Round One

First, the DM decides what the bugbears are going to do. The two on the flanks move to take cover, the one in the middle flips the table for cover, his companions close for combat, and the last bugbear is still getting out of bed and decides to wait and see what happens. Now the DM asks each of the players what their characters will do:

Damiar: “I’ll shoot at the nearest bugbear.”

Pascal: “Bugbears? We can take them. I’ll close for an attack!”

Lyssa: “I’ll throw a sleep spell.”

Dain: “There might be more of ‘em around. I’ll cover the hallway with my crossbow.”

Everyone has declared an action, so it’s time to roll initiative. The DM rolls a 5, but the players beat him with a roll of 3. Now, the DM begins with very fast actions and starts working through the round.

DM: “Okay, nobody’s very fast this round. You guys won initiative, so who’s fast?”

Lyssa: “My sleep spell’s fast.”

Pascal: “I start moving.”

DM: “Where do you want to center your spell, Lyssa?”

Damiar: “Don’t catch us with it!”

Lyssa: “I’ll center it on the bugbear in the middle of the room.” (Rolls effect) “My spell affects 5 Hit Dice of bugbears.”

DM: “Sorry, that’s only one. He’s out.”

Pascal: “I’m moving! I’ll jump on the table in front of them.”

DM: “No problem. You threaten the bugbear, and he threatens you. Don’t forget to mark a fatigue point off. That’s it for fast. Let’s go on to average actions.”

The bugbear’s base initiative is average, but the players won initiative and get to resolve their average actions first. Pascal is wielding an average-speed long sword.

Damiar: “My first bowshot is average. I rolled a 20! Is that a critical hit?”

Damiar’s adjusted THAC0 with his longbow is a 16, so he hit an AC –4 with his roll of 20. The bugbears are only AC 5, so he easily hits the bugbear with a good enough roll to critically hit the monster. The basic critical rule is double damage dice, but the DM could use the critical hit rules in Chapter Six if he wanted to. With doubled damage, Damiar rolls 2d8 for his sheaf arrow and tags the bugbear for 15 points of damage, dropping it with one shot!

The two bugbears moving under cover begin their moves now. The last bugbear meets Pascal. Pascal gets her attack first, but even with a +1 bonus for height advantage, she misses. Her opponent misses her as well. Damiar uses his second bow shot and fires at a bugbear using cover, missing by a mile.

At the end of the round, Pascal and Damiar have each used two points of fatigue, while Dain and Lyssa have used none. The two bugbears that took cover have each used one, while the one locked in combat has used two. There are no retreats, but the DM decides that a morale check is in order since the bugbears have seen two of their fellows knocked out of action. The bugbears pass the check, and the round is over.

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