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<blockquote data-quote="Bill Reich" data-source="post: 7720453" data-attributes="member: 6892958">My experience has been that the best tactics are an adaptable mix of the two extremes that you mention. Even if the rules or the level of experience that the party has means that the spell-casters can't be decisive, there is usually some effort to protect them. If missile weapons are not short-changed, as I think they were in early D&amp;D, that gives another possible group that should be kept out of melee if possible. While hanging back and forming a defensive line may be optimal under some circumstances, advancing while keeping enough cohesion that no one should be able to get through you to the back ranks is often more effective or as effective and is more attractive to the melee fighters. The party I run for on Thursday night has five characters (not counting Fluffy the Forest Bison who just hauls their equipment around) When time and distance permit, they protect the one effective magician and the Hobbit on the crew-served crossbow by forming a front of three fighters and either standing their ground or moving forward in a coherent groups. One person can't reset the crew-served crossbow, so after shooting it, Hobson uses a sling. They avoid many hostile encounters by taking alternate routes and also by negotiating. -----------------------------------------------<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/grreference/" target="_blank">https://sites.google.com/site/grreference/</a></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Bill Reich, post: 7720453, member: 6892958"] My experience has been that the best tactics are an adaptable mix of the two extremes that you mention. Even if the rules or the level of experience that the party has means that the spell-casters can't be decisive, there is usually some effort to protect them. If missile weapons are not short-changed, as I think they were in early D&D, that gives another possible group that should be kept out of melee if possible. While hanging back and forming a defensive line may be optimal under some circumstances, advancing while keeping enough cohesion that no one should be able to get through you to the back ranks is often more effective or as effective and is more attractive to the melee fighters. The party I run for on Thursday night has five characters (not counting Fluffy the Forest Bison who just hauls their equipment around) When time and distance permit, they protect the one effective magician and the Hobbit on the crew-served crossbow by forming a front of three fighters and either standing their ground or moving forward in a coherent groups. One person can't reset the crew-served crossbow, so after shooting it, Hobson uses a sling. They avoid many hostile encounters by taking alternate routes and also by negotiating. ----------------------------------------------- [url]https://sites.google.com/site/grreference/[/url] [/QUOTE]

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