Shields, Bucklers, and Parrying

Earlier this season, I'd posted a houserule regarding Dual Wielding, or Fighting with Two Weapons. Some peripheral discussion outside the post resulting from its mathematic justification lent to speculation on how to make shields simply better than dual wielding: the difference between fighting with two weapons and fighting with a two-handed weapon was very evident, but the difference between parrying with two weapons and with using a shield was less so. So I did some more math and came up with this rule, changing up shields and introducing the buckler:

Shields & Bucklers

Shields grant a flat bonus of +2 to Armor Class. Shields are strapped to one arm and consume its full use.

Bucklers, smaller metal round shields, are available for purchase. Bucklers may be worn on one arm or carried in one hand.

• If carried, the buckler takes up the full use of the arm - as a shield - but can be used as a 1d3 weapon with the Fighting with Two Weapons house rule.
  
• If strapped, the buckler cannot be used when Fighting with Two Weapons, but also does not take up the full use of the arm. Thus, a character using a buckler could also be holding a torch, or wielding a two handed weapon, including ranged weapons.
  
• In either case - carried or strapped - a buckler, on a round where the wearer does not make an attack, ranged or otherwise, grants a flat +1 AC, both to melee and ranged attacks made against the user from a direction that a shield would be applicable - making the assumption that the user is fighting defensively.
  

If using Shields Shall Be Sundered optionally, a buckler should not be able to be sundered. A generous referee might allow a sunder, but only negate half of the damage that would be inflicted by the hit - lest bucklers eclipse two weapon fighting in effectiveness.

The rule above is based on the historical use of bucklers as companion weapons, with an eye towards synergy with preceding house rules.

How Does This Affect Combat?

As already established in the dual-weapons article, the value of a single point of Armor Class, using the Fighting Man THAC0 tiers, is - based on the weapon being used - as follows:

	d4	d6	d8	d10
Dmg. Delta:	-0.125	-0.175	-0.225	-0.275

This is consistent across the board: so, if wearing chainmail and being attacked by a monster of - say - 2 hit dice (THAC0 17) with an attack dealing 1d8 damage, a hero can expect to take 2.025 damage per round until the enemy can be eliminated (see appended chart at the end of the post).

• The hero, if fighting defensively with two weapons or fighting defensively with a buckler, would expect to take 1.8 damage per round instead.
• If the hero was using a buckler and made no attacks during the round, they would expect to likewise take 1.8 damage per round instead: including against - say - a 2 HD archer with a 1d8 ranged attack.
• The hero, if fighting with a buckler and a two-handed sword, would be able to to opt in to 1.8 damage per round, as well, by not making an attack - but would expect to take 2.025 again if they press the attack.
  
• A character using a shield, regardless of their stance, would expect to take 1.575 damage per round.
  

This would at first glance imply that - over short engagements - there is little advantage to be had. Over 10 rounds fighting defensively in melee, a character with a buckler would expect to take barely 3 points of damage more than if they used a shield. However - consider that most combat-focused characters aren't going to be hit every round - especially if coupling the shield with plate armor. Instead, most low level enemies have a better chance of missing than they do of hitting - our hero from above will likely not be hit for three or four combat rounds before being hit for 4 or 5 in one strike! In a game where protracted combats work against the good of the party - hit points being one resource to manage: a resource that is in ever-short supply - being able to forestall the likelihood of being hit even one more round while the damage dealers are able to knock out enough monsters to shake their morale may be the difference between spending those precious hit points and preserving them. Based on the the likelihood to be hit at a given Armor Class, the number of rounds a character can expect to go per hit taken breaks down as follows:

	Armor Class
THAC0	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2
19	1.82	2.00	2.22	2.50	2.86	3.33	4.00	5.00
17	1.54	1.67	1.82	2.00	2.22	2.50	2.86	3.33
14	1.25	1.33	1.43	1.54	1.67	1.82	2.00	2.22
12	1.11	1.18	1.25	1.33	1.43	1.54	1.67	1.82
10	1.05	1.05	1.11	1.18	1.25	1.33	1.43	1.54

Versus a 2 HD monster, a character with chainmail only will, on average, expect to be hit no fewer than once every three rounds of combat in which they are participating. With a buckler fighting defensively, this increases to just over every third round; with a shield, the same character is likely to be hit every fourth round. Of course, this is per monster - so, fighting against three or four monsters increases the odds, but knowing the above - would your party prefer 2 chances to kill the enemy before it wounds your Fighting Man at AC 5 or would your party prefer 4 chances at AC 3?

For completeness, as follows is a table containing the % chance of scoring a hit at each level tier and the damage per round that will be inflicted by a competing Fighting Man - bonuses from high Strength or magic weaponry excluded - of a given level using a given damage die.

Delve on, readers!

Expected Damage and Hit Likelihood; by Tier, AC, and Damage Die

		Armor Class
Ftr. Tier	THAC0	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1	0
		Chance to Hit
1-3	19	55%	50%	45%	40%	35%	30%	25%	20%	15%	10%
4-6	17	65%	60%	55%	50%	45%	40%	35%	30%	25%	20%
7-9	14	80%	75%	70%	65%	60%	55%	50%	45%	40%	35%
10-12	12	90%	85%	80%	75%	70%	65%	60%	55%	50%	45%
13-15	10	95%	95%	90%	85%	80%	75%	70%	65%	60%	55%
		Rounds Passing per Expected Hit
1-3	19	1.82	2.00	2.22	2.50	2.86	3.33	4.00	5.00	6.67	10.00
4-6	17	1.54	1.67	1.82	2.00	2.22	2.50	2.86	3.33	4.00	5.00
7-9	14	1.25	1.33	1.43	1.54	1.67	1.82	2.00	2.22	2.50	2.86
10-12	12	1.11	1.18	1.25	1.33	1.43	1.54	1.67	1.82	2.00	2.22
13-15	10	1.05	1.05	1.11	1.18	1.25	1.33	1.43	1.54	1.67	1.82
		Damage per Round, D4
1-3	19	1.375	1.25	1.125	1	0.875	0.75	0.625	0.5	0.375	0.25
4-6	17	1.625	1.5	1.375	1.25	1.125	1	0.875	0.75	0.625	0.5
7-9	14	2	1.875	1.75	1.625	1.5	1.375	1.25	1.125	1	0.875
10-12	12	2.25	2.125	2	1.875	1.75	1.625	1.5	1.375	1.25	1.125
13-15	10	2.375	2.375	2.25	2.125	2	1.875	1.75	1.625	1.5	1.375
		Damage per Round, D6
1-3	19	1.925	1.75	1.575	1.4	1.225	1.05	0.875	0.7	0.525	0.35
4-6	17	2.275	2.1	1.925	1.75	1.575	1.4	1.225	1.05	0.875	0.7
7-9	14	2.8	2.625	2.45	2.275	2.1	1.925	1.75	1.575	1.4	1.225
10-12	12	3.15	2.975	2.8	2.625	2.45	2.275	2.1	1.925	1.75	1.575
13-15	10	3.325	3.325	3.15	2.975	2.8	2.625	2.45	2.275	2.1	1.925
		Damage per Round, D8
1-3	19	2.475	2.25	2.025	1.8	1.575	1.35	1.125	0.9	0.675	0.45
4-6	17	2.925	2.7	2.475	2.25	2.025	1.8	1.575	1.35	1.125	0.9
7-9	14	3.6	3.375	3.15	2.925	2.7	2.475	2.25	2.025	1.8	1.575
10-12	12	4.05	3.825	3.6	3.375	3.15	2.925	2.7	2.475	2.25	2.025
13-15	10	4.275	4.275	4.05	3.825	3.6	3.375	3.15	2.925	2.7	2.475
		Damage per Round, D10
1-3	19	3.025	2.75	2.475	2.2	1.925	1.65	1.375	1.1	0.825	0.55
4-6	17	3.575	3.3	3.025	2.75	2.475	2.2	1.925	1.65	1.375	1.1
7-9	14	4.4	4.125	3.85	3.575	3.3	3.025	2.75	2.475	2.2	1.925
10-12	12	4.95	4.675	4.4	4.125	3.85	3.575	3.3	3.025	2.75	2.475
13-15	10	5.225	5.225	4.95	4.675	4.4	4.125	3.85	3.575	3.3	3.025

