Simultaneous Combat Resolution

Thinking out loud.

Rather than take initiative down each Round, what if we were to imagine that each side moved, shot and swung at the same time?

In wargames, it is a fairly common practice for each side to write orders, submit them, and then make simultaneous action. Each action is completed. Even if a figure is killed, it still gets to make its attack against the other side. At the end of the Round when otherwise checking morale we will also check for death.

The tricky thing is for the referee, running the several monsters, to stay honest. Perhaps it makes more sense for him to adjudicate monster actions first? I don’t know.

So rather than taking down initiative round by round, the process would be:
Each side marks down the general action each figure will attempt (melee, missile, spell, full move, misc.) and then everyone reveals their card simultaneously.

That’s a lot of cards. It may get really clunky at the table. But it seems like a fascinating way to go.

Then each action is executed sequentially in real time but considered simultaneous in the characters’ realm.

Finally we will check for status effects such as morale, death, ensorcelment, poison, etc.

Too fiddly? Has anyone done it this way?

Making Bows More Interesting

Now that we have established that a “Round” zips by at the speed it must and no zippier, let’s talk about rate of fire. And while we’re at it, let’s jazz up conventional bows a bit.

In CHAINMAIL, archers who were not disturbed and did not make a move were awarded two attacks in a Round. In fact in 1st edition AD&D gives the bow’s ROF as 2:1.

Remember how we were saying archers were pretty speedy even in the chaos of a melee? Let’s give the bowman 2:1 under ideal circumstances. Those circumstances are: not making a move and not being engaged in melee. So under those conditions he’s whizzing off two good shots a Round.

But what if he is being engaged in melee?

That’s bad. Not only is he only firing off one shot, but he should have some other penalties to compensate for his speedy delivery.

How about one arrow, at -4 to hit, and also -2 to AC because he’s jostling for the shot? And furthermore he can’t attempt a point-blank shot. That would be one way to go.

Another way would be to say he can’t get a shot off at all because he’s being harassed and has to fight for his life. I rather think this is the way to go. The archer has to toss his bow behind him and grab up a proper weapon to fend off an attacker. On the other hand, he can have a move.

Therefore we shall go with the second of these: no attacks and must defend, but still gets the move.

In my mind’s eye, I see this configuration encouraging formations where fighting-men, Demi-men and clerics would cover an angle of enemy attack to give the bowman two clear shots per round.

Crossbows would not work like this. First, crossbows take longer to load. Second, they can be used point-blank once loaded. So neither the bonuses or penalties of the bow would apply to crossbows.

What do you think?

"*a held missile impacts 2 steps after being fired"

Rick Stump, one of the more successful dungeon masters in the whole world, inadvertently published a few of his DM secrets on MeWe the other day. Your intrepid thief took down some notes and I'm presenting them to you today. Take a look at this gem from the inside of Rick's DM screen:

Click to enlarge

Sorry about the picture quality. It's extreme detail from a much larger image.

Anyway, look at the order of his combat Rounds. I'm surprised to see that spell casting goes the entire Round. Are you? And I'm thrilled to note the asterisk at the bottom: "a held missile impacts 2 steps after being fired."

This indicates that the archer can hold fire and loose it at a later point in the round, and that it takes time to adjudicate a a bow strike.

This makes a lot of sense. 

I've played it that a thrown weapon goes during the melee portion of the round. This has never been completely satisfactory, and the reason is now clear to me: thrown versus fired is a special effect thing, not a real mechanical distinction.

I really like how Rick orders his combat. Here's my current combat order: 

click to enlarge

In Port, I'm going to keep this chart in mind in case things go haywire, but I'm going to go with Rick's method and see what happens. It will look like this: 

click to enlarge

In addition to Rick's list, I've moved Morale to the bottom to better allow players to see surrenders and retreats coming and plan accordingly.

Incidentally, I fixed the numbering issue on the second Combat Round chart.

