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Post by The Archivist on Mar 11, 2015 17:25:27 GMT -5
You are one member of a 6 member party of adventurers. Your party consists of 2 human fighters, a dwarven fighter, an elven magic-user, a human cleric and a elven thief. You are all second level and the two human fighters have long bows. You have no magic items and you are on foot. In each of the following situations, what should the party tactics be? And why?
You encounter 20 orcs at 200 yards.
You encounter 15 orcs at 20 yards.
You encounter 3 hill giants at 100 yards.
You are surprised by 6 orcs and are immediately in melee.
You encounter 10 skeltons in a dungeon at 20 yards.
You are surprised by 20 kobolds and ambushed.
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Post by tetramorph on Mar 12, 2015 15:16:24 GMT -5
1. Hide or set an ambush
2. Attack with glee
3. Hide or set an ambush
4. Proceed until they are sent back to the slime from whence they came
5. Cleric attempts turn; the rest ready for melee
6. Role play the combat so well that the referee rewards you with advantages and bonuses while you hack your way to safety
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Post by merctime on May 2, 2015 16:18:52 GMT -5
You are one member of a 6 member party of adventurers. Your party consists of 2 human fighters, a dwarven fighter, an elven magic-user, a human cleric and a elven thief. You are all second level and the two human fighters have long bows. You have no magic items and you are on foot. In each of the following situations, what should the party tactics be? And why? You encounter 20 orcs at 200 yards. You encounter 15 orcs at 20 yards. You encounter 3 hill giants at 100 yards. You are surprised by 6 orcs and are immediately in melee. You encounter 10 skeltons in a dungeon at 20 yards. You are surprised by 20 kobolds and ambushed. 1. (And 2.) If the encounter is desirable or necessary for some reason, set up an ambush. When in range, the M-U casts sleep, hoping to induce immediate morale failure, as the archers offer fire support. Plate-wearing non-archers set up at the party's flanks to prepare for any physical retaliation if orcish morale can't be broken. If the encounter isn't necessary or desirable, leave. 3. Leave. Quietly and with utmost haste. 4. Hard to call; Too many variables. Short answer off the hip: Whoever survives the initial combat round rallies. Plate armor wearers encircle the m-u, thief, and elf (if same isn't in magical plate) and conduct a fighting withdrawal or attempt to destroy the enemy if that is possible. Sleep and/or color spray is the order of the day. 5. Clerical turn attempt. No hope for morale failure here, so which of the following choices of action is entirely dependant upon the success and degree of same of the turn attempt. If at least half are turned, plate wearers to the front line and the rest behind; Full assault. If turn attempt fails or is fewer than 50 percent, form up as above and conduct a fighting withdrawal. 6. Assuming there are any survivors, leave. Immediately. In good order if possible, but with that amount of attack roll opportunities against the group, just get the hell out of dodge in any way possible. Glory is for the dead. I prefer to live. |
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Post by merctime on May 6, 2015 14:47:34 GMT -5
Bump.
Really hoping to see other folks reply to this! Can't ever have too much tactical advice!
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Post by makofan on May 6, 2015 15:00:43 GMT -5
You are one member of a 6 member party of adventurers. Your party consists of 2 human fighters, a dwarven fighter, an elven magic-user, a human cleric and a elven thief. You are all second level and the two human fighters have long bows. You have no magic items and you are on foot. In each of the following situations, what should the party tactics be? And why?
You encounter 20 orcs at 200 yards.
- Start shooting. You will get one or two. If they get close, Sleep what is left; you should get about 10. Melee the remainder - you have hit points and armor. Their morale will break anyway
You encounter 15 orcs at 20 yards.
- Too many to handle, Sleep them to thin them out, melee the rest
You encounter 3 hill giants at 100 yards.
- You could maybe kill one before you were wiped out, so RUN AND HIDE! (if available). If not, bargain to give treasure in exchange for your lives. I
You are surprised by 6 orcs and are immediately in melee.
- Should be able to take them in melee; better AC, more hp, no chance for spells. Kill teh ones attacking the MU first.
You encounter 10 skeltons in a dungeon at 20 yards.
