Building Bhakashal - Combat!
I decided that it was time for a combat example that resembled a regular adventuring party scenario a bit more closely than my previous case. Today I will present a fight between a regular low level party (5 PCs, all 3-5th level) and a larger party, in this case a Noble House patrol, consisting of a 4th level fighter, two 3rd level spellcasters and 8 zero-level soldiers, on mounts. Given general party sizes and encounters this is in all ways a typical example of what can happen at the table.
The Scenario
A House Horn warlock and his retainers were ambushed in the marshes several weeks ago and a rare artifact he had removed from an ancient ruined temple was stolen from them. Through the use of some divinatory magic, House Horn learned the identity of those who ambushed the warlock, and sent out a marshland patrol, with two spellcasters, to retrieve them.
Dead or alive.
Group 1 - PC Party
Bhama Togul (4th lv Saan Spider)
Donlin Wistfall (5th lv Emberi Thaumaturge)
Bosk Tughlarn (3rd lv Emberi Slayer)
Ukreeth Sonem (3rd lv Rakasta Spellbinder)
Brother Clane (3rd lv Emberi Spartan).
Group 2 - House Horn Patrol
Venka Hamajeel “The Cobra” (4th lv Saan mercenary)
Bruk Imosst the Azure (3rd lv Chitin Conjuror)
Chambrace the Tayl (3rd Level Saan Myrmidon)
0-level mercenary infantry soldiers:
Jaskith (Emberi)
Kam Maik(Togmu)
Vanye Voss(Emberi)
Jabboth(Saan)
Yomma Gris (Saan)
Kurk (Saan)
0-level mercenary archers:
Colquala Rog (Kutya)
Tungar Iabb (Kutya)
The group from House Horn confronts the party as they travel from the city to the marshes. The party is heading to meet a caravan that is passing by the city, they have been tasked to bring an item to the caravan master for their patron. The House Horn patrol finds them when they are on a deserted stretch of road. Venka gives the group a chance to surrender honorably, they parlay for several minutes until Venka is convinced they are stalling, and she shouts to attack. They are separated by 60’ from front to front.
Roll for initiative!
Bruk Imosst the Azure casts a spell, Chambrace the Tayl grabs and consumes a potion and waits to see who charges forward, he rolls 4 segments for the potion to take effect, Colquala Rog and Tungar Iabb shoot arrows, Jabboth, Yomma Gris and Kurk are all on one gess, Kurk drops off and protects Bruk Imosst the Azure while spellcasting, Yomma Gris and Jabboth charge forward on their mount, when they get there Yomma will throw a net while Jabboth attacks with a trident. Jaskith charges and attacks as he arrives, Kam Malik and Vanye Voss will drop off close to arrival and attack on their initiative segment. Venka Hamajeel charges directly. For this round there are no friendly fire opportunities as Colquala Rog and Tungar Iabb can shoot unobstructed.
Bosk Tughlarn has a magic crossbow that gives him first shot in any round, Ukreeth Sonem and Donlin Wistfall try spells, Bhama Togul moves in front of Wistfall to block any incoming missiles, holding action, and Brother Clane charges forward to attack Chambrace.
For the charging parties, note distance and divide by move to find out what segment they arrive on. If it will take more than a round for a combatant to reach the opposition, the opposition gets one free missile/spell attack against them. Otherwise initiative is rolled. In this case they are close enough that every charging opponent can close the distance within a round. When they arrive, longest weapon strikes first.