Stochastic Combat Rounds

Based on the sometimes-loose-and-vague ways the terms “Turn” and “Round” are used in CHAINMAIL, 0D&D, Holmes and so forth, it seems to me that the actual time period of a combat round is less important than accounting for what happens. The Twin Cities groups of Dave Arneson treated combat as frenzied blow-by-blow action. Dave solidified his Round time as twenty seconds in Adventures in Fantasy later on.

So let us say that a combat round is not a set period of time. It could be 6 seconds or 60. It is simply the period from the first action to the last - going “round” the table (and giving the enemy it’s due.)

The whole of a combat will fit inside a ten minute exploration Turn or perhaps a little more. Recovering from a combat will take time too. 

Therefore after a combat, move the character’s clock two Turns (20 minutes) ahead of when the combat began. If you as the Referee judge that the combat was especially short or long you can adjust this to be one Turn or three or in rare cases even longer. 

This especially solves the problem with the apparently low ROF in one-minute Rounds. Scholars estimate that an Englishman using a longbow would be able to aim and fire 8-12 times in a minute - or about once every six seconds. This likely refers to volley fire from a mass of archers rather than dungeon nonsense which would be slower. But at either rate, the figure using a bow would certainly fire off more than one arrow in a one minute round. Where do those extra arrows go?

We have played around with a couple of answers to the question which I could talk about if anyone is interested. But a stochastic Round seems like a good solution. It also feels better. After all no one keeps a stopwatch on the action and blows the whistle when time is up. 

Part 9: Canute and Ælfgifu

The Fate of Ironside

Edmund Ironside faced great Canute alone. Edmund proved an able general. Four times did Danes lay force to England’s shores; four times did Edmund’s lesser-numbered men turn them away. But then, as Fates bewove, at Assadun, Canute broke through and routed Edmund’s men.

This is how Canute did best old Ironside. Bards of England’s side tell grim dissemblement of Cnute’s foul raiders on that day in Assandun.[1] Bishop Eadnoth Younger, he of Dorchester, were up and slain by men of Danish March, whilst he perpetrated, ere, the act of saying mass, for Edmund and his hearty men! Eadnoth’s hand was first boned for a ring, and then his body cut to pieces whilst he lived and breathed. So Edmund and his doughty fighting-men were forced to battle then without the blessing of the Lord to hold them fast, for never did the blessing they receive! The Danes called Anglish Bishops heathen men, whilst Englishmen swore up that oath, the same, upon the brows of Danish clergy’s skein.

And who of men so great’s the folly say? It seems that God had Him the better office on the Continental wære, for Denmark’s flourish overwhelmed the Anglish players there.

Deposèd from the throne was England’s king! Edmund fled the field and took up residence in his ancestral home of paltry Wessex, and Canute took all the greater part this, the Anglestead.

And so Canute the Great, the Prince of Denmark’s shores, so won the throne of England through diplomacy of steel and blood and guile and bone. By sword-craft wrought he swift enconquerment of Albion; gay little shirt-tail cousin[2] realm of comely Albion. ‘Twas brutal culmination of his fore-kin’s centuries of pillage ‘gainst these Anglish shores.

Edmund fled to Wessex, to his family possessions in that petty kingdom there. Due to Edmund’s skill upon the fields of valor won, the Danes left Edmund there to live instead of sacking Cerdacingas lands. Edmund died, no less, within a score of weeks, from cold and damp. And only then did great Canute seize Wessex, and so knit all England there beneath him.

In 1018, Canute the Great ascended to the Danish throne at last. He was their gerent and their king. The crowns of Danish March and Albion were then united on his brow. Canute, he khabuthon[3] of Danes; commander of the mercantile forces; font of sovereignty at fore; and fulcrum to shift fate of Firmament at this, the turning point, in Dane and English lore.

Canute then ruled above the Danes and Anglo-Saxons too. And also for a time did Cnute rule Norway, making up a North Sea Empire true.

Statecraft of Canute the Great

And how did this great king keep all these holdings dear to him? Through statecraft; for he was as wise in peace as was at war. Canute accepted Christianity some time earlier within that last decade to better mark his people home in Denmark and abroad in English skein. The churches that his army sacked, he had rebuilt through Danish silver paid to Saxon hands. And also he established holy days to honor Edmund and his father, Æthelred, upon the anniversaries their deaths to show his sympathy for these near defeated men.

