[CONAN] Tactical Combat Thoughts

[Supplement Four]

A typical Conan RPG engagement doesn't have magic flying across the battlefield. This game is about guts and steel and sweat and blood. And, even without the magic, the combat can be so much more than just "I-go-you-go."

Here are some of my thoughts. Chime in if you have words of wisdom to add.





Parry or Dodge?

You'll want to use the defense AC that is highest, of course. But, there are a couple of other factors to consider, depending on your character's class and level.

Parry - If your Parry Bonus is +4 or greater, using the Parry defense is extremely attractive due to the Riposte maneuver. This is possible for a barbarian class at level 11, for most classes at level 8, and for the Soldier class at level 6. The Riposte is a powerful maneuver. Whenever your foe's attack is half, or less, than your Parry AC (you must be parrying, of course), this generates an Attack of Opportunity for you against your foe. In effect, you parry in such a way that you are allowed a counter attack. The higher your Parry AC, the more likely the counter attack will be triggered. This counter attack is an Attack of Opportunity and subject to the normal AoO rules (in that you normally can take advantage of one AoO per combat round unless you have a Feat or Special Ability).

Dodge- You'll want to consider using your Dodge AC when it's important to you to move on the battlefield via the Dance Aside maneuver. As long as you have DEX 13+, you can use this maneuver at any time for any class or any level.

For example, let's say in a 10' wide hallway. You're fighting an enemy on one side of the corridor while your ally is behind you, fighting a second enemy.

____
E
____
Y1
____
Y2
____

____

____

Y3__
E
A
____



You start in position Y1 when your Enemy strikes at you. You use your Dodge defense, and your Enemy's attack totals less than half your Dodge AC. Since you do have DEX 13, you are now elligible to use the Dance Aside.

This maneuver takes you, five feet away, into position Y2. You're now out of your enemy's threat range (unless he's got a weapon with reach), and on your turn, you charge to the back of the Enemy fighting your ally. The charge gives you +2 attack, and now that you've made a flanking maneuver on the Enemy at postion Y3, you benefit with another bonus, plus, you get a bonus for multiple attackers on one enemy. This totals your attack bonus to +5. Other Feats like Power Attack or Combat Expertise may be useful in a situation like this,too. And, there's a chance that your enemy will not turn his back to your Ally to recieve your charge, so you may avoid that -2 AC penalty normally associated with the Charge maneuver.

So, on your turn, you rush down the hall and take your attack at +5. If you kill that Enemy, you've just turned the fight to your advantage having two-on-one--you and your ally against the remaining Enemy that originally attacked you.



It's important to see how you can use the combat manevers to tactically outfight the baddies. The right choice at the right moment can win the day. You can combine some maneuvers, too. Let's say that you had initiative over your original enemy, but you wanted to try to perform what I've described above. You choose the Delay option so that you can go after your opponent, giving yourself a chance to take advantage of the Dance Aside. Since you haven't gone during the round, you are still considered Flat-footed when your enemy attacks. But, since you are a Babarian class, above level 4, you can use your Uncanny Dodge ability to Dodge, even while Flat-Footed. Thus, the Dance Aside is still possible, and if triggered, you can pull off what I've described above.





Parry
Dodge
Riposte
Dance Aside
Charge
Uncanny Dodge
Flank
Multiple Opponents
Delay

 

[Supplement Four]

So, on your turn, you rush down the hall and take your attack at +5.

Do all those modifiers stack? I haven't mastered the stacking rules yet. The +5 modifier comes from +2 bonus for the Charge, +2 bonus for the Flank, and a +1 bonus for Multiple Opponents (assuming the defender is facing the Ally. If the target turns to receive the charge, then the bonus would be +4, and the +1 Multiple Opponent bonus would go to the Ally).

Question #1 is: Is all that stacking legal?

Question #2 is: If the Ally hasn't gone yet, can he use Aid Another to give the charging character another +2 bonus to his attack, making it a +7 bonus in this example?

 

[Supplement Four]

Players shy away from many of the combat maneuvers because those options typically allow the defender an Attack of Opportunity before the PC can attempt the maneuver. The key here is to watch for opportunities after your opponent has made an AoO during the round. This is one of those occasions where going after your opponent is better than going before him. Under some circumstances, you may want to use the Delay option in order to put yourself in a better position to take advantage of your foe once he's performed an AoO.

