Post by chris on Sept 17, 2014 17:45:07 GMT
Just getting my head round 1st edition advanced dungeons and dragons combat and thought I'd post about it here as it gets things straight in my head if I explain it!
Works like this. I think.
At the beginning of the encounter each side rolls a single d6 to see if they are surprised by the other group
By default a group is surprised if they roll a 1 or a 2 on the d6 and the result is the number of 6 second segments they are surprised for.
If they roll a 3,4,5, or 6 they are not surprised.
If only one group is surprised, the other group gets the resulting number of 6 second segments to act in without hindrance.
If both groups are surprised, the group surprised for the least number of segments gets to act in a number of segments equal to the difference in surprise scores.
If they are equally surprised or no one is surprised we go straight to normal combat managed in 1min rounds.
There is a list of things you can achieve in a 6 second surprise segment which I won't cover here as it is a bit complex and clouds the issue!
Example1
Heroes walk round a corner to see a group of hobgoblins and an evil apprentice wizard (called Gerald). The hero players roll a collective d6 and get a 2. The dm rolls a d6 for the evil guys and gets a 1. Both groups are surprised. The heroes for 2 segments, the bad guys for 1 segment. Result: the bad guys get a single 6 second segment to act in before the encounter gets going normally.
Simple right?
Complications.
Some classes provide a bonus to surprise rolls for their entire group. Eg rangers have an ability that means a group with them can only be surprised on a roll of 1 on the surprise roll. In example 1 above the heroes would therefore not have been surprised at all and so would have 1 segment of time to act before the evil guys could.
In addition to this some monsters are very good at sneaking up to heroes and provide a penalty to the heroes' collective surprise roll eg the heroes are surprised on a roll of 1-4 instead of 1-2.
If both a penalty and a bonus apply at once then they are effectively added together. The ranger ability improves the roll by one, the monster ability penalises it by two. The heroes would therefore be surprised on a roll of 1-3 in this combined case.
Further complication:
Some characters have a high or low dex which effects the number of segments they themselves are surprised for if and only if they are surprised in the first place by the group roll. Unlike the surprise roll effects, this is applied individually! So in my first example above the heroes were surprised for 2 segments and the monsters for 1. Let's say the cleric has a v low dexterity and a personal surprise penalty of 2. He would be surprised for two extra 6 second segments whenever he is surprised. In this case He is in a surprised state for a total of 4 segments. Result: The evil group are surprised for 1 segment. The heroes apart from the cleric for 2 segments. The cleric for 4 segments. Therefore everyone is surprised for one segment in which no one acts. Then the evil group would act for 1 segment. Then all the evil group and the heroes apart from the cleric would act for 2 further segments. Then we would go into normal time!
A high dex surprise bonus of say 2 means that individual is surprised for 2 segments less than rolled. Let's say the fighter has a 2 bonus. He ends up not being surprised at all. The final total number of surprise segments would be:
Fighter:0
Evil guys:1
Heroes not cleric or fighter:2
Cleric:4
The final order of surprise segments would be :
Fighter has one segment to act by himself
Evil guys and fighter act for one further segment
Evil guys and all heroes but cleric act for 2 further segments
We move into normal rounds.
At least that's how I currently think it works!
A bit complex perhaps but no surprise there!
Works like this. I think.
At the beginning of the encounter each side rolls a single d6 to see if they are surprised by the other group
By default a group is surprised if they roll a 1 or a 2 on the d6 and the result is the number of 6 second segments they are surprised for.
If they roll a 3,4,5, or 6 they are not surprised.
If only one group is surprised, the other group gets the resulting number of 6 second segments to act in without hindrance.
If both groups are surprised, the group surprised for the least number of segments gets to act in a number of segments equal to the difference in surprise scores.
If they are equally surprised or no one is surprised we go straight to normal combat managed in 1min rounds.
There is a list of things you can achieve in a 6 second surprise segment which I won't cover here as it is a bit complex and clouds the issue!
Example1
Heroes walk round a corner to see a group of hobgoblins and an evil apprentice wizard (called Gerald). The hero players roll a collective d6 and get a 2. The dm rolls a d6 for the evil guys and gets a 1. Both groups are surprised. The heroes for 2 segments, the bad guys for 1 segment. Result: the bad guys get a single 6 second segment to act in before the encounter gets going normally.
Simple right?
Complications.
Some classes provide a bonus to surprise rolls for their entire group. Eg rangers have an ability that means a group with them can only be surprised on a roll of 1 on the surprise roll. In example 1 above the heroes would therefore not have been surprised at all and so would have 1 segment of time to act before the evil guys could.
In addition to this some monsters are very good at sneaking up to heroes and provide a penalty to the heroes' collective surprise roll eg the heroes are surprised on a roll of 1-4 instead of 1-2.
If both a penalty and a bonus apply at once then they are effectively added together. The ranger ability improves the roll by one, the monster ability penalises it by two. The heroes would therefore be surprised on a roll of 1-3 in this combined case.
Further complication:
Some characters have a high or low dex which effects the number of segments they themselves are surprised for if and only if they are surprised in the first place by the group roll. Unlike the surprise roll effects, this is applied individually! So in my first example above the heroes were surprised for 2 segments and the monsters for 1. Let's say the cleric has a v low dexterity and a personal surprise penalty of 2. He would be surprised for two extra 6 second segments whenever he is surprised. In this case He is in a surprised state for a total of 4 segments. Result: The evil group are surprised for 1 segment. The heroes apart from the cleric for 2 segments. The cleric for 4 segments. Therefore everyone is surprised for one segment in which no one acts. Then the evil group would act for 1 segment. Then all the evil group and the heroes apart from the cleric would act for 2 further segments. Then we would go into normal time!
A high dex surprise bonus of say 2 means that individual is surprised for 2 segments less than rolled. Let's say the fighter has a 2 bonus. He ends up not being surprised at all. The final total number of surprise segments would be:
Fighter:0
Evil guys:1
Heroes not cleric or fighter:2
Cleric:4
The final order of surprise segments would be :
Fighter has one segment to act by himself
Evil guys and fighter act for one further segment
Evil guys and all heroes but cleric act for 2 further segments
We move into normal rounds.
At least that's how I currently think it works!
A bit complex perhaps but no surprise there!
