Ranged Combat

Ranged combat is similar to melee combat except that it involves the use of thrown and projectile weapons versus opponents further away. Missile Attack Adjustment from Dexterity modifies the attack roll in ranged combat instead of the Hit Probability from Strength. To determine whether a ranged attack hits, the character subtracts the opponent's Armor Class from attacker's THAC0. If attack roll (d20+Missile Attack Adjustment+other modifiers) is greater than or equal to the THAC0 - AC, then the attack hits. The amount of damage inflicted is determined by the weapon.

There are three types of ranged attacks: thrown, propelled, and grenade-like. Thrown weapons are weapons the character must throw and directly hit their target. Propelled weapons are weapons that are dependant on a mechanism that propels the ammunition forward. And Grenade-like are thrown weapons that do not need to directly hit a target but have a splash effect. While a character's MIssile Attack Adjustment is added to all ranged attacks, a character's Hit Probability and Damage Adjustment from Strength are only added to Thrown weapons. Hit Probability and Damage Adjustment from Strength can be added to a character's bow only if it is custom crafted for the character.

Range

Ranged weapons all have range increments divided into short, medium, and long range. If the target is further than long range, it is out of range; if the target is between medium and long range it is at long range; if the target is between short and medium range, it is at medium range; when the target is equal to or less than short-range, the target is at short range.

Short-range attacks suffer no penalties. Medium-range attacks suffer a -2 penalty to the attack roll. Long-range attacks suffer a -5 penalty to the attack roll. Some weapons do not have a short range. Attacks with these weapons are always made with an attack roll penalty.

Rate of Fire (RoF)

All ranged weapons are assigned a Rate of Fire--the number of missiles they can shoot in a single round. Some weapons allow for multiple missiles to be fired each round, while others may take longer and can only be fired every other round.

Movement during ranged attack incurs a penalty to a character's RoF. Movement beyond 5 feet halves the character's RoF. For example, a character that would usually get 2 attacks per round with a bow decides they need to move 30 feet before attacking. This character would then only receive 1 ranged attack that round.

Firing into a Melee

When missiles are fired into a melee, the DM counts the figures that are engaged in the melee. Each medium figure counts as 1. Small figures count as 1/2. Large as 2. Huge as 4. Gargantuan as 6. The total value is determined and each figure is given a number. The attacker then rolls to determine which creature is struck by the attack.

A character may opt to target a specific target instead of rolling randomly. To do this, the attack roll incurs a -4 penalty to hit.