Surprise is one of the bits of system that didn’t hold up under scrutiny and is worthy of a post on its own, I think. There’s a whole lot of tinkering going on with how surprise operates, beginning with how it feels and including what purpose it serves in the system.
Let’s begin with a look at how it plays out in RAW. I’ve long wondered why groups get surprised one-third of the time upon encountering another group or monster. Reading through all of the OG materials has offered no reasoning to support that rate, so this appears to be one of the things that has been perpetuated simply because of tradition. I decided that I’m not down with that; one-third of the time is simply more than I can sustain disbelief for–it just doesn’t serve my fantasy to have competent adventurers getting flummoxed by running into beasties that often.
To that end, I’ve moved to lesser chances, closer to 25% of the time. If I recall correctly, the odds are about 27%, using the dice roll I’ve landed on. I’m using the 2D6 roll that I’ve pressed into service for some other purposes.
I’m also all for PCs being able to bump the odds in their favor, whether decreasing the chance of being surprised or increasing the chance of surprising others. How the players play should matter and this is but another way their choices matter mechanically and fictionally.
How long surprise lasts has also not survived its viewing under the microscope. The initial measure being provided by the die roll, with a surprise result of 1 or 2 resulting in a matching number of suprise segments was an elegant way to find out long surprise would last. Two segments of surprise are also referred to as “full surprise,” which illustrates that two segments was the longest surprise would last, originally. Then, with the accretion of further rules, notions such as creatures that could surprise more frequently changed how many segments could be notched in that fashion. Tossing in the use of dice of a larger size — D8 or D10 — for surprise checks in some situations, and figuring out how long surprise lasts becomes muddled.
As I don’t think more than three segments of surprise is reasonable — especially with a one minute round — I’ve capped surprise at that. The number of phases of surprise is also established by the dice roll for surprise.
What surprising combatants are able to do during each segment of surprise also got limited. The notion that each segment of surprise garnering a full series of attacks, without regard to the number of attacks entailed, got dropped, too. Two attacks are certainly possible, depending on circumstance; anything beyond that stretched my sensibilities past breaking. And certainly no launching multiple arrows each segment, so only one readied arrow per phase, with a phase required to ready one. I’m also considering an added bonus to having surprised the opponents when the first full round of action fires up, which returns a bit of the overwhelming advantage provided by surprise in the RAW.
This has also resulted in dropping references to segments in the surprise rules, in favor of referring to phases. This is with the understanding that I’m also dropping the use of the term “segment” entirely, at this point, because of its long association with being one-tenth of a round; rounds will be apportioned in fewer parts when the whole is reassembled (five phases per 20-second round).
The urge to allow for PC actions (player choices) to affect the odds of surprise also extends to how long surprise lasts, measured by how much activity the surprising party can do before the surprised can engage fully and player choices can quicken response when PCs are surprised. As above, the number of melee and missile attacks possible will be limited, what movement is allowed carefully meted out, and what casting or other magical work can get started and/or finished. A surprise situation, under this approach, may not happen as often, yet it provides a major advantage to one side when it does happen.
Ambush
An ambush provides a different experience of surprise. Only the party being ambushed can be surprised due to the ambushing party knowing full well when it will act. How the ambush is set up and executed will affect how much activity the ambushing side will get to do before the victims can respond. A well-planned and -executed ambush can provide a bit more time for salvos, too.
Sneak Attacks
A sneak attack is a form of ambush, just on a smaller scale, so to speak. Sneaking up behind a guard to take them out or firing a crossbow from the darkness into a sentry’s back rely on the at-least-momentary lack of awareness and engagement, as much as springing forth from hidden positions along a road when attacking a caravan does.
A Rough Draft of Surprise Rules
Surprise: Roll For doom
A surprise situation may arise when parties encounter each other suddenly. One side is caught off-guard, unaware, and must spend precious moments pull themselves together before they can act normally. Until they recover from being surprised, their activity is limited. Meanwhile, the active party is free to act without those limitations; it’s easy to see why being the active party in such circumstance is advantageous!
These rules describe the many aspects of surprise:
* When to check for surprise
* What modifies the chances of being surprised
* How long surprise lasts
* Early recovery from surprise
* Action during surprise phases
The unsurprised party is referred to as the active party or Party A in these rules. Party B refers to the surprised party, with any additional parties referred to as Party C and so forth.
When to Check for Surprise
A check for surprise is to be made at the outset of an encounter where the status might be a factor.
* When the parties can only become aware of each other at the last moment
* When the environment obscures sight and/or sound, limiting awareness
* When one of the parties is distracted and the other has limited awareness
Modifying Factors
The chances of surprise may be modified by circumstance. The modifiers listed hereafter are given in pairs, reflecting whether the odds change for the PCs or the foes. The modifiers are noted separately for each of the parties involved and applied only to the part of the roll affecting the party being considered.
* other party is magically silenced -2 for PCs; +2 for foes
* other party is invisible -3 for PCs; +3 for foes
* other party has a distinct odor +1 for PCs; -1 for foes
* other party is large (per ten bodies) +1 for PCs; -1 for foes
* other party is camouflaged -2 for PCs; +2 for foes
* other party is moving +1 for PCs; -1 for foes
* Poor light -1 for PCs; +1 for foes
* Darkness -2 for PCs; +2 for foes
* Rain or snow -1 for PCs; +1 for foes
* Fog (may vary) -2 for PCs; +2 for foes
* Loud background noise -2 for PCs; +2 for foes
* Anticipating attack +3 for PCs; -3 for foes
* Suspicious of other +1 for PCs; -1 for foes
The modifiers to surprise chances are cumulative; find the sum of all of the factors and apply that to the roll for the affected side.
