Combat

The Combat Round

If an encounter escalates into a combat situation, the time scale of the game automatically goes to rounds (also called melee rounds or combat rounds). Rounds are used to measure the actions of characters in combat (or other intensive actions in which time is important).

A round is approximately one minute long. Ten combat rounds equal a turn (or, put another way, a turn equals 10 minutes of game time). This is particularly important to remember for spells that last for turns, rather than rounds. Rounds are further divided into 10 segments of 6 seconds each.

What You Can Do in One Round

Whatever the precise length of a combat round, a character can accomplish only one basic action in that round, be it making an attack, casting a spell, drinking a potion, or tending to a fallen comrade. The basic action, however, may involve several lesser actions.

Some examples of the actions a character can accomplish include the following:

Move to the limit of his movement rate
Make an attack (make attack rolls up to the maximum number allowed the character class at a given level)
Move 1/2 his movement rate and make a single attack (giving up the initiative to their opponent)
Cast one or two spells (if the casting time for both together is one round or less)
Drink a potion
Light a torch
Use a magical item
Read a scroll
Attempt to open a stuck or secret door
Bind a character's wounds
Search one body
Hammer in a spike
Recover a dropped weapon
Change weapons, sheathing or otherwise retaining possession of the first one

There are also actions that take a negligible amount of time, things the character does without affecting his ability to perform a more important task. Examples of these include the following:

Shout warnings, brief instructions, or demands for surrender, but not conversations where a reply is expected.
Change weapons by dropping one and drawing another. (Note that dropping fragile weapons such as a bow may have deleterious effects on the weapon.)
Drop excess equipment, such as backpacks, lanterns, or torches.

The Combat Sequence

Within a combat round, there is a set series of steps that must be followed. These steps are:

The DM decides what actions the monsters or NPCs will take, including casting spells (if any).
The players announce any spells they intend to cast.
Initiative is determined.
The players indicate what their characters will do.
Attacks are made in order of initiative.

These steps are followed until the combat ends--either one side is defeated, surrenders, or runs away.

NPC/Monster Determination: In the first step, the DM secretly decides in general terms what each opponent will do--attack, flee, or cast a spell. He does not announce his decisions to the players. If a spell is to be cast, the DM picks the spell before the players announce their characters' actions.

Player Spellcaster Determination: Player spellcasters announce what spells they will cast, and exactly what the target is. Once the spell is announced, it is as good as GONE, whether it works or not. (See Spellcasting and Initiative below.)

Initiative: In the third step, dice are rolled to determine initiative, according to the rules for initiative (see "Initiative" below).

Player Determination: Next, the players (other than spellcasters) give a general indication of what their characters are planning to do. This should be as precise as possible, but can be changed somewhat, if the DM decides circumstances warrant.

Before moving on, the DM will make sure he has a clear idea of not only what the player characters are doing, but also what actions any hirelings and henchmen are taking. Once he has a clear view of everything that's likely to happen, the DM can overrule any announced action that violates the rules (or in the case of an NPC, is out of character).

He is not required to overrule an impossible action, but he can let a character attempt it anyway, knowing full well the character cannot succeed. It is not the DM's position to advise players on the best strategies, most intelligent actions, or optimum maneuvers for their characters.

Resolution: In the last step, PCs, NPCs, and monsters make their attacks, spells occur, and any other actions are resolved according to the order of initiative.

The above sequence is not immutable. Indeed, some monsters violate the standard sequence, and some situations demand the application of common sense. In these cases the DM's word is final.

Initiative

The initiative roll determines who acts first in any given combat round. Initiative is not set, but changes from round to round (combat being an uncertain thing, at best). A character never knows for certain if he will get to act before another.

Initiative is normally determined with a single roll for each side in a conflict. This tells whether all the members of the group get to act before or after those of the other side(s). Optionally, each character can make their own initiative rolls, though the DM is likely to make a single roll for their opponents, unless the situation dictates otherwise.

Standard Initiative Procedure

To determine the initiative order for a round of combat, roll 1d10 for each side in the battle. Normally, this means the DM rolls for the monsters (or NPCs), while one of the players rolls for the PC party. Low roll wins initiative. It is presumed that the initiative roll represents the segment during which their action takes place, whether it is to make an attack, or move, or drink a potion. If more than two sides are involved in combat, the remaining sides act in descending order of initiative.

If both (or all) sides roll the same number for initiative, roll again. There may be some rare occasions where the DM declares that everything happens simultaneously-- in those rare cases, all attack rolls, damage, spells, and other actions are completed before any results are applied.

Initiative Modifiers

Situational factors can affect who has initiative. To reflect this, modifiers are added to or subtracted from the initiative die roll.

Standard Modifiers to Initiative

Specific Situation	Modifier
Hasted	-2
Slowed	+2
On higher ground	-1
Set to receive a charge	-2
Wading or slippery footing	+2
Wading in deep water	+4
Foreign environment*	+6
Hindered (tangled, climbing, held)	+3
Waiting	+1
Drinking a Potion	+4
Casting a spell or reading a scroll	Casting time of the spell

*This applies to situations in which the party is in a completely different environment (swimming underwater without the aid of a ring of free action, for example).

Modifiers are applied individually to each character. For example, if the party rolled a 3 and the other side rolled a 4, but Rath the fighter is on slippery footing, he would increase his initiative to 5, thus not getting to attack until after the opponents.

Multiple Attacks and Initiative

Often combat involves creatures or characters able to attack more than once in a single round. This may be due to multiple attack forms (claws and bite), skill with a weapon, or character level. No matter what the reason, all multiple attacks are handled by one of two methods.

When multiple attacks are the result of different attack forms--claws and a bite or bite and tail or a character fighting with two weapons--the attacks all occur at the same time. The creature resolves all of its attacks in initiative order.

When the attacks are true multiples--using the same weapon more than once--as in the case of a highly skilled fighter, the attacks are staggered. Everyone involved in the combat completes one action before the second (or subsequent) attack roll is made.

Take, for example, a fighter who by virtue of his level can attack twice per round, and say he's battling creatures that can only make one attack. Whether or not his side won the initiative roll, he makes his first attack first. Then each creature gets its attack. Finally, the fighter gets his second attack. Other members of his party that do NOT have multiple attack capability attack according to the rolled initiative order.

If fighters on both sides in a battle were able to attack twice in the round, their first attacks would occur according to the initiative roll. Their second attacks would come after all other attacks, and would then alternate according to the initiative roll.

Spellcasting and Initiative

William the wizard decides to cast a 3-segment spell. His side rolls 4 for initiative. He adds 3 to that to determine that his spell will take effect in segment 7.

Spell casters must announce what spell they intend to cast at the beginning of each round prior to any knowledge of which side has initiative.

They will add the spell's casting time in segments to their initiative roll, and that will be the segment during which the spell will take effect.

Intelligent monsters able to recognize the danger of spells will direct attacks against spell casters if not engaged by other opponents so as to be prevented from so doing.

The spell caster cannot use his or her dexterity bonus to avoid being hit during spell casting; doing so interrupts the spell.

Any successful attack, or non-saved-against attack upon the spell caster that lands before the spell takes effect interrupts the spell.

Spells that require more than one round to cast involve some bookkeeping. The DM or one of the players must keep track of the rounds spent in casting. If the spellcasting character is disturbed during this time, the spell is lost. If all goes well, the spell takes effect at the very end of the last round of the required casting time. Thus, a spell requiring 10 minutes to cast would require 10 combat rounds, and wouldn't take effect until the very end of the 10th round.

The Attack Roll

At the heart of the combat system is the attack roll. This is the die roll that determines whether an attack succeeds or fails. The number a player needs in order to make a successful attack roll is also called the "to-hit" number.

Attack rolls are used for attacks with swords, bows, rocks, and other weapons, as well as blows from fists, tackling, and other hand-to-hand attacks. Attack rolls are also used to resolve a variety of potentially injury-causing actions that require accuracy (for example, throwing a rock at a small target or tossing a sword to a party member in the middle of a fight).

Figuring the To-Hit Number

The first step in making an attack roll is to find the number needed to hit the target. The base number to roll for a successful attack is simply the AC of the target. Characters, NPCs and creatures all have modifiers to this roll based on their level and class. The table below shows these "to hit" modifiers for each class and level. The modifiers in this table are applied to the die roll.

