Core D&D Rules
Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2015 5:10 pm
CHARACTER GENERATION
Roll Ability Scores
Ability Attributes:
INT Table
CHA Table
Alignment
An alignment is a code of behavior or way of life which guides the actions and thoughts of characters and monsters. There are three alignments in the D&D® game: Law, Chaos, and Neutrality. Players may choose the alignments they feel will best fit their characters. A player does not have to tell other players what alignment he or she has picked, but must tell the Dungeon Master. Most Lawful characters will reveal their alignments if asked. When picking alignments, the characters should know that Chaotics cannot be trusted, even by other Chaotics. A Chaotic character does not work well with other PCs. Alignments give characters guidelines to live by. They are not absolute rules: characters will try to follow their alignment guidelines, but may not always be successful. To better understand the philosophies behind them, let's define the three alignments.
Law (or Lawful)
Law is the belief that everything should follow an order, and that obeying rules is the natural way of life. Lawful creatures will try to tell the truth, obey laws that are fair, keep promises, and care for all living things. If a choice must be made between the benefit of a group or an individual, a Lawful character will usually choose the group. Sometimes individual freedoms must be given up for the good of the group. Lawful characters and monsters often act in predictable ways. Lawful behavior is usually the same as "good" behavior.
Chaos (or Chaotic)
Chaos is the opposite of Law. It is the belief that life is random and that chance and luck rule the world. Laws are made to be broken, as long as a person can get away with it. It is not important to keep promises, and lying and telling the truth are both useful. To a Chaotic creature, the individual is the most important of all things. Selfishness is the normal way of life, and the group is not important. Chaotics often act on sudden desires and whims. They have strong belief in the power of luck. They cannot always be trusted. Chaotic behavior is usually the same as behavior that could be called "evil." Each individual player must decide if his Chaotic character is closer to a mean, selfish "evil" personality or merely a happy-go-lucky, unpredictable personality.
Neutrality (or Neutral)
Neutrality is the belief that the world is a balance between Law and Chaos. It is important that neither side get too much power and upset this balance. The individual is important, but so is the group; the two sides must work together. A Neutral character is most interested in personal survival. Such characters believe in their own wits and abilities rather than luck. They tend to return the treatment they receive from others. Neutral characters will join a party if they think it is in their own best interest, but will not be overly helpful unless there is some sort of profit in it. Neutral behavior may be considered "good" or "evil" (or neither).
Alignment Behavior
Take this situation as an example: A group of player characters is attacked by a large number of monsters. Escape is not possible unless the monsters are slowed down. A Lawful character will fight to protect the group, regardless of the danger. The character will not run away unless the whole group does so or is otherwise safe. A Neutral character will fight to protect the group as long as it is reasonably safe to do so. If the danger is too great, the character will try to save himself, even at the expense of the rest of the party. A Chaotic character might fight the monsters or he might run away immediately—Chaotics are, as always, unpredictable. The character may not even care what happened to the rest of the party. Playing an alignment does not mean a character must do stupid things. A character should always act as intelligently as the Intelligence score indicates, unless there is a reason to act otherwise (such as a magical curse).
Hit Points
Money
Saving Throw Roll
Memorizing Spells
The character must be able to gesture and speak normally to cast a spell. While casting a spell, the character must remain in one place and concentrate. The character cannot cast spells while walking or running, rowing a boat or poling a raft, and so on. If the character is disturbed (i.e., hit in combat, tackled, etc.) while casting a spell, the spell will be ruined, and will still be "erased" from his mind just as if it had been cast.
Spells must be cast one at a time; a character cannot cast more than one spell at the same time (i.e., no more than one in the same combat round).
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted in a spell description, damage caused by spells is always rolled on six-sided dice. If a character can cast a spell which does six dice of damage, this is customarily 6d6. The maximum damage produced by any single spell—including fireball, lightning bolt, and delayed blast fireball—is 20 dice, of the type specified (usually d6, therefore a maximum of 20d6). This is very important for game balance, and should not be ignored.
