Range and Cover Rendition

This is a rephrased and simplified version of the usual Range and Cover rules. It makes two major changes from the original set: first it groups the weapons into five tiers (not unlike weapon lengths) which simplifies how they interact at different ranges, and secondly it allows for melee weapons make attacks at optimal and extreme ranges without needing to dive into a full Fight or Bloody Versus.

Rather than naming individual weapon and writing individual interactions for each, we make tiers based on relative maximum ranges of missile weapons. Similar to the Weapon Lengths (WL) for melee weapons:

Range Tier	Max. Range	Optimal	Extreme / Out	Example Weapons
Lowest	7 paces	0D	0D	Melee / Unarmed
Low	15 paces	2D	1D	Scatter Gun / Fire Lance
Low	30 paces	1D	1D	Thrown / Blowdarts
Low	50 paces	1D	2D	Hand Cannon / Stonebow / Simple Sling
High	100 paces	2D	1D	Hunting Bow / War Sling
High	125 paces	1D	3D	Crossbow / Arbalest
Higher	250 paces	3D	3D	Rifled Gun / Compound Bow / Elven Bow
Highest	300 paces	2D	4D	Great Bow / Belly Bow
Highest	350 paces	1D	5D	Heavy Crossbow

Note that the bonus dice granted by each weapon for maneuvers can still be unique, it's just the Range Tiers that stay the same. This means that you can make up new ranged weapons on the fly with greater ease.

You can say "hm... this seems like it would fit in well with the 'Higher' range tier" the same way you can look at a pike and judge that it should be 'Longest' even though there are no explicit rules for pikes. Take slings and blowpipes, for example; they are absent from the base game but now we can easily say that their range fits in with the 'Low' reaching weapons.

So to accompany the weapon Range Dice table then, we also need a new Relative Range table:

Maneuver Winner ⬇️ / Loser ➡️	Lowest	Low	High	Higher	Highest
Lowest Range (pcs < 10) at…
Optimal (Ob 2):	Optimal	Optimal	Too Close!	Too Close!	Too Close!
Extreme (Ob 3):	Extreme	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
Out of Range (—):	Out	Extreme	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
Low Range (10 ≤ pcs < 100) at…
Optimal (Ob 2):	Extreme	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
Extreme (Ob 3):	Out	Extreme	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
Out of Range (—):	Out	Out	Extreme	Optimal	Optimal
High Range (100 ≤ pcs < 200) at…
Optimal (Ob 2):	Out	Extreme	Optimal	Optimal	Optimal
Extreme (Ob 3):	Out	Out	Extreme	Optimal	Optimal
Out of Range (—):	Out	Out	Out	Extreme	Extreme
Higher Range (200 ≤ pcs < 300) at…
Optimal (Ob 2):	Out	Out	Extreme	Optimal	Optimal
Extreme (Ob 3):	Out	Out	Out	Extreme	Optimal
Out of Range (—):	Out	Out	Out	Out	Extreme
Highest Range (pcs ≥ 300) at…
Optimal (Ob 2):	Out	Out	Extreme	Extreme	Optimal
Extreme (Ob 3):	Out	Out	Out	Extreme	Extreme
Out of Range (—):	Out	Out	Out	Out	Out

This might initially seem like a starkly different table from the one on page 411, but it was made using the averages of the all interactions on page 556 for all the new range tiers. The biggest different is the addition of the 'Too Close!' range for melee weapons, which will be explained now:

Melee Ranges

The true optimum range for a melee weapon is in a Fight, where the Strike obstacle drops to 1, but in this context 'Optimal' range for a melee weapon implies that you're close enough to go in for a scuff: a shield charge, a rush of spear blows, a few minutes of hacking with swords and axes—formation fighting—and then either backing off or pressing the advantage in the next maneuver. 'Extreme' range means a more hit-and-run style, a take 'em where you can get 'em attitude, with fly-by assaults and ambushes—skirmish tactics—requiring you to run in a few dozen paces and then backing off to find cover again or pushing in closer in the next maneuver.

