D&D General GM's Closet for the CONAN RPG

One Way to Use the Dance Aside Combat Maneuver



Check out the Dance Aside combat maneuver on page 205 of the 2E core rulebook. A combatant is qualified to use Dance Aside if he has DEX 13+, and the Dance Aside is triggered when your foe, in a melee attack, ends up with a total attack sum that is less than half the combatant's Dodge AC. You have to be using the Dodge defense in order to take advantage of the Dance Aside, of course.

When the Dance Aside is triggered, the combatant is given an immediate action in the form of a 5 foot step, simulating the character nimbly dancing out of the way of his opponent's attack.

The Dance Aside maneuver is a perfect match for characters with high DEX and Dodge AC scores and for those who use reach weapons.

Let me show you how the Dance Aside can prevent an opponent from attacking you: In melee combat, use your normal 5 foot step at the end of your turn (if you're using a reach weapon, you'l probably use it at the beginning of your turn in order to bring your weapon to bear on y our oppoent).

Next, on your opponent's turn, he will have to use his 5 foot step in order close range to attack you (you wouldn't do this if your opponent used a reach weapon, of course). If your opponent gets more than one attack, either by using two weapons or by his level, you can avoid the second attack (and possibly more attacks) if the Dance Aside is triggered.





For example, consider a Cimmerian in melee combat with a Vanir warrior. The Cimmerian fights with broadsword and Shield, while the Vanir is using two axes--one in each hand. The Vanir is 6th level, so if he uses a Full Attack routine, he will get 3 attacks on the Cimmerian (two with his main weapon and a third attack for the off-hand weapon).

On the Cimmerian's turn, he slices away with his broadsword, then, after his attack, he uses his 5 foot step to move five feet back away from the Vanir.

Now, it's the Vanir's turn. The first thing the Vanir will do is close range, using his 5 foot step to do so, because, otherwise, the Vanir cannot attack the Cimmerian (who is, at the start of the Vanir's turn, 10 feet away). The Cimmerian will be using his Dodge defense for any incoming blows. The Vanir starts a Full Attack Action in order to get all three of his attacks at the Cimmerian, but, as fate would have it, the Vanir's first attack is less than the Cimmerian's Dodge AC.

Right then, because it's an immediate action, the Dance Aside is triggered, and the Cimmerian is allowed to move 5 feet in any direction he wishes. The Cimmerian again steps straight back, away from the Vanir, which puts him now at 10 feet from the Vanir. And, the Vanir has used all of his movement for the round. Therefore, the Dance Aside maneuver has saved the Cimmerian from all three attacks that round: The first Vanir attack failed and triggered the Dance Aside, which made the Vanir's other two attacks impossible to attempt.

Of course, you can't control when the Dance Aside will occur. But, you can do things to raise your Dodge AC to make it easier for foes to roll half or less.

This example turns out even better if the Cimmerian is using a reach weapon. Replace the shield and broadsword above with a war spear. On the Cimmerian's turn, he takes a 5 foot step backwards, increasing range to the Vanir, in order to be able to attack with the war spear.

On the Vanir's turn, the redhair steps inside the weapon's guard, recovering that 5 feet, in order to make his Full Attack and take his three blows. Except, as I mention above, let's say that the first of these blows triggers the Cimmerian's Dance Aside maneuver. The Cimmerian immediately moves, and the Vanir has no more movement to recover that distance and deliver his blows.

Now, it's the Cimmerian's turn again, and he's starting the scenario at 10 feet from his foe. The Cimmerian can attack, using his reach weapon, then use his five foot step to increase range yet again to 15 feet. The Vanir, now, is robbed of using a Full Attack action because the Vanir must use more movement to close distance with the Cimmerian. Thus, the Vanir is allowed only a single standard attack.

Over the two rounds, the Dance Aside has prevented 5 attacks on the Cimmerian.

Not bad.

Water Bob said:

Hm... Must be the differences in monitors. It looks great on my end--better than the green you use in your sig.

Click to expand...

i can read the green fine and i have to highlight the blue to see it.

really great thread here water bob!

Don't Ignore Grapple Maneuvers



Some, big, honkin foe is splintering chairs and tables with a greatsword--swings that are meant for you. All you have is a flint knife you made with your Survival skill.

What do you do?

You grapple the SOB. Yes, you're opening yourself up to an Attack of Opportunity (so make damn sure that you're successful with your grapple), but just one. Make sure you can take one hit. Because once you grapple your foe, you've taken away his attack advantage--his weapon. Only light weapons can be used while grappleing. Your foe will have to drop his greatsword in order to manage you and your grapple.

With a successful grapple, you've evened the odds a bit.

The next time your weapon is ineffective against a foe because of his armor, or you know that it is likely your foe will kill you faster than you can kill him, remember the grapple. Even the playing field. Take away your foe's advantage.

This is easy to do with 2E's change of the Grapple Rules to a single dice throw. The grapple rules are quite easy to manage. Most of the time, you're just rolling an unarmed attack.

