This is part of a series describing my efforts to apply reductionism to OSE. My aim is to boil down some of the basic rules to something that can be transplanted into the more free-form systems I prefer.
Last time, I discussed a somewhat simplified procedure for conducting combat that incorporates morale (ML) and movement rates (MV). With that, I think I've reached my goal of extracting OSE combat as a micro-system. Wasn't that fun? I have a few other ideas I might write about if—
Wait…
What's THAT?!?
GRAAAWR!!!
Help! HELP! It's an outstanding specimen of Ursus arctos horribilis!
- GRIZZLY-B AC6 HD5+0 AT2,2,4 TH15 MV4 SV16 ML8 claw, claw, bite
It's less than [2d6=8] 80 feet (24m) away and closing fast!
Stand aside, citizen.
Hurrah! It's Example Basic Adventuring Party from my character profiles post.
- F3-928871 AC4 HD3+0 AT3 TH19 MV2 SV16 ML5 chain, shield, sword
- M1-86673B AC9 HD1-1 AT3 TH19 MV4 SV16 ML8 dagger
- F2-86B8FA AC2 HD2+2 AT3 TH19 MV2 SV15 ML8 plate, shield, maul
- F2-CA7A76 AC5 HD2+0 AT4 TH18 MV2 SV16 ML7 chain, pole arm
- F3-814C64 AC5 HD3+0 AT3 TH18 MV2 SV17 ML6 chain, crossbow
- M3-A33688 AC9 HD2+0 AT4 TH19 MV4 SV17 ML7 dagger, LV1 Shield
- T1-735B91 AC7 HD1+0 AT3 TH18 MV3 SV17 ML5 leather, shortsword
Round 1
- GRIZZLY-B Move 4
- F3-928871 Pass
- M1-86673B Pass
- F2-86B8FA Pass
- F2-CA7A76 Pass
- F3-814C64 Shoot
- M3-A33688 Special: Shield
- T1-735B91 Pass
The bear closes to 40 feet (12m); F3-814C64 shoots her crossbow [1d20=1] but the bolt goes wild; M3-A33688 uses Shield, improving her AC to 4. The rest of the party stand their ground.
Round 2
- GRIZZLY-B Move 3 (engage) + Attack
- F3-928871 Move 2
- M1-86673B Move -2
- F2-86B8FA Move 2
- F2-CA7A76 Move 1 (engage) + Attack
- F3-814C64 Move -2
- M3-A33688 Pass
- T1-735B91 Move -2
The bear closes the remaining distance and engages with F2-CA7A76, who advances 10 feet (3m) to meet it, attacking with his pole arm [1d20+AC6=18 ≥ TH18] and inflicting 4hp. F3-814C64 falls back 20 feet (6m) along with M1-86673B and T1-735B91 while F3-928871 and F2-86B8FA try to flank the beast. M3-A33688 continues to stand her ground.
I'll rule that the bear receives -4 to attack rolls this round due to the reach of the fighter's weapon. Its first claw attack [1d20+AC5-4=19 ≥ TH15] connects anyway for 2hp; its second [1d20+AC5-4=4 < TH15] does not; it's bite [1d20=20] inflicts a further 4hp of damage! One of the claw swipes must have knocked the weapon away, giving it an opening to sink its teeth into the hapless fighter.
AAARGH!
F2-CA7A76 sustained a total of 6hp from the bear's attacks; he [2d6=5 ≤ 6hp] screams and falls to the ground, mortally wounded.
The pole arm left a gash in the beast's side, but that's only made it more angry!
Round 3
The first of their number having fallen, the party of NPCs need to make a morale check. Of the three 3rd-level characters, M3-A33688 has the highest morale rating so I'll assume that she's the leader. Her resolve in the face of danger [2d6=6 ≤ ML7] inspires the others to stay and fight.
I think it's likely that the two fighters successfully flanked the bear while it was chewing on their comrade. Did they? [2d6H1=2] Oh… no, they did not. If they had, I'd rule that they get free attacks this round, with no chance for the bear to retaliate.
Does it target a specific individual? [1d6=6] Yes and it fixates on that opponent! Which of F3-928871 (1-2), F2-86B8FA (3-4), or M3-A33688 (5-6) does it target? [1d6=3] It turns its full fury on the 2nd-level fighter!