Melee clashes at Optimal range can assign strikes (with marginal successes and free shots), using melee weapon skills at base Ob 2; and they can receive Help from neighbours with Formation Fighting training. Extra successes cannot be spent on Aiming.

Melee clashes at Extreme range can assign strikes (with marginal successes and free shots), using melee weapon skills at base Ob 3; and they can receive Help from allies with Skirmish Tactics training. Extra successes can be spent on Aiming.

These melee obstacles are still affected by Light (+1-4 Ob) and Weather (+1-2 Ob) same as ranged weapons, but they aren't affected by cover.

Melee vs. Ranged

Any weapons with a High range (or higher) will be 'Too Close to Shoot' when a team using melee weapons is at Optimal range. Characters in the rushed team of long-range shooters will still get their Free Shots—if any are owed—which are fired at Optimal range, but after that they may not re-load until they win a maneuver and get away from or repel the assault. They are effectively forced to stay at melee range in this sense, at the shortest weapon length, granting +0D to maneuvers in the interim. If they drop their bows and switch to actual melee weapons then they will shift to be at Optimal range also and can fight back (see below). Switching weapons must be announced for the volley before rolling for a maneuver, but is effectively a free action.
If the High range team is in a fortification when the melee team moves into optimal range then use the same 'Charging the Hill' rules as normal (pg 419).

Melee vs. Melee

If a melee team moves into Optimal range with another melee team then they will both be at Optimal range (see above). Now, so long as they stay at this range both sides will get an additional 'free shot' against one another every volley, regardless of their choice of maneuver and the outcome; this represents the visceral and slightly unpredictable nature of such engagements.
If one or the other side has shields then use the normal blocking rules for Fights (i.e. roll the dice against VA, don't bother with cover). Shields still provide cover (+1 Ob) against ranged attacks though.
Also incur a +1 Ob penalty 'to hit' for anyone who uses a shorter WL against a longer one (e.g. an axe-man vs. a spear-man)

Mounted Melee

All of these changes don't much affect the Mounted Combat rules (pg 536), save that now a horseman can ride in or ride past with a lance or sabre and take shots at the archers or footmen. Without Mounted Combat Training you'll still suffer a +2 Ob penalty to hit anything with a melee weapon though, same as for untrained mounted bowmen.

Assigning Shots: "Who hit who?"

Treat the assignment of a shot—melee or ranged—a bit like an attack against armour. The team leader on one side decides who gets to take a shot, and then the team leader on the side chooses who it will hit (if it hits).

Note: There was an earlier version of this article where I tried adding a new maneuver which would perform the function of a 'melee clash'—something like a Bloody Vs. in the middle of a RnC—but I've since realised that the new method will work better: simplifying the range-interactions and allowing melee "shots" to be taken at Optimal range. Remember that distances in RnC are always relative so this all still makes perfect sense!

Why I don't like Bloody Vs.

Bloody versus is great for resolving quick one-on-one or two-on-one fights, where the likelihood of all combatants getting mutually injured is quite high. But once the numbers of helpers start piling up, you reach a point where there's a high likelyhood of one or both sides walking away with grievous wounds, or not walking away at all. I've had bloody versus play out where three people fended off against two trained assassins and a dozen zombie helpers; and they came out without a scratch, while all the zombies where dead and the assassins were crawling away bleeding out of severe wounds. I've also had a bloody versus play out where everyone on both sides suffered a mortal wound!

And though all that can be kind of funny in the moment, it just feels... weird and unsatisfactory afterwards. Perhaps it even feels unearned because the lives of too many people were riding on a single test (or two tests, sometimes).

My aim with adding a stronger melee component to Range and Cover is first to amp up the 'skirmishing' factor, and second to try to address my above mentioned issues with Bloody Versus. I love Fights, but they're just not suitable for multi-combatant scenarios—at least not with my GMing style and playgroup—and I love RnC, but not everyone has a ranged weapon. I also love to just do a conversational type of combat, like that seen in Dungeon World—quick-fire task and intent—and I have had great success with that. So these rule adjustment are really just here to help with all the inbetweens, I hope.