Melee: One-Last-Shot Missile Attack; drop weapon?
 

Greetings

I seem to remember there was a rule that after one-last-shot the bow was dropped but I don't see that in the recent Melee rules. Or maybe I made it up?

My Monday night group played through a couple of Melee arena combats. I had a bear attacking two human fighters. I'm re-learning the rules and they're never played before.

One situation that came up, the bear charged up to one of the fighters and he chose the one-last-shot missile attack option. Next turn he disengaged. The turn after that the bear closed in and the fighter again chose the one-last-shot missile attack option. This continued on until the end of the fight.

Jeff

Re: Melee: One-Last-Shot Missile Attack; drop weapon?
 

ITL 103: An engaged figure cannot ready or reload a missile weapon.

Sequence is therefore:

Turn 1: Bear engages. Last shot missile attack, weapon not reloaded.
Turn 2: Disengage, weapon not reloaded.
Turn 3: Bear engages, no last shot missile attack is possible because the bow ain't loaded.

Re: Melee: One-Last-Shot Missile Attack; drop weapon?
 

Thanks. This prompted me to look at the Melee rules again. P. 7, Options for Engaged Figured, Change Weapons, (An engaged figure cannot ready or reload a missile weapon.)

Jeff

Re: Melee: One-Last-Shot Missile Attack; drop weapon?
 

I would say it is ambiguous in the case of a draw bow that fires every turn. You do not need to perform a 'ready' action to reload such a weapon - it is automatic and implied when you fire two or more sequential turns. If you had a crossbow or gun that required a specific reload action between each shot then the rules would be clear, but in this case I think they are not. Meaning each group will need to make their own ruling.

Re: Melee: One-Last-Shot Missile Attack; drop weapon?
 

In original TFT, the rule did say you needed to drop your bow if you took a last shot. (On the other hand, it too said the issue was reloading while engaged, and it also mentioned it was possible to hold on to a missile weapon and defend with it, though it would ruin the missile weapon.)

During discussions here before the new version came out, it was pointed out that in a roleplaying game, it didn't seem to fit as well to insist that people must drop their bows as long as they can't re-use them while engaged.

I would say that you could alternate turns disengaging and getting off "last shots" if you can fire in one turn. It will work a lot better if you have higher DX than the bear, and if the bear isn't considered a 2-hex creature that can Push you, and if the bear doesn't have higher MA than you (which I tend to think bears, realistically speaking, would) with which to attempt HTH from the front.

Turn 1: Bear engages. Archer gets off last shot. Bear attacks archer.
Turn 2: If Archer has higher DX than Bear, and there's room, Archer can Disengage. If Bear has higher DX, Bear attacks archer again.
Turn 3: Bear engages. Archer gets off last shot. Bear attacks archer.

If that's not satisfying, the GM might rule that taking a last shot can be followed by hanging onto the missile weapon, but the weapon is considered Unready and a Ready option is needed. That'd be a house rule, though, it seems to me.

Re: Melee: One-Last-Shot Missile Attack; drop weapon?
 

Raising the abuse up a level...

ST 6 DX 11 IQ 15 MA 10
Staff(1d/1d,+3DX) with embedded 10 point powerstone
Goblin(native), Humanish(1), Literacy, etc.
Staff of Power

Announces that she will do a staff occult blast. This raises her turn to act to DX 14 and is a free action, so she disengages at DX 14 then blasts at DX 14 from two hexes away, ignoring armor.

Re: Melee: One-Last-Shot Missile Attack; drop weapon?
 

I don't think the +3DX for the occult staff attack would let her disengage at DX 14.

Re: Melee: One-Last-Shot Missile Attack; drop weapon?
 

Agreed; that seems like a tactic based on a ruling many people wouldn't make.

Re: Melee: One-Last-Shot Missile Attack; drop weapon?
 

My bad. There is no speed advance, just a to-hit mod.

ITL 26: "and the to-hit roll is made at DX+3."