Attack Options (POCT)

Heroic swordsmen don't just stand still and hack at their opponents; they dash back and forth, trading parries and ripostes with skill and agility. A great way to add excitement and flavor to your battles is to allow PCs the chance to try flashy maneuvers or special tactics against their dastardly foes.

In a melee, characters can choose any number of tactics instead of a simple strike or thrust. The following attack options are available to any character proficient with the weapon he is using:

Block	Pull/trip
Called shot	Sap
Disarm	Shield-punch
Grab	Shield-rush
Overbear	Unarmed attack
Pin	Unhorse
Special weapon maneuver

The Opposed Roll[]

Many of the attack options described below use a game mechanic known as an opposed roll. In an opposed roll, whoever comes closest to their success number without going past it wins the contest.

For example, two characters wrestling for control of one sword could be required to make opposed Strength checks to see who gets the weapon. The character with the highest d20 roll that doesn't exceed his Strength score wins the contest.

Because the goal of an opposed roll is to come as close to missing as possible without doing it, attack rolls are won by the character with the lowest roll that doesn't go under their required to-hit number, and ability checks are won by the character with the highest roll that doesn't exceed his ability score. Ties extend the contest one round, unless stated otherwise.

Block[]

A character can declare that she is using one of her attacks to block an opponent's strike. Blocking is a hard parry with a weapon that deflects an opponent's attack. Any weapon except rope-like things such as nets, lassoes, or slings can be used to block.

When a character tries to block an attack, she makes a normal attack roll against AC 4. Her opponent makes a normal attack roll against her Armor Class. The strike is blocked if the character succeeds with a lower roll than her enemy succeeded with. If the attacker failed anyway, it's a miss no matter what the blocking character rolled. If the blocking character failed but her attacker succeeded, it's a hit despite the block attempt.

For example, Arweth is a 5th-level fighter with an adjusted THAC0 of 14 with her long sword. She is fighting a hill giant with a THAC0 of 9. Arweth decides to use an attack to block the hill giant's next strike. She rolls a 15 and succeeds with her roll. The hill giant rolls a 12; Arweth is AC 1, so the giant succeeds, too. His roll of 12 is lower than her 15, so Arweth's block fails.

If the character announces her block before initiative is rolled, she can block an attack even if it beats her action phase. If she decides to wait, she can only block attacks in her action phase or later.

Blocking is an excellent tactic for characters with multiple attacks to use against characters or monsters with only one attack. A rapier specialist with a main-gauche in her off hand can use her off-hand weapon or one of the rapier attacks to block while using the rest of her attacks offensively.

Called Shot[]

A called shot is an attack at a specific location on the target. For example, a called shot can be used to attack the head of an enemy who isn't wearing a helm, the unarmored legs of a character wearing only a breastplate, or the special weakness of a monster with an Achilles' heel.

Called shots have to be announced before the attack roll is made. When the called shot is announced, the character's action phase is delayed by one category; a bowshot that would normally be in the average phase becomes a slow action if the archer decides to make a called shot. If you're not playing with the initiative system described in Chapter One, assume called shots receive a +1 initiative penalty.

Called shots normally present the attacker with a –4 penalty on his attack roll, but the DM can modify this for the circumstances. If the target is surprised or not expecting the attack, the called shot modifier may not apply at all. On the other hand, a particularly difficult called shot (stabbing an enemy through the eyeslit of his visor, for example) may inflict a –6 or even a –8 penalty to the attack roll. Called shots are disrupted if the character attempting it suffers a knockdown.

Although called shots are normally most useful for special combat effects, like breaking a beaker of acid in an evil wizard's hand, they can also be useful against partially unarmored opponents. An enemy in full plate mail with no helmet has an AC 10 head; it's easier to make the called shot with a –4 penalty against that AC 10 than to swing at the enemy's normal AC of 1. If a called shot is used to strike a specific body area and results in a critical hit, ignore the location die of the critical hit roll and just roll the effect for the area struck. (See Chapter Six for more information on critical hits.)

Called shots can also be used to fire missile weapons into a melee without the risk of hitting an ally. If the called shot misses, no one else is in danger of being hit by the missile.

