(01) The Approach

[waysoftheearth]

Stern charges into the injured and disordered spearmen on the causeway, as Garamon and Flin hustle through the near arch to join him. Thanis bounds to a new firing position--just inside the archway--quickly aims as the opposing force raise their crossbows in his line of sight.

"Loose!" is the order from the far moathouse at the same moment Thanis fires. His arrow flies through the incoming storm of bolts precisely as Stern crashes into his quarry. The spearmen pierce him with their superior reach, but cannot hold him back, and Stern destroys them summarily with a few quick slashes of his deadly blade.

Then the missiles hit. Thanis shot is true, finding one of the opposing men, but it isn't fatal. Immediately crossbow bolts are glancing off their armor and thunking into stone and timber around Garamon and Flin as they reach Stern, and at the last Flin is pieced by a single missile through his forearm, but that won't even slow him.

"Drop it now!" yells someone at the far side...

Missiles: Thanis shoots at the men at the far moathouse: 1d20=16, hit. 1d6=2. hp=1d6=4+1=5 hp. 3 of 5 remaining.
The 8 men at the far moathouse shoot crossbows at Garamon and Flin: 8d20=5,8,8,16,7,3,11,2. That's one hit. Who is hit? Odd=Garamon, even=Flin: 1d6=2, it's Flin. 1d6=2 hp damage. 13 of 15 hp remaining.

Four spearmen at 1 man FC (THAC2 17):
4d20=14, 14, 18, 17 (quality dice!) make two hits! 2d6=5,3 = 8 hp damage. 8 of 16 hp remaining.
Stern (hero 4 men plus magic sword = 5 men FC). With a normal-sized weapon would have been denied a blow against the two spearmen who hit, but because he also has a large weapon can reply: 5d20=14,20,17,20,11 (what is with these dice??). That's 4 hits; no need to dice for damage, they are all goners.

What now?

[waysoftheearth]

Tass, Witherun, and Goldwen come running along the forest path, bursting into the clearing to the sound of battle!

They immediately see Wraislin loitering safely at the rear of the action.
Beyond him is the near moathouse, where they can just see just see Thanis... among a few fallen men.

What now?

[ehiker133]

Goldwen quickly approaches Wraistlin to get his assessment of what is going on.

"What's happened so far, Wraist? Is anyone hurt?"

[sully]

If Thanis can see whoever yelled the "drop It!" order, he aims for that man. If not, he aims for the same crossbowman he hit the first time.

[ehiker133]

If Thanis can see whoever yelled the "drop It!" order, he aims for that man. If not, he aims for the same crossbowman he hit the first time.

Hmmm... I'm not sure we can "target" any particular enemy with missile fire? I think that's a nod back to the earliest CM and ODD rule sets.

[waysoftheearth]

Hmmm... I'm not sure we can "target" any particular enemy with missile fire? I think that's a nod back to the earliest CM and ODD rule sets.

It is true that, in CM's mass combat system (combat between armies), heroes are the last figure to be removed by missile fire. The 1:1 scale rules generally inherit the mass combat rules, but the M2M rules do add (for missile fire): <<Individual targets are selected>>. That said, it's doubtful Gygax/Perin intended the first casualties of every missile volley to be the commanders. I think they are suggesting that--at the 1:1 scale--causalities should be removed from the front ranks where they are targeted, rather than removing causalities from the rear ranks-- assuming the men at the rear move forward to fill any gaps at the front--as in mass combat.

The WoM rules give us a bit more substance. They allow that--when in a small group (a Barsoomian Dar; 20 figures)--there is a 1 in 6 chance that, for every six casualties, a "command or personality" figure will be among them. When in larger groups such figures can, like CM, only be removed by melee combat.

The take away from CM and WoM is that a "herd" of normal men will protect a command/personality figure from individual missile fire. WoM gives us a (very practical) 1 in 6 chance of hitting a specific figure in a group. Otherwise, someone else in the group gets in the way and "takes one for the team".

[Tonneau]

"Wraist?" huffs Wraislin, tipping his head to peer down his nose at Goldwen.

He sighs. Deeply.

"It seems some of the foe has met their maker, of that only I can be certain," he offers with some effort.

[waysoftheearth]

...hoping for some input from any of the front-row PCs: Stern, Garamon, Flin. If we don't hear anything overnight, I'll NPC them and post an update tomorrow.

[rredmond]

Is Garamon up front yet? I get lost in the action too easily

If there are any enemies left Garamon will attack with his spear! If not he takes up a guard position where they are to allow others to catch up.
If Stern moves forward to attack, then Garamon also does so!

I think that covers all my options!

[waysoftheearth]

Sit Rep: Stern just dispatched the remaining guards from the near-side moathouse, half-way across the bridge as they retreated. Garamon and Flin caught up as he did so. Meanwhile, the second batch of guards at the far-side moat house have just loosed missiles, and are about to retreat under their archway...
The other PCs are back at the near-side moat house, or just reaching it.