For each participant except those charging, a d6 is rolled, with modifiers for weapon speed/casting time/action time
Bhama Togul - rolled 3 + 3 for sword = 6
Donlin Wistfall - rolled 1 + 1 segment to remove scroll and 2 segment casting time = 4
Bosk Tughlarn - Fires first, no initiative roll
Ukreeth Sonem - rolled 1 + 2 casting time = 3
Brother Clane - charge and arrive on 4, longest weapon strikes first on arrival
Group 2 - House Horn
Venka Hamajeel - charge and arrive on 4, longest weapon strikes first on arrival
Bruk Imosst the Azure - Rolled 3 + 2 spell casting time = 5
Chambrace The Tayl - Drinks potion and prepare sword, Rolled 2 + 3 for sword = 5
Jaskith - Charge and arrive on 4, longest weapon strikes first on arrival
Kam Maik - Charge and arrive on 4, longest weapon strikes first on arrival
Vanye Voss - Charge and arrive on 4, longest weapon strikes first on arrival
Jabboth - Charge and arrive on 4, longest weapon strikes first on arrival
Yomma Gris - Charge and arrive on 4, longest weapon strikes first on arrival
Kurk - Protect Bruk Imosst with sword, rolled 4 + 3 = 7
Colquala Rog - fires arrow rolled 4 + 3 = 7, second arrow arrives at end of round
Tungar Iabb - rolled 3 + 3 = 6, second arrow arrives at end of round
Initiative Tracker
Once the table is completed, you go through segment by segment
Segment 1
Bosk fires his crossbow, he targets the charging gess with Jaskith, Kam and Voss. Modifiers are:
Bosk’s Crossbow
WvrsAC: +2 (leather barding on gess)
Armor class: +5 (gess AC)
Situationals: charging target +2, +3 as a slayer against giant creatures
PC: +3 (total bonuses “to hit” for the weapon)
Total: +15
Roll: 14 + 15 = 29 - Critical hit!
Bosk is attacking a giant animal, his chosen foe, so on a critical hit he gets a chance for a slay, an instant kill. His odds as a 3rd level slayer against a 7HD creature are 35%. He rolls a 25, slaying the beast with one shot!
Referee - “Bosk pulls out his magic crossbow and he takes aim at the charging gess on the right, carrying three House Horn regulars. The bolt drives into the eye of the charging beast, right through to its brain, slaying it instantly. The riders crash into the ground with it.”
That will end the actions from Voss, Kam and Jaskith for this round.
Any PC or NPC may move in a segment if their action is not in that segment. For example, Bhama is moving in front of Donlin to protect him from spell casting, and a number of combatants are charging. In any segment when they are not acting a player might decide that they want to move their PC, they can do so.
We jump to segment 3, assuming movement of all charging parties
Segment 3
Ukreeth is attempting to call upon the dead for a Stinking Cloud spell. Spellbinders roll on a table to see how their spells work.
To cast a spell Spellbinders Roll a saving throw versus polymorph, to roll a saving throw you must generate a score of 20 or higher on a d20 with the appropriate modifier for that save (e.g. in this case, polymorph) and the following bonuses:
+1 bonus /3 levels, +CHA bonus (level 1 onwards), +WIS bonus (level 6 and up)
Roll a natural 1: the spell fails and cannot be cast again for a day
Fail the saving throw: player picks a column, roll for the result
Roll the saving throw (20-24): regular casting
Roll 25 or higher: Spell parameters are enhanced as if the caster was 3 levels higher
Ukreeth is 3rd level (+1) with a CHR of 15 (+2 bonus), so gets a +3, his save versus polymorph is +6, for a total of +9, so he must roll a 20 or higher with +9 to the roll to make his save. He rolls a 5 for 14 total, failing the save. He chooses the 2nd level offensive spell list, hoping to get stinking cloud, the spell he wanted in the first place, by chance.
2nd Level Offensive Spellbinder Spells
1. Cause Light Wounds
2. Charm Person or Mammal
3. Heat Metal
4. Jonnrigger’s Drive the Pack
5. Produce Flame
6. Stinking Cloud
The dice are rolled and he gets 1.
Cause Light Wounds, a touch spell. Ukreeth can hold his action until the end of the round, so the spell will “sit” and he will hope that one of the attackers gets close enough to touch.
Segment 4
Actions for this segment:
Donlin - Emyar’s armor Lock / Yomma-Jabboth - Charge / Venka - Charge / Jaskith - Charge / Brother Clane - Charge
All actions are simultaneous.
