Quantum Dungeons Preview 1.5

Questions linger about how easily Ragnar’s Crew conquered eight orcs in less than two rounds with six characters in an encounter known to be deadly.

Omar Golan-Joel saw the last post and decided to “nerf” first-level characters by giving them only one Talent. If he implements that rule change, Ragnar’s Crew might look like this:

Mithrius’s Spells: Respite, Sleep

Aelfred loses the Awareness talent that gives him an advantage to avoid being Surprised in combat, which gives the attacker a free round of attacks. More importantly, Berthold loses the Ambidextrous talent which prevents his second attack from incurring Disadvantage. Duri loses Blind Fighter, which didn’t come up last time. Giles loses Ghost, which lets him be extra stealthy but also didn’t come up. Mithrius is no longer a Healer, and Ragnar no longer has Endurance.

We’ll pick up the battle right at Initiative.

Initiative

The party is beset by eight Orc Guards:

The PCs make their Initiative rolls: Aelfred 12, Berthold 13, Duri 10, Giles 4, Mithrius 11, Ragnar 10. All the orc guards roll one initiative, 8.

So the initiative order is:

1. Berthold
2. Aelfred
3. Mithrius
4. Ragnar (Combat 3)
5. Duri (Combat 1)
6. the orcs
7. Giles

“Hold the line!” Ragnar shouts, before battle begins.

Round 1

• Berthold holds his action until the orcs get within melee range.
• Aelfred looses an arrow at the first orc he sees. He hits with a 10, but rolls 2 damage. He uses a Hero Point to activate his Marksman talent, turning the 2 into a 6. One orc falls.
• Mithrius attempts to cast Sleep on six of the seven orcs. He succeeds with a total of 10. One orc succumbs after rolling a 2 on their Physical check; the rest save. One orc falls (asleep).
• Ragnar throws his axe at the next nearest orc, rolling a total of 11. The orc takes 6 points of damage, and falls.
• Duri holds his action until the orcs come closer.
• The five remaining orcs hurl their spears at the characters they can see: Berthold, Ragnar, Duri, Giles, and Aelfred.
  • One spear strikes Ragnar, doing 4 points of damage.
  • One spear each miss Duri and Berthold,
  • One spear hits Aelfred, doing 3 damage. Aelfred is down and Wounded.
  • One spear hits Giles, doing 1 point of damage.
• Berthold and Duri step out of line, close the distance, and attack.
  • Berthold rolls a total of 9 for his main attack and, incredibly, a total of 12 for his off-hand attack. The main attack hits one orc for only one point of damage. The second attack also rolls 1, but Berthold uses a Hero Point to reroll, rolling a 3. Another orc falls.
  • Duri rolls an 11, doing 1 point of damage.
• Giles throws a knife at the wounded orc, missing with a 7.

Round 2

• Berthold swings his two hammers at the wounded orc, rolling 7 with his main attack and 8 with his off-hand attack. The off-hand attack does 6 damage, killing Orc #5.
• Aelfred is down.
• Mithrius casts Respite with an 8, which exceeds the target number of 6. Aelfred regains his 3 Stamina, but is still wounded.
• Ragnar moves forward and swings his hammer at Orc #6, rolling a total of 9. He does 4 points of damage. Orc #6 is down.
• Duri swings at an orc with a total of 6, missing.
• The last two orcs attack Ragnar and Berthold.
  • Ragnar’s plate armor protects him from being hurt.
  • Berthold takes a hit for 6 points of damage. He’s still up, but just barely.
• Giles throws another knife, just barely hitting an orc with an 8 for only two points of damage.

Round 3

By this time the other twelve orcs can join their compatriots.

Being the ones front-most, Berthold, Giles, and Ragnar curse at the same time.

