Changes: Missile Weapons in Combat (PHB)

Revision as of 23:33, 17 February 2020

The AD&D game is an adventure game designed to give players a feeling of excitement and danger. Characters brave the unknown perils of moldering dungeons and thorn-covered wilderness, facing off against hideous monsters and evil villains. Thus, it is important for all players to know the basic rules for handling combat.

To create the proper sense of danger and excitement, the rules for combat must be thorough, but they must also be playable and exciting enough to create a vivid picture in the minds of the players. Combat in the AD&D game has to allow many different actions and outcomes--as many as the imagination can produce. Knowing that anything could happen next (because the rules allow it) creates excitement for everyone.

More Than Just Hack-and-Slash

As important as fighting is to the AD&D game, it isn't the be-all and end-all of play. It's just one way for characters to deal with situations. If characters could do nothing but fight, the game would quickly get boring--every encounter would be the same. Because there is more to the game than fighting, we'll cover much more than simple hack-and-slash combat in this chapter. In addition to explaining the basic mechanics of hitting and missing, there are rules here for turning undead, special ways to attack and defend, poison, heroic feats, and more.

Table 51: Combat Modifiers

**Table 51: Combat Modifiers**
Situation	Attack Roll Modifier
Attacker on higher ground	+1
Defender invisible	-4
Defender off-balance	+2
Defender sleeping or held	Automatic*
Defender stunned or prone	+4
Defender surprised	+1
Missile fire, long range	-5
Missile fire, medium range	-2
Rear attack	+2

*If the defender is attacked during the course of a normal melee, the attack automatically hits and causes normal damage. If no other fighting is going on (i.e., all others have been slain or driven off), the defender can be slain automatically

Chapter 9: Combat

Definitions
The Attack Roll
- Figuring the To-Hit Number · Modifiers to the Attack Roll · Impossible To Hit Numbers · Weapon Types vs. Armor Modifiers (Optional Rule)
Calculating THAC0
Combat and Encounters
The Combat Round
- What You Can Do in One Round
The Combat Sequence
Initiative
- Standard Initiative Procedure
- Initiative Modifiers
- Group Initiative (Optional Rule)
- Individual Initiative (Optional Rule)
- Multiple Attacks and Initiative
- Spellcasting and Initiative
- Weapon Speed and Initiative (Optional Rule)
  - Magical Weapon Speeds
Attacking with Two Weapons
Movement in Combat
- Movement in Melee · Movement and Missile Combat · Charging an Opponent · Retreat
Attacking Without Killing
- Punching and Wrestling
- Overbearing
- Weapons in Nonlethal Combat
- Nonlethal Combat and Creatures
Touch Spells and Combat
Missile Weapons in Combat
- Range
- Rate of Fire
- Ability Modifiers in Missile Combat
- Firing into a Melee
- Taking Cover Against Missile Fire
- Grenade-Like Missiles
- Types of Grenade-Like Missiles
Special Defenses
Parrying (Optional Rule)
The Saving Throw
- Rolling Saving Throws
- Saving Throw Priority
- Voluntarily Failing Saving Throws
- Ability Checks as Saving Throws
- Modifying Saving Throws
Magic Resistance
- Effects of Magic Resistance
- When Magic Resistance Applies
- Successful Magic Resistance Rolls
Turning Undead
- Evil Priests and Undead
Injury and Death
- Wounds
Special Damage
- Falling · PHB Ch9 Special Damage#ParalysisParalysis · Energy Drain · Poison
Healing
- Natural Healing · Magical Healing · Herbalism & Healing Proficiencies
Character Death
- Death From Poison · Death From Massive Damage · Inescapable Death · Raising the Dead

