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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JoeNotCharles" data-source="post: 5874888" data-attributes="member: 79945">[sblock=OOC]The initial ranged volley is over, and combat begins!Every character must choose a "combat stance", which is how engaged you are in combat - are you right up close to the enemy, taking risks in order to get a better chance to land a blow, or fighting really defensively and conservatively (or standing back and making more ranged attacks)?Then everyone chooses which enemy they'll be engaged with - which is obvious at this point because there's only one left.Then, the two sides take turns attacking and changing stances.  You have the initiative, since you're set up to defend against the wolf, who's moving in to attack, so you go first - which means you might as well roll your first attack along with your choice of stance.(Actually, the order of action is supposed to depend on what stance you're in, but that's too fiddly for PbP, so I'll ignore that rule.)There are four possible stances:Forward: (Close combat) "Exploiting any opportunity to attack, to the point of exposing yourself to the retaliation of your enemies." Your TN to hit and to be hit is 6 + Parry. (So you'd need 11 to hit the wolf.)  In this stance, instead of attacking, you can try to intimidate foes by making an Awe or Battle roll - if you succeed it denies them the chance to use their special abilities.Open: (Close combat) "Fighting without sparing yourself, but giving proper attention to your enemies' actions."  Your TN to hit and to be hit is 9 + Parry (so you'd need 14 to hit the wolf). In this stance, instead of attacking, you can try to rally your comrades: make an Inspire or Song roll, and if you succeed your allies can regain some Endurance that was lost in the current combat (but if you fail, you lose a point of Hope).Defensive: (Close combat) "Fighting conservatively, trying to protect yourself or others and holding your ground."  Your TN to hit and to be hit is 12 + Parry (so you'd need 17 to hit the wolf). In this stance, instead of attacking, you can try to protect a companion. Declare who when you choose your stance, and if they are attack, you can spend a point of Hope to become the target of that attack instead.Rearward: (Ranged combat) "Staying away from the press, to attack your foes from a distance."  Your TN to hit is 12 + Parry (17 to hit the wolf again), and you can't be attacked unless the enemy has a ranged weapons or a special ability.  In this stance, instead of attacking, you can spend the entire round aiming, in which case if you successfully attack in the following round it automatically counts as a great success.Also, if you wish to run from combat, you can automatically flee if in a Rearward stance.  If in a Close stance, you need to make a roll.If the enemies outnumber the heroes by 2-to-1 or more, nobody can choose a Rearward stance because you're surrounded (not a problem here).  And, for every hero that chooses the Rearward stance, 2 heroes must choose one of the three Close stances (to guard them so that the enemy can't get through).  Which means that, with 7 of you, up to 2 can take a Ranged stance (2 people in Ranged combat, 4 in Close combat, and the last person can't choose Ranged so must be Close again).Vardolas is still stuck in the mud.  It would make sense to say that Authiel and Vardolas are in the Rearward stance, and Vardolas spends his action pulling free while Authiel attacks.  But let's make it a little more tactically interesting...[/sblock]The maddened wolf gathers its stringy muscles and bounds into a frenzied leap, sailing right over Kurin's head. It lands menacingly close to the hole that Vardolas is trapped in, and snarls menacingly at its tormentor.  Vardolas scrambles to free himself from the hole.[sblock]Vardolas is in the Close stance, and does not attack. The wolf will have a TN of 12 to hit him.  He could use somebody using the defense action on him (in the Defensive stance)...  Unless you can kill the wolf before it gets to act, that is.I'll let you guys choose stances and attack before I decide what Orin and Borin do.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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