Combat Maneuvers
In the missile combat, magic, and hand-to-hand combat phases, characters choose maneuvers to perform. The Combat Maneuvers Table shows all normal combat maneuvers in the order in which they occur within a combat round. A character can only perform one of the maneuvers per round unless he has the multiple attacks option; see the description for that maneuver, below
Throw (All)
A character can use any weapon that is thrown (daggers and hand axes, for instance). A successful hit will do the damage listed for the weapon. The character gets his Dexterity and magic bonuses to his attack roll and his Strength and magic bonus to any damage he inflicts. Targets must be in range (see the listing for weapon ranges in the Weapons table of Chapter 4). If a character has multiple attacks, he can throw a weapon for any attack he makes in a round.
Fire (All)
A character uses any missile fire weapon (bows, crossbows, and slings, for instance) in combat. A successful hit will do the damage listed for the weapon. The character gets his Dexterity bonus to his attack roll. Targets must be in range of the weapon (see the listing for weapon ranges in the Weapons table of Chapter 4). A monster attacking with a ranged damage power (such as a dragon's breath) will use this maneuver in combat
Cast Spell (All)
A character casts a spell—from memory or from a scroll. A monster attacking with a magical power that doesn't qualify as a ranged damage attack or a hand-to-hand attack, such as a vampire's charm, will use this maneuver in combat.
Use Magical Item (All)
A character with a non-weapon magical item can use it with this maneuver. This is the maneuver for use of most non-weapon magical items (potions, wands, staves, rods, rings, and miscellaneous magical items) and for the inoffensive magic powers of other magical items (for instance, an enchanted sword's detect evil power)
Attack (All)
A character attacks with any hand-to-hand weapon. A successful hit inflicts the weapon's standard damage on the target. The character gets to add his Strength and magic bonuses to both his attack roll and the damage he does with his weapon. If a character has the multiple attacks maneuver, he may choose this maneuver for any attack he makes in a round.
Fighting Withdrawal (All)
A character can only perform this maneuver when he begins his combat round in hand-to-hand combat with an enemy. With this maneuver, the character backs away from his enemy at a rate of V per round. He makes no attack unless his enemies follow him later in the same combat round, on the enemies' own movement phase. If they do, he can make his attack at the end of the enemies' movement phase, before the enemies begin their own attacks. The character's attack is the same as a normal attack. If he is not in hand-to-hand combat with his enemy when his movement phase comes around in the next round, he can go to running speed that next round.
Retreat (All)
A character can only perform this maneuver when he begins his combat round in hand-tohand combat with an enemy. The character runs away from his enemy at greater than half his encounter speed, up to his full encounter speed. He forfeits the armor class bonus of his shield. Any enemy attacking him later in the combat round (that is, either an enemy who followed him during the enemies' movement phase or an enemy attacking with a ranged weapon) receives a +2 attack roll bonus this round. This is the same + 2 that characters normally get for attacking from behind (see the Attack Roll Modifiers Table on page 108). If the character is not in hand-to-hand combat with his enemy when his movement phase comes up in the next round, he can go to running speed that next round.
Lance Attack (Fighters, Dwarves, Elves)
If a character is on a riding steed (such as a horse) and is using a lance, he can perform the lance attack if his mount runs (flies, swims) for 20 yards or more toward the fighter's target. The character gets his Strength and magic adjustments to the attack roll and damage with the lance attack maneuver. The lance, if it hits, will inflict double damage with a successful hit—roll the damage for the lance, multiply the result by 2, and then apply all appropriate adjustments. Without enough room to charge—if the mount moves less than 20 yards or is stationary—the lance does normal damage only. Fighters, dwarves and elves can use a lance attack, but no other character class can do so. If a character has the multiple attacks maneuver, he may choose the lance attack maneuver for any attack he makes in a round. However, he cannot hit the same target time after time; he must choose a new target along his mount's line of movement for each attack, and therefore he must be capable of hitting each target with an attack roll of 2.
