Advanced Dungeons & Dragons®

Player’s Option:

Combat & Tactics

Table of Contents

Foreword

Credits

Chapter One:

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

Chapter Two:

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

ShieldPunch

ShieldRush

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

Chapter Three: 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

Chapter Four: Weapon Specialization & 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

TwoWeapon Style

Missile or Thrown Weapon Style

Horse Archers

Local Fighting Styles

Special Talents

Chapter Five:

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

Chapter Six:

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

Chapter Seven:

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

Armor

Master Weapon List

Weapon Descriptions

Weapons Tables

Weapon Groups

Weapons and Ability Bonuses

Armor Descriptions

Chapter Eight:

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

Chapter Nine:

Monsters

Does This Belong in My Campaign?

Creatures in Battle

Intelligence

Alignment

Morale

Creature Types

Humanoid

Animal

Monster

Attack and Armor Types

Attacks

Armor

Index

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