Player's Option: Combat & Tactics

• Foreword
• Credits
• Errata

Ch 1: Player's Option™ Combat System

• Player's Option Combat System
  • Does This Belong in My Campaign?
• The Battle Map
  • Figures and Facing
• Scale
  • Melee Scale
  • Range
    • Weapons
    • Monsters
  • Missile Scale
  • Switching Scale
  • Combined Scale
• The Combat Round
  • Combat Rounds and Game Time
  • Spell Durations
• Combat Status
  • Clear
  • Threatened
  • Unusual Monsters and Threatening
  • Grappled
  • Attacks of Opportunity
• Movement
  • Base Movement
  • Exceptional Abilities and Movement
    • Strength
    • Dexterity
  • Encumbrance
    • Simplified Encumbrance
• Opening the Battle
  • Surprise
  • Encounter Distance
  • Setup

• The Five Basic Steps of Every Combat Round
  • Step One: Monster Action Determination
  • Step Two: Player Action Declaration
  • Step Three: Initiative
  • Step Four: Resolution of Actions
  • Step Five: End of Round Resolution
• Initiative
  • The Initiative Roll
  • Base Initiative
  • Weapon Speeds
  • Critical Events
• Combat Actions
  • Combat Actions and Movement
    • No-Move Actions
    • Half-Move Actions
    • Full-move Actions
  • Movement and Initiative
  • Combat Movement on the Battle Map
  • Moving Through Other Figures in Combat
    • Overruns
  • Choosing an Action
  • The Actions
    • Attack
    • Cast a Spell
    • Charge
    • Cover
    • Fire/Throw Missiles
    • Guard
    • Move
    • Parry
    • Run
    • Sprint
    • Unarmed Combat
    • Use A Magical Item
    • Withdraw

• Ending the Combat Round
  • Retreats
  • Fatigue
    • Keeping Track of Fatigue
    • Effects of Fatigue
    • Recovering from Fatigue
    • Effects of Force Marching on Fatigue
  • Morale
    • Informal Morale Checks
    • Formal Morale Checks
    • Failing a Morale Check
  • Status
• Special Combat Conditions
  • Standard and Optional AD&D Rules
    • Movement and Footing
    • Cover and Concealment
    • Mounts
    • Rear or Flank Attacks
    • Sitting, Kneeling, and Lying Prone
    • Damage and Dying
    • Weapon Type vs. Armor Type
    • Firing Into a Melee
  • Additional Rules
    • Higher Ground
    • Knockdowns
    • Critical Hits
  • The Gray Areas
• Example of Combat
  • Round One
  • Round Two
  • Round Three
  • Round Four

Ch 2: Combat Options

• Combat Options
  • Does This Belong in My Campaign?
• Battle Tactics
  • Shield Wall
    • Versus Missiles
    • Versus Melee
  • Spear Hedges
  • Mounted Charge
  • Archery from Horseback
• Attack Options
  • The Opposed Roll
  • Block
  • Called Shot
  • Disarm
  • Grab
  • Overbear
  • Pull/Trip
  • Sap
  • Shield-Punch
  • Shield-Rush
  • Special Weapon Maneuver
  • Trap
  • Trap and Break
  • Unarmed Attack
  • Unhorse

• Fighting Styles
  • Single Weapon
  • Two-handed Weapon
    • Size and Two-handed Weapons
    • One or Two-handed Weapons
    • One-handed Weapons used Two-handed
  • Weapon and Shield
  • Two Weapon
  • Unarmed
  • Missile or Thrown Weapon
    • Multiple Loaded Weapons
    • Thrown Weapons
  • Weapon-Specific Styles
• Dueling
  • What's A Duel?
  • Initiative
  • The Dueling Plot
  • Attacking in the Right Spot
  • Reading an Opponent's Move
  • Moving the Figures
  • Choice of Defense
  • Choice of Attack
  • Ending a Duel
• Heroic Frays

Ch 3: The Battlefield

• The Battlefield
  • Does This Belong in My Campaign?
• Battlefields
  • The Four Basic Battlefields
    • Dungeons or Caves
    • Town or Building
    • Outside
    • Castles or Fortifications
  • Battlefield Characteristics
    • Encounter Range
    • Lines of Fire
    • Cover and Concealment
    • Footing
    • Obstacles
    • Unusual Materials or Hazards
• Terrain Types
  • Badlands
  • Caves
  • Desert
  • Fields or Farmland
  • Forest, Heavy or Jungle
  • Forest, Light
  • Hills
  • Marsh
  • Mountains
  • Plains
  • Ships
  • Swamp
  • Taverns
  • Town Streets

• Generating a Battlefield
  • Step One: Scale
  • Step Two: Topography
    • Flat
    • Hilly
    • Broken
  • Slopes and Escarpments
  • Step Three: Ground Cover and Water
    • Clear
    • Thickets
    • Light Woods
    • Heavy Woods
    • Clear
    • Bog
    • Stream
    • Pond
  • Step Four: Obstacles
  • Step Five: Putting It All Together