As an optional rule, the DM may allow called shots to be used to force an automatic retreat or knockdown effect, rather than inflict damage.

Disarm[]

There are two types of disarming maneuvers, offensive and defensive, and they both work essentially the same way. A character who wishes to use either type of disarm must allocate one of his attacks for the round to the feat. If the disarm is a defensive one, it is resolved before the attacker rolls to hit. A disarm works very much like a block, but the character attempting the disarm must roll against AC 0, while the intended victim of the disarm still rolls against an AC 4.

Anyone involved in a disarm that is using a two-handed weapon receives a 4-point bonus to the target Armor Class for the purposes of the opposed roll. It's impossible to disarm a weapon two sizes larger than your own, so a fighter with a dagger can't try to disarm a mage with a quarterstaff. Disarming can occur using a missile weapon, but the missile's size is the factor used to determine whether or not the attempt can succeed, not the weapon firing the missile.

For example, Dain the dwarf warrior is fighting a human sellsword named Torath. Dain announces before initiative that he will use one of his attacks for a defensive disarm on Torath's attack that round. Before Torath attacks, he makes an opposed roll against AC 4 while Dain rolls against AC 0. Torath's THAC0 is 17 and Dain's is 13. Torath rolls a 15, good enough to hit AC 4, while Dain rolls a 12, not quite enough to hit AC 0. Torath avoids Dain's disarm attempt and proceeds normally with his attack roll.

If Dain had been wielding a two-handed axe, his roll would also have been against AC 4 (the 4-point bonus to AC 0), and his 12 would have been good enough to hit. Since his 12 was lower than Torath's 15, Dain would have won the opposed roll and disarmed Torath.

Defensive disarms work just like blocks for initiative; if announced before the roll, they can be attempted against attacks that beat the character's action phase. Otherwise, they can only be used on the character's action phase or later in the round. Offensive disarms work like called shots; when announced, they delay the character's action phase by one step. The intent to disarm has to be announced before any rolls are made.

When a weapon is disarmed, it falls 1–10 feet away (1d3–1 squares) in a random direction. Recovering a disarmed weapon requires a half-move. A disarmed character can be immediately covered if the attacker has an attack remaining in the round.

Disarms work best against low-level opponents who don't have good THAC0s, since it's difficult for them to make their opposed rolls.

Grab[]

Characters can grab weapons or important items away from their opponents. If the character wants to grab his opponent directly, he should consider it a wrestling attack and resolve it as unarmed combat; see Chapter Five. A character has to have a hand free to grab; if both hands are full, he's got to drop something in order to attempt the grab. (Two-handed weapons can be held in just one hand, but the character can't attack this way.) The attacker must announce the grab attempt before he makes his attack roll.

Trying to grab an enemy's possessions while he threatens you is a bad idea; the defender receives an immediate attack of opportunity against the grabber.

Generally, the grab attempt works the same way a disarm attempt does. The character attempting to grab an item must make an opposed roll against AC 0 while the intended victim rolls against AC 4. The DM may assign certain penalties to the character attempting the grab, depending on circumstances; grabbing a tiny ring on someone's finger might incur a –8 penalty to the target Armor Class for the grabbing character. If the opposed roll results in a tie, the item may be dropped or broken at the DM's discretion.

For example, Euserio the Bold is behind the evil wizard Warjo and decides to grab Warjo's wand of lightning. There's no attack of opportunity, since the hero wasn't threatened by Warjo. The DM rules that there is no penalty to Euserio's attempt, since Warjo has the wand in his hand and isn't paying Euserio any attention. Euserio and Warjo make the opposed roll, Euserio against AC 0, Warjo against AC 4. Euserio's THAC0 is a 16, while poor Warjo's is still a 20. Euserio scores a hit with a roll of 18, while Warjo rolls a 12 and misses, so Euserio gets his hands on the wand.

Once the grabbing character succeeds in grasping the item, the opponents must wrestle for control of it using opposed Strength checks. If a character only grabs (or was originally holding) the item with one hand, then his Strength is reduced by 3 points.

