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 (31/2¥2 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.

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