v6.

HOUSE RULES – ENCOUNTERS AND COMBAT – “OLD-SCHOOL”

NOTE: Everything is subject to modification. However, this document will provide you with basic
expectations.

Encounters

Surprise: each side gets one roll for the whole team, for Surprise. Normally a side that rolls a 1 or 2 on
a d6 is Surprised. Any character with bonuses modifies the result FOR HIMSELF ONLY, but can help
their side avoid Surprise (share their bonus) if they can effectively communicate with their teammates.
If Surprise is indicated, the losing number is subtracted from the winning number; the result is the
number of “Segments” of action the winning side gains against the losing side, before we move to
normal Initiative. Note: Characters get their normal number of attacks per Surprise Segment. But this
does not apply to movement; or to spells, which still take their requisite number of Segments to cast.
(See below.)

Communication: Characters from one side may communicate with the other side as circumstances
allow, in an attempt to avoid conflict. Reaction rolls may be called for. Adjustments to Reaction rolls
may apply, based on Race, Charisma or Comeliness.

Combat Routine

I. Statement of Intent
Once combat is inevitable, each player must state what action he is planning to take. Example: “I will
move forward ten feet and stab the goblin with my sword.” Or “I will cast a Sleep spell, centered over
there.” Or “I will run and hide behind that corner, sheathe my sword, and pull out my bow and arrows.
If I still have time, I will lean out and shoot the troll. Otherwise I'll shoot next Round.” Or “I'm more
than ten feet from the enemy, so I will Charge forward and stab the giant toad with my spear.” Or “I
will stand my ground, and Brace my spear against that charging rhinoceros.” (Hey, it could happen.)

Note: A Character who is Specialized in Bow or Crossbow, and who has an arrow nocked and ready,
with an enemy in sight, will be able to take one free shot, PRIOR to Initiative rolls.

II. Initiative
Each character will roll individually to obtain their own Initiative score. The die he uses will depend on
his Statement of Intent.

A Round of combat is somewhat abstract, and consists of ten Segments of about six seconds each.
(Thus a Round is approximately sixty seconds in total.) Once everyone has rolled their Initiative, the
DM will note the results and then begin counting Segments. When your Segment arrives, you may act.
Your actions continue through the Round. See Movement (below) for additional notes.

 If you are continuing a move from last round, just resume moving at Segment 1.
 1d4 is rolled if you are just beginning a move this Round. This includes a Charge.

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 1d4 is rolled if using a readied magic item, spell, or ability.

 1d4 is rolled if using a readied missile weapon with a Rate of Fire of 1 attack per Round.
 1d6 is rolled if you need to switch items to do one of the above actions, or mount a horse, etc.
(Cavaliers can stick with 1d4 when mounting, this is one of their Special Abilities.)
 1d10 is rolled if you will take one normal melee weapon attack in a Round. This will include
switching items and putting things away.
 2d6 are rolled if you get two attacks in a Round, either in melee or with missile weapons. This
will include switching items and putting things away. Example: If you rolled a two on the
“first” die, and a three on the “second” die, your first attack is on Segment 2, and your second
attack is on Segment 5. Modifiers as explained below. Results that add up to more than 10 will
still happen on Segment 10, when you are conducting Combat.
 3d4 are rolled if you get three attacks in a Round. This will include switching items and putting
things away. Results that add up to more than 10 will happen on Segment 10, when you are
conducting Combat.

Combining Movement and Combat

The thing to remember is that landing an attack in melee requires a d10 for Initiative, and using a
readied Missile Weapon requires a d4 for Initiative.
And beginning a move requires a d4 for Initiative.
So, say you want to move over there, then enter melee. If you will move ten feet or less, you can still
attack. You'll roll a d4 and a d10, and add them together. Example: a (2) and an (8). You begin moving
on Segment 2. For the example we'll say that you move ten feet, or two squares, in one Segment.
Therefore you arrive in your “spot” ready to go on Segment 3. You rolled an (8) on your d10, so 3 + 8
= 11. You'd get your attack on Segment 11, except there is no Segment 11, so we round it back down to
10 because there are only ten Segments in a Round.
But if you're just moving and you don't reach your target before the end of the Round, your movement
continues next Round.

