Page 2 of 3
Re: Rearward Stance Question
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 10:32 am
by Hermes Serpent
Reading the Combat Example (Revised p183) it says:
"As his final action for the round, the Loremaster chooses
what the unengaged Attercop will do. He decides to spend
a point of Hate, to send the spider against Trotter with a
Great Leap! The TN to hit Trotter is 17 (12 for the Rearward
stance, plus the Hobbit’s Parry rating of 5 – the buckler
is not considered, as Trotter is using his bow, a 2-handed
weapon), but the Attercop rolls at +3 as Ensnare is a
favoured ability. The roll is a hit, and Trotter is caught in
the creature’s sticky thread"
That seems to make it obvious that the Great Leap and the corresponding Hate spend is used only for positioning the Attercop and the attack uses the appropriate Attack ability as usual. I'm not sure how this matches the "This replaces their normal attack" statement under Great Leap. IT may be intended to indicate that there are not two attacks when using Great Leap. I rather imagine GL actually being an Attercop dropping on a thread on to the victim rather than 'Leaping' as such.
So Attercops use GL and Ensnare, Wolves use GL and Bite as does the Werewolf of Mirkwood.
Re: Rearward Stance Question
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 11:22 am
by Michebugio
I've actually always played Great Leap as: adversary spends 1 Hate to get in close combat with the character in Rearward, attacking in the same round against TN 12 (since it's in Rearward) + Parry. As soon as it's the player's turn, he must shift into one of the three melee positions and can't make ranged attacks anymore.
He can shift back into Rearward only when the monster who attacked him with Great Leap is dead (or flees).
Am I wrong here?
Re: Rearward Stance Question
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 11:26 am
by Falenthal
Majestic wrote:I'm wondering what the "This replaces their normal attack" bit on Great Leap means. Is that just to clarify that they don't get a (second) free attack that round?
I'd say so.
Special Abilities that are triggered by spending Hope points can be used
in addition to normal attacks.
As the text of Great Leap says:
Reduce the creature’s Hate point score by 1 to attack
any one companion
it might be used as a second attack in the same round.
I'm with Hermes that, for Spiders, this is better seen as the spider climbing a tree during the chaos of combat and dropping down on the victim. Maybe Hunter Spiders can jump, though.
BTW, I also imagine that this "attack on Rearward stance" is a one shot. Next round, the hero in Rearward firing arrows can still be in Rearward, while the spider that "greatleaped" will be again in melee positions. Using a Hate point is like using a Battle dice to gain an advantatge from the situation, but it vanishes once used.
Re: Rearward Stance Question
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 1:43 pm
by Indur Dawndeath
Falenthal
BTW, I also imagine that this "attack on Rearward stance" is a one shot. Next round, the hero in Rearward firing arrows can still be in Rearward, while the spider that "greatleaped" will be again in melee positions. Using a Hate point is like using a Battle dice to gain an advantatge from the situation, but it vanishes once used.
I agree 90% with you, because, when the Seize Victim succeed, then something has happened that will prevent the Archer in Rearward Stance from evading close combat. He is Seized and by definition in close proximity to the Attercop.
If this was not the case, then spending a Hate on Great Leap is worthless for the Attercop.
Re: Rearward Stance Question
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 2:09 pm
by Hermes Serpent
I believe that at the top of the round after being Seized the Rearward character gets to choose to either test Athletics as per the rules or fight back.
"a seized victim cannot change stance, and sees its
Parry rating reduced to half (rounding fractions up).
A hero may free himself by forfeiting his attack and rolling
Athletics against a TN equal to 10, plus the Attribute level
of the seizing creature.
There is no option to change Stance so the TN for the Attercop's attack remains at 12 + half the character's Parry score. I wouldn't allow a bowman to add his shield (if he had one) as they are still entangled in the webbing. It might also be appropriate to only allow a Dagger as the Sword may be webbed into the scabbard. Allowing a Dagger to be used might offer another means of permitting the character to escape the webbing. Tales from Wilderland allows a Dagger to be used to cut through webs at TN 14 (p16) so it's either Athletics at TN13 or Dagger at TN14 to escape.
