As I mentioned before I primarily run OSR style games. The ones I tend to run are rooted in B/X D&D with some rules pulled from 1E or some solid house rules either I have developed or that have come through other OSR publications. With that in mind I want to look at the three parts of the character sheet that will affect most characters in combat. Hit Points, Attack Bonus, and Armor Class. (Saving throws are another important character sheet number set, but they are less about combat and more about avoiding unusual damage situations and thus deserve their own discussion.)
The first thing that must be acknowledge from the start is that all three of these numbers are abstractions and there is some overlap between the functions they serve This is especially true of Hit Points which take some qualities of both Attack Bonus and Armor Class into its concept. Virtually all RPGs are abstractions of the real or imagined world into a numerical system and none of them will be perfect, yet going into play with a solid definition of what each part represents will help the totality be more clear.
Attack Bonus represents aggressive combat potential. This number represents both skill and an innate combat ability. It is neutral in that it doesn't represent any one type of skill with attack. You would use it for attack with a sword, a bow, kicking, using an improvised weapon or a shield bash, or (assuming the game allows for it) making some sort of combat maneuver such as a push back or a disarm. It is innate because even should a characters shape be radically altered they still have their base attack bonus. There are circumstances where the bonus is enhanced, such as adding a Strength bonus to a melee attack with most weapons, and there are circumstances where it is reduced, such as when you are attacking with an unfamiliar weapon, but it is a constant representation of martial prowess.
Armor Class represents round to round avoidance of attacks. It is primarily provided by avoidance through movement (like a dodge bonus due to a high Dexterity) and avoidance through a barrier (like the armor bonus provided by Armors and Shields). This can also be raised and lowered but either adding factors that make a character more or less skilled at dodging (such as the magic spell Slow making a character stiff), or by adding more barriers between combatants and themselves (a waist high wall that provides strong cover). It can also be changed in a miscellaneous fashion (such as when a character is cursed).
It is worth noting at this point that most of the time Attacking is active (something a character does) and AC is passive (qualities a character possesses). Because AC is passive in most D&D circumstances it is rarely affected by character advancement, though some variations of things like Barbarian, Monk, or Thief grant dodge bonus that are attached to character Level and some variations of Fighter give enhanced Armor or Weapon powers that boost AC when using certain equipment.
Hit Points are yet more abstract still than Attack Bonus or Amor Class. By now a Hit Point system has been so long a part of the D&D experience that the original meaning has somewhat faded into the background. I think it is useful for this discussion to pull it back up.
Hit Points represent the totality of a characters combat worthiness. They are not an abstraction of overall health. A warrior can be fit as a fiddle and if they are run through with a spear they die. Likewise hit points rarely come into play for poison or for disease, which will instead either have a direct effect, such as paralysis or death, or will instead affect a characters Ability Scores.
Hit Points reflect a characters ability to roll with a punch, instinctively pull back from a hit, take it on the armor, and otherwise absorb damage. While a character still has HP they have avoided mortal damage and keep going. This is a reflection of the actions of such literary giants as Conan being clubbed by a giant and rolling with the hit or the Grey Mouser dodging the dozens knife cuts of the cultist that surround him.
Eventually a character is worn down though, be it from a dozen tiny cuts or near misses, and the last and fatal (or near fatal if you like) blow comes through. At this point the HP total has run to 0 and the characters battle prowess has run its course. One way of seeing this is the sheer weariness of constant conflict making a person clumsy. Another is just that the luck runs out and the check comes due. When seen this way it makes sense that experienced warriors have higher HP, while skulking thieves and blessed clerics are middling, while magic users should just avoid fights all together.
These abstractions are necessary for engaging in combat in D&D or its various clones. While for Player Characters the system for generating these numbers, based on class, ability scores, and equipment is very cut and dry, for NPCs it can be somewhat different.
PCs are professional adventurer. This is the assumption made in classic forms of D&D (though some newer games and OSR see things different). It makes sense for they to have the Attack Bonus progression and HP by Level that they do. All PCs, even the scholarly magic user become used to danger and better at dishing out out (Attack bonus) and avoiding it (Hit Point total). Most NPCs never will. So their Attack Bonus and HP should be handled differently.
Let's look at three NPC examples.
The lowly (but undoubtedly noble of spirit) peasant farmer is completely unschooled in the combat arts. He is hearty and has some bonus to HP from his high Constitution score but nearly any wound is a fatal one.
Next is the dockside ruffian. This scoundrel, raised on the streets and well versed in the school of hard knocks, has been in his share of fights and has 2 Hit Dice (instead of Levels) and thus can take some hits, but he is unschooled in combat and has no attack bonus.
Neither of these NPCs are trained in armor use or own armor. They may have Dexterity bonuses but probably have the basic AC of any unarmored human.
Lastly, let's look at a classic D&D monster the Living Statue. It is a statute that moves and frequently that movement is an attack. As a construct designed to protect things the Statue has some built in combat abilities. It has a naturally high AC being made of stone. Most blows would glance off of it. It also has HP in excess of what it's Hit Dice would suggest, because of that same stone body. Though blows will hit frequently, as it isn't fast, it just absorbs all damage until the blow that shatters it. And because it has the strength of stone it hits hard. This comes across as an elevated attack bonus (though probably still limited to that which is given by its Hit Dice as it isn't a trained combat warrior).
As you can see from the examples, both human and monster, NPCs follow their own logical progression and are not limited or expanded as a PC with a character class would be.
GM Hobs Game Musings Index
No comments:
Post a Comment