NPC rider/mount combo in melee

[Guy Hoyle]

Hi all,

I searched for information on this, so I'm sorry if this has been addressed before. I have some NPC tusk riders in my next game, and I wanted to know a couple of things about GMing such a combination effectively.

1. Does anybody have a squad sheet for a rider/mount combo? 

2. Do you have any advice for running riders and their mounts in combat? I don't want things to grind to a halt during battle, without just handwaving it.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Guy

[g33k]

Honestly, I'd run with separate sheets for rider & mount.
I'd lay out who was riding which by putting rider & mount in identical positions on their respective sheet, so it was clear at a glance what the status of each was.

I'm not sure how to help you with combat "grinding to a halt" though...  I've always found RQ combat smooth & reasonably quick-flowing.

I primarily rely upon the little "combat manikin" aka "target dummy" illustrations on character sheets.  I find them incredibly intuitive and quick; that's most of an NPC-sheet for combat (also need a few skills & spells, MP's, RunePool).
Roll all relevant dice in one throw:  %-to-hit + d20-location + damage-dice.  Rack the dice in-hand, in that order; throw to preserve the order (as much as is reasonable), and read out the roll as a narrative sentence:  "12% is a special <pause here, for opponent to parry> to the 11 for the abdomen, doing 12 hit points, and an impale in the guts!"
Note appropriately on the sheet(s).

 

Edited June 17, 2023 by g33k

[Bren]

• Tusk Riders will prefer to charge so they get their Tusker's damage bonus for the Lance attack. See the rules on Charging (RQiG p219).
• Lance will be the pair's first attack. Then the Tusker will Gore or Trample (if the Lance attacked downed the opponent, but didn't take them out).
• If their opponent is on foot, remember to use 1D10+10 when figuring the hit location for a Lance hit (RQiG p220.).

[Jex]

Apologies if I'm misunderstanding the question and this isn't helpful, but in case you weren't aware, the adventure "Defending Apple Lane" in the Adventure Book included with the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack involves an attack by a band of Tusk Riders, and has full statistics for all eight Tusk Riders and their mounts.  It's not a squad sheet, but if you just need some Tusk Rider stat blocks, you can yoink those for use in your own adventure.  There's also some advice about the Tusk Riders' combat tactics, though those are tailored to the specific scenario and may not be as useful for you.

[Squaredeal Sten]

I would prepare a simple matrix sheet for the combat: Vertically rider, tucker, rider, tusker etc in pairs.  Top horizontal line of column headings  is IDs, combat stats (SR, %, damage, best armor) , POW , magic to use early, HP,  hits taken, vs. Adventurer ID.

That is all you need for quick reference. You look at the rest of individual stats when you need them.  X out anyone who dies or runs.

 

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Squaredeal Sten
Spelling / typing

[Guy Hoyle]

13 hours ago, Jex said:

Apologies if I'm misunderstanding the question and this isn't helpful, but in case you weren't aware, the adventure "Defending Apple Lane" in the Adventure Book included with the RuneQuest Gamemaster Screen Pack involves an attack by a band of Tusk Riders, and has full statistics for all eight Tusk Riders and their mounts.  It's not a squad sheet, but if you just need some Tusk Rider stat blocks, you can yoink those for use in your own adventure.  There's also some advice about the Tusk Riders' combat tactics, though those are tailored to the specific scenario and may not be as useful for you.

Thanks, Jex, that's what I'm running. Honestly, I'm not as big a newbie as I make myself out to be, I just haven't run any kind of RQ since the 90s.

[soltakss]

You could take the Ally/Mount section from the fillable Character Sheet PDF and add it to the Squad Sheet from the GM Pack. It won't be fillable but it might work.

 

Squad_Sheet_WithMounts.pdf

Edited June 17, 2023 by soltakss

[soltakss]

On 6/15/2023 at 2:48 PM, Guy Hoyle said:

2. Do you have any advice for running riders and their mounts in combat? I don't want things to grind to a halt during battle, without just handwaving it.

For normal combat, war beasts and their riders are trained to work together, so don't bother making a Ride roll each round. When riding normal beasts, a Ride each round might be needed but you might not want to bother with NPCs unless keeping track of who is trying to control their beast instead of attacking is important to you.

• Tusk Riders would charge with their lance in the first round, then they and their Tuskers lay into everyone around.
• Make an attack roll for the Tusk Riders and for the Tuskers on separate Strike Ranks.
• If the Tusker goes down in combat then the Tusk Rider cannot attack and should make a Jump roll to avoid being trapped under its weight.
• If the Tusk Rider is disabled before the Tusker attacks then it still attacks as it is its own master in combat.
• Attackers can attack the Tusk Rider or Tusker, just use the Hit Locations for each. Don't bother with unobtainable Hit Locations, due to reach, the combat is mobile and everyone moves around enough so that anywhere can be hit.
• When using missile fire, roll randomly whether the Tusk Rider or Tusker is hit, as you are effectively firing into melee. If they are fighting Adventurers, treat every rider and mount as separate targets for the random target hit.
• When fighting Adventurers standing on the ground, Tusk Riders roll 1D10+10 when determining hit locations, unless they have very long weapons.
• When Adventurers standing on the ground fight Tusk Riders, they roll 1D10 when determining hit locations, unless they have very long weapons.

It sounds a lot to keep track of but should be easy enough in the game.

[David Scott]

On 6/15/2023 at 2:48 PM, Guy Hoyle said:

Does anybody have a squad sheet for a rider/mount combo? 

Try this. (if you need need more, just make more second sheets)

Mounted Squad Sheets.pdf

[Guy Hoyle]

Thank you!