Example Combat

[scarik]

Ease of handling combat was the entire impetus for this hack so here's how it goes.

Before a fight starts I determine encounter distance, surprise and initial attitude. In the wilderness its typically Indifferent and therefore you can attempt to parley.

So let's get to it and assume for now no one is surprised and a fight does indeed break out.

Side A: A group of soldiers from Vizkeep consisting of a leader (fighter 1, 2HD well armed), 2 heavy infantry (1HD Decently Armed), 4 light infantry (1HD lightly Armed)
Side B: Some ornery goblins consisting of a boss (1+1HD, decently armed), 2 underbosses (1HD, lightly armed) and 10 goblin rabble (1-1HD, conscripts)
Each side has 3 groups who can roll dice together.

Roll Initiative:
Side A [1d6]=3
Side B [1d6]=6

The goblins have the advantage and decide to attack. He sends his rabble to rush in and advances to gang up on the light infantry with his underbosses. The humans have 8HD total so it takes 8 of the rabble to engage them. The other two gang up on the light infantry with the bosses.

So that gives us these current melees
1) Human Fighter vs 2 Rabble (because he has 2 HD)
2) 2 Human hvy inf vs 2 Rabble
3) 4 Human lt inf vs 6 rabble, 2 underbosses and 1 boss. (small creatures can gang up 4:1 on medium ones)

Round 1

Melee 1 (Fighter [_2d6]=(5+5)=10 vs Goblins [_2d6]=(5+3)=8)
We check the chart and see a Well Armed character needs 2+ to hit against Poorly armed opponents and they need an 8+ to hit back.
The fighter gets 2 5s while the goblins get no 6s and thus no chance of a hit.
Both goblins are taken out.

Melee 2 (Heavy [_2d6]=(1+6)=7 vs Goblins [_2d6]=(1+5)=6)
The heavy infantry roll at once and get a 1 and a 6 and need a 3+ for Decent vs Poorly. The goblins get a 1 and a 5 and P vs D needs a 7.
One goblin is taken out.

Melee 3 (4 Lights [_4d6]=(1+3+5+5)=14 vs 6 Goblins [_6d6]=(4+2+2+1+1+3)=13 and 2 Underbosses [_2d6]=(6+6)=12 and 1 Boss [1d6]=4)
The light infantry roll as one and since the rabble attacked first they must direct their attacks against them. Lightly Armed vs Poorly armed needs a 4 to hit, they rolled 1,3,5,5 and so score 2 hits.
The goblin rabble roll together and PvsL needs 6s. They all miss.
The underbosses are similarly armed to their opponents so would normally need a 5 to hit but they are small so they need 6s. The both rolled 6 to hit and so they take down 2 light infantry.
The goblin boss is better armed than the light infantry. Decent vs Light so he needs a 4. He is -1 to hit for being small but is a 1+1HD creature so it is a wash. He rolled a 4 so he takes out another light infantryman.
2 goblins and 3 humans are defeated.

Total result
Side A loses 3 light infantry
Side B loses 5 goblin rabble.

Both sides suffered casualties so both sides must make a morale check.
Human Morale [2d6]=7 and goblin morale [2d6]=3
The humans roll a 7. They have lost over 25% but under 50% of their numbers and have an average Morale of +0 for a total of 7.
The goblins rolled a 3. They have also lost more than 25% but less than 50% of their numbers and have an average Morale of -1 for a total of 2.

A 7 is a Fight On result. The humans keep their nerve and maintain their formation but they will not pursue a fleeing enemy.
2 is a rout. The goblins flee en masse!

The humans don't have the morale to pursue, but they still get to attack as the goblins break.

Make Death saves
Goblins: Goblin death saves [2d6]=5 [2d6]=12 [2d6]=9 [2d6]=3 [2d6]=9
Of the 5, 2 are incapacitated, 2 are wounded and one lucky scamp only lost his balance
Humans Human death saves [2d6]=9 [2d6]=6 [2d6]=8
2 are wounded and one broke his spear.

Round 2

The human fighter is unengaged and tries to catch the boss. Fighter maneuvers [2d6]=8. Goblins are fast so he gets no bonus. He would need a 9 to catch the underbosses and 12 for the boss as he is the fastest and most cowardly of them all! He fails and has to make do with rabble.

A fleeing enemy doesn't adequately protect themselves and is hit at +1.
The fighter easily hits both. Fighter vs rabble [_2d6]=(5+4)=9
The heavies hit two more since a 2 normally misses but they get +1. Heavy vs rabble [_2d6]=(2+6)=8
The last light standing misses. Light vs rabble [_1d6]=(2)=2
4 more goblin rabble are taken out.

The humans take no casualties so do not check morale.

Death saves
Goblins Goblin death saves [2d6]=10 [2d6]=11 [2d6]=6 [2d6]=3
1 incapcitated, 1 wounded, 2 lose gear as they flee.

Round 3

The goblins sprint away and the humans do not pursue. The fighter could try and roll morale again since his own modifier is higher than the average for his side. But he elects not to be separated from his troops.

There are 3 incapacitated goblins nearby.
3 are wounded and have to make additional death saves every round until they can rest. wounded Goblin death saves [2d6]=7 [2d6]=9 [2d6]=5
1 of them passes out and is Incapacitated a ways off. Another bleeds out near him and the third escapes with his life.
The 2 who were hit but not wounded are still at 0hp and exerting themselves wounded Goblin death saves [2d6]=7 [2d6]=9 [2d6]=5
1 passes out, 1 hurts himself but will be able to rest and the third is ok.

The light infantry didn't exert themselves while at 0hp so they do not need to save again. Their fellows can bind their wounds and help them move. If they walk slowly with help they will have to make more saves later until they stop bleeding. Hopefully they are close to help or at least can be put on a litter so they can rest more fully. The one who wasn't Wounded still needs to rest but he's better off and can walk on his own for now.

[Leitz]

Comparing D&D combat to BX/Chainmail (BX/C)

In D&D, a first level fighter with a sword and leather armor
- Has 1d10 hit points, and can thus take 2 or possibly 3 average hits before being impaired.
- Has a roughly 50/50 chance on a d20 to hit an unarmored opponent.
- If the opponent has more armor, the fighter's chance to hit is reduced.
- Rolls a single die to attack.
- Gets more hit points as they go up in level.
- Gets a higher chance to hit as they go up in level.

In BX/C, a first level fighter with a sword and leather armor
- Has 2 HitDice, and can thus take 2 hits before being impaired.
- Has a 3+ chance on a d6 to hit an unarmored opponent.
- If the opponent has more armor, the fighter's chance to hit is reduced.
- If the fighter gets better weapons then their chance to hit goes up.
- Has 2 HitDice, and rolls 2d6 for attacks.
- - Each d6 can inflict a hit, thus the BX/C fighter can attack multiple opponents or hit the same opponent twice.
- Gets more HitDice as they go up in level.
- Gets more HitDice for attacks, giving a higher chance to hit as they go up in level.

Major differences
- In D&D a missile weapon does damage if it hits. In BX/C the player must make a second roll for each hit to see if the missile penetrated. If it did, it inflicts a hit. If not, it inflicts Subdual (temporary) damage, which can also impact opponent Morale rolls.
- In D&D a high Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution directly impact combat. In BX/C, they do not, but there are skills that grant the same things.