Donlin was casting Emyar’s on Yomma Gris/Jabboth as they charged
Emyar's Armor Lock
Level: 3, Casting Time: 3 segments, Range: 1" per level, Duration: 1 round/level, Area of Effect: special, Components: V,S,M, Saving Throw: neg.
If the target fails their saving throw Emyar's Armor Lock freezes metallic armor in its place, reducing movement to 3", eliminating dexterity bonus to AC and making all attacks by the armored victims -4 to hit for the duration of the spell. The spell impacts 1 target per level of caster.
Alternatively, the caster may focus on one target, and attempt to crush the victim, requiring an additional saving throw versus paralyzation (STR bonus applies) roll, if the roll is failed the victim takes 1-8 HP of damage, plus 1hp damage per round, and the armor stays locked, until the spell expires. In addition armor must save versus crushing blow or be destroyed, falling apart when the spell expires. If the saving throw against being crushed succeeds the spell ends immediately.
So the segment they arrive and attack they must make a save. Yomma and Jabboth are 0-levels, they get no bonus on their roll, they both fail with a 12 and a 6.
So Yomma and Jabboth are now at -4 to hit as their armor is frozen/constricting them, this happens as their attacks culminate.
Yomma throws her net at Ukreeth and Bosk, since there are two targets, average the AC mod
Yomma’s Net
WvrsAC: none
Armor class: +9
Situationals: charging +2, -4 penalty from the armor lock
PC: none
Total: +7
Yomma rolls a 5 and misses.
Referee - “The warrior on the gess tosses a net towards you, but stiffens up on the throw as if constricted, and the net overshoots your head.”
Jabboth throws a battle axe at Donlin, he has a +1 STR bonus and a -4 from the spell. Donlin is shielded by Bhama Togul. Bhama has a sword that can swat away incoming missiles. So first determine if Bhama is hit, then roll for the sword to deflect if needed (successful "to hit" roll against AC 5, no WvrsAC mods)
Jabboth’s Battle Axe
WvrsAC: +1 (leather)
Armor class: +8
Situationals: charging +2, -4 armor lock
PC: +1 [STR]
Total: +8
Jabboth rolls a 15 and gets 23, a hit!
Now roll for Bhama,
Bhama’s Sword
WvrsAC: no mods
Armor class: +5
Situationals: none
PC: +4
Total: +9
He rolls a 10, for 19 total, a half damage hit! He needs a full damage hit to deflect the missile, so Bhama spends a HP to increase his roll to a 20. This will cost Bhama his action for the round which was coming in a later segment (you only get one action per round), but it deflects the battle axe.
Referee - “The Saan warrior throws his axe through the air at Donlin, and Bhama’s sword flashes out, striking it from the air and to the ground.”
Ukreeth is close to Yomma and attempts to tag her as they ride by. She has no attack remaining this round, so it is an unanswered attack.
Ukreeth’s Hand
WvrsAC: -2 against metal armor for claw (Ukreeth is a Rakasta)
Armor class: +6
Situationals: Yomma was charging so +2 “to hit” against her
PC: +3
Total: +9 to hit
Roll: 12, 21 total, a hit!
Ukreeth rolls a d8 for damage from a cause light wounds. He rolls 4 hp damage, Yomma has 4 hp, and she collapses off the gess to the ground, unconscious.
Venka Hamajeel arrives on her gess in this segment, and she attacks Bosk. Infuriated over the slaying of one of her mounts, she has out her battle chain.
Venka’s Battle Chain
WvrsAC: +2 (Bosk wears no armor)
Armor class: +10
Situationals: charging +2 to hit
PC: +5
Total: +19
Venka rolls a 12 for 31, a critical hit, Bosk is now entangled by the chain, taking 2-5 +3 damage, Venka rolls 3+3=6 hp damage to Bosk, reducing him to 9 hp, still above half.