Readied versus Preparing

Basically, “Readied” means that what you need is already in your hand. If a spell, you have the
Component in your hand (see below). If an item like a wand, it's in your hand. If you need your hands
free, then there's nothing in your hands!

Weapon: Speed Factor

Weapons of Speed Factor 1-3 add no time to which Segment your attack occurs; those of factor 4-6 add
1 Segment; 7-9, 2 Segments; and 10+, 3 Segments.

Spell: Casting Time

The spell effect may not happen until some time in the following round, because of Spell Casting Time.
(See below.)

III. Individual Actions

Movement

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Inches = feet moved per Segment. You may combine movement and attack in various ways. We'll
round the movement speeds to fit the map. On maps with 5' squares, the following chart applies. Using
diagonal movement on a square grid does not gain you any additional distance, in that case we measure
by scale not by squares.

Movement # 5' Squares Armor

Rate per Segment Type
12” 2 None, Leather, Elven Chain
9” 2 Padded, Studded Leather, Chain, Ring, Banded
6” 1 Scale, Splint, Plate Mail, Bronze Plate, Field Plate, Full Plate

Note: These movement rates will apply to all races of PCs, no matter how short their legs are.

Movement while Tracking: reduced to from ¾ to ¼ normal movement rate.

Movement while Moving Silently (the Thief/Rogue skill): rate is in feet-per-Round, IE 12” = 12 feet
per one-minute Round.

 You can move and attack in a single Round. You cannot move more than ten feet and still
attack, unless you Charge (see below). But you can attack, and then move more than ten feet
afterwards, over the course of the remainder of the Round.
 If you're moving and you don't reach your destination by Segment 10, then you continue your
move next Round.
 If you Flee while engaged in Melee, your opponent gains a free attack at +4 against you. If you
attempt to back away and make a “Fighting Withdrawal,” your opponent is free to just keep
moving forward and maintain the Melee (unless you have an ally to “cover” your retreat who
blocks his advance). Your opponent can follow your withdrawal for up to ten feet, and if he
does then your Fighting Withdrawal is ended for the Round. You've used up your turn in the
very difficult act of moving carefully backwards while someone is trying to stab you in the
liver.

Charge / Receive Charge

 Only one Charge may be made per ten-minute Turn. Using a Charge is the only way to move
more than ten feet and then get an attack later in the same Round.
 Declaring that your move is a Charge doubles your movement speed indoors, but you lose
either your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, or if you had none, your Armor Class is reduced by
one (but not lower than Armor Class 10).
 At the end of your Charge, if you get a Melee attack, you are at +2 to hit.

Charging Outdoors is a little different. Biped movement is only increased by one-third (we'll round to
one extra 5' square). However, quadrupeds Charge at double their movement rate.

A combatant who will be on the receiving end of a Charge, who is using a spear, can choose to “Set
Weapon Versus Charge.” If he rolls a successful hit against the Charging opponent, his damage result

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will be multiplied by two. NOTE: ONLY the spear has this ability versus any size target. The following
weapons can gain these bonuses ONLY against LARGE targets: Fork-Military, Glaive, Glaive-
Guisarme, Javelin.

Weapon Length
When closing to Melee, Weapon Length determines whose attack will land first. Example: Two
opponents are closing to melee. A fighter with a 7' military fork gets his attack before the opposing
fighter with the 6' spear does. This may happen “out of turn” if the combatant with the longer weapon
hasn't used his attack yet.

Encumbrance and Movement

For now, we won’t really track Encumbrance. Just don’t be unreasonable with what you list on your
sheet. If I have to enforce Encumbrance penalties you could lose any Dexterity bonus to Armor Class,
move slower, or even not be able to move at all until you drop some of that junk!