A roll for surprise checks for both parties simultaneously. The number of phases of surprise is also determined by the roll. A party may be surprised from one to three phases. Note that the roll total for one party is unaffected by modifiers applied to the other side’s roll total.
* Roll 2D6 and sum the dice, for results of 2 – 12
* Apply the modifiers from above to the sum total for each side separately
* Roll of 2 or 3: PCs surprised for three phases
* Roll of 4: PCs surprised for two phases
* Roll of 5: PCs surprised for one phase
* Roll of 6 – 8: Nobody surprised
* Roll of 9: Others surprised for one phase
* Roll of 10: Others surprised for two phases
* Roll of 11 or 12: Others surprised for three phases
Example: The PCs have a total of -1 in modifiers and the foes have a total of +2 in modifiers. A dice roll total of 7 adjusts the PCs’ roll to 6 — so not surprised — and the foes’ roll adjusts to 9 — surprised for one phase. The PCs get the jump on the varmints!
Early Recovery from Surprise
An individual may recover more quickly from surprise. In these instances, the creature’s recovery bonus knack (reaction bonus) is subtracted from the number of phases of surprise to find out when the creature has recovered. This recovery bonus never wholly mitigates surprise, so the character suffers at least one phase of surprise even if the recovery bonus would otherwise remove all surprise phases.
[Note: The recovery bonus is not a “Get Out of Surprise Free” card. There may be critters or characters that can never be surprised; that ability would be indicated in its description and makes recovery moot. The recovery bonus is described in the character generation rules.]
Example: Party A is surprised for three phases. One of the PCs in Party A has a recovery bonus allowing for one fewer phase surprised, so that character is surprised for only two phases and may begin acting normally in the third surprise phase.
Example: Party A is surprised and the GM rolls one phase of surprise duration. The aforementioned character with the quick recovery still suffers one phase of surprise.
Optional Rule: As recovery from surprise isn’t actually a physical reflex response like dodging a rolling boulder, the use of a Dexterity bonus for recovery makes little sense. The use of Intelligence to determine a recovery bonus makes for a better simulation.
Optional Rule: Any character may recover early from surprise by succeeding on a saving throw vs spells. This save will allow recovery one phase earlier than the surprise roll result. The character will still suffer at least one phase of surprise.
All surprised individuals recover from surprise when the surprise phases are finished. No check of any sort is required to recover at this point.
Actions During Surprise Phases
The active party’s actions decide, in largest part, how the encounter will proceed. The active party can steer the encounter toward parley and negotiations, toward separation and non-interaction, or toward hostilities. The surprised party has little influence on what happens until it recovers from being surprised.
Actions during a surprise phase are limited due to the short time involved.
Parley Actions:
* Speak a sentence or two
* Sound a horn or other device to draw attention
* Hold action and await surprised party’s response
Avoidance Actions:
* Flee
* Withdraw
* Duck into cover
Hostile Actions:
* Shift position to engage a surprised foe
* Launch a readied missile
* Attack a foe already engaged
* Loose a finished spell
* Charge an opponent
Preparatory Actions:
* Ready a weapon
* Begin casting a spell
* Pull out an item
Movement: A character may move up to 20% of their movement rate each surprise phase, if not engaged with a foe. This movement may end with the character in melee range of a foe and thus engaged in melee at the onset of the following phase (or round).
Missiles: Any missile weapons that are readied can be launched or hurled in one phase. Those not readied can be readied in one phase, allowing for launch the following phase. This allows for a readied missile to be launched in the first phase of the first action round following surprise phases; this attack is a bonus to the normal attack routine of the archer and adds +1 phase to the action speed of the regular routine for the round.
Magic: A caster may cast a spell during phases where the opponents are surprised. A completed spell takes effect during the surprise phase it finishes. If the casting requires more phases than there are surprise phases, the casting extends into the following round only the number of phases needed to finish.
Example: A magic user in Party A is casting a spell at a surprised opponent. The opponent is surprised for two phases and the spell takes one phase to cast. The spell is finished and loosed while the opponent is still surprised.
[Does surprise affect saves?]
Example: Magic User A from above instead begins a spell with a casting time of four phases. The spell won’t finish until two phases into the first full round.
Melee: Any active character close enough to engage a surprised opponent in melee during a surprise phase may attack the opponent. The active character may use their normal attack sequence, with the following restrictions:
* A maximum of two attacks in each surprise phase
* If an attack form requires reloading, only one such attack can be made
* A multiple-attack routine may only be split between two adjacent targets that
are each close enough to engage in melee with the attacker
A surprised character may defend, poorly — with a penalty of -2 — during a surprise phase.
Morale: If the active party incapacitates one-third (or more) of the surprised party, or otherwise shows overwhelming capabilities, the surprised party has to check morale once surprise has run its course.
A character recovering early from surprise is able to take action:
* moving, readying a weapon, or other non-attack if not engaged
* defending normally and/or a snap attack if engaged
When Surprise has Ended
When all surprise phases have played out, the action in the fiction and the mechanics of game play change to the relevant sub-system of rules: parley, pursuit, or combat.