Continuing our example, Euserio and Warjo now struggle for control of the wand, making opposing Strength checks. Euserio's 17 Strength is reduced to an effective 14 because he only got one hand on the wand, and Warjo's 13 becomes a 10. Euserio makes his Strength check with a 6, but Warjo rolls a 9 and wins, jerking the wand away! Wonder what he'll do with it next round?

Overbear[]

The best attack against a warrior of heroic prowess is often a simple rush. Overbearing is a common tactic when several creatures are confronting a lone enemy who can cut them to pieces one at a time. Overbearing attackers throw themselves at their opponent, using whatever holds they can find to get him on the ground and restrain him.

Overbearing is hazardous; the defender gets an attack of opportunity against any attacker he threatens (up to the limits imposed in Chapter One). It can take a concerted rush of a dozen or more to get through a high-level fighter's guard. Overbearing is treated as an unarmed attack, and is resolved on the base initiative of the slowest attacker in the pile.

The overbearing force resolves the attack by making a single attack roll at the THAC0 of their best member. The attackers get a +1 bonus to hit for each additional attacker. The attack is made against the defender's natural Armor Class (AC 10 for most PCs), only counting magical and Dexterity adjustments—a man in plate mail is just as vulnerable to being pulled down as a man in leather armor.

If the attackers hit, they must make an opposed Strength check against the defender to see if they drag him down or not. Use the Strength of the largest attacker, and apply the following modifiers:

4-point bonus or penalty per size difference of the largest attacker versus the defender;
+1 per additional attacker;
–4 if defender has more than two legs.

Monsters can be assumed to have a Strength of 31/2 points per size category (3 for Tiny, 7 for Small, 10 for Man-sized, 14 for Large, etc.) plus their Hit Dice. If the defender wins the Strength check, he keeps his feet and shrugs off the attack. If the attackers win, the defender is knocked down. The defender can be pinned and restrained if he is successfully overborne again in the next round.

For example, six kobolds are fighting Alvoth, a human knight. The monsters decide to use their numbers against Alvoth and overbear him. Alvoth kills one of the kobolds in an attack of opportunity as the monsters close, but the other five try to overbear anyway. Alvoth is normally AC 0, but his chain mail and shield don't help him here, only his Dexterity of 18. The kobolds attack against an AC of 6, with a +1 bonus to hit since they outnumber him.

The kobolds score a hit, so Alvoth engages in a Strength contest to keep his feet. Kobolds should have a Strength score of 7 based on the formula above (3 ¹⁄₂x2 for Small). However, their effective Strength is increased to an 11 due to their numbers (4 extra kobolds). Alvoth has a Strength of 17 and rolls a 9, making his Strength check. The kobolds roll an 11, just making their check with a higher roll and winning the contest. Alvoth goes down beneath the brutes' rush.

As an option, a saving throw vs. paralyzation can be substituted for the opposed Strength checks. This works a little faster, but it's not as accurate as the system described above.

Pull/Trip[]

A good tactic against moving enemies or characters who aren't paying attention is a trip or tangling maneuver. To pull or trip an opponent, the character must be armed with a weapon that has the ability to snare someone's legs. The following weapons all qualify: bill, bola, bow, light or heavy crossbow, horseman's flail, harpoon, javelin, khopesh, lasso, mancatcher, net, footman's or horseman's pick, any polearm, quarterstaff, scourge, spear, staff sling, and whip. These weapons feature long, staff-like pieces, chains or ropes, or heads that can catch and pull an enemy's legs out from under him.

To pull or trip an enemy, the character makes a normal attack roll. If he hits, he makes an opposed roll of his Strength against the defender's Dexterity or Strength, whichever is better. If the attacker wins, the defender is knocked down. If the defender wins or if both fail, the attack fails. If the roll is a tie, they both fall down.

For purposes of this maneuver, a monster's normal movement rate can be considered its Dexterity score. Its Strength is equal to 31/2 points per size plus its Hit Dice. There are several modifiers that apply to the attacker's Strength, however:

4-point bonus or penalty per size difference of the attacker versus the defender;
–2 to attacker's Strength if the target has four legs or more;
+3 if the defender was unaware of the pull or trip attack;
–6 if the defender was stationary.