Set Spear vs. Charge (Fighters, Demi-Humans, Mystics)
A character on foot and carrying a spear, pike, sword shield, or lance can set the weapon vs. a charge. A charge is when a monster charges the character—that is, runs toward him for 20 or more yards before its attack. A character can also set his spear vs. another character's lance attack against him. When the character "sets vs. charge," he holds the weapon firm, braced against the ground and toward the onrushing enemy. The character gets his Strength and magic adjustments to his attack and damage rolls. If the character's attack hits, he inflicts double damage on his target, adding damage adjustments after doubling. The character must declare a set spear vs. charge before he is in hand-to-hand combat with the creature charging him. For example, if the character's party wins initiative in the round and the character suspects the monster will charge, he could declare his set spear vs. charge maneuver. Likewise, the characters might see a group of charging monsters several rounds before they arrive, and set their spears against the charge one or more rounds ahead of time. Normally, the character makes his attack on the monster's movement phase, when the monster first moves within range of the weapon. If his attack hits and kills the monster, the monster cannot hurt him in return. If his attack fails to kill the monster, the monster will be able to attack on its own hand-to-hand combat phase of the combat sequence.
Multiple Attacks (Fighter Combat Option)
This is a Fighter Combat Option maneuver, first available at 12th level to human fighters, at other experience point totals to demihumans (see their experience tables). In melee combat, if the fighter can hit his opponent with an attack roll of 2 (modified by all bonuses), he can make two attacks per round against that target (three per round at level 24, four per round at level 36). Each attack of a multiple attacks maneuver can be a throw, attack, lance attack, or disarm. A character can mix and match his maneuvers; for instance, a character with three attacks per round could perform an attack, disarm, attack combination against his foe, or throw three knives instead of one. This maneuver applies to ideal circumstances, and the character can use movement or some other action instead of another attack.
Smash (Fighter Combat Option)
This is a Fighter Combat Option maneuver, first available at 9th level to fighters and mystics, and at other experience point totals to demihumans (see their experience tables). With this hand-to-hand maneuver, the character automatically loses initiative and takes a — 5 penalty to the attack roll (he still gets his Strength and magic adjustments to his attack roll). If attack hits, the character adds his Strength bonus, magic bonuses, and his entire Strength score to his weapon's normal damage. For example, a Strength 17 fighter (+ 2 to attack and damage) using a sword +2 ( + 2 to attack, ld8 + 2 damage) would perform a smash this way: He rolls to hit with a net penalty of - 1 ( + 2 + 2-5). If he hits, he rolls Id8 + 21 (17+ 2+2) for damage!
Parry (Fighter Combat Option)
This is a Fighter Combat Option maneuver, first available at 9th level to fighters and mystics, and at other experience point totals to demihumans (see their experience tables). With this maneuver, the fighter does not make any attack roll. Instead, he blocks incoming attacks for the entire combat round; all enemies attacking him suffer a —4 penalty to hit him with melee and thrown (but not missile) weapons.
Disarm (Fighter Combat Option)
This is a Fighter Combat Option maneuver, first available at 9th level to fighters and mystics, and at other experience point totals to demi-humans (see their experience tables). This maneuver can only be used when the fighter attacks a weapon-using opponent. The fighter gets his normal Strength and magic adjustments to his attack roll. If he hits, he inflicts no damage. Instead, the victim rolls ld20, minus his Dexterity bonuses, plus his attacker's Dexterity bonuses. If the final roll is greater than the victim's Dexterity score, the victim drops his weapon. Example: Sir Hogier is fighting a warrior whom he intends to take alive. The warrior is AC 0, and has a Dexterity of 17; Sir Hogier is 20th level, with the bonuses from a Strength of 16 and a +2 sword. Hogier has a Dexterity of 12. Hogier needs to roll a 7 to hit AC0. He rolls a 6, but adds his bonuses from Strength and sword to James Ferguson (order #7435854) Chapter 8: Combat get a 10; he has hit. Now, the victim rolls ld20. He rolls a 15. He subtracts his own Dexterity bonus (a +1, from his Dexterity of 13), for a result of 14. Sir Hogier, with a Dexterity of 12, has no Dexterity bonus to add. The final result is a 14, which is more than the victim's Dexterity of 13. The disarm attempt has succeeded. Once disarmed, the victim may either switch weapons (suffering only the loss of initiative for the next round), or he may try to retrieve the weapon. When retrieving a weapon, a victim must retreat to grab the dropped weapon.
