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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Peraion Graufalke" data-source="post: 5678464" data-attributes="member: 81950">I got to test the TOR combat system with my group last weekend, and combats are pretty fast in my experience once you've grokked the rules (in our case: after the first combat).Off the top of my head, the order of combat goes like this (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong):- The Loremaster's Book has the rules to determine the combat setup, e.g. is it an ambush or an open battle. (We skipped those for our testing.)- The larger force goes first; if the number of combatants on each side is even then the fellowship goes first.- Depending on the combat setup, the opening volleys are resolved, e.g. if you're ambushed and surprised you can't act in this phase of the combat.- Depending on the combat setup, one member of the fellowship can attempt a Battle test to grant a number of additional success dice for the fellowship's use. (These represent battlefield tactics, terrain advantages etc.)- Melee begins. Combatants choose their stances, and the side that won initiative chooses who is engaged by whom. Combatants in Defensive stance can, to a limited extent, override engagements for those they are defending.- The side that won initiative takes its turn, with their members' individual initiative depending on their chosen stances. First to last: Forward, Open, Defensive, Rearward. After that, the side that lost initiative takes its turn. Rinse, repeat.My impression, based upon the three test combats we did under open battlefield conditions (no ambushes, one opening volley per side) with three starting characters, is that the combat system is very dependent on luck (or in other words, inflicting wounds against tough monsters).[sblock="The test combats"]Fellowship composition:Barding Scholar, Dwarf Warden, Elf Slayer. Note: They were not optimized for combat; the Dwarf and the Elf chose Valour 2 to receive good equipment, but no one increased any weapon skills.1st test combat:1 Orc Soldier, 1 Goblin Archer, 2 Wild Wolves.Result: Fellowship victory after one round, Barding Scholar wounded & poisoned by the Goblin before the Elf shot him.This was pretty easy for the fellowship, so I chose a more challenging opponent.2nd test combat:1 Stone Troll.Result: Fellowship victory after two rounds, no injuries. The Elf's arrows inflicted two wounds which were enough to kill the Stone Troll.The Stone Troll's performance disappointed me greatly. His Armour rating is too low IMO. (And yes, I did spend Hate points whenever I could.)3rd test combat, at the players' request:1 Mountain Troll (at night).Result: Fellowship victory after four rounds, Dwarf Warden unconscious. Again the Elf inflicted two wounds (the first with his bow, the second with his sword); the Troll managed to resist one wound while the Dwarf was still standing.The Mountain Troll was quite a challenge with his fear aura, damage reduction and high damage output, but his Armour rating proved to be too low to survive.Hint: Every fellowship should have an Elf (or two) with a Fell Bow who uses Precise Shot over and over. Just make sure he has enough "tanks" in front of him, preferably heavily-armored Dwarves. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />[/sblock]All in all my group was disappointed with the combat system. Apart from the "swinginess" they complained about the requirements for the Rearward stance and wished for an option to spend Hope to increase one's Parry rating against an enemy attack. Also, there is a definite lack of thrown axes in the weapons list. <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/erm.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":erm:" title="Erm    :erm:" data-shortname=":erm:" />From my Loremaster point of view, a starting fellowship can defeat pretty much every monster in the book (except for the Werewolf of Mirkwood) in an open battle, and there aren't enough monsters in the book. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" />(Seriously, there are no Dragons and Drakes from the Withered Heath, no Giants and Giant Eagles from the Misty Mountains, and no "normal" opponents like Bandits? In the wilds of Rhovanion?? <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/rant.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":rant:" title="Rant    :rant:" data-shortname=":rant:" />)Sorry, I got carried away there. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f631.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":o" title="Eek!    :o"  data-smilie="9"data-shortname=":o" />Of course it's possible that we missed or misunderstood some rules, but my group's consensus is that TOR is not to their tastes. I'm divided in my opinion on the game; it does have potential despite being limited in the permitted source material (which is what I perceive to be its greatest flaw). The Hope and Corruption mechanics are great IMO. The lack of guidelines for monster creation & adjustment, and for building appropriately challenging combat encounters, on the other hand, is a pity.Well, I suspect we're just too spoiled by D&D. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing    :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" /></blockquote>

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