Again, without wanting to get bogged down in complex and atmosphere-destroying rules, I feel that it's useful to have a believable system for various kinds of Unarmed Combat. I also wanted to be able to simulate the fact that a man using only his fists is probably in big trouble if his opponent has a sword - see Defending Against Unarmed Combat, below.
Roll to Hit as usual (although see below for notes on defending against punches, etc.). A normal punch does 1d2 + Str Bonus Subdual Damage. Using a mailed gauntlet, a fistful of coins, or the like gives +1 damage and makes the damage standard (non-Subdual). Using the pommel of a dagger, etc, does 1d2+2 standard damage.
If the target is the same size or smaller than the attacker, any roll to hit 4 or more over the required number has a 5% chance per point of damage caused of Stunning the target. A Stunned target will attack at -4 To Hit and loses 2 AC for 1d2 rounds.
Roll to Hit as if attacking vs AC10, with defender's Dex Bonus to AC, etc, included (and see below for notes on defending against wrestling, etc.). A successful hit inflicts 1pt + Str Bonus Subdual Damage.
Any roll to hit 4 or more over the required number is a hold; the damage may be automatically applied every turn from then on, until the hold is broken. Holds are broken with an opposed Str vs. Str roll between the two opponents each round; the defender will get a -1 cumulative penalty for each round after the first that the hold is maintained. Note that if the defender has natural weapons, they may instead make a Dex roll - if they succeed, they can use their natural attacks on the person who has them in a hold.
Overbearing always takes place at the end of a combat round, and several creatures may combine their efforts against one target. Roll to Hit as if attacking vs AC10, with defender's Dex Bonus to AC, etc, included, and also the following modifiers:
A success on the To Hit roll knocks the defender to the ground; the attacker(s) will fall too, unless the To Hit roll succeeded by 4 or more.
See also Mounted Combat, below.
Any attack with a ready weapon against a target using Unarmed Combat that round is at +2 To Hit and +4 damage. Punches and attempts to Wrestle an armed defender always act after the defender has made their attack. If the weapon is Medium sized or larger, a successful hit will disallow the attempt to Punch or Wrestle that round.
Everyone can be assumed to be trying to avoid injury when appropriate in a round, but here's a system for use when combatants want to make that extra effort not to be hit. Note that these rules can make high-level warriors very hard to hurt; no bad thing in my opinion, but it may require tweaking if it gets to be a problem.
Any specified attempt to parry takes up an attack - for most non-warriors, this will mean they do not get to make an attack that round. A parry may be declared at any time when the defender has an attack to spare and before their opponent has made their To Hit roll. The result is a bonus to the Defender's AC equal to:
Column Number for Defender's Level on Saving Throw table + Specialisation To Hit bonus + Magic Weapon bonus
A weapon in a defender's off-hand can be used to parry as a free action, but this will impose a -3 To Hit on other attacks made by the defender that round. If using a polearm, parries may be made on behalf of other people, as long as they're within reach.
2nd Edition gives shields very little reason to exist. By default, they add a mere 1 to the user's AC... which is why very few fighters bother to carry one. Here's some rules on making them more effective:
Shields come in three sizes; buckler, medium and tower, along with entirely improvised shields, such as a stool or fallen branch snatched up in the heat of combat. Their basic stats are as follows:
| Shield Type: | AC bonus*: | Overbear bonus^: | Shield HP (wooden)*: | Shield HP (metal)*: | Notes: |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Improvised | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | Needs to be used to actively parry to be effective - see below |
| Buckler | +1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | User can use a small weapon or other object in the same hand. |
| Medium | +2 | ±1 | 7 | 12 | |
| Tower | +3 | ±2 | 10 | 18 | Cannot be carried on or while running |
Shields can be used as kind of last-ditch defense. A defender can choose to interpose the shield strongly between themselves and an incoming blow, at the risk of the shield being weakened or destroyed. This takes up the defender's entire round (disallowing any other attacks or movement), and counts only against one foe at a time.
The result is that the shield absorbs a portion of incoming damage equal to its Shield HP from the table above. If the damage exceeds its HP the shield is destroyed and any leftover damage passes through to the defender. Shield damage can be repaired later, with a successful Armourer NWP roll (it may be impossible to mundanely repair a magic shield).
The DM should reserve the right to disallow Shield Parries against certain kinds of attack. Only a tower shield could protect against dragonbreath, for example.
Perhaps because of an emphasis on dungeon-delving, the effectiveness of mounted combat in 2nd Ed is also low, and so often gets overlooked. Here I try and redress the issue, paying attention specifically to horses rather than exotica, like gryphons and so on:
The assumption here is that a well-trained mount can be highly effective in a charge against defenders on foot. The deciding factor is a pair of morale rolls; one for the mount and one for the defender(s) - the results have profound effects on the combat. Note that PCs never have to make a morale roll to defend against a charge, although if they're the attacker their mount does have to make a roll.
Here I also assume relatively mundane combatants (e.g. a mounted charge into an Orcish formation); a knight charging a dragon shouldn't use these rules.
The base morale roll is a d20 vs Wisdom; horses have an assumed 'Morale' equivalent, as given below, depending on their training. There are several modifiers, both for defenders and attacker:
If there are multiple defenders, one roll should be made which applies to them all.
* Suitable weapons for defenders are anything that can be set against a charge
The result of the two rolls have a profound effect on the outcome, as follows:
Note that if there are multiple ranks of charging mounts, once one rank successfully makes its morale rolls, those following don't need to. Mounts charging over defenders who have already been knocked down will do trampling damage.
The following rules assume that a mounted rider will have a substantial height advantage over those on foot (e.g. knight vs footman). Odd combinations like goblins on wolf-back may need their own rulings.
Essentially the advantage is with the mount and rider. If the rider has a weapon with enough reach, they can attack at +2 To Hit and +2 damage against targets on foot. If their mount is a warhorse, it can make its own hoof attacks (usually doing 2d6 damage) against a target within range.
Incoming attacks against the mount are at normal modifiers. Attacks against a rider are at -2 To Hit, unless the weapon in use is a particularly long one (e.g. a spear, but not a longsword).