• Fighting in Unusual Conditions
  • Limited Visibility
    • Moonlight or Moderate Fog or Rain
    • Starlight or Dense Fog or Heavy Rain
    • Total Darkness
  • Water
    • Weapon Restrictions
    • Vision
    • Movement
    • Fighting Underwater Monsters From the Surface
  • Climbing
    • Movement
    • Fighting
    • Fighting Flying Creatures
  • Aerial Combat
    • Initiative
    • Threatening
    • Movement
    • Attacks from Below
    • Attacks from Above
    • Unseating a Rider
  • Combat on Other Planes
    • Astral Combat
    • Ethereal Combat
• The Effects of Magic on the Battlefield
  • Wizard Spells
  • Priest Spells
  • Magical Items

Ch 4: Weapon Specialization and Mastery

• Weapon Specialization and Mastery
• Weapon Proficiencies
  • Intelligence and Proficiencies
  • Proficiencies and the Weapon Groups
    • Specialization and Weapon Groups
  • Character Classes and Weapon Proficiencies
    • Kits and Barred Weapons
    • New Weapons
  • Shield Proficiency
  • Armor Proficiency

• Weapon Mastery
  • Nonproficiency
  • Familiarity
  • Proficiency
  • Expertise
  • Specialization
    • Melee Weapons
    • Missile Weapons
    • Bows
    • Crossbows
    • Firearms
  • Weapon Mastery
    • Effects of Mastery
    • High Mastery
    • Grand Mastery
    • Special DM Note

• Fighting Style Specializations
  • Weapon and Shield Style
  • One-handed Weapon Style
  • Two-handed Weapon Style
  • Two-Weapon Style
  • Missile or Thrown Weapon Style
    • Horse Archers
  • Local Fighting Styles
• Special Talents

Ch 5: Unarmed Combat

• Unarmed Combat
  • Does This Belong in My Campaign?
• Brawling
  • Brawling Attacks Against Armed Opponents
  • Temporary Damage
  • Opposed Rolls
• Pummeling
  • Pummeling Procedures
  • Pummeling Skill Levels
  • An Example of Pummeling
  • Special Pummeling Maneuvers
    • Sapping
    • Kicking
• Wrestling
  • Wrestling Procedures
    • Holds
    • Previously Established Holds and Locks
    • Breaking Free
    • Assistance
    • Locks
    • Wrestler Versus Wrestler
  • Wrestling Skill Levels
  • An Example of Wrestling

• Overbearing
  • Overbearing Procedures
  • Pins
    • Effects of Pins
    • Maintaining and Breaking Pins
    • Assistance
  • Overbearing Skill Levels
  • An Example of Overbearing
• Attack Options and Unarmed Attacks
• Subdual Attacks
  • An Example of Subduing
• Martial Arts
  • Martial Arts Procedures
  • Martial Arts Skill Levels
  • Martial Arts Weapons
  • An Example of Martial Arts Combat
• Martial Arts Talents

Ch 6: Critical Hits

• Critical Hits
  • Does This Belong in My Campaign?
• Critical Hits: System I
• Critical Hits: System II
  • Critical Hit Charts
  • Location
  • Severity
  • Resistance
• Reading the Critical Hit Tables
• Specific Injuries
  • Critical Hit Effects
• Critical Hit Tables

Ch 7: Weapons & Armor

• Weapons & Armor
• Equipment Groups
  • Reading the Equipment Lists
  • Stone Age or Savage Cultures
  • Tools/Common
  • The Bronze Age and Ancient Cultures
  • Roman
  • Dark Ages
  • The Crusades
  • Hundred Years' War
  • The Renaissance
  • Middle Eastern
  • Oriental
  • Firearms
• Master Weapon List
  • Weapons Tables
  • Weapon Descriptions
• Weapon Groups
• Weapons and Ability Bonuses
• Armor
  • Armor Table
  • Armor Descriptions

Ch 8: Siege Warfare

• Siege Warfare
  • Does This Belong in My Campaign?
• War Machines
  • Bombardment Engines
    • Ballista
    • Bombard
    • Cannon
    • Catapult
    • Trebuchet
  • Bombardment Engine Procedures
    • Indirect Fire Engines
  • An Example of Indirect Bombardment
    • Direct Fire Engines
  • An Example of Direct Bombardment
• Vehicles
  • Chariot
  • Howdah
    • Carrying Capacities For Beasts
  • Wagon
  • Driving Checks and Flipping Over
  • Ramming
• Miscellaneous War Machines
  • Battering Ram
  • Bore
  • Cauldron
  • Gallery Shed
  • Greek Fire Projector
  • Mantlet/Abatis
  • Ram Catcher
  • Rocks
    • Critical Hits and Knockdown Dice
    • Multiple Targets
  • Siege Tower

• Escalades
  • The Approach of A Castle
  • Walls
    • Wall Defenses
    • Scaling Walls
    • Ladders
    • Grappling Hooks
  • War Machine vs. War Machine
    • Fires
  • Sapping
  • Petards
  • Creatures Inside Destroyed Targets
  • Magical Attacks
• Sieges
  • Reduction
    • Reduction Procedures
    • Saving Throw Failure
  • Mines
    • Counter Mining
  • Investment
• Mass Combat
  • Mass Combat Procedures
  • An Example of Mass Combat
• Proficiencies

Ch 9: Monsters

• Monsters
  • Does This Belong in My Campaign?
• Creatures in Battle
  • Intelligence
  • Alignment
  • Morale
• Creature Types
  • Humanoid
  • Animal
  • Monster
• Attack and Armor Types
  • Attacks
  • Armor