For example, let's say your opponent took an AoO against one of your allies as your comrade moved past your combatant. Now is the time to attempt a Disarm or a Sunder, go into a Grapple, or simply smack your foe with a second attack using your fist in an Unarmed Attack (requires a Full Action) as your opponent will not be able to take advantage of the AoO he would normally get (unless your foe surprises you by having the Combat Reflexes Feat and a high DEX).

Another idea would be to attempt a Bull Rush, attempting to push your foe off the side of a cliff or into a position where your allies can take Attacks of Opportunity on him.



Watching for situations where your foe cannot take an Attack of Opportunity against you.

 

[Nyarlathotep5150]

Do all those modifiers stack?

You can't stack two bonuses of the same type (with a couple of exceptions). So, you can't stack two Deflection bonuses, or two parry bonuses, ect. But if the bonus is untyped (I.E. it just says a +X bonus), or I believe if its a luck bonus, then they can stack with anything.
So, since the majority of bonuses in Conan are untyped (as opposed to D&D where there are a million different types of AC bonuses), yes, I'm pretty sure all that stacking is legal. But I would have read each of the individual maneuvers to be sure.
I know charge and Flanking stack with everything.

 

[Supplement Four]

Take advantage of a character's high skills during combat. A character with a high Bluff skill, for example, will easily pull off Feints during combat.



The character with a high Tumble bonus can take advantage of the Fighting On The Run rule. The character moves partial distance to attack his foe, then uses the rest of his movement, after the attack, to put as much distance between himself and his foe as possible. The character uses his Tumble skill to avoid the normal Attack of Opportunity his foe would get upon him, and the character ends his turn avoiding face-to-face contact with his enemy. In effect, this combination allows for an attack on your enemy without your enemy getting a reprisal swing at you (if the Tumble check is made).

____
E
____
Y2
____
Y1
____
Y3
____

Looking at this more closely, you begin the round in position Y1, five feet from your enemy. Under the Tumble rule, you can only move half your normal distance. So, your Speed is cut down to 15'. You move five feet into position Y2, attack your enemy, then move the rest of your movement, ten feet, to position Y3.

As you leave position Y2, you provoke an Attack of Opportunity from your enemy, but if you make your Tumble check, this is moot. Make the check, and you've successfully attacked your enemy without allowing him to attack you.



There's a scene in the new 2011 Conan movie where Conan quickly moves towards an enemy, jumps up to kick off a column just before he reaches his foe, raises his sword high while in the air, and comes down on his enemy with a powerful blow.

In game terms, Conan has used the Use The Battlefield maneuver. He used Jump or Tumble to make the maneuver, and the effect was that he got a +2 bonus to his attack roll. In essence, this can be a type of charge that does not suffer the -2 penalty to defense. The catch is that the character must be good at a skill that he can use when taking advantage of battlefield terrain. The Use The Battlefield maneuver can be used in many creative ways. Read the maneuver for different ideas.

To see Conan use this maneuver I described in the movie, look a the trailer and time 1:05. Blink, and you'll miss it.

http://youtu.be/o1iJZIMddpM







Feint
Fighting On The Run
Use The Battlefield

 

[Supplement Four]

I've got two PCs in my game, and as the story goes, they're becoming compatriots. As they grow, they are learning to work together on the battlefield. One of the PCs is taking the "tank" role. He rushes into the fray first, and his job is to engage and hold the enemy. The other PC attacks from a distance. Cimmerians aren't fond of bows. They find them a coward's weapon. But, a cleaning thrown spear or axe is clearly an action a man would take in combat ( :? Hey! They're Cimmerians! Conan never adopted the bow until he left Cimmeria.)

Thus, while the first PC runs up to take on the enemy, the second stays behind a round or two, throwing his spears or hand axes. The first PC is taking Feats like Power Attack and Cleave--things that will help him kill many enemies swarming around him. The second PC is taking Feats like Precise Shot and and Point Blank Shot--things that will help him be accurate and deadly from a distance.

The point here is that the players are working together, taking Feats that compliment each other and support combat tactics. This type of thinking and planning is keeping them alive in this very dangerous RPG.

Once the spears, javelins, or hand axes are exhausted, the second PC will run up to join the first, with an eye towards Aiding Another or making a Flank and tactically using the battlefield to their advantage.

 

[Supplement Four]

Once the Riposte maneuver is available (usually around 8th level, but at 6th level for Soldiers), the Parry defence is almost a "must-use" because it generates Attacks of Opportunity for the user.

Riposte + Parry + High DEX + Combat Reflexes = Deadly Combination.