• Berthold backs up to the position he should have stayed at, to cover Aelfred and Mithrius.
• Aelfred looses an arrow at Orc #7, hitting with an 11 and doing 4 damage. Orc #7 falls.
• Mithrius casts Respite on Berthold with a natural 12, or a total of 15. Berthold returns to maximum Stamina.
• Ragnar swings at Orc #8, with a total of 14, and does 5 points of damage. The orc falls.
• Duri moves back to cover Aelfred and Mithrius.
• The new dozen orcs cast their spears, two each, at all members of the party. The tally is as follows:
  • Aelfred: 1 hit, for a total of 3 damage. Aelfred falls.
  • Berthold: 2 hits, for a total of 6 damage. Berthold remains up, barely.
  • Duri: 2 hits, for a total of 9 damage. Duri falls.
  • Giles: 1 hit, for a total of 6 damage. Giles remains up, barely.
  • Mithrius 1 hit, for a total of 5 damage. Mithrius remains up, barely.
  • Ragnar: no hits.
• Giles throws his third knife at Orc #9, and hits for 1 point of damage. He grimaces and draws his machete.

Round 4

• Berthold moves Aelfred and Duri behind Mithrius, and takes his place on the line.
• Aelfred is still down, this time with two Wounds.
• Mithrius casts Respite on Berthold, rolling a 14. Berthold is back to full Stamina.
• Ragnar backs up and reforms the line before the orcs can enter close range.
• Duri is down.
• The dozen orcs attack, concentrating three attacks each at Duri, Giles, and Ragnar:
  • Berthold takes 2 hits, one of which he parries. The other does 5 points of damage. He is not doing well.
  • Giles takes 1 hit, which he parries.
  • Ragnar takes 1 hit, which he fails to parry, doing 3 points of damage.
• Giles swings at Orc #9, and misses. The orc taunts him.

Round 5

• Berthold swings his hammers, scoring a total of 12 with his main attack and an 8 with his off-hand attack. The main attack does 6 points of damage to Orc #9 but the off-hand attack does only 3 points of damage to Orc #10.
• Mithrius casts Respite on Berthold one more time, his 10 beating the target number of 8. Berthold once again is back to full health.
• Ragnar swings at Orc #10, and barely hits. He rolls only a 2, but that’s enough to put down Orc #10. Only ten more to go …
• Three orcs each attack Berthold, Giles, and Ragnar, while one throws his spear at Mithrius.
  • Berthold takes no hits, although his armor deflected two.
  • Giles takes two hits, neither of which he can parry. He takes 11 damage. He is down and Wounded.
  • Ragnar takes only one hit, which he manages to parry.
  • The spear misses Mithrius. The orc curses and picks up another spear from a fallen orc.
• Giles is down, and so misses his turn.

Round 6

• Berthold swings once again, scoring only 5 with his main attack but 9 with his off hand. He does 6 points of damage, downing Orc #11.
• Mithrius casts Respite on Giles, beating the target number once again. Giles is up to full Stamina, although still Wounded.
• Ragnar swings at Orc #12, barely hitting with an 8. He does 5 points of damage, downing Orc #12.
• The remaining eight orcs split their attacks among the Crew that are still up: Berthold, Giles, Mithrius, and Ragnar.
  • Two orcs completely miss Berthold.
  • One orc hits Giles once with an 11, doing 4 points of damage. The orc then rolls a natural 2 and not only misses but breaks his spear. He loses a round while he fetches another from the fallen.
  • The orc hits Mithrius with a hit he can’t parry. Mithrius takes only two points of damage, but it’s enough to knock his Stamina down to 0.
    He is down and wounded.
  • The other orc that was aiming for Mithrius pivots to Ragnar, but the blow glances off Ragnar’s armor.
  • Two other orcs strike Ragnar; one misses, but one hits with an 11. Ragnar rolls a total of 12 on his parry, avoiding the blow.
• Giles strikes out at Orc #13. He barely hits, doing 2 points of damage. Orc #13 is still up.