Spells
Spells may have Verbal, Somatic (movement) and/or Material Components.
 Roll 1d4 for Initiative to cast a spell that has no Material Component, or if you are already
holding the Material Component.
 Roll 1d4 for Initiative to cast a spell that requires a Somatic Component (moving), if your hands
are empty.
 Roll 1d6 for Initiative if you have to drop what's in your hand, or switch items, and then cast.

The Casting Time for each spell is added to the rolled Initiative. The result is when the spell effect will
take place. It may very well not take effect until the following Round. If the caster is attacked while
casting, he cannot use any Dexterity bonus to defend himself. If he is hit, his spell has been interrupted
and wasted. Example: A Magic-User is holding a lantern when the party is faced with a group of
goblins. The Magic-User wants to cast Sleep. He has to lose the lantern, and he needs to get the spell's
Material Component (he uses a pinch of sand) out in order to cast. So he rolls a d6 for Initiative, and
gets a 4. The Casting Time for Sleep is only 1 Segment, so he begins casting on Segment 4, and the
spell effect happens at the end of Segment 4. If the Magic-User is attacked on Segment 4 he may not
use a Dexterity bonus for defense, and if he's successfully hit his Sleep spell will be interrupted, won't
be cast successfully, and is lost from memory even though he didn't get to successfully cast it.

Abilities
Turning Undead is a Cleric ability that requires the use of a Holy Symbol, which is a Spell Component
that must be held and presented forcefully. Handle this as a spell with Verbal, Somatic and Material
Components. IE, 1d4 or 1d6 for Initiative, depending on if you happen to have your Holy Symbol in
your hands, and nothing else.

Roll 1d4 for Initiative for Mental Abilities, which generally don't require any preparation.

Other Abilities like Thief skills or Tracking or Searching should not be done during combat, but if you
are out of harm's reach, you would roll 1d4 or 1d6, depending on what you do with anything in your

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hands. These actions will take time to perform, and may go into the following Round.

Movement while Tracking: reduced to from ¾ to ¼ normal movement rate.

Moving Silently: rate is in feet-per-Round, IE 12” = 12 feet per one-minute Round.

Find Traps: 1-10 Rounds
Remove Traps: 1-10 Rounds
Open Lock: 1-10 Rounds
Search for Secret Doors, 10'x10': 1-10 Rounds
Determine how to Open Secret Door: 1 Turn
Open Stuck Door: 1 Round
Break Down Door: 3-10 Rounds
Bend Bars/Lift Gates: 2 Rounds
Search Bodies (up to ten): 1 Turn
Map & Casual Examine 20'x20' Room: 1 Turn
Thorough Search after Mapping 20'x20' Room: 1 Turn
Light Torch or Lantern: 3-5 Rounds

Items
Potions – uncapping and drinking a potion takes 1 Segment. The effect takes additional time.
Enchanted items have various “activation times” that must be added to the Initiative roll.

Missile Weapons
Rate of Fire: As noted above, Initiative is rolled based on what must be done to get the missile weapon
readied, and how many attacks it gets in a Round. We will assume that missile flight takes place within
the Segment of firing.

Melee
Speed Factor: Weapons of Speed Factor 1-3 add no time to which Segment your attack occurs; those of
factor 4-6 add 1 Segment; 7-9, 2 Segments; and 10+, 3 Segments. Note this applies to each attack if
you get multiple attacks in a Round.

Weapon versus Armor Class: These adjustments, determined by which weapon used, only apply when
the target is wearing the specific type of actual armor called for by that Armor Class. Shield use affects
the armor type.

