Attack

This is the basic action for characters and monsters in a fight. When a character chooses to attack, he makes his normal hand-held weapon attacks. Characters and creatures can make a half-move and attack or they can stand their ground and attack as a no-move action.

Monsters with multiple attacks perform all their attacks on the same phase. If a dragon attacks with average speed, its bite, claws, tail, and wing buffets all take place in the average phase of the combat round. Characters using a weapon in each hand strike in the same fashion, during the action phase of the slower weapon.

Characters who have multiple attacks with the same weapon (such as high-level fighters or weapon specialists) make their first attack normally and then make one attack each phase thereafter until they’ve resolved all of their multiple attacks. A long sword specialist with two attacks in a round makes his first attack in the average phase and his second in the slow phase of the round.

Normally, a character can combine a move and an attack only by moving first and resolving attacks later. However, a character can choose to attack first and then make a half-move at the end of the round. Note that characters can adjust their position each time they attack, so a hero with multiple attacks could attack several creatures standing apart from each other.

Attacks of opportunity (see Threatening) do not count as a character’s attack for the round. It is possible for a creature to get more attacks than normal if its opponent provides it with an opening for an attack of opportunity.

Characters and monsters may choose a number of attack options, such as grab, block, trap, or disarm. The fighter might use his bill-hook to pull a mounted opponent off his horse, or he might try to trip the animal. He could even go on the defensive and try to block his enemy’s blow. Refer to Attack Options in Chapter Two for more information about the various alternatives.

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