Public domain art lovingly pilfered from OldBookIllustrations.com and adapted for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.

Save vs Spells: 20 Themed Traps

Part two of a five part series that I started in April and promptly forgot about for seven months, a list of 20 traps, tricks, and hazards which were inspired by thinking about what could prompt a character to Save vs. Spells. 

Mix and match, pilfer and edit - but either way, don't forget to abuse your player characters while protecting the treasure at the bottom of the dungeon!

1d20	Result
1	Mosaic of the Mesmer Along a wall is a thick curtain, secured in the center with a knotted cord. Behind the curtain is the mosaic - two figures, one standing over the other, who is falling to a knee. If the mosaic is exposed to light, such as a party with torches opening the curtain, the kneeling character will shift "inward" - seeming to fade against the background coloration, and the standing character's eyes shift, focusing on anyone in line of sight. All characters seeing the eyes of the standing figure must save - the closest character saving at a -2 penalty, the figure making direct eye contact with them - or become mesmerized (unable to act) for 2d4 turns. A significant event - such as a torch going out or an unfazed ally shaking them - allows an affected character another save to shake the transfixation; however if a wandering monster appears and there are no waking characters, a victim of the trap is at the encounter's mercy.
2	Mist of Nubility A corridor, longer than it is wide, extends before you. Along the walls near are trappings of youth - nearer one end, elements that would appeal to a teenager; nearer the other, elements that would appeal to an infant. In the ceiling are poke holes, four of them in total, alternating left and right side of the corridor. Walking too closely to the holes may trigger the trap: spraying a fine mist over an affected victim: who must then save or reduce their age by 1d10 years. The change is permanent and cumulative if a character is affected more than once.
3	Sinking Trap On the floor, a square of stone - cut as though a trapdoor, but with no hinge. Upon stepping into the square, a flash of dark light and the stepper must save or fade, halfway, from existence for 1d4 rounds. When incorporeal as such, the character cannot touch material items around them and will start "falling" through the floor: potentially re-materializing on a lower level... or inside of solid rock.
4	Flesh to Vines The trapped item - door, chest, whatever - is covered in spiked brambles, midnight blue in color. If a character is nicked by the brambles, they feel a strange rushing sensation - out of themselves and into the bramble, followed by a pinprick at the site. Upon being so pricked, the victim must save up to three times over 3 turns: Failing the first time, the character's hairs change into thin fronds, like a fern. Failing the second time, the character's internals begin to change, reducing movement by half as tendons stiffen, granting +1 Armor Class as the skin hardens, forcing the character to act last in a melee and lending 50% failure chance to delicate activities, such as picking a lock or casting a spell. Failing a third time, the transformation is complete: the character takes root as a newly acquired house plant. Magic such as a Dispel or Remove Curse will, if applied during this transformation, counteract it entirely.
5	Anti-Magic Orb The character sees a circular relief, hinged and ringed as though to rotate, the center of which is a deep black orb. If the relief is turned, it begins to whine; if the turning persists, it emits a high pitched sound that deafens all within 15 feet for 1 round. The black orb is burst - removed from existence with no trace it was ever there - and all characters within five feet of it must save or be affected by an anti-magic field. No magical effects will affect them, nor will magical items work for them, for 1d4 days.
6	Gateway Gills A grate or gateway - the bars of which are, upon examination, forged to look like twisting kelp, the hinges are sea shells, and the entry gate, is a fish with legs. Attempting to pass by the gate will activate the trap - wherein the affected party must save or have their lungs transitioned into gills: meaning they will survive handily in water, but will suffocate outside of water in 2 turns, plus any Constitution modifier they may have. The effect lasts for one hour.
7	Spiked Ceiling Trap In a rotunda, encased by portico, the domed ceiling consists of dozens of iron spikes, forged to appear jagged: stalactites from a nightmare. Under the dome - but within the square space encased by columns - are two blue concentric circles: one significantly smaller than the other. Stepping into the inner circle activates the trap: all characters within the outer circle must save or fall upward to be impaled on the spikes, before dropping back to the floor. For alternative flavor, consider whether or not the triggering character in the inner circle is subjected to the magic or just his compatriots.
8	Shocking Fangs A large statue of an eel - tall enough that a man might stand beneath it - stands with two gold fangs protruding down from its open maw. The pupils of its eyes are lightning bolts. A character which  touches both fangs at the same time must save or be electrocuted - taking 2d8 points of damage. The referee is encouraged to use this trap in conjunction with another secret - perhaps, connecting the nodes will cause a gate to open or a secret to be revealed - as then it poses an obstacle, not a silly and somewhat trite "gotcha" moment.
9	Arcane Diffuser The guarded element - a trapdoor, a chest, what have you - is under a wire cage, closely woven as a sieve. Surrounding it - at the cardinal directions - are erect staves, embedded in the floor, with spearheads on them that rotate to face the nearest living being. By crossing the threshold of two or more of these staves where the faces both follow the same target, the trap is activated: the stave-heads flash and the target must save or be turned into a gaseous form, as the potion, for 2d4 turns.
10	Inanimate Magnetism The player is confronted by a steel ball floating between iron needles extending from the floor and the ceiling - the ball is flawless in its shape and smoothness. If they approach it, they feel drawn to it; more so, if they wear ferromagnetic materials - such as is commonly found in weapons or armor. If the character touches the orb, they activate the trap. Affected characters must save or become, themselves, highly magnetic. Affected characters wearing armor suffers immediate damage equal to 2d4 minus the descending Armor Class provided by the armor as it crushes against them. Affected characters and their allies within 10 feet of an affected character suffer a -2 on attack rolls with primarily metal weapons, including ranged weapons, for the duration as their magnetic field retards the attempt. Other metal equipment - such as iron spikes or hand mirrors - can be affected, but would be at the discretion of the referee: a mirror, for example, in the hand of a magnetic character would function as normal, as it would stick to the hand; whereas a spike might be harder to use, as it would be drawn to the spiker. Miscellaneous metal items within 10 feet will be drawn to the character; with larger objects potentially causing damage or increasing character encumbrance. This effect lasts for one hour.
