You add speed to range before taking the penalty, so a target moving 10yd/sec at 80yds would be 90, for a -10.
The size of the horse gives a +1; all-out attack (no dodge) gives +1; bracing the bow gives +1; aiming for one turn gives the bow’s accuracy bonus of +4; further aiming is +1/sec, to a maximum of +2.
Ranar has Bow-12, so an 80yd shot, all-out and braced with four seconds of aiming would be 12+1+1+1+4+2-10 for a roll vs 11. And the horse has about a 30% chance of a successful dodge.
Shooting for the rider instead of the horse is the same, but without the +1 for the horse’s size. The rider would also have a slightly better chance to dodge, as he isn’t burdened with a rider.
You’ll have time for a second shot, but probably no time to aim.
Thwip is a better shot than Ranar, but his rifle only has an accuracy bonus of 1 (so a maximum 1+2 aiming bonus), and he’s got a -4 at the moment due to his broken arm.
Thwip was waiting for a better view of the group so he could determine if shooting was needed or not.
If it looked like they were going to take their hooman non-lethally he’d go out there and try to get to the bottom of things. But since it looks like the shit will hit the fan before he can gather enough data… Which has been his main bugbear since leaving port. Science is a slow and steady process, people!… he’ll follow Ranar’s lead.
If the opportunity presents itself to warn the riders off by using their ignorance of our numbers he’ll do that.
Should Ranar miss his shot Thwip will quickly announce that it was just a warning shot and all four of them are in the sights of the squad of archers hidden in the trees and everyone should hold still lest they get shot. We’ll see how things go after that.
Should Ranar hit, Thwip will go for the lead rider in the hopes that taking them out will send the other two into retreat. If not he’ll try the squad of archers warning again.
I think maybe sparing the horses might be a good idea if at all possible. The nearest city is a long walk.
The horse and the rider are treated as separate characters.
This means that the horse can attack in its own right (although only warhorses will normally do this, and it makes it harder for the rider to attack if the horse is as well) and that the rider can be doing all-out defence or whatever while the horse is moving him around. The horse can also quickly move them into attack range without needing any sort of all-out charge on the rider’s part that impairs their defences. If the rider attacks while the horse is moving fast, he gets -1 to hit but +1 to damage.
In addition, the rider counts as being 3’ higher than an infantry fighter. This gives the higher fighter +1 to defences and the lower fighter -1 to defences. It also makes it hard to target the legs/head of the lower/higher fighter respectively.
The horse has plenty of HP, but it’s unarmoured and easy to hit; +1 for size and only a dodge defence. And any attack on the rider that misses by one hits the horse instead.
If the horse is injured, the rider needs to make a Riding roll penalised by the size of the wound (up to -4) to stop the horse going nuts. If the rider is Stunned, they’ll need another Riding roll to avoid falling off. If the horse is Stunned, it’ll fall over.
Unless someone pokes another hole into someone first.
And if the riders have a deathwish Thwip will continue to finish what Ranar starts and take a shot at the bleeding horse. If only to hopefully put the critter out of it’s misery.
I’ll make a fast-talk roll for him if the opportunity presents, but at this stage the best result you’re likely to get is a momentary distraction. As you might’ve noticed, GURPS melee fights often don’t last long enough for a lot of talking.
Sasha will drop a Fear spell in front of the group (“he focuses on the feeling at the tip of his mind and with a word, a gesture, he flicks it out in front of them”) hopefully covering enough area to catch both riders.
He will then cast Shape Earth to push out underground trenches he can collapse to take out the horses. As long as he’s left with 1/2 to 1/3 of his fatigue he’ll be happy. He’s being defensive rather than offensive, and wants to remove the horses as an advantage for them.
He’ll then pick up his prodd and look for a target.
Back on the theme of Thwip’s combat effectiveness:
The big advantage of your air rifle is that it combines the rate of fire of a normal bow with the punch and stealth [1] of a crossbow.
The disadvantage is that it isn’t terribly accurate: Acc 1 compared to a crossbow’s Acc 4.
But Thwip has the Engineer (Small Arms) skill at quite a high level, and improving the Acc of a gun is exactly what that skill is for. A bit of fiddling, and you could raise the Acc to 2; find a good lens maker and you might even manage a telescopic scope.
The horsemen are eight yards apart; a Fear spell hitting both would require three fatigue, but the only effect is to weaken their resistance to Thwip/Ranar’s Fast Talk/Intimidation.
A trench in front of one horse at a time costs zero to cast but one to collapse; a simultaneous trench in front of both would cost seven to cast, one to collapse. One second to cast, one second to collapse.
As well as your thirteen fatigue, you’ve got a five-point energy reserve and a four-point powerstone. You need to reserve three fatigue if you want to be able to walk easily, though.
If you intend to make them run away, crippling their horses may be counterproductive.
Happy to go with whatever you choose, just want to make sure you know what to expect while you’re getting used to the magic system.
It sounds like I’ve misunderstood what Fear and Terror can be used for and what I really needed was Panic, but that’s something to work towards when I get some XP.
I’m still going to go ahead with the Fear spell, if they run away then good, if not then he’s going to even the odds by taking out the horses. He’ll do the trenches separately starting with the one in front of him. He’s not bothered about saving the horses as he’d be extremely reluctant to get that far from the ground.
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