Building Bhakashal - FIGHT!
Developing the combat system for Bhakashal has been a joy, extensive play testing has allowed me to tweak the various elements to ensure it isn’t too fiddly and that it delivers on excitement and variety. It is also fast and deadly, the reduction in overall HP, the addition of combat and weapon criticals and exhaustion effects mean that fights are VERY dangerous, and tend to last no more than a few rounds. This gives the game a grittier, sword and sorcery feel. Traditional D&D combat, with inflated HP and abstracted combat can feel very “superhero” and often turns into a dull cycle of “you hit”, “they hit” over and over again.
Not in Bhakashal!
Last time I worked up an example where there was a lot of long distance movement, but a lot of regular combat involves strikes and counterstrikes only within melee range, and movement rates are not used at all. So I thought I would run through another example that shows melee and missile combat without a lot of running around.
One of the PCs has a fighter henchman of 4th level, he started as a 0 level crossbowman, survived a season in battle, and by Bhakashal rules started to level as the PC Mercenary’s henchman. He leveled to 4th fairly fast, 1st level henchmen that run with a mid level party either die or advance fast. Last session the party warlock brewed a potion and the rest of the players had game time for their PCs to do something while this was happening. I asked the player with the henchman to see if he wanted to run a short adventure this past weekend for his henchman during this PC “off time”, and I wrote it up here as an example of play.
Away we go.
********************************************************************
Roluk Gambar - LV4 Saan (lizardfolk) Mercenary (fighter)
MV:15, HP: 20, S14/D11, AC:6(breastplate and greaves)
Broadsword 2-8/2-7[+5/+4], Weapon Speed: 3, WvrsAC:+2L/+3N, Critical: Cleave
(3) Daggers 1-4/1-3 [+4/+2], Weapon Speed: 1, WvrsAC: -2M/+1L/+3N, Criticals: Dual Wield/Remain/Stab
Crossbow 2-5/2-5 [+3/+1], Weapon Speed: 4,ROF:1,Range:6/12/18, WvrsAC:-1M/+2L/+3N, Critical: Remain
Magic Items: +1 Broadsword, Boots of Silence
Roluk Gambar has been sent by his employer’s patron, Maggal the Ryse, an emberi (human) warlock at House Bontill, to sneak into the home of the merchant Wayar Shorm, a retired mercenary, and retrieve a jade statue of a black dragon. Roluk recently found a pair of Boots of Silence, and when Maggal found out she tasked him with a stealth mission, taking him away from his regular duties.
Roluk did recon and intelligence gathering for a few days (he has a week while the potion is being made), after a few well placed bribes and some surveillance, he waits until after midnight on day 4 to broach Wayar’s compound. He paid off a gardener to leave a gate unlocked. He enters, and moves behind a statue to get into position. Roluk’s intel about the house, paid for dearly, is that there are two guards that move around the compound at night on patrol. He plans to take them out as they come around to his position, then head into the house.
He loads his crossbow and waits. 4 rounds after entering the first guard appears, a large, surly looking Malu (fish folk), about 8’ tall in leather armor (MV:9,AC:8,Club,(3)Javelins)
The roll indicates that the guard is surprised, so Roluk gets an unanswered shot. He waits until the guard is just passing him so he can get a shot at his back. The guard is 30’ away so no range penalties.
His numbers are:
Weapon: +3 to hit with crossbow
Situationals: +2 for a rear shot
WvrsAC: Crossbow adjustment against “leather armor” is +2
Armor Class: the Malu is AC 8, so +8 is added
Total: +3 +2 +2 +8 = +15
Attack Table (d20)
1-14 - miss
15-19 - hit for ½ damage
20-24- hit
25+ critical hit
He rolls a 6 + 15 = 21, a hit! Rolled damage is 4hp +1 = 5hp damage. The Malu’s HP are rolled on the spot, a 0-level guard has 1-6 hp, a 4 is rolled, so the guard goes down.
Referee - “The crossbow bolt hisses across the compound and hits the Malu in the neck, he collapses to the ground”.