11	Inanimate Anti-Magnetism As Inanimate Magenetism, excepting that the character repulses ferromagnetic materials! Primarily metal armor balloons out - like a loose shirt being blown upwards with a fan: the player should roll 1d10 - if the result is less than the AC provided by the armor, something snaps and the armor is repulsed off of the body of the magnetized wearer. Primarily metal weapons become difficult to hold as they are pushed away: the player should roll under Strength initially and whenever a significant event occurs or drop the weapon - which will be forced distant from the character if they attempt to pick it up. Other metal equipment - such as iron spikes or hand mirrors - will likewise try to repulse; the exact effect to be arbitrated by the referee. Miscellaneous metal items within 10 feet will be likewise repulsed to a minimum distance of 10 feet from the affected character. Magic armor, or magic equipment, should have a bonus to resist this effect, at the discretion of the Referee.
12	Headstone of Vampiric Redistribution Embedded in a wall is a holy symbol - as might mark a grave - but on it is a face, twisted, eyes black. Touching the eyes activates a trap - wherein the victim must save or lose one experience level. An ethereal spray then emanates from the mouth of the statue in a fifteen foot cone - any characters other than the drained victim who are caught in the cone must save or gain experience points on the spot equal to 1/5 of the total necessary for the victim to advance back to where they had been before.
13	Decrepitude Curse At the entrance to a treasure horde, barred or locked by a portcullis, a lever on the floor takes on the appearance of a walking cane, under an inscription, "Wealth cannot buy fortitude." The walking cane can be pulled, and in so doing it will come loose and unlock the horde, however the puller must save or suffer decrepitude - reducing their Strength and Constitution scores to 3 until such time as Remove Curse or similar magic can be used to lift the burden.
14	The Love Tunnel A narrow passage, the walls grimy with an organic material which absorbs light - all light sources inside it have their illuminated radius halved. The passage seems straight, but if a character walks into it, they appear to go around a curve from the exterior - but as soon as they reach the extent of their normal light, such that they can no longer see the entrance, they see an exit in front of them - which will turn out to be the entrance that they came in from. A character that exits the tunnel via the mystic loop activates the trap; a character turning around and exiting the way from which they came does not. A character subjected to the trap must save or become enamored of a randomly determined party member. The effect lasts 1d6 hours - during that time, obnoxious role play aside - the character will be distracted, being twice as likely to be surprised, suffering an automatic 25% failure chance on any skill checks or spellcasting attempted, and if the affected character is the party's mapper, the referee is encouraged to be scant on the details, perhaps talking about the target of affection instead, if asked specifics regarding the dimensions of a room.
15	The Dazzler Ball Hanging from the ceiling to around face height, a silver ball - not round, but made of dozens of polygons together - awaits the party. As the party enters, music begins to faintly play and the ball slowly rises towards the ceiling. If allowed to reach the ceiling, it will flatten itself into a hemisphere and issue a pulse of entropy: any characters that can see the wave must save, and any characters close enough to have heard the music must likewise save, but may re-roll if they fail on the first try. Characters that fail the save by seeing are blinded for 1d6 turns, they - themselves - perceiving their head to be caught inside a ball of mirrors, capable of seeing only themselves; characters that fail the save by hearing are effectively deafened for 1d6 turns, hearing only the repeating music.
16	Truth Horn A horn with a bellow affixed to the mouthpiece hangs across a narrow entry point. Crossing the threshold activates the item - at which point the bellow depresses and the horn sounds. The referee should immediately check for a wandering monster - and all characters must save or be illuminated based on their alignment: lawful characters radiate a warm yellow; chaotic ones a cool blue; neutral characters have an odd anti-glow, wherein light seems to suck into them rather than reflect off. For the next 1d6 hours, reaction rolls made should be modified based on alignment: up to -2 for differing alignment, up to +2 for lawful to lawful, and a plus or minus in secret for chaotic to chaotic, based on opportunity perceived by the reacting party.
17	Mother of Locusts A burlap sack in the shape of a person hangs from the ceiling. Tied by the hands, feet, and top of the head, it slowly drips caterpillars, locusts, and cockroaches. If the party opens the sack-person, setting them "free," or otherwise significantly disturbs the sack person, the burlap falls apart in their hands, dousing the handler or handlers with a black smoke-like semi-liquid and forcing them to save. On failure, an affected character belches insect vermin for 1d4 rounds; taking 1d4 points of damage and summoning a single Insect Swarm (B37) on each of affected round.
18	Beast Allure A crystal flask with rubber stopper, filled with a swirling mauve cloud: it might be placed obviously or perched atop a door or other hidden place to drop on an unwary victim. When significantly disturbed, un-stoppered, or broken, a series of sparks emits from the flask - seeking the trachea. Any character within 20 feet must save or, after 1d4 turns, begin to sweat a strange, powdery mauve substance - the sweating lasting 1d8 turns. For the duration of the effect, the rate of wandering monsters should be tripled.
19	Flesh to Brass Three masks trailing black curtains bound to appear as robes look down onto a dais containing a pedestal with guarded item. On the dais are 1d3-1 metal adventurers: absolute realistic in their depiction. A character that comes too close to the dais may note the masks begin to follow them - and a character who dallies too long on it, or who attempts to directly acquire the guarded item, will activate the trap. The masks begin to oscillate warm colors and any character - up to three at a time, as there are three masks - at whom the masks are staring must save once per round for as long as visual contact can be made: Failing once causes the skin to become irritated and scaly, cool to the touch. The target suffers -1 to reaction rolls going forward. Exterior worn metal items begin to shift to a more organic material - reducing their effectiveness, per referee discretion. Failing a second save causes the skin to harden, reducing movement speed by 10 feet and imposing a -1 penalty on attacks or a -10% success chance on fine motor actions, but granting a +1 to Armor Class. Worn metal items become wholly disconnected flesh: becoming largely useless for their intended function. Magic items should receive a separate save against the effect. Failing a third save freezes the character in place. They are unable to move, trapped within a metal shell once their skin. The effect is permanent, unless Remove Curse or similar magic can reverse the effect.
20	Curse of the Puppeteer Strings hang from a ceiling too far in the darkness to be seen, as though holding invisible marionettes. If a character touches one, it gives them a buzzing sensation. If a character touches two or more at a time, they must save or become entangled in them - the ropes taking hold in their wrists and ankles.  The ropes then begin to move, dancing the character about the room and potentially threatening others with being struck. The character will feel at peace - as though this is the natural order - and after 2d3 rounds, they will no longer struggle against it and - if freed by their allies, will walk listlessly and react only to stimuli or particularly confident commands. The duration of the effect is at the discretion of the referee.