Roll Ability Scores
- Use the standard Unseen Servant Dice Roller method: 4d6c1 (roll 4 six-sided dice, cutting the lowest one)
- Re-roll if one or more scores are less than or equal to 8
- Arrange the final scores as you like, keeping in mind any Prime Requisites.
| Score | Modifier |
|---|---|
| 2-3 | -3 |
| 4-5 | -2 |
| 6-8 | -1 |
| 9-12 | n/a |
| 13-15 | +1 |
| 16-17 | +2 |
| 18 | +3 |
| Ability | Description |
|---|---|
| STR | Attack melee weapons & Unarmed combat; Damage melee & Thrown weapons; Opening doors |
| INT | Languages |
| WIS | Saving throws vs. Spells |
| DEX | Attack thrown and missile weapons; Armor class |
| CON | Bonus HP |
| CHA | Reactions from NPCs (Raction Adj.) (Max Retainers) (Retainer Morale) |
INT Table
| Score | Add. Lang. | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | n/a | Has trouble speaking, cannot read or write |
| 4-5 | n/a | Cannot read or write common |
| 6-8 | n/a | Can write simple common words |
| 9-12 | n/a | Reads & writes native languages, usually two |
| 13-15 | +1 | Reads & writes native languages |
| 16-17 | +2 | Reads & writes native languages |
| 18 | +3 | Reads & writes native languages |
| Score | React. Adj. | React. Adj. | React. Adj. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | -3 | 1 | 4 |
| 4-5 | -2 | 2 | 5 |
| 6-8 | -1 | 3 | 6 |
| 9-12 | n/a | 4 | 7 |
| 13-15 | +1 | 5 | 8 |
| 16-17 | +2 | 6 | 9 |
| 18 | +3 | 7 | 10 |
An alignment is a code of behavior or way of life which guides the actions and thoughts of characters and monsters. There are three alignments in the D&D® game: Law, Chaos, and Neutrality. Players may choose the alignments they feel will best fit their characters. A player does not have to tell other players what alignment he or she has picked, but must tell the Dungeon Master. Most Lawful characters will reveal their alignments if asked. When picking alignments, the characters should know that Chaotics cannot be trusted, even by other Chaotics. A Chaotic character does not work well with other PCs. Alignments give characters guidelines to live by. They are not absolute rules: characters will try to follow their alignment guidelines, but may not always be successful. To better understand the philosophies behind them, let's define the three alignments.
Law (or Lawful)
Law is the belief that everything should follow an order, and that obeying rules is the natural way of life. Lawful creatures will try to tell the truth, obey laws that are fair, keep promises, and care for all living things. If a choice must be made between the benefit of a group or an individual, a Lawful character will usually choose the group. Sometimes individual freedoms must be given up for the good of the group. Lawful characters and monsters often act in predictable ways. Lawful behavior is usually the same as "good" behavior.
Chaos (or Chaotic)
Chaos is the opposite of Law. It is the belief that life is random and that chance and luck rule the world. Laws are made to be broken, as long as a person can get away with it. It is not important to keep promises, and lying and telling the truth are both useful. To a Chaotic creature, the individual is the most important of all things. Selfishness is the normal way of life, and the group is not important. Chaotics often act on sudden desires and whims. They have strong belief in the power of luck. They cannot always be trusted. Chaotic behavior is usually the same as behavior that could be called "evil." Each individual player must decide if his Chaotic character is closer to a mean, selfish "evil" personality or merely a happy-go-lucky, unpredictable personality.
