If you “block” only, do you still get an attack that “round”? Or do you need to select “counterattack”?
(I was thinking that if all the heroes stood around and picked “block”, no Orcs… err… Gargun… are gonna get killed.)
You still get an attack. If you counterattack, you get two per round. Even if you block, if you get a DTA result, you get a free shot.
Can I also attack with my shield?
In any case I certainly attack with my spear.
I’ll block with my shield.
Can I also counterattack with my spear?
I would expect that being surrounded by your mates would be much safer than standing 10’ away.
Do your cures work at range, or do you have to touch us? Can you cast and move in the same round?
If it’s a touch (or you can’t move and cast), then surely being adjacent to four of us is way better.
They’re only 10’ away!
Depending on the length of their weapons, they might be able to hit you without even moving. :eek:
Fair point. I was more or less counting of the 3 of you to act as a wall. Possibly not the smartest of ideas.
I don’t need to touch you though, since it is a prayer for your health. As far as I know I don’t even need to be near you, but I want to be able to jab things with my spear if necessary.
I realise that you have a precise picture of where we and all the Gargun are. However I honestly am confused. 
Before the combat, Koldanar slips into the bush. We keep walking (no marching order stated). Presumably he is now behind us.
Then we notice some Fowlspawn hundreds of feet away (the direction not specified). Presumably they are ahead of us.
The fowlspawn rush us (taking three rounds).
Antinor turns to face them (so which way was he going?).
NAF starts a ritual and Santo fires his bow twice.
Not knowing it’s a serious encumbrance, we continue to carry our tents. :eek:
First the creatures are ‘now on us’.
Then they are ‘at REALLY CLOSE RANGE’. 
(Are they in a line, a queue, a clump or spread out?)
Koldanar (who presumably has caught us up whilst moving stealthily through the bushes) now leaps out and successfully attacks. (Is he behind us, level, or in front of us?)
Antinor is now engaged with one opponent. (Where is he in relation to the rest of the party? Where are the rest of the Gargun in relation to us?)
After the Gargun have completed their charge, we can ‘arrange ourselves as we see fit’. Won’t the Gargun get in our way, especially if they go first in melee order?
Are we in the open? Is there any cover or a place to retreat too?
Well I’m not quite sure but I think we are in the open - when 3 of us cannot ‘form a wall’ against 6 of them!
Your rituals are clearly useful. 
But in combat I am happy to hack away and protect you, while you keep me standing. 
Well then, feel free to ignore my valiant yet stupid ass and keep me safe. 
I will return the favor by praying for your good health.
You can attack with your shield, but it’s not a very effective weapon. You can’t attack with both in one round.
Let’s resolve the spear attack.
You hit a Gargun just fine, but it put up a superior defense. It’s able to strike back at you. (It got a DTA, defender’s tactical advantage – sort of like an unplanned counterattack.) It swings its mang at you and hits your shield. The mang breaks from the impact. All the creature has left for a weapon is its shield.
Well done.
Yes, you certainly do!
On your turn you can attack with one weapon. On a foe’s turn you may either block or counterattack, not both. But in either case you may use any weapon you have. So yes, you can choose counterattack with your spear when you’re defending.
Oh, you need to touch them to heal them. And you need a lot of time to do it. About 8 minutes to invoke, and at least 30 minutes to fully take effect. It’s not a ritual that can be used in combat.
You’re not useless in combat. IIRC, sword is your best weapon, but you can fight with anything. You aren’t the relentless killing machine that your companions are, but a Laranian priest most definitely can handle combat situations.
No memories come back to you, but it’s clear that your companions can’t just brawl – they must be some sort of military elite. The best of the best.
Let me paint a better picture for you then. Sorry for the barrage of vague.
You are walking on an unpaved road in the wilderness. In daytime. In Spring. In cool but fair weather. Blue skies, brisk wind. The terrain is mountainous, but here it mostly takes the form of hills. Where you are at this exact moment is, for the most part, pretty flat for a good distance around. There is a gentle hill rising to the south, maybe a 10 degree grade.
The vegetation is sparse, but there are a few windswept trees of small stature, some high grasses, and some bushes.
You are walking west along the east-west road. There’s not really a marching order, as it’s just five dudes walking along a (for now) wide path. You know how when you’re walking along with a bunch of friends and sometimes a couple of you straggle a little while having a semi-private conversation? And then a little later you stop that conversation and start a different one with someone else? And little sub-clumplets form, break up, and re-form? It’s like that, except you’re all a bit closer, quieter, and more cautious than a normal social group. But the formation is still an amorphous glob.
Koldanar sensed danger. “Psst! Guys!” He hid in the bushes and you all went on alert. You drew weapons and dropped tents and food. Combat ready.
You saw the Gargun to your left, off to the south, up the gentle hill. As they charged, you and Antinor prepared to skewer them. Santo loosed a couple of arrows and missed. His third arrow was at point-blank range, when his target was a mere 10 feet away.
During those 30 seconds, you had a chance to make a formation of sorts. So did the Gargun. Here’s how I see it: They formed a straight line, shoulder to shoulder, charging north and down the hill. They have mangs and roundshields. Gargun6 is to your left, eastmost. Gargun1 is on your right, westmost.
In my mind’s eye, your formation is now this: NAF is facing south, standing on the north side of the road. To his front and left is Koldanar, who just popped out of a bush to slay Gargun6. He is no longer hiding. To his right is Santo, armed with only a bow, now engaged. To his right is Antinor, engaged with Gargun2. Furthest right is you (glee), who just disarmed Gargun1.