Happy Trapping!

Public domain artwork retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com between September and November, 2020, and adapted for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.

Hollow of the Broken Face

Scale: 10 ft.
Click here for a PDF version of this adventure!

A - Hall Victorious

A1 - Main Hall

A downward-sloping natural cavern opens into a large, hewn room. 15 feet from the east and west walls, at 10 foot increments inside the room, are black metal sconces: empty. At the northern half of the room is a moai - 8 feet wide by 12 feet tall. The eyes, nose, and mouth appear to have been fitted with something, but the pieces are missing.

The pieces are hidden through the dungeon; or - depending on your milieu, perhaps they have been looted and are hidden nearby. If all pieces are inserted correctly, a platform on which the moai sits will sink into the floor, dropping eight feet, revealing access to A2. To close the ingress to A2, one or more of the moai features can be removed. The opening and shutting process of the lift takes 3 rounds.

However, the moai is trapped twice over:

The correct order of the eyes is blue on the right; red on the left. If the right eye and left eye are inserted incorrectly, the right into the left socket and vice versa, a light will emerge from them: red from the left eye and blue from the right eye: approximately in 45 degree arcs from each. Characters caught in the blue light only must Save vs Petrification or turn to salt; characters caught in the red light must Save vs Spells or be aged to venerability: reducing all ability scores by half. Characters caught in the middle - both at once - must Save vs Death or be disintegrated.

If the false nose is placed into the nose socket, the chin of the moai will fall, causing the mouth to fall out, if inserted, and releasing a toxic gas that hangs low to the ground. Any character within 15 feet of the statue must Save vs Poison; any character within 30 that is not able to retreat from it likewise must Save vs Poison on the following round, but benefits from a +2 bonus to the save. Any character at or outside 45 feet is not close enough to be affected. After three rounds, the poison sinks into the floor. Dwarves and Halflings save at a -2 penalty due to their stature.

The east door is stuck, but not locked. The west door is neither.

A2 - Horde Gate

Three doors to three rooms beyond this room are wrought iron, inlaid into a wall of bars: a character would not be able to slip through, but can see through into the darkness. The north door is not locked; the east and west doors are chained shut with large, ostentatious seals: the seals can be broken without much effort. 

A3 - Sword of the Forgotten King

In this room is a pedestal holding a sword; around it, lining the walls, are several chests. If the sword is handled, the chests begin to lose their corporeality - unable to be grasped; if the chests are emptied, the sword begins to slide into the pedestal - unable to be freed. Inside the chests are 800 silver pieces, 600 gold pieces, and three fire-opals worth 50 gold pieces each. On the west wall is a relief carving depicting the sun.

The sword is a +1 longsword, +3 versus undead. Adjacent to it are three gems: a small moon sapphire, 100 gp, and two large garnets (500 gp each).

A4 - Throne Sepulcher

A stone chair with a desiccated corpse - mummified by time and dry rather than intention - slouched against it; the corpse appearing to have fallen from its original posting. It wears a tunic and a visor - the visor is made of wood and silver, worth 450 gold pieces to a collector. It has a scabbard in its belt, its right hand is empty, and in its left hand, it clutches a key.

A5 - False Horde

In this room are several half-dissolved wooden chests and a Gray Ooze (B36). The chests contain some lead figurines, some mostly-rotted books, and dust. On the east wall is a relief carving depicting the moon, complete with facial features, that the man-in-the-moon appears sleeping. If the key held by the corpse in A4 is inserted into the nose of the man-in-the-moon, the door to A6 will open.

A6 - The King's Horde

The walls of this room are adorned with dyed curtains, aged - but heavy. They are adorned with gold fittings worth 800 gp. There are two chests on the north and south walls, each, and each contains 2,000 silver pieces. In the center of the east wall, there is a glass case containing two crowns, similar to the one worn by the mummy, but one is gold with citrines, the other silver with diamonds. Both are worth 1,200 gold pieces. In addition can be found an ivory scepter with platinum topper (700 gp), an electrum torc (600 gp), and a sash made of thin linked plates - silver, with gold trim - (900 gp).

The chests are sealed and must be forced open. The glass case is locked and trapped with a poison needle - though the needle does not activate if the glass is simply broken.

B - Western Passages

B1 - The West Way

The west door leads to what appears to be a closet; though the floor is damp - a hint to the presence of a secret door - upon entry. Just to the south, a group of 4 Neanderthals (B39) are audibly fighting with a group of 6 Giant Rats (B41).

B2 - Guards' Tomb

In the center of the room is a dining table - chairs missing. Ringing the table on each face except south are stone coffins, three to the north and two each to the east and west, respectively. On the dining table is a silverware set worth 100 gold pieces.

Inside each sarcophagus is a Skeleton (B42) in repose. If any sarcophagus is opened, all skeletons will attempt to open their sarcophagi and attack. The lids, however, are heavy: and each skeleton only has a 2-in-6 chance of opening the lid each round. A referee is encouraged to modify this chance if the players are clever (or foolish) in their response: that is, placing additional weight on the lids may buy them time or prevent the inhabitant of the weighted coffin from escaping entirely.

B3 - Nose Creek

Doors exiting this room are obvious from the inside, and easy to open. A crack in the ceiling drips sparkling water into a groove in the floor running south-west to north-east. There is an abundance of lichen growing along where this water seems to slowly drain eastward. In the south-west corner, there is a deeper pool, formed by some debris: in this pool is the nose of the moai.

The nose of the moai is obsidian, with black pearls for nostrils. On its own, it would be worth 1,500 gold pieces: but it would be difficult to find a buyer.

The lichen has curative properties, if applied to a wound or injury causing a Save vs Poison, will allow the user to re-roll a failed save. If eaten, it restores 1 hit point. There is enough lichen, if harvested, for 2d3 doses. The water tastes good, but has no other affects.

B4 - The Narrow Way The door to B5 is made of wood and is locked. A skeleton sits, propped against the north east corner of the alcove into which the door is set. Four Cave Locust (B32) are milling about in the narrows of the hallway. The secret door to the north is a concealed sliding door, opening towards the west, with a sliding clasp hidden just above a man's average height in a nook in the stone to unlock it.