Round 7

• Berthold swings once with each hand. His main strike hits with a 9, doing 4 damage to Orc #13. His off-hand, however, rolls a natural 2 (after Disadvantage), and he drops his other hammer. He can’t bend down to pick it up without giving the orcs Advantage, so he resolves to hit with his fist, doing only 1 point of damage.
• Ragnar swings at Orc #14 and hits with a total of 11. Orc #14 takes 6 points of damage; he is down.
• Orcs #15-20 keep to their strategy: two each on Berthold, Giles, and Ragnar.
  • Two orcs swing at Berthold; one misses, and Berthold barely parries the other one.
  • Two orcs swing at Giles; one misses, but one connects and Giles can’t parry it. Giles takes 4 more points of damage.
  • Two orcs swing at Ragnar, but his armor deflects both blows.
• Giles swings at Orc #15 and hits with an 11. He does 6 points of damage, downing the orc.

Round 8

• Berthold swings with his hammer, scoring an 8 and doing three points of damage to Orc #16. He swings his fist at another orc, and misses with a 5.
• Ragnar swings at Orc #17 and scores a natural 12, plus his bonus for Combat. He rolls a 6, felling Orc #17.

… and at this point, a mountain of an orc comes upon this scene. This is the Orc Leader, who rushes into the fray.

• The Orc Leader swings at Ragnar and scores a 9, his heavy blow barely glancing off Ragnar’s armor.
• The three remaining orcs split their attacks among Berthold, Giles, and Ragnar.
  • The orc on Giles misses.
  • The orc on Berthold misses, but just barely.
  • The orc on Ragnar hits with a natural 12, and Ragnar’s parry only scores an 8. The orc does 2 points of damage to Ragnar.
• Giles hits Orc #18, doing 5 points of damage. Orc #18 is down. The Orc Leader bellows in rage.

Round 9

• Berthold swings his hammer at Orc #19, and misses. He swings with his fist, and improbably connects with a 11. He does a whole 1 point of damage.
• Ragnar swings at Orc #19, and hits with a 9. He does 2 points of damage, and Orc #19 is down.
• Orc #20 attacks Berthold and would have hit with a 9, but Berthold parries with a 10.
• The Orc Leader swings at Ragnar again and misses. He is apoplectic.
• Giles takes advantage of the distraction to attack Orc #20, but rolls a Natural 2. His machete slips from his fingers. Quickly he grabs a spear lying at his feet, making a Physical check to do so in a way that does not give the orcs advantage. He succeed, barely, with a 7.

Round 10

• Berthold swings at Orc #20 and connects with a total of 12. He does 4 points of damage; Orc #20 falls. He takes a swing at the Orc Leader with his fist, but misses.
• Ragnar swings at the Orc Leader and rolls a 7. He uses a Hero Point to reroll that, for a total of 10. The Orc Leader parries with a total of 11.
• The Orc Leader roars and swings at Berthold. He misses.
• Giles uses his new weapon to stab at the Orc Leader. He hits with a 9, but the Orc Leader uses his other two Parry Dice to also roll a 9. No damage.

Round 11

Wounded and Down: Aelfred (x2), Duri, Mithrius.

At this point the combat turns into a slog. Ragnar’s Crew have four attacks, three of them actually damaging, but the Orc Leader can parry twice. Meanwhile the Orc Leader can only attack once, but Berthold and especially Ragnar can parry. Giles cannot parry effectively, because he only has one Parry Die that can’t even exceed his AC.

• Berthold swings at the Orc Leader and misses with a total of 6. He uses his fist and improbably connects with a 13, but the Orc Leader doesn’t even bother to parry it. He laughs derisively.
• Ragnar swings at the Orc Leader and connects with an 11. The Orc Leader parries with only a 7, and thus takes 2 points of damage. Ragnar uses his other Hero Point and re-rolls, scoring a 6.
• The Orc Leader bellows and swings at Giles. He connects with an 11, and since Giles can’t hope to parry that, he takes 5 points of damage.
• Giles is down.

Round 12

Wounded and Down: Aelfred (x2), Duri, Giles (x2), Mithrius.

