On occasion the question of the length of a melee round
comes up in relation to the number of attacks delivered. Of
necessity, a game of role playing adventure which has elements
of magic included in combat is going to be abstract, shall we
say. For the sake of the pace of the game, the longevity of player
characters, and the inclusion of magic, weapon combat must
be kept to a fast tempo while at the same time allowing combatants
leeway to break off, change tactics, or whatever else is
called for. Thus, a one-minute round with a single effective
weapon blow is the norm. Likewise, damage is kept minimal, so
that a carefully advanced character will not generally be slain
by a single stroke of some kobold’s axe. Weapon blows, just as
hit points, are scaled to a real individual.

For example, a single swing of a broadsword will slay a
normal person. Armor helps only in determination of a hit, not
in damage, although armor could actually reduce damage as it
took damage itself, eventually being totally ruined. That latter
method adds unneeded complication to the combat system, so
forget it! Hit points and their accumulation make up for much.
As I have often stated, no human can actually withstand damage
which would fell a rhino. Damage above 12 points or so is
not actually withstood — the points inflicted are mere scratches,
bruises, misses which remove a few hairs, etc. Similarly, armor
class assumes the defender is active and doing his or her best to
stay out of the way. So to handle melee intelligently, the DM
must know the reasoning behind it all and keep it in mind when
adjudicating situations.

One evidently thick-headed writer once wondered about the
difficulty of killing an unarmored character with some powerful
weapon. After all, this marvel of intellect stated, a medium-level
character would have to be struck many times in order to
reduce his hit points to zero. Any DM could give such a person
the lie easily, once the concepts of melee are understood. Can
magically sleeping creatures be slain at a stroke? You know it,
even if they have several hit dice. Likewise, the helpless character
is subject to easy execution — provided the character is
truly helpless, of course! Can he or she break free and escape?
Grab a nearby weapon and attack? Whatever, we have all read
about or seen heroic characters who manage to escape from
certain doom. If your players are really into role playing, they
should bombard you with a host of ways and means by which
they can escape impending death. As a good DM, you should
consider each such suggestion on the merits of the situation
and adjudicate accordingly. Intelligent melee combat, certain
death, and miraculous escape are part of the adventure in the
AD&D™ game system. While some prate about “realism” in
fantasy, it is a DM’s duty to provide fun!



November 1982