B5 - A False Nose On the northern and southern extents of this room are several large vases, each filled with flowers. The flowers have long since desiccated. In the center of the room is a pedestal with what appears to be a large nose - made of basalt - with a ridge on the rear side, as though a hanger. Scattered around the floor in a circle around the pedestal is 1,000 silver pieces. This nose is a false nose. If inserted, it will activate the moai's mouth trap. On its own, it has little or no value if sold.

C - The Eastern Corridor

C1 - Tribute to the Moai

In a nook on the northern wall is a smaller moai wearing an expression of disgust. It is facing slightly off, slightly south-west instead of south as might have been implied, as though jarred by a passing body. To the east of the moai statue is growing a set of fungi stalks, red in color and between three and four feet tall - they are harmless.

Behind the moai is a secret door, through the grooves of which, a moderately repugnant smell is emanating. This smell is only detectable if a character is close enough to the moai to interact with it, and thus would be noticed if a character explicitly investigates the statue. The door, itself, is concealed by a simple inlay into the pattern of the hewn walls and will slide inward if even pressure is applied to three of its four corners.

C2 - Ogre's Cave

An Ogre occupies this space, wearing the mouth of the statue in his own mouth, as a set of wax lips: chuckling and thinking himself dreadfully clever for so doing. In addition, he has auspiciously hanging from the walls a diamond necklace (1200 gp), a gold chain inlaid with alternating aquamarine and zircon (900 gp), a sapphire bracelet (1,100 gp; slightly damaged: he might have tried it on), a set of topaz earrings (1,100 gp for the set), and 2,000 gold pieces.

The mouth, itself, has a peg or ridge in the back that will allow it to fit into the mouth of the moai in A1. Its lips are obsidian; its teeth are nacre. It would be difficult to sell, but is worth 2,000 gold pieces.

C3 - The Iron Ballroom

Along the north and south walls of this room are nooks wherein candelabra may be placed. Hanging from the ceiling - roughly in the middle, east to west, and 10 feet north from the southern wall, is a chandelier made from glinting steel. In each of the two nooks in the northern wall, where the hallway from C1 terminates, is a Living Statue, Iron (B37), which will attack on sight. Any character entering from the north is likely to be surprised; any character entering from the west door is unlikely to be surprised.

The door in the west wall is heavy (counts as stuck), as though made for strong arms, but is not locked.

Inside the chandelier - but hidden from view from below - is the left eye of the moai in A1: which is ringed with obsidian, a nacre white, and a ruby pupil. Alone, it is worth 1,000 gold pieces, but would be difficult to sell.

C4 - Bloody Store

In the south west corner of the room are a set of barrels - empty, dry. In the north west corner, empty crates. In the center of the room is a freshly dead adventurer clutching an open satchel while lying in a pool of drying blood. The adventurer is wearing leather and carrying some random equipment (rope, rations, torches, etc. - the referee is encouraged to ad lib) - notably absent, however, is any metal equipment at all on his person.

The north door is locked. The south door is heavy (counts as stuck), but not locked.

C5 - A Room to Cavern, Reclaiming

The ceiling of this room drips and is overgrown with hanging plants. The walls are hewn, but the floor is in decay - broken, with rubble and rocks from where the ceiling has collapsed. There is an earthy scent to the room and a 20% chance the party will be attacked by 2-8 centipedes dropping from the ceiling: as Centipede, Giant (B33) excepting that their attack - on hit - requires a Save vs Poison: on failure, 1 point of Wisdom is temporarily drained. Drained Wisdom lost in this manner will heal at a rate of 1 point per day.

The east door is stuck.

The secret door is a pocket door, sliding into the wall when a character activates an unlocking mechanism in a nook that is covered in moss.

D - The Southern Chambers

 D1 - The Old Refectory

This space is barren - though the floor has a discolored look to it, as though there once was a table in the center, rotted away from age or perhaps stolen. In the ceiling is a horde of normal bats (B30) which, if a party gets too close, will panic and take flight.

The door to B4 is stuck, but not locked. 

The door to D2 is not locked. 

There is a pit trap 20 feet deep in the hallway leading east.

D2 - House of the Blue Eye

The north door is not locked. In each corner of the room are large brass sconces, empty. Along the floor, however, is emblazoned a large Celtic knot in a green mosaic pattern. At each cardinal point - north, south, east, and west, an emerald is inlaid in the floor (400 gp each, if pried out) - and in the center, the right eye of the moai.

The eye is facing upward, emitting a dim blue glow as though a light were shining beneath it. It is ringed by obsidian, the white is nacre, and the pupil and iris are a large sapphire. If the eye is removed from its hole, a portcullis drops at the door, trapping whomever is inside the room. If the eye is replaced, the portcullis will lift.

On its own, the eye would be worth 1,000 gold pieces, but may pose a challenge to sell.

D3 - The Coin Pool

A circle of raised brick forms a concave center to this room. The circle is partly full of stagnant, but clear water. In the water, almost as a wishing fountain, are 500 silver pieces.

On the west wall is an amulet portraying the moon - made of electrum with opal inlays - worth 1,100 gold pieces; on the east wall is a headdress, gold, that appears to portray the sun, along with emerald inlay. The headdress is worth 1,200 gold pieces.

Public domain artwork retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com, ReusableArt.com, and the National Gallery of Art and adapted for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.

How Chainmail "Fixes" Fighters

The Leap was Made, unknown artist,
retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com.

Alternative Combat Broke the Fighting Man

TL;DR - when playing D&D from the Basic era onward, the Alternative Combat System (or, the d20 system) was the default mechanism for combat resolution: taking into account the level of the attacker and the armor of the defender to determine hits and damage. However, this left the Fighting Man under-powered as the party advanced: dishing out small amounts of damage to singular opponents per turn and, as levels grew on, becoming more and more likely to take damage each round in the face of the meek consolation prize of added hit points.

This problem was not introduced by newer editions - but instead was an infection at the start with the Alternative Combat System. If, instead of using the ACS, a referee opted to use the Chainmail combat system, as prescribed by the original 1974 little brown books, Fighting Men became conversely over-powered: dishing out significantly more casualties in melee and becoming significantly harder to damage in combat (regardless of armor worn) as they leveled.

Thus, one of the most house-ruled aspects of OSR game play - the buffing of fighters to keep up with other character classes in relative impact - is fixed entirely not by looking forward, but by looking back. Intrigued? Read on.

What Are Hit Points?

Characters in all editions of the D&D game have hit points:

These hit points represent how much damage (actual or potential) the character can withstand before being killed. A certain amount of these hit points represent the actual physical punishment which can be sustained. The remainder, a significant portion of hit points at higher levels, stands for skill, luck, and/or magical factors.

