Fast Combat: Musketry

In Honor+Intrigue unless Pawns gang up they usually have little chance to hit or damage the Heroes. Grouping Pawns is handy for the GM since it cuts down on the number of 2d6 rolls that need to be made by the GM. But if there are large numbers of Pawns the GM may still end up rolling multiple 2d6 rolls. One trick I've found takes advantage of one of the quirks of 2d6 odds. If the chance to succeed is 10+ then there is a 6/36 or 1/6 chance to succeed. This means that instead of having to make multiple 2d6 rolls, the GM can just roll 1d6 for each Pawn or group of Pawns that succeed on 10+. 

This tends to work best with Ranged Combat, in part because there is much less that a PC can do that will change the odds of success than there is in Melee Combat. Whereas the ranges beyond Short all have negative modifiers. By grouping the number of shooters so that each group hits on 10+ the GM can simplify the shooting by simply rolling 1d6 with a 6 = Hit.

With no bonuses or penalties, 9+ is a success in H+I. So 10+ is needed for success whenever there is a -1 penalty. Range penalties based on distance are listed in the table below. Each additional Pawn attacking the same target gives a +1 to hit. So the far right column indicates the number of Pawns needed to for the group to succeed on 10+. In the first two rows the number of the Pawns needed is still only 1 and so instead of # of Pawns the table lists the 2d6 roll needed to succeed. 

 

Example 1: A militia platoon of 24 musketeers are firing at 3 Heroes. the range is Distant. For simplicity I assume that the musketeers will target all three of the Heroes. The militia are not good shots, but they aren't terrible, so I assume their base Ranged Attack +0. The range gives a penalty of -4. Looking at the table I see that a group of four musketeers firing need a 10+ to succeed.  The militia are in two rows so half fire the first round and half the next and then it will be a few rounds before they can reload.  There are 12 musketeers in each row so each row has 3 groups of for, so one for each Hero. Since each group succeeds on a 10+ I can just roll 1d6 with a 6=Hit for each of the groups. 

Example 2: As above but we'll assume the Heroes are charging and the second row holds their fire until the Heroes are at medium range.  Now each musketeer succeeds on 10+. So just grab a handful of d6s, roll them all, count the 6s and distribute the hits amongst the Heroes. You might notice that this could be really fatal. Mordieu, but I hope each of your Heroes have the Fortune Points to turn their hit into a Close Call.

Example 3: As above but the Heroes are at Extreme range. (Maybe the militia is nervous and they don't hold their fire). Now we need six musketeers in each group, so there are only 2 groups firing each round. Figure out who is the lucky Hero who doesn't get shot at.

Example 4: As in the second example but we'll assume that the 12 musketeers hold their fire until the Heroes are at point blank range. (Personally I doubt the militias would do that normally so I'd make them roll morale e.g. Daring to hold their fire that long, but we'll ignore that for now.) Now each militia man hits on an 8+. So I can either roll 2d6 twelve times (tedious) or I can group the militia and adjust the odds. I'll still have to roll 2d6 but instead of 12 times I'll just roll once for each Hero. There are 4 militia men for each Hero so that gives the group +3 to succeed so they will score a hit on a 5+.

Painters of the New Cordovan School including New Boons and Flaws for H+I

Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra, Joseph Sold by his Brothers, c.1660.

When I quickly glanced at the title Painters of the New Kordovan School I thought the post would give me fluff and NPCs for some fictional Spanish Painting School. Which it sort of does and mostly doesn't. But I kind of liked the idea of a wandering band of Spanish-style Painters who might know and like or even be rivals with someone like Velasquez or that Savedra guy. So I decided to convert the group to a possible Early Modern setting and to the Honor+Intrigue system.

History Is Cool

Antonio del Castillo y Saavedra was an actual painter from Cordova and there was a painting circle with his name. So a a group of painters calling themselves the New Cordovan School makes historical fictional sense, which is kind of cool.

A Few Caveats

First, I don't have the Conan rules. I think I have a published Adventure written for the old TSR Conan system buried in a box somewhere. A friend of mine wrote it and he gave me a copy. The adventure actually looked kind of cool as I recall, but it's been decades since I read it. So I'm totally winging the stats for what I'm converting to H+I from. 

