Banesfinger
Mongoose
The second (round) example of Diem and the Minotaur’s battle. In this example, I will try to focus on the new mechanics: Divine Points and Sacrifice.
…Previously, back in Greece…
Diem, knowing he would face a great battle with the Minotaur, chooses to sacrifice some sheep and goats to Ares, the God of War, before he traveled to Crete to face his foe.
After purchasing several livestock at a local market, Diem goes to the great temple of Ares (appropriate Greek Deity for a major battle). He must (blood) sacrifice a number of Hit Dice equal to his level, in order to be a worthy sacrifice. Diem is 4th level, so assuming sheep and goats are 1 HD each, he brings 4 of the animals in to be offered to Ares by the local priests.
Had he not done this, Ares may have looked at this monumental battle in disfavour. The Games Master secretly would have rolled 1d20 + 4 (Diem’s level). If the result would have been 10 or over, Diem would have suffered Ares’ disfavour on his quest/battle.
Checking the ‘Disfavour’ entry for the Deity Ares, we find that poor Diem would have suffered a –2 penalty to all Will saving throws to avoid fear effects.
(Note: question/errata: page 222 states: “The table below (Propitiation) shows which deities are to be propitiated under which circumstances <correct>. The proper sacrifice is given alongside each one <this is missing from the table!>.)
Now, back to Round #2
Diem, standing near his shattered shield, knows the end is near. He may need to call upon his God (Ares) to help him in the following seconds.
Every character in OGL Ancients has the gods looking upon them, and stirring the odds with their favours. Each character has ‘Divine Points’ equal to their level of experience. This pool of points is renewed upon the start of each adventure. Thus Diem starts with 4 Divine Points (his level). He may choose to use them to favour some of his own rolls, or thwart some of the enemy’s rolls. He must be careful, as he can only call upon the god’s favour (divine points) once per round.
Diem decides to call out to Ares to help him strike the Minotaur. Before any dice are cast, Diem decides to use 2 (of his 4 available) Divine Points to help him hit the Beast. Lucky for Diem, he worships a god of War. Ares favours those who call upon him for help in combat (melee or ranged attack rolls, Active Defence, Presence skill or Fort saving throws). In this case, instead of +2 (the Divine points used), Diem gets double the amount asked for (+4) because they are 'Favoured Checks'.
Diem can now add +4 to his normal ‘to hit’ roll against his foe for this round (only). Diem subsequently rolls well, and scores a great hit upon the beast.
The Minotaur swings and misses Diem, and uses a move action to back up – hoping to use his superior reach (10’) to attack the man-flesh as he advances.
Round #3
Diem, in his rage, closes with the Minotaur, thus provoking an attack of opportunity as he moves through the Minotaur’s reach.
The Minotaur swings and rolls a natural ‘20’. A possible critical hit. Diem rolls an active defence roll of only 8 (he has a +0 modifier). But with a natural 20, the Minotaur automatically hits. Diem’s Passive Defence, Active Defence, or even Shield defence (if he had one), are only used to check if the critical threat results in a critical hit.
Diem knows this could be the end. He has not used any of his Divine Points in round three (remember, you can only use divine points once/round). He decides to use his last 2 divine points to call for Ares’ aid in stopping the minotaur’s critical.
Since he uses his divine points to reduce another’s roll, it requires an opposed Prayer (skill) roll. Diem is very faithful to Ares, and has max’ed out his Prayer skill at +4. Luckily the Minotaur has no ranks in Prayer (+0).
Diem rolls a 12, and adds the + 4 for a result of 16. The minotaur rolls a 13 (+0), and thus Diem wins the opposed roll.
Diem now gets to subtract 2 points (Divine Points used) against the minotaur’s next roll: the critical threat check!
(Please note: while Ares will allow you to get double your divine points as a bonus when expending divine points for favoured checks, this does not apply when reducing an opponent’s check – your god would need ‘negative’ favoured checks for that.)
The Minotaur now rolls his critical threat: he has a bonus (BAB) of +9, but now this is reduced by –2 for Diem’s divine points. The minotaur rolls a ‘3’. To this we add +9 and subtract (–)2 = 10.
This is below both Diem’s Passive Defence (11) and his Active Defence (rolled 8 ). Thus, it is not a critical hit. Diem will take normal damage. He must now roll to see how much, if any, will be stopped by his armour.
