D&D 4E 4E queries

[sammy]

Over yesterdays gaming, my group came up with 2 questions. So, I thought the en world crowd may help.

1- What skill should be used when tying rope knots? They actually just wanted to tie normal knots to go down a shaft, but it brings up this point anyway. I had them use DEX for the moment, am now thinking Dungeoneering.

2- When a Fighter uses "Cleave", does he get any other bonuses in addition to the strength bonus on the 2nd damage part, where he-she "hits"another enemy for auto damage? I thought that maybe magic weapons/ items and feats should apply.

Thanks in advance to all who reply.

Sammy

 

[ObsidianCrane]

For the skill I would go with the most appropriate of Athletics, Dungeoneering, Nature, or Theivery. Each has some claim on the task, and the approach should represent how the character came to know about tieing knots. Though in reality unless it was critical to some task (eg restraining a monster) I would just let it be done. If you want the party to be split in half by the rope comming undone do it, otherwise leave their success or failure in the hands of their ability to climb and don't fret about tieing knots.

As to the Cleave question the extra damage is just strength. Enhancement damage only applies if there is a [W] in the damage.

 

[abyssaldeath]

1: Do the players need a skill to tie their shoes? No? Then they can tie simple knots in a rope.

2: Only str is added to the cleave damage.

 

[Baumi]

1- What skill should be used when tying rope knots? They actually just wanted to tie normal knots to go down a shaft, but it brings up this point anyway. I had them use DEX for the moment, am now thinking Dungeoneering.

There is no official Answer to that since there is no skill for it (it would be a very rarely used skill). But if you are not sure what skill roll is needed just let the players explain to you how they learned it (Dungeoneering, Nature, Athletics(Climbing),..) and if it sounds fine than let them use that skill, like in Skill Challenges.

2- When a Fighter uses "Cleave", does he get any other bonuses in addition to the strength bonus on the 2nd damage part, where he-she "hits"another enemy for auto damage? I thought that maybe magic weapons/ items and feats should apply.

No, he only does Str Damage ... which should be more than enough against Minions anyway

 

[Baumi]

1: Do the players need a skill to tie their shoes? No? Then they can tie simple knots in a rope.

That's exactly what is wrong with ENWorld at the moment.

Why are you so rude? You don't know his situation maybe it was really important (a monster sneaking behind them trying to unknot it or they tried a trick-knot that's easily opens, etc.). There is no neat to be snark, just try to help or ignore the question.

 

[NorthSaber]

2- When a Fighter uses "Cleave", does he get any other bonuses in addition to the strength bonus on the 2nd damage part, where he-she "hits"another enemy for auto damage? I thought that maybe magic weapons/ items and feats should apply.

This has been answered correctly already, but I wanted to add something I found helpful. If you look carefully, almost all things that give damage bonuses specify that you get the bonus to a "damage roll", which Cleave doesn't get.

The few exceptions are Pit Fighter's bonus damage, and I believe Hunter's Quarry could also be used, depending on one's definition of "attack".

 

[Mengu]

1: Do the players need a skill to tie their shoes? No? Then they can tie simple knots in a rope.

2: Only str is added to the cleave damage.

That's exactly what is wrong with ENWorld at the moment.

Why are you so rude? You don't know his situation maybe it was really important (a monster sneaking behind them trying to unknot it or they tried a trick-knot that's easily opens, etc.). There is no neat to be snark, just try to help or ignore the question.

Why is this rude? I call it sound advice, given with a humorous analogy. Unfortunately internet doesn't translate tone of voice very well, so I guess if you read it with a nasal voice it could come off as snarky.

There is nothing wrong with ENWorld. People state opinions, you sift through them, and agree/disagree, make your own comments. There is the occasional heated discussion (we are passionate about our games), but I rarely see personal attacks.

If a monster will sneak in and untie a rope, then they can do so (or take the easier route and cut the rope). I find it petty to have to keep track of such mundane things as a skill to tie ropes, cook food, or play backgammon. There is nothing game breaking about working such skills into a character's background, without a need for actual game mechanics.

 

[Plane Sailing]

The easiest solution is to say "everyone can tie appropriate knots".

If you want to make it slightly more skill based, then you could say "everyone trained in dungeoneering, athletics and nature can tie appropriate knots" because they are trained in skills which include spelunking, climbing and wilderness survival.

That should give a fairly wide spread of appropriate people for the job.

You could go one step further and make it an easy (DC5) dungeoneering, nature or athletics check - hence the trained people will always get it right, and others will get it right most of the time unless they do spectacularly badly.

Cheers

 

[AtomicPope]

Remember too that players can take 10 on rolls. So unless there's a struggling monster they're hog-tying they can just take 10. That means unless their character is dim witted or clumsy they should be able to secure a knot.

Skills in 4e are a bit free form at times. As Plain Sailing pointed out, you can use different skills to acheive similar results. Ask the characters what they want to accomplish, then choose the primary skill or skills (Athletics is good because it's a climbing skill). If they don't use a primary skill then increase the DC. History may tell you how knots were used, but it won't tell you how to tie them. It allows players to use other skills to accomplish similar results but not without some penalties for going "out of discipline."