- GRIZZLY-B Move 1 (engage) + Attack
- F3-928871 Move 1 (engage) + Attack
- M1-86673B Move 2 (engage) + Attack
- F2-86B8FA Move 1 (engage) + Attack
- F3-814C64 Reload
- M3-A33688 Move 1 (engage) + Attack
- T1-735B91 Move 2 (engage) + Attack
The beast's claw attacks [1d20+AC2=4 < TH15, 1d20+AC2=13 < TH15] both miss; its bite [1d20+AC2=14 < TH15] also misses; F2-86B8FA [1d20+AC6=17 < TH19] misses with his weapon, too. They must be dancing around each other, dodging and feinting, looking for an opportunity.
Taking advantage of its preoccupation with the other fighter, F3-928871 strikes with his sword [1d20+AC6=25 ≥ TH19] inflicting 3hp; M3-A33688 attacks with her dagger [1d20=20], finding a vulnerable spot for an additional 4hp. Emboldened, M1-86673B and T1-735B91 join the melee, attacking with their weapons [1d20+AC6=15 < TH19; 1d20+AC6=14 < TH19] but to no effect.
Everyone is now engaged in melee except for F3-814C64, who spends this round reloading her crossbow.
The bear sustained a total of 11hp so far [5d6=18 > 11hp] but that's not enough to take it down.
Round 4
Does F3-814C64 have a clear shot? With so many of the party engaged in close-quarters combat, I think it unlikely… [2d6L1=2] no, she does not.
- GRIZZLY-B Attack
- F3-928871 Attack
- M1-86673B Attack
- F2-86B8FA Attack
- F3-814C64 Pass
- M3-A33688 Attack
- T1-735B91 Attack
The bear lunges at F2-86B8FA again: [1d20+AC2=4 < TH15, 1d20+AC2=14 < TH15] both claws miss; its bite [1d20+AC2=17 ≥ TH15] inflicts 4hp of damage. F3-928871 [1d20+AC6=21 ≥ TH19] slashes it with his sword for 3hp; M1-86673B [1d20+AC6=25 ≥ TH19] thrusts her dagger into its side for a further 2hp; F2-86B8FA, M3-A33688, and T1-735B91 [1d20+AC6=15 < TH19; 1d20+AC6=9 < TH19; 1d20+AC6=11 < TH18] all fail to cause it any significant harm.
Does F2-86B8FA survive? [2d6+2=10] He does! The mighty jaws draw some blood, but mostly they just dent his plate armour.
The bear has now sustained 16hp total. Does it stay in the fight? [5d6=14 ≤ 16hp] No! It groans and staggers, drops to the earth and lies still.
Aftermath
The party make certain that the bear is dead and take its pelt, worth perhaps 150 to 200 pieces of gold. That's small comfort for the loss of their comrade, of course. They're down to six party members, one of whom has superficial injuries that should heal in a few days, though the scars will take much longer to fade.
They bury F2-CA7A76, numbly chanting dirges in the lilting tongue of their ancestors.
Thanks for bearing with me
I'm fairly happy with how this little test-drive of the reduced combat ruleset turned out. It seems reasonable that a band of seven well-armed, low-level adventurers could defeat a lone grizzly bear—though not without cost—as happened here. I was slightly surprised that it only lasted four rounds, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
I hope the above layout was clear and the use of oracular (Yes/No/And/But) die rolls to answer questions about the bear's behaviour and so forth made sense. It felt to me that the action flowed nicely but was sufficiently nuanced to keep the "flavour" of OSE combat even without the complexity of the full mechanics. I didn't give examples of disengagement or saving throws, but I expect those are relatively simple exercises for the reader's imagination.
Some things I'm wondering about…
- Should the result of a HD roll stand until "hit points" accumulated by the creature equal or exceed it, then re-roll? The bear would have fought on for at least another round if that were the case. It would be extra effort to track, though, so I'm inclined to roll each time.
- Are there situations where the lack of "phases" could make adjudicating simultaneous actions difficult or overly weird? I can't think of any, but further play-testing might reveal something.
- Should the type of weapon wielded change the number of "hit points" delivered, or should this be determined entirely by AT? The latter might be even more reductionist, but it also removes a dimension of the players' choices.
- Are there any mechanically distinct types of actions that combatants might perform that aren't covered by those outlined in the simplified procedure, "special" being the catch-all?
I'd be interested in any thoughts you have.
There are some other mechanics I'd like to extract from OSE and "boil down" for other uses. Perhaps I'll consider one or two of those next time.
When all else fails, just use bears...
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