Letting yourself be hit - by an ally ?

[Istar]

Is this an automatic hit.
The power is the Cleric one "Command" where if you hit an enemy you can move him 7 squares, not sure if its a pull push or slide.

What if he wants to target one of the party, and that party member wants to be hit, is that an auto hit, and the PC i smoved back ??

 

[delericho]

Depends how awkward you want to be.

The strict rules-lawyer answer is "he's not an enemy, so can't be affected".

The 'nice' answer is "sure, that's an auto-hit", with the stated effect.

My interpretation would be that in a non-combat situation, a character can always lower his defences to allow a hit, with the normal effect. However, in a combat situation, the stress of the situation means that in order to allow a hit from an ally, the character has to lower his defences entirely (to that attack), meaning that any "voluntary" hit is considered an automatic critical, with all the consequences thereof.

(Of course, in the specific case of Command, I doubt there are any extra consequences of a critical hit. Still, for the general case it works.)

 

[Will Doyle]

"Command" has a target of "one creature", implying that it could be used against allies as well as enemies. However, (as far as I'm aware), there are no rules for deliberately exposing yourself to attack, so you should probably still roll against their full Will.

If I was feeling generous I'd allow the player to grant combat advantage - but I'd always demand a roll. Delivering a coup de grace against a helpless foe still requires a roll, as you could always just miss. Same goes for delivering a ranged attack versus Will.

 

[NMcCoy]

When I'm DMing, I offer the willing target two options: 1. They can choose not to avoid the attack, granting CA to their ally and taking no further penalties, or... 2. They can deliberately intercept the attack, making it hit on anything but a natural 1, but causing them to grant combat advantage to everything until the start of the attacker's next turn.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

This came up in a game I was in. I was playing a Mage with the Grease spell, and I wanted to use it to slide my allies around, rather than knocking them prone, so I WANTED to miss.

The solution was that I still had to roll, but I opted not to use my implement, and so missed out on the bonus there, and I also had her close her eyes momentarily, so as to be effectively blind for another -5. Upon reflection, that shouldn't have worked, since the attack generated by Grease is a close burst 1 centred on a square in the spell's effect. This would still work for any Ranged power that isn't a burst or blast though.

Likewise, if you were trying to hit an ally, presumably that ally could close their eyes as a free action just long enough to grant CA and be hit.

If I was trying to hit them, I'd never thought of having the ally grant CA... good one.

 

[DarkLord Of DForce]

Guys, I believe this power also dazes unto the end of the Cleric's next turn. Which adds a whole new element, IMHO.

As an Ally being hit by this....well, I don't think I really would want to be hit by this...

 

[Istar]

Guys, I believe this power also dazes unto the end of the Cleric's next turn. Which adds a whole new element, IMHO.

As an Ally being hit by this....well, I don't think I really would want to be hit by this...

More when an ally is in dire trouble and needs to be pulled out of harms way.
In that case a Daze is better than getting your arce kicked or killed.

 

[S'mon]

Definitely no auto-hit; at best the target could make themselves Helpless, lowering defenses by 5 & granting CA.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

This. I also vote for rendering making yourself helpless, but I would also make you grant at least CA to everyone who attacks the same defense, as you need to at least divert some attention and make a hit possible...

 

[thewok]

I was going to say that this sounds very "Bag o' Rats" to me, but then I read the power. I'd still say an auto-hit is out of the question. It's vs. Will, which is traditionally a very low defense. I'd make them hit the full Will defense of the party member.

Alternatively, I'd say that you can make yourself Helpless, but you're considered Helpless until the end of your next turn, and not just for the one attack. RP-wise, if you let your defenses down, they are down for everyone--not just your friends.