Things are still not looking too good for Diem – as he has no more favours left to call upon the gods, and his shield is ruined.
…Previously, back in Greece…
Diem, knowing he would face a great battle with the Minotaur, chooses to sacrifice some sheep and goats to Ares, the God of War, before he traveled to Crete to face his foe.
After purchasing several livestock at a local market, Diem goes to the great temple of Ares (appropriate Greek Deity for a major battle). He must (blood) sacrifice a number of Hit Dice equal to his level, in order to be a worthy sacrifice. Diem is 4th level, so assuming sheep and goats are 1 HD each, he brings 4 of the animals in to be offered to Ares by the local priests.
Had he not done this, Ares may have looked at this monumental battle in disfavour. The Games Master secretly would have rolled 1d20 + 4 (Diem’s level). If the result would have been 10 or over, Diem would have suffered Ares’ disfavour on his quest/battle.
Checking the ‘Disfavour’ entry for the Deity Ares, we find that poor Diem would have suffered a –2 penalty to all Will saving throws to avoid fear effects.
(Note: question/errata: page 222 states: “The table below (Propitiation) shows which deities are to be propitiated under which circumstances <correct>. The proper sacrifice is given alongside each one <this is missing from the table!>.)
Now, back to Round #2
Diem, standing near his shattered shield, knows the end is near. He may need to call upon his God (Ares) to help him in the following seconds.
Every character in OGL Ancients has the gods looking upon them, and stirring the odds with their favours. Each character has ‘Divine Points’ equal to their level of experience. This pool of points is renewed upon the start of each adventure. Thus Diem starts with 4 Divine Points (his level). He may choose to use them to favour some of his own rolls, or thwart some of the enemy’s rolls. He must be careful, as he can only call upon the god’s favour (divine points) once per round.
Diem decides to call out to Ares to help him strike the Minotaur. Before any dice are cast, Diem decides to use 2 (of his 4 available) Divine Points to help him hit the Beast. Lucky for Diem, he worships a god of War. Ares favours those who call upon him for help in combat (melee or ranged attack rolls, Active Defence, Presence skill or Fort saving throws). In this case, instead of +2 (the Divine points used), Diem gets double the amount asked for (+4) because they are 'Favoured Checks'.
Diem can now add +4 to his normal ‘to hit’ roll against his foe for this round (only). Diem subsequently rolls well, and scores a great hit upon the beast.
The Minotaur swings and misses Diem, and uses a move action to back up – hoping to use his superior reach (10’) to attack the man-flesh as he advances.
Round #3
Diem, in his rage, closes with the Minotaur, thus provoking an attack of opportunity as he moves through the Minotaur’s reach.
The Minotaur swings and rolls a natural ‘20’. A possible critical hit. Diem rolls an active defence roll of only 8 (he has a +0 modifier). But with a natural 20, the Minotaur automatically hits. Diem’s Passive Defence, Active Defence, or even Shield defence (if he had one), are only used to check if the critical threat results in a critical hit.
Diem knows this could be the end. He has not used any of his Divine Points in round three (remember, you can only use divine points once/round). He decides to use his last 2 divine points to call for Ares’ aid in stopping the minotaur’s critical.
Since he uses his divine points to reduce another’s roll, it requires an opposed Prayer (skill) roll. Diem is very faithful to Ares, and has max’ed out his Prayer skill at +4. Luckily the Minotaur has no ranks in Prayer (+0).
Diem rolls a 12, and adds the + 4 for a result of 16. The minotaur rolls a 13 (+0), and thus Diem wins the opposed roll.
Diem now gets to subtract 2 points (Divine Points used) against the minotaur’s next roll: the critical threat check!
(Please note: while Ares will allow you to get double your divine points as a bonus when expending divine points for favoured checks, this does not apply when reducing an opponent’s check – your god would need ‘negative’ favoured checks for that.)
The Minotaur now rolls his critical threat: he has a bonus (BAB) of +9, but now this is reduced by –2 for Diem’s divine points. The minotaur rolls a ‘3’. To this we add +9 and subtract (–)2 = 10.
This is below both Diem’s Passive Defence (11) and his Active Defence (rolled 8 ). Thus, it is not a critical hit. Diem will take normal damage. He must now roll to see how much, if any, will be stopped by his armour.
Things are still not looking too good for Diem – as he has no more favours left to call upon the gods, and his shield is ruined.
