Monster Poisons in AD&D

I've been looking over some of the creatures in module T1 recently and noticed something unusual. Within the module are two creatures with poison - dangerous to most characters, but usually fatal to 1st level characters. There seems to be no rules written on MONSTER poison. All the rules in the game have to do with poisons used by player characters. However, poisons do many things in the real world, and death occurs by a number of ways.

SPIDERS inject poison by biting with their fangs. All spider poison (that I have read about) is neurotoxin. That being said, spider bites should paralyze, with death only occurring by paralysis of the respiratory and heart functions. Once immobilized, a spider will typically wrap their dinner in silk using digestive enzymes to break down the interior of the creature over time. Once tenderized, the spider returns to suck out all the juices, leaving a dry husk wrapped in spider silk.

SCORPIONS also use neurotoxins of various toxicity. These are usually fast-acting and extremely painful. The sting of a scorpion is therefore more in line with the usual "save or die" philosophy of AD&D.

SNAKES are of various types. Vipers have hinged fangs and inject their poison like a hypodermic needle. They have tissue-destroying venom that eventually kills due to bacterial infection. There are also short-fanged snakes whose venom is paralytic, killing by respiratory failure. Others have rear fangs in the back of their mouths. These snakes have venom that causes a slow death due to bleeding out. Only the short-fanged snakes are fast acting, the others take hours to days to kill. Of course, this does not take into consideration increased size with relation to humans.

The problem I have is the way the spells slow poison and neutralize poison work in regards to these various poisons. Death is death, regardless of how it happens, but in a game system with spells that can alleviate certain conditions leading to death, the path to death matters.

Per the AD&D rules, the huge spider in the tower of the moathouse grants a saving throw of +1 vs. poison. Those that fail are considered dead. No hp of damage (other than the bite) were caused. Most players HATE this game mechanic since it bypasses all their defenses, requiring only a successful attack to one-shot them into oblivion. First-level characters have poor saves against poison (except clerics), generally in the range of 13-14. Only dwarves and halflings have sufficient resistance to poison at these levels to possibly survive. A round in AD&D is 1 minute long. If a spider bites and the save fails, your character dies. There is nothing that the other characters can do to stop or slow this from happening. Once dead, the character is gone. HOWEVER, slow poison is stated as being able to bring a character back if they died to poison, if only for a little while. It has to be cast within a certain number of turns, however, and will not save these characters since they are some distance from Hommlet (about a league or two away). Therefore, the bite will kill anyone who fails the save. What then? The lone spider then faces the angry party who are likely to kill it quick. Should the spider continue to attack or grab it's dinner and flee like most normal spiders would do? I vote for the latter. It would return to its ledge above in the tower with the fallen PC, wrap it in silk, and then digest it with enzymes for later dining. Once above, the spider has cover from ranged attacks so the players are not likely to kill it, and the thing moves very fast, so it can return to its ledge possibly before the character is even missed (if they went into the tower alone).

The giant snake in the moathouse proper does bite damage of 1-3 plus poison. The poison does an additional 2-8 points of damage (!) if the save fails, or 1-3 damage if the save succeeds. This is NOT save or die poison, but it is damage poison. So how would slow poison affect this? Is it doing that damage every ROUND, or is it done after the injection? If the person is bit again, do they suffer more damage from the poison? None of these questions are addressed.

As an aside, a viper bite has the following effects in the real world:

1. the initial injection causes immediate burning pain, limb swelling, and discoloration.
2. 1-3 hours later the person is sick to their stomach, pulse slows, fever sets in, and person may pass into a coma
3. 12-24 hours later these symptoms pass but swelling and discoloration spread along with pus and tissue death, allowing bacterial infection to set in.
4. death may occur after a few days, but no matter what, tissue has died and the affected limb will never be right again, or horribly scarred.