Roluk loads up his crossbow and waits for the next guard to come around, he has a clear view of the guard on the ground and he lies limp, blood pooling. He hopes that the next guard won’t see the first one before they get close enough to shoot. The second guard comes around 3 rounds later, and surprise is rolled again. This time there is no surprise, which indicates that the guard can see Roluk as he moves out from behind the statue to take aim and shoot. I roll to see if the guard shouts warning first or takes out his javelin, I figure with a crossbow pointed at you the javelin has an advantage, so I give it 1-4 javelin, 5-6 shout. The players have no objections so I roll and get a 3, javelin (weapon speed 2).
Initiative
Roluk rolls a 3 + 3 = 6, the guard rolls a 6+2 = 8.
Roluk’s bonuses are:
Weapon: +3 to hit with crossbow
Situationals: none, facing and close range
WvrsAC: Crossbow adjustment against “leather armor” is +2
Armor Class: Malu is AC 8, so +8 is added
Total: +3 +2 +8 = +13
Attack Table (d20)
1-14 - miss
15-19 - hit for ½ damage
20-24- hit
25+ critical hit
Roluk fires his crossbow, rolls a 10 + 13 = 23, a regular damage hit. 2-5+1 damage and he gets a total of 4. The malu’s HP are rolled on the spot (1-6) at 2.
Referee - “The second guard reaches for a javelin to throw in your direction, you pause, take aim at his head and fire, your crossbow bolt sinking into his eye. He twists and collapses.”
Roluk switches from his crossbow to a broadsword and dagger combination. Thanks to his boots he moves silently up to a back door of the house. The guards come and go through the door and it is unlocked.
At this point I roll to see if Wayar is awake, given that it is past midnight I weigh the roll more heavily to him being asleep, so there is a 5 in 6 chance he is sleeping, and a 1 in 6 chance he is awake. I tell the players this weighting and ask for objections, none are given, and I roll a 3, he is sleeping.
Roluk enters into what appears to be a kitchen, there are no lights on but moonlight through the window shows him that he is alone. He does not know where the statue is located, so he moves into the next room to search.
Unfortunately for him, Wayar is a retired mercenary, and he has a jaguar as a pet to deter thieves. The beast is in the next room, so I roll to see if Roluk surprises the beast or not. Before that, I roll to see if it is awake. Given that jaguars are nocturnal, I weight this roll more heavily to the beast being awake, 4 in 6. I announce this to no objections, roll a 2, and the jaguar is awake and by the fireplace.
Jaguar, AC:6,MV:15,HD:4,NA:3,DA:1-3/1-3/1-8*(2-5/2-5), WvrsAC:-2M/+1L/+3N,surprised on a 1
The jaguar is only surprised on a 1, however, Roluk has boots of silence, so that brings the odds of surprise back to 2 in 6. I roll a 5, so the beast is not surprised. It sees Roluk, and attacks.
Initiative
Roluk rolls a 4+3 (broadsword) for 7
The jaguar rolls a 2 + 1 (natural attack) for 3, the jaguar goes first.
Roluk is wearing metal armor (breastplate and greaves), and as he is dual wielding with a dagger he gets a 1 point AC bonus
I decide that the jaguar will hop on to the chair then leap on to Roluk.
The jaguar’s numbers are:
Weapon: +4 to hit (monsters get a +1 for every point of HD)
Situationals: +2 for leap attack
WvrsAC: Claw/bite adjustment against “metal armor” is -2
Armor Class: Roluk is AC 6, modified to 5 for dual wielding, so +5 is added
Total: +4 +2 -2 +5 = +9
Attack Table (d20)
1-14 - miss
15-19 - hit for ½ damage
20-24- hit
25+ critical hit
The jaguar gets three attacks, the rolls are 3, 11 and 9, so 12, 20 and 18, a miss, a hit and a half damage hit. The regular damage claw attack is a rolled 1, the half damage bite hit is a rolled 4, which becomes a 2, so 3 HP damage total. As only one claw attack hit, the two back raking claw attacks do not happen. Any damage that happens above 1/2 of the target’s full HP is described as minor.
The jaguar overshot Roluk so his attack is at it’s back
Roluk now responds, his numbers are:
Weapon: +5 to hit with broadsword
Situationals: +2 for a rear shot
WvrsAC: Broadsword adjustment against “no armor” is +3
Armor Class: Jaguar is AC 6, so +6 is added
Total: +5 +2 +3 +6 = +16
Attack Table (d20)
1-14 - miss
15-19 - hit for ½ damage
20-24- hit
25+ critical hit
Roluk rolls a 10, which becomes a 26, a critical hit.