To Hit Modifiers by Class and Level

Level	Warriors	Priests	Rogues	Wizards
1	0	0	-1	-1
2	+1	0	-1	-1
3	+2	+1	0	-1
4	+3	+2	0	0
5	+4	+2	+1	0
6	+5	+3	+1	+1
7	+6	+4	+2	+1
8	+7	+4	+3	+2
9	+8	+5	+4	+2
10	+9	+6	+4	+3
11	+10	+6	+5	+4
12	+11	+7	+5	+4
13	+12	+8	+6	+5
14	+13	+8	+6	+5
15	+14	+9	+7	+6
16	+15	+10	+7	+7
17	+16	+10	+8	+7
18	+17	+11	+8	+8
19	+18	+12	+9	+8
20	+19	+12	+9	+9

The DM may also throw in situational modifiers, (for example, a bonus if the target is struck from behind, or a penalty if the target is crouching behind a boulder). If the final, modified die roll on 1d20 is equal to or greater than the number needed to hit the target, the attack succeeds. If the roll is lower than that needed, the attack fails.

Modifiers to the Attack Roll

In combat, many factors can modify the number a character needs for a successful hit. These variables are reflected in modifiers to the attack roll.

Standard Combat Modifiers

Situation	Attack Roll Modifier
Attacker on higher ground	+1
Defender invisible	-4
Defender off-balance	+2
Defender sleeping or held	Automatic*
Defender stunned or prone	+4
Defender surprised	+1
Missile fire, long range	-5
Missile fire, medium range	-2
Rear attack	+2

*If the defender is attacked during the course of a normal melee, the attack automatically hits and causes normal damage. If no other fighting is going on (i.e., all others have been slain or driven off), the defender can be slain automatically.

Strength Modifiers: A character's Strength can modify the die roll, altering both the chance to hit and the damage caused. This modifier is always applied to melees and attacks with hurled missile weapons (a spear or an axe).

A positive Strength modifier can be applied to bows if the character has a special bow made for him, designed to take advantage of his high Strength, and if the character has taken that bow as a weapon specialty. Characters with Strength penalties always suffer them when using a bow weapon. They simply are not able to draw back the bowstring far enough. Characters never have Strength modifiers when using crossbows--the power of the shot is imparted by the machine, not the player character.

Magical items: The magical properties of a weapon can also modify combat. Items that impart a bonus to the attack roll or Armor Class are identified by a plus sign. For example, a sword +1 improves a character's chance to hit by one. A suit of chain mail +1 improves the Armor Class of the character by one. Cursed items have a negative modifier (a penalty), resulting in a subtraction from the attack roll or Armor Class.

There is no limit to the number of modifiers that can be applied to a single die roll. Nor is there a limit to the positive or negative number (the total of all modifiers) that can be applied to a die roll.

Impossible To-Hit Numbers

Sometimes the attacker's to-hit number seems impossible to roll. An attack may be so difficult it requires a roll greater than 20 (on a 20-sided die!), or so ridiculously easy it can be made on a roll less than 1. In both cases, an attack roll is still required!

No matter what number a character needs to hit, a natural roll of 20 is always considered a hit and a natural roll of 1 is always a miss, unless the DM rules otherwise.

Thus, even if a character's chance to hit a monster is 23 and the character has a -3 penalty applied to the die roll, he might be able to score a hit--but only if the die roll is a 20 before any modifiers are applied. Likewise, a character able to hit a monster on a 3 or better, waving a sword +4, could still miss if a 1 is rolled on the die.

There are no sure things, good or bad, in the unpredictable chaos of combat situations.

Injury and Death

To allow characters to be heroic (and for ease of play), damage is handled abstractly in the AD&D game. All characters and monsters have a number of hit points. The more hit points a creature has, the harder it is to defeat.

At 1st level, Freddie the Fighter has 8 hp, and a Constitution score of 14. His "physical" hit points are 8. At 2nd level, he has 12 hp, and his "physical" hit points are 12. By the time he's reached 3rd level, his total hit points are 20. At that point, his "physical" hit points are 14+3=17.

A certain amount of these hit points represent the actual physical punishment which can be sustained. That number, referred to as the "Physical hit point Threshold", is initially equal to the character's maximum hit points. Once the character has gained more hit points than their Constitution score, the number is the Constitution score plus their number of Hit Dice[ Remember that after a certain level, characters stop gaining hit dice, and only gain hit points ].

The remainder, a significant portion of hit points at higher levels, stands for skill, luck, and/or magical factors. The "Physical" hit points are important to know when a character is healing naturally. (See Natural Healing below.)

A typical man-at-arms can take about 5 hit points of damage before being killed. Let us suppose that a 10th level fighter has 55 hit points, plus a bonus of 30 hit points for his constitution, for a total of 85 hit points. This is the equivalent of about 18 hit dice for creatures; about what it would take to kill four huge warhorses. It is ridiculous to assume that even a fantastic fighter can take that much punishment. The some holds true to a lesser extent for clerics, thieves, and the other classes.

Thus, the majority of hit points are symbolic of combat skill, luck (bestowed by supernatural powers), and magical forces.

Damage is subtracted from a character's (or creature's) hit points. Should one of the player characters hit an ogre in the side of the head for 8 points of damage, those 8 points are subtracted from the ogre's total hit points. The damage isn't applied to the head, or divided among different areas of the body.

Hit point loss is cumulative until a character dies or has a chance to heal his wounds.

Wounds

Cwell the Fine, with 16 hit points, is injured by an orc that causes 3 points of damage. Fifteen minutes later, Cwell runs into a bugbear that inflicts 7 points of damage, Cwell has suffered 10 points of damage. This 10 points of damage remains until Cwell heals, either naturally or through magical means.

When a character hits a monster, or vice versa, damage is suffered by the victim. The amount of damage depends on the weapon or method of attack. All weapons are rated for the amount of damage they inflict to Small, Medium, and Large targets. This is given as a die range (1d8, 2d6, etc.).

Each time a hit is scored, the appropriate dice are rolled and the damage is subtracted from the current hit points of the target. An orc that attacks with a sword, for example, causes damage according to the information given for the type of sword it uses.

Sometimes damage is listed as a die range along with a bonus of +1 or more. This bonus may be due to high Strength, magical weapons, or the sheer ferocity of the creature's attack. The bonus is added to whatever number comes up on the die roll, assuring that some minimum amount of damage is caused. Likewise, penalties can also be applied, but no successful attack can result in less than 1 point of damage.

Sometimes an attack has both a die roll bonus and a damage multiplier. The number rolled on the dice is multiplied by the multiplier to determine how much damage is inflicted. This occurs mainly in backstabbing attempts. In cases where damage is multiplied, only the base damage caused by the weapon is multiplied. Bonuses due to Strength or magic are not multiplied; they are added after the rolled damage is multiplied.

Special Damage

Getting hit by weapons or monsters isn't the only way a character can get hurt. Indeed, the world is full of dangers for poor, hapless player characters, dangers the DM can occasionally spring on them with glee. Some of the nastier forms of damage are described below.

Falling

When a character falls, he suffers 1d6 points of damage for every 10 feet fallen, to a maximum of 20d6 (which for game purposes can be considered terminal velocity).

Paralysis

A character or creature affected by paralysis becomes totally immobile for the duration of the spell's effect. The victim can breathe, think, see, and hear, but he is unable to speak or move in any manner. Coherent thought needed to trigger magical items or innate powers is still possible.

Paralysis affects only the general motor functions of the body, but one suffering from it can be attacked as a sleeping person, that is, a paralyzed person can be killed automatically in one round. In addition, it can be particularly potent on flying creatures.

Paralysis generally makes a body limp, rather than stiff.

Energy Drain

This is a feature of powerful undead (and other particularly nasty monsters). The energy drain is a particularly horrible power, since it causes the loss of one or more experience levels!

When a character is hit by an energy-draining creature, he suffers normal damage from the attack. In addition, the character loses one or more levels (and thus, Hit Dice and hit points). For each level lost, roll the Hit Dice appropriate to the character's class and subtract that number of hit points from the character's total (subtract the Constitution bonus also, if applicable). If the level(s) lost was one in which the character received a set number of hit points rather than a die roll, subtract the appropriate number of hit points. The adjusted hit point total is now the character's maximum (i.e., hit points lost by energy drain are not taken as damage but are lost permanently).

Poison

This is an all-too frequent hazard faced by player characters. Bites, stings, deadly potions, drugged wines, and bad food all await characters at the hands of malevolent wizards, evil assassins, hideous monsters, and incompetent innkeepers. Spiders, snakes, centipedes, scorpions, wyverns, and certain giant frogs all have poisons deadly to characters. Wise PCs quickly learn to respect and fear such creatures.

Furthermore, the effect of a poison depends on how it is delivered. Most frequently, it must be injected into the bloodstream by bite or sting. Other poisons are only effective if swallowed; assassins favor these for doctoring food. By far the most deadly variety, however, is contact poison, which need only touch the skin to be effective.

