Spell interruption rules in AD&D (and evasion/pursuit rules)

[pemerton]

Rereading the example combat on p 71 of the DMG raised another question for me:

Aggro's side has surprised Balto's side for 2 segments. But Balto has a +1 DEX adjustment, so in the second segment Aggor can't attack Balto. What other actions could Aggro take in lieu of this, though?

Consider another similar example - suppose that (due to invis, silence etc) Party A surprises Party B for 3 segments. The MU in Party A casts fireball during the surprise segments. But Balto, with 16 DEX, is surprised for only 2 segments. Does Balto have any advantage against the fireball? Suppose Balto has a friend with 17 DEX, who is therefore only surprised for 1 segment. Does the friend have a chance to interrupt the fireball?

Thoughts?

 

[pemerton]

Missile weapons use the p 65 procedure, but modified by the attacker's Dex Reaction/Initiative mod. So a missile firer with really good Dexterity (and unencumbered, see PHB 101) is the best way to disrupt spell casters in practice.

Does the rule for multiple attack routines apply to missile attacks?

If so, then an archer always has a chance to interrupt (regardless of DEX) because s/he gets to go first and last in the round.

 

[MerricB]

[MENTION=6688858]Libramarian[/MENTION] - interesting interpretation that comes dangerously close to making sense!

[MENTION=3586]MerricB[/MENTION] - in the PHB example, the silence spell takes 4 segments (because 1 segment of casting took place during the surprise segment), the prismatic spray 7 segments.

That doesn't really concern me - it seems right, however it was calculated - but how come the 1 segment sleep spell is spoilt when it was started during the surprise segment?

Cheers!

 

[pemerton]

how come the 1 segment sleep spell is spoilt when it was started during the surprise segment?

No idea!

 

[Lanefan]

I love the 1e DMG but I can't even imagine trying to use its initiative system. What we do instead:

- there are 6 segments in a round, so all initiatives are on a d6 re-rolled each round; 6 is fast, 1 is slow
- casting times for spells have all been tweaked to suit a 6-segment round
- just about nothing ever modifies your initiative roll - it is what it is
- it is impossible to have an initiative higher than 6 but there is an unofficial '0' initiative that catches end-of-round effects e.g. Final-Word type weapons
- if you are attacking more than once in a round with the same melee weapon it gets two init. rolls that cannot be the same
- if you are firing more than one missile in a round your rolled initiative is your first shot, with the rest fractioned down evenly
- if you are attacking with two different melee weapons (one in each hand) they each get their own init. roll and can be the same
- if you are casting a spell you start on your rolled initiative and finish [casting time number of segments] later (yes, this can carry you into the next round if your init. was low), and can be interrupted during this time
- if you are casting spells continuously your spells in rounds after the first round of casting always begin on a '6' unless you move, as it's assumed you have components etc. close to hand (we call this "chain casting")
- you are always free to delay or hold your action but if you hold it through the end of the round it is lost
- if you are surprised you are surprised for the number of segments rolled on the die with melee attackers and missile types getting one attack per surprised segment
- simultaneous initiatives are a fact of life; we go around the table but it's known that everything is happening at once in that segment; and it's very possible to be taken down by an opponent you killed on the same segment!
- if two otherwise simultaneous things might interrupt each other we roll "sub-initiatives" to see which goes first (e.g. arrow into a resolving spellcaster, does the arrow interrupt the spell or does the spell resolve first).

This system has served us well for decades in a 1e-like environment.

Lanefan

 

[Rune]

- you are always free to delay or hold your action but if you hold it through the end of the round it is lost

I'm curious what the thinking is on losing an action here. It seems to me that giving up an action on one round to gain initiative on the next would be a viable tactical option.

 

[Hussar]

[MENTION=29398]Lanefan[/MENTION] - I take it this is individual initiative, not group initiative?

 

[Lanefan]

I'm curious what the thinking is on losing an action here. It seems to me that giving up an action on one round to gain initiative on the next would be a viable tactical option.

Perhaps, except that you reroll next round along with everyone else in most cases (particularly in melee).

I take it this is individual initiative, not group initiative?

D'oh! Yes, individual initiative - should have mentioned that.

Lan-"though if I'm rolling initiative for 9 monsters each with a three-attack sequence I'll batch 'em together a bit"-efan

 

[Rune]

Perhaps, except that you reroll next round along with everyone else in most cases

I get that that's how you do it. I just think you could add a layer of tactical depth if you allowed characters to hold their actions indefinitely and then let them jump back in on whatever subsequent initiative count they want to.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Group initiative and order of combat fom B/X was one of my first rule imports, followed closely by the morale system.