mleibrock's in-game thread for Council of Thieves

[Rhun]

Anundr maintains his position, waiting for the enemy to appear.

OOC: Ready action to attack if an opponent comes within melee range.

 

[mleibrock]

Rules

I've had it posed to me that a character should not be flat-footed and I'm looking over the rules and think I'm at a ruling. I'd like your input if you'd please.

From what I read a character is flat-footed until they act IN combat. Liath attacked the hellknights which should initiate combat. So she would not be flat-footed. Anundr has just gone so he is not flat-footed however the rest of the party is.


I'm sure there are forums on this but I can't find any, so I'm asking for your thoughts. At first I thought I'd think of it as flat-footed means surprised but it really doesn't floow the description I've read:

"A character who has not yet acted during a combat is flat-footed, unable to react normally to the situation. A flat-footed character loses his Dexterity bonus to AC and Combat Maneuver Defense (CMD) (if any) and cannot make attacks of opportunity, unless he has the Combat Reflexes feat or Uncanny Dodge class ability.

Characters with Uncanny Dodge retain their Dexterity bonus to their AC and can make attacks of opportunity before they have acted in the first round of combat."

 

[Leif]

OOC: I think that I need to stay out of rules debates. OOC: And, thus, having contributed my two cents' worth: It's ultimately your call, Mikey, because you're the one who gets to wear the Horned Viking Helmet of the GM here. OOC: Also, as I mentioned in post 310, your post 309 lists Dru's AC as 13//10. As far as I know, and as far as his sheet indicates, Dru's AC is 20/20/10.

 

[Maidhc O Casain]

[sblock=OOC]"Acted in Combat" typically means that your turn to act - either in a surprise round or in the initiative order - has come and you've taken an action during that turn.

In this case, I figure Liath's action would be considered surprise. Moving counts as "Acted in Combat" if it happened during the initiative order (either in regular combat or in the surprise round). So if Anundr and Dru moved after Liath initiated combat with her shot, they'd not be flat footed. If they moved before she shot we were still in "waiting for ambush" status rather than "engaged in combat" status.

Still, as Leif says it's the GMs call as to when combat "starts."[/sblock]

 

[Rhun]

OOC: I concur with Mowgli's take on this issue.

 

[Scotley]

OOC: [sblock=My Thoughts]Typically, when talking about 'acting in combat' the situation is when your 'action' comes up on the initiative order. If the player's initiative is lower than the attackers on the first round of combat they are flat-footed. That's the way it works. It doesn't really have anything to do with the actions taken, but the order of initiative.[/sblock]

 

[Scotley]

Suzume continues back toward the bulk of the group.

 

[Leif]

[sblock=My OOC Thoughts]Typically, when talking about 'acting in combat' the situation is when your 'action' comes up on the initiative order. If the player's initiative is lower than the attackers on the first round of combat they are flat-footed. That's the way it works. It doesn't really have anything to do with the actions taken, but the order of initiative.[/sblock]

[sblock=My Corresponding OOC Comments]Just remember, Mike, if you start doing this, then we will expect it to happen in every combat from now on, so if we get the initiative we may cut down your flat-footed monsters like so much dry grass. On the other hand, Dru's FF AC is the same as his usual AC when he is in his heavy armor, so it makes no difference to him at all.[/sblock]

 

[J. Alexander]

Sorry and unexpected trip to dallas got in the way...

Trevor will wait for the first clear target and let fly

 

[Scotley]

[sblock=My Corresponding OOC Comments]Just remember, Mike, if you start doing this, then we will expect it to happen in every combat from now on, so if we get the initiative we may cut down your flat-footed monsters like so much dry grass. On the other hand, Dru's FF AC is the same as his usual AC when he is in his heavy armor, so it makