Longbow versus Swordsman: Zweihander

 

 

Zweihander has been described by some as the Warhammer 2.5 RPG. It is a d100 based system that falls on the ‘dark’ and ‘gritty’ side of things. Whereas Sword Chronicle and Against the Darkmaster start you out as already competent individuals, Zweihander starts you off as a Rat Catcher or perhaps a Town Guard. 

Character generation is generally random, and weapons do the same damage, but have various traits that set them apart.

Armor is vital in this game. If you aren’t wearing any and you suffer any kind of critical injury, you automatically begin to bleed out.

So we shall start with two random characters, but will adjust their starting gear to be well above their station. A composite bow costs more than a villager may see in a lifetime.

To save time, we shall start with the generator here:

https://perchance.org/zweihandernurhuman

One shall receive a bow, the other shall receive a shield, a sword and armor.

This is Bob:       

Adult Catholic Foreigner female of a corpulent build, from the Militant upbringing

Height: 5 feet 6 inches

Weight: 173 lbs.

Distinguishing Marks: bow-legged walk

Eye Color: Hazel

Hair Color: Ginger

Season Of Birth: Winter

Dooming: "Do not trust what you can't see"

Social Class: Lowborn

Drawback: Debt-Ridden - You must flip the results to fail all Skill Tests that rely on your ability to

 barter, bargain or strike monetary deals in your favor.

Alignments: Adaptation/Mayhem

Background Trait: Mixed Bloodline   

Combat: 40% CB 4

Brawn: 31% BB 3

Agility: 58% AB 5

Perception: 50% PB 5

Intelligence: 49% IB 4

Willpower: 33% WB 3

Fellowship: 52% FB 5

Peril Threshold: 6

Damage Threshold: 4

Armor: Fur Hides

 Archetype: Ranger

Profession: Outrider Default Advances - Skill Ranks: Awareness, Martial Ranged, Ride, Stealth

 Bonus Advances: AB, BB, CB, PB Talents: Rural Sensibility

Trappings: animalbane (3), antivenom, backpack, bullwhip, heavy boots, holy symbol, Suit of

 Furs, survival kit, torches (3), traveling clothes, waterskin, wilderness cloak, wolfsbane,

 long bow with arrows (12) and quiver

Money: 22 brass pennies (bp)

Bob ‘found’ this bow when she was ‘hunting’ in the King’s Forest next to a ‘mysteriously

Murdered in their sleep’ body.

The Long Bow is a Martial Weapon, takes 1AP to load, and is a Finesse weapon that derives 

damage from Agility. Range increments are 12+PB yards, so in her case 15 yard increments.

       

This is Steve:   

Middle aged Lutheran Bohemian male of a husky build, from the Industrious upbringing

Height: 6 feet 1 inches

Weight: 214 lbs.

Distinguishing Marks: farmer's tan, long eyelashes

Eye Color: Light brown

Hair Color: Medium brown

Season Of Birth: Winter

Dooming: "Revenge is upon you"

Social Class: Lowborn

Drawback: None

Alignments: Skepticism/Cynicism

Background Trait: Danger Sense

Combat: 40% CB 4

Brawn: 37% BB 3

Agility: 54% AB 5

Perception: 42% PB 4

Intelligence: 47% IB 4

Willpower: 39% WB 3

Fellowship: 38% FB 3

Peril Threshold: 6

Damage Threshold: 5(9 with Mail)

Armor: Chain

Archetype: Warrior

Profession: Berserker - Default Advances: Skill Ranks: Athletics, Intimidate, Martial Melee,

 Resolve Bonus Advances: BB, BB, CB, WB Talents: Overwhelming Force

Trappings: Mortuary Sword, heavy boots, lantern, laudanum (3), military attire, oil pot, red cap

 mushrooms, rucksack, suit of chain armor, tincture (3), metal shield, 

Money: 13 brass pennies (bp)

             

Steve had coincidentally just found a similarly mysteriously murdered traveler 100 yards away when they both notice each other.

Round1.

Steve is going first, and is going to spend his 3 AP on the Run! Maneuver which allows him to

Move at 3X his movement which is AB+3 (8 yards base), so 24 yards.

Bob spends 1AP to load and 2 on Aiming.

Round 2. Steve is 76 yards away, he feels much more confident in this world!

Steve runs again, closing to 52 yards.

Bob let’s fly. Her base skill %40 + 5 from her training + 20 from aiming - 30 due to range…

 She rolls a 28 which could hit, however Steve can parry with a shield, and gets a bonus of +20

 from the shield + 30 due to the difficulty of the shot. (Shooter’s penalty becomes defender’s

 bonus and vice versa.)

 

Steve rolls to defend and easily snags the arrow with his shield.

Bob spends 1ap to load and 1 to aim.

Round 3.Steve runs closer, he is now at 28 yards.

Steve spends 1AP to aim, 1AP to shoot and 1AP to reload.

The penalties are less as Steve is closer and she gets a 46.

Steve attempts to Parry, but in an unlikely turn of events, fails.

 

Bob starts with her AB of 5 and rolls 1d6 Fury die which lands on a 6 and explodes. Rolling

again he adds a 3 which gives a total of 14. 

Steve has a Damage Threshold of 9 with armor, this is upped by 2 since he was running. This

drops Steve to Lightly Wounded on the damage track. Had he not been wearing mail armor, he

would have been moderately wounded and bleeding.

Round 4. Steve runs and is only 4 yards away looking for vengeance!

Bob spends 2 AP to aim and 1 to fire.

Bob is at 40% + 5 + 20 to hit. Steve could still potentially parry if this hits, but would get no

bonus.

She rolls a 44, which matches and a success which makes it a Critical Success. Steve may not

Parry this.

 

Bob rolls her Fury Die and gets a total of 10. This is insufficient to penetrate.

Round 5

Steve Charges (2AP) with his Mortuary Sword and rolls a 23.

Bob can only try to dodge out of the way and fails!

Since he charged, he starts with 4 damage and then rolls the fury dice twice getting a total of 12.

Bob’s damage threshold is 4, so she drops to Moderately  Wounded. His sword allows him to roll

one  additional ‘Chaos DIce’ to see if he inflicts a critical injury, and he does, ‘Rattling her Brains’ 

and causing her to slip in initiative order

 

At this point it is only a matter of time before Bob is just another body to be shoved into a 

shallow grave.

Thoughts: The mail armor, coupled with the bonus from Steve’s sprinting,makes it all but

impossible to more than slightly inconvenience him, even when the arrows do hit. Once Steve

was close, Bob was dead.

 

Next: Forbidden Lands