For example, Alvoth is waiting in ambush for the king's messenger to come galloping down a wooded lane. He decides to use his halberd to trip the horse when it comes by. If he hits, he'll use his Strength against the horse's move of 18. Alvoth's Strength is modified by –4 for the size difference and –2 for the horse's extra legs, but +3 because he is hiding, so his 17 Strength is an effective 14 for purposes of tripping the horse.

Optionally, the opposed roll can be replaced by a simple saving throw vs. paralyzation. It's not as accurate, but it may be more convenient for the DM and players to remember.

Sap[]

Sapping is an attempt to knock out an opponent by striking with the flat of the blade or slugging him from behind with a sturdy sword-hilt. It doesn't work very well against characters or monsters that are expecting it; any character attempting to sap a creature that threatens her provokes an attack of opportunity for the defender. Hand-held weapons and thrown weapons may be used in sap attempts.

A sap is a type of called shot; it has a one-phase initiative penalty, and the attacker has a –4 penalty to hit. The penalty increases to –8 if the defender is wearing some kind of helmet. Only Small or Medium creatures can be sapped; Large monsters can't be knocked out like this.

If the attacker scores a hit, she may knock out her opponent. There is a 5% chance per point of damage of knocking out the victim, up to a maximum of 40%. Thus, if the sapper inflicts 5 points of damage, she has a 25% chance of knocking out her opponent. Sapping damage is like unarmed combat damage; 25% is real and the rest is temporary. Naturally, if her damage roll exceeds the victim's hit points, he's knocked out anyway.

The knockout chance increases to 10% per point of damage (max 80%) if the victim is surprised, asleep, restrained, or magically held in some way. Sapped characters remain unconcious for 3d10 full rounds.

Shield-Punch[]

Any character equipped with a shield can choose to forego its protection and gain an extra attack known as a shield-punch. The shield-punch is treated as a normal, secondary weapon attack; the primary weapon suffers a –2 penalty to attack rolls that round and the shield-punch attack is rolled with a –4 penalty. A character may use his reaction adjustment due to a high Dexterity score to offset these penalties. Alternatively, the character can substitute his normal attack for a shield punch, with no penalties.

The exact characteristics (i.e., damage and speed) of each type of shield are noted on page 51. If the character is trying a shield-punch, he must announce his intention while declaring his combat action and forfeits the defensive benefit of the shield for the round. The character moves into the square of his opponent on his base initiative, then executes the shield punch and backs out into his own square again on the following initiative phase.

Shield Punch
Shield Type	Size	Speed	Reach	Damage	Knockdown
Small	S	Fa (2)	1	1d3	d6
Medium	M	Av (6)	1	1d4	d8
Large	L	Sl (8)	1	1d6	d10

Shield-Rush[]

The shield-rush is an attempt to knock someone down by running into them with your shield. The character must have 10 feet (2 spaces) of running room to make an effective shield-rush. Making a shield-rush is treated as a charge attack for purposes of guarding characters with set spears.

When the character makes a shield-rush, he makes a normal attack against his enemy's AC. Some shields may provide modifiers or bonuses to the rush; refer to Chapter Seven. After a shield has been used for a rush, it provides no AC bonus for the rest of the round for its bearer. Making a shield-rush also costs the character a normal attack, but it isn't considered an off-hand weapon like a shield-punch.

If the shield-bearer hits with his attack, he makes an opposed Strength roll against his opponent to see if he knocks him down. The loser of the opposed roll falls down; if both characters fail their Strength rolls, they both fall down. The following modifiers apply to the attacker's Strength score:

4-point bonus or penalty for each size difference of the attacker versus the defender;
+3 if the defender was unaware of the shield-rush;
–2 if the defender has four legs or more.

As noted before, monsters can be assumed to have a Strength of 31/2 per size category plus their Hit Dice. Instead of an opposed roll, the DM can substitute a saving throw vs. paralyzation for the defender to save time.

If the shield-rusher misses with his attack roll, he must roll a successful Dexterity check to stay on his feet as he rushes past his target. If he fails, he falls down.

Shield Rush
Shield Type	Size	Speed	Reach	Damage	Knockdown**
Small	S	Base*	1	1d3	0
Medium	M	Base*	1	1d4	+1
Large	L	Base*	1	1d6	+3

* A Shield Rush is performed in the attacker's base initiative phase.