Armor Class by armor type. Shield use adds +1 to Armor Class, and also changes the Weapon versus
Armor Class adjustment.
AC 10 = none
AC 9 = Shield alone
AC 8 = Padded, Leather
AC 7 = Studded, Ring
AC 6 = Scale
AC 5 = Chain, Elven Chain
AC 4 = Splint, Banded, Bronze Plate (AC 6 from rear)

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AC 3 = Plate Mail
AC 2 = Field Plate (absorbs 1pt/dmg per die up to 12 pts. After that, reduced to AC 3 until repaired.)
AC 1 = Full Plate (absorbs 2 pts/dmg per die up to 26 pts. After that, reduced to AC 2 until repaired.)

Shield Use
Shield use adds +1 to Armor Class, and also changes the Weapon versus Armor Class adjustment.
Attacks from the right flank or rear negate the advantage of the shield.
Types of shield: Small, Medium, Large.
Most are wood, covered with leather, bound with metal. Rarely, a small shield may be completely
metal.
 A small shield or buckler can be counted against only one attack per melee round.
 A medium shield can effectively be counted against two attacks per melee round.
 A large shield is counted against up to three attacks per melee round. It also provides an extra
+1 Armor Class versus small missile weapons (IE, non-war engine or giant hurled missiles).
This is the equivalent of a Norman kite shield or a large Viking round shield.

Multiple Attacks Due to Level, Multiple Attacks Due to Weapon Specialization

Fighters, Rangers, Paladins, Cavaliers and Cavalier-Paladins get their level in attacks per Round
against opponents with less than one 8-sided Hit Die.

At higher levels, Fighters, Rangers, Paladins, Cavaliers and Cavalier-Paladins using Non-Specialized
Weapons get the following number of attacks:
 Fighter 7-12, one add'l attack every other Round with non-Specialized Weapons (“3/2,” or 3
attks in 2 rds)
 Paladin 7-12, one add'l attack every other Round with non-Specialized Weapons (“3/2,” or 3
attks in 2 rds)
 Ranger 8-14, one add'l attack every other Round with non-Specialized Weapons (“3/2,” or 3
attks in 2 rds)
 Cavalier 6-10, one add'l attack every other Round with non-Specialized Weapons (“3/2,” or 3
attks in 2 rds)

Weapon Specialization (either Single or Double Specialization) is a choice for Fighters, Rangers and
PH Paladins (but not Cavaliers or Cavalier-Paladins) and allows the following:
 Level 1-6, one add'l attack every other Round with Specialized Weapon (“3/2,” or 3 attks in 2
rds)
 Level 7-12, one add'l attack each Round with Specialized Weapon (“2/1,” or 2 attks in 1 rd)

 Weapons of Choice are specific to Cavaliers and Cavalier-Paladins, and grant add'l attks with
those weapons as if the character were 5 levels higher than he is. Thus:
 Cavalier 1-5, one add'l attack every other Round with Weapons of Choice (“3/2,” or 3 attks in 2
rds)
 Cavalier 6-10, one add'l attack each Round with Weapons of Choice (“2/1,” or 2 attks in 1 rd)

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NOTE: “One additional attack every other Round” and “One additional attack each Round” also
applies to bows. Bows get 2 attacks per Round normally. One additional attack every other Round
equals 5/4. One additional attack each Round equals 3/1.

NOTE: The progression for multiple attacks is 1/1, 3/2, 2/1, 5/4, 3/1, 7/2, 4/1, 9/2, etc.

Crits / Fumbles
We will use the Arduin Crit/Fumble tables for results.

An attack is rolled with a d20. A “natural” unmodified “1” is a Fumble, while a “natural” unmodified
“20” is a Critical Hit. (Unless you need a “20” to hit that opponent! The only way you can hit with a
Crit that opponent is if you rolled the “natural 20,” AND you have adjustments that bring your score up
to 21. THEN that's a Crit.)

A spell-caster will also roll a d20 every time he casts a spell, in order to give him the chance for Crits
or Fumbles.

Special Cases

 An attack from the rear (or similarly unseen) is at +2 “to hit.”