Finally for this segment, Brother Clane arrives at Chambrace the Tayl, unfortunately for him Chambrace’s potion has kicked in. Chambrace gets 3 extra levels (so +2 to hit) and rolls for 15 more temporary HP to add to his existing 12 HP. Chambrace’s attack segment is next round, so Brother Clane wins out. The spartan jumps through the air aiming a deadly kick at his opponent.
Brother Clane’s Foot
WvrsAC: None
Armor class: +5
Situationals: charging +2
PC: +6
Total: +13
Roll: 7+13=20, a hit!
Brother Clane charged and jumped at the end, so he gets to shift up his open hand damage to the next category, from 1-6 to 1-6+1 (a Spartan ability)
He rolls a 3+1=4, his damage bonus is +2, for a total of 6 hp damage to Chambrace. Chambrace has 15 extra HP from the potion, the damage comes off of those first, leaving him with 9 extra hp and 12 regular HP.
Referee - “the Spartan charges forward and leaps at the Myrmidon, aiming a kick at his head. He manages to move aside somewhat, but the foot still catches his shoulder and spins him around, taking his breath. Brother Clane lands, catlike, on the ground nearby.”
Segment 5
Bruk Imosst the Azure gets to cast his spell, no damage interrupts him, he casts Scare, and he directs it to Ukreeth. Bruk is a specialist conjuror, so there are no odds of his spell failing. Ukreeth’s saving throw modifier for spell is +3 he rolls an 18 and makes it.
“The tall Chitin spellcaster waves his multiple arms in complex circles as he chants his words, then, a thick yellow smoke appears in mid air beside him and turns towards Ukreeth, the Rakasta Spellbinder deftly lunges beneath the foul fumes as they pass harmlessly overhead.”
Chambrace the Tayl spins around to confront the spartan who had just tagged him.
Chambrace’s Broadsword
WvrsAC: +3 (Brother Clane wears no armor)
Armor class: +6
Situationals: +2 to hit from potion
PC: +2
Total: +13
Roll: 2 + 13 = 15
A 1/2 damage hit! Chambrace rolls 4+1 = 5hp of damage to Brother Clane, lowering him to 7 hp, just above half.
Referee - “the warrior stabs with his broadsword, hoping to catch the spartan in the chest, but he deftly pulls back so the blade tears his shirt, and scratches his shoulder”
Segment 6 -
Bhama’s sword attack was scheduled for this segment but came earlier
Vanye Voss’s trident attack was lost when the gess he was riding was slain
Tungar Iabb gets his bowshots, he has a line to Ukreeth at the moment, and the Spellbinder is facing away, so it is a backshot. Tungar gets two arrow shots, the first on segment 6, the last at the end of the round.
Tungar’s Bow
WvrsAC: +2 (Ukreeth has no armor)
AC: +9
Situationals: +2 (shot from behind)
PC: +1
Total: +14
Roll: 8
Total: 22 - a hit!
Rolled damage = 2 hp
Ukreeth takes 2 hp damage, fortunately his spell was already cast.
Referee - “As Ukreeth watches his opponent fall from the gess to the ground a burning pain lances across his shoulder as an arrow slices it open in passing.”
Segment 7
Colquala Rog fires her first shot from the bow, she has a clear shot at Bhama, and his sword has acted already this round so it can’t protect him.
Colquala’s Bow
WvrsAC: + 2 (Bhama has no armor)
AC: +8
Situationals: none
PC: +1
Total: +11
Roll: 14
Total: 25 - Critical Hit
Rolled damage = 3, with the existing 1 hp spent by Bhama to change a roll Bhama now has 11 hp
Critical Effect: Remain - arrow stays in victim doing 1 hp damage per round until removed
Referee - “An arrow slices through the air and sinks into your upper leg, a lancing pain shoots up into your skull.”
Segment 8
Kam Maik was supposed to attack this round but was downed on the charge.
Segment 9
Ukreeth drops to the ground (-6 to hit) to avoid another arrow from Tungar.