Poison Types and Strength

Injected
Class	% Die Roll	Onset	Strength
A	1-10	2-24 minutes	Paralytic
B	11-25	1-3 hours	Debilitative
C	26-40	10-30 minutes	15 / 0
D	41-60	2-12 minutes	20 / d3
E	61-80	2-5 minutes	25 / 2d4
F	81-97	1-2 minutes	30 / 2d6
G	98-99	Immediate	Death / 2d10
H	00	Immediate	Death / 20
Ingested
Class	% Die Roll	Onset	Strength
I	1-30	2-12 hours	20 / 10
J	31-60	1-4 hours	20 / 10
K	61-90	2-12 minutes	30 / 15
L	90-00	1-4 minutes	Death / 20
Contact
Class	% Die Roll	Onset	Strength
M	1-50	2-8 minutes	5 / 0
N	51-75	2-8 minutes	10 / 0
O	75-95	1-4 minutes	20 / 5
P	94-00	1 minute	Death / 25

Method: The method is the way in which the poison must normally be used to have full effect.

Injected and ingested have no effect on contact.
Contact poisons have full effect even if swallowed or injected, since both are forms of contact.
Injected or ingested poisons have half their normal effect if administered in the opposite manner, resulting in the save damage being applied if the saving throw is failed and no damage occurring if the saving throw is successful.

% Die Roll: Normally, the DM will simply choose a type of poison to fit the situation. However, if necessary, a die roll can determine the potency and onset time of a poison.

Onset: Most poisons require time to work their way through the system to reach the areas they affect. Onset is the time that elapses before the poison's effect is felt. The effect of immediate poisons is felt at the instant the poison is applied.

Strength: The number before the slash lists the hit points of damage suffered if the saving throw is failed. The number after the slash lists the damage taken (if any) if the saving throw is successful. Where "death" is listed, hit points are immediately reduced to -1, and the victim will then begin dying. (See Character Death below.)
Note that in some cases a character may roll a successful saving throw and still die from the hit point loss.

Not all poisons need cause damage. Two other common effects of poison are to paralyze or debilitate a victim.

Paralytic poisons leave the character unable to move for 2d6 hours. His body is limp, making it difficult for others to move him. The character suffers no other ill effects from the poison, but his condition can lead to quite a few problems for his companions.

Debilitating poisons weaken the character for 1d3 days. All of the character's ability scores are reduced by half during this time. All appropriate adjustments to attack rolls, damage, Armor Class, etc., from the lowered ability scores are applied during the course of the illness. Furthermore, the character moves at one-half his normal movement rate. Finally, the character cannot heal by normal or magical means until the poison is neutralized or the duration of the debilitation is elapsed.

Treating Poison Victims

Fortunately, there are many ways a character can be treated for poison. Several spells exist that either slow the onset time, enabling the character the chance to get further treatment, or negate the poison entirely. In fact, Clerical spells which counteract or slow the effects of poison can be administered even to those who seem to have suffered death from the poison. A cleric casting a slow or neutralize poison can cast it successfully 10 minutes (1 turn) after the poisoning for every level they have attained.

However, cure spells (including heal) do not negate the progress of a poison, and neutralize poison doesn't recover hit points already lost to the effects of poison. In addition, characters with herbalism proficiency can take steps to reduce the danger poison presents to player characters.

Healing

Characters can heal either by natural or magical means. Natural healing is slow, but it's available to all characters, regardless of class. Magical healing may or may not be available, depending on the presence (or absence) of spellcasters or magical devices.

The only limit to the amount of damage a character can recover through healing is the total hit points the character has. Healing can never restore more hit points to a character than his maximum hit point total.

Natural Healing

The rate that characters heal depends on whether they have been reduced to less than their physical hit point threshold. Characters heal "physical" hit points naturally at a rate of 1 hit point per day of rest. Rest is defined as low activity--nothing more strenuous than riding a horse or traveling from one place to another. Fighting, running in fear, lifting a heavy boulder, or any other physical activity prevents resting, since it strains old wounds and may even reopen them.

If a character has complete bed rest (doing nothing for an entire day), he can regain 3 "physical" hit points for the day.

Once a character has healed past the physical hp threshold, natural healing is much faster. A 4 hour rest will restore 3 hp, and an uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep will restore 6 hp.

In both cases above, the character is assumed to be getting adequate food, water, and sleep. If these are lacking, the character does not regain any hit points that day.

Herbalism & Healing Proficiencies

Characters can also gain minor healing benefits from those proficient in the arts of healing and herbalism. These talents are explained here. A summary is in the table below:

Character Healing Rates

	Below Threshold		Above Threshold
Healer	Restful Day	Bed Rest	4 Hours Rest	8 Hours Sleep	Poison Saving Throws
No healer	1 hp / day	3 hp / day	3 hp	6 hp
Healer Proficiency	2 hp / day	4 hp / day	5 hp	8 hp	+2 vs. Injected only
Healer and Herbalist Proficiency	3 hp / day	5 hp / day	6 hp	9 hp	+2 vs. any

Magical Healing

Healing spells, potions, and magical devices can speed the process of healing considerably. By using these methods, wounds close instantly and vigor is restored. The effects are immediate. Magical healing works equally well to restore "physical" or other hit point losses.

Magical healing is particularly useful in the midst of combat or in preparation for a grievous encounter. Remember, however, that the characters' opponents are just as likely to have access to magical healing as the player characters--an evil high priest is likely to carry healing spells to bestow on his own followers and guards. Healing is not, of itself, a good or evil act.

Character Death

Example: Bob the barbarian is a fighter with constitution 14. His pool would be (14/3= 4.6) ≈ 5d10. Mary the Magician with a CON of 11 would get a pool of (11/3= 3.6) ≈ 4d4.

When a character reaches 0 or fewer hit points, he falls to the ground unconscious, and begins dying. On the next round, he establishes a pool of XdY, where X = CON/3 (rounded up) and Y = the hit die type of the character.

His survival from this point on depends on the quick thinking of his companions. If they reach the character quickly and spend at least one round tending to his wounds--stanching the flow of blood, etc., the character will be stabilized, though still unconscious.

Until that happens though, the player will roll the pool of dice in each successive round, (would it be too awful to call it a "Dead Pool"?) and remove any dice that come up as a 1. This is repeated (with the reduced pool of dice) each round. When the last die is removed, the character is dead. Hopefully before then, one of his comrades will have taken the time to render aid, thus stabilizing the character's condition.

Bob the barbarian dropped below 0 hit points, and started with a pool of 5d10. It was a fierce battle though, and his pool was reduced to 3 dice before Mary the Magician was able to come to his aid. Unfortunately, he subsequently suffered additional damage, and the death clock started again with just 3 dice.

If the only action is to bind his wounds (which any character can do), the injured character no longer has to roll the pool of dice, but he remains unconscious and vulnerable to damage from further attacks. The character will remain unconscious until a character with healing proficiency lends aid, or a cure spell of some type [ Cure Light Wounds, Cure Serious Wounds, Cure Critical Wounds, or potion ] is cast upon him. Any further attacks while the character is unconscious will re-start the round by round dice rolling, with the pool starting as it was when they were first tended to.

Note that a character that is "helpless" can be slain in a single round, unless a companion is "standing over the body" defending it.

If a character with healing proficiency lends aid, or if a cure spell of any type [ Cure Light Wounds, Cure Serious Wounds, Cure Critical Wounds, or potion ] is cast upon him, the character is immediately restored to 1 hit point--no more. Further cures do the character no good until he has had at least one (complete, 24-hour) day of rest. Until such time, he is weak and feeble, unable to fight and barely able to move. His Strength, Dexterity and Constitution are reduced to half, along with all they abilities accrued because of them. He must stop and rest often, can't cast spells (the shock of near death has wiped them from his mind), and is generally confused and feverish. He is able to move and can hold somewhat disjointed conversations, but that's it. If the character can survive 24 hours without being injured again, normal non-magical and magical healing can take place.

If a Heal spell is cast on the character, his hit points are restored as per the spell, and he has full vitality and wits. Any spells he may have known are still wiped from his memory. (Even this powerful spell does not negate the shock of the experience.)

Death From Poison

Poison complicates this situation, somewhat. A character who dies or is reduced to below zero hit points as a result of poisoning may still have active venom in his system.

Poisons remain effective for 2d6 hours after the death of the victim. If the character is raised during this time, or treated as described above, some method must be found to neutralize the poison before the character is restored to life. If this is not done, then after the character rolls the resurrection survival check as given in "Raising the Dead" later (and assuming the roll is successful), he must immediately roll a successful saving throw vs. poison or suffer all the effects of the poison in his body, as per the normal rules. This may only injure some characters, but it may kill other characters seconds after being raised!