Canute united Dane and English under his strong governance. He then proceedeth strengthening their sibling bonds; ministering to the Angle’s land with vigor and good counsel. When the nobles of the island fawned upon him and paid homage, Great Canute rebuked them in their folly, for he had no vanity.

He bade them, “Marry, treat me as your liege. But pray, no badinage do pay to me. Your needling, mewling parody dost sour me’s the milk of your good counsel, which doth nourish of a newly king.”

Dominion lent the Danish licensenture the maritimes of Ireland-and-England-in-between. Danish granditure[4] and commerce brought to all the islands of Britannia; to the Gaelic Norse upon the Emerald Isle. Further, Diocesian capture of the Bishoprics between then Ireland and Bremen Town in Germany led to Danish domination over Rome in broad expanse. The Danish clergymen negotiated with the Pope for favorable tribute rates and goodly prices on necessities of ministry. And Great Canute controlled the roads to Rome within his purview, and did by toll of pilgrims overfill his coffers full.

His power and his wisdom managerial he used to knit the British Isles to the Jute’s peninsula. And did he raid against the Norse in Norway and in Sweden then.

The peoples of Northumberland, Five Boroughs, Middlefolk and Anglia descended eld from Angles, Saxons, and some Scandinavians. Three centuries of raiding from the Vikings on these coasts to the Northeast enblended the enpeoplement to pleasant, warm degree. These peoples honored all their ancestors as such, and thus had in them love for great Canute as one of them, their own.  The peoples of Wessex, Kent and Mercia had nary Scandinavian within their lineage, and were they more suspicious of a foreign king; especially the Cerdic[5] men of Wessex. Canute’s wise deference to English history, as well as peace he brought throughout the land (in contrast with the prior reign) won over all these men in short eventuality to honor him as well they would an Anglo-Saxon king.

Great Canute was welcoming to English knights into the ranks of houseguards, the elite of Danish and Norwegian warriors, if only in small numbers. Learnt they of each other’s ways and so achieved good discipline and comity between them. Thus, the upper crust of Denmark and of Anglestead were further knit through feudal and through martial obligation. Through to this latter day, the knights of England keep the way and armor of the houseguard of the Danes. Should ever there a battle come to England’s shores again, these knights attend, and shew the Danish ways.

Canute ensured the safety of the English from the raids of Viking men, for he controlled the greater part of them. Also did he split the country four ways, into Earldoms: Wessex, Merciaside, Northumberland, and then East Anglia.

Swein, his issue primate from his early wife Ælfgifu, he appointed up to serve as ruler over Norway in 1026. An afterthought. Put he plain Ælfgifu there in charge as well for she had shown the wit of men she paced ere in the East, and granted to her powers of a King; a Steward of the land she was to be. Swein, the son, he aged twelve, was regent. Ælfgifu, the head of state. In ’28, their conquest over Norway was complete (although dependent on the Jarls of Lade as well you may remember say’d.)

In sidewise, let us mark that Sweyn’s harsh rule upon this Norway and the Ladesmen in particular was marked by harsh taxation, as the skalds of that grim time do say:

Ælfgifu's time

long will the young man remember,

when they at home ate ox's food,

and like the goats, ate rind.[6]

---

[1] An English town. It is unknown exactly where it lay; likely in Essex, Northeast of London.

[2] Shirt-tail cousin: relative by custom, not blood.

[3] Primitive Germanic for “top of the body” or “top of a slope;” also “chieftain.” In Old Norse, the word is hofuð.

[4] Hegemony.

[5] The ruling family of Wessex was the Cerdicingas clan.

[6] A verse by her Icelandic contemporary, Sigvatr Þórðarso.

All the Fighting Rules

These are all the fighting rules I'm going to use in the Fallen Empire campaign. They fit on four pages, or five if you include the Jousting rules. 