- Too many to comfortably melee. Cleric turns, melee the rest
You are surprised by 20 kobolds and ambushed
- Sleep when you can, melee the rest (see 15 orcs at 20 yards answer)
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Post by makofan on May 6, 2015 15:01:37 GMT -5
1. Hide or set an ambush 2. Attack with glee 3. Hide or set an ambush 4. Proceed until they are sent back to the slime from whence they came 5. Cleric attempts turn; the rest ready for melee 6. Role play the combat so well that the referee rewards you with advantages and bonuses while you hack your way to safety #2 - you will probably take casualties |
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Post by tetramorph on May 6, 2015 16:49:37 GMT -5
makofan, you could be right. Perhaps I should have indicated more caution. I was feeling like playing risky when I wrote that response!
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Post by hedgehobbit on May 6, 2015 18:47:39 GMT -5
Answers to #1 through #4 is obviously: "talk to them and see how much it'd cost to hire them."
Or am I the only one left that likes to talk to the monsters before murdering them?
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Post by The Red Baron on May 6, 2015 19:03:22 GMT -5
Answers to #1 through #4 is obviously: "talk to them and see how much it'd cost to hire them." Or am I the only one left that likes to talk to the monsters before murdering them? 1. Hire the orcs 2. Hire the orcs 3-6. Have the orcs kill everything else Sleep the surviving orcs and take your money back. |
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Post by merctime on May 6, 2015 19:48:52 GMT -5
Hehe, love these answers. I do typically forget the value of hiring monsters in the dungeon more than I should. Although I also love vanguishing the forces of chaos  |
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Post by waysoftheearth on May 6, 2015 20:49:30 GMT -5
I don't have the books with me but, from memory, I believe OD&D says that only monsters of the same alignment as the players can be brought into service. But regardless of that I agree that threats, bribery, and/or negotiation are almost always the best way to start an encounter. It never ceases to amaze me how frequently players will opt for combat as the first option. Perhaps character death should carry a greater disincentive? |
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Post by merctime on May 6, 2015 20:58:23 GMT -5
That's considering it even has to become an encounter in the first place About half of my options are just leaving, when/if that's possible, when there is either no real treasure opportunity or some other reward. I do agree, though... parley is great. The players in my campaign have strangely and beneficially made positive strides in relations with the crab men in Fight on's Darkness Beneath. |
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Post by hedgehobbit on May 6, 2015 22:32:52 GMT -5
It never ceases to amaze me how frequently players will opt for combat as the first option. I find that DMs are at fault more than players. I've lost track of the number of times a DM has said something like "you see some monsters, roll for initiative!" without giving the party even the option of negotiating to trying to talk their way out of a fight. I always tell new DMs that they should instead say, "you see some monster, what do you do?" and only if the party agrees to fight do you call for an initiative roll. |
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Post by merctime on May 6, 2015 22:47:53 GMT -5
I always tell new DMs that they should instead say, "you see some monster, what do you do?" and only if the party agrees to fight do you call for an initiative roll. Most certainly! |
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Post by waysoftheearth on May 6, 2015 23:34:06 GMT -5
I find that DMs are at fault more than players. I've lost track of the number of times a DM has said something like "you see some monsters, roll for initiative!" without giving the party even the option of negotiating to trying to talk their way out of a fight. I always tell new DMs that they should instead say, "you see some monster, what do you do?" and only if the party agrees to fight do you call for an initiative roll. Wow  For me, the method suggested in U&WA is still the "way to go": determine surprise, determine encounter distance, go from there. There are some monsters that will always attack, but there are possibly more that won't, especially if the players are a large/powerful group (one good reason to be a large/powerful group). |
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Post by waysoftheearth on May 7, 2015 7:24:55 GMT -5
The two human fighters sell their longbows and arrows for some part of the 100 gp these items cost them, and then hire on a company of 20 heavy footmen (60 gp for the first month).
Then they go talk to these orcs.
