Anti-archer tactics

[hcobb]

Nopeai, Elf, age 20
ST 9, DX 12, IQ 11, MA 12
Talents include: Acrobatics, Pole Weapons Expertise, Shield Expertise
Languages: Common, Elvish
Weapon: very fine javelin (1d+2), untalented dagger (1d-1)
Attacks and Damage: Punch (1d-3)
Special Ability/Weakness:
Armor: Small shield stops 2 hits, -2 to be hit

Nopeai's favorite hobby is dodging through difficult terrain to stick it to archers before they get their last shot in.


Assuming that the archer has a reverse missile ring (?!?) and is standing on the far side of a sandbox with a clear line of fire and you've been somehow prohibited from bringing in anything nice, what would you do?

[Drakenbow]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Assuming that the archer has a reverse missile ring (?!?) and is standing on the far side of a sandbox with a clear line of fire and you've been somehow prohibited from bringing in anything nice, what would you do?

What we are doing now is randomizing the arena board between the Melee and the Wizard arena maps. We use the five rooms from DT1 in that random chance and we add that the obstacles can be walls, fire, or shadows. I am going to build a random method so even there could be a mix on the board - or all open.

I need to build the four rooms from DT2. And I want to figure out how to integrate poor footing (to slow MA) at times. Or add in a semi-shadow penalty.

I prefer to randomize a room after choosing arena combatants, some others prefer to determine the room first and choose a character for that room.

[JohnPaulB]

Originally Posted by hcobb

Nopeai, Elf, age 20
ST 9, DX 12, IQ 11, MA 12
Talents include: Acrobatics, Pole Weapons Expertise, Shield Expertise
Languages: Common, Elvish
Weapon: very fine javelin (1d+2), untalented dagger (1d-1)
Attacks and Damage: Punch (1d-3)
Special Ability/Weakness:
Armor: Small shield stops 2 hits, -2 to be hit

Nopeai's favorite hobby is dodging through difficult terrain to stick it to archers before they get their last shot in.


Assuming that the archer has a reverse missile ring (?!?) and is standing on the far side of a sandbox with a clear line of fire and you've been somehow prohibited from bringing in anything nice, what would you do?

"I would join the archer and kill Nopeai" said the dwarf.

[Bill_in_IN]

Having Reverse Missiles spell make anti-archer tactics easy.

Otherwise, a reasonable anti-archer build would include sufficient armor to minimize arrow damage and dodging. He either keeps the archer moving too much to shoot or eventually engages him.

A good anti-archer tactics is skeleton archers like the ones first encountered in Death Test. You have to run up and engage them because shooting them with missile weapons won't work well.

[Drakenbow]

An item can be dropped as a 'free action, yes?

To change weapons for example when engaged, one drops what one has to draw a secondary weapon/item.

When someone tries to initiate HTH, the held items are all dropped in the hex from where the initiator is coming.

The person being attacked by a person initiating HTH drops weapons/items if the HTH is successful.

Right?

So, against an archerer, carry a Tower Shield (-2 DX, -3 hits) while dodging across the battlefield. Drop it when engaged with the Archerer to have back the -2 DX. With Shield Expertise, that would be a -1 DX to the archerer's attacks and one additional hit stopped (total -4 hits stopped). As a mechanical (ie not a magical defense like Reverse Missiles), it seems like it could work well. Just can't dodge the last missile shot if the archerer chooses that option.

[Bill_in_IN]

Originally Posted by Drakenbow

An item can be dropped as a 'free action, yes?

To change weapons for example when engaged, one drops what one has to draw a secondary weapon/item.

When someone tries to initiate HTH, the held items are all dropped in the hex from where the initiator is coming.

The person being attacked by a person initiating HTH drops weapons/items if the HTH is successful.

Right?

So, against an archerer, carry a Tower Shield (-2 DX, -3 hits) while dodging across the battlefield. Drop it when engaged with the Archerer to have back the -2 DX. With Shield Expertise, that would be a -1 DX to the archerer's attacks and one additional hit stopped (total -4 hits stopped). As a mechanical (ie not a magical defense like Reverse Missiles), it seems like it could work well. Just can't dodge the last missile shot if the archerer chooses that option.

That's a decent approach.

Shield Expertise doesn't distinguish that the -1 DX for incoming attacks only applies to hand weapons so, the adjustment also applies to missile attacks coming in from the front hexes. If your desire is to go into HTH, a shield rush at -2 DX saving roll may be helpful in knocking down the archer and making them more vulnerable to become engaged into HTH. You would drop the shield as a part of going into HTH. The -2 DX for the shield would be eliminated and he would have a + 4DX for HTH for a total DX increase of 6. Of course, the foe in HTH also gets the +4 DX but archers aren't usually known for being higher ST characters unless they have crossbows.

[hcobb]

If you knock the archer over (with a thrown weapon for the autotopple, not a shield that grants a saving throw) then I'd follow this up with a shrewd stab with an expert very fine javelin, not HTH.

[phiwum]

Originally Posted by hcobb

If you knock the archer over (with a thrown weapon for the autotopple, not a shield that grants a saving throw) then I'd follow this up with a shrewd stab with an expert very fine javelin, not HTH.

Because if you're neither a wizard nor an archer, you must be a polearms expert. (Hey, what happened to the dagger expert?)

[Steve Plambeck]

Originally Posted by phiwum

(Hey, what happened to the dagger expert?)

Thanks - now I can't stop chuckling!