Rotation

It often happens that a front-line fighter becomes seriously damaged when fighting—and then must continue fighting, because he has no other option until the enemy is defeated. This doesn't have to be the case.

In a large party combat, particularly damaged front-line fighters can be "rotated out," pulled from the front line and replaced by a less hurt warrior . . . or not replaced at all: The shield-wall (i.e., the other front-line fighters) can close ranks and plug up the hole.

See the rules for Retreat (Player's Handbook, page 97). During his combat action, the injured man announces that he's retreating; the ally or allies he stood side-by-side with need to announce that they're blocking pursuit (i.e., they're moving so that the enemy can't just wander in through their line). That puts the hurt man behind his own line, where he can keep away from damage or even seek some healing.

If one of the polearm fighters is accommodating, they can take the rest of their combat round to switch weapons. The injured man takes the polearm, and the other fighter takes the front-line weapons. On their next combat round, the uninjured man moves up into the line and the injured man begins whacking enemies with his polearm.

This is a good way to keep people alive.

Table of Contents