AD&D 1st Edition: Combat Basics

The singularly most confusing chapter in the AD&D 1E Dungeon Masters Guide (DMG) is also the most important for any DM to know. Of course, I'm speaking of the COMBAT chapter. Tucked away in the middle of this large tome of esoteric knowledge for the DM, it seems that its organization and cross-references leave the fledgling DM bewildered and dazed as to how to properly run a combat, be it by sword, spell, or missile.

It has taken me several years to appreciate the rules as presented in the DMG. At first, they are a confusing hodge-podge of seemingly trivial information, but eventually, after using the rules for many combats, one comes to appreciate certain fundamental time-savers and conventions that really allow one to streamline the game (so long as everyone is on board and paying attention to all that's going on in the combat).

The beginning of this chapter is basically an explanation of terms intrinsic to understanding what combat is and is not in AD&D. Gygax succintly points out that this is NOT a realistic combat simulator by any means - it is a system for use in a game to manage a large number of combatants easily and quickly. In my opinion, the ease and speed is sometimes compromised by fiddly rules that only crop up in certain circumstances, but it is definitely faster that later versions of the game or other systems with a plethora of hit-location charts or multiple rolls each round. Of course, this assumes that the players are on board and paying attention, have all their bonuses and penalties already calculated, and don't waste time or cause problems by being argumentative.

At it's heart, the combat system basically takes a round of time (1 minute) and breaks it down into actions and reactions. The side with the initiative acts; the side that lost initiative reacts. So, at the barest bones, the system can run with just a few dice rolls. This is further complicated by other actions that either "break the rules" (a.k.a. spells), or tweak the rules (advanced character abilities, magic items, combat options, etc.), depending on how in depth the combat gets. At it's very core, however, the combatants only need to know a few things: who has the initiative, the combatants' Armor Classes, and how many hit points they have, currently and in total.

Many people have a problem with hit points. Mostly, these same people are narrative/story enthusiasts and look for tragically long death scenes, wearing down opponents through exhaustion, or gaining other advantages through realistic simulation of events. Again, Gygax reminds us that that is not the case in a game where the goal is to keep the action moving and have fun without taking an inordinate amount of time or brainpower by constantly referring to charts, tables, and esoteric rules. Hit points represent more than simply health and stamina. They also represent luck, divine favor, skill, and other factors. A killing blow to a common man with only 2-7 hit points, would be more like a scratch or bruise to a 9th level fighter with 16 Constitution and 9d10+18 hit points. The increase in hit points means that the 9th level fighter can more easily survive a number of blows that would otherwise kill a man, but wearing down of hit points means that luck is running out, favor is failing, and exhaustion is setting in. Some balk at death at 0 hit points - this rule, although written into the Players Handbook, is actually changed in the DMG to be death at -10 hit points, but dying at 0 hit points and lower. Apparently, even Gygax thought that a character with only 1-4 hit points at 1st level had a much less chance of surviving past 1st level. Death at -10 hp actually allows a buffer between life and permanent death. If the party can extract themselves from a combat with a downed character, they can retreat to safety and, even though that character is "penalized" by wasting time recovering, they are not dead and may continue adventuring afterward. More importantly, they don't forfeit any experience gains up to that point (obviously, if using by-the-book rules for experience, that character will no longer gain XP during the rest of the adventure since they can no longer function at normal capacity).

Gygax also explains that Dexterity has little impact on striking blows in a combat, except as a modifier to Armor Class, due to the length of the combat round. He also states that weapon length and speed factors usually don't impact combat either (except in special circumstances like charging and tied initiative). In fact, it's important to note that most of the fiddly rules regarding initiative and some combat options are all exceptions to the rule, not the standard. I cannot stress that enough. The space that they are allotted in the rulebook overly inflates their importance, but they are the exceptions, not the norm.

