Combat Stances - a question

[GaladrielsHeels]

So my query is this...

hope this isn,t too stupid!

When PC's choose their stances in combat do opponents fall into that stance also?

e.g Do characters and their foes share the same TN's to be hit and hit?

So it's not a case that the Beorning chooses forward & his cave troll opponent chooses defensive?

In effect, the PC's lead the combat in terms of dictating the stances?

I have been running TOR and it never occured that I may be doing combat wrong.

Thanks in advance all

[bluejay]

Yes you're correct, the PC chooses a stance, opponents do not.

The stance represents everything from literally physical position on the battlefield down to attitude ("I do everything I can to hit him with little care for my own safety"). In this way two PCs could fight the same troll in different close combat stances.

Hope that helps!

[GaladrielsHeels]

Yes it does help thanks!

Just wondering why each combatant can't choose a stance irrespective of their opponents?

Would this just complicate combat? But it does seem logical that if your Beorning takes forward & the cave troll takes defensive, you would both be fighting with different priorities.

Have to say we were all surprised how smooth combat went compared to other RPG's. The order of actions linked to stance really helps IMO as does sharing a single base TN + parry

[Earendil]

Just wondering why each combatant can't choose a stance irrespective of their opponents?

Would this just complicate combat? But it does seem logical that if your Beorning takes forward & the cave troll takes defensive, you would both be fighting with different priorities.

Yes, I think the reason is indeed that it would overcomplicate combat.

A hero can potentially be engaged by three foes at once. If each hero and each foe could choose a stance and change it every round, it would be a nightmare to keep track of. As it is, each player can keep track of their own stance, maybe placing a card in front of them with the stance written on it so the Loremaster can see them all if necessary. The Loremaster can therefore focus on who's fighting who, how much endurance and hate each foe has, and using their special abilities - which in my experience is quite enough!

So the assumption is that enemies just have a sort of standard combat stance, and it's the heroes who choose to make it easier or harder for themselves to hit and be hit.