Fighting and Combat

Indoors or outside, it’s likely that your heroes will come to deadly combat with the odd men and monsters throughout the world. You can see the Attack Matrices on the front of the Referee’s Screen. These tables tell us how hard it is for someone to hit you and how hard it is to hit someone else in melee and missile combat.

When your character dies in the game, don’t take it personally. You are not your character, and the Referee and his monsters are not your personal enemies (even though they are the enemies of the treasure hunters in their world.) Try to see your heroic adventures as chapters in the novel of that character’s life and remember them fondly. Then start a new story with a new character.

Let’s examine the steps we go through in one Combat round.

The Surprise Round: For the first Round of combat only, each side must check to see if it has surprised the other. Have each side throw 1d6. On a result of 5 or 6, they have achieved surprise. In this case, the other side may not act in the first Round of melee. It is possible for both sides to be Surprised at once!

During the Surprise Round, the side which has surprised the other gains a +1 To-Hit. This bonus does “stack” with other To-Hit bonuses.

1. Each side checks morale, if appropriate. First the monsters, then the Henchmen of the Player-Characters and other NPCs on the side of the good guys. Check Morale for either side first when one side or the other has their first casualty, and then again when half of that side or more has been defeated. If the side passes both Morale checks, they will fight until death. Otherwise someone will surrender or try to run away.
2. Once combat begins, each person and then the monsters declare what kind of action they intend. The kinds of actions are full movement, make a missile attack, cast a magic spell, make a melee attack, and “other” which includes anything else.
3. Each side rolls 1d6 for Initiative. The side that rolls higher gets to make their actions first. In the case of a tie, everybody does everything simultaneously.
4. Movement happens. Characters and monsters can move 1/3 of their base movement in scale inches for free. Moving farther than that precludes taking any other actions that Round.
5. Ranged Attacks happen. Anyone with a sling or a bow fires off their weapon. In the case of hitting an enemy Magic-User, their spell is ruined!
6. Melee Attacks happen. Anyone attacking with a sword or mace, for instance, makes their attack now.
7. Magic Spells are cast. Again, if you are going second or there is a tie in the Initiative that Round, and you are hit with a missile weapon, your spell has been ruined and is lost from your mind.
8. Miscellaneous Actions happen. Maybe you want to drink a potion, use a magic wand, or push over a table as a barricade. These actions happen last.
9. Repeat for the side that lost Initiative. Go back to #1 and see what happens next!

The Opportunity Attack: Should a combatant currently engaged in melee attempt a Full Retreat or if a character moves right past you (including on a Charge), you get to have one “free” attack out of turn. If this attack succeeds at dealing at least one Hit Point of damage, the moving combatant must stop moving. Only one such Opportunity Attack may be attempted per combatant per Round.

Tactical Movement: Clever players and monsters won’t simply stand toe-to-toe beating each other’s brains out, but will rather make movements within combat- advances, withdrawals, and even full retreats when the time is right!

Fighting Withdrawal: A Fighting Withdrawal is the only safe way to leave a place that is threatened by an opponent. When a character withdraws, he backs carefully away from his opponent without turning his back or creating an attack of opportunity for his opponent.

Withdrawing is a move that takes place at the beginning of the Round. A withdrawing character cannot attack or cast spells, although he can still make opportunity attacks.

He does not attack, but moves backwards up to one-third speed (usually 4” or less) and retains his full Armor Class.

Full Retreat: Any melee combatant may attempt a Full Retreat. He moves away from melee at full speed (usually 12” or less). His opponent(s) get a free attack out of turn against him and the character does not receive the benefit of his Shield or DEX bonus to AC. If any attack deals damage to him, the Retreat is negated and the retreater is stuck in combat for another Round!

The exception to this free-attack rule is if an ally moves into melee with the same opponent(s) to cover the retreat.

The Charge: A "Charge" is a melee action in which your character moves as fast as possible, planning to use a weapon at a point of impact, benefitting by the force added due to momentum.

A PC or other character can "Charge" anywhere as long as he expends at least half his base full move in the process, and only if he is holding and using a melee weapon.

