RQG Monster Friday, week 30-2019

[styopa]

Not as much time available to write an overlong essay on a creature this week, sorry.  So this week it's a mechanic: CALTROPS.

 

From Wiki: "A caltrop (also known as caltrap, galtrop, cheval trap, galthrap, galtrap, calthrop, jackrock or crow's foot) is an antipersonnel weapon made up of two or more sharp nails or spines arranged in such a manner that one of them always points upward from a stable base (for example, a tetrahedron)."    In Glorantha they are known to be deployed by the Blue and Red Dragoons of Hwarin Dalthippa, as well as Hon-Eel's Standfast regiment, but their ability to cheaply defend ground and deter pursuit mean their use is widespread by everything from mercenary companies to adventuring groups to small steadings expecting imminent attack.  (IRL: They were used often by the Romans, the Greeks (more to the era of RQG) called them tribalos.)  

Caltrops as a collective term are an ancient weapon used for two purposes: primarily, to injure an opponent (or their mount) while crossing a specific piece of ground.  Success in this role relies primarily on surprise, or the victim's lack of awareness that caltrops are even there.  Once this is known, they are still useful in deterring traversal of that ground or, significantly slowing an attacker that nevertheless pushes through them.  Even if they aren't actually deployed, any intelligent attacker aware that the defender has used caltrops will likely advance much more cautiously and slowly than otherwise.  They can be devastating against mounted troops.

Use: deploying  caltrops is easy - 10-12 can be tossed down to adequately cover a ~1m diameter circle in 1R.    The ground must be at least the hardness of firm sand (caltrops are often used to great effect in shallow fords of rivers without a fast current).   Retrieving such deployed caltrops takes maybe 5m for the same area BUT on any but the most obvious of surfaces must make a SEARCH check to recover them.  If they've inflicted harm on any opponent, only a d100% of them will be recoverable in any case (the rest scattered/destroyed by the activity).

Alternately, these rules can also represent more 'setpiece' similar defenses like 'punji' stakes (small sharpened stakes set firmly upright in the ground) which can be used in much broader conditions like soft ground and grass, but also take a lot longer to set up effectively - assuming the stakes themselves are already prepared, setting them takes a good 5 minutes' work per 1m radius for one person. 

Caltrops are usually visible to some degree and will automatically be seen by aware and alert victims before they move into danger; even unaware targets should usually get a scan check to notice them just before entering the danger area.  Stakes are easier to hide generally, meaning victims must be actively looking for them to get any chance to detect.  In either case, quadrupling the placement time and making a successful CONCEAL check will force the victims subsequent SCAN checks to be opposed - that is, they must succeed AND beat the CONCEAL check to spot them in time.

Note: this assumes 10 caltrops/stakes per 1m circle, roughly.  Less than this means each attack check only has a proportional chance to not even happen: if someone only spreads 6 caltrops, then each attack check has only a 6 in 10 chance of needing to be resolved at all.

Resolution:  Any victim moving through a caltrop'd area has a chance of being attacked by them.  Roll 1d4 vs the number of meters the target is moving per SR (typically 3); if the roll is that number or less, they will be attacked by the caltrops.  If the caltrops aren't obvious, THIS ATTACK IS ACTUALLY SECRET: A victim not actually attacked generally doesn't know they're there at all. A victim stopping in a caltrop area (if they're not attacked, or survive the attack) is fine if they just stand there, particularly if they know caltrops are present.  They could, for example, cast a spell or probably shoot a missile weapon without consequence.  Movement to then leave the area would likely suffer a chance of being attacked again.  Thrown missiles (that take a step, for example) may provoke an attack check, GM's discretion.  Going from prone to standing in a caltrop area may provoke an attack check at GM's discretion.  

Modifiers to this attack check: 

• SIZ4- or prone(crawling) : Normally not affected by caltrops at all.
• SIZ 5-8 creatures: meters/round is effectively -1
• SIZ 24+ meters/round effectively +1

Note: falling prone in a caltrop hex is a bad idea.  The victim automatically suffers 1d3 caltrop attack per 10 full points of SIZ. (Can hit any location.).  If the victim knows caltrops are present and is still otherwise capable, they may dodge each of the caltrops' attacks successively.   Note that falling into the caltrops however, physical armor value vs those attacks is fully effective. 

(Example: a SIZ 6 dog moving 3 through a caltrop zone would effectively check against a 2 (3-1=2) or less to cause an attack.)

