THE last tutorial left our budding and garishly-coloured adventurers - Human Knight Sir Pubert and Dwarf Barbarian Ardkill - about to get up-close-and-personal with a couple of Orc Warriors in some noisome catacomb, and introduced readers to the basic concepts surrounding the Exploration phase in Trapdoor. New readers are encouraged to follow the aforementioned link where they will find an introduction to and overview of the system so that they may make sense of what follows. Without further ado, let us continue:
Recap: At the end of the last tutorial the plucky heroes opened a door which revealed a couple of Orc Warriors and established that the heroes would go first. As previously mentioned as soon as any enemies are uncovered the Exploration phase ends and an Encounter phase begins: any remaining movement or actions relating to the turn in which the GMinions were discovered are lost. Note that during Encounter phases the heroes may break from the strict order of march required in the Exploration phase. Encounter phases consist of alternating turns (heroes>monsters>heroes>et cetera) which last until all of one side has been slain. As soon as there are no longer any monsters on the uncovered playing area the Encounter phase ends and a fresh Exploration phase starts.
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It is the first turn of a fresh Encounter phase and the heroes may go first. Sir Pubert decides that he should lead the attack and moves onto a square adjacent to the nearest orc. Movement that ends next to an enemy is considered a deliberate Charge. Charging models receive an extra d10 when making Melee (MEL) Rolls. This means that Sir Pubert rolls his normal d10 for making a Melee Attack and rolls an additional d10 because he charged: he then chooses the highest result ('10' in this instance) and adds his MEL characteristic (3) for a total of 13. The Orc Warrior is defending itself and so makes a standard Resilience (RES) Roll with 1d10. It rolls a '6' to which it adds it's RES characteristic (2) for a total of 8. Clearly the Knight has beaten his opponent's defence and the effect of this is now calculated. To do so the RES Roll is subtracted from the MEL Roll, so: 13-8 = 5. This figure is called the Margin of Victory (MoV) and is cross-referenced on the Damage Table against the Damage Rating (DAM) of the weapon the attacker is using, in this case '2'. Cross-referencing DAM 2 against MoV 5 reveals a '2': this is how much Vitality (VIT) the defending model has lost. As Orc Warriors only have two VIT the creature is instantly killed and the model removed from play. For each point of VIT a hero player takes away from an enemy he receives two advancement points, so Sir Pubert duly notes down four points on his hero profile sheet. For every 25 points earned a hero can roll on the Advancement Table between quests, boosting characteristics or acquiring new traits. |
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Play now passes to Ardkill, who promptly charges the remaining monster. Barbarians begin their careers with the Frenzy trait, which allows them to move +2 SPE if Charging, however Ardkill can easily reach his foe using his normal SPE. The Dwarf is charging so rolls 2d10, scoring a '7' and '3'. He selects the highest score and adds his MEL (3) for a MEL Roll total of '10'. The orc rolls 1d10 and scores '5', to which it adds its RES (2) for a RES Roll total of '7'. Ardkill has beaten his foe and now works out the MoV: 10-7 = 3. Ardkill's axe (Hand Weapon) has DAM 2. MoV 3+DAM2 = '1'. The orc has lost one VIT so is still alive! A token is placed next to the creature to denote its status and Ardkill gains two advancement points for removing this point. |
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Turn two: the GM's turn! The Orc Warrior cannot move out of melee so immediately attacks Ardkill. The GM makes his Melee Roll: 7+2 = 9. The Dwarf makes his RES Roll: 8+5 = 13. The creature has failed to beat its' opponent and nothing happens! The GMs turn is over. |
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Turn three. Sir Pubert Charges the hapless orc and makes his MEL Roll: 7+3 = 10. The monster makes its RES Roll: 6+2 = 8. The MoV is '2'. Looking at the Damage Table, the Knight player sees that rather than a number there is an 'S'. This stands for Shaken and is a result common if the MoV is marginal. The orc doesn't lose any VIT, but becomes Shaken (a blue token is placed by it to denote this). Attacks against Shaken models receive an extra d10, much in the same way as Charging. |
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| Ardkill now attacks. He makes his MEL Roll: 8+3 = 11. the monster makes its RES Roll: 5+2 = 7. The MoV is '4': the Orc Warrior loses '1' VIT, killing it. The model is removed from play and Ardkill notes down another two advancement points on his profile sheet, The Encounter phase is now over and a fresh Exploration phase begins. The heroes are free to Search the room, if they wish. |
I hope this provided a helpful insight into how Melee works in Trapdoor; I like to think the system yields a fast yet satisfying result. Note that there are no bonuses for 'ganking' (outnumbering): the extra attacks garnered by ganking are considered sufficient and a weak, outnumbered opponent will quickly perish. Next we shall look at some advanced concepts relating to the Exploration phase and also Ranged Attacks! Again, if there any questions please get in touch here or via email (see my profile, top-right).