Neutrality (or Neutral)
Neutrality is the belief that the world is a balance between Law and Chaos. It is important that neither side get too much power and upset this balance. The individual is important, but so is the group; the two sides must work together. A Neutral character is most interested in personal survival. Such characters believe in their own wits and abilities rather than luck. They tend to return the treatment they receive from others. Neutral characters will join a party if they think it is in their own best interest, but will not be overly helpful unless there is some sort of profit in it. Neutral behavior may be considered "good" or "evil" (or neither).
Alignment Behavior
Take this situation as an example: A group of player characters is attacked by a large number of monsters. Escape is not possible unless the monsters are slowed down. A Lawful character will fight to protect the group, regardless of the danger. The character will not run away unless the whole group does so or is otherwise safe. A Neutral character will fight to protect the group as long as it is reasonably safe to do so. If the danger is too great, the character will try to save himself, even at the expense of the rest of the party. A Chaotic character might fight the monsters or he might run away immediately—Chaotics are, as always, unpredictable. The character may not even care what happened to the rest of the party. Playing an alignment does not mean a character must do stupid things. A character should always act as intelligently as the Intelligence score indicates, unless there is a reason to act otherwise (such as a magical curse).
Hit Points
- Use the maximum hit points for your chosen class, adding or subtracting any CON modifiers.
| Class | HP |
|---|---|
| Cleric | 6 |
| Fighter | 8 |
| Magic-User | 4 |
| Thief | 4 |
| Dwarf | 8 |
| Elf | 6 |
| Halfling | 6 |
| Mystic | 6 |
| Monk | 4 |
- Starting Gold: 180 gp
- 1 pp = 5 gp = 10 ep = 50 sp = 500 cp
- Purchase equipment, armor, and weapons according to your class
- Any item from a valid Classic D&D source is acceptable
| Armor | AC |
|---|---|
| No armor | 9 |
| Leather armor | 7 |
| Scale armor | 6 |
| Chain armor | 9 |
| Banded armor | 4 |
| Plate armor | 3 |
| Suit armor | 0 |
| Shield | -1 |
- Roll 1d20 ± modifiers
- Result ≥ number = success
- WIS modifier applies to Spell saves
- “To Hit Armor Class 0”
- If roll ≥ THAC0 – opponents AC = success
Memorizing Spells
- Magic-Users and Elves can only use spells that have been found, researched, or have been taught by their mentors.
- Spells are recorded in a large, bound volume called a “spell book.”
- Clerics and Druids gain their spells through meditation
- Clerics choose which spells they will memorize at the beginning of an adventure. They do not need to write them down, they simply meditate to rememorize them.
- Once a spell is cast the spellcaster must rest for at least one full night. Once rested they must meditate for one full hour to regain their spells. Magic-Users and Elves must use their spell book, Clerics and Druids need only meditate.
- Characters may memorize the same spell multiple times up to their allotted daily spell limit.
The character must be able to gesture and speak normally to cast a spell. While casting a spell, the character must remain in one place and concentrate. The character cannot cast spells while walking or running, rowing a boat or poling a raft, and so on. If the character is disturbed (i.e., hit in combat, tackled, etc.) while casting a spell, the spell will be ruined, and will still be "erased" from his mind just as if it had been cast.
Spells must be cast one at a time; a character cannot cast more than one spell at the same time (i.e., no more than one in the same combat round).
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted in a spell description, damage caused by spells is always rolled on six-sided dice. If a character can cast a spell which does six dice of damage, this is customarily 6d6. The maximum damage produced by any single spell—including fireball, lightning bolt, and delayed blast fireball—is 20 dice, of the type specified (usually d6, therefore a maximum of 20d6). This is very important for game balance, and should not be ignored.
Combat Maneuvers
In the missile combat, magic, and hand-to-hand combat phases, characters choose maneuvers to perform. The Combat Maneuvers Table shows all normal combat maneuvers in the order in which they occur within a combat round. A character can only perform one of the maneuvers per round unless he has the multiple attacks option; see the description for that maneuver, below
Throw (All)
A character can use any weapon that is thrown (daggers and hand axes, for instance). A successful hit will do the damage listed for the weapon. The character gets his Dexterity and magic bonuses to his attack roll and his Strength and magic bonus to any damage he inflicts. Targets must be in range (see the listing for weapon ranges in the Weapons table of Chapter 4). If a character has multiple attacks, he can throw a weapon for any attack he makes in a round.