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+The AD&D game is an adventure game designed to give players a feeling of excitement and danger. Characters brave the unknown perils of moldering dungeons and thorn-covered wilderness, facing off against hideous monsters and evil villains. Thus, it is important for all players to know the basic rules for handling combat.
-__TOC__
-In general, missile combat is handled identically to standard melee. Intentions are announced, initiative is rolled, and attack rolls are made. However, there are some special rules and situations that apply only to missile combat.
+To create the proper sense of danger and excitement, the rules for combat must be thorough, but they must also be playable and exciting enough to create a vivid picture in the minds of the players. Combat in the AD&D game has to allow many different actions and outcomes--as many as the imagination can produce. Knowing that anything could happen next (because the rules allow it) creates excitement for everyone.
-Missile weapons are divided into two general categories. The first includes all standard, direct-fire, single-target missiles--slings, arrows, quarrels, spears, throwing axes, and the like.
+===More Than Just Hack-and-Slash===
-The second category includes all grenade-like missiles that have an area effect, no matter how small. Thus, an attack with these weapons does not have to hit its target directly to have a chance of affecting it. Included in this group are small flasks of oil, acid, poison, holy water, potions, and boulders. Hurled boulders are included because they bounce and bound along after they hit, leaving a swath of destruction.
+As important as fighting is to the AD&D game, it isn't the be-all and end-all of play. It's just one way for characters to deal with situations. If characters could do nothing but fight, the game would quickly get boring--every encounter would be the same. Because there is more to the game than fighting, we'll cover much more than simple hack-and-slash combat in this chapter.
+In addition to explaining the basic mechanics of hitting and missing, there are rules here for turning undead, special ways to attack and defend, poison, heroic feats, and more.
+===Table 51: Combat Modifiers===
-===Range===
+{| style="width: 650px;" class="article-table article-table-selected" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1"
-The first step in making a missile attack is to find the range from the attacker to the target. This is measured in yards from one point to the other. This distance is compared to the range categories for the weapon used (see [[PHB_Ch9_Combat_Tables#Table_45:_Missile_Weapon_Ranges|Table 45]]).
+|+ <center>'''Table 51: Combat Modifiers'''</center>
-If the distance is greater than the long range given, the target is out of range; if the distance is between the long- and medium-range numbers, the target is at long range; when between the medium- and short-range numbers, medium range is used; when equal to or less than the short-range distance, the target is at short range.
-Short-range attacks suffer no range modifier. Medium-range attacks suffer a -2 penalty to the attack roll. Long-range attacks suffer a -5 penalty. Some weapons have no short range since they must arc a certain distance before reaching their target. These attacks are always made with an attack roll penalty.
-===Rate of Fire===
-Bows, crossbows, and many other missile weapons have different rates of fire (ROF)--the number of missiles they can shoot in a single round.
-Small, light weapons can be thrown very quickly, so up to three darts can be thrown in a single round. Arrows can be nocked and let loose almost as quickly, so up to two shots can be fired in a single round.
-Some weapons (such as heavy crossbows) take a long time to load and can be fired only every other round.
-Whatever the ROF, multiple missile shots are handled the same way as other multiple attacks for the purposes of determining initiative. The ROF of each missile weapon is listed in [[PHB_Ch9_Combat_Tables#Table_45:_Missile_Weapon_Ranges|Table 45]].
-===Ability Modifiers in Missile Combat===
-Attack roll and damage modifiers for Strength are always used when an attack is made with a hurled weapon. Here the power of the character's arm is a significant factor in the effectiveness of the attack.
-When using a bow, the attack roll and damage Strength modifiers apply only if the character has a properly prepared bow (see [[PHB_Ch6_Money_and_Equipment|Chapter 6: Money and Equipment]]). Characters never receive Strength bonuses when using crossbows or similar mechanical devices.
-Dexterity modifiers to the attack roll are applied when making a missile attack with a hand-held weapon. Thus, a character adds his Dexterity modifier when using a bow, crossbow, or axe but not when firing a trebuchet or other siege engine.
-===Firing into a Melee===
