Hackmaster Surprise Example [Hackmaster]

(Another post from the KenzerCo message boards, here for easy reference)

Let's say 4 goblins ambush 4 PCs. The goblins will use standard goblin stats; he humans will be, for our purposes, a Man-at-Arms, a Brigand (with Improved Awareness), A Laborer, and a Sedentary ('cause they're all together in the HoB).

Goblins are in a prepared ambush, have their weapons ready, and are set to go. They will be rolling d3+3 for initiative (because Goblins have a +3)

The Brigand (B) and the Laborer (L) noticed the goblins; the Man-at-Arms (M) and the Sedentary (S) (engaged in a petty argument) do not.

Initiative rolls for the party are:
L d8+5 ("Can hear opponents in a concrete direction, but not see them", p 216 of PH)
B d6+2 (Same as the Laborer, but he gets 1 initiative die smaller from Improved Awareness)
M d12+4
S d12+3

Everyone rolls their die and gives their total. Initiatives are:

G1: 1+3=4
G2: 2+3=5
G3: 2+3=5
G4: 3+3=6
L: 4+5=9
B: 5+2=7
M: 9+4=13
S: 10+3=13

Because the Brigand rolled poorly, all the goblins will get to act before he does and, unless the first goblin hits someone, the goblins will all act before the party. If Goblin 1 hits someone, that person will go on 4 (the goblin's initiative) +2 (page 217, last paragraph of second column), or 6, which is the same time as Goblin 4. We'll say that the Sedentary got hit by Goblin 1. Goblins 2 and 3 fire normally on an entirely surprised party, but they miss. Goblin 4 also fires, but S is not surprised when he does so. If this were melee combat, surprised characters would be rolling a d8 defense die, with no bonus... but since the goblins are shooting at moving (walking) targets, the party still gets a d20 defense die (p. 218 of the PH). L & M might get the cover value of their shields, depending on their arc of defense (p. 224, 225 PH).

So, Goblin 1 hit S, whose new initiative is 6. S is a bit of a wuss, and starts screaming bloody blue murder (he's been ToPed, but you can still start screaming "I've been shot" while ToPed, IMO, which counts) on 6. This means he is "Raising the Hue and Cry" (p. 217 of PH), and everyone's initiatives drop by 2. This doesn't affect the goblins... they've all gone. With an 8 speed on a snapshot, the Goblins will be going again on 12, 13, 13, and 14. Normally, G1 would be able to fire on a surprised M with his second shot, but S's Hue and Cry means that the new initiatives are B 7 (it decreased by 2, but can't act before the second after the Hue and Cry), L 7 (dropped by 2), and M 11.

Now, with B moving towards them (and probably telling his friends where they are), the goblins might wind up changing their next actions entirely... if B and L start walking towards G1 on 7, G1 will have a couple seconds to drop his bow and ready his weapon... and he doesn't really need any, since he's got a Small weapon, which takes 0 seconds to ready. G1 drops his bow and draws his short sword on 7 (it's a 0 second action). G2, next to G1, also draws his short sword; G3 and G4, on the other side of the cavern, decide to keep firing. L & B reach their goblins on 9 (L is NOT readying his shield, since it will take too much time), and there's a brief reach comparison, which G1 loses (he's a goblin, they're humans). L and B start smacking goblins on 9; With a speed of 8, B will get his next attack on 17, and L will get his on 19 with his speed of 10. G1 and G2 will get their next attack on 18... since they had a shorter reach, they have to wait until second 10 to attack (p. 223).

On second 11, M gets to act. He stays put, standing over S until he's better, readying his weapon and shield. Readying a shield takes 1d4p+1 seconds; he'll have his shield readied on 15, but his sword will be readied on 12 (1 second ready time; p. 218). This means G3 (count 13) and G4 (count 14) will get shots on an unshielded M, who only gets to roll a d12 for defense (since he's standing over S). This is why you wear armor, kiddies.

At this point, everyone (except S) is up and engaged and the regular combat continues. Due to a rough roll on B's part, the goblins had 3 seconds of surprise... had B rolled a 3 (5 total), G1 would've been the only one with complete surprise. Had B rolled a 1 (3 total), he might have thrown a dagger on 3 (0 ready time, plus a snapshot), injuring one of the goblins, and catching THEM by surprise.

Oriental Adventures Styles in your AD&D campaign

So, I like the martial arts styles created in Oriental Adventures (and, subsequently, in the Complete Ninja's Handbook). While the Complete Fighter/Combat and Tactics styles are fine, they're also very generic, and don't add neat special abilities to warriors, like wizards and clerics get at higher levels. So, I started thinking about using the old OA styles in a non-Asian-flavored campaign setting. This uses the mechanics of OA Martial Arts, but presumes that practically everyone serious about combat will have a martial arts style. If your fighter favors a longsword, he might have a Weapon style that focuses on its use... or he may use a style that focuses on Blocks, and takes full advantage of his shield. Or a style that focuses on movement, unlocking feints, leaps, and superhuman speed.