During my years as DM I found that players need a more tactical setup to reference during game play, specifically one set to scale (or close to it) in order for them to make informed decisions of what their characters can and cannot do. Without some physical, visual representation, it is hard for many players to visualize the size and shape of the combat area, where all the combatants are located, or even how many there are! Running some of the modules written for AD&D, especially the G-series, is a completely different experience when using physical representations of the combat area and miniatures than if running it completely using one's imagination. Some encounter areas are more congested than others, strewn about with rubble, furniture, or other obstacles only mentioned in the room description. Imagine a fighter trying to charge into a room dominated by tables and chairs of giant size, or several fire giants attempting to attack a halfling able to dodge around rubble or stalagmites in a cave setting. Casting a fireball is tricky enough without having to guess its placement because the player can't visualize an oddly shaped room or estimate the volume of a rough cave. Miniatures and a playing map, or even a computerized map program, are almost essential in these cases. Although part of the fun of AD&D was mapping the dungeon and exploring the area, combat encounter maps go a long way towards helping the players engage intelligently with the environment.

In general terms, the basics of combat boil down to the following steps and actions:

1. Determine if either or both parties are SURPRISED.
2. Determine distance, if unknown, between the parties.
3. If both parties are unsurprised, or equally surprised, determine INITIATIVE for that round.
4. Determine the results of whatever actions are decided upon by the party with initiative.
    A. Avoid engagement (flee, slam door, use magic to escape, etc.) if possible.
    B. Attempt to parley.
    C. Await action by other party.
    D. Discharge missiles or magical device attacks or cast spells or turn undead.
    E. Close to striking range, or charge.
    F. Set weapons against possible opponent charge.
    G. Strike blows with weapons, to kill or subdue.
    H. Grapple or hold.
5. Determine the results of whatever actions are decided upon by the party which lost the initiative (as per A. through H. above).
6. Continue each melee round by determination of distance, initiative, and actions until melee ends due to fleeing, inability to continue, or death of one or both parties.

In other versions of the game (namely Basic and Expert D&D), the above steps are divided into sub-steps that are intended to work like a flow chart. This system, however, is not a step by step procedure, and some of the above steps are skipped depending on circumstances. For example, if surprise is not a factor, and the distance is known, then the first two steps are unnecessary. Initiative should always be rolled for a round in which two sides are engaged in some sort of activity against one another (or where timing is important). It's the actions listed under step 4. that seem to confuse everyone. They are lettered, not numbered, thus they can occur in any order and do not have to follow a strict pattern as they do in Basic/Expert rules. They simply describe TYPES of actions. For example, action D. represents some sort of ranged attack, action E. represents movement, and action G. represents melee combat with hand-held weapons. One should not go down the list, A. through H., and perform each action in order - that's not the intention of this list. It is merely listing options that can be performed on one's initiative portion of the round. It's also important to realize that surprise can be an individual thing or a group thing. I say this because surprise can (and does) happen DURING a combat as well and should be considered whenever invisible combatants attempt to attack someone otherwise engaged in another activity and not aware of the invisible attacker.

So this then is the heart of the combat system, the basis upon which all the other rules rest. Discounting surprise and distance calculations, each round there is an initiative roll, followed by the winners performing their actions, then the losers, with all results being immediately applied for one side before moving on to the other (unless initiative is tied, of course). Combat only begins when both sides are willing to fight; it ends when there are no more combatants due to death, failed morale, or surrender/truce. Do not discount the importance of morale in a combat; it can save unnecessary loss of resources and permit a party to advance further during an expedition than they normally would. Also avoiding encounters is a smart way to bypass time- or resource-wasting situations, or simply allows the party to reach its goal faster and easier. That's not to say that AD&D should have no combat whatsoever, and killing monsters is still a good way to gain experience points (although not as good as gaining treasure). However, I should point out that low-level parties have a much harder time with large groups of monsters and should probably avoid unnecessary or deadly encounters whenever possible. AD&D is much more a thinking combatant's game, not a brainless romp through the dungeon kicking in doors, slaying every monster therein, and stealing away all the treasure. Good players take their time, weigh their options, and then decide to engage or avoid encounters based on their resources available.