** The knockdown bonus is used during the opposed Strength check that takes place if the attack hits (see Chapter Two, page 46). If the character's Strength check succeeds, add the listed number to the roll before the two rolls are compared.

Special Weapon Maneuver[]

Several weapons have special properties that can be used to great effect by a skilled wielder. The bolas, chain, harpoon, lasso, mancatcher, and net all have special effects that can be used against opponents. The exact nature of each weapon's special maneuver is discussed in Chapter Seven.

Generally, using a special weapon maneuver requires a called shot that delays the wielder's action phase by one step and gives him a –4 penalty on his attack roll.

Trap[]

It's possible to use your weapon or shield to pin your enemy's weapon against his body or to trap the weapon on your own sword-hilt or weapon haft. This maneuver is known as a trap. Traps are much like blocks; the character can get a chance to trap an attack that comes before his action phase by declaring the trap before initiative is rolled, or he can trap any attack that comes in his action phase or later without declaring his action beforehand.

Like with a disarm, the trap is resolved before the normal attack roll is made. A character attempts to trap an enemy's attack by rolling an opposed attack roll versus AC 0 while his opponent rolls against AC 4. If the trapping character wins the opposed roll, the weapon is successfully pinned. Otherwise, the pin fails and the normal attack roll is made.

Once an enemy's weapon is trapped, he loses any additional attacks he could have made with that weapon in the current round. At the end of the round, the trapping character and his victim make opposed Strength rolls to see if the victim can free his weapon. In each subsequent round, one Strength check is made on the fastest character's base initiative, and a second one at the end of the round.

A character with a trapped weapon can always attack with a secondary weapon or simply abandon the weapon that's been caught. The character who performs the trap cannot use the weapon or shield he's pinning the opponent's weapon with.

Trapping is an excellent tactic to use against an opponent with fewer attacks. It is also a good tactic for a two-weapon fighter to use against a single-weapon fighter; by sacrificing one weapon's attacks, he completely stops his opponent's offense. Another sneaky trick is to have an ally trap a tough opponent's weapon to free up unanswered flank or rear attacks for a second character. Trapping is tougher than a simple block, but worth the effort.

Trap and Break[]

Some weapons, such as the sai or the swordbreaker, are suited for breaking a trapped enemy weapon. When a weapon of this type is used to trap an enemy weapon, the trapping character can declare an attempt to break the weapon. The trapped character must roll a successful item saving throw vs. crushing blow for his weapon or it breaks; for metal weapons, this is a 7 or better on 1d20. The weapon's magical bonus applies.

If the break attempt fails, the trapped blade is automatically freed. Otherwise, the weapon is broken. Only swords, knives, or weapons with sword-like components (such as a halberd's spike or a glaive) can be broken.

Unarmed Attack[]

Throwing a punch or trying to get a wrestling hold on the enemy is always a legitimate attack. As noted in Chapter One, trying to engage an armed opponent in unarmed combat is risky; if the armed character threatens the attacker, he gets an immediate attack of opportunity.

There are several types of unarmed attacks that can be employed by a character, including punching, wrestling, martial arts, and overbearing. The various types of unarmed combat are described in great detail in Chapter Five. Note that a character has to have a hand free to punch or wrestle someone.

Unhorse[]

A mounted enemy can be knocked off his steed by a number of methods. Whenever a character is in danger of falling off his horse, he must roll a successful riding proficiency check (or a saving throw vs. paralyzation if he doesn't have the riding proficiency) to remain in the saddle. If he fails, he's considered to be knocked down and is lying prone on the ground.

Some ways to unhorse a mounted character include:

Knockdown: Striking a mounted character or the mount hard enough to create a knockdown chance;
Damage: Striking a mounted character for 10 or more hit points of damage;
Pull/Trip: Hitting a mounted character or the mount itself with a pull/trip attack;
Overbearing: Successfully grappling a mounted character with an overbearing attack (he may also be pulled down by losing the opposed Strength check to fight off the overbearing attempt);
Damage to the Mount: Wounding a mount during the battle (killing the steed always unhorses a character, no questions asked).