Combat

Eventually, at some point in time, there will come a situation where words cannot resolve a conflict and you will get into a fight. It happens. I mean, that's pretty much been the basis of most AD&D games since the BECMI sets came out. And as we are not sitting around a table top, able to just roll dice and move on, I need to express how combat posts will eventually work.

When I call for initiative, your posts must include the following:

• Your initiative roll. This is calculated (as a quick reference here) as d10 + your DEX adjustment. For those of you who do not remember basic math, adding a negative number is actually subtracting it.
  
  To this you will add one of the following, depending on what you are doing:
  
  • The weapon speed of the weapon you are using
  • The casting time of the spell you are casting
  • Your size adjustment if you are not doing either of the above (+2 for small, +4 for medium, +6 for large, +8 for huge, +10 for anything larger than that)
• The action that you are taking. If you are moving, indicate where you are moving towards, including an obstacles/enemies/allies you must move around to get there.
• The applicable attack roll (if necessary), as well as damage.
  • Should you roll a critical hit - which in my campaigns is always considered to be a natural 20, and nothing else - please also provide a roll of 1d100.
  • Should you roll a critical fumble - which in my campaigns is always considered to be a natural 1, and nothing else - please also provide a roll of 1d100.
  
  The reason for the additional roll for critical hit/fumble is that we are going to use the attached PDF document for resolution of critical hits/fumbles. I wanted to use the stuff in Combat and Tactics, but those tables get to be a little too heavy to use at times, and I want to keep this simple.
• A

  Just In Case

  JIC d20 roll. I will use this for any effects that need a die roll from you. I don't want to slow the game down waiting for a saving throw or ability check from someone, so having the JIC is useful.

A couple of special notes that need to be stated:

1. If you have multiple attacks in a combat round, you will add the weapon speed (or speed for size) to your initiative roll above a second time, and that is when you will act the second time.

2. If you are casting a spell, you must state both when you start casting (the initiative roll above without the casting time) and when you are finished casting (the full initiative roll).

I have below some examples for ease of understanding.

Warrior is using a long sword to attack an opponent. He has a DEX adjustment of -2, and the long sword has a speed factor of 4.

Dice Roll: 1d10-2+4z
d10 Results: 6 (Total = 8)

Initiative (8)

Dice Roll: 1d20+1z
d20 Results: 17 (Total = 18)

To Hit (18)

Dice Roll: 1d10+1z
d10 Results: 5 (Total = 6)

Damage (6)

Dice Roll: 1d20z
d20 Results: 18

JIC (18)

Warrior is using a long sword, which he is specialized in. He has a DEX Adjustment of -2, and the long sword has a speed factor of 4.

Dice Roll: 1d10-2+4z
d10 Results: 9 (Total = 11)

Initiative (11)

Dice Roll: 1d20+1z
d20 Results: 15 (Total = 16)

To Hit (16)

Dice Roll: 1d10+1z
d10 Results: 4 (Total = 5)

Damage (5)

For the second attack, you can either state "Initiative +4", or you can save the post to get the actual number and then edit to include the actual initiative. You would then roll another To Hit and another Damage roll.

Dice Roll: 1d20z
d20 Results: 10

JIC (10)

A mage is casting Magic Missile, which has a casting time of 1. The Mage has a DEX adjustment of -4

Dice Roll: 1d10-4z
d10 Results: 8 (Total = 4)

Initiative (4)
Casting Time = 1

Dice Roll: 1d4z
d4 Results: 1

Damage (1)

Dice Roll: 1d20z
d20 Results: 6

JIC (6)

I hope all that made sense. If it does not, please let me know so I can help walk you through it.

Critical Hits and Fumbles.pdf

That's a handy set of tables, there!

An addendum to the above:

Please include either the AC that you hit (preferred) or your THAC0 so I can determine if your strike hits or not.