A Charging character is +2 to hit, but -2 Armor Classes. If your man’s “Charge” hits, the damage inflicted is double normal; throw twice the normal number of dice, and then apply bonuses (strength, magic, etc.).

Charging creatures must have suitable weapons: a skirmish weapon or large horns or tusks. A monster without such weaponry doesn't have the ability to charge.

Setting the Spear: If a PC or another character is aware of an opponent using the “Charge” maneuver against him and is acting first in a Round, He can use a tricky maneuver to stop the Charge: he can “set” a spear or pole arm against the charge by bracing it with his foot or against some heavy object. On a successful hit, he deals double damage and negates the attack at the end of the Charge. Only Fighting-Men, Men-At-Arms and Demi-Men are able to “set” a spear in this way.

Rear Attacks: Melee attacks to the rear of the target (aside from being dishonorable), gain a +2 to hit, and the defender does not get the AC benefit from his shield if he uses one.

Other Combat Rules

Cover: Should a character in missile fire combat find his mark behind cover of some kind, throw 1d6 after determining a hit. A throw of 1-3 means the attack hit the cover instead. Of course, characters may “cover” one another, like a Secret Service man taking a hit for the President.

Firing into Melee: A missile shot into melee that is scored a hit has an equal chance to hit any character engaged in that instance of melee, even the attacker’s allies. So be careful! Henchmen and Retainers will never fire into a melee, for fear of hitting their bosses.

Mounted Combat: Mounted cavalrymen and knights gain a +2 to hit and a +2 to damage over combatants on foot. Lances have an extra 10’ reach as well, which makes it likely that cavalrymen automatically gain initiative if he uses one.

One the other hand, shooting a bow from horseback imparts a -1 penalty to hit, and only Shortbows can be used from horseback anyway.

Surrounding Individual Combatants: If you and your party want to surround an enemy, up to six Men may encircle a Man-sized opponent. Up to eight Men may encircle a larger opponent.

Fighting requires 5’ of frontage per man in any case, unless in tight formation. If a single target is at least halfway surrounded, the majority attackers get a +1 to hit.

Shields Shall be Splintered!: You get the usual -1 to your AC with a shield. However, any time you take damage, you can opt instead to say your shield absorbed the force of the blow. The shield is shattered and must be discarded, but you don't take any damage from that hit. It's quick, it's easy, and it's valuable.

Magic shields can be given up once per day without shattering, but then they are considered nonmagical for the rest of the day. If you give it up again, it is shattered permanently.

Shields made from the heartwood of the rowan tree (which is sacred to the Elves) can be given up to avoid one magic effect, even one that deals no damage or one that offers no Save.

Shieldmate: A Fighting-Man or Demi-Man using a shield and standing next to another character also provides their shield bonus to AC to that character. Therefore two Fighting-Men with shields, for instance, standing side by side, grant each other an additional -1 AC.

Subdual Damage: Attacks made with the “flat of the blade” for non-lethal damage suffer a -2 attack penalty. Many weapons can be used this way.

If a character or monster reduced to zero Hit Points has taken at least some subdual damage, the he becomes unconscious rather than dead. A character knocked out in this way but not subsequently killed will wake up with 1-3 hit points in 1-3 Turns, or can be awakened by someone else after 1 Turn. This is one way to force a monster to serve you if you want.

Character Damage Effects

Hit Points: No one can say exactly what a Hit Point is. They are an abstract scale with “completely unharmed” at one end and “dead” at the other end.

Poisons, Toxins, Venoms: Not all poisons kill you instantly. Not all poisons kill you outright at all. These can have varied effects over relatively long periods of time. “Save versus Poison” is not an instant death sentence, but it usually serious.

Natural Healing Rates: 1 Hit Point is healed each night on the trail. 1d3 Hit Points is healed per night of good bed rest back in town.

Bandages: “Bandages” is a catch-all for first aid supplies. Applying Bandages takes one Round (1 Minute) and heals 1 hit point. For characters under 0 hit points, Bandages will stabilize their condition.

After you use one supply of Bandages, roll 1d6. On a 1, that Bandages is expended.