-Missile weapons are intended mainly as long-range weapons. Ideally, they are used before the opponents reach your line. However, ideal situations are all too rare, and characters often discover that the only effective way to attack is to shoot arrows (or whatever) at an enemy already in melee combat with their companions. While possible, and certainly allowed, this is a risky proposition.
-When missiles are fired into a melee, the DM counts the number of figures in the immediate area of the intended target. Each Medium figure counts as 1. Small (S) figures count as ½, Large as 2, Huge as 4, and Gargantuan as 6. The total value is compared to the value of each character or creature in the target melee. Using this ratio, the DM rolls a die to determine who (or what) will be the target of the shot.
-:''Tarus Bloodheart (man-size, or 1 point) and Rath (also man-size, or 1 point) are fighting a giant (size G, 6 points) while Thule fires a long bow at the giant. The total value of all possible targets is 8 (6+1+1). There's a 1 in 8 chance that Rath is the target; a 1 in 8 chance that Tarus is hit; and a 6 in 8 chance the shot hits the giant. The DM could roll an 8-sided die to determine who gets hit, or he could reduce the ratios to a percentage (75% chance the giant is hit, etc.) and roll percentile dice.''
-===Taking Cover Against Missile Fire===
-One of the best ways to avoid being hit and injured is to hide behind something--a wall, a tree, a building corner, a heap of boulders, or whatever happens to be available. Professional adventurers, wishing to make this sound heroic, call this taking cover.
-Taking cover doesn't work particularly well in a melee, since the cover hampers defender and attacker equally. However, it is quite an effective tactic against missile fire.
-There are two types of protection a character can have. The first is concealment, also called soft cover. A character hiding behind a clump of bushes is concealed. He can be seen, but only with difficulty, and it's no easy task to determine exactly where he is. The bushes cannot stop an arrow, but they do make it less likely that the character is hit. Other types of concealment include curtains, tapestries, smoke, fog, and brambles.
-The other type of protection is cover, sometimes called, more precisely, hard cover. It is, as its name implies, something a character can hide behind that will block a missile. Hard cover includes stone walls, the corner of a building, tables, doors, earth embankments, tree trunks, and magical walls of force.
-Cover helps a potential target by giving the attacker a negative modifier to his attack roll. The exact modifier for concealment or cover depends on the degree to which it is being used as shelter. A character who stands behind a two-foot wall is a pretty obvious target, especially when compared to the character who lies down behind that wall and carefully peers over it. [[PHB_Ch9_Combat_Tables#Table_59:_Cover_and_Concealment_Modifiers|Table 59]] lists the different modifiers for varying degrees of cover and concealment.
-Cover also has an affect on saving throws, granting the character the modifier listed on [[PHB_Ch9_Combat_Tables#Table_59:_Cover_and_Concealment_Modifiers|Table 59]] as a bonus to his saving throws against spells that cause physical damage (for example, fireball, lightning bolt, etc.)
-Furthermore, a character who has 90% cover (or more) suffers one-half normal damage on a failed save and no damage at all if a saving throw is successful. This assumes, of course, that the fireball, lightning bolt, or whatever, hit the cover--a man crouching behind a stone wall would be protected if a fireball exploded in front of the wall, but would not be protected by cover if the blast occurred behind him, on his side of the wall.
-===Grenade-Like Missiles===
-Unlike standard missiles, which target a specific creature, a grenade-like missile is aimed at a point, whether this point is a creature or a spot on the ground. When the attack is announced, the player indicates where he wants the missile to land. This then becomes the target point and is used to determine the direction and distance of any scatter.
-Most grenade-like missiles are items of opportunity or necessity--rocks, flasks of oil, vials of holy water, or beakers of acid. As such, these items are not listed on the equipment tables for range, ROF, and damage. The range each can be thrown varies with the Strength of the character and the weight of the object.
-A missile of five pounds or less can be thrown about 30 feet. Short range is 10 feet, medium range is 20 feet, and everything beyond is maximum range. Heavier items have reduced ranges. Just how far an object can be thrown is decided by the DM.