Segment 10
Second bowshots from Colquala and Tungar
Tungar’s Bow
WvrsAC: +2 (Ukreeth has no armor)
AC: +9
Situationals: -6
PC: +1
Total: +6
Roll: 7+6=13 miss
On a miss invert the roll (subtract from 20) and see if there are any LOF targets nearby. Looking at the layout, the only LOF targets is Jabboth on his gess, he has just finished the charge and is turning around, so this would be a backshot.
Tungar’s Bow
WvrsAC: -3 (Jabboth wears metal armor)
AC: +6
Situationals: +2 back shot
PC: +1
Total: +9
Inverted Roll: 7 + 9 = 16 half damage hit!
Tungar rolls a 6 for damage, halved to 3HP. Jabboth has 3 HP, and he drops from the back of his gess to the ground, unconscious and bleeding.
Colquala’s Bow
WvrsAC: + 2 (Bhama has no armor)
AC: +8
Situationals: none
PC: +1
Total: +11
Roll: 10
Total: 21 - Hit
Rolled damage = 4, Bhama now has 7 hp, just below half, so a Jack is turned over and Bhama takes a 1 point penalty on his rolls until healed.
ROUND 2
Actions:
Colquala and Tungar shoot again, Kurk maintains position to defend Bruk, Venka drags Bosk behind her, Jaskith, Kam and Voss move into melee, Bruk casts a spell and Chambrace attacks again with his broadsword. Yomma and Jabboth are down, unconscious.
Donlin casts Magic Missile, Ukreeth attempts to cast Charm Person on the warrior protecting Bruk, Brother Clane attacks Chambrace, Bhama removes the arrow from his leg, and Bosk attempts to untangle himself.
Initiative is rolled:
Bhama Togul - rolled 4 + 1 segment to remove arrow = 5
Donlin Wistfall - rolled 2, 1 segment to remove scroll, 1 segment casting time = 4
Bosk Tughlarn - rolled 6 + 1 for trying to free himself = 7
Ukreeth Sonem - rolled 3, 1 segment to cast spell = 4
Brother Clane - Rolled 3 + 1 for weapon speed (open hand) = 4
Group 2 - House Horn
Venka Hamajeel - Rolled 2 + 4 for spetum = 6
Bruk Imosst the Azure - Rolled 5 + 2 for spell = 7
Chambrace The Tayl - Rolled 4 + 3 for sword = 7
Jaskith - Rolled 2 + 4 for trident = 6
Kam Maik - Rolled 4 + 3 for sword = 7
Vanye Voss - Rolled 4 + 4 for trident = 8
Kurk - Rolled 3 + 3 for sword = 6
Colquala Rog - Rolled 2 + 3 for bow = 5
Tungar Iabb - Rolled 3 + 3 for bow = 6
Initiative Tracker
Segment 1-3
Nothing
Segment 4
Donlin casts Magic Missile from a scroll. The spell is written at 10th level of ability, Donlin is 5th, so the chances of spell failure are 25%. He rolls a 50 and is successful, the first shot is sent at Jaskith, it hits automatically for 5 hp damage, Jaskith has 4 hp, and is down. The second is sent to Kam, it does 2 HP damage, Kam has 3 hp, so Donlin hits him again for 3 hp damage, and Kam is down. The fourth missile is sent at Voss, who has 4hp, it does 5 damage, he’s down. The last magic missile is sent at Chambrace, given that the spell automatically targets there is no need for friendly fire concerns. It strikes unerringly and does 4HP damage to Chambrace, again off of his “extra” HP, reducing him to 5hp.
Ukreeth attempts to cast a Charm Person spell.