Now THIS type of poison is what slow poison spells were made for. The pain response and swelling could be seen as the damage caused above by the Giant Snake. However, some other component should be part of this, perhaps a System Shock to avoid slipping into a coma after 1-3 hours, and perhaps another saving throw after 12-24 hours to avoid infection (which is the real killer). So making the save avoids all this unpleasantness, but failing causes the sickness, System Shock and additional saving throw later on if not treated appropriately. Either way, I can see a permanent loss of Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution from this kind of poison. Seems to be the route they went with 3rd edition though.... Do you think a cure disease spell is required to combat the infection after the poison has run its course?

I'm just a little annoyed that poison is treated differently in different modules, and sometimes by the same writer. Save bonuses seemed to be an afterthought in the DMG, since most creatures in the Monster Manual didn't list any (spiders are among the few I can remember, but that seemed to be size related, when in fact, the smaller creature usually has the more potent venom). It would have been nice to have an actual section written in the rules somewhere about how to treat poisons other than "save or die."

AD&D: Risk vs. Reward

I ran a little experiment last night using the rules on granting Experience Points (XP) in the Dungeon Master's Guide and dungeon module T1: The Village of Hommlet. If you have NEVER played this module before, please stop reading now....









...and now that those 3 people have left, let's continue.

Assumptions: A party of 6 player characters enters the village looking for adventure, consisting of 3 fighters, a cleric, a magic-user, and a thief. They take on Elmo (4th level ranger) immediately and settle on Spugnoir (2nd level magic-user) for additional magic, each for a full share of XP and treasure since they aren't henchmen. All player characters are 1st level when they arrive at the moathouse, low on funds and equipped poorly (as suggested in the module).

The PCs approach the moathouse and engage the giant frogs who leap from the water, gaining surprise. They defeat the monsters but lose one of the fighters in combat (using death at 0 hp). Using the threat comparison in the DMG, there are a total of 4 frogs with 1 HD and 2 frogs with 2 HD. Each has two special abilities (leaping and tongue attack) which bumps them up an additional 2 HD each. For purposes of HD/Levels comparison, they have a total of 16 total levels. The party has a total of 12 levels (6 1st level PCs, Elmo level 4, Spugnoir Level 2). The ratio is 16/12 so the party receives full XP for both monsters and treasure (which they did not find).

The next encounter is with the huge spider in the tower. This is a deadly encounter since the spider can surprise 5 in 6 (or 4 in 6 with the ranger present). The spider also has poison. This means it's HD are boosted by 3 (2+2 HD, + 2 special abilities) to 5 HD. The ratio is 5/11 which is close enough to 1/2 for my purposes. So the party will receive only half the normal XP for the spider and its treasure (in plain sight) which totals to 50 gp, 38 sp, and 71 cp. Assume that they lost another character to poison before the spider could be killed.

The next encounter is with the brigands hiding in the master's chamber. These brigands will undoubtedly gain surprise on the party and have missile weapons at the ready. Whoever opens that door and enters is pretty much dead. There are 8 normal men and one 2nd level fighter. The normal men will count as 1 HD + 1 HD for missile fire capability, the fighter counts as a 2 HD creature + 1 HD for higher than normal (d10) hit points. This totals to 19 total HD for the encounter. The ratio is 19/10 so full XP is granted for the monsters and treasure. During the fighting another 2 characters lose their lives (one of which is Spugnoir).

At this point the party has to retreat from the moathouse since they are likely out of spells and expendables and low on hit points.

This run is very typical of how parties play through this module. It is brutal and the encounters, although they seem balanced, are not really worth the risk. The deadly individual monsters net much fewer XP than the large mobs of smaller creatures due to HD calculations by-the-book (BtB). Even if one ignores the rules as written (RAW) and goes with full XP awards for each encounter, the total XP is not enough to get a large party to 2nd level before they descend into the dungeon. The monsters there are more challenging and far greater in number. A party with "legally" rolled hp cannot survive the final encounter unless they bolster their numbers with henchmen. Such a move further decreases the amount of XP available to the party. Hiring on Elmo may be counterproductive for a party since they are more likely to gain MORE XP without him, but less likely to survive to gain the experience. This leaves one or two survivors to reap the rewards.

