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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 6228855" data-attributes="member: 3192">In OD&D a combatant typically gets only 1 melee attack a round. It's not a single sword swing, but a full minute of swordplay. If you land a blow significant enough to stick another, crush them, or cut them up, then you roll HP damage. Cuts and bruises, dented armor, lots of maneuvering around, blocks, feints, parries, thrusts, and such are abstracted. They just don't rise to the level of an actual hit or hp loss or whatever else the game is accounting for. That one hit may be several in a round dealing the resulting damage.Opportunity attacks occur when someone within melee range of you drops their defenses for whatever reason, but characters still only have the 1 melee attack per round. So if you already acted this round, you do not gain a 2nd attack attempt when someone else drops their defenses to, say, knock and fire a bow at you. You already took your initiative for the round pressing in to attack or whatever other action. Add to this rerolled, variable initiative each round and its becomes harder to predict all the consequences of an action during combat. Each round grants combatants initiative status again, but do you delay until the other acts or try and land your blow first? They might lower their defenses granting you an easier chance to hit. Of course, they might down you in a single blow too.</blockquote>