To cast a spell Spellbinders Roll a saving throw, to roll a saving throw you must generate a score of 20 or higher on a d20 with the appropriate modifier (in this case polymorph) and the following bonuses:
+1 bonus /3 levels, +CHA bonus (level 1 onwards), +WIS bonus (level 6 and up)
Roll a natural 1: the spell fails and cannot be cast again for a day
Fail the saving throw: player picks a column, roll for the result
Roll the saving throw: regular casting
Roll 25 or higher: Spell parameters are enhanced as if the caster was 3 levels higher
Ukreeth gets a +9 modifier, he rolls a 15 for a total of 24, a successful casting. Ukreeth casts charm person on Kurk, he rolls a 12 for his save, a failure. He is now charmed, and Ukreeth shouts to him that the man behind him is actually a foe, disguised by an illusion, and that he must protect himself!
I roll to see what he will do: 1-2: flee, 3-4: attack with weapon, 5-6: grapple attack
I get a 3, so he will attack on his segment.
Brother Clane attacks, he gets 2 attacks this round (he has 3/2 rounds) when fighting open hand, and both come on the same segment.
Brother Clane’s Open-Hands
WvrsAC: none
Armor class: +5
Situationals: none
PC: +6
Total: +11
Roll 1: 16+11=27, a critical hit!
Roll 2: 12+11= 23, a hit!
Damage is rolled for each attack, 3+2 = 5 for the first, 5+2 = 7 for the next, 12 points of damage, this removes the last of the extra HP and reduces Chambrace to 5 HP, under half, so a Jack is flipped over and he now has a 1 point penalty on rolls until healed.
Brother Clane chooses option 15. Opponent Knocked Into Another Combatant - and knocks Chambrace into Colquala, who is close by, both have 4 point initiative penalty on next attack . Chambrace will now be attacking in the next round, and Colquala will be shooting in segment 9 instead of 5
Segment 5
Bhama removes the arrow from his leg, that is his only action for the round but it saves him any further damage from that arrow.
Segment 6
Ukreeth charmed Kurk and told him to attack Bruk, I rolled that Kurk would attack with his axe. As Kurk turns to attack Tungar chooses to turn and fire at the soldier so he doesn’t hit the spellcaster, as he could slay him on the spot.
Tungar’s Bow
WvrsAC: -3 (Kurk wears metal armor)
AC: +6
Situationals: +2 (shooting from behind)
PC: +1
Total: +6
Tungar rolls a 10, +6 = 16 a half damage hit. He rolls 4 damage, halved to 2, and Kurk is wounded by the arrow, reduced to 4hp
Unfortunately, it’s not enough to stop him and Kurk’s attack against Bruk proceeds.
Kurk’s Battle Axe
WvrsAC: -2 (Bruk wears samnite armor)
AC: +5
Situationals: none
PC: +1
Total: +4
Kurk rolls a 15+4 = 19, a half damage hit. He rolls a 7 / 2 = 4 hp damage, Bruk has 10 hp, so is reduced to 6hp, just above half, and his spell is interrupted and lost.
Venka rode out the last two segments of the past round and the first five of this one turning around in an arc to return to a point about 20 feet from the party, dragging Bosk on the ground. Bosk takes dragging damage of 1-3 hp, rolled 1, now she stops and as Bosk stands she places the blade of her spetum against his neck.
“Surrender now or he dies.”
The field of battle goes quiet.
Tungar tackles Kurk from behind to keep him from attacking further. To successfully grapple in Bhakashal you need to roll a critical hit against your foe with no WvrsAC mods.
Tungar’s Grapple
WvrsAC: N/A
AC: +6
Situationals: +2 attack from behind
PC: none
Total: +8 to hit
Rolled: 20 +8 = 28 a critical hit!
Tungar has grappled Kurk.
Bhama speaks for the group, he needs to buy them time.
“You will slay us later if we surrender, your House has no honor.”
Venka laughs, “You and your little band of troublemakers ambushed a warlock from my House, we are not in the wrong here.”
Bhama smiled, “You have no idea what that artifact was, and neither did your Warlock, we did you a favor.”
“It’s not for you to decide, surrender now, I won’t ask again.”