Conversions from AD&D to Hackmaster [Hackmaster]

This is something I developed on the Kenzerco Message Boards, as "How do I convert material from AD&D to Hackmaster" is a not-uncommon question. These are not perfect guidelines by any means; they're a means to get you "in the neighborhood", balancing the different mechanics.

General Conversion Rule For Monsters:

Base HP: 10 + size modifier (0 for tiny, 5 for small, 10 for medium, 15 for large, etc), plus normal HD, plus any bonus HP the regular creature has.
Base Attack: HD of original creature
Base Defense/DR: Look at the AC of the original creature; decide how much is agility and how much is toughness. For agility, double that and make it a defense modifier. For toughness, apply the equivalent armor as DR (if they have a 2 AC just from toughness, don't give them an 8 DR, but the DR of plate)
Base Damage: Double what it was in AD&D.

As others will say, there's more art to it than science... while those guidelines above WORK, they need to be looked at and tweaked.

Sample Conversion using these guidelines:

The Ogre.  (They're a simple creature, and available in the free Hackmaster Basic PDF)

An Ogre in 2nd edition AD&D had 4+1 HD, an AC of 5, and did 1d10 damage (or "By weapon +6"). They are size L.

So, we know its HP are going to be 10+15+4d8+1, or 26+4d8. It's AC is 5, but that's going to be all toughness... the equivalent of Chain Mail. Looking at Chain Mail, they have a DR of 5, but -5 defense, +2 initiative, and +2 speed.

Their base attack is going to be +4 (for their HD). We can either call them 2d10p or give them a big weapon and add +12. I prefer the second method for ogres, so we know their strength will be prodigious... assuming the PH chart continues, they have about a 25 strength, meaning a +23 FOS.

A few other things... It's 8 intelligence, so we'll stick its wisdom there, too, giving it a -1 to attack, +3 to intiative, -1 to Defense and Mental Saves. No particular reason to Buff Dexterity, so we leave it at 10.5, for another +2 to initiative. The starting HP assume a Con of 11 (10, +1 because of it's 4+1 HD). That's low, but we'll leave it for now.

So, arming my ogre with a Bardiche (because, in Phantasie III, my brother's epic Ogre Fighter Fogey used a Bardiche), we get something like this...

Hit Points: 26+4d8
Size/Weight: L/650 pounds
Fatigue Factor: +0

Saves
Physical: +4 (base HD)
Mental: +3 (base HD, modified for wisdom)
Dodge: +4 (Base HD)

Attack: +4
Defense: -2
Damage Reduction: 5
Damage: By weapon +12
Speed: 16
Init: +7
Reach: 6'
Trauma Save: 5

This looks a little puny, so I'm going to buff it up... instead of counting it as 4th level, I'm going to count it as a 4 HD fighter, or 8th level, which will give it better saves and a bit of a reduction in speed and initiative. I'm also going to kick up its assumed Constitution, to 15, which gives it 4 more HP, a better TOP, and a bonus to Physical saves.

Hit Points: 30+4d8
Size/Weight: L/650 pounds
Fatigue Factor: -2

Saves
Physical: +10 (base level, plus con bonus)
Mental: +7 (base level, modified for wisdom)
Dodge: +8 (Base level)

Attack: +4
Defense: -2
Damage Reduction: 5
Damage: By weapon +12
Speed: 15
Init: +6
Reach: 6'
Trauma Save: 7

A fair bit stouter, my naked ogre with a big axe.

How does he stack up against a HoB ogre? Here's the same numbers, with the HoB number and commentary in parentheses

Hit Points: 30+4d8 (34+4d8; the HOB seems to assume a 19 constitution, not the 15 I went with)
Size/Weight: L/650 pounds (L/550#; mine may have a lower Con since he seems to be a bit of a porker)
Fatigue Factor: -2 (-2/-1)

Saves
Physical: +10 (+8)
Mental: +7 (+2)
Dodge: +8 (+4.... seems my calculations were a bit off, here)

Attack: +4 (+5)
Defense: -2 (-1)
Damage Reduction: 5 (4)
Damage: By weapon +12 (By Weapon +6; I aimed a bit high, it seems)
Speed: 15 (8)
Init: +6 (+4)
Reach: 6' (long; I think I'm on target, there)
Trauma Save: 7 (9)

So, the HoB Ogre assumes about 4 more points of Con than I did, but about 6 less points of strength. My calculations for saving throws a pretty off, which means I need to revisit them... probably make more sense to base those on HD, not level, since my first numbers were closer. Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my quick-and-dirty conversion of the ogre, following the above principles. It's not perfect, and there are a couple of clear places where I made mistakes (WAY overinflated their strength and saves; my weapon choice leaves this ogre very slow), but close enough that I'd use it without problem.