The higher the defender's Parry AC, the more often the Riposte maneuver will generate counter attacks in the form of AoO's for the defender.





There is a bit of a defense against the Riposte, specifically, and the Parry defense, generally. And, that is the Shield Slam (which should not be confused with the Shield Bash). You must have a Base Parry Bonus of +2. For most character classes, this means level 4. For the Soldier class, this means level 3. Note that the Shield Slam is available long before the Riposte.

Basically, what happens with the Shield Slam maneuver is that, every time you successfully Parry an attack, you can choose to make an Opposed STR roll with your attacker. If you win the toss, your attacker is at a -2 penalty to his Parry AC until his next action. If you lose the contest, then your opponent gets to roll damage on your shield as if he has succeeded in a Sunder maneuver.

It's your choice, as defender, to use the Shield Slam. If you do, your foe could Dodge the next round and avoid the Parry penalty (which he may or may not do, depending on this Parry and Dodge ACs). You need a shield to attempt this maneuver, and if you lose enough STR contests, you won't have a shield any longer. But, when your foe is continually Parrying in hopes of getting a Riposte result, the Shield Slam is one small thing you can do to keep the Riposte from happening.




Shield Slam

 

[Supplement Four]

The Conan RPG is deadly, no doubt about that. The weapons in the game generally do more damage than their D&D counterparts, and the Massive Damage threshold has been lowered from D&D standards to only 20 points of damage.

When a character loses 20 hp from a single blow, he must make a Fortitude save at a DC equal to 10 + half the total damage. This means the save will be at a DC of 20+.

For this reason, do not ignore special abilities, bonuses, multi-class options, and Feats like Great Fortitude, Diehard, Toughness, Parry, and Dodge.

Anything that gives you more hit points, makes you harder to hit, soaks up damage, or helps you on the Massive Damage save is always worth considering. Also consider the benefits of distance weapons.

The ultimate goal of the game is to stay alive.





To that end, don't forget to employ the Fighting Defensively rule. You take a -4 penalty on your attack, but you get a +2 bonus to your defense, be it Parry or Dodge.

If you get in a jam, you can use the Withdraw, Total Defense, and Five Foot Step rules.





Here's one way you could combine maneuvers, rules, and Feats to boost your character's defensive aspect: First off, use the Fight Defensively rule. This is a style of fighting in the game where you don't take as many risks during melee. You've always got your guard up, even at the expense of your attacks. Mechanically, this means you'll take a -4 penalty on your attack, but receive a +2 bonus to your Dodge or Parry Defense throws. If it were me, I'd do this almost all the time until I got my character leveled up a bit. That +2 Defense can really help.

If you're using two weapons and Fighting Defensively, you take the -4 attack on all your attacks but still only get the +2 bonus to Defense.

Consider a 1st level Barbarian from my game. Thrallan is +3 Parry due to his STR and Level. Give him a targe, and he's +6 on the Parry. Now, he uses the Fight Defensively combat style, and he's +8 on Parry. Not too shabby.



Then consider the Defensive Warrior Feat, from the Barbaric Warrior supplement. This requires a BAB +2 or greater, and you must have a DEX 13+ to get this Feat. What it does is cut the penalty for Fighting Defensively in half when using the Dodge defense (not the Parry). With this Feat, the option to Fight Defensively makes you -2 on your attack but you still get the full +2 Defense bonus.



And, don't forget about the Combat Expertise Feat. This is an excellent Feat to get at low level. The only requirement is INT 13+ to get it. What it does is allow you to take a penalty on your Attack Throw and place the same modifier on your Defense. This is basically another way to Fight Defensively. The good news is that you can combine the Fighting Defensively option with Combat Expertise to get an even bigger Defense bonus.

The bonus in Combat Expertise is tied to your level. You can to -1/+1 at level 1; -1/+1 OR -2/+2 at level 2; -1/+1 OR -2/+2 OR -3/+3 at level 3...all the way up to level 5, where your max bonus will be -5/+5. The higher your level, up to level 5, the more choice you have with this Feat.



So, looking at our example character, Thrallan, as a 3rd level Barbarian.

+3 Parry due to STR 16.
+1 Parry due to Base Parry Bonus.
+3 Parry when using the targe.
+2 Parry when Fighting Defenively.
+1/+2/+3 Parry if the Combat Expertise Feat is chosen.

So, in combat, this 3rd level character has multiple choices. He can chose to...

