a +2 to hit and negates any benefit from target's shield
Drawing Weapons: You can draw a weapon and attack the same round but at a -1 to hit penalty
Does flanking assume there's an additional opponent in front of the defender, "taking up" the shield (and the defender's attention)? i.e. the first attack(er) is normal, including shield, and additional attacks on the character are at +1 with no shield? Maybe "Flanking: The first attack on any target draws the target's attention and shield. Additional attacks on the target ignore shield bonus, and are at +1 from the sides or +2 from the rear"
ReplyDeleteI suppose flanking wouldn't really convey much benefit to an attack from behind, since the defender is already unable to defend himself.
Anyway, seeking clarification because it seems like a defender with one attacker on each side (but not in front) should be able to use his shield against one of the two (presumably the first one to attack).
Yes, you are mostly correct. The defender would already be engaged. If another attacker gets in on the action the defender would loose his shield bonus for one of the attackers. However when TWO other attackers get in on the action (three total) the two would be able to flank the defender getting the +1 AND the defender's loss of shield.
DeleteAny attack from behind negates the shield bonus and grants the attacker a +1
Thanks for codifying this all Paul. One thing to keep in mind is the move and attack. With that in place a group cant move through another, because you cant kill the creature in front of you and then stand in its place, because you can only move before attacking. This leads to the stand and fight technique, or getting swarmed. Since PCs by far are going to be dropping opponents more often then monsters this seems to be more restrictive for PCs. just curious as to what the design idea was behind it. And for clarity on this, Im coming from 3E/PF rules where theres movement either before or after attacks and you can almost always take a 5'ft step (move one square), so my feedback is reflective of such. In our OE Rulescyclopedia game we've never used grids or anything, its all fuzzy distances, but never been a big problem.
ReplyDeleteAre these rules above taken from different old school sources?
Most of these are basically from Labryinth Lord. Which mostly mirror an OD&D source (Philotomy's D&D Musing (his site seems to be down but his PDf is still available)).
DeleteI don't see a problem with adding the ability to take that 5' advance or retreat after you defeat an opponent. But other than that the movement rules apply as written. So if you're already in combat and choose to move 5' back then it would be considered a fighting retreat. A caster planning to cast a spell can't move at all that round.
I like the retreating rules, by the way. And the AOO clarification fits with it nicely. If Jimbo is backing away from an advancing Orc, the Orc should be able to keep up with him without taking an AoO each round, and would be able to attack him once a round if the Orc was faster.
ReplyDeleteWe may see that in action as Wolf pursues the fleeing Hobgoblins.
DeleteWill they get AOOs if he charges them from behind? (Televon too)
ReplyDeleteOnly if they plant themselves to face the attack, otherwise it's an attack from behind not a charge.
Delete