Death From Massive Damage

For example, a character would be required to make a check if a dragon breathed on him for 72 points of damage. He wouldn't have to do so if eight orcs hit him for a total of 53 points of damage in that round.

In addition to dying when hit points reach 0, a character also runs the risk of dying abruptly when he suffers massive amounts of damage. A character who suffers 50 or more points of damage from a single attack must roll a successful saving throw vs. death, or he 'dies'.

This applies only if the damage was done by a single attack. Multiple attacks totaling ≥50 points in a single round don't require a saving throw.

If the saving throw is successful, the character remains alive (unless of course the ≥50-hit-point loss reduced his hit points to 0 or below!). If the saving throw fails, the character immediately 'dies' from the intense shock his body has taken. His hit points are reduced to 0, and he will start rolling his "Dead Pool" of dice.

The character may still be raised in the normal ways [ Raise Dead, Resurrection ], however.

Inescapable Death

There are occasions when death is unavoidable, no matter how many hit points a character has.

A character could be locked in a room with no exits, with a 50-ton ceiling descending to crush him. He could be trapped in an escape-proof box filled completely with acid. These examples are extreme (and extremely grisly), but they could happen in a fantasy world.

Raising the Dead

Curative and healing spells have no effect on a dead character--he can only be returned to life with a Raise Dead or Resurrection spell (or a device that accomplishes one of these effects). Each time a character is returned to life, the player must make a resurrection survival roll based on his current Constitution. If the die roll is successful (i.e., the player rolls equal to or less than his resurrection survival percentage), the character is restored to life in whatever condition is specified by the spell or device.

A character restored to life in this way has his Constitution permanently lowered by 1 point. This can affect hit points previously earned. Should the character's Constitution bonus go down, the character's hit point total is reduced by the appropriate number of hit points (the amount of hit point bonus lost is multiplied by the number of levels for which the character gained extra hit points from that bonus). When the character's Constitution drops to 0, that character can no longer be raised. He is permanently removed from play.

Movement in Combat

In a combat round, a being can move up to 10 times its movement rating in feet. Thus, if a character has a movement rating of 9, he can move up to 90 feet in a round. However, the types of moves a character can make during combat are somewhat limited.

Movement in Melee

The basic move is to get closer for combat--i.e., move close enough to an enemy to attack. This is neither a blind rush nor a casual stroll. Instead, the character approaches quickly but with caution. When closing for combat, a character can move up to half his allowed distance and still make a single melee attack.

Movement and Missile Combat

Rather than slug it out toe to toe with an opponent, a character can move up to one-half his normal movement rate and engage in missile fire at half his normal rate of fire. Thus, a man capable of moving 120 feet and armed with a long bow (two shots per round, under normal circumstances) could move 60 feet and still fire one shot. The same man, armed with a heavy crossbow (one shot every other round) would be able to shoot only once every four rounds while on the move.

Charging an Opponent

A character can also charge a foe. A charge increases the character's movement rate by 50% and enables the character to make an attack at the end of his movement. A charging character also gains a +2 bonus to his attack roll, mainly from momentum. Certain weapons (such as a lance) inflict double the rolled damage in a charge. In order to make a charge, the opponent must be at least 2/3 of the character's normal movement away, in a fairly straight line.

However, charging gives the opponents several advantages. First, they gain a +2 bonus to their initiative rolls. Second, charging characters gain no Dexterity bonuses to Armor Class and they suffer an AC penalty of 1. Finally, if the defender is using a spear or polearm weapon and sets it against the charge (bracing the butt against a stone or his foot), he inflicts double damage on a successful hit.

Retreat

To get out of a combat, characters can make a careful withdrawal or they can simply flee.

Withdrawing: When making a withdrawal, a character carefully backs away from his opponent (who can choose to follow). The character moves up to 1/3 his normal movement rate.

If two characters are fighting a single opponent and one of them decides to withdraw, the remaining character can block the advance of the opponent. This is a useful method for getting a seriously injured man out of a combat.

Fleeing: To flee from combat, a character simply turns and runs up to his full movement rate. However, the fleeing character drops his defenses and turns his back to his opponent.

The enemy is allowed a free attack (or multiple attacks if the creature has several attacks per round) at the rear of the fleeing character. This attack is made the instant the character flees: It doesn't count against the number of attacks that opponent is allowed during the round, and initiative is irrelevant.

The fleeing character can be pursued, unless a companion blocks the advance of the enemy.

Non-Lethal Combat

There are times when a character wants to defeat another being without killing it.

A companion may have been charmed into attacking his friends (and his friends don't want to kill him to save themselves!)
An enemy may have information the PCs can get only by subduing him
Characters may simply see the monetary value of bringing back a real, live monster

Whatever the case, sooner or later characters are going to try.

Also, occasions will arise in the game where a character is without normal weapons, whether this deficiency is caused by magic (such as the effect of a fumble spell), or by physical attacks (such as with a whip). In time of need, a character may attack using weaponless combat, two systems for which are offered below. The first is a simple system that can be used quickly in most situations. The second system is an outgrowth of the first, and has greater detail and is the more sophisticated(?) of the two. It should only be used when the outcome is critical to the success or failure of the adventure, and only if the DM has access to this page during the gaming session.

A character attempting weaponless combat makes initiative rolls at a penalty of -2. If a character suffers any damage before making a weaponless combat attack, the attack is spoiled and cannot be made.

System I

This system can only be used by humans, demi-humans, and humanoids against other humans, demi-humans, and humanoids. Any creature attacked using this system cannot be more than 1 size category larger than the attacker (a small creature could not use this system against a large creature, and a medium creature could not use this system against a huge creature).

There are 3 types of weaponless combat:

Pummeling (hitting/punching),
Grappling (grabbing/wrestling), or
Overbearing (knocking down)

Pummeling

The roll "to hit" is based on the standard chance of the character striking the opponent according to level/class, modified for strength (if applicable). The defending character or creature gains any benefits for armor, dexterity, and magical protection that may apply.

A successful pummeling attack delays the opponent's action until the end of the current round, successfully distracting concentration and negating spell casting. Damage is d2 points, plus any applicable strength bonuses.

Grappling

To determine if a grapple is successful, the attacker makes a Strength check by rolling less than their Strength on a d20. This is is countered by the defender making (their choice of) a Dexterity or Strength check.

If the attacker succeeds and the defender does not, the grappling is successful. A successful grappling attack inflicts no damage but holds the opponent for 1 round. While held, the grappled character is + 2 to be hit and -2 to hit, and cannot cast spells. The contesting checks are made at the beginning of each round to determine if the grapple holds.

Restraining

A defender who has been successfully grappled can be restrained by an attacker by making a second successful grappling attack in the same round. (Follow the same procedure as above.)

While restrained, a defender can not attack, and is +4 to be hit. If restrained by a single attacker, the attacker cannot attack either.

Multiple attackers

There will be occasions where 2 or more attackers will attempt to grapple an opponent. In these cases, a separate roll is made for each attacker and the defender, and the defender must make a successful Dexterity check and a successful Strength check for each successful attacker in order to evade the grappling attempt.

Example...

Bob the Barbarian (Str 18) and Theo the thief (Str 12) attempt to grapple Michael the Mage (Str 9, Dex 16) to prevent him from casting spells. Bob and Theo both roll a 9, thus succeeding in their strength checks. Michael must then make 2 Strength checks and 2 Dexterity checks in order to evade the grapple. He rolls a 6 and a 8 for his Strength checks, but rolls a 5 and an 18 for his Dexterity checks. He is held.

On the following round, Bob and Theo want to keep the grapple, so they make another Strength check. Bob easily passes with a 12, but Theo rolls a 14. Now Michael has a choice, and he naturally chooses to defend with a Dexterity check, which he passes with an 11, so he slips out of the Barbarian's grasp and runs away.

Overbearing

To overbear an opponent, a normal attack roll is made. For every level of size difference (1 if a Large attacker takes on a Medium defender, for example), the attack roll is modified by 4 (+4 if the attacker is larger; -4 if the defender is larger).

The defending creature also gains a benefit if it has more than two legs: a -2 penalty to the attacker's roll for every leg beyond two. There is no penalty to the defender if it has no legs. A lone orc attempting to pull down a horse and rider would have at least a -8 penalty applied to the attack roll (-4 for size and -4 for the horse's four legs).

If the attack succeeds, the opponent is pulled down. A character can be pinned if further successful overbearing attacks are rolled each round. For pinning purposes, do not use the prone modifier to combat.

If multiple attackers are all attempting to pull down a single target, make only one attack roll with a +1 bonus for each attacker beyond the first. Always use the to-hit number of the weakest attacker to figure the chance of success, since cooperation always depends on the weakest link. Modifiers for size should be figured for the largest attacker of the group.