Attack: Roll a d10 for each of the target's legs: highest roll is the leg attacked.  Ties mean multiple attacks.  Base Chance of harm is 25%+(target's SIZ*3).  It can special, it can crit.  It can impale.  It cannot ever be parried nor usually dodged (unless the character is falling into them, as above)  

Damage: 1d4+1d(target's SIZ/3)  Physical Leg AP only count 1/2 vs this attack unless falling into the area as noted above.  Note that caltrops proper are almost never poisoned (too likely to hurt the deployer); punji stakes however are very often poisoned or smeared with other harmful substances to increase their efficacy.  The cascade effect of injury, poison, then falling prone while in the field of danger can make even non-fatal poisons like paralyzation or powerful narcotics extraordinarily dangerous to victims.

An intelligent creature moving into a known-caltrop'd/punji'd area may 'clear a path' for others doing nothing else that round.  Subsequent movement by the same route through that area by anyone would ignore the caltrop effects.  If the caltrops were well-hidden, then anyone following must make a SCAN check to see the safe route.

(Example of a bad day: Rurik, hired to clear out some nearby trollkin, decides to sneak into their cave complex during the day when they're probably sleeping.  They are indeed sleeping, but the clever leader, a Value Trollkin, set up some caltrops in shadows of the cave entrance - he was afraid the bear that laired here would come back.  He only had 7 caltrops though, so the coverage is short.  He spent the time placing them, to make them well-hidden with a decent CONCEAL roll.  Rurik is moving quietly but also wants to get in the cave quickly, is sneaking at half skill (moving 2m/SR).  He is not expecting caltrops, but they (as opposed to stakes) ALWAYS give the victim a chance to spot them ahead of time.  GM rolls his scan check to see if he beats the Value Trollkin's earlier conceal roll - failed; he doesn't spot them in time.  As he moves through the caltrops, the GM rolls d3 vs his m/SR and rolls a 1 - he is attacked!   Because the field is only 7 caltrops, the GM first rolls a d10...3, so the attack DOES happen. A roll of 8, 9, or 10 would have meant he strolled past the caltrops with no effect.  Note....as they were hidden, this means he wouldn't have even known they were there!  This could have been unpleasant when he tried to exit...

Rolling to see which leg is affected, he rolls 2d10....he rolls a tie, meaning both legs are attacked separately.  This is not Rurik's day!  The caltrops attack at 25%+Ruriks SIZ(14)*3.  25+(14*3)= 67% attack.  Orlanth is with him - the attack for his left leg misses!  The attack for the right leg specials- oh no!  Damage is 1d4+1d(SIZ/3).  SIZ is 14/3 = 4.6 = 4, so the damage is 1d4+1d4, or 2d4+2d4 with a special, ouch. Rurik is wearing 6 points of armor and wisely cast protection 3 before he entered.  Physical armor only counts as 3 points, but the protection spell is fully effective, giving him 6AP vs the damage.   The damage is nasty, 12pts, enough to exceed his AP and unfortunately his leg hp as well, causing him to fall prone.  Uh oh! 

His SIZ of 14 means he takes 14/10 = 1d3 attack to a random location (but against them, his AP would be the full 6+3 so barring a crit, he's probably pretty safe...  Assuming he survives that, he is now prone in the field of caltrops.  His GM will determine if that made enough noise to wreck his sneaking, and if there is even a single trollkin guard he will probably be in a difficult spot....it's RuneQuest, going alone was pretty dumb anyway.)

 

Cliff's Notes version of the above: Caltrops/Stakes:  Attack base 25%+target’s SIZ*3; Damage 1d4+(Target SIZ/3); Movement through: roll d4 for each hex moved through; if it’s less than target's effective move, target's random leg(s) are attacked.  Physical AP only count half vs this attack. Fall Prone in:  1 attack per 10 SIZ (FRU) of fallen, AP is full value.  Normally 10 caltrops/stakes per hex; if less than, then fractional chance of everything.

Edit: corrected some typos addressing movement to suit rqg's approach.

Edited July 27, 2019 by styopa

[albinoboo]

Yet another great write up, keep them coming.

[Rob Darvall]

Tangentally you can enhance punji stakes with what we used to call "bastard wire". Rope, vine or in our case single strand barbed wire tied between the stakes to create a serious trip hazard to anyone moving faster than a very slow careful walk. Cf falling damage above.