Forum

This has just occurred to me. (Which means of course that it hasn't happened in any gameplay I have been involved with!)

1A. A player hero is fighting in (say) Open. They get their attack in, and receive a blow from an adversary with an axe. Soon after that, but in the same round, an enemy archer firing from Rearward hits the player with a Heavy Blow.
Can a player roll with the punch received from an arrow? Does " knockback" work against missiles?
1B. And is the total damage (axe + arrow) picked up from the adversary reply halved, or - as I would expect - just the arrow damage?

2. And, what if the arrow strike is from an Opening Volley? Can a player moving forward to close quarters still take Knockback to avoid half the damage from a Heavy Blow with a missile?

Nothing in the original rules or in 2e to say you can't be knocked back by an arrow. 1e goes into more detail and says it could be stepping to the side or something, so I could see that as causing the arrow to glance off of them for less damage. I would not allow knockbacks in opening volleys though as they don't really follow the normal combat round logic. You are literally charging at the enemy so I can't see it being logical that you can get knocked back then resume the charge.

The CRB only states that you "can halve the Endurance loss caused by a successful attack".

It says "attack" and not "melee attack". So of course you may do that with an arrow hit.

But you have to decide to be knocked back as soon a single attack hits you successfully. If you are hit with an axe you may be knocked back now to reduce the Endurance loss from that hit. After this hit is resolved you are hit with an arrow. If you aren't knocked back already in this round you may be now if you want.

After a knockback your next main action must be recovering your fighting position. During the opening volleys there are no main or secondary actions. There only are ranged attacks. As baldrick said they don't follow the logic of the normal combat rounds. So knockback shouldn't be allowed here.

I would allow knockback in opening volley, and next main action during combat must be used to get up again...

Sorry to resurrect the thread: but NOW it occurs to me to ask for opinions:

If a player takes Knock back in a round of combat: are they 'temporarily disengaged' for the remainder of that Combat Round?

The Loremaster would choose which adversary fights which PC in Close Combat, so that's sorted: but if two Orc Guards are smacking around Blubbo the hobbit, and the little feller takes Knocksback from Orc #1,

is Blubbo out of reach of Orc #2? i.e. Is Blubbo's move enough of a retreat to evade the other Orc?

( I think that surely Goblin Archers can still shoot at Blubbo in the final stages of the Adversary part of the Combat Round?)

There’s nothing to suggest in the core rules that a player choosing to be knocked back becomes disengaged.

Also from a narrative viewpoint I wouldn’t view knocked back as being blown out of the fight. More that the character has rolled with the blows and given ground to the enemy. All characters and adversaries would be in movement constantly during combat, so it would be narratively appropriate for the character to give ground (by choosing to be knocked back from attack a), only for adversary b to press the attack against them.

Thanks