If , however, the XP threat level is based off AVERAGE HD/Levels, then that is different. In the above example, the party average starts at 1.5 Levels. The HD average for the frogs is 2.66, for the spider is 5, and for the brigands is 2.11, all of which are greater than the party average. Therefore all the characters would receive full XP. I will have to re-read the section because I know somewhere the word "AVERAGE" was bandied about....


Still, it would take an average sized party of about 8 members (including henchmen) days of adventuring to get through T1, with lots of rest periods in between. There would also be several casualties since the damage potential of most of the monsters is abnormally high! The ogre in the dungeon level alone could spell doom for the party, and they pretty much have to go through him to get to the rest of the dungeon unless they find the unlikely-located pillar secret door in the tomb, and all this after fighting off a dozen nasty zombies with super-powers. It seems that Elmo is necessary to babysit the fledgling characters throughout the entire moathouse. His 41 hp pool is crucial to surviving against the nastier encounters in the dungeon, but I know that I would gripe about allowing such a potent fighter into the party - seems more deus ex machina than usual D&D, even for Gygax. After the first two times of Elmo swooping in to handle the big bad evil monster, the characters would get lazy and let him handle everything, practically putting a big "S" on his cloak.

Translating High Gygaxian: Unarmed Combat (part 2 - Grappling)

In the previous post we worked through a single round of combat where a ranger (Falim) was striking (Pummeling) a bugbear. The second component of Unarmed Combat is grappling. In this example we will be using a generic human fighter by the name of Baran who is a 3rd level fighter wearing chain mail armor, carrying a shield, and wielding a hand axe (all non-magical). This fighter has a 16 Strength, 10 Dexterity, 14 Constitution, and 15 hit points. His Armor Class is 4. His adversary is a hobgoblin lieutenant (AC 5, MV 9", HD 1+1, hp 9, AT 1, D 1-8 or by morning star, SZ M). During the battle, the hobgoblin was disarmed somehow, losing his weapon and shield. Unarmed, and now AC 6 (scale mail), the hobgoblin has opted to grapple his opponent, the fighter Baran.

Grapple: This attack form is aimed at holding the opponent and rendering him or her helpless. Damage sustained is 25% actual and 75% incidental which is restored at 1 hit point per round. As in pummeling attacks, a score of 0 equals unconsciousness, 1 round plus 1 round for each point of minus damage sustained.

 So far, this is looking just like pummeling, so let's continue...

Determination of First Attack Initiative: Surprise, charging to attack, higher dexterity, higher die roll -- in that order.

Again this is exactly the same as pummeling, so the DM doesn't have to worry about any different rules here. Since the combat was already in progress, we don't have to worry about surprise, and the two combatants were already in melee range so charging is not an option. The DM decides to see what the hobgoblin's Dexterity is by rolling 3d6 -- result = 8, so Baran has the higher Dexterity score and will go first. However, Baran is still ARMED with his hand axe, so according to the general notes at the end of the section (see last post) Baran gets a fending strike first and if successful can then attack normally BEFORE the grapple attempt.

So let's see if the hobgoblin even gets to grapple this round. Baran rolls to hit with his hand axe vs. AC type 6 (remember, the hobgob lost his shield and thus should be 1 AC worse). He has no adjustments for Weapon vs. Armor Class and rolls a 12 which is just enough to hit the hobgoblin. He scores NO damage, but has successfully fended off the grapple this round and can now attack again. Baran rolls a 6 and misses. So that round is done.

On the second round, Baran strikes first again since he is still armed. His fending strike scores a 9 which is not enough. The hobgoblin sees his chance and lunges! At his point the attacker (hobgoblin) has to determine his attack bonus, and Baran has to determine his defender bonus. The hobgoblin attacks on the 4th column on the monster chart, so his base grapple bonus is +4. To this he adds a d6 roll (5), so his attack bonus is +9 which he will add to his base chance to hit. Baran attacks on the 3rd column of the fighter chart, so his base grapple bonus is +3 to which he adds a d4 roll (1), so his defense bonus is +4, which he will use to avoid being grappled by reducing his opponent's base chance to hit. (See previous explanation in part 1 for attack and defense bonuses.) So on this round, the hobgoblin's base chance to hit is the only thing modified, and this will be (9-4 =) +5 to base chance of grappling.