Fire (All)
A character uses any missile fire weapon (bows, crossbows, and slings, for instance) in combat. A successful hit will do the damage listed for the weapon. The character gets his Dexterity bonus to his attack roll. Targets must be in range of the weapon (see the listing for weapon ranges in the Weapons table of Chapter 4). A monster attacking with a ranged damage power (such as a dragon's breath) will use this maneuver in combat
Cast Spell (All)
A character casts a spell—from memory or from a scroll. A monster attacking with a magical power that doesn't qualify as a ranged damage attack or a hand-to-hand attack, such as a vampire's charm, will use this maneuver in combat.
Use Magical Item (All)
A character with a non-weapon magical item can use it with this maneuver. This is the maneuver for use of most non-weapon magical items (potions, wands, staves, rods, rings, and miscellaneous magical items) and for the inoffensive magic powers of other magical items (for instance, an enchanted sword's detect evil power)
Attack (All)
A character attacks with any hand-to-hand weapon. A successful hit inflicts the weapon's standard damage on the target. The character gets to add his Strength and magic bonuses to both his attack roll and the damage he does with his weapon. If a character has the multiple attacks maneuver, he may choose this maneuver for any attack he makes in a round.
Fighting Withdrawal (All)
A character can only perform this maneuver when he begins his combat round in hand-to-hand combat with an enemy. With this maneuver, the character backs away from his enemy at a rate of V per round. He makes no attack unless his enemies follow him later in the same combat round, on the enemies' own movement phase. If they do, he can make his attack at the end of the enemies' movement phase, before the enemies begin their own attacks. The character's attack is the same as a normal attack. If he is not in hand-to-hand combat with his enemy when his movement phase comes around in the next round, he can go to running speed that next round.
Retreat (All)
A character can only perform this maneuver when he begins his combat round in hand-tohand combat with an enemy. The character runs away from his enemy at greater than half his encounter speed, up to his full encounter speed. He forfeits the armor class bonus of his shield. Any enemy attacking him later in the combat round (that is, either an enemy who followed him during the enemies' movement phase or an enemy attacking with a ranged weapon) receives a +2 attack roll bonus this round. This is the same + 2 that characters normally get for attacking from behind (see the Attack Roll Modifiers Table on page 108). If the character is not in hand-to-hand combat with his enemy when his movement phase comes up in the next round, he can go to running speed that next round.
Lance Attack (Fighters, Dwarves, Elves)
If a character is on a riding steed (such as a horse) and is using a lance, he can perform the lance attack if his mount runs (flies, swims) for 20 yards or more toward the fighter's target. The character gets his Strength and magic adjustments to the attack roll and damage with the lance attack maneuver. The lance, if it hits, will inflict double damage with a successful hit—roll the damage for the lance, multiply the result by 2, and then apply all appropriate adjustments. Without enough room to charge—if the mount moves less than 20 yards or is stationary—the lance does normal damage only. Fighters, dwarves and elves can use a lance attack, but no other character class can do so. If a character has the multiple attacks maneuver, he may choose the lance attack maneuver for any attack he makes in a round. However, he cannot hit the same target time after time; he must choose a new target along his mount's line of movement for each attack, and therefore he must be capable of hitting each target with an attack roll of 2.