When dual wielding you roll a “to hit” for the second weapon, on a miss or a 1/2 damage hit the weapon is assumed to be blocking, a regular damage hit does regular damage, a critical hit allows the wielder to opt for another critical effect.
He gets the same bonuses except for the weapon “to hit”, which is a +4 rather than +5, so a total of +15 to hit.
He rolls a 7 for 22 with the dagger, a regular damage hit
Damage:
The broadsword was a critical, in this case a cleave, full dice damage, so that’s 7 hp damage, +4 for a total of 11 hp damage
He rolls a 2 for the dagger, +2 for a total of 4 hp damage
So 15 hp to the jaguar. In Bhakashal you roll for animal/monster HP when they take their first serious wound, the jaguar is 4 HD, and the roll is 23 hp total, leaving it with 8hp, below half. In Bhakashal the first wound that takes you below 1/2 of your total HP gives you an exhaustion penalty. The referee turns over a Jack indicating that the beast takes a 1 point penalty on AC, “to hit”, damage and initiative until healed.
Referee - “The sinewy beast leaps through the air, you manage to pivot and avoid a direct collision, claws and teeth tear at your arm as the jaguar shoots by, you dagger slices it’s back as it passes, and when it lands your sword arm comes around and you stab it, tearing open it’s side. The beast howls with pain, turning, snarling towards you”
Since the beast has leapt, crashed into the ground and roared, I figure that this has woken Wayar, I assign it 4 in 6 odds (perhaps he is sleeping off a bender), the players agree, and I roll a 2, so he’s up and on his way down to investigate.
Initiative
Roluk rolls a 2+3 for a total of 5
The jaguar rolls a 4 +1 (all natural attacks are weapon speed 1) and +1 again from the Jack, for a total of 6
Note that if not for the exhaustion penalty, the initiative would have been tied for simultaneous attacks. Roluk circles the beast as it crouches, blood running down its sides. Before it leaps he takes the initiative and attacks. His numbers are:
Weapon: +5 to hit with broadsword
Situationals: none
WvrsAC: Broadsword adjustment against “no armor” is +3
Armor Class: Jaguar is AC 6, and a 1 point penalty for the Jack, so +7 is added
Total: +5 +3 +7 = +15
Attack Table (d20)
1-14 - miss
15-19 - hit for ½ damage
20-24- hit
25+ critical hit
His numbers for the dagger are 1 less so +14 with the dagger.
Roluk rolls a 13 and a 5, 28 and 19 respectively, so a critical and a half damage hit. The half damage hit with the dual wielding dagger means the dagger is just blocking, so no damage. The critical on the sword means that Roluk gets a critical effect of his choice, either that of the weapon or one from the Combat Criticals table. He decides to stick with his weapon critical of cleave, the broadsword does 2-7 base damage so 7 points for a cleave, +4 for a total of 11 hp damage, the jaguar has 8 hp, so this is enough to finish it.
Referee - “You lunge before it has a chance to attack, your broadsword sweeps down and cuts deeply into the jaguar’s side, carving it open as the beast falls over, twitching”
Roluk, steps back and takes a breath. He hears the sound of footsteps as Wayar arrives in the room.
Wayar Shorm - 7th level Emberi Mercenary - MV:15, AC: 8 (no armor), STR 15/DEX10,3/2 att/rd, Ranseur [+6/+2] 2-8/2-8, WS:4, WvrsAC: -1M/+1N - Disarm on regular hit, 1 pt AC bonus when wielded against shorter weapons
The burly former mercenary turned merchant is not armored, he was clearly sleeping just moments ago and his room was adjoining. He has a dagger in his hand, as he sees the intruder he drops the dagger and moves to the mantlepiece where there is a ranseur mounted above, removing the weapon.
“Thieves meet my blade in this house, I’ll see your head on a pike”.
Roluk notices how muscular and confident this “merchant” is, and realizes that he is in for a fight.
The two men circle each other, looking for an opening. Wayar notices the scratches on Roluk’s arm and tries to get into his head.
“I see Shisa caught you before you finished her off, you aren’t so fast then eh?”
