First TROS "Session" - Actual Play and Comments

[Malechi]

Hey there guys,

Just thought I'd reflect on my first session of TROS the other day.  It was more of an introduction to the game for two of my prospective players (and myself as Seneschal..err GM) than a fully realised session with storyline etc.  We used the oft-cited "Slavers escape" idea.  ie the players are slaves who have to escape..give them nothing but a reason to get the hell out of there and throw plenty of bad guys at them to chop up.  

Firstly the players loved it.  Finally they were able to actually do things exactly how they wanted.  On try to escape, one used his manacles to crush the throat of one of the guards, due to high strength he broke his neck... perfect.  The same guy (basically an african fighter type similar in size to Michael Clark Duncan ..err the guy from the Green Mile) then is confronted by a scimitar wielding Desert Slaver.  They both throw red.  The player has no armour, no weapon..save his feet and manacles at this stage.  The slaver thrusts for the belly, scores a minor level two hit and the player kicks at his hand (he has accuracy II), crushing it against the door of the iron wagon.  Slaver drops weapon.  The second player grabs the first slavers sword at this point and then advances (while still inside the wagon) onto the now broken-handed slaver (btw, where can I find the exact penalty for using a weapon off-handedly?).  One quick cut to the head region and a level five wound to the side of the slavers head...FLIP TOP!  Brains everywhere!

They jump out of hte wagon, undoing their manacles, reaching for whatever weaponry and armour they can find.  Two scimitars and one shield later they try to head for the river near this desert outpost but are beset by two more Slavers.  These they attack and defend against the party (the roguish type decided to use intimidate by grabbing the now cleave-skulled mans brains and yelling at them... I instigated a 1 CP penalty to one of the Slavers after seeing his buddies brains).  It didn't matter too much though.  After one round of hit and miss/parry, the rogue takes a level five to his area III.. ie his guts are spilled onto the sand and he's desperately trying to pick them up while the slaver closes in for the kill.  The next round, exact same fate befalls the African warrior guy..guts spilled from level five wound to III. End...

All in all a great fifteen minutes or so...fast and brutal, the combat system lived up to its reputation.  The players are definitely hooked now and can't imagine going back to D&D

Now ..some comments/reflections/questions

1) I've been dueling with another player who insist that the combat is silly.  He throws all his CP into the first attack, everytime and inevitably whacks me for a near level 5 wound everytime.  I've tried doing the same with defence, stacking all my dice into the first round defence, but so far I've been unlucky or just inept.  Is the best idea for this to full-evade? or to try something other than parry?  The most recent fight had my poleaxe wielding celtic warrior guy needing 7's to parry with his enormous weapon with a -1 CP penalty due to range (the other guy was using scimitar and shield and had paid the -1 CP penalty to close in).  He was taken out in the first round.
2) Missile combat and sorcery within normalcombat: how do they mix? how does one determine when in the round the sorcerer/archer attacks/casts spell etc?  Is it a simple Reflex test or comparison?

more questions to follow

cheers

Jason :)

[Overdrive]

Ah.. I see you have the same questions that I had some time ago :)

All dice on offence! One PC has a cut&thrust sword with thrusting ATN of 5, and CP of 13. Very few could parry his massive attack. But some definitely can.

A few things that could work (and have worked in my games): Counter. If there is a slight chance of it working, the PC will not be attacking all-out, or he won't live long. 13 dice (plus 2 from stance) against ATN of 5 can yield a measly 4 successes pretty easily. A regular Joe with 8 CP dice and defensive stance could get 5 successes with no problem. The next exchange Joe has those 4 dice against _none_. Risky? You bet. But if there's no other way, then go for it.

Buying initiative. This is actually the tactic that my players fear the most. If you throw all your dice into the attack, the 'defender' can quite easily steal the initiative and launch a precision strike at your face. Again, _no defence_. This is perhaps less risky, but should you fail..! My players always leave some 5 dice to buy the initiative back, if they can.

Simultaneous block/strike. Heavy on the block, light on attack. Gives you a free attack with no defence, again. Of course, you must be able to block well enough not to get skevered, but if it works, well...

Remember that you don't have to fight fair. Nobody would against such a fierce opponent! Use armor, longer weapons, friends, bows, magic, terrain, darkness, anything! Only if you're desperate, try those above tricks :) Work wonders.

I allow missile attacks during pauses. Should someone want to shoot at a melee, well, some penalties and if he doesn't hit then the other guy (his friend?) will be in danger. If the bows take some 5-10 seconds to load and the fights usually 3-5 seconds, not much shooting happens during the bouts. Which sounds pretty good to me.

[Morfedel]

Hey there; some feedback....

Hey there guys,
They both throw red.  The player has no armour, no weapon..save his feet and manacles at this stage.  The slaver thrusts for the belly, scores a minor level two hit and the player kicks at his hand (he has accuracy II), crushing it against the door of the iron wagon.  Slaver drops weapon.  

Did you make sure to subtract dice from his pool for shock and pain before delivering his own attack? Remember, whoever has second attack is effected by his wounds before he can deliver his own attack. He still had enough of a dice pool left to nail the guy even after the attack?

Now ..some comments/reflections/questions

1) I've been dueling with another player who insist that the combat is silly.  He throws all his CP into the first attack, everytime and inevitably whacks me for a near level 5 wound everytime.  I've tried doing the same with defence, stacking all my dice into the first round defence, but so far I've been unlucky or just inept.  Is the best idea for this to full-evade? or to try something other than parry?  The most recent fight had my poleaxe wielding celtic warrior guy needing 7's to parry with his enormous weapon with a -1 CP penalty due to range (the other guy was using scimitar and shield and had paid the -1 CP penalty to close in).  He was taken out in the first round.

You do realize that it isnt a -1cp penalty to close range, its a -1cp penalty to ATTACK someone who has a greater range. You have to succeed in a maneuver, such as an attack, to close the range.

So, if he was at range, he has to score a hit, or perform a successful Duck and Weave or something, he will continue to be at the bad range.



Now, other feedback. You are right, sometimes an all out attack can win the battle. but, there are some problems.

First of all, there are defenses that also allow attacks. counter is a good one. If he succeeds in the counter, you are going to be left utterly defenseless, and most likely skewered.

Also, you can defend and BUY initiative. Block and strike, etc.

So, don't fear. the tactic your player desribes IS an effective one, and why not? An all out attack should be a potential fear. But, there are defenses that can not only counter it, but punish the other severely for not leaving any dice left.

Use these tactics, and kill him a few times. He will change his tune.

[prophet118]

i'll be giving TROS another go myself in the next few months, i just need to finish reading the setite clan novel (white wolf), the star wars d20 book (almost done, im on the droids chapter), and then i'll be set to get back into TROS... lol