Set Spear vs. Charge (Fighters, Demi-Humans, Mystics)
A character on foot and carrying a spear, pike, sword shield, or lance can set the weapon vs. a charge. A charge is when a monster charges the character—that is, runs toward him for 20 or more yards before its attack. A character can also set his spear vs. another character's lance attack against him. When the character "sets vs. charge," he holds the weapon firm, braced against the ground and toward the onrushing enemy. The character gets his Strength and magic adjustments to his attack and damage rolls. If the character's attack hits, he inflicts double damage on his target, adding damage adjustments after doubling. The character must declare a set spear vs. charge before he is in hand-to-hand combat with the creature charging him. For example, if the character's party wins initiative in the round and the character suspects the monster will charge, he could declare his set spear vs. charge maneuver. Likewise, the characters might see a group of charging monsters several rounds before they arrive, and set their spears against the charge one or more rounds ahead of time. Normally, the character makes his attack on the monster's movement phase, when the monster first moves within range of the weapon. If his attack hits and kills the monster, the monster cannot hurt him in return. If his attack fails to kill the monster, the monster will be able to attack on its own hand-to-hand combat phase of the combat sequence.
Multiple Attacks (Fighter Combat Option)
This is a Fighter Combat Option maneuver, first available at 12th level to human fighters, at other experience point totals to demihumans (see their experience tables). In melee combat, if the fighter can hit his opponent with an attack roll of 2 (modified by all bonuses), he can make two attacks per round against that target (three per round at level 24, four per round at level 36). Each attack of a multiple attacks maneuver can be a throw, attack, lance attack, or disarm. A character can mix and match his maneuvers; for instance, a character with three attacks per round could perform an attack, disarm, attack combination against his foe, or throw three knives instead of one. This maneuver applies to ideal circumstances, and the character can use movement or some other action instead of another attack.
Smash (Fighter Combat Option)
This is a Fighter Combat Option maneuver, first available at 9th level to fighters and mystics, and at other experience point totals to demihumans (see their experience tables). With this hand-to-hand maneuver, the character automatically loses initiative and takes a — 5 penalty to the attack roll (he still gets his Strength and magic adjustments to his attack roll). If attack hits, the character adds his Strength bonus, magic bonuses, and his entire Strength score to his weapon's normal damage. For example, a Strength 17 fighter (+ 2 to attack and damage) using a sword +2 ( + 2 to attack, ld8 + 2 damage) would perform a smash this way: He rolls to hit with a net penalty of - 1 ( + 2 + 2-5). If he hits, he rolls Id8 + 21 (17+ 2+2) for damage!
Parry (Fighter Combat Option)
This is a Fighter Combat Option maneuver, first available at 9th level to fighters and mystics, and at other experience point totals to demihumans (see their experience tables). With this maneuver, the fighter does not make any attack roll. Instead, he blocks incoming attacks for the entire combat round; all enemies attacking him suffer a —4 penalty to hit him with melee and thrown (but not missile) weapons.
Disarm (Fighter Combat Option)
This is a Fighter Combat Option maneuver, first available at 9th level to fighters and mystics, and at other experience point totals to demi-humans (see their experience tables). This maneuver can only be used when the fighter attacks a weapon-using opponent. The fighter gets his normal Strength and magic adjustments to his attack roll. If he hits, he inflicts no damage. Instead, the victim rolls ld20, minus his Dexterity bonuses, plus his attacker's Dexterity bonuses. If the final roll is greater than the victim's Dexterity score, the victim drops his weapon. Example: Sir Hogier is fighting a warrior whom he intends to take alive. The warrior is AC 0, and has a Dexterity of 17; Sir Hogier is 20th level, with the bonuses from a Strength of 16 and a +2 sword. Hogier has a Dexterity of 12. Hogier needs to roll a 7 to hit AC0. He rolls a 6, but adds his bonuses from Strength and sword to James Ferguson (order #7435854) Chapter 8: Combat get a 10; he has hit. Now, the victim rolls ld20. He rolls a 15. He subtracts his own Dexterity bonus (a +1, from his Dexterity of 13), for a result of 14. Sir Hogier, with a Dexterity of 12, has no Dexterity bonus to add. The final result is a 14, which is more than the victim's Dexterity of 13. The disarm attempt has succeeded. Once disarmed, the victim may either switch weapons (suffering only the loss of initiative for the next round), or he may try to retrieve the weapon. When retrieving a weapon, a victim must retreat to grab the dropped weapon.