I don't see this sequence leading to a 'one-shot' attack as the spider is engaged with the character. Should the Ensnare be purely a thread of webbing that is used to Seize the character from a distance then the "*If the Ensnare roll is successful and produces a great or extraordinary success, the spider immediately attacks its victim using its
sting" statement from the original rules doesn't make sense and I think that was acknowledged as an omission in the Revised rulebook.
Re: Rearward Stance Question
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 3:42 pm
by Falenthal
Attercops should go inmediatly in the future FAQ...
There's another old thread concering Attercops and their attacks:
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=2703
Re: Rearward Stance Question
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 4:08 pm
by Michebugio
Not only Attercops, also Wolves have both Great Leap and Seize Victim: in their case, it's pretty obvious that the Seize cannot be a ranged effect, so it's safe enough to assume that also Attercops who are seizing a character are somehow holding him in melee.
This said, two conclusions can be made: either a monster who has both Great Leap and Seize Victim doesn't need to spend additional Hate to attack a character in the Rearward while he is seizing him, OR Great Leap works as I said above (so just 1 Hate must be spent by the monster, then the character is engaged in melee with him and isn't considered in the Rearward anymore).
Re: Rearward Stance Question
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 4:39 pm
by Hermes Serpent
There was an almost identically named thread "Great Leap, Seize Victim And Rearward Stance" from March 2013 that links to another thread about Great Leap from Jan 2013 so this probably does need to go into the FAQ.
Edit: More checking reveals a 'Seize Victim And Rearward Stance' thread from March 2013.
'Rearwards Stance And A Couple Of Other Things, Combat rule clarifications' thread from April 2012
'Rearward Stances' thread from Jan 2012
The subject of Wolves and Great Leap doesn't come up so much as the Great Leap then Bite and Seize Victim on a Success seems more natural than the Attercop attack sequence.
I've checked and there are no other creatures who seem to have Great Leap and Seize Victim feats apart from:
Great leap
Hunter Spider (HotW)
Werewolf of Mirkwood
Dreorg the Wargling (Rivendell)
Spirit-Warg (HotW)
Great leap and Seize Victim
Attercop
Wild Wolf
Re: Rearward Stance Question
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 7:28 pm
by Indur Dawndeath
There was an almost identically named thread "Great Leap, Seize Victim And Rearward Stance" from March 2013 that links to another thread about Great Leap from Jan 2013 so this probably does need to go into the FAQ.
This thread is in the FAQ (under Rearward), because that is where I was looking, when I took it up again. So if we finish this one with a nice conclusion, if that is possible, then we are ok.
I think the conclusion is this:
*The TN for any attack when you are in Rearward Stance is 12+Parry. No shield if you are firing a bow.
*As long as the enemy doesn't outnumber you more than 2:1, then you can choose Rearward Stance at the beginning of a round, even if you have been targeted by an attack from a creature with the Great Leap or Fell Speed Special Ability in the previous round.
*A successful attack from a creature with Great Leap will force the Hero into close combat for the remainder of the round in Defensive Stance.
*Seize Victim prevents the Hero from changing Stance, thus he remains in Defensive Stance until he is able to brake free.
*Great Leap does not grant a creature an extra attack.
*It is up to the individual LM to decide if a Seized Victim can draw a shield or a weapon other than a dagger.
*You can brake free with an Athletics TN10+Attribute, or with a TN14 dagger attack if the creature is an Attercop.
English is not my first language, but I hope this is clear enough and that I got everything in the list.
Anyone objects to this summary?
Cheers
Re: Rearward Stance Question
Posted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 9:02 pm
by Falenthal
Indur Dawndeath wrote:you can choose Rearward Stance at the beginning of a round, even if you have been targeted by an attack from a creature with the Great Leap or Fell Speed Special Ability in the previous round.
It all seems right to me, except for the above quoted part. I don't understand it.
If the previous round the creature "targeted you", that means the creature attacked you using this ability, isn't it?
GL and FS don't need a round to prepare or something like that. They're declared the same round they're used.