A successful overbearing attack will inflict no damage but will knock the opponent to a prone position. Opponents in a prone position are + 4 to be hit until they regain their feet.

Example...

A giant and three pixies attempting to pull down a man would use the pixies' attack roll, modified by +3 for three extra attackers and +8 for the size difference of the giant (Huge) and the man (Medium).

System II

Pummeling:

Pummeling is a tactic available to any character or creature with a strength score, or one described as having strength equivalent to certain score or range of scores. Player characters, most humans, giants, and vampires may all pummel, while most other undead, dragons, and non-humanoid creatures may not.

The target of a pummeling attack must be of the same or a smaller size class as the attacker. A size L giant can pummel opponents of size L, M, and S, while a halfling fighter could only pummel another size S creature. Creatures may pummel a creature of any size if the target is prone (see overbearing, below). An opponent must be a non-undead, nonvegetable, organic native of the Prime Material Plane. Shambling mounds, elementals, all demons (though not semi-demons), slimes, and fungus creatures cannot be pummeled.

A character making a pummeling attack does so at a penalty of -4 on initiative rolls, in addition to any modifiers for dexterity. However, this penalty does not apply to pummeling attacks made with the advantage of surprise, or pummeling attacks made from behind - and all such attacks of either sort are at + 2 to hit.

If a character making a pummeling attack takes damage from the attacked creature before the pummeling attack is made, the pummeling attack is spoiled and may not be made. The pummeling character is considered to be driven back, unable to get in a swing on that particular attempt. (This explains why shields are not counted in the defender's armor class - - it is assumed that if they get close enough to make a strike, they're past the shield.)

A pummeling attack is resolved as follows:

Determine the type of item being used to pummel
Determine the Effective Armor Class of the defender. *
Make a "to hit" roll against the opponent's effective armor class
If a hit is made, (roll damage, then) determine the vulnerability** of the opponent, and
Check the Pummeling Table for chance of stunning

* Consider all magical and dexterity bonuses, but don't count shields that are bigger than a buckler.
** For the purpose of determining Vulnerability (to stunning) count only the Armor TYPE; do not count shields or magical armor bonuses, though other protective magic, such as a Ring of Protection, does count.

The four different types of objects used in pummeling are:

Small, relatively soft objects (bare fist or foot)
Small, hard objects (mailed fist or sword pommel)
Large, soft objects (an unconscious character)
Large, hard objects (a table or chair)

Note that large objects must generally be picked up (taking a round) before being wielded in combat.

Targets have varying degrees of vulnerability, depending on attire and natural armor class. If a character or creature qualifies for more than one of the given categories, consider the target to be of the more vulnerable sort.

All pummeling attacks are considered to be as with "fist or open hand."

Pummeling Calculation

Defender's Vulnerability
Exposure	Description of Protection	or Natural AC of
Unexposed	Full or field plate armor	18 or better
Semi-Exposed	Standard armor between ring and plate mail	14-17
Exposed	Bare head or face, wearing ordinary cap or clothing, in leather or padded armor	13 or worse
Attacker's Weapon
Weapon Type	Example	Damage
Small, soft object	bare fist or foot	d2
Small, hard object	mailed fist or sword pommel	d3
Large, soft object	an unconscious character	d4
Large, hard object	a table or chair	d4

Attacker's Strength

Chance of Stunning: %

A stunned opponent will be in that condition for d10 segments, during which time no actions may be taken. Any spells in the process of being cast are lost, and concentration is broken. If an opponent that is already stunned is stunned by a later attack, the opponent is unconscious for 1-4 rounds. A stunned opponent defends without benefit of dexterity or shield, and is + 4 to be hit.

Weapons used to pummel are not wielded in their conventional manner, and as such inflict the damage listed above as opposed to their normal damage.

Special notes for certain character classes: Monks do not suffer any initiative penalty when pummeling, and may make either pummeling or open-hand attacks. Thieves (including thief-acrobats) gain + 4 to hit from behind when pummeling. Thief-acrobats may add their Tumbling Attack percentage to their own chance to stun while pummeling, up to a maximum pummeling chance of 95% chance of stunning. Thief-acrobats may subtract their Tumbling Defense Percentage from attacker's chance to stun while they are tumbling. Cavaliers (including paladins) suffer a -2 penalty to hit if pummeling with their bare hands, since they are unaccustomed to such crude pursuits.

Kicking: A character may make a pummeling attack by kicking, either with bare feet (small, soft objects), or metal-shod boots (small, hard objects). For the defender in a kicking attack, only the armor from the waist down is considered for creatures of the same size class, but overall armor is considered (using the most vulnerable) if the target is of a smaller size class than the attacker. Characters who can jump (monks, thief-acrobats) can effectively kick any portion of a target of the same size class, and an attacker at a higher elevation may kick any portion of the defender's body.

Throwing: Objects may be thrown with the purpose of pummeling. A small object can be hurled 30 feet, a large one no more than 10 feet. All "to hit" determinations are made as for a missile attack at long range (-5 modifier), and the thrower's attempt is also modified for strength, if applicable. Thrown objects that miss are considered as grenade-like missiles for determination of scatter effects.

Grappling

Grappling is a tactic available to any intelligent creature who can conceivably restrain an opponent. Non-corporeal creatures, those who exist in the Astral and Ethereal Planes, and non-intelligent slimes and jellies cannot grapple; neither could a beholder, for instance, or an orc that is bound hand and foot.

Grappling is used to restrain someone or something, either to prevent an upcoming action or to restrain an opponent and make it more vulnerable to other attacks. In general, creatures that can be physically restrained are subject to the effects of a grappling attack. Creatures of a larger size class than the attacker cannot be grappled unless they are prone.

A grappling attack takes place as a normal attack in the combat round, with a penalty of -1 to the initiative roll. If the attacker takes any damage earlier in a round before a grappling attack was to take place, then that attempt at grappling is ruined. Grappling attacks are resolved as follows:

Determine the defender's effective armor class
Make a roll "to hit"

An opponent's armor class ignores shield and bonuses gained by magical armor, since a grappling attack is usually directed at the arms and legs as opposed to the regions protected by thick armor. Bonuses from magical rings, protection devices, bracers, and magical plate armor are considered.

A successful grappling attack inflicts no damage. It does, however, prevent any further action in that round by the victim of the attack. A grappled target is -2 to hit opponents, and + 2 to be hit in attacks in the same round that may follow the successful grappling attack. Any dexterity bonus of the grappled target is negated as long as the target is held.

A hold lasts until it is broken. The hold resulting from a successful grapple can be broken in a number of ways:

The attacker releases the opponent.
The opponent attacks and inflicts damage on the attacker. Any such attacks are at -2 to hit, and the attacker (in the grappling attack) retains the benefit of magic and dexterity bonuses that may apply.
The opponent makes a successful grappling attack in a round following the one in which he was grappled. Such attacks are made at no penalty for the opponent's status, but the original attacker receives magical and dexterity bonuses to his or her armor class, as well as a bonus to armor class equal to the character's bonus "to hit" due to superior strength. (A character with 17 strength has an effective armor class one step better than usual for this determination.) A successful "counter-grapple" by the opponent will free the opponent but inflict no damage upon the attacker.
The opponent makes a successful "bend bars" roll.
If the opponent is a thief-acrobat, the thief-acrobat may tumble out of the hold, using his or her Evasion percentage as the chance to escape.

A character that is grappled may be used as a large, soft object in a pummeling attack (see above) if the character can lift the grappled figure normally.

Grappling a Creature With Multiple Attacks: If an attempt is made to grapple an opponent that makes multiple, separate attacks, the grappler can prevent and neutralize only one of those attacks. A human fighter grappling a giant scorpion (M-sized creature) could prevent attacks with either of the creature's claws, or the sting. The other claws (or sting) are not affected by the grappling attempt. A creature that makes multiple attacks with the same weapon (like a high-level cavalier) can be neutralized by a single grappling attack.

Multiple grappling attempts: If multiple creatures of similar characteristics and abilities (such as a group of goblins) attempt to grapple, the attack is resolved by a single die roll, with a + 2 bonus "to hit" for each member of the attacking group beyond the first.

The maximum number of creatures that can attack by grappling is shown in the following table:

Maximum Number of Grappling Attackers by Size

	Defender's Size
Attackers' Size	Small	Medium	Large
Small	3	4	Can't
Medium	2	3	4
Large	1	2	3

Any prone figure may be grappled by as many as eight size S, six size M, or four size L creatures.

Overbearing

Sometimes the most effective attack is simply to pull an opponent down by sheer numbers. No attempt is made to gain a particular hold or even to harm the victim. The only concern is to pin and restrain him.

