Re: defensive ability

From: Tim Ellis <tim_at_...>
Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 14:42:20 -0000

> gamartin_at_n... wrote:
> ...
>> But this seems to mitigate against the idea of the >> feat in the first place - say I had Sword 5w and Salmon Leap 17, my >> chances of success would be lower.
>
> If the attacker is trying to use their Salmon Leap to vault over
> their opponent and then attack them from behind, you could model
> that as using the Salmon Leap ability to augment their Sword
> ability.
>

I'd go along with this too.

> ...

>> So I was wondering if the equivalent for a change to a different
>> mundane attack might be something like forcing the defender to roll
>> with another ability, something like Dodge, rather than their Close
>> Combat, to represent the fact that the sudden attack from the rear
>> means the defender has to scramble around and respond to the
>> surprise.

>

You can always assign the Defensive Manouvere an Improvisation modifier if you are not convinced it is completely appropriate in the circumstances...
<snip>

> An extreme example is when the 'attacker' (the active party) decides
> to try to disengage from combat. In that case, they switch from
> using their Close Combat to using Run Fast, or some such. I would
> not allow the 'defender' to prevent the escape using Close Combat
> unless the 'defender' was blocking the only escape route. This
> example is significant; most fighters have better Close Combat than
> Run Fast, so allowing 'defenders' to use their Close Combat to
> prevent disengagement would, in effect, make attempting to disengage
> pointless.

And of course the advantage is, if the "defender" wins by enough of a margin, they can *still* cut down the fleeing opponent as he turns and runs. (This might be a good place to oppose their "Run Fast" with your "Overbear Foe" feat and rugby tackle them to the floor...)