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

[kleefaj]

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

[hcobb]

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.

[kleefaj]

Originally Posted by hcobb

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.

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

[larsdangly]

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.

[Skarg]

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.

[hcobb]

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.

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by hcobb

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.

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

[larsdangly]

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

[hcobb]

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

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