Combat

Combat Sequence Per Round

1. Declare spells and retreats
2. Initiative: Each side rolls 1d6.
3. Winning side acts:
   1. Monster morale
   2. Movement
   3. Missile attacks
   4. Spell casting
   5. Melee attacks
4. Other sides act: In initiative order.

Declare Spells and Retreats

Characters who wish to cast a spell or move when in melee must declare this. Other actions need not be declared.

Initiative

Roll 1d6: For each side at the start of each round.

Winner: The side with the highest roll acts first. Other sides act in order from highest to lowest roll.

Ties: Either both sides may roll again or actions on both sides may be resolved simultaneously. (This means that both sides may inflict deadly blows on each other!)

Slow Weapons

Characters attacking with two-handed melee weapons (and some missile weapons—as indicated in the equipment description) always act last in the round, as if they had lost initiative.

Individual Initiative (Optional Rule)

Instead of an initiative roll per side, a roll may be made for each individual involved in a battle, modified by DEX (see Ability Scores). The referee may determine an initiative modifier for monsters that are very fast or slow, instead of applying a DEX modifier.

Monster Morale (Optional Rule)

See Morale.

Movement

Outside of Melee

Movement rate: A character can move up to their encounter movement rate each round.

Maximum duration: Characters may move at this rate for at most 60 rounds.

In Melee

When in melee with a foe, only the following forms of movement are possible:

• Fighting withdrawal: The character moves backwards at up to half their encounter movement rate. There must be a clear path for this movement.
• Retreat: The character turns and flees from melee, moving up to their full encounter movement rate. This round: the character may not attack; the opponent gains a +2 bonus to all attacks against the character and ignores any AC bonus due to the character’s shield (if applicable).

Missile Attacks

Are possible when opponents are more than 5’ from one another. See Attacking.

Range Modifiers

All missile weapons have ranges, noted in the equipment lists.

Short range: +1 bonus to attack rolls.

Medium range: No bonuses or penalties.

Long range: –1 penalty to attack rolls.

Beyond long range: Attack not possible.

Targets Behind Cover

Complete cover: The target cannot be hit.

Partial cover: The referee may apply attack penalties of between –1 and –4 (e.g. a small table might incur a –1 penalty; dense woods might incur a –4 penalty).

Spell Casting

Freedom: The character must be able to speak and move their hands. A spell caster cannot cast spells if gagged, bound, or in an area of magical silence.

Sole action: When casting a spell, no other actions may be taken in the round.

No movement: The character cannot move and cast a spell in the same round.

Line of sight: Unless noted in a spell’s description, the intended target (a specific monster, character, object, or area of effect) must be visible to the caster.

Disrupting Spells

If a spell caster loses initiative and is successfully attacked or fails a saving throw before their turn, the spell being cast is disrupted and fails. It is removed from the caster’s memory as if it had been cast.

Melee Attacks

Are possible when opponents are 5’ or less from each other. See Attacking.

Other Sides Act

Repeat steps 3a to 3e for each side, in order of initiative (highest first).

Attacking

Attack Rolls

1. Roll 1d20
2. Apply modifiers: STR for melee; DEX, range, cover for missile attacks.
3. Determine hit AC: Look up the result in the attack matrix row for the attacker’s THAC0 (see Combat Tables). This indicates the AC score that the attack hits.
4. Result: If the hit AC is equal to or lower than the opponent’s AC, the attack hits. Referee rolls for damage.

Ascending Armour Class (Optional Rule)

Note: Using Ascending Armour Class results in very slightly different attack probabilities than when using the traditional approach of descending AC with an attack matrix.

Groups using the optional rule for Ascending AC should use the following attack procedure instead.

1. Roll 1d20
2. Apply modifiers: STR for melee; DEX, range, cover for missile attacks.
3. Determine hit AC: Add the character’s attack bonus to the attack roll. The result is the ascending AC score that the attack hits.
4. Result: If the hit AAC is equal to or higher than the opponent’s AAC, the attack hits. Referee rolls for damage.

1s and 20s

Unmodified attack rolls of 20 always hit. Unmodified attack rolls of 1 always miss.

Invulnerabilities

Some monsters are immune to certain attacks. In this case, even if an attack hits, damage is not rolled.

Attacks Per Round

PCs normally attack once per round. Some monsters have multiple attacks.

Attacking and Moving

Movement and attacking may be combined in the same round.

Rolling for Damage

PC attacks: Inflict 1d6 damage. Damage of melee attacks is modified by STR.

Monster attacks: Deal the damage indicated in the monster’s description.

Minimum damage: An attack which hits always deals at least one point of damage, even when damage modifiers reduce the number rolled to 0 or less.

Death: A character or monster reduced to 0 hit points or less is killed.

Variable Weapon Damage (Optional Rule)

Some groups may prefer different weapons to inflict different amounts of damage. In this case, PC attacks inflict the damage indicated for the weapon in the equipment lists.