To overbear an opponent, a normal attack roll is made. Use the following calculator to adjust the effective AC of the defender.

Weapons In Non-lethal Combat

As you might expect, weapons have their place in non-lethal combat, whether a character is defending or pressing the attack.

Weapons in Defense: A character attempting to punch, wrestle, or overbear an armed opponent can do so only by placing himself at great risk. Making matters worse, an armed defender is automatically allowed to strike with his weapon before the unarmed attack is made, regardless of the initiative die roll. Furthermore, since his opponent must get very close, the defender gains a +4 bonus to his attack and damage rolls. If the attacker survives, he can then attempt his attack.

Those involved in a wrestling bout are limited to weapons of small size after the first round of combat--it's very difficult to use a sword against someone who is twisting your sword arm or clinging to your back, trying to break your neck. For this reason, nearly all characters will want to carry a dagger or knife.

Non-lethal Weapon Attacks: It is possible to make an armed attack without causing serious damage (striking with the flat of the blade, for example). This is not as easy as it sounds, however.

First, the character must be using a weapon that enables him to control the damage he inflicts. This is impossible with an arrow or sling. It isn't even feasible with a war hammer or mace. It can be done with swords and axes, as long as the blade can be turned so it doesn't cut.

Second, the character has a -4 penalty to his attack roll, since handling a weapon in this way is clumsier than usual. The damage from such an attack is 50% normal; one-half of this damage is temporary.

Non-lethal Combat and Creatures

When dealing with nonhumanoid opponents, a number of factors must be considered.

First, unintelligent creatures, as a rule, never try to grapple, punch, or pull down an opponent. They cheerfully settle for tearing him apart, limb by limb. This, to their small and animalistic minds, is a better solution.

Second, the natural weapon of a creature are always usable. Unlike men with swords, a lion or a carnivorous ape doesn't lose the use of its teeth and fangs just because a character is very close to it.

Finally, and of greatest importance, creatures tend to be better natural fighters than humans. All attacks for a tiger are the same as punching or wrestling. It's just that the tiger has claws! Furthermore, a tiger can use all of its legs effectively--front and back.

Touch Spells and Combat

Many spells used by priests and wizards take effect only when the target is touched by the caster. Under normal circumstances, this is no problem--the spellcaster reaches out and touches the recipient. However, if the target is unwilling, or the spell is used in the midst of a general melee, the situation is much different.

Unwilling Targets: The spellcaster must make a successful attack roll for the spell to have any effect. The wizard or priest calculates his bare-hand to-hit number normally, according to the intended victim's Armor Class and other protections. The DM can modify the roll if the victim is unprepared for or unaware of the attack. If the roll succeeds, the spellcaster touches the target and the normal spell effect occurs.

Willing Targets: When attempting to cast a spell on a willing target, the casting is automatic as long as both characters are not engaged in combat. For example, if a fighter withdraws from melee, a cleric could heal him the next round.

If the recipient of the spell attempts to do anything besides waiting for the spell to take effect, an attack roll against AC 10 must be made. However, no AC modifiers for Dexterity are applied, since the target is not trying to avoid the spell!

Whenever a touch spell is successful, the spellcaster suffers from any special defenses of his target, if they are continually in operation. A successful touch to a vampire would not result in energy drain, since the power only works when the vampire wills it, but touching a fire elemental would result in serious burns.

When a touch spell is cast, it normally remains effective only for that round. However, certain spells do specify special conditions or durations. Be sure to check each spell description carefully.

Missile Weapons in Combat

In general, missile combat is handled identically to standard melee. Intentions are announced, initiative is rolled, and attack rolls are made. However, there are some special rules and situations that apply only to missile combat.

Missile weapons are divided into two general categories. The first includes all standard, direct-fire, single-target missiles--slings, arrows, quarrels, spears, throwing axes, and the like.

The second category includes all grenade-like missiles that have an area effect, no matter how small. Thus, an attack with these weapons does not have to hit its target directly to have a chance of affecting it. Included in this group are small flasks of oil, acid, poison, holy water, potions, and boulders. Hurled boulders are included because they bounce and bound along after they hit, leaving a swath of destruction.

Range

Outdoor ranges are measured in yards.

Indoor/underground ranges are measured in feet.

This distance is compared to the range categories for the weapon used.

Short-range attacks: no range modifier.

Medium-range attacks suffer a -2 penalty to the attack roll.

Long-range attacks suffer a -5 penalty.

Rate of Fire

Bows, crossbows, and many other missile weapons have different rates of fire (ROF)--the number of missiles they can shoot in a single round.

Small, light weapons can be thrown very quickly, so up to three darts can be thrown in a single round. Arrows can be nocked and let loose almost as quickly, so up to two shots can be fired in a single round.

Some weapons (such as heavy crossbows) take a long time to load and can be fired only every other round.

Whatever the ROF, multiple missile shots are handled the same way as other multiple attacks for the purposes of determining initiative. The ROF of each missile weapon is listed in the Missile Weapon Ranges table.

Ability Modifiers in Missile Combat

Attack roll and damage modifiers for Strength are always used when an attack is made with a hurled weapon. Here the power of the character's arm is a significant factor in the effectiveness of the attack.

When using a bow, the attack roll and damage Strength modifiers apply only if the character is a warrior who has specialized in the bow-type in question. Characters never receive Strength bonuses when using crossbows or similar mechanical devices.

Dexterity modifiers to the attack roll are applied when making a missile attack with a hand-held weapon. Thus, a character adds his Dexterity modifier when using a bow, crossbow, or axe but not when firing a trebuchet or other siege engine.

Firing into a Melee

While possible, and certainly allowed, this is a risky proposition.

When firing into a melee, range is considered one category longer. Thus, Point-blank becomes Short, Short becomes Medium, and Medium becomes Long, with the attendant penalties to hit. If the shooter misses their target by more than 5, they have hit the friendly character nearest the target.

When missiles are fired into a melee at long range, the DM counts the number of figures in the immediate area of the intended target. Each Medium figure counts as 1. Small (S) figures count as 1/2, Large as 2, Huge as 4, and Gargantuan as 6. The total value is compared to the value of each character or creature in the target melee. Using this ratio, the DM rolls a die to determine who (or what) will be the target of the shot.

Tarus Bloodheart (man-size, or 1 point) and Rath (also man-size, or 1 point) are fighting a giant (size G, 6 points) while Thule fires a long bow at the giant. The total value of all possible targets is 8 (6+1+1). There's a 1 in 8 chance that Rath is the target; a 1 in 8 chance that Tarus is hit; and a 6 in 8 chance the shot hits the giant. The DM could roll an 8-sided die to determine who gets hit, or he could reduce the ratios to a percentage (75% chance the giant is hit, etc.) and roll percentile dice.

Taking Cover Against Missile Fire

There are two types of protection a character can have. The first is concealment. A character hiding behind a clump of bushes is concealed. He can be seen, but only with difficulty, and it's no easy task to determine exactly where he is. The bushes cannot stop an arrow, but they do make it less likely that the character is hit. Other types of concealment include curtains, tapestries, smoke, fog, and brambles.

The other type of protection is cover. It is, as its name implies, something a character can hide behind that will block a missile. Hard cover includes stone walls, the corner of a building, tables, doors, earth embankments, tree trunks, and magical walls of force.

Cover helps a potential target by giving the attacker a negative modifier to his attack roll. The exact modifier for concealment or cover depends on the degree to which it is being used as shelter. A character who stands behind a two-foot wall is a pretty obvious target, especially when compared to the character who lies down behind that wall and carefully peers over it. The table below lists the different modifiers for varying degrees of cover and concealment.

Cover and Concealment Modifiers to Missile Attack Roll

Target is:	Cover	Concealment
25% hidden	-2	-1
50% hidden	-4	-2
75% hidden	-7	-3
90% hidden	-10	-4

Cover also has an affect on saving throws, granting the character the modifier listed in the table above as a bonus to his saving throws against spells that cause physical damage (for example, fireball, lightning bolt, etc.)

Furthermore, a character who has 90% cover (or more) suffers one-half normal damage on a failed save and no damage at all if a saving throw is successful. This assumes, of course, that the fireball, lightning bolt, or whatever, hit the cover--a man crouching behind a stone wall would be protected if a fireball exploded in front of the wall, but would not be protected by cover if the blast occurred behind him, on his side of the wall.

Grenade-Like Missiles

Unlike standard missiles, which target a specific creature, a grenade-like missile is aimed at a point, whether this point is a creature or a spot on the ground. When the attack is announced, the player indicates where he wants the missile to land. This then becomes the target point and is used to determine the direction and distance of any scatter.

