Encounter - deodand-inc/crawler GitHub Wiki
When a party descends into a dungeon for the first time, they must be ready to deal with the strange creatures they will meet: some foul, some fair, some intelligent, some not; the variety is endless. Such a meeting is called an encounter.
Sequence
if a monster is encountered, DM rolls Number Appearing
- DM rolls 2d6 to determine distance ((2d6)*10 feet)
- DM rolls 1d6 for both monsters and party to check for surprise (results of 1-2 mean the corresponding side is surprised).
- DM rolls 2d6 for monster reaction
- party and monster react:
- if both sides are willing to talk: DM rolls for monster reactions and initiative as necessary
- if one side runs away, the DM checks Chance of Evasion and pursuit
- if combat begins, the game enters a combat phase
Party Actions
once reactions are determined and the combat phase has not been entered each side will act.
- fight - enter combat phase
- talk - the party can ask questions, make bold statements, and otherwise react to the monster. The efficacy of this will depend on shared language. Talking may make the encounter peaceful (mutual agreement), hurried (one side runs away) or violent (combat phase).
- run away - if the monster does not follow the encounter is over. If the monster makes chase the party will have to evade.
- wait - this will forfeit the round to the monster, depending on reaction this can be
- other - actions that will not be considered hostile can be made without degrading the monster reaction. Casting spells or moving about the room can frequently be considered hostile by most monsters.
monster reaction
| 2d6 result | reaction |
|---|---|
| 2 | enter combat phase |
| 3-5 | hostile, possible attack |
| 6-8 | uncertain, monster confused |
| 9-11 | no attack, monster leaves or considers offers |
| 12 | enthusiastic friendship |
running
running characters move at 3x their normal movement rate per round. No mapping is allowed while running. Characters may only run for 30 rounds and then must rest for 3 entire turns.
- if forced to fight before fully rested the characters fight with a -2 penalty on their to hit and damage rolls.
- their opponent will get a +2 bonus on their to hit rolls.
- these penalties remain until the players are fully rested for 3 turns.
- ANY successful hit by a character will still do at least 1 point of damage regardless of adjustments.
evasion
if movement rate of evading side is faster than its opposition evasion is automatic. This is only true if the evading side is not forced to stop, ie blocked route. This is all only true if combat phase has not begun.
If the monsters run away from the party, the party must decide whether or not to pursue.
If the party is slower than the monster, the monster will respond based on its reaction result.
| Chance of pursuit | Monster reaction roll |
|---|---|
| 100% | 2 |
| 75% | 3-5 |
| 50% | 6-8 |
| 0% | 9-11 |
| 25% | 12 (they really want to be friends!!!) |
On a roll of 12 the monster will pursue but not make a fight action, this could lead to some interesting situations
pursuit
if pursuit occurs
- time is counted in rounds
- movement for both sides is considered running
- monsters chase only as long as characters from the party are in sight
- the party may drop possessions to slow pursuit
- unintelligent monsters will stop to eat food 50% of the time
- intelligent monsters will stop to pick up treasure 50% of the time
- burning oil will slow/stop monsters with any self preservation
- other items will have affects that may cause damage or slow movement
time
when an encounter occurs turns change to rounds. Each round is 10 seconds. There are 60 rounds in a turn.
surprise
1d6 for each side, 1-2 means surprised Surprise is only checked once per turn when a monster is first encountered. If both sides are surprised, the surprise cancels out, and neither side moves nor fights that round. If one side surprises the other, those not surprised may move and attack the first round, and the surprised enemy may not. If neither side is surprised, it is necessary to determine which side takes the initiative for that round and acts first.
distance and surprise during encounters
An encounter may 'generate' beyond the parameters of the current room or line of sight of the party. This means that monsters can be located completely out of sight when the encounter begins. If the players are surprised and the monster is beyond their field of vision the monster will navigate towards the party the best it can. Only when the monster and party actually meet will the party know an encounter has occurred.
On the other hand if the party has surprised the monster who is in another room a distance away, they have an opportunity to make the first move also.
If all sides are surprised and a distance away from each other, the monster and party will continue as if nothing had occurred. This may result in each side completely bypassing one another or accidentally walking into each other. This also means that ANOTHER wandering monster could generate and complicate the situation even further.