Character Death: When characters reach zero Hit Points, they are hovering on the brink of consciousness, about to breathe their last. They cannot move, and only have a vague idea of what’s going on around them.

From -1 to -10 hits, you're on the edge of consciousness, unable to act. You can crawl 10 feet if the situation allows it.

At The End Of Each Round (1 minute Round) you Save or Die. If you miss it, you're dead. But conceivably you can hang on for a long time. After this check, see what else happens.

You will be stabilized by someone if they apply Bandages or healing magic. This takes 1 Round. If you are stable, you cannot fight or cast spells, but you can move with the group.

You can apply your own Bandages or drink a potion if you make a CON check to stay awake and focused enough. This raises you to 0 HP and you don't need to make any more checks. It will not cure poison or something if that's what nearly killed you.

Your New Character: You can roll up a new one like we did at the beginning or you can promote one of your own Retainers or Men-At-Arms. Remember the “Squander” Rule can advance your new character by quite a bit, if you decided to sock away any extra XP that way.

The Joust

Jousting Contests: Jousting is more sport than battle, and is conducted most commonly between Fighting-Men, although anyone who can wear Plate armor and carry shield and lance should be able to try it out.

Blue-bloods shall often call jousts and offer as a prize some amount of money. The greater the noble who calls the joust, the more prestige to the winner, and the more knights who will come.

“Official” jousts are called at many times outside of wartime, but usually during another festival or holy day. Fighters sometimes settle contests of skill or insults real or imagined over a joust. They can be for fun or very serious, but no one is meant to actually be injured.

The host calls upon any number of participants from far and wide. The host himself will compete if he can.

Jousts with many entrants are called Lists, and may proceed either by Swiss rounds or single-elimination at the decision of the host. Lawful hosts usually offer the first method while Chaotic hosts will usually offer the latter.

In a round of jousting, mounted horsemen take three rides at one another with the intent of knocking off the helm or unhorsing the other fellow. Scoring aside from these two outcomes is arcane, and for the most part, neither rider will lose his helm or his horse.

If the adventuring party in the Wilderlands comes upon the castle of a black knight, that knight may challenge one of the characters to a joust. If the black knight wins, he will take that character’s horse and armor! If the PC wins, the whole party gets to stay at the castle, rest up, and get fresh horses when they depart.

The Joust’s Game Rules: Each combatant has a Dice Pool with 1d6 for each hit die or fraction he has.

Each player secretly chooses to throw one to three dice and hides the number from the other combatant. If one player has chosen to throw fewer dice than his opponent, then ties count as victories to him (and defeats to the majority holder.) At the signal, each throws his dice.

Match up each player’s highest-scoring die with the other’s highest die, then the second-highest, and so on. Each die throw lost subtracts a die from the loser’s Dice Pool. Dice without a mate are not counted.

A player may only throw as many dice as are remaining in his Dice Pool or a maximum of three in any case. Should he be all out of dice, he has lost for the whole round.

A round of jousting continues until one or both jousters are out of dice to throw. The player whose character has the largest remaining Dice Pool is the winner. Differences in experience Level of 1-2 can sometimes be overcome by a canny player with hot dice, but the higher-Level combatant enjoys a strong advantage in any joust.

Unhorsing and Helm Tipping: Should a player throw three dice and the three dice all come up the same number (all 5’s for instance), the opponent is unhorsed, the round ends, and that player is the winner. This is the rule for any triple thrown except for triple 1’s. Should both players unhorse each other, score the round normally. Alternately, the Referee may say that the helm is tipped off rather than the rider being unhorsed.

Injuring the Opponent: If a player throws all 1’s on one, two or three dice, he has injured his opponent! Whether it has happened accidentally or through underhanded tactics, this is considered quite dishonorable. The injured knight then takes as many dice of real damage as the other player’s knight had thrown and is out of the tournament to recover. The dishonored knight is ejected from the tournament immediately.

In such a case, it is customary for the injuring party and the host of the tournament to split the cost of nursing the injured knight back to health.