Base Score to Grapple: Multiply attacker's armor class by 10, ignoring magical devices (bracers, cloaks, rings, etc.), but adding 1 for each +1 of magical armor, to find a percentage change from 100% to 0%. Note: The attacker cannot grapple if either or both hands are holding anything. The base chance to grapple is modified as follows:

Attacker's dexterity, per point....+1%
Defender's armor protection is --
   leather or padded.... +10%
   chain, ring, scale.... +20%
   banded, plate, splint.... +30%
Opponent slowed or stunned....+20%
Opponent base movement 3" faster.... -10% per 3"
Opponent hasted (includes speed potion).... -20%

Hmm, now things are getting complicated. The hobgoblin's AC = 6 currently, so his base chance is 60%. He is not carrying any magical items and both his hands are free since he discarded both his shield and morning star. The hobgoblin's Dex was already determined to be an 8, so he adds +8%, Baran is wearing chain mail so that's another +20%, and they both have the same movement rate, so no adjustment there. The base chance is modified by attack and defense bonuses to be +5% (see above). The total base chance for the hobgoblin to hit is (60 + 8 + 20 +5 = ) 93%!

In each round of grappling combat there will be an attack and a counter. Any existing hold automatically goes first until broken. Once it is determined that a grappling attack succeeds, the percentile dice must be rolled again to find what hold is gained. The dice roll is modified as follows:

Attacker's dexterity, per point.... +1%
Attacker's strength --
   per point.... +1%
   per 10% over 18.... +1%
Opponent slowed.... +10%
Opponent stunned.... +20%
Opponent helpless.... +30%
Per 10% weight difference (attacker).... +/-5%
Per 10% height difference* (attacker).... +/-5%
Opponent dexterity, per point over 14.... -2%
Opponent strength --
   per point over 12.... -1%
   per 10% over 18.... -1%
Opponent wearing banded or plate mail.... -10%
Opponent wearing gorget and helmet.... -10%
Opponent using shield.... -10%

* Halved if prone.

Bonuses and penalties are totalled and the result added to the result of the percentile dice roll. The GRAPPLING TABLE is then consulted for the result.

And this is where this system begins to bog down! OK, let's get our math caps on. Let's see first if our hobgoblin hit his base chance. A roll of 18 on percentile dice indicates that he succeeds! Now we have to determine modifiers so we can see what kind of hold was achieved. The hobgoblin's dexterity is 8, so +8%. His strength is not determined -- average strength of a hobgoblin per DMG p.15 is 15, so he gets an additional +15%. The fighter Baran is not slowed, stunned or helpless. The hobgoblin is an average specimen standing 6½' tall, whereas Baran was determined to be only 6' tall. Assuming that the hobgoblin weighs more by at least 10%, he will get +5% for weight, and since he is taller, but not by 7 inches or more, there is no adjustment for height. Baran's Dexterity of 10 doesn't help here, but his 16 strength will cause a -4%. He wears a basinet helm and has a shield so that is another -20% total. (By the way, a gorget is a piece of armor designed to protect the throat and neck.) So the total percentage modifier is (8 + 15 + 5 - 4 - 20 = ) +4%. Since none of the combatants opted to affect the damage roll with their variable bonuses, this stands at +4%. Percentile dice are rolled and modified, resulting in a total of (54 + 4 =) 58%.