“Fast enough to slay your guards and your beast, too bad about the wounds though, she would have made a lovely cloak”
Wayar spits on the ground.
“Who sent you here, are you one of Yorgam’s dogs, or perhaps Maggal? He would send a minion rather than face me in the arena.”
Roluk is preparing a retort when Wayar barrels forward and charges the mercenary. In Bhakashal, on charge longest weapon strikes first. Wayar is wielding a ranseur.
Wayar’s numbers are:
Weapon: +6 to hit with ranseur
Situationals: +2 to hit on charge
WvrsAC: Roluk wears metal armor, ranseur adjustment against “metal” is -1
Armor Class: Roluk is AC 6, reduced to 5 for dual wielding, so +5 is added
Total: +6 +2 -1 +5 = +13
Attack Table (d20)
1-14 - miss
15-19 - hit for ½ damage
20-24- hit
25+ critical hit
He rolls an 11 for a total of 24, a regular damage hit, if not for the dual wielding dagger giving the 1 point AC bonus it would have been a critical. Wayar rolls 4 damage +2 for a total of 6hp, reducing Roluk to 11 hp, just over half, so no penalties yet.
Roluk responds.
Weapon: +5 to hit with broadsword
Situationals: Opponent takes 2 point AC penalty on charge
WvrsAC: Broadsword adjustment against “no armor” is +3
Armor Class: Wayar is AC 8, one point bonus for ranseur, two point penalty for charging, so +9
Total: +5 +3 +9 = +17 / +16 for dagger
Roluk rolls a 14 and a 15, two criticals! The critical for a broadsword is cleave, full dice damage. The critical Roluk picks for the dagger is remain, so the weapon stays in the target and takes one action to remove, otherwise it does minimum dice damage every round thereafter.
Damage: broadsword does full dice damage for 8hp, +4 for a total of 12hp damage, for the dagger he rolls a 1 + 2 = 3 for a total of 15 hp damage, reducing Wayar to 13 hp. The second hit takes him below 1/2 of his total HP, so the referee turns over a Jack to indicate he has a 1 point penalty on AC, initiative, “to hit” and damage until healed.
Referee - “Wayar charges you with the ranseur, you manage to deflect the blade just slightly with your dagger, avoiding a direct blow, instead the blade slices open your shoulder, spraying blood on his furniture. You bring your broadsword down in a sky to ground swing and it cuts a deep gash across Wayar’s chest, then slam your dagger into his side, leaving the blade behind, and take several steps back”
The two men circle each other. Wayar grimaces and growls. Roluk laughs.
“You’re bleeding on the floor, my blade in your side, there is no dishonor in standing down, give me the jade statue and I will leave.”
Wayar stares at Roluk intensely. “The statue, so it is Maggal, I should have known. I will cut you open, send your body to him then challenge him in the arena for this. I’ve been looking for an excuse, you have given me one.”
Roluk smiles, “You can try”
Wayar is a 7th level mercenary, so he gets 3/2 attacks per round, so this round he gets 2 attacks. In Bhakashal the first attack comes on your initiative score segment, the second at the end of the round.
Initiative
Wayar rolls a 4 + 3 (spetum) = 7 +1 penalty for the turned over Jack = 8. However, he knows he is in trouble and decides to spend HP to reduce his roll to a 1, +3 for the spetum, so he is now at 9 hp and initiative score 4.
Roluk rolls a 4 + 3 = 7
Wayar strikes first. His numbers are:
Weapon: +6 to hit with ranseur
Situationals: one point penalty as Jack is turned up
WvrsAC: Ranseur adjustment against “metal” is -1
Armor Class: Roluk is AC 6 (no bonus as dagger is gone)
Total: +6 -1 -1 +6 = +10
He rolls a 9 and gets 19, a half damage hit. He rolls 6 for the ranseur, halved to 3, adds his damage bonus of +2, and takes a -1 for the Jack, for a total of 4 hp damage, reducing Roluk to 7 hp, below half, so the referee turns over a Jack, Roluk will be at -1 on “to hit”, damage, AC and initiative until healed.