And, all of a sudden, all of those grapple and unarmed based Feats that you've been ignoring find a lot more value to the character. For example, Improved Grapple will allow you to attempt the grapple without suffering an Attack of Opportunity. Tough As Nails, from the Players Guide, will make you impervious to strikes that cause non-leathal damage, forcing your opponent to take a -4 penalty on his attack throw against you in order to deliver lethal damage with is hand-to-hand blows. There are other Feats like this that can give you the advantage.

Think of it. A character with two daggers, who is good at grappling, is a formidable character in this game. He doesn't need to be wrapped in the best armor using the biggest sword. The grappler with daggers can get you in a hold then use the Coup de Grace rules to slit his foe's throat.

And, the foe probably won't see it coming.

Tough As Nails


This is an interesting Feat that first appears in THE ROAD OF KINGS and again in PLAYER'S GUIDE TO THE HYBORIAN AGE. It's a simple Feat that makes the character impervious to subdual damage.

Completely impervious? I like the super-hero effect where our hero uses his stone mug to crack a bad guy across the face. The bad guy takes the blow but then just grins. Our hero knows that he's in trouble (and, if this scene happened in my game, I'd allow that smile to act as the bad guy's Demoralize Other action using is Intimidation skill).

That's what the Feat is trying to accomplish--that kind of cliche that we see in movies (Remember when James Bond smacked Jaws across the face in The Spy Who Loved Me, and Jaws just smiled back at him? It's happened in a ton of other films too.)

But...completely impervious?

That means that there is no way that the character can be knocked unconscious by beating him?

You can consider this, but I think the Feat needs to be tempered a bit. You don't want to neuter the Feat so much that it won't be attractive to players. At the same time, I think the Feat should provide resistance to nonlethal damage without making the character completely impervious.

What's coming to my mind right now is this: Tough as Nails halves any subdual damage applied to the character.

Therefore, the Feat is still attractive in that it effectively doubles a character's hit points with regard to nonleathal damage, but, if a crowd with clubs comes beating on the character, he can still be knocked out.

I also think that a prerequisite of CON 13+ should be associated with the Feat. It doesn't make sense, does it, that the Feat could be taken by a CON 7 character, and he would be impervious to nonlethal damage.

I should draw to your attention, though, that Tough As Nails is not an easy Feat to acquire. It requires both Diehard and Endurance. So, you may think that, since the character has to spend three Feats and be 3rd level to get the Feat, then that's enough. Still, a CON 7 character could do all that and be an unexplainable 100% resistant to nonlethal damage. I think the CON 13+ requirement and the effect of half damage are the way to go.

If you've got a different idea, then let me hear it. I might like your idea better.

GM's! What to Remember About Combat


There's a lot going on in this game. It takes time to master. Each of the thoughts expressed here are covered in more detail up thread. But, as combat is happening in your game, remember these details....



Result of the d20 attack throw....

Natural 20? CRITICAL THREAT
Natural 1? GUSTUD (House Rule)

Attack = Parry AC? SUNDER and LOCK WEAPONS (Remember Weapon Length can modify Parry AC).

Attack < Half Parry AC? RIPOSTE (4th level for Soldiers. 6th+ level for other classes).

Attack < Half Dodge AC? DANCE ASIDE (Defender DEX 13+)

When the Attack Roll Exactly Equals Parry AC



The game gives us two effects when a character is using his Parry defense and an attacker rolls that AC exactly on his attack throw. On page 174, there's the optional Weapon Breakage rule that turns a successful attack into a successl Sunder. Then, on page 209, there's the Lock Weapons combat maneuver.

How do you resolve these rules?

Here's how I do it.

Weapon Breakage: Whenever an attack roll totals the exact amount of the defender's Parry AC, I go directly to the Weapon Breakage rule, allowing the attacker to sunder the defender's shield or weapon. Regular damage is not done, in accordance to the rule. Instead, the attack is considered a successful sunder. If the defender has a shield, then the sunder is against his shield. Otherwise, the sunder is applied to the defender's weapon.

Lock Weapons: Note that Lock Weapons is a combat maneuver and not an optional rule like the above. This means that the players have a choice in implementing the maneuver. For example, when a Dance Aside is triggered, the move from the Dance Aside is not forced. It's the player's option whether to use the Dance Aside or not. The same is true with the Lock Weapons maneuver. It is triggered when Parry AC = Attack, or Attack = Parry AC. It's important to note that the description of the maneuver specifically states either condition. This means that, when Attack = Parry AC, that either the attacker or defender may use the Lock Weapons maneuver.

In other words, either character may use the Lock Weapons maneuver when Attack = Parry AC. Either one can implement the maneuver, but both have to decline the maneuver in order not to use it.

When this maneuver is triggered, I first go through the sunder from the Weapon Breakage rule above, then I defer to the attacker, first, to see if that character wishes to use the Lock Weapons maneuver. If he doesn't, then the defending character is given a choice of using the Lock Weapons maneuver.

Note that if the Weapon Breakage rule destroys the defender's weapon, then the Lock Weapons maneuver is not triggered.