Second, in converting these characters I’m not going to be concerned with making points come out exactly even with H+I starting heroes nor Villains or even with Retainers of levels 1, 2, or 3. Essentially treat these characters as either Heroes/Villains or Retainers with a flexible number of points and boons. You could certainly get characters like this with a bit of tweaking or in some cases the acquisition and expenditure of  Advancement Points, but I'm not going to worry about any of that. Just think of these characters as being a bit special. 

For conversion purposes: 

• Might is based on Prowess and Endurance.
• Daring is eyeballed based on the character type and background, whether they end up with an H+I martial career, and how much fighting seems to be a focus for them. 
• Savvy is based on Knowledge and Perception.
• Flair is based on Insight, character fluff, and designer judgement.
• Brawl and Melee are based on Fighting and any the level of weapon skills listed. 
• Ranged is based on the level of ranged weapon skills listed.
• Defense is based on Fighting and what seems appropriate to the character.

Several characters have an Acrobatics 2 skill listed. I’m skeptical that they are supposed to be professional acrobats and suspect this is supposed to indicate they are dexterous and capable of the sort of swashbuckling actions that might look like acrobatics to we normal people who live in the real world, but that in H+I is probably covered by the system assumptions that Heroes can do cool and heroic things particularly if they have an above average Daring or Flair. 

For each character I'll provide some designer commentary on how I made my decisions. I dare you to disagree with my decisions. :-)

Volmercer / Zingara Artisan (name change: Victoriano)

Gambler, Miserly
Prowess 1
Acrobatics 2, Movement 5, Strength 5
Endurance 0
Damage 6, Magic Endurance 2
Fighting 0
Rapier 5, Dirk 4
Knowledge 1
Reading/Writing 4, Survival 2, Carpentry 4, Artisan (Painter) 5
Perception 0
Medicine 4
Insight 0
Hypnotism 2, Personal Magnetism 4, Minstrel 2
Equipment
Rapier, Steel Helmet, Bronze Cuirass

Zingara is a Spain analog so I’ll change the name to fit the location. A quick Google search for “Spanish names starting with V” gives me several names to choose from. For now I’ll use Victoriano. 

I assumed Gambler and Miserly are both flaws. Two flaws seems to fit the other three characters so that seems like a good assumption. Gambler is already covered in H+I as the Flaw: Vice (gambling addiction). Miserly is not an existing flaw, so I created a new flaw based on the existing flaw of Spendthrift as a model. 

For careers I use the closest H+I analogue, so Carpenter 4 becomes Craftsman (Carpenter) 2. Prowess 1, Strength 5, and Damage 6 lead me to figure he should have an above average Might 1. Knowledge 2 leads me to Savvy 1. Most of the other listings are managed as careers, but Personal Magnetism and Hypnotism I cover by giving him a high Flair including the Boon: Beguiling and the Charlatan career. Given his primary career is painter not soldier and the setting is 17th C Spain and not Zamora, I delete the armor but keep the rapier. I might have given him a specialization with Rapier since it is higher than the score for Dirk, but I’m satisfied with a general melee of 2 for a painter. Given the large number of careers, I assume his Survival 2 skill is covered by one or more of the various careers.

Might 1           Daring 0          Savvy 1           Flair     3

Brawl 0           Melee 2           Ranged 0         Defense 1

Carpenter 2    Painter 3          Physician 2      Charlatan 1      Minstrel 1

Boons: Beguiling, Jack of All Trades (this justifies a 5^th career)

Flaws: Miserly (New), Vice (gambling addiction)

---

Albena / Brythunian Low Noble
Weakness to Drink, Fear of Animals
Prowess 1
Movement 12, Animal Reflexes 2, Throwing 2, Acrobatics 2
Endurance 1
Stamina 5, Damage 7, Will 2
Fighting 1
Broadsword 4, Dirk 4, Two-Handed Fighting (Sword & Dirk) 2
Knowledge 0
Artisan (Painter) 4, Reading/Writing 2
Perception 0
Picking Pockets 2, Observation 2
Insight 0
Animal Senses 4
Equipment
Broadsword, Dirk, 5 gold coins

Brythunia is based on a purported Anglo/Saxon homeland. Looking at female Saxon names I see Aeaba, Aeleva, and Adelburga and decide that Albena sounds close enough for now and leave her name unchanged.

Weakness to Drink is the Flaw: Drunkard and Fear of Animals is Phobia (Animals) though since no specific animal is specified I’d lower the Fear Rating from 3 to 1. Animal Reflexes I treated as the Boon: Speed which gives a bonus die to initiative. 

