Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Flat-Footed
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Man in the Funny Hat" data-source="post: 5523480" data-attributes="member: 32740"><p>This really should be the issue at question. 3E determines surprise as a matter of who is aware of the presence of others. Flat-footed however, is a matter of having PREPARED for combat. Just because two people are arguing or highly suspicious of each others motivations doesn't mean EITHER of them is actually in a combat stance of some sort and ready for any potential attack.</p><p> </p><p>Let me use this example of an argument between an NPC and a PC. The only person at the game table who knows what the NPC is actually expecting is the DM. The only person at the table who knows what the PC is expecting is the player. If neither has a weapon drawn then even if they are expecting that this will end in combat neither of them is actually PREPARED for actual combat. The first one to say the character draws a weapon is the one who actually has the initiative - and therefore the advantage over the other who, though he may have "expected" combat, clearly is not in a position to parry with his weapon, right? It can be safely assumed further that if he's not ready to parry with anything then he's not ready to dodge any incoming blows either.</p><p> </p><p>Now suppose one of them declares that he draws a weapon and DOESN'T attack? Well, if the opponent draws a weapon in turn THEN it can be argued that neither of them is flat-footed.</p><p> </p><p>There is a LOT of room for DM adjudication here. If the player STATES, "I prepare to defend myself against his sudden attack, but don't actually draw my weapon," then the DM could decide that he's not actually flat-footed for the next round, say. But this is NOT a state of readiness one can keep up indefinitely. You can't walk through life ready to defend yourself instantly from any unpredicted attack. Circumventing the penalties of being flat-footed without some sort of feat or class ability should be something that can at best be accomplished for a round - preparation against <em>imminent</em> attack (and if that attack doesn't take place as expected then you're back to square one), but <u>AS A RULE</u> it is far more sensible to simply assume that you are flat-footed until you ACTUALLY act in a round.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Man in the Funny Hat, post: 5523480, member: 32740"] This really should be the issue at question. 3E determines surprise as a matter of who is aware of the presence of others. Flat-footed however, is a matter of having PREPARED for combat. Just because two people are arguing or highly suspicious of each others motivations doesn't mean EITHER of them is actually in a combat stance of some sort and ready for any potential attack. Let me use this example of an argument between an NPC and a PC. The only person at the game table who knows what the NPC is actually expecting is the DM. The only person at the table who knows what the PC is expecting is the player. If neither has a weapon drawn then even if they are expecting that this will end in combat neither of them is actually PREPARED for actual combat. The first one to say the character draws a weapon is the one who actually has the initiative - and therefore the advantage over the other who, though he may have "expected" combat, clearly is not in a position to parry with his weapon, right? It can be safely assumed further that if he's not ready to parry with anything then he's not ready to dodge any incoming blows either. Now suppose one of them declares that he draws a weapon and DOESN'T attack? Well, if the opponent draws a weapon in turn THEN it can be argued that neither of them is flat-footed. There is a LOT of room for DM adjudication here. If the player STATES, "I prepare to defend myself against his sudden attack, but don't actually draw my weapon," then the DM could decide that he's not actually flat-footed for the next round, say. But this is NOT a state of readiness one can keep up indefinitely. You can't walk through life ready to defend yourself instantly from any unpredicted attack. Circumventing the penalties of being flat-footed without some sort of feat or class ability should be something that can at best be accomplished for a round - preparation against [I]imminent[/I] attack (and if that attack doesn't take place as expected then you're back to square one), but [U]AS A RULE[/U] it is far more sensible to simply assume that you are flat-footed until you ACTUALLY act in a round. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Flat-Footed
Top