AD&D PHB, p. 34

Hit points are a resource to be managed, a currency to help determined how much longer you should adventure. At its core, OSR D&D involves a lot of resource management - hit points fit that idiom: however, traps routinely kill on impact - a la poison darts or spiked pits - and other challenges (movement of large sums of treasure, negotiating with dungeon denizens, etc) rely more on player ingenuity than spending of hit points. Knowing this, and knowing that D&D evolved out of war-gaming, hit points fall squarely in the purview, primarily, of combat encounters.

The Riddle of Steel (or, Verisimilitude in Melee)

A consistent criticism of the alternative combat system - among the swinginess of the d20 and the lack of differentiation between weapon types and their intended uses - is the disconnect between being hit and weapon skill. That is, a character's chance to hit an enemy improves with time and levels: however, their chance to avoid being hit does not, instead only changing with level.

The Riddle of D&D Equipment, retrieved from KnowYourMeme.com.
Image copyrights unknown; feel free to contact for proper attribution.

A fighting man of first level who rolled decently on starting gold can afford plate and a shield - granting an armor class of 2. The same fighting man - 8 levels later, having achieved the point where a domain is assumed - still using the same plate and shield (plate and shield being the top tier armor provided in the equipment list) still has an armor class of 2. Compare this to the Character Attacks matrix on X26: the fighting man at level 1 requires a 17 to hit an AC of 2: or a 1 in 5 chance per attack. Conversely, the fighting man at name level 9 requires a 12 to hit an AC of 2: or 9 in 20, almost an even split between hits and misses. How is it that the Lord has learned so much about the art of bypassing defenses but literally nothing about improving his own?

What about Dexterity bonuses? While it is true that having a Dexterity a standard deviation above the mean or better does improve armor class, it does not change with level - excepting extreme circumstances, such as the use of a Wish to improve the stat or similar not-in-the-core-progression events. Thus, a fighter of level 1 and a fighter of level 9 with a common 14 Dexterity will still both have an AC of 1 instead of 2. Dexterity represents something innate to the character: not something that the character has earned with experience.

Thor i Kampen for Balder, by Louis Moe,
retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.

But the Lord has more hit points than the Veteran. Yes, he does. And there are folks who will point to the abstraction of hit points as a representation of health, stamina, luck, and skill - per the PHB guidance quoted above. When you run out, you die - but between 100% and 0, you're not necessarily losing blood. This falls apart, however, when you're talking about natural healing - RAW, a character can heal between 1 and 3 hit points daily: meaning that if the Lord has "parried" and "luck"ed their way out of death for 30 hit points (reasonable, knowing that a character of that level would have an average of 40 or 41 hit points), it's going to take at best 10 days for them to "heal" from it; conversely, the Veteran with an average of 3 or 4 hit points - 8, if your referee is generous and houserules max HP at level one - physically cannot take that long to heal any injury they take: as the absolute maximum number of days they can go is 7: having taken more damage than that resulting in death. It has been argued to me that this may represent muscle fatigue or similar - to which I replied, "Fair" - but the argument still doesn't hold water against the Veteran's maximum downtime of a week compared to the Lord being able to go potentially over a month before getting back up again.

What about magic armor? While, again, it is true that magical armor exists and does improve armor class beyond the basic level, it is not on the core progression of a character: that is, while it is common for a character to find at least one magic item by the time they've reached level 9, it is not guaranteed: and it is likewise not guaranteed that it will be a magical armor. When rolling for magical items, potions and scrolls make up half of the results - occupying a result of 36 to 85 on the d% roll. Armor, on the other hand, has a 1 in 10 chance of showing up: interestingly being half as likely as a magic sword is to appear (1 in 5, occupying the 1 to 20 position on the d%), but I digress.

Magic Dial, by Daniel Maclise, retrieved
from OldBookIllustrations.com.

What if I place magic armor on purpose for the fighter? Or what if the fighter commissions magic armor from a magic user? Both of these are possible - as there are rules for doing it (sometimes punishing rules: such as, per X52, a suit of +1 plate armor should take about 6 months to create and cost 10,000 gold pieces: the a cost akin to a thirty-foot bastion within the Lord's castle with a far longer wait time) - but the key here is not in the production or the placement: but instead in the expectations. A concept was introduced in third edition known as the Christmas Tree Adventurer: that is, in 3e, there was a new chart in the DMG wherein the value of magical items that a character was assumed to have was listed. This is a transition point - one of the key changes between TSR and WotC D&D: first, it makes the effectiveness of the character based on the character's equipment instead of on the player's ingenuity - something that takes away from the experience - and second, it assumes tanking resources into equipment instead of progressing into a domain game: a key element of the original game and a key point of faithfulness that OSR style games should retain. Per my argument above, the merit of a fighting man should be derived from the fighting man's skill in addition to the quality of their equipment: adding magical bonuses to armor means nothing in an anti-magic zone or when a character is caught unaware, having not donned the armor in bed, when swimming, or in a plethora of other situations wherein having been wearing a +3 plate mail suit is not feasible.

That in mind, if you want to light up your players with deific magical artifacts, you're more than welcome to crack open 3.PF and do so: that discussion is outside the intended scope of this post.

Chainmail As Intended

Fighting Capability: This is a key to use in conjunction with the CHAINMAIL fantasy rule, as modified in various places herein. Dungeons and Dragons, Book I: Men & Magic, p. 18	When meleed by regular troops, and combat takes place on the non-Fantasy Combat Tables, four simultaneous kills must be scored against Heroes (or Anti-heroes) to eliminate them. Otherwise, there is no effect upon them. Chainmail, 3rd edition, p. 30
All attacks which score hits do 1-6 points of damage unless otherwise noted. Dungeons and Dragons, Book I: Men & Magic, p. 19

In Chainmail, hit points don't exist. The armor a character wore and the level of the character determined how difficult they were to kill: with zero-level (or, first level, as may be) characters being treated as rank and file: akin to hirelings or even a player character out for their first delve. At a glance:

Mass Combat For each participant, or set of participants, in combat, six-sided dice are rolled: inflicting casualties on a target number ranging between 4 and 6.

Man to Man Two participants strike each other using 2d6 - with casualties being determined based on weapon vs armor type and situational modifiers.

Fantasy Combat The Chainmail Fantasy Supplement introduces the Hero type - our proto-player character - which requires multiple hits to eliminate.

It is from these rules that the LBBs extrapolated: the player characters equating to a set number of men, heroes, or superheroes - denominations of infantry in Chainmail - when in combat. Thus, it can be reasonably inferred that 1-6 points of damage are dealt to a character based on their level and the corresponding Chainmail combat table. 