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Post by The Red Baron on May 7, 2015 23:33:08 GMT -5
I don't have the books with me but, from memory, I believe OD&D says that only monsters of the same alignment as the players can be brought into service. A good reason to play a neutral/chaotic character |
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Post by waysoftheearth on May 8, 2015 4:20:04 GMT -5
A good reason to play a neutral/chaotic character Yep, but the trade off is that you can't then bring lawful men, elves, and dwarfs into service. Not to mention that most of the mythic magic swords are lawful! |
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Post by Crimhthan The Great on May 8, 2015 12:21:14 GMT -5
You are one member of a 6 member party of adventurers. Your party consists of 2 human fighters, a dwarven fighter, an elven magic-user, a human cleric and a elven thief. You are all second level and the two human fighters have long bows. You have no magic items and you are on foot. In each of the following situations, what should the party tactics be? And why? You encounter 20 orcs at 200 yards. If they have not seen you, then hide or leave. If you hide, then send the thief out as a scout to check them out, then you can decide on any of several other actions. If they have seen you, then hail them and open negotiations trying to avoid a battle. Depending on what happens next you might do any of several other actions. You encounter 15 orcs at 20 yards. First try to negotiate while moving the fighters and cleric between the orcs and the magic-user with the thief drifting off to be able to return and attack from behind. If they attack you have a chance if the magic-user has and successfully uses sleep spell(s). You encounter 3 hill giants at 100 yards. If you can escape, then do so. If not talk with them and try to convince them to go somewhere and that you have to get some supplies and then you will be along. Hill giants are not very bright and tend to be gullible. You are surprised by 6 orcs and are immediately in melee. The Magic-User and the Thief should try to disengage and stay out of harms way while the fighters and the cleric deal with this. You encounter 10 skeltons in a dungeon at 20 yards. The Cleric turns them and you fight the ones not turned. Keep that magic-user safe. You are surprised by 20 kobolds and ambushed. Protect the magic-user who will hopefully be able to get sleep spell(s) off. Then fight the ones that are left. |
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Post by Morose on Mar 10, 2023 19:48:17 GMT -5
You are one member of a 6 member party of adventurers. Your party consists of 2 human fighters, a dwarven fighter, an elven magic-user, a human cleric and a elven thief. You are all second level and the two human fighters have long bows. You have no magic items and you are on foot. In each of the following situations, what should the party tactics be? And why? You encounter 20 orcs at 200 yards. If they have not seen you, then hide or leave. If you hide, then send the thief out as a scout to check them out, then you can decide on any of several other actions. If they have seen you, then hail them and open negotiations trying to avoid a battle. Depending on what happens next you might do any of several other actions. You encounter 15 orcs at 20 yards. First try to negotiate while moving the fighters and cleric between the orcs and the magic-user with the thief drifting off to be able to return and attack from behind. If they attack you have a chance if the magic-user has and successfully uses sleep spell(s). You encounter 3 hill giants at 100 yards. If you can escape, then do so. If not talk with them and try to convince them to go somewhere and that you have to get some supplies and then you will be along. Hill giants are not very bright and tend to be gullible. You are surprised by 6 orcs and are immediately in melee. The Magic-User and the Thief should try to disengage and stay out of harms way while the fighters and the cleric deal with this. You encounter 10 skeletons in a dungeon at 20 yards. The Cleric turns them and you fight the ones not turned. Keep that magic-user safe. You are surprised by 20 kobolds and ambushed. Protect the magic-user who will hopefully be able to get sleep spell(s) off. Then fight the ones that are left. I've got to say guys that out of those who answered, this is the guy I want protecting my flank. |
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Post by Crimhthan The Great on Apr 3, 2023 1:47:42 GMT -5
If they have not seen you, then hide or leave. If you hide, then send the thief out as a scout to check them out, then you can decide on any of several other actions. If they have seen you, then hail them and open negotiations trying to avoid a battle. Depending on what happens next you might do any of several other actions. First try to negotiate while moving the fighters and cleric between the orcs and the magic-user with the thief drifting off to be able to return and attack from behind. If they attack you have a chance if the magic-user has and successfully uses sleep spell(s). If you can escape, then do so. If not talk with them and try to convince them to go somewhere and that you have to get some supplies and then you will be along. Hill giants are not very bright and tend to be gullible. The Magic-User and the Thief should try to disengage and stay out of harms way while the fighters and the cleric deal with this. The Cleric turns them and you fight the ones not turned. Keep that magic-user safe. Protect the magic-user who will hopefully be able to get sleep spell(s) off. Then fight the ones that are left. I've got to say guys that out of those who answered, this is the guy I want protecting my flank. Thanks! |
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