At this point Bosk knows it is do or die. He is standing, and he throws all of his weight backwards to try and pull Venka off of her gess. This is treated like a “to hit” roll against Venka’s AC of 5, there are no WvrsAC modifiers, and no situational bonuses. He needs a critical result to dismount her.
Bosk’s Body
WvrsAC: none
AC: +6
Situationals: none
PC: +4
Total: +10
Roll: 10 + 10 = 20
He needed a critical to pull Venka off the gess, but he did still score a “hit” so this will be interpreted as distracting Venka as she tries to pull him back.
At this point we roll for initiative as the fight stopped and is restarting.
Round 3
Bhama drinks a potion, Donlin casts a spell, Bosk tries to free himself from the chain, Ukreeth casts a spell, and Brother Clane attacks Chambrace. Venka tries to pull Bosk back to her, Bruk tries to cast a spell on Kurk, Tungar tries to hold Kurk back, Chambrace defends himself, and Colquala shoots at Donlin.
Bhama Togul - Rolled 3 + 3 = 6
Donlin Wistfall - Rolled 2 + 2 for spell = 4
Bosk Tughlarn - Rolled 4 + 1 to try and escape chain = 5
Ukreeth Sonem - Rolled 6 + 1 for spell = 7
Brother Clane - Rolled 5 + 1 open hand = 6
Group 2 - House Horn
Venka Hamajeel - Rolled 5 + maintain chain entangle 1 = 6
Bruk Imosst the Azure - Rolled 5 + 2 for spell = 7
Chambrace The Tayl - Rolled 3 + 3 sword = 6
Kurk - Rolled 1 + 1 to try and break hold = 2
Colquala Rog - Rolled 2 + 3 = 5
Tungar Iabb - Rolled 4 + 1 hold Kurk = 5
Initiative Tracker
Kurk is still charmed and tries to break Tungar’s hold. To do so he needs to roll a critical hit against Tungar.
Kurk’s Body
WvrsAC: none
AC: +6
Situationals: none
PC: +4
Total: +10
Roll: 10 + 10 = 20
Kurk does not roll a critical, so the grapple holds.
Segment 4
Donlin cast’s levitation on Bruk. Bruk has to roll a saving throw against spell, his bonus on that save is +7, he rolls a 5 and fails. Bruk’s spell casting is disrupted, and he begins to rise into the air.
Segment 5
Colquala shoots at Donlin
Colquala’s Bow
WvrsAC: + 2 (Donlin has no armor)
AC: +8
Situationals: none
PC: +1
Total: +11
Roll: 10
Total: 21 - a hit!
Rolled damage = 4
Donlin takes 4 hp damage from the shot, since he is still over 1/2 of his total HP, it is a minor wound.
Referee - An arrow flies from across the field and slices your arm open.
Tungar maintains his hold
Bhama’s Potion of Speed kicks in
Bosk tries to free himself from the chain. As it is the third round Venka has to roll to maintain the entangle, rather than Bosk rolling to free himself.
Venka’s Battle Chain
WvrsAC: +2 (Bosk wears no armor)
Armor class: +10
Situationals: none
PC: +5
Total: +15
Rolled: 8 + 15 = 23, a hit, but not a critical
Bosk frees himself from Venka’s chain
Segment 6
Venka sees that Bosk is free and also sees that Bruk is rising into the sky. She doesn’t want to lose the spellcaster so she tries to slay the one who cast levitation on him, Donlin, hoping that will break the spell.
She grabs her sling and tries for a shot at Donlin
Venka’s Sling
WvrsAC: +3 (Donlin wears no armor)
AC: +8
Situationals: none
PC: +6
Total: +17
Rolled: 10 + 17 = 27, a critical hit!
Venka chooses Disoriented by Blow so Donlin loses his next attack. Damage is rolled as 3 + 4 = 7hp, reducing Donlin to 3hp, and taking him below half, so a Jack is turned over and Donlin takes a 1 point penalty until healed.
