Ambushes and Retreat ⚔️
Rules for distance, surprise, and scuppering.
This article contains affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you make purchases using these links, at no cost to you.Rules that give the distance between PCs and NPCs when you roll an encounter haven’t gelled with me previously, as they tend to care about specific distances. But the approach in Classic Traveller (which is a free pdf btw) uses range bands, which got me thinking about distance, surprise, and retreat.
This approach has worked well at my table for a few months now.
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Distance
Sometimes the distance at which an encounter occurs is obvious, but sometimes it isn’t. In open terrain - where you might not have environmental specifics mapped - being given a distance can tell you ‘where’ an encounter happens.
If there’s an encounter in a forest and you roll that it occurs at close range, then the NPCs are in the nearby trees. If it’s at futher range, they might be across a glade. It helps you develop the situation as a GM.
To determine range, roll a d6 (I later found out this is similar to Shadowdark):
1: Melee range.
2-3: Easy to run into melee.
4-5: It takes time to reach melee range, but missile weapons can still hit.
6: Out of typical weapon range.
If the terrain is open (e.g. plains), roll twice and take the highest. For closed environments (e.g. tight building interiors), roll twice and take the lowest.
Awareness
Who’s aware of whom? Roll if it’s unknown. If the PCs are in an advantageous position for awareness or stealthiness, roll twice and take the highest. Vice versa if they are at a disadvantage.
1-2: NPCs aware, PCs not.
3-4: Both PCs and NPCs aware.
5-6: PCs aware, NPCs not.
If one side is aware and not the other, they can evade the other or set up an ambush.
I like how surprise in Classic Traveller can go on for multiple rounds. It conveys the chaos that a successful ambush can cause. When surprise is active, the side with surprise can attack but the other side cannot attack back (those ambushed cannot see the opposition).
If one side strikes when the other is not aware, repeat the roll on the unaware side’s turn (rolling twice and taking highest or lowest if appropriate). NPCs performing an ambush want to get 1-2, whilst PCs want to get 5-6 if they are the attackers, to ‘maintain’ the state of surprise.
I’ve debated for years about ambush mechanics. I ended up reading accounts of ambushes in real conflicts, the consistent message seems to be that ambushes are impossible to set up perfectly and impossible to detect perfectly. They are reliant on so many factors that a single skill or stat doesn’t really cover it.
It’s an environmental puzzle more than anything, with lots of randomness involved. So I use this roll when in doubt, and give a bonus or penalty if there should be one, because this is violence and it’s chaotic.
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In our last Premium issue, I talked about lack of innovation in ttrpg design, wrote about a sea of blood, and gave readers a d6 table of fantasy books.
Retreat
PCs and NPCs can attempt retreat. They should state how they intend to retreat, e.g. are they splitting up and running in different directions or attempting to hide?
If that method could work against the opposition ~you probably can’t outrun a dragon~ roll a d6. If the retreating side are in an advantageous position roll twice and take the highest, and vice versa if they are at a disadvantage. Other actions might bypass this roll: if someone casts an invisibility spell, it implies successful retreat.
1-2: Retreating side cornered by the other. For retreat to be possible again, circumstances must change.
3-4: The opposition keeps pace with the retreating side. Retreat may be attempted again next round.
5-6: Retreat is successful.
This makes retreat a tactical decision that is subject to the chaos of battle, not just movement rates.
Wrap up
I don’t find myself using these procedures for every encounter, but it’s a good way to generate starting conditions for encounters without relying on PC stats, and to manage surprise and retreat in a clean but detailed way.
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