Missile Combat

From: Alexandre Lanciani <alexanl_at_...>
Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 14:49:20 +0200

> Finally, I have no ideas on this, but how have people been handling
> missle fire? I've run it as one or more simple exchanges detracting
> from the initial AP numbers on the first subsequent melee/exchange
> (which then reverted to the appropriate skills).
>
> cheers,
> Aron

        I've run two missile combats, the first time PCs vs. Whiteye's trollkins and the second time PCs vs. the dog men of the demo scenario. Both times the PCs were trying to close their opponents while being harassed by missile fire.

        Both were played as concurrent contests of combat movement abilities against ranged combat. When at last the heroes arrived in hand to hand I reset the AP totals, but let them perform an extra action (sort of a parting shot) before switching to the new contest. They used this action to climb the ledge where the trollkins were hiding in one instance and to enter the tower in the other. Without terrain obstacles I would have let them attack: using the charge's momentum to deliver a blow before their opponents could assume a close combat position.

        In the monsters' case, loss of AP corresponded to ammunitions' expenditure and fatigue, but no wound inflicted, since nobody came up with a plausible explanation. On the contrary the monsters chose to inflict wounds whenever they could.

        I did not take range into account. Probably I should have given an AP bonus (an augmentation) to trollkins to allow for the longer distance the heroes had to cover before reaching hand to hand range.

        Hope to help...

	Cheers,
	A missile Alex.