GRAPPLING TABLE

Adj. Dice Score	Result	hp of Dmg Scored
Under 21	Waist clinch, opponent may counter	None
21-40	Arm lock// forearm/elbow smash	1 + Str bonus
41-55	Hand/finger lock// bite	2 + Str bonus
56-70	Bear hug/trip	3 + Str bonus
71-85	Headlock// flip or throw	5 + Str bonus
86-95	Strangle hold// head butt	6 + Str bonus
Over 95	Kick/knee/gouge	8 + Str bonus, opponent stunned

Any hold shown remains in effect from round to round unless the opponent scores a higher percentage hold, i.e. arm lock breaks a waist clinch, a hand/finger lock breaks an arm lock, and so forth. Damage accrues until a hold is broken or until the holder elects to try for a different hold. The opponent may still inflict damage by lesser hold results shown after the double slashes (//). These might result in both opponents falling to the ground and continuing their grapple there. Note: If the opponent is stunned, a second attack may immediately be made, and the stunned opponent cannot counter for 1 round.

According to the table above, the hobgoblin scored a "bear hug" and caused 3 points of damage (since he has no strength bonus to damage). He will be able to maintain that hold until next round since Baran tried to fend off first, and missed. At the beginning of the next round they are considered grappled, and the hobgoblin goes first, maintaining the bear hug and causing 3 more points of damage.

Baran now tries to counter, but must use grappling to free himself since his weapon is fairly useless while in a bear hug. He must score a 71% or higher in order to break the bear hug. Otherwise he causes the lesser result after the double slashes and the resulting damage. Baran's base chance to hit is 70%. This round his attack bonus is +8% and the hobgoblin has a +8% defense bonus. Since damage is such an important factor here both decide to modify the damage result, resulting in a 0% modifier. The roll to hit succeeds with a roll of 57%. The damage roll is modified as follows: Dex +10%, Str +16%, weight -5%, opponent Str -3%, opponent helmed -10% = +8% . Baran rolls a total of (28 + 8 =) 36%. His result is a forearm/elbow smash, he causes 2 points to the hobgoblin (1+1 from strength), but is still caught in the hold.

There is no information given stating what happens to the armed opponent once grappled. Can they use weapons? What about their shield? In this case, the bear hug pretty much means that the arms are pinned against the body, possibly from the hobgoblin slipping in behind the fighter and clinching around the chest and shoulders. Should Baran be able to chop at his legs? I would say maybe, but he is considered partially bound and should suffer -4 to hit, probably lose any Strength bonuses to hit AND damage since he can't properly swing his weapon, and perhaps even suffer a penalty to damage if the weapon is large and must be swung for effect (such as swords, axes, etc.). Long weapons like spears and pole arms would be useless when grappled, but a dagger could be used to great effect by stabbing at the foe with short strikes. Obviously, this is more incentive to always carry a dagger! Either way, if the hold is NOT broken (by either the attacker or the defender), the hold will be maintained and automatic damage done each round before a counter can be made. This could be dangerous to Baran since he only has 15 hit points and has already lost 6 before he is allowed to counter the hold. He would only have 3 more rounds to succeed at countering before passing out! A DM may decide that Baran has to drop his weapon and his shield in order to counter the hold or continue to take damage and strike ineffectively with his axe.

Should incidental damage by recovered DURING the grapple? This is not clear. If so, then Baran would be taking 1 actual damage for every 4 points scored, and recovering 1 point of incidental damage each round. This could really draw out fights between experienced/high HD combatants! My gut feeling tells me that this should NOT be the case, and that hit points should only be recovered once the fighting has ended, but I may be wrong! The latter way will allow a person to recover up to 10 hit points each turn of rest, with 25% of the damage remaining until it can be healed either naturally or by magical means. This seems more in line with the way the system works, so I would go with this interpretation. Otherwise, the tactic of "wearing down" one's foe by constantly attacking means nothing!

This ends the example of grappling. Look for the last article on Overbearing, coming soon!