Also note that it can happen that the defender suffers the sunder against his shield due to the Weapon Breakage rule then is forced to lock weapons with his main weapon if that maneuver is used.



Procedure--

1. Weapon Breakage. Attacker sunders shield or weapon.
2. Lock Weapons. Attacker's choice, then Defender's choice. Both have to decline not to use the maneuver.

SPECIAL ATTACKS AND THE FIRST ROUND


The first round is an excellent time to try a special attack. For example, the Disarm maneuver usually gives the target of the Disarm an Attack of Opportunity on you before you attempt the disarm.

Well, if you win initiative and are close enough to your foe to attack (usually 30 feet), you can move to your target and attempt to disarm him without the foe getting the benefit of the Attack of Opportunity on you. Flatfooted characters cannot make AoOs. In addition, you catch your foe at AC 10, making it easier to disarm him.

You can change the fight conditions right at the outset, with the result of your character being the only one armed!



A victim of this type of attack--somone who loses his weapon while flatfooted--should try to grapple with his foe. See the comments I make on grapple earlier in the thread. Yes, you just lost your weapon, and yes, you'll suffer an Attack of Opportunity by your foe--as a double whammy early in the combat with your foe taking your weapon away AND getting an extra attack on you--but if you are successful, you have negated his advantage over you for the rest of the combat because only light weapons can be used while grappling. Your foe will probably drop his weapon because it hinders him too much fighting your grapple. Thus, you've neutralized his advantage.

GETTING CREATIVE ON THE BATTLEFIELD

In the recent 2011 Conan The Barbarian film, there's a moment during a battle on the Hornet (Artus' ship) where Conan grabs the sailing rig, glides across the deck, and slams, feet first, into a bad guy, knocking him over the rail and into the sea.

How would you recreate this in the game?

Well, the Bull Rush is a combat maneuver used to knock a foe backwards. The Use The Battlefield maneuver is designed to take advantage of different aspects of the battlefield in order to make a special maneuver.

If a player wants to attempt a move like Conan did in the film, don't say, "No". Let him try! This is where having a good command of the rules in the core rulebook will pay off.

Combine those two maneuvers (which isn't hard to do, since the Bull Rush is a standard action, and the Use The Battlefield option is a free action designed to be combined with other actions) and let the fun begin! Swinging on the yard-arm is covered by Use The Battlefield. Knocking the foe off the side is covered by the Bull Rush.

Allow the character a DC 20 Tumble check to grab the yard-arm and swing towards the target (You might even make it a DC 10 or DC 15 because it looked fairly easy in the movie). If he fails, the target gets an Attack of Opportunity on him, per the Use The Battlefield rule. If he succeeds, proceed as if the character had just made a successful Bull Rush against the target, but give the character a +2 circumstance bonus for successful use of the Use The Battlefield maneuver (per the rule).

Step 1. The Yard Arm Swing. DC 15 Tumble check to simulate grabbing the yard-arm and swinging towards the foe. Success means to move to step 2. Failure means that the foe gets an Attack of Opportunity on the character, and the character cannot Dodge or Parry this attack since he is hanging from the yard arm (effectively AC 10).

Step 2. Contact With The Target. Character gets +2 on Opposed STR check. Success means to move to step 3. Failure means the target does not move and the character falls prone to the ground in front of the foe, having knocked into him and slid off of him as if he were a brick wall.

Step 3. Success! The foe is pushed five feet backwards, over the rail, and into the sea.

COMMON SENSE


GMs should strive to enforce the spirit of the game rather than the letter of the rules. Always use common sense.

For example, consider a situation where a Cimmerian and a Pict start a combat encounter. The Pict wins initiative, and the GM describes how the NPC bends low at the waist, growling at the PC Cimmerian, showing the savage's stone sharpened teeth, all the while circling the PC as a fierce animal would around prey.

This is not a wasted action. In fact, the Pict is using his first action to Demoralize the Cimmerian, using the Intimidate skill.

Rolls are made, and the Cimmerian is now intimidated by the Pict.

Now, it's the bottom of the first round--the Cimmerian's turn to act. The demoralize penalty on the PC is -2 to his attack throws, saves, and ability checks. The player says that the Cimmerian will charge the Pict.

Should the player's described action be allowed?

Of course, the answer can only be made by your game's GM. There's nothing in the rules stating that Cimmerian cannot charge his foe at this point in the combat.

But...does that make sense? The Cimmerian is intimated by his foe. He should at least be paused by the demonic looking savage. As GM, I would rule that the Cimmerian cannot charge, or even approach and attack, the Pict due to the fact that the Cimmerian is, indeed, intimidated and demoralized by the foe.

The Cimmerian isn't running off, but this should be considered a light version of a Fear spell. You're not going to rush up to fight something that is scaring the hell out of you.

Give it a round or two. Let the initial shock of this savage wear off, then, once the demoralized penalities are gone, allow the player to do as he wishes again. If the Cimmerian is attacked while demoralized, then, sure, the PC can defend himself, and combat continues as normal. But, I just don't see an intimidated character rushing up to the thing that scares him.

Again, it's the GM's call, of course. But, that's the way I'd play it.