Parry AC 17 with no attack penalty.
Parry AC 18 with a -1 attack penalty when using Combat Expertise.
Parry AC 19 with a -2 attack penalty when using Combat Expertise.
Parry AC 19 with a -4 attack penalty when Fighting Defensively. (Note how the above is a better choice!)
Parry AC 20 with a -3 attack penalty when using Combat Expertise.
Parry AC 20 with a -5 attack penalty when Fighting Defensively and using Combat Expertise. (Note how the above is a better choice!)
Parry AC 21 with a -6 attack penalty when Fighting Defensively and using Combat Expertise.
Parry AC 22 with a -7 attack penalty when Fighting Defensively and using Combat Expertise.


AC 22! For a 3rd level character! And, we haven't figured in the effect or armor yet! He can't hit anything, but it sure is comforting to know no one can hit him, either. Plus, he's still got a small chance to hit his enemy (unlike with Total Defense).

The point here is the defensive choices the character has when picking these specific Feats and using the indicated rules.







Massive Damage
Fighting Defensively
Total Defense
Withdraw
Five Foot Step
Defensive Warrior
Combat Expertise

 

[Mach5RR]

Just a couple of quick statements here -
Dance Aside - What I've noticed here is that when this is used (almost always by NPCs) the attacker will immediately take her five foot step to keep the defender in threat range (and usually to continue a chain of hurt that a lucky fumble just temporarily interrupted).

Tumble - has two options. Difficulty 15 for moving at half speed, difficulty 25 for moving at full speed (+2 for every opponent past the first). You also do not have to tumble the full round, but enough to get you out of a threatened range. Example: A thief finds himself going toe-to-toe with a barbarian armed with a sword, but notices a soldier who can be flanked 25' away. Our rogue can tumble back 5' (spending 10' of movement) and then hustle an extra 20' (for a total of 25') to slip one between the ribs of our poor soldier.

 

[Supplement Four]

Just a couple of quick statements here -
Dance Aside - What I've noticed here is that when this is used (almost always by NPCs) the attacker will immediately take her five foot step to keep the defender in threat range (and usually to continue a chain of hurt that a lucky fumble just temporarily interrupted).

The reason the situation I describe above works is because the PC moves after the NPC in initiative order.

1. NPC attacks.

2. PC defends, using Dodge. Dance Aside is triggered.

3. PC immediately moves 5 feet out of the NPC threat range. Now, the PC is ten feet away from the NPC.

4. Now, it's the PC's turn in the initiative order. The PC charges the Enemy fighting his Ally, and ends up with a +5 on the attack because of all the bonuses.

On the next round, the first NPC can move all the way down the hall and engage, sure. But, hopefully, by then, the other Enemy will be dead or very low on hit points so that the players can get a two-on-one scenario.

 

[Mach5RR]

Just a couple of quick statements here -
Dance Aside - What I've noticed here is that when this is used (almost always by NPCs) the attacker will immediately take her five foot step to keep the defender in threat range (and usually to continue a chain of hurt that a lucky fumble just temporarily interrupted).

The reason the situation I describe above works is because the PC moves after the NPC in initiative order.

1. NPC attacks.

2. PC defends, using Dodge. Dance Aside is triggered.

What I'm saying, given your example is that Dance Aside is triggered on the Attacker's (aka the NPC) action. The attacker's action does not end just because the defender got a free five=foot step out of range, even if that was his last attack. If the Attacker has not made a 5' step yet, he can close the gap created by the defender (Hence, creating the movement on the battlefield you wanted to see). What you're describing only works if the attacker used his 5' step to close with the defender during his attack round prior to the dance aside.

Say A (a soldier with two primary attacks, two-off-hand) attacks B, scores a Crit on his first off-hand attack and immediately drops him due to Massive Damage. A still has plenty of attacks and takes a 5' step to continue a cleave attack against C. A's initial attack against C is so low, it triggers a Dance Aside moving C 5' away. Since A has instigated a full-round action, and moved 5', he may not move any further. Remember though, there are abilities at higher level that will still allow someone to close that gap if they desire (say Greater Mobility for example).

 

[Supplement Four]

What you're describing only works if the attacker used his 5' step to close with the defender during his attack round prior to the dance aside.

There are a ton of scenarios. My point in the example was to say that the Dance Aside is a useful device when you need to move. In the example, the PC wanted to get back and help his ally (either because the ally was weak in combat, hurt, or because the tactic provides for two-on-one fighting), so movement was what he was looking to do in the round.

If you're not looking to move, then the Dance Aside would be used even when it is triggered.