Defending Oneself

In Mass Combat, a Veteran is considered "Man + 1" in fighting capability: so, when wearing mail armor (akin to Heavy Foot troops), enemies considered Light would inflict 1-6 points of damage whenever a 6 was rolled; whereas a larger monster - say, a Heavy Horse - would inflict 1-6 damage whenever a 5 or 6 was rolled, but would be able to roll 3 dice in the attempt. When the character levels - advancing to Warrior - they are considered "2 Men + 1" in fighting capability; at level 4, the character advances to Hero: considered a "Hero" in fighting capability. By the book, a Hero requires four concurrent strikes to kill in a Chainmail game - as such, a player character Hero would, based on the above inference, require likewise four concurrent strikes to "hit" and deal 1-6 damage.  Depending on the referee's interpretation, this may likewise extend to the Warrior: requiring two concurrent strikes to "hit" - as it would take two "kill" results in Chainmail to eliminate two men - but as I can't find explicit support for that in the RAW, this potential benefit must be at referee discretion.

In Man to Man Combat, a single roll is required on 2d6, with a result to kill based on the weapon type versus the armor worn. This seems to reproduce the problem of subsequent editions, wherein you don't get more skilled: except at level 3, the Swordsman can fight as "Hero - 1": granting him access to Fantasy Combat. Fight With the Dragon, by Hermann Freihold Pluddemann, retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com. In Fantasy Combat, a Hero can participate, as can a Super Hero: a rank at which a fighting man gains access at level 7. Notably, in Fantasy Combat, a hit is based not on your armor, but instead on your level and your opponent: a Hero, for example, must roll better than a 7 on 2d6 to hit another Hero; that same Hero, fighting a Super Hero on the other hand, must roll better than a 10.

Higher level characters are thereby naturally harder to hit. The same is true across the board: the character then, as they ascend the tiers - Normal Man to Hero to Super Hero - become more difficult to hit as a byproduct of level.

On the Attack

Similarly, when attacking, higher level characters are more likely to inflict damage:

In Mass Combat, an LBB character fights as a number of men, or as a Hero or Superhero. This means that, when fighting in a skirmish scenario, a Veteran may roll 1 attack die, but a Hero will roll 4 attack dice at a time - more, if their armaments are effective against their opponent: for example, a Hero in plate with a lance on horseback would, when engaging Light Foot troops, roll 16 dice - scoring a kill (or, 1-6 damage, at least) on a 5 or 6: taking down 2 or 3 enemies per turn, on average. Take that, Cleave!

In Man to Man, the fighting man again has a little advantage - Veterans counting as "Man + 1", Warriors "2 Men + 1", etc - implying that they should receive a bonus to their die rolls, per the note regarding Leaders. In Fantasy Combat, the fighting man - having ascended to Heroic status or better, is now able to go toe to toe with monstrous creatures: trolls, ogres, etc, which can fight as four, six, eight men at a time - or some of which are specified not to be vulnerable to normal men!

Light Broke Forth, unknown artist,
retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com.

Wizard and Cleric types improve also - defensively and offensively - with levels, albeit at a slower rate than do Fighting Men. A Fighting Man, for comparison, reaches "Hero" at level 4 and "Superhero - 1" at level 7:

•	Magic Users fight as a Man initially, reaching "Hero - 1" at level 7 and then a special table, "Wizard," at level 10.
•	Clerics fight as a Man initially, reaching "Hero - 1" at level 6 and then "Superhero - 1" at level 9.

These numbers should sound familiar: they are remarkably close to the level tiers at which, in the Character Attacks table of 1981's D&D Expert set (X26), character class groupings improve their to-hit against AC:

Fighters:	Clerics: (and Thieves)	Magic Users:
1-3 4-6 7-9 ...	1-4 5-8 9-12 ...	1-5 6-10 11-15 ...

Higher level characters are thereby naturally more apt to damage each other - and to wade through less skilled adversaries - in melee.

Some Quick Math

To illustrate the differences in damage output, first, let's take a look at the amount of damage an OD&D and a 1981 Basic / Expert Fighter will deal, on average, against the three main armor types per round of a melee combat:

	OD&D Alternative Combat			‘81 Expert Combat, with D8 Weapon
Fighter Level	Plate	Chain	Leather	Plate	Chain	Leather
1	0.7	1.05	1.4	0.9	1.35	1.8
2	0.7	1.05	1.4	0.9	1.35	1.8
3	0.7	1.05	1.4	0.9	1.35	1.8
4	1.05	1.4	1.75	1.35	1.8	2.25
5	1.05	1.4	1.75	1.35	1.8	2.25
6	1.05	1.4	1.75	1.35	1.8	2.25
7	1.575	1.925	2.275	2.025	2.475	2.925
8	1.575	1.925	2.275	2.025	2.475	2.925
9	1.575	1.925	2.275	2.025	2.475	2.925
10	1.925	2.275	2.625	2.475	2.925	3.375

Note, the tiers of to-hit actually match - so the accuracy does not change (that is, the required number to hit an adversary), but the second damage output table is included to represent the advent of the variable damage optional rule - wherein a sword-and-board fighter would be rolling larger dice.

Next, consider the damage output using Chainmail's Mass Combat system paired with OD&D's fighting capability matrix:

	OD&D and Chainmail: As Heavy			OD&D and Chainmail: As Armored
Fighter Level	Armored	Heavy	Light	Armored	Heavy	Light
1	0.58	1.17	2.33	1.17	2.33	3.50
2	0.58	1.75	3.50	1.75	3.50	5.25
3	0.58	1.75	3.50	1.75	3.50	5.25
4	1.17	2.33	4.67	2.33	4.67	7.00
5	1.17	2.92	5.83	2.92	5.83	8.75
6	1.75	3.50	7.00	3.50	7.00	10.50
7	1.75	4.08	8.17	4.08	8.17	12.25
8	2.33	4.67	9.33	4.67	9.33	14.00
9	2.33	5.25	10.50	5.25	10.50	15.75
10	2.33	5.25	10.50	5.25	10.50	15.75

Comparing the damage output, the damage output of an OD&D fighter with Chainmail Mass Combat is significantly higher than that of an OD&D fighter with the Alternate Combat System. Similarly, the damage output of an OD&D fighter with Chainmail Mass Combat is likewise generally higher than that of a B/X fighter using a larger damage die - d8 vs d6: especially when the player character is assumed to be an Armored troop type.

For further listening:

Regarding Chainmail and it's application to your home Fantasy Adventure Game, the Bandit's Keep Podcast, referenced in my review of the Bandit's Keep YouTube channel, is - as of this writing - likewise producing an audio series which dives into Chainmail in-depth and with an elan sufficient to pique interest.

Check it out!

Notably, when the player is a Heavy troop type, fighting Armored (Plate-wearing) adversaries at low levels is actually more difficult, thus the OD&D with Chainmail fighter will deal less damage per round until they reach Heroic status. As a vagary of the d8 and to-hit tables, at level 10 will likewise do less damage to Armored opponents than their B/X counterpart.