• Berthold strikes the Orc Leader with his hammer (11). The Orc Leader attempts to parry (8), but fails, taking 1 point of damage. Berthold uses his other Hero Point, scoring … another one. Enraged, Berthold lashes out with his fist, missing by a hair (8).
• Ragnar swings at the Orc Leader, rolls badly, and taps the party pool again to reroll (9). The Orc Leader parries (9), and Ragnar’s attack is blocked by the creatures curséd shield.
• The Orc Leader next takes a swing at Berthold (7), but misses.

Round 13

Wounded and Down: Aelfred (x2), Duri, Giles (x2), Mithrius.

• Berthold strikes the orc leader with his hammer (9). The Orc Leader parries (9). Berthold lashes out with his fist, but accomplishes nothing (3).
• Ragnar rolls badly again (7), taps the party Her Point pool, and re-rolls (natural 12, total of 15). The Orc Leader can’t match that, and so takes 5 points of damage.
• The Orc Leader swings his mace at Ragnar and connects (10). Ragnar uses his three Parry Dice successfully (11).

Round 14

Wounded and Down: Aelfred (x2), Duri, Giles (x2), Mithrius.

• Berthold strikes the orc leader with his hammer (12). The Orc Leader parries (13). Berthold lashes out with his fist and miraculously connects (11). The Orc Leader fails to parry (6), loses his last Stamina point, and falls.

Triage

First, Berthold and Ragnar tend to their wounded.

Aelfred: Since he has two wounds, he rolls at disadvantage. He ends up with a 6, which means he suffered a critical injury. Rolling again, it seems he lost his leg.

Duri: Duri also rolls a 6. He loses only an ear.

Giles: Giles rolls at disadvantage and ends up with a 5. He loses 3 fingers.

Mithrius: Mithrius rolls a 7. He will need three weeks in a healer’s care, and end up with an impressive scar.

Next, Berthold and Ragnar loot the bodies of the fallen, netting 29 electrum pieces¹, 82 silver pieces², and 31 gold. The orcs’ leather armor stinks, the Orc Leader is too large to roll for his chainmail armor, and he has a death-grip on his shield. They consider slitting the orcs throats – maybe their heads can adorn a wall – but they hear movement from further in. Hastily they rig up some sort of contraption out of rope and 3-meter poles to carry their four wounded and escape the way they came.

It’s a long, slow trek back to the Keep on the Borderlands …

Experience

The group conquered twenty ordinary orcs at 25 XP apiece, plus the monstrous Orc Leader who is worth at least another 250. Add 53.7 gold of loot and we end up with 804 XP (rounding up). Divided six ways, that’s 134 XP apiece. Just fourteen more battles like that, and Berthold and Aelfred can reach Level 2. (Well, maybe not Aelfred …)

Analysis

Did losing a Talent “nerf” the characters?

Certainly Berthold did less damage, which meant twelve more orcs could join the battle before the group could make a clean getaway. But I think the other characters rolled less well than last time. Even with the advantage of the orcs going later in the round, Berthold’s lack of damage-dealing ability wasn’t necessarily the deciding factor.

More important, I think, is the use of Hero Points. Berthold used two (one ineffectively), Ragnar two, Aelfred one. If the adventurers had spent their Hero Points more freely they might have done better, e.g. Giles’s multiple whiffs and several other low rolls.

The adventurers also did not use the FRENZY rule, which states:

If a character “Drops” an enemy in melee combat (i.e., the enemy is “out of combat”), they may move up to Close range and attack another foe. They may do so a number of times equal to their Combat skill per combat round.

Had I remembered it, the combat would also have been over a little sooner, and the adventurers in better shape to deal with the Orc Leader.

If the goal is to make 1st through 3rd level characters as weak as they were in Classic D&D, curbing Hero Points at lover levels, removing the FRENZY rule, or restricting Level N characters to a maximum of N in all their skills (notably Combat) may be a better strategy. I’m not convinced, however, that that’s a worthy goal.

As yet I have yet to run a Shadowdark or OSE adventure, so maybe those more modern adventures will yield different patterns of play. They may even argue for keeping low-level characters where they are.