Referee - “Donlin watches as the enemy caster begins to rise into the air, but then a sling stone from Venka smashes him on the back of the head, causing him to stumble”
Unfortunately, harming the caster doesn’t end a spell once cast, so Bruk continues to rise
Chambrace and Brother Clane attack each other simultaneously, Chambrace with a sword, Brother Clane with a throw.
Chambrace’s Broadsword
WvrsAC: +3 (Brother Clane wears no armor)
Armor class: +6
Situationals: +2 to hit from potion, -1 from JACK
PC: +2
Total: +12
Rolled: 1 + 12 = 13, a miss!
Brother Clane’s Throw
WvrsAC: none
Armor class: + 5
Situationals: none
PC: +6
Total: +11
Rolled: 12 + 11 = 23, a hit!
Damage: rolled 5 + 2 = 7 HP, Chambrace has 5 HP left.
Referee - “Chambrace swings his broadsword at the Spartan, a solid blow but a slow one, as he was recovering from Brother Clane’s last hit. Brother Clane easily sidesteps the blow, and grabs the Myrmidon, flipping him over and hurling him through the air. He lands with a sickening ‘CRACK’ and does not move.”
Bhama points his crossbow at Tungar, he gets two shots.
At this point Venka realizes that she could lose both spellcasters if she continues, and she has already lost a gess, and several of her soldiers are down. So I roll a morale roll to see if she decides to continue fighting or not. The roll is low, and Venka decides that it is time to stop.
She shouts, “Stop fighting NOW. We will let you go if you bring down Bruk Imosst the Azure unharmed.”
Bhama laughs and responds, “Do you pledge this on your honor, that you and your soldiers will leave us unharmed?”
Venka nods grudgingly, “You have my word. I make no promises about the future, and I may call you to the arena to restore our honor, but you may leave now.”
Bhama nods and calls his party members to him, together they begin to back away. Once they are a good distance away Donlin lowers Bruk Imosst the Azure down slowly. The party leaves as Venka attends to her fallen comrades.
End of Combat
A few observations.
Bhakashal does a few things that impact fights in a way that might be unfamiliar for many D&D players:
Overall HP are lowered for all classes
Saves are a bit worse overall
Heavier armor is less common
HP can be spent to change rolls
These changes have two immediate effects:
Even regular weapons and low level spells are much deadlier.
Fights are much faster
Combat is, in a pair of words, fast and deadly. This produces a few impacts that I REALLY like. The first is that low level combatants (like 0-level soldiers) are vulnerable, one successful full damage strike with a weapon and they are down. However, as overall HP are lower, even a 0-level bowman can pose a deadly threat.
Bhakashal makes weapons deadly again, which for many veteran D&D players may be a shock as even the most inconsequential foes can be dangerous. I adore this aspect of the system. Even a lowly dagger can be a deadly threat.
The initiative system organizes everyone for you, no matter the number of participants, once the initiative sequence is established it is quickly resolved down the line. I find that the factors that slow down combat the most are confusions about sequencing and player indecision. This system forces players to choose an action in order to proceed, but leaves it open for them to change their action as the situation evolves.
And combat is unpredictable, as the game is quite deadly, sequence matters, and individual initiative means that sequence varies, but the randomizing factor is low enough (d6) that faster weapons and spells go first more often than not. So there is room for strategy and clever play. Weapons matter more than just for their damage output. And the presence of criticals means that even a single strike can produce meaningful consequences, whether damage is one of them or not.
Fast, deadly and unpredictable. This is the combination you have been waiting for. Players “bored” of combat? NOT NOW! Your players will learn a new respect for weapons and spells, a new respect for lone archers and low level warriors who can fell you with a lucky roll. New respect for the power of even low level spells to change the game.
Quite honestly, once I put all the pieces together, I found that the game changed profoundly. My players learned that violence was dangerous: strike fast, strike hard, or walk away before fighting, combat is unpredictable and no one is invulnerable.
Conan was right, cold steel will do the job.
Onwards to adventure!