I hope that illuminates the scene a bit better. 
One of them is down, one is injured, and one is partially disarmed. And Koldanar is up and fighting. So it’s really a wall of 4 defending against an army of 4 and 2/2. And NAF can fight. Or do another END-enhancing ritual on someone else. Including himself, of course.
I reiterate that you can block 4 of them as easily as you can block 1 of them. You’ve got the shield skills of an extremely gifted warrior. You just need to figure out a way to draw them to you.
But for now, it’s their turn to attack…
Block!
Geez, you guys weren’t messing around when we asked to speed things up a bit, huh? Awesome!
So I can’t use the Shield to block and simultaneously counterattack with the Spear?
You’ve stated that I can’t attack with both Shield and Spear, but can I use the Spear to attack and then the Shield to block?
Given I have the same % numbers in both Spear and Shield, does it matter which one I use for attack / block?
What is the benefit of having both? Is it just to use the second one when the first one breaks?
No worries - I appreciate the work you are putting in.
I just think that asking the players to describe every blow and block in combat means:
- you need to give lengthy descriptions of terrain, distances, battle formations and combat movement
- each combat will take a long time (see below)
See how this one goes - but please consider my suggestion that:
- you describe the initial meeting with opponents
- we give our combat strategy
- you adjudicate the whole encounter (perhaps with a break for a critical decision)
Given we are badly armed, short on supplies, travelling through hostile country, not knowing how to pay any toll and have no idea what enemy took our identities and stuck us in a cave … we are not having social or semi-private conversations!
We are on full alert, sharing anything we remember with all of us - to help us discover our identities and talents.
It does indeed help, but you can see how much information you need to type just to have the most basic combat.
I still don’t know where Gargun2,3+4 are (I assume they are still in line facing us.)
So far we’re about half-way through the first round of melee combat against a weedy untactical enemy. And it’s taken almost exactly 8 days in real time…
Nope.
Yep. Or vice versa if you wish, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Each weapon has a collection of stats. One is A/D, which is bonuses for attack and defense. A shield has an A/D of 5/20, which means that you get a +5 when you attack with it, and a +20 when you defend with it. A spear is, I believe, 25/10. So you can choose to attack with the weapon that gives you a +5 bonus, or the one that gives you a +25 bonus. Likewise, you can defend with the weapon that gives you a +20 bonus or the one that gives you a +10 bonus.
As well, each weapon has impact aspects. A spear is pointy and can penetrate armor. A sword has an edge and can cut. A club has weight and can crush bones. A shield has none of those things, and so does not deliver much damage at all. It can be used as an offensive weapon, but it’s just not a very good one.
Let’s move things along. It’s the Gargun’s turn.
Here are the engagements:
Gargun1: shield only–>glee
Gargun2: IL2 in chest–>Antinor
Gargun3: -->Santo
Gargun4: -->glee
Gargun5: -->Koldanar
Gargun6: IL3 in mouth, unconscious, disengaged
Gargun1 attacks glee with his shield. Shields collide, and the Gargun’s shild breaks. He is now totally disarmed.
Gargun2 attacks Antinor with a mang. The aim is poor, and Antinor is just too good with a shield. He gets a free blow as a result. The Gargun blocks the blow.
Gargun3 attacks Santo, whose only weapon is a bow – which is really just a stick at this point. Good thing the Gargun wiffed so bad. Santo gets a free blow. He punches the creature in the stomach. The creature takes a minor injury, IL1. That just pisses it off.
Gargun4 attacks glee with his mang. The blow is blocked.
Gargun5 attacks Koldanar, and inflicts a serious (IL3) cut on his left thigh. Koldanar drops and passes out.
Gargun6 is already down.
Your turn.
glee attacks Gargun4 with a spear. Blocked.
Antinor attacks Gargun2 with a dagger. Stabby stabby to the face. Serious (IL3) puncture right to its snout. That drops it. Well done.
Santo kicks Gargun3. Poorly. The Gargun gets a free swing, but Santo dodges it.
2 down, 1 disarmed, 3 fresh and fighting. And Koldanar is in sad shape.
Before we continue… NAF? Action?
I have seen a home-brewed combat system where items have “hit points” and a “toughness” stat.
When an item (let’s say on my hard leather cuirass), the “attacking” items damage is compared to the “toughness” stat of both the attacking item itself, and my cuirass. If the damage exceeds the “toughness” stat, than that item takes damage, and becomes worn or dull. If the items “hit points” are reduced to zero, the item “breaks”, or otherwise is seen as useless.
A metal item is going to have a pretty good “toughness”, while thin wood, cloth, and leather not as much. A steel axe probably won’t damage itself unless you max out the damage roll, while a wooden shield, with a lot of health, will still become pretty bashed up after an extended fight. (Picture a huge viking bashing away with his axe on my little wooden shield. Eventually, my shield will start to fall apart, even if it does have a nice picture painted on the front.)
This gave a lot more “value” to everday weapons and armor, as they tended to wear out quickly, especially if no one had any crafting/repair skills or supplies. I kinda liked the system, even if it was incomplete, and it slowed combat down a tad (as each player was tracking the health of all their items).
I will take this opportunity to pray for Koldanars speedy recovery.
On my next turn, if I am not engaged I will also attempt to preform the END ritual for Koldanar. (So you don’t have to wait for me if I am not around when it comes up.) If I am engaged I will block.
Do I remember any other rituals that might help us in the heat of battle? You know, now that we are in the heat of battle and I am starting to have memories triggered?