Translating High Gygaxian: Unarmed Combat (Part 1 - Pummeling)

The 1st Edition Dungeon Master's Guide is chock full of information for running AD&D games. Not all of the rules contained therein are understandable or even work as written. It has been established elsewhere that Gygax himself ignored most of the rules of AD&D in his own games, but I believe that he was constantly tweaking rules and seeing which ones worked, play-testing new ideas, and developing the game as a living, evolving entity. My effort here is to translate some of the more esoteric rules published back in 1979 into something understandable - mainly by providing some examples to work things out.

For this example, we will be examining how unarmed combat functions. This is listed  as NON-LETHAL AND WEAPONLESS COMBAT PROCEDURES in the Dungeon Master's Guide. The player-side will be represented by a desert-ranger named Falim, an 8th level ranger who wears magical chain mail, a magic shield, wields a falchion of dancing, has a 17 Strength, 9 Dexterity, and 63 hit points. His opponent is a bugbear with AC 5, HD 3+1, and 18 hit points. During the combat, Falim noticed that the bugbear is carrying some sort of scroll tube which may contain information the party is seeking. While the others are busy slaying the other bugbears, Falim opts to pummel the bugbear into unconsciousness, take the scroll tube, then grill the captured bugbear for information when he wakes. Let's see how the section starts:

It is not uncommon for players to be weaponless at some stage of a game - or for better players to wish to attack an opponent bare-handed in order to most effectively neutralize that opponent's potential; whether to subdue or slay when neutralized is another matter. Three basic attack modes are recommended: PUMMEL, GRAPPLE, and OVERBEAR. Each method of attack is explained separately, and each has its own table and modifiers.

So far so good, it seems easy enough in theory. So let's get to the basics of this form of combat...

Variable Applicable to All Pummeling, Grappling, and Overbearing Attacks: The attacker takes the number of the column he or she normally uses for weapon attacks, 1 being that for the lowest levels, 2 being that for the next group of levels, and so on. To this number he or she adds the score of a secretly rolled d6, i.e. 1-6. The defender does the same, but the die score is that of a d4. The attacker may use this variable for:

1) a bonus to his or her base chance to pummel, grapple, or overbear, OR
2) a bonus to the score rolled for successful pummeling, grappling, or overbearing attack.

The defender may use the variable for:

1) a penalty (subtraction) to the attacker's base chance to pummel, grapple, or overbear, OR
2) a penalty (subtraction) to the attacker's pummeling, grappling, or overbearing attack which has succeeded.

The decision as to how to use the variable must be made prior to each attack.

 So, each combatant has a static bonus based on his or her attack column on the chart, and a random bonus based on a die roll, depending on whether they are being the attacker (1d6) or the defender (1d4). Now the column is determined from the combat matrix tables for the character's class, and the monster column depends on whether the monster is a humanoid with classes or attacks on the monster chart by hit dice. In the example above, Falim attacks as an 8th level ranger. This means he attacks using the 5th column on the chart, so his static variable is +5. The bugbear attacks as a 3+ hit die creature which is the 4th column on the monster charts, so he attacks with a static variable of +4. If Falim is the attacker, his bonus is 5+1d6, and the bugbear as the defender has a bonus of 4+1d4. Assuming Falim decides to use this bonus for his advantage he is going to add it to his result on the Pummel Table. The DM rolls randomly for the monster, coming up with the bugbear reducing Falim's chance of hitting.

Let's consider the next portion of the rules, which deals with the pummel attack itself.

Pummel: This attack form is aimed at battering an opponent into unconsciousness. It can be used with fists or dagger pommel (as in pummel) as weapons. 25% of damage sustained is actual; the remaining 75% is restored at a rate of 1 hit point per round. Whenever an opponent reaches 0 hit points, unconsciousness occurs. It lasts for 1 round, plus 1 round for every point of damage beyond 0 hit points which has been sustained, i.e. -4 hit points equals 5 rounds of unconsciousness. An unconscious opponent can be trussed or slain in 1 round.

Determination of First Attack Initiative: First attack initiative is determined by surprise, charging to attack, higher dexterity, or higher die roll - in that order. Whichever first occurs determines the first attack for the round, so in most cases the pummeling attacker will go first in the first round.

