A Test Combat: Boromir vs a Snow Troll

[Markraven]

Hey all. I am trying to nail down the combat system so I tried a little "test combat" in which Boromir (stats taken from FotR sourcebook) and a Snow Troll (from Fell Beasts+) did a little one on one battle.

For ease we started the combat with both opponents in front of one another with weapons at the ready.

Round One: Boromir wins INIT.

Boromir: Decides to go all out with a 2-h grip on the long sword for four attacks (3 at no penalty via swift strike), then take another swing at -5 and as a last action bring up his shield for defense for the next rounds of combat.

With all the bonuses we figured he's rolling 2D6+19!
Skill AC:Blades 14 (w/specialization) +2 (fighting a Large beast) +2 (fell handed) +1 (Warwise bonus).

If he hits he does 2D6+8 dmg (with STR bonus added)

B's Attacks are all successful and all are Extraordinary. He brings the Troll to well into Dazed.

The troll had the following Health/Wound Levels:
(20 Health). Healthy, Healthy, Healthy, Dazed, Injured, Wounded, Incap., Near death

Round 1:
The troll now attacks: Pressing four attacks to hit the annoying puny maggoty human. His attack is 9-2 (size)=7

(Boromir, foolishly?, used all his actions on attack and getting his shield up so he has to rely on his defense of 11)

The troll hits three times, bringing Boromir to Injured, but he only suffers a -1 penalty due to Hardy trait.

Round 2. Boromir barely wins INIT. He decides to lay in three more normal handed blows and hold his last two actions for defense.

He hits each time, though the troll did try to defend against one of the attacks. The troll is now at Wounded (near Incapacitated).

The troll tries three attacks and between his minuses and a Defense roll from Boromir, the troll fails to land a blow on the Gondorian.


Round 3. Boromir wins INIT.

He decides to press three (non-penatly attacks) and one additional (at -5) and keep the last for defense if needed.

His Second attack puts the troll down, but he plants the third just to make sure and then puts his foot up on its head while looking for a healer to bind his wounds and a barmaid to get him a draft of ale.

Did I miss anything?

I know I didn't give roll by roll description but in most cases Boromir had a Extraordinary success with a die roll of 3+. I did count in the troll's armour for damage, and boromir got some from scalemail I gave him.

[Phantom]

Originally posted by Markraven
His Second attack puts the troll down

Timber! ::sound of a cut tree falling and the Troll slams into the ground::

Haven't had the chance to actually run a combat, my game didn't last long enough, but what you have looks right to me.

[Beryl]

Well I don't know if you are alluding to feeling that Decipher overpowers player characters or not. In any case, I think a great captain of men, as Boromir, should be able to take down a troll. One of the great heroes of old was able to slay seventy trolls during the wars of Beleriand. Boromir himself killed nearly thirty orcs singlehandedly at Amon Hen, though it resulted in his own death.

Additionally, if Boromir lost one of the initiative rolls, the battle would have been a lot different.

[Markraven]

I wasn't alluding to anything, just trying to get a better feeling for the rules.

[Ineti]

Looks pretty sound, though there's a lot of options you could have used. The troll could have moved around a bit, forcing Boromir to spend an action moving.

The troll could have tried to parry or dodge (may not have succeeded, but hey...)

One critical thing to note that Boromir leaves this combat Injured. Even with the Hardy edge, he could run into trouble over the days and weeks to come as he slowly heals. What happens if that troll's brothers come calling the day after? Boromir stew for dinner.

Also, what did you do with the extraordinary successes? You could include all kinds of fun options there.

Overall, though, looks good and makes sense to me.

[Markraven]

The troll did try to defend ...once...and it was basically needing Double-6's to actually be able to defend itself with any merit...so after that realization I just had the troll try to kill him "quickly".

Boromir was rolling basically 19+2D6, the troll's Defense was 10, its parry 9+2D6. Averagely the only defense it logically had was to "run away and call for momma".

Yeah, I would agree to the leaving the fight wounded...I am thinking of trying a troll and a few "mook" orks or possibly two trolls for the next test.

As for the Extraordinary attacks (nearly every single one on Boromir's part and never on the trolls) I simply has him do MAX Damage. Not too imaginative, but I understood Boromir's desire to put it down "fast and furious".



Now, in regards to Healing.

Boromir's at -14 (Injured), having gone through -18 Healthy, and -18 Dazed points.

Now he only gets 1 Heath Point back a day if he rests (6 hours) and eats well and has some care applied to the healing of the wounds.

At the end of the week of such rest and care he makes a TN 15 Stamina roll (2D6+6). If he makes it, he gets +3 HP's back. With a full-on-healer taking care of him, he gets 2 such Stamina rolls a week.

So assuming that there's no "full on healer" it would take 5 weeks for him to fully heal at basically 10 HP a week (7 HP since he gets 1/day, +3 for his vitality check.)

Owie.

With a resident healer on hand, it basically take three weeks + a few days, getting 16 HP a week.

[Ineti]

Originally posted by Markraven
So assuming that there's no "full on healer" it would take 5 weeks for him to fully heal at basically 10 HP a week (7 HP since he gets 1/day, +3 for his vitality check.)

Owie.

With a resident healer on hand, it basically take three weeks + a few days, getting 16 HP a week.

Exactly. And 5 weeks or even 3 weeks is an eon in an RPG, at least in my experience. Imagine a Narrator having a plot all set, and the PCs needing 5 weeks of game time to heal!

[Captain Novaes]

Well, it happens all the time in King Arthur Pendragon(tm)!

Key here is not to press time. If the GM absolutely, definetely has to rush things (I'm thinking Helm's Deep here), that's ok. Otherwise, the Barrow Wights will wait, the spiders in Mirkwood will just weave more cobwebs, the Dragon in the cave will sleep for another week or two...

Most of the scenes in FotR (the book) take days if not weeks to develop. Only bu the time of the invasion of Rohan does time become an issue.

[Markraven]

Pendragon is a great game system (lots of arthurian fun) and at its heart it is a basic design that is meant to have character adventure once (maybe twice) "a year" and then a Winter Court.

I can see LOTR having such a feel.

Tolkien's sense of time always seemed "to drawn out" for me. My main thing is Frodo's posession of the ring for some 18 years (IIRC) before Gandalf showing back up to give warning. I love Tolkien's work, I just don't always like the things in it; this is one of those things. (This and Tom Bombadil. )

[Lord Kjeran]

Chello!

Originally posted by Markraven
this is one of those things. (This and Tom Bombadil. )

lol...so I take you weren't upset like many that he was nixed in the both film versions of Fellowship, then?

As to the combat and Boromir's fight...yep, fats and furious for a Hero but the healing takes forever. But that's what you get with a low Magic setting with (somewhat) realistic combat.

Tony