On the whole - using the Chainmail system will both smooth out progression for damage output and will improve the effectiveness of the fighter in melee significantly more than the ACS does, RAW: something that future editions attempt to correct using multiple attacks (slowing down combat turns) or feats akin to Cleave (which only boosts damage in certain conditions and again, slows down combat turns). But, knowing what we know from having done the math above - these patches were glossing over a core problem with the original progression of the game: by moving away from the Chainmail system, a new problem was created that truly was never elegantly solved.

Full disclosure, two assumptions were made for the above table: 

First, a fighter will be fighting either as a Heavy or an Armored combatant - as Chainmail examples for Heavy combatants as Vikings, Normans, etc. (who logically would be wearing chain-equivalent armor and fighting with axes or swords) and Armored combatants as dismounted knights or condottiere (who would logically be wearing plate and fighting either with heavier weapons or with greater panache) - to save space, and knowing a fighter in melee will usually not qualify as a Light troop (which tend to be unarmored peasant levies or missile troops not intended for melee), no calculations were included for Light troop damage.

Second, the Fighting Capability matrix provides +1 or -1 modifiers to the character's "counts as:" e.g. - a Champion, fighter level 7, fights as "Superhero - 1." The only reference I could find in Chainmail in the Mass Combat section pertaining to bonuses was that "Men armed with a pike or halbard add an extra die" (Chainmail, p. 40) - as such, where "Man + 1" is present in the table, I assumed that the character would modify the dice pool to which they were entitled by 1: essentially, where a Heavy Foot strikes another Heavy Foot, they roll 1 die per man, connecting on a 6 - a character identified as "Man + 1" in the table above would instead roll 2 dice.

Bonuses to rolls make more sense in the context of the Man to Man or Fantasy Combat tables - but regarding modification of the dice pools, it seems to work, too - as the math goes... horribly wrong if you apply the modifier to the dice roll, itself - such that the aforementioned Champion, if a -1 is applied to the dice they roll to attack, actually deals less damage per round in combat than several levels below him. This does not work in some of the other tables - that is, for example, a Magic User fights as "Man + 1" at level 2 and "2 Men" at level 3 - but that's beside the purpose of the table. If you want the +1 to apply only in Man to Man or Fantasy Combat? Do that instead (and tell me how it goes!).

Battles, by Adolf Ehrhardt, retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com.

But what about defense? A character advancing from Normal Man to Hero to Super Hero, as described above, can expect to be hit less frequently. Consider the following, wherein the probability of a character at each Chainmail tier, based on their troop type, is likely to take at least one hit from an adversary or set of adversaries, based on troop type, attacking with a given number of dice:

	as Normal Man			as Hero			as Super Hero
Light Opponent	Armored	Heavy	Light	Armored	Heavy	Light	Armored	Heavy	Light
1	0.00%	0.00%	16.67%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
4	16.67%	30.56%	51.77%	0.00%	0.00%	0.08%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
8	30.56%	51.77%	76.74%	0.00%	0.08%	3.07%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
12	51.77%	66.51%	88.78%	0.08%	0.87%	12.52%	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%
Heavy Opponent
1	0.00%	16.67%	33.33%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
4	30.56%	51.77%	80.25%	0.00%	0.08%	1.23%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
8	51.77%	76.74%	96.10%	0.08%	3.07%	25.86%	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%
12	66.51%	88.78%	99.23%	0.87%	12.52%	60.69%	0.00%	0.02%	1.88%
Armored Opponent
1	16.67%	33.33%	50.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
4	51.77%	80.25%	93.75%	0.08%	1.23%	6.25%	0.00%	0.00%	6.25%
8	76.74%	96.10%	99.61%	3.07%	25.86%	63.67%	0.00%	0.02%	63.67%
12	88.78%	99.23%	99.98%	12.52%	60.69%	92.70%	0.02%	1.88%	92.70%

The above assumes nothing regarding bonuses to dice and is tiered to the RAW character levels: that is, it does not assume the potential ruling that a Swordsman - fighting as 3 men - would take 3 simultaneous hits to deal damage and, noting the 0% chance hits per round, there exists in Chainmail the condition that a troop type can be invulnerable to other unit types: namely, Heavy Foot troops gain an attack die every other man attacking - so, 2 men would roll 1 attack die - against Armored Foot troops: a number which increases even more for Light Foot or when fighting against mounted opponents. A Hero in Chainmail is only wounded if four concurrent hits are struck in a round: meaning that either another Hero must attack them and get lucky or a group comprised of at least four dice worth of men are required to deal damage to them.

Regardless of house rules and potentialities, again, this illustrates that - as the character levels, they become less likely to be damaged by opponents of lower level unless severely outnumbered: in addition, when fighting against opponents of equivalent level, a character's armor is the prime determinant to damage taken. And, of course, if a combatant is fighting against an opponent of tier higher than themselves - e.g. a Heavy opponent fighting as 6 men against a Normal Man - armor helps, but its impact is blunted by an increased likelihood to receive hits.

Notably, "0%" appears in abundance as a character reaches the tier of Super Hero in combat - at which point, two Super Heroes in equivalent kit appear unable to hurt each other in mass combat. Although this is more so a result of rounding in the table - the Super Hero can roll all 6s on the 8 dice in their attack, inflicting a hit on another Super Hero one in 1,679,616 turns -  but more appropriately: that's the point at which the Referee should break out the Man to Man or Fantasy Combat tables instead!

In Conclusion

The Battle of St. James at Clavijo, by Martin Schongauer,
retrieved from the National Gallery of Art.

Chainmail fighters - and truthfully, all combatants - are more capable at higher level in melee than are their corresponding counterparts in the Alternate Combat System. Additionally, the inclusion of Hit Points in the Little Brown Books, working in tandem with the Chainmail rules, provides more durability - but not extreme durability - to player characters: something that will allow the player to get more invested in the character as they advance in power.

I encourage everyone to try Chainmail at least once in this context, as it will satisfy your concern for the verisimilitude problem that the ACS introduces while at the same time effectively balancing your Fighting Men: improving their effectiveness in melee smoothly and more effectively than patches coming in from future editions.

Thanks for reading!

Citations and Fair Use Disclaimer

Quotations and rules from the following copyrighted works are included herein for illustrative and educational purposes and remain the intellectual property of the copyright holder - as of October 2020, Wizards of the Coast LLC. Neither the author nor Clerics Wear Ringmail lay claim to the verbiage nor mechanics quoted but instead encourage the reader to engage with and enjoy the product referenced for their intended purpose.

Arneson, D., & Gygax, G. (1974). Dungeons & Dragons Book I: Men & Magic. Lake Geneva, WI: Tactical Studies Rules.

Cook, D., & Marsh, S. (1981). Dungeons & Dragons: Fantasy Adventure Game Expert Set. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR Hobbies Inc.

Gygax, G., & Perren, J. (1979). Chainmail: Rules for Medieval Miniatures, 3rd Edition. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR Rules.