Let's assume that Falim has already been in combat for a while and has loosed his dancing falchion at another opponent. He is now weaponless and facing the bugbear in question. He still has his shield in his other hand for defense. The bugbear is armed with his morningstar and, since he is a large creature, is able to wield it one-handed with a shield. According to the initiative rules (explained above) the bugbear would strike first since there was no surprise, no charge made, and it is assumed that the bugbear has a higher Dex than Falim's 9 Dexterity. The DM could also have simply foregone this assumption and let the initiative roll decide. However, according to the General Notes section (listed at the end of the article), armed opponents always strike first, making first a fending blow and then a normal attack (if desired). Now we have to determine the hit chance for Falim, since the bugbear is not being cooperative and is attacking normally with a weapon. The bugbear fails to fend off the strike. Now it is Falim's turn. By virtue of his level, Falim is allowed to make 3/2 attacks - however nowhere in this section does it cover multiple attacks in unarmed combat so the DM may simply suspend that rule when not involved in melee weapon combat, or he or she may allow the usual multiple attacks per round. Interpretation of High Gygaxian is not an exact science....

Base Score to Hit: The base score on percentile dice is opponent AC value times 10 to arrive at a percentage to hit, i.e AC 10 = 100%, AC 9 = 90%, all the way to AC ratings of 0 and minus number which indicate no chance or a negative chance to score a hit. The base chance to hit is modified as follows: 

Attacker's dexterity, per point.....+1%
Attacker's strength, per point over 15.....+1%
Attacker's AC, per point with negative AC treated as positive by type*.....+1%
Opponent slowed.....+10%
Opponent stunned.....+20%
Opponent prone without shield or ready weapon and/or helpless.....AUTOMATIC HIT
Opponent base movement over 12"**.....-5%
Opponent hasted (includes speed potion).....-10%

* Magical protection such as rings, bracers, cloaks, etc. do not count as AC, so ignore them; encumbrance = AC 10.

** Do not count if unable to move freely - down, cornered, encumbered, etc.

Falim has a base chance to hit of 50% (because the bugbear has an AC of 5). Falim's Strength gives him +2% and his Dex +9%. His AC is -1 so he has +11%. No other modifiers apply. His base chance to hit is thus 50 + 2 + 9 + 11 = 72%. The bugbear rolled a 3 on the d4 (total of -7%) and thus Falim's attack chance is modified to 65%. He swings and hits with a 34% roll!

In each round of weaponless melee, there will be two pummeling attacks, and possibly several blows per attack. The attacker determines if a strike is successful, and then whether or not it does any damage and how much, if any. Percentile dice are rolled, and the score is modified as shown below. The PUMMELING TABLE is then consulted.

Attacker's Strength, per point over 12....+1%
Attacker's Strength, per 10% over 18.....+2%
Using wooden butt or mailed fist.....+5%
Using metal pommel.....+10%
Opponent slowed.....+10%
Opponent stunned.....+20%
Opponent helpless.....+30%
Active defender Dex per point over 14.....-2%
Active defender employing shield.....-10%
Leather or padded armor.....-10%
Chain, ring, scale, or studded leather.....-20%
Magical cloak or ring.....-30%
Banded, plate, or splint mail.....-40%
Helmet, open-faced.....-5%
Helmet, nasaled but otherwise open.....-10%
Helmet, visored or slitted.....-20%