-Exceptionally heavy items can be thrown only if the character rolls a successful bend bars/lift gates check. In no case can a character throw an item heavier than his Strength would allow him to lift. Thus, the DM can rule that a character would have little trouble chucking a half-empty backpack across a ten-foot chasm, but the character would need to make a check in order to heave an orc ten feet through the air into the faces of his orcish friends.
-Once a container hits, it normally breaks immediately. However, this is not always true. Some missiles, like soft leather flasks or hard pottery, are particularly resistant. If there's some doubt about whether or not a thrown object will break, the DM can require an item saving throw (this information is in the [[Dungeon Master Guide|DMG]]) to see if it shatters or rips, spewing its contents everywhere.
-The [[Dungeon Master Guide|DMG]] contains information on how to resolve the inevitable situations in which grenade-like missiles miss their targets.
-===Types of Grenade-Like Missiles===
-'''Acid damage''' is particularly grim. Aside from the possibility of scarring (which is left to the DM), acid damage cannot be healed by regeneration. It must be healed normally. Thus, it is very useful against regenerating creatures such as trolls. Acid is very rare.
-'''Holy Water''' affects most forms of undead and creatures from the Lower Planes. It has no effect against a creature in gaseous form or undead without material form.
-'''Unholy water''' (essentially holy water used by evil priests) affects paladins, creatures whose purpose is to defend good (lammasu, shedu, etc.), and creatures and beings from the Upper Planes.
-Holy''' (or unholy) water affects creatures as does acid, causing damage that cannot be regenerated but must be healed normally.
-'''Oil causes damage only when it is lit. This normally requires a two-step process--first soaking the target in flammable oil and then setting it afire. Thus, using flaming oil often requires two successful attacks.
-A direct hit from flaming oil burns for two rounds, causing 2d6 points of damage in the first round and 1d6 points in the second round.
-'''Poison''' is generally not very effective as a missile weapon. Most poisons take effect only if the missile scores a direct hit, and even then only if it drops into the gaping maw of some huge creature. Contact poisons have normal poison effects on a direct hit. The DM has information about specific poison effects in the [[Dungeon Master Guide|DMG]].
-===Table 59: Cover and Concealment Modifiers===
-{| class="wikitable"
 |-
+! Situation
-|+ Table 59: Cover and Concealment Modifiers
+! Attack Roll<br>Modifier
 |-
+| Attacker on higher ground
-! Target is:
+| +1
-! Cover
+|-
-! Concealment
+| Defender invisible
-|-
-| 25% hidden
-| -2
-| -1
-|-
-| 50% hidden
 | -4
+|-
+| Defender off-balance
+| +2
+|-
+| Defender sleeping or held
+| Automatic*
+|-
+| Defender stunned or prone
+| +4
+|-
+| Defender surprised
+| +1
+|-
+| Missile fire, long range
+| -5
+|-
+| Missile fire, medium range
 | -2
 |-
-| 75% hidden
+| Rear attack
-| -7
+| +2
-| -3
+|-
-|-
-| 90% hidden
-| -10
-| -4
 |}
+<nowiki>*</nowiki>If the defender is attacked during the course of a normal melee, the attack automatically hits and causes normal damage. If no other fighting is going on (i.e., all others have been slain or driven off), the defender can be slain automatically
+__TOC__
+==[[PHB_Ch9_Combat|Chapter 9: Combat]]==
+*[[PHB Ch9 Definitions|Definitions]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 The Attack Roll|The Attack Roll]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 The Attack Roll#Figuring the To-Hit Number|Figuring the To-Hit Number]] · [[PHB Ch9 The Attack Roll#Modifiers to the Attack Roll|Modifiers to the Attack Roll]] · [[PHB Ch9 The Attack Roll#Impossible To Hit Numbers|Impossible To Hit Numbers]] · [[PHB Ch9 Weapon Types vs. Armor Modifiers|Weapon Types vs. Armor Modifiers (Optional Rule)]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Calculating THAC0|Calculating THAC0]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Combat and Encounters|Combat and Encounters]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 The Combat Round|The Combat Round]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 The Combat Round#What You Can Do in One Round|What You Can Do in One Round]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 The Combat Sequence|The Combat Sequence]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Initiative|Initiative]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Initiative#Standard Initiative Procedure|Standard Initiative Procedure]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Initiative#Initiative Modifiers|Initiative Modifiers]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Initiative#Group Initiative (Optional Rule)|Group Initiative (Optional Rule)]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Initiative#Individual Initiative (Optional Rule)|Individual Initiative (Optional Rule)]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Initiative#Multiple Attacks and Initiative|Multiple Attacks and Initiative]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Initiative#Spellcasting and Initiative|Spellcasting and Initiative]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Initiative#Weapon Speed and Initiative (Optional Rule)|Weapon Speed and Initiative (Optional Rule)]]