Most grenade-like missiles are items of opportunity or necessity--rocks, flasks of oil, vials of holy water, or beakers of acid. As such, these items are not listed on the equipment tables for range, ROF, and damage. The range each can be thrown varies with the Strength of the character and the weight of the object.

A missile of five pounds or less can be thrown about 30 feet. Short range is 10 feet, medium range is 20 feet, and everything beyond is maximum range. Heavier items have reduced ranges. Just how far an object can be thrown is decided by the DM.

Exceptionally heavy items can be thrown only if the character rolls a successful bend bars/lift gates check. In no case can a character throw an item heavier than his Strength would allow him to lift. Thus, the DM can rule that a character would have little trouble chucking a half-empty backpack across a ten-foot chasm, but the character would need to make a check in order to heave an orc ten feet through the air into the faces of his orcish friends.

The table below lists the area of effect for a direct hit and damages from direct and splash hits.

The "area of effect" is the amount of space covered by a direct hit. Any creature in the area of effect will suffer damage according to the Direct Hit column. All creatures within 3' of the area of effect are subject to splash damage. (See Procedure below for details)

Grenade-Like Missile Effects

Type of Missile	Area of Effect	Damage from Direct Hit	Splash Damage	Size
Acid	1' diameter	2-8 hp	1 hp	1/2 pint
Holy water	1' diameter	2-7 hp	2 hp	1/4 pint
Oil (lit)	3' diameter	2-12/1-6 hp	1-3 hp	1 pint
Poison	1' diameter	special	special	1/4 pint

Types of Grenade-Like Missiles

Acid damage is particularly grim. Aside from the possibility of scarring (which is left to the DM), acid damage cannot be healed by regeneration. It must be healed normally. Thus, it is very useful against regenerating creatures such as trolls. Acid is very rare.

Holy Water affects most forms of undead and creatures from the Lower Planes. It has no effect against a creature in gaseous form or undead without material form.

Unholy water (essentially holy water used by evil priests) affects paladins, creatures whose purpose is to defend good (lammasu, shedu, etc.), and creatures and beings from the Upper Planes.

Holy (or unholy) water affects creatures as does acid, causing damage that cannot be regenerated but must be healed normally.

Oil causes damage only when it is lit. This normally requires a two-step process--first soaking the target in flammable oil and then setting it afire. Thus, using flaming oil often requires two successful attacks, unless specially prepared "Molotov Cocktails" are specially prepared, and are able to be lit before throwing.

A direct hit from flaming oil burns for two rounds, causing 2d6 points of damage in the first round and 1d6 points in the second round.

Poison is generally not very effective as a missile weapon. Most poisons take effect only if the missile scores a direct hit, and even then only if it drops into the gaping maw of some huge creature. Contact poisons have normal poison effects on a direct hit. The DM has information about specific poison effects in the DMG.

Procedure: First roll 1d20 (add dexterity bonuses and level bonuses, and subtract 2 for Medium range and 5 for Long range) and consult the Scatter Diagram:

1	9	11	10	2
3	13	18	12	4
5	17	20	16	6
7	15	19	14	8

Each box in the scatter diagram is 5 feet across. The graph should be placed on the cardinal directions, oriented as close as possible to the direction of throw. The number rolled indicates the location of the actual impact. That 5 foot square is known as the "did-hit" square.

Use the following template to determine Direct hit and splash damage. Center the Direct Hit square of this template over the did-hit square determined above.

Splash	Splash	Splash
Splash	Direct Hit	Splash
None	None	None

For 3ft diameter missiles (Flaming Oil), every creature in the did-hit square is subject to direct-hit damage, and every creature in the squares to the left, right and behind is subject to splash damage.

For 1ft diameter missiles (almost everything else), a hit (adjusted roll of 20) hits the creature/object of choice, while a miss (any other roll) hits a random creature/object in the did-hit square. Every creature in the did-hit square is subject to splash damage.

Example: Rolf the Dwarf tosses one of his molotov cocktails at a bunch of 9 orcs 20 ft in front of him, aiming for the center of the front rank of the group. The gaggle of orcs covers an area 15x15 ft. area. He rolls a 10, and the shot goes 10 ft far and 5 ft wide, but it did a direct hit on the orc in square 10, and a splash hit on the orc in square 11.

Special Defenses

Parrying

During a one-minute combat round, each character is assumed to block many attempted attacks and see many of his own attacks blocked. In normal combat, characters parry all the time--there's no need to single out each parry.

When a character deliberately chooses not to parry, his chance of being hit increases. A mage casting a spell, for instance, gains no AC adjustment for Dexterity. Thus, choosing to parry in this generic sense, is not a separate option under the AD&D game rules.

At the same time, the assumption is that characters in combat are constantly exposing themselves to some risk--trying to get a clear view of a target or looking for the opening to make an attack. There are times, however, when this is not the case. Sometimes, the only thing a character wants to do is avoid being hit.

To make himself harder to hit, a character can Parry --forfeit all actions for the round. He can't attack, move, or cast spells. This frees the character to concentrate solely on defense. At this point, all characters but warriors gain an AC bonus equal to half their level, rounded down. A 6th-level wizard would have a +3 bonus to his AC (raising his AC by 3). A warrior gets an AC bonus equal to half his level plus one, rounded down. A 6th-level fighter would gain a +4 AC bonus. A 7th level fighter would also gain a +4 bonus. (7 / 2 = 3.5 +1 = 4.5 ≈ 4)

This benefit is not a perfect all-around defense, and it's not effective against rear or missile attacks. It applies only to those foes attacking the defender from the front. This optional defense has no effect against magical or area of effect attacks, so it wouldn't do anything to protect a character from the force of lightning bolt or fireball spells, or even a thrown flask of oil.

The Saving Throw

The saving throw is a die roll that gives a chance, however slim, that the character or creature finds some way to save himself from certain destruction (or at least lessen the damage of a successful attack). Detailed information can be found on the Saving Throws page.

Magic Resistance

Some creatures or items strongly resist the effects of magic (or impart such resistance to others). This makes them more difficult to affect with magical energy than ordinary creatures or items.

A rare few creatures are extremely anti-magical--magic rolls off them like water off a duck's back. More common are creatures, especially from the Outer Planes of existence, that live in enchanted or sorcerous lands and are filled with powerful magical energies. These creatures eat and breathe the vapors of wizardry, and they have a high tolerance against arcane power.

Magic resistance is an innate ability--that is, the possessor does not have to do anything special to use it. The creature need not even be aware of the threat for his magic resistance to operate. Such resistance is part of the creature or item and cannot be separated from it. (Creatures, however, can voluntarily lower their magic resistance at will.)

Magic resistance is also an individual ability. A creature with magic resistance cannot impart this power to others by holding their hands or standing in their midst. Only the rarest of creatures and magical items have the ability to bestow magic resistance upon another.

Magic resistance is given as a percentile number. For a magical effect to have any chance of success, the magic resistance must be overcome. The target (the one with the magic resistance) rolls percentile dice. If the roll is higher than the creature's magic resistance, the spell has a normal effect. If the roll is equal to or less than the creature's magic resistance, the spell has absolutely no effect on the creature.

Effects of Magic Resistance

Magic resistance enables a creature to ignore the effects of spells and spell-like powers. It does not protect the creature from magical weapon attacks or from natural forces that may be a direct or accidental result of a spell. Nor does it prevent the protected creature from using his own abilities or from casting spells and using magical items. It can be effective against both individually targeted spells and, within limits, area-effect spells.

If a magic resistance roll fails, and the spell has normal effect, the target can make all saving throws normally allowed against the spell.

When Magic Resistance Applies

Magic resistance applies only if the successful casting of a spell would directly affect the resistant creature or item. Thus, magic resistance is effective against magic missile (targeted at a creature or item) or fireball (damaging the area the creature or item is in) spells.

Magic resistance is not effective against an earthquake caused by a spell. While the creature may suffer injury or death falling into a chasm the spell opens under its feet, the magical energy of the spell was directed at the ground, not the creature. Magic resistant creatures are not immune to events that occur as the consequence of spells, only to the direct energy created or released by a spell.

Player characters (other than elves and half-elves with regard to Sleep and charm spells) do not normally have magic resistance (though they still get saving throws vs. magical spells and such); this ability is reserved mainly for special monsters.

Successful Magic Resistance Rolls

A successful magic resistance check can have four different results, depending on the nature of the spell being resisted:

Individually Targeted Spells: By definition, these spells affect just one creature, and only the targeted creature rolls for magic resistance (if it has any). If a spell of this type is directed at several targets, each rolls independently of the others. (An example of this would be a hold person spell aimed at four creatures, with each creature getting a magic resistance roll, if they have magic resistance.)

