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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Iosue" data-source="post: 6086380" data-attributes="member: 6680772">Sightseeing?  No...Combat.The Combat SequenceA. Each side rolls for initiative (1d6)An 18 Dex gives you a +2 for initiative.  Halflings get +1.  So a Halfling with 18 Dex gets +3 to a 1d6 roll.  That's huge.In the Mentzer DMR, there is an added Intentions phase before initiative, but Moldvay has no such phase, except for defensive movement.  B. The side that wins initiative acts first (if simultaneous all actions are performed by each side at the same time):Since the winning side goes through all these actions first, they have a huge advantage.  On the other hand, this means that magic-users have a small advantage: they hardly ever lose their spells.  If they lose initiative, they can choose not to cast that round.1. Morale checks, if needed (page B27).Each monster has a morale score between 2 and 12 (highest in the Moldvay bestiary is 12, lowest is 5).  Checks are done at DM's discretion, though the game recommends after the first death on either side and when half the monsters have been incapacitated.  2d6 are rolled and if the roll is greater than their morale score, the monsters flee.  DM's can also adjust morale up or down a maximum of 2 depending on the situation (unless the monster's morale is 2 or 12).  Morale is an optional rule.2. Movement per round, meleed opponents may only move defensively (spell casters may not and cast spells).I'm not sure melee can be verbed!  But anyway, this was a big controversy with the 5e playtest.  How does a losing party prevent the kobolds from just running around the fighter and killing the mage?  Per Moldvay, a character is "meleed" when the enemy is within 5'.  This dovetails nicely with 4e's (and 5e's) rules!  If a creature comes within 5 feet of the fighter (an adjacent square using 1"=5'), they are meleed and may only make a defensive withdrawal (read: shift up to half movement) or retreat (no opportunity attack in B/X, but retreats must be backward).3. Missile fire combat:a. choose targetsb. roll 1d20 to hit; adjust result by Dexterity adjustment, range, cover, and magicc. DM rolls damageHere's a shock I either never noticed or had forgotten, but the DM rolls damage!  It's pretty standard to roll the damage you cause these days, but this gives me an idea.  What if you roll damage you receive?  I'll cover missile fire in more detail in a later post, but here let me note that short range gives you a +1, and the top end of short range for even a short bow is 50', meaning almost all combat will be at short range.  Man, think of the halflings.  Halfling with a short bow and Dex 18 is kicking +5 bonus from 5-50 feet!  He's got a THAC0 of 14 at 1st level!  Up against your typical goblin, he's hitting on 8 or better!  Bow wielding halflings are the s**t.4. Magic spells (roll saving throws, as needed: 1d20)More to come in the next post, but Saves are Death Ray/Poison, Magic Wands, Paralysis/Turn to Stone, Dragon Breath, and Rods/Staves/Spells.  Dwarves and Halflings have the best saves in Basic.5. Melee or hand-to-hand combat:a: choose (or be attacked by) opponentsb: roll 1d20 to hit; adjust by Strength adjustment and magic weaponsc: DM rolls damage; adjust result by Strength adjustment and magic weaponsHere's a typical Moldvay simplification: unless missile attacks are specifically mentioned, monsters will only attack in melee.  I can see this being useful to a new DM getting a handle on running monsters, but I suspect it was set to the wayside in fairly short order.  On the other hand, while PCs may only attack once in a melee around a monster with a multiple attack routine can use all their attacks within one round of combat.C. The side with the next highest initiative acts second, and so on using the order given above, until all sides have completed melee.Interestingly, if you assume each PC is their own side, and each different type of monster is its own side (when mixed), you get a combat sequence pretty much like how my regular group plays 4e, except that casters can move and cast in 4e.  Any thoughts, preferences, experiences with side initiative vs. individual initiative?D. The DM handles any surrenders, retreats, etc. as they occur.Rereading it after all these years, surrender and/or retreat has a pretty big part in Moldvay.  And yet, I know when we played, monsters pretty much fought to the death.  I think most groups played that way, and that tendency led to morale's attenuation and eventual absence from the game.  In retrospect, the game would have been more interesting with it.</blockquote>

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