This is where we run into some problems. It is assumed in the first sentence that there are TWO pummeling attacks per round, but I believe this to be one from each opponent. In this instance, it does not specify if fighters gain multiple attacks at higher levels, but the way it is stated seems to preclude that ability. However, the results of the table may allow each combatant extra attacks depending on their success, and since fighters would excel (having a higher bonus from more combat columns) they are already ahead of the curve. Also, as can be seen above, there is a lot of gray area regarding the armoring of a monster (or even of a character if certain details are not known prior to starting). For example, a bugbear is AC 5 - but we have no idea how that number was derived. My assumption is that the bugbear is carrying a shield and using his morningstar one-handed (which is easy for him since he is size Large, and has been depicted elsewhere in modules). This means he is wearing scale mail armor. Otherwise, he could be wielding the weapon with two hands and wearing chain mail. The decision is up to the DM. Since I stated he is using a shield we are going with the scale mail. So, Falim's Strength nets him +5%, his mailed fist another +5%. We are assuming that the bugbear's Dex is not above 12, but he is using a shield (-10%) and wearing scale mail (-20%) without a helm. Therefore, Falim rolls on the damage chart below with a -20% total modifier. However, his attack roll (secret d6) of 2 + 5 gains him +7%, bringing his damage bonus to -13%. Assuming that Falim rolls moderately well (say 62%) on percentile dice, his adjusted result is (62% - 13%=) 49%.

PUMMELING TABLE

Adj. Dice Score	Result	hp of Dmg Scored
Under 01	Blow misses, opponent may counter	None
01-20	Ineffective blow, strike again	None
21-40	Glancing blow, off balance*	2 + Str bonus
41-60	Glancing blow, strike again	4 + Str bonus
61-80	Solid punch, off balance*	6 + Str bonus
81-00	Solid punch, strike again	8 + Str bonus
Over 00	Crushing blow, opponent is stunned**	10 + Str bonus

*Series ends, determination of next strike must be made.

**Opponent unable to attack for 1 full round.

 

Adjusted Dice Score = 49%
Result = Glancing blow, strike again
Hit Points of Damage Scored = 4 + Str bonus = 5 points.

Since the DM decides to allow fighter Multiple Strikes, and Falim has 3/2 attacks at this level, Falim gets to make a second attack this round at the same percentage chance. This time, however, he misses by rolling a 94%. The bugbear suffers a total of 5 points of damage (of which only 25% is actual, the remaining 75% is recovered at 1 hp per round) and the round ends.

This is the end of the Pummeling example. There are some general notes at the end of the section  (DMG, p. 73) that apply to some of these instances.

General Notes:

Multiple Opponent Attacks: it is possible for as many opponents as will physically be able to attack a single adversary to engage in pummeling, grappling, or overbearing attack modes. Attack order must first be determined. Attack from behind negates the shield and dexterity components of the defending creature. Hits are determined, then results, in order of attack.

Monsters using these attack modes will choose the most effective if they are human or humanoid and have above average intelligence, otherwise they will use the modes in random fashion. Creatures will always attack to overbear if they do not use weapons, except bears are similar monsters who seek to crush opponents by hugging attacks (these are grappling).

Opponents With Weapons Used Normally: If the opponent of a grappling, pummeling, or overbearing attack has a weapon, the opponent will always strike first unless the attacker has surprise. Any weapon hit does NO damage, but it does indicate that the attacker trying to grapple, pummel, or overbear has been fended or driven off, and the attack is unsuccessful. The weapon-wielder then has the opportunity to strike at the weaponless one "for real", if he or she so chooses. Surprised opponents with weapons have no chance for a fending-off strike, unless the attacker must use all surprise segments to close to grapple, pummel, or overbear.

Monks: Even if grappled, pummeled, or overborne, monks are able  to conduct open hand combat normally until stunned or unconscious.

As explained at the beginning of the example above, the bugbear was able to strike Falim first because he was armed with a weapon. If the bugbear had no weapon, then we would use the standard initiative determination. If the bugbear had managed to hit Falim with the fending strike, Falim would have lost his attack(s) for the round but taken no damage. It appears that the bugbear gets a chance to attack Falim normally if he fends off the unarmed strike. If Falim had managed to surprise the bugbear (and was close enough to strike that round), the bugbear would not have been allowed this fending strike. So it is better to try a sucker-punch on a surprised opponent than tackle someone unarmed if they are wielding a weapon. Obviously, anyone with a bow in their hands cannot be considered armed unless they intend to use the weapon as a club (with severe non-proficiency penalties).