If the magic resistance roll is successful, the spell has no effect on that creature. If the spell is targeted only at the creature, the spell fails completely and disappears. If several targets are involved, the spell may still affect others who fail their magic resistance roll.

Area-Effect Spells: These spells are not targeted on a single creature, but on a point. The spell's effect encompasses everything within a set distance of that point. A successful magic resistance check enables the creature to ignore the effect of the spell. However, the spell is not negated and still applies to all others in the area of effect.

In-Place Spells: These spells operate continuously in a particular place or on a particular creature, character, or item. Protection from evil is one example of this kind of spell.

Magic resistance comes to play only if a creature or item finds himself (or itself) in the place where the spell is in operation. Even then, magic resistance may not come into play--nothing happens if the spell isn't of a type that affects the character. Thus, a part water spell would not collapse simply because a magic resistant creature walked through the area. A protection from evil spell, which could affect the creature, would be susceptible to magic resistance.

If the DM determines that a magic resistance roll is appropriate, and the roll succeeds, the in-place spell does not affect the resistant creature, but might still affect other creatures.

Permanent Spells: Magic resistance is insufficient to destroy a permanent spell. Instead, the spell is negated (within the same guidelines given for in-place spells) for as long as the magic resistant creature is in the area of effect.

Thus, a magic-resistant creature might be able to step through a permanent wall of force as if it weren't there. However, the wall would spring back into existence as soon as the creature passed through (i.e., no one else can pass through).

Turning Undead

One important, and potentially life-saving, combat ability available to clerics and paladins is the ability to turn undead. This is a special power granted by the character's deity. Druids and Monks cannot turn undead; clerics of specific mythoi may be able to at the DM's option.

Through the priest or paladin, the deity manifests a portion of its power, terrifying evil, undead creatures or blasting them right out of existence. However, since the power must be channeled through a mortal vessel, success is not always assured.

Gorus, a 7th-level priest, and his party are attacked by two skeletons led by a wight and a spectre. The turning attempt is made, resulting in a roll of 12.
Gorus's player reads the table for all three types of undead using the same roll--12--for all three. The skeletons are destroyed (as Gorus knew they would be). The wight is turned (a 4 or better was needed) and flees. The spectre, however, continues forward undaunted (since a 16 was needed to turn the spectre).

When encountering undead, a cleric or paladin can attempt to turn the creatures (remember that the paladin turns undead as if he was two levels lower--a 5th-level paladin uses the level 3 column in the table below). Only one attempt can be made per character per encounter, but several different characters can make attempts at the same time (with the results determined individually).

Attempting to turn counts as an action, requiring one round and occurring during the character's turn in the initiative order (thus, the undead may get to act before the character can turn them). The mere presence of the character is not enough--a touch of drama from the character is important. Speech and gestures are important, so the character must have his hands free and be in a position to speak. However, turning is not like spellcasting and is not interrupted if the character is attacked during the attempt.

To resolve a turning attempt, look on the Table below. Cross-index the Hit Dice or type of the undead with the level of the character (two levels lower for a paladin).

If there is a number listed, roll 1d20. If the number rolled is equal to or greater than that listed, the attempt is successful.

If the letter "T" (for "turned") appears, the attempt is automatically successful without a die roll.

If the letter "D" (for "dispel") is given, the turning utterly destroys the undead.

A dash (--) means that a priest or paladin of that level cannot turn that type of undead.

A successful turn or dispel affects 2d6 undead. If the undead are a mixed group, the lowest Hit Dice creatures are turned first.

Only one die is rolled regardless of the number of undead the character is attempting to turn in a given round. The result is read individually for each type of undead.

Cleric Turning Undead

	Level of Cleric
Type or Hit Dice of Undead	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10-11	12-13	14+
Skeleton or 1 HD	10	7	4	T	T	D	D	D*	D*	D*	D*	D*
Zombie	13	10	7	4	T	T	D	D	D*	D*	D*	D*
Ghoul or 2 HD	16	13	10	7	4	T	T	D	D	D*	D*	D*
Shadow or 3-4 HD	19	16	13	10	7	4	T	T	D	D	D*	D*
Wight or 5 HD	20	19	16	13	10	7	4	T	T	D	D	D*
Ghast	--	20	19	16	13	10	7	4	T	T	D	D
Wraith or 6 HD	--	--	20	19	16	13	10	7	4	T	T	D
Mummy or 7 HD	--	--	--	20	19	16	13	10	7	4	T	T
Spectre or 8 HD	--	--	--	--	20	19	16	13	10	7	4	T
Vampire or 9 HD	--	--	--	--	--	20	19	16	13	10	7	4
Ghost or 10 HD	--	--	--	--	--	--	20	19	16	13	10	7
Lich or 11+ HD	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	20	19	16	13	10
Special**	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	20	19	16	13

*An additional 2d4 creatures of this type are turned.
**Special creatures include unique undead, free-willed undead of the Negative Material Plane, certain Greater and Lesser Powers, and those undead that dwell in the Outer Planes.

☦Paladins turn undead as clerics who are two levels lower.

Turned undead bound by the orders of another (for example, skeletons) simply retreat and allow the character and those with him to pass or complete their actions.

Free-willed undead attempt to flee the area of the turning character, until out of his sight. If unable to escape, they circle at a distance, no closer than ten feet to the character, provided he continues to maintain his turning (no further die rolls are needed).

If the character forces the free-willed undead to come closer than ten feet (by pressing them into a corner, for example) the turning is broken and the undead attack normally.

Evil Priests and Undead

Evil priests are normally considered to be in league with undead creatures, or at least to share their aims and goals. Thus, they have no ability to turn undead. However, they can attempt to command these beings.

This is resolved in the same way as a turning attempt. Up to 12 undead can be commanded. A "T" result means the undead automatically obey the evil priest, while a "D" means the undead become completely subservient to the evil priest. They follow his commands (to the best of their ability and understanding) until turned, commanded, or destroyed by another.

Evil priests also have the ability to affect paladins, turning them as if they were undead. However, since the living spirit of a paladin is far more difficult to quell and subvert, paladins are vastly more difficult to turn.

An evil priest attempting to turn a paladin does so as if the priest were three levels lower than he actually is. Thus, a 7th-level evil priest would turn paladins on the 4th-level column. He would have only a slim chance of turning a 7th-level paladin (7 HD) and would not be able to turn one of 8th level at all (using the level of the paladin as the HD to be turned). All "D" results against paladins are treated as "T" results.

Level	Warriors	Priests	Rogues	Wizards
1	0	0	-1	-1
2	+1	0	-1	-1
3	+2	+1	0	-1
4	+3	+2	0	0
5	+4	+2	+1	0
6	+5	+3	+1	+1
7	+6	+4	+2	+1
8	+7	+4	+3	+2
9	+8	+5	+4	+2
10	+9	+6	+4	+3
11	+10	+6	+5	+4
12	+11	+7	+5	+4
13	+12	+8	+6	+5
14	+13	+8	+6	+5
15	+14	+9	+7	+6
16	+15	+10	+7	+7
17	+16	+10	+8	+7
18	+17	+11	+8	+8
19	+18	+12	+9	+8
20	+19	+12	+9	+9

Level	Warriors	Priests	Rogues	Wizards
1	0	0	-1	-1
2	+1	0	-1	-1
3	+2	+1	0	-1
4	+3	+2	0	0
5	+4	+2	+1	0
6	+5	+3	+1	+1
7	+6	+4	+2	+1
8	+7	+4	+3	+2
9	+8	+5	+4	+2
10	+9	+6	+4	+3
11	+10	+6	+5	+4
12	+11	+7	+5	+4
13	+12	+8	+6	+5
14	+13	+8	+6	+5
15	+14	+9	+7	+6
16	+15	+10	+7	+7
17	+16	+10	+8	+7
18	+17	+11	+8	+8
19	+18	+12	+9	+8
20	+19	+12	+9	+9

Level	Warriors	Priests	Rogues	Wizards
1	0	0	-1	-1
2	+1	0	-1	-1
3	+2	+1	0	-1
4	+3	+2	0	0
5	+4	+2	+1	0
6	+5	+3	+1	+1
7	+6	+4	+2	+1
8	+7	+4	+3	+2
9	+8	+5	+4	+2
10	+9	+6	+4	+3
11	+10	+6	+5	+4
12	+11	+7	+5	+4
13	+12	+8	+6	+5
14	+13	+8	+6	+5
15	+14	+9	+7	+6
16	+15	+10	+7	+7
17	+16	+10	+8	+7
18	+17	+11	+8	+8
19	+18	+12	+9	+8
20	+19	+12	+9	+9