OOC

[Modric]

Someone needs to take out that lantern!

We can charge them. How many arrows can they get off before we reach them and what is our movement rate?

[Zhym]

I'm going to try to keep strategy OOC talk over here. I'm not a strict "no table talk!" kind of DM, but it does help keep the IC thread readable if we do more extended OOC discussions over here.

How many arrows can they get off before we reach them and what is our movement rate?

Movement rates are here: viewtopic.php?f=602&t=7538#p368851

You're within 40' of the bandits. In BX, the combat order is that one side moves, fires missiles, cast spells, and makes melee attacks (in that order), then the other side moves, fires missiles, casts spells, and makes melee attacks. Therefore, if you win initiative, you will be able to close before they can fire. If you lose, they'll be able to fire before you can get into melee range.

(Technically, combat movement is 1/3 of turn movement, so a PC with a 60' movement rate would need two rounds to reach an opponent that's 40' away. But PCs can also run at triple their per-round movement rate for up to five rounds before needing a rest, so the effective movement rate is still the turn movement rate unless one's opponent is very far away. At least, that's my reading of the rules. See p. B24.)

I'm using group initiative with individual modifiers (at least I think that's what I put in the house rules; it's what I plan to try, anyway), so some of you may be able to close to melee before...yeah, just typing that out I'm realizing what a mess that might be. If some PCs can close to combat while others are still firing missiles because of different initiative modifiers, you'd be firing into melee. And group initiative is BtB. So...never mind. Group initiative. For now, anyway. Individual initiative modifiers may come up in some situations.

[Rex]

Rush makes most sense I think. I will get it started.

[Zhym]

That question revealed a flaw in my dungeon design, though (the contents will be mostly random, but I thought I'd draw up a couple of dungeon levels myself). Dwarves wanting to defend their mountain home would have made an approach that's much longer than 40', requiring any attackers to go through multiple rounds of missile fire attack past arrow holes in the walls before they could engage in melee. I should have made it 400' instead of 40'.

Oh, well. DM learning moment.

[Rex]

If they really wanted to defend it they would have been behind the arrow slits with the doors barred. We would be mostly dead already. I suspect that nothing short of magic would have gotten us in.

[Zhym]

That assumes the halls are still occupied by dwarves, and in enough numbers to mount a defense. The dwarves who built this place would have had a long passage full of defenses. Who knows who the current occupants are, though?

Besides, you don't know that there isn't anyone behind the arrow slits.

[Rex]

Yup, about to find out though. That is why I am running a hobbit, they always seem to survive stuff that they shouldn't.

[Thebadgamer98]

Yeah so....... About that 1... I tried, guys. I tried. QQ

[Zhym]

At least we aren't using critical hits and fumbles.

[Thebadgamer98]

Phew. Thank goodness for that. I thought I was about to mess myself or a party mate up on my first roll of the game haha

[Starbeard]

Never fear, we still have every chance of receiving a TPK in the next two rounds!

[Thebadgamer98]

It wouldn't be B/X without it!

[GreyWolfVT]

Just an FYI I am taking the next 3 days off from work to take my family out to do some more stuff before schools starts so I likely will not be posting much or near a computer all that often for the next 2-3 days.

[Zhym]

Update is up. I NPC'd Grond.

If you want to see the rolls, they're on the dice roller under my DM character: http://unseenservant.com/default.asp?do ... ts&pc=6146

[Zhym]

ooc: I wasn't sure if the guy I shot before was in melee. If he is and there are complications around shooting into melee, I'll swap to one of the others. Molly isn't fussed

Firing into melee runs a risk of hitting an ally. The risk depends on the number of allies and enemies in combat and how big they are. I'll assume Molly aims for one of the bowmen unless you say otherwise.

[Captain Kinkajou]

ooc: I wasn't sure if the guy I shot before was in melee. If he is and there are complications around shooting into melee, I'll swap to one of the others. Molly isn't fussed

Firing into melee runs a risk of hitting an ally. The risk depends on the number of allies and enemies in combat and how big they are. I'll assume Molly aims for one of the bowmen unless you say otherwise.

Cool. Thanks. That all makes sense and I'm happy to go for one of the bowmen,

[Rusty Tincanne]

Just found this in the rules thread.

Missile Fire into Melee
A missile fired into melee is at -2 to hit (the other melee combatants act as cover for the target). If the attack misses its intended target, it has a 50% chance (1-3 on a 1d6) of hitting a random melee combatant (including enemies in the same melee).

[Zhym]

Huh. We'll do that, then.

[Zhym]

The arrow somehow had made its way around the crowd in front of him, around his shield and into his left shoulder.

FWIW: Everyone is fair game for missile fire. If you can shoot at their back row, they can shoot at yours. The arrows go over the crowd in front, not through.

[Captain Kinkajou]

Also, a number of the crowd are Halflings, so 'over' isn't much of an arc