+***[[PHB Ch9 Initiative#Magical Weapon Speeds|Magical Weapon Speeds]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Attacking with Two Weapons|Attacking with Two Weapons]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Movement in Combat|Movement in Combat]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Movement in Combat#Movement in Melee|Movement in Melee]] · [[PHB Ch9 Movement in Combat#Movement and Missile Combat|Movement and Missile Combat]] · [[PHB Ch9 Movement in Combat#Charging an Opponent|Charging an Opponent]] · [[PHB Ch9 Movement in Combat#Retreat|Retreat]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Attacking Without Killing|Attacking Without Killing]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Punching and Wrestling|Punching and Wrestling]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Attacking Without Killing#Overbearing|Overbearing]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Attacking Without Killing#Weapons in Nonlethal Combat|Weapons in Nonlethal Combat]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Attacking Without Killing#Nonlethal Combat and Creatures|Nonlethal Combat and Creatures]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Touch Spells and Combat|Touch Spells and Combat]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Missile Weapons in Combat|Missile Weapons in Combat]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Missile Weapons in Combat#Range|Range]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Missile Weapons in Combat#Rate of Fire|Rate of Fire]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Missile Weapons in Combat#Ability Modifiers in Missile Combat|Ability Modifiers in Missile Combat]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Missile Weapons in Combat#Firing into a Melee|Firing into a Melee]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Missile Weapons in Combat#Taking Cover Against Missile Fire|Taking Cover Against Missile Fire]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Missile Weapons in Combat#Grenade-Like Missiles|Grenade-Like Missiles]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Missile Weapons in Combat#Types of Grenade-Like Missiles|Types of Grenade-Like Missiles]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Special Defenses|Special Defenses]]
+*[[PHB_Ch9_Special_Defenses#Parrying_.28Optional_Rule.29|Parrying (Optional Rule)]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 The Saving Throw|The Saving Throw]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 The Saving Throw#Rolling Saving Throws|Rolling Saving Throws]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 The Saving Throw#Saving Throw Priority|Saving Throw Priority]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 The Saving Throw#Voluntarily Failing Saving Throws|Voluntarily Failing Saving Throws]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 The Saving Throw#Ability Checks as Saving Throws|Ability Checks as Saving Throws]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 The Saving Throw#Modifying Saving Throws|Modifying Saving Throws]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Magic Resistance|Magic Resistance]]
+**[[PHB_Ch9_Magic_Resistance#Effects_of_Magic_Resistance|Effects of Magic Resistance]]
+**[[PHB_Ch9_Magic_Resistance#When_Magic_Resistance_Applies|When Magic Resistance Applies]]
+**[[PHB_Ch9_Magic_Resistance#Successful_Magic_Resistance_Rolls|Successful Magic Resistance Rolls]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Turning Undead|Turning Undead]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Turning Undead#Evil Priests and Undead|Evil Priests and Undead]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Injury and Death|Injury and Death]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Injury and Death#Wounds|Wounds]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Special Damage|Special Damage]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Special Damage#Falling|Falling]] · [[PHB Ch9 Special Damage#ParalysisParalysis]] · [[PHB Ch9 Special Damage#Energy Drain|Energy Drain]] · [[PHB Ch9 Special Damage#Poison|Poison]]
+*[[PHB Ch9 Healing|Healing]]
+**[[PHB Ch9 Healing#Natural Healing|Natural Healing]] · [[PHB Ch9 Healing#Magical Healing|Magical Healing]] · [[PHB Ch9 Healing#Herbalism & Healing Proficiencies|Herbalism & Healing Proficiencies]]
+*Character Death
+**Death From Poison · Death From Massive Damage · Inescapable Death · Raising the Dead
 {{Navbox MainNavigation