Roluk now attacks, his numbers are:
Weapon: +5 to hit with broadsword
Situationals: opponent has Jack overturned so 1 point penalty on AC, Roluk has Jack overturned so 1 point penalty to hit, these cancel
WvrsAC: Broadsword adjustment against “no armor” is +3
Armor Class: Wayar is AC 8, one point bonus for ranseur, +7
Total: +5 +3 +7 = +15
Roluk rolls a 12 for 27, a critical hit. He does not want to slay Wayar, as his patron wants the former mercenary dishonored, not dead, so he chooses from the Bhakashal Combat Effects Table for his critical, rather than taking cleave and doing full dice damage.
Combat Effects Table
1. Jam Weapon - one action to remove/fix, +2 to hit while doing so
2. Damage Limb - motive limb -3” to move, fighting limb, -2 to hit, 2-4 rounds
3. Disarm - weapon knocked out of melee range, 1 action to retrieve
5. Snatch Weapon - mercenaries and spiders get a bonus attack/action with the weapon
6. Snatch Object - object from opponent removed (purse, potion bottle, etc.)
7. Knock Down - opponent -2 to hit, 2 point AC penalty, 1 action to get back on feet
8. Dodge - opponent slams into wall/tree/rock, extra d4 damage, 2 point initiative penalty
9. Knock Back - attacker may break off with no attack against them
10. Blow to Back - 4 point AC penalty for two rounds
11. Temporarily Blind - next two attacks are -4 to hit
12. Temporarily Winded - next two attacks do half damage if successful
13. Cut to Head - Disoriented - opponent loses next attack
14. Blow to Head - Stunned - Opponent is AC 10 against next attack
15. Opponent Knocked Into Another Combatant - both have 4 point initiative penalty on next attack
16. Extra Unarmed Attack - Opponent set up for free punch/kick/head butt attack
17. Set-Up Ally - next attack against opponent from an ally is +4 to hit
18. Set-Up Opponent - Opponent pushed into the line of fire of a nearby attack (missile or melee)
19. Extra Attack - attacker gets an extra attack
20. Extra Damage - attacker’s base dice damage doubled
*a limb struck twice with this result is broken, motive limb - no walking, fighting limb - no fighting. Limb takes a month of inactivity to heal.
Natural 1 - Weapon Damaged: - 1 to hit until repaired*
Natural 20 - Armor Damaged/Target Damaged: 1 point of AC penalty until repaired/healed
*magical weapons get their wielder’s saving throw versus breath weapon, with a bonus equal to their “+”, to avoid this penalty
Notes:
Mercenaries, Justiciars and Spartans get a saving throw versus breath weapon to avoid any combat effect.
When the table says “next attack”, if the opponent who suffers the impact of the critical lost initiative and has not yet acted for that round, their action for that round is lost. If they have already acted that round (e.g. they won initiative), then their action for the next combat round is lost.
If a PC wants to propose a combat maneuver that is not on this list, treat it like a critical and calibrate its effects to be similar to what is already on the table. If it is popular, add it to the table as an option.
He chooses 7 - Knock Down - opponent -2 to hit, 2 point AC penalty, 1 action to get back on feet
So Wayar is now on his back, and must use his second attack this round to get back on his feet.
Roluk rolls damage, he rolls a 3 + 4 = 7 hp damage, +1 hp from his dagger, which is still in Wayar’s side, for a total of 8hp to Wayar. He has 9 hp, so he is reduced to 1 hp and the referee turns over a Queen, indicating he is at a 2 point penalty on everything until healed.
Referee - “The merchant stabs at your gut with his weapon, it punches through your breastplate only slightly, but enough to cut you. You pull back, off the blade, then grab the pole of the weapon, pulling yourself forward and swinging your broadsword down, you slash across Wayar’s breastbone and chest, sending the warrior backwards and to the ground”
At this point I roll a morale roll for Wayar as he knows he is at a disadvantage, he fails, surrendering.
“The jade statue sits by the window”, the merchant points over to a part of the room Roluk hadn’t even looked at yet as he winces in pain at the blood gushing from his chest, “take it back to your master and tell him I will see him in the arena if he has any honor left.”
Roluk smiles and collects the statue, keeping his eye on the fallen warrior as he does so. He sees Wayar gingerly remove the dagger from his side. The mercenary slips out of the house and past the slain guards to the open gate and flees into the night, his prize beneath his arm…
Reflections
One round of combat each with the two guards, two rounds each with the jaguar and Wayar, combat is deadly and fast.
