Combat – A Step by Step Guide

Combat in Grayhawk is fast-paced and often confusing. The following guide aims to unravel some of the mysteries and takes a look at combat logically – and in sequence – from the initial surprise stage right up to the final blow. I will also examine how spell casters and – specifically – how spells are dealt with in the combat round.

First some basics. A round is roughly one minute in length and is divided into ten equal segments – each segment is equal to six seconds. Spells have casting times which are – unless specified – in segments. For example, a Sleep spell has a casting time of 1 – which equals 1 segment (six seconds). I’ll deal with how this fits later but it’s useful to get these basics in mind.

Sometimes before combat even starts the DM will roll for surprise. Here’s how it works: a character or party can only be surprised if they roll 1 or 2 on the surprise dice and their opponent (s) roll 3 or over. Similarly the character or party surprise if they roll 3 or over and their opponent (s) roll 1 or 2. (Rangers are an exception to this rule. They can only be surprised if they roll a 1 and their opponent rolls 3 or over).

If both parties roll 3 or over there is no surprise, similarly if both parties roll 1 or 2 there is no surprise and we go to Step Two.

So what happens if someone is surprised?

If surprise occurs the party that won the surprise has as many actions as the difference between the two rolls. For example; Player A surprises an Orc (the rolls are 4 and 1 respectively). This means that Player A has 3 separate actions – which could be three attacks, two attacks and a movement or whatever Player A can squeeze into the time.

What affects surprise?

Using the above example let us say that Player A has +1 Initiative – he therefore gains an extra action because of the bonus. Initiative is an ability gained for high intelligence and represents quick wits and quick thinking. Alternatively, let’s say the Orc has +2 Initiative – this would reduce Player A’s actions by two – giving him only two free actions.

Characters or monsters surprised cannot defend themselves whilst they are surprised! So Player A can – in the first example – have 3 separate attacks and the Orc can do nothing about it!

What about spells during the surprise stage?

Using our Player A verses Orc example. Let’s say that Player A decides to cast Invisibility before running away. He has 3 actions but that does not mean he can cast 3 spells, as you know a spellcaster can cast just one spell in any round. Now we must convert the actions into time – so as a rule each separate action is equivalent to one segment. Therefore Player A has 3 segments and can cast Invisibility (casting time 2) and run away before the orc realises what is happening. Let’s say that Player A wants to cast a Death Spell (6 segments casting time) – if this was the case he would go into the first combat round having already spent 3 segments casting the spell. If he wins initiative then he can cast the spell in the first phase of the first combat round.

Once the surprise stage is complete we come to the next step – Initiative.

This should be called Step One A because next – before we roll initiative dice to determine who starts the fight – there is an opportunity for those with lightning draw and first strike skills to have an attack. Each player or enemy make their respective lightning draw or first strike rolls; the lowest successful roll goes first, then the next lowest etc until all these attacks have concluded. Please Note that successful lightning draw hits cannot be adjusted by strike to injure modifiers.

What happens if I fail my lightning draw?

If a lightning draw or first strike is failed by less than 40% of the lightning draw percentage nothing. The player simply failed to get his weapon out quickly enough and suffers no penalties. However, if a player fails the roll by more than 40% of his skill then he’s in trouble! If this happens then he loses initiative and all attacks for the first combat round (although he can defend).

Now we roll for who goes first in the combat round; this is achieved by both parties rolling a D6. Simply put the highest number goes first, the lowest number goes second – it’s that simple!

What modifies initiative rolls?

High intelligence grants players (and non players) bonuses on initiative; these bonuses affect the order of battle significantly. Let’s have an example: Player A and Player B (part of the same party) come upon a group of orcs. The party roll 3 on initiative and the orcs roll 4. This means that the orcs go first; but Player A has a +2 modifier for Initiative. This means that Player A goes first, then the orcs attack and then, finally, Player B gets to have a go.

As you can see the order of battle in a combat round can get a little confusing, especially in groups who have different initiative modifiers. But essentially the initiative bonus is a personal modifier – a quick witted individual is far more likely to react first than a slower (and more stupid) orc. It is possible that in a fight the order of combat is chaotic but simply put; the higher roll goes first, the lowest roll goes last.

Before we start a few words on attacks per round and how they relate to the combat round itself. As a convention attacks per round are split into two within the combat round; for example, a character with 2 attacks per round has one attack, then the enemy gets one and then he gets his last one at the end of the round. A character with four attacks has 2 then 2. Sometimes a character has an odd number of attacks per round. Let’s say that he has 3 attacks – he will split them 2 then 1 – always having more attacks at the start of the round. Below is a table that shows how these attacks fit into the combat round.

How do spellcasters fit into the combat round?

A sorcerer must concentrate completely when spellcasting – any interruptions will spoil the spell. He cannot dodge and any damage inflicted will also spoil the spell. As we have said the combat round is a game of two halves and the sorcerer must be careful about casting times.

The combat round is split into two halves (segments 1 to 5 first, then 6 – 10 second). Let’s say that a caster wants to cast Sanctuary (casting time 4) – if he wins initiative he can easily cast it before the enemy get to him to spoil it. Likewise even if he loses initiative he can still cast the spell uninterrupted (assuming he isn’t slain after the first attacks).

The problem comes when he wants to cast a Death Spell (or any other spell with a casting time of 6 or higher). As you can see he must be careful because the spellcasting will span both halves of the round and leaves him vulnerable to an attack from an enemy. If he is hit during the casting the spell fails.

Can I Lightning Draw in the middle of a combat round?

Yes – but it must be your go in the combat. If you discard a weapon (or are disarmed) you can only lightning draw as one of your next attacks – otherwise you would be able to lightning draw every weapon you had within a blink of an eye regardless of the order of combat. That said it is possible to Lightning Draw as a defence (let’s say you lost your weapon and wanted to parry) but this is usually a last resort and failure is not an option!