 Against stunned, prone and motionless opponents, an attack is at +4 “to hit.” A stunned
character cannot attack.

 Magically-held, sleeping, paralyzed or totally-immobilized opponents are hit automatically, and

slain or completely tied up in one round.

 Thief/Rogue Back Stabbing: Striking from behind by Surprise grants a +4 “to hit” and an
increase in damage calculated per the Thief’s level. The opponent must not be aware of the
Thief in order to apply these bonuses. Opponents aware of the Thief will be able to negate the
attack form. Certain creatures (otyughs, slimes, molds, etc) either negate surprise or have no
definable “back,” thus negating this ability.

 Unconscious at 0 Hit Points. Characters or monsters at negative Hit Points “bleed” once per
round until Bound or Healed. Death at -10 Hit Points. If the victim hasn't yet gotten their action
in the round they go to 0 or less, they get a “dying slash.” In all cases, they get to say “last
words” if they choose to.
 Declaring Non-Lethal Combat / Subdual: divide all damage by one-half. Damage is temporary,
and is regained in 1-6 turns. You're pulling punches, so no Damage Bonus (but “To Hit”
bonuses apply).
 Unarmed Combat (for everyone except Monks): Fist/Kick does 1d2 damage. One attack per
round.
 Dual-Wielding: The second weapon must be either a dagger or hand axe. It requires a weapon

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proficiency be assigned to using that weapon off-hand, or non-proficiency penalties apply.

Strength and armor class adjustments apply, as well as weapon speed factors. Use of a second
weapon causes the character to attack with his or her primary weapon at -2 and the secondary
weapon at -4. If the user’s dexterity is above 15, there is a downward adjustment in the weapon
penalties as follows, although this never gives a positive (bonus) rating to such attacks. At 16
dexterity the secondary/primary penalty is -3/-1, at 17 -2/0, and at 18 -l/0.
 Shield Bash (in off-hand):
◦ 1. Used as the only attack in a Round: roll to-hit, no non-proficiency penalty, no off-hand
penalty, no armor class adjustments. Damage is 1d2+1. Strength bonuses apply for both to-
hit and damage. The shield’s bonus to your armor class is lost for the Round.
◦ 2. Used as a secondary weapon as per Dual-Wielding (above): may be used with or without
taking it as a weapon proficiency, with appropriate modifiers. If taken as a weapon
proficiency, its adjustment to armor class will not be lost.
 Attacks with a Torch: as Club (d6/d3), plus an additional d2 damage for burns.
 Two characters may easily walk abreast and fight in a 10' wide corridor. Weapon “Space
Required” is pretty much ignored; I like characters with halberds!
 Firing into Melee: I will assign percentage chances to each possible target, then we will roll to
see who the Missile Weapon is going to hit. Then make your To-Hit roll for the target's Armor
Class. (This is per DMG.)

Weapon Non-Proficiency Penalties

Class Penalty
Cavalier -3
Paladin -3
Cleric -3
Druid -4
Fighter -2
Ranger -2
Magic-User -5
Illusionist -5
Thief -3
Acrobat -3
Monk -3
Bard -2

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Grappling:
 Target must be of equal or lesser size.
 May use 'Standard' or 'Non-Lethal' Damage (see above).
 Requires a “To Hit” roll.
 If Attacker is successful, and the Defender is unarmed, the Defender is pinned and suffers 1-2
damage.
 If the Defender is armed he gets an attack first at +2, and if successful does normal damage and
there is no grapple.
 If the Defender is pinned, then on the Defender's initiative, he makes a “To Hit” roll to break
free and if successful, the grapple has been broken.
 If the Defender is pinned and the Attacker wins initiative, he may maintain the hold and choose
whether to apply another 1-2 damage or not.
 Additional Attackers add a +2 to hit on the initial attack, and if assisting in pinning, the
Defender suffers a -2 on his attempt to break free. Only one additional Attacker per Grapple.