Spending HP to change rolls is helpful, but it also means you have fewer overall HP, and that can make the difference later, making dragged out combat less likely. Overall HP are lower as well, so you can’t take too many hits.
And luck plays a roll, high or low rolls to hit or high or low damage rolls make a BIG difference when you have fewer HP on the table. And combat exhaustion effects are a challenge, small penalties and bonuses matter, as any one of might tip you to a lesser or greater result. This isn’t “hit” or “miss”, it’s “miss”, “half damage hit”, “full damage hit”, “extra effect”
The narration of effects happens AFTER the numbers are crunched, the process of crunching the numbers is part of the excitement, as all rolls in Bhakashal are public. Once the numbers are in, the referee narrates what happens. This step is not cosmetic, as it involves spelling out things like the jaguar shooting past Roluk so he gets a situational +2 shot at it’s back.
The narration is important as it interprets the roll, in Bhakashal every roll is interpreted in the game and described by the referee.
When the jaguar shot past Roluk I could have had it land before the subsequent dagger and sword attack landed, but I waited to see what the dice said. Once I realized the dagger had to hit as well, I couldn’t envisage a dagger + sword combo on the jaguar that didn’t have Roluk diving on to the beast to get close enough for the dagger. So I decided to narrate it as Roluk twisting away from the leaping jaguar, as the jaguar went by the beast tagged his sword arm with claw and bite, then Roluk’s dagger slices it, and Roluk steps forward and stabs it as it lands.
Narrating these exchanges is part of the fun of combat, it is “combat role play” so to speak, and something that adds just as much flavor as “in character” monologues and “social” role play. The player explains what they are doing, and the referee reads the dice and interprets that in the description to the table.
I recommend narrating in pairs like this, attack and response, so you can tailor the attacks to each other in the narrative, resolve both attacks game-mechanically, then narrate the combined result. For larger groups (for another post) the initiative segment sequencing takes care of this, you narrate all actions in the segment, but any actions where both combatants attack each other in the same segment get narrated together.
Note also that many combatants in Bhakashal will err on the more lightly armored side, and shields are less common as well. The PCs may, of course, do whatever they want, but the NPCs in the setting will use shields less often and wear the least heavy armor possible in most cases. This is due to the oppressive heat and humidity in the setting. So there will be a lot more hits than you might expect. This makes the game deadlier.
Note also that animals and monsters are ferocious. They get a base +1 to hit bonus by HD, as opposed to mercenaries, who get the best of any class, at +1 per 2 levels. They progress in HD without restriction beyond 5th, whereas for all PCs and NPCs when they hit 6th and thereafter they get to reroll individual past HD rolls, they don’t get to roll additional HD. All natural attacks for monsters and animals are weapon speed 1, almost all weapons have a higher weapon speed, and multiple attacks (e.g. claw, claw, bite) all happen simultaneously on the attack segment, multiple attacks for PCs and NPCs happen on the initiative score segment and the end of the round if there are 2 attacks, initiative score segment, halfway through and at the end of the round if they get 3 attacks, etc.
So animals and monsters are very dangerous in melee. In this example, low rolls on the jaguar’s part and good rolls on the PCs part were significant. ALL MONSTER HP ARE ROLLED, at the table or beforehand.
Although it didn’t come up in this example, it is possible to get a combat critical effect of “additional attack”, mid level mercenaries with high bonuses often have good odds for a critical, take “extra attack” as their critical effect, and get a chain of attacks that mimics the AD&D 1e multiple attacks against 0-level’s rule.
And also, doubled damage for attacks (due to a critical, a backstab, a mounted weapon attack like a lance or setting against charge) is double base dice before modifiers, but this also applies to 1/2 damage results on the attack table, this is half base dice damage, modifiers are not halved.
Combat criticals come up somewhat regularly for mid-level mercenaries, a 4th level mercenary like Roluk is typical, and this is intended, it makes combat deadlier and far more dynamic. Note also that the overall lower HP, and the tendency to spend a few HP to alter rolls, combined with the exhaustion rules, means things can go south fast.
I find these rules lead to fast, deadly and dramatic combat at the table, something that we savor.
For the next example of combat I will do large group fighting.
Ole!
No comments:
Post a Comment