The character has Fighting 1, so I assume a minimum of 1 in Brawl and Defense and raise Melee to 2 based on the weapon skills listed. Throwing 2 I convert as Ranged 1. Prowess 1 and Endurance 1 I convert as Might 2. She seems like a fighter and since she is a noble I set her Daring and Flair each to 1. Flair 1 can also cover her Will 2 ability. Her description of Beguiling is covered by her above average Flair and the Temptress career.

Might 2           Daring 1          Savvy 0           Flair     1

Brawl 1           Melee 2           Ranged 1         Defense 1

Noble 1          Temptress 1     Soldier 1          Thief 1             Painter 2

Boons: Animal Senses (New), Speed

Flaws: Drunkard, Phobia (All Animals, Fear Rating=1)

---

Decualuis / Zamoran Artisan (Name change to: Domingo)

Taciturn, Tone Deaf
Prowess 1
Animal Reflexes 3, Movement 4, Strength 3, Swimming 2
Endurance 0
Damage 7
Fighting 0
Saber 5, Short Bow 4
Knowledge 2
Blacksmith 4, Reading/Writing 4, Goldsmith 6, Artisan (Painter) 6
Perception 0
Observation 4, Picking Pockets 2
Insight 0
Animal Senses 2
Equipment
Saber, Cloak, Bronze Cuirass

H+I has a Taciturn flaw and Tone Deaf I’ll use as a special case of the Flaw: Poor Hearing. 

Prowess 1 converts to Might 1. The character has Fighting 1, so I assume a minimum of 1 in Brawl and Defense and raise Melee to 2 based on the weapon skills listed. Bow 4 converts to Ranged 2. And by a similar rationale for that of Volmercer , I remove the armor.

Might 1           Daring 0          Savvy 2           Flair     0

Brawl 0           Melee 2           Ranged 2         Defense 0

Thief 1            Painter 3          Craftsman (Blacksmith 2, Goldsmith 3)

Boon: Animal Senses, Artistic (Bonus Die to Painter)

Flaws: Poor Hearing (Tone Deaf), Taciturn

---

Borerius / Argosean Warrior
Night Blind, Glutton
Prowess 1
Strength 10, Movement 3
Endurance 1
Damage 8, Poison Endurance 4
Fighting 1
Brawling 4, Spear 4, Cinequesda 3, Throwing Dirk 3
Knowledge 0
Survival 4, Artisan (Painter) 3
Perception 0
Directional Sense 4, Observation 2
Insight 0
Animal Senses 4
Equipment
Spear, Throwing Dirk, Chainmail Shirt

Argos is sort of a mix of the Peloponnese and lower Italy e.g. Naples. Borerius sounds like Boreas the north wind, so I decide that is close enough and leave it unchanged as well.

Night Blind is covered by H+I’s Poor Vision. Gluttony is Vice (Gluttony).

Prowess 1 and Endurance 1 would translate to Might 1 or 2, but since he also has Strength 10 and Damage 8 I decide on Might 4. Fighting 1 and the listed combat skills converts to Melee 2 and Brawling 4 converts to Brawl 2. Argos is not a barbarian land so I interpret Warrior as Mercenary and give him an above average Daring 1. For careers I gave him Mercenary 3 and Painter 1 (I rounded his score down) and since he is listed as a Warrior which I convert to Mercenary, I let him keep a good set of armor but I change the armor from chainmail to 1d6 heavy armor i.e. a Back & Breastplate and given the early modern setting I’d also give him a broadsword instead of a spear. Survival 4 is subsumed under the Mercenary career since Mercenaries are out of doors on campaign and travel a fair amount. Poison Endurance sounds like the Boon: Poison Resistance, so I give that boon to Borerius. I rounded down for

Might 4           Daring 1          Savvy 0           Flair     0

Brawl 2           Melee 2           Ranged 0         Defense 0

Mercenary 3      Painter 3       Craftsman (Blacksmith 2, Goldsmith 3)

Boons: Animal Senses (New), Directional Sense (New), Poison Resistance

Flaws: Poor Vision (Night Blind), Glutton (New)

New Flaws

Glutton

You cannot resist any change to eat or to overeat. Roll a Penalty Die to whenever you try to resist the temptation of food.

Another option for Glutton would be to use Vice (Gluttony) but this would a glutton as having a food addiction and would impose a Penalty Die if the character doesn’t (preemptively) eat a lot that day. Instead I chose to treat Glutton like Greed and impose a Penalty Die to resist eating food whenever it is available.

Miserly

You are the stereotypical skinflint or miser. You never want to spend money, always look for the cheapest alternative, and hate to spend anymore than you absolutely have to. There will be times when this gives you a Penalty Die (like showing up to an important social function wearing tattered clothing, minor intestinal distress from bad food, or catching a cold from too little food or lack of heat in winter). There will be other times where it creates serious problems (like dysentery or plague from tainted food or living in dirty, flea and rat infested lodgings, or when your nobility is called into question) in which case the GM will award you a Fortune Point. Nobles are expected to be generous and to appear unconcerned about money so displays of miserliness may bring disrepute including a loss of status and social rank or even questioning of one’s ancestry.

Fear of Animals

This could be treated as a phobia flaw, but instead I treat it as the opposite of Beast Friend. So, whenever dealing with a specific animal you have incur a Penalty Die.

Albena's phobia is nonspecfic so I lowered the Terror rating from 3 down to 1.

New Boons

Animal Senses

Similar to and a combination of Keen Eyesight, Keen Hearing, and Keen Scent butm since it applies to all three senses, instead of a Bonus Die it adds +1 to perception when sight, hearing, or smell are involved.

Directional Sense

Bonus Die for any rolls to determine direction or to avoid becoming lost.

Regency Romances: Bestiary

In addition to creating setting specific rules, Robin and Sean also included a couple of posts for a Regency Bestiary to describe and stat out some of the typical characters one might seen in a Jane Austen novel or Regency Romance: ladies first, then the gentlemen. To some extent H+I already did that with some of the careers, boons, and flaws, as well as a few of the sample character templates and NPC write ups. 

Careers

Keeping in mind that heroes in H+I have 4 starting careers, so a Blue Stocking lady could have the Scholar or Academic career without any expectation that she is necessarily teaching at Oxford, though she might be a tutor for the children of a remote, brooding, and attractive widower. the following careers seem well suited to a character in a Regency Setting.

Artist/Poet, Gambler, Clergy, Official, Duelist/Pugilist, Explorer/Traveler, Noble/Aristocrat/Courtier, Physician/Surgeon, Sailor/Pirate, Scholar/Academic, Servant/Housekeeper, Soldier, Spy, Temptress/Don Juan, Hunter.

PC Templates

Since H+I is focused on swashbuckling action, most templates have some combat capability. In a Regency Romance this may be inappropriate to some characters or even nearly or completely irrelevant to the entire campaign. Templates that may fit a bit better than average are the Cleric, Dangerous Beauty, and Fop; although in a Jane Austen style setting, one might want to switch Poisoner to a different Boon for the Dangerous Beauty.

NPCs

Many of the sample NPCs will be useful in a romantic setting.

Pawns: Angry Mob, Bandits, Hangers-On, Royal Guard, Sailors/Pirates, Soldiers/Guards, Tavern Brawlers, Thieves.

Retainers: Army/Guard Lieutenant, Bandit Leader, Naval Officer, Nun/Priest/Preacher, Pirate Officer, Ship's Bosun, Swordsman.

Also appropriate are the Pawns in my D10 Random Courtier Table.

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Requiem for Two Gangs of Hirelings

In my last post, I highlighted the villain, Frederick Bolmer. Here are some of the deceased henchmen that were hired by  Bolmer in his final and fatal attempts to kidnap the beautiful Beatrijs van Tilborgh.

These men are mercenaries who were hired in Flanders and France  by Jonathan Blaine to carry out Bolmer's latest kidnap plans. Blaine was one of the few survivors.

Next are several local toughs from Orléans who Bolmer hired, through Blaine, to support his final kidnapping plan at the Maid of Orléans inn. Bolmer was a very clever opponent with a high Savvy so I tried to include feints and strategy as part of his plans.

Leader “Hache”

Might 2   Brawl 1   Melee 2   Defense -1

Sailor 2   Lifeblood 10          Retainer 2

Fearsome Looks, Ugly & Brutish, Thick-Skinned

Protection 1 Thick Skin

2H Axe 1d6+4 Dmg, +1 Bind. -2 Parry

Maneuvers: Bladework+2, Brawling+1, Choke+3, Moulinet+3; Bind+4[5], Grapple+3; Parry+2[0]

(8) Thugs

Might 1   Melee 1   Ruffian 0   Pawn 2

Axe/Club/Cleaver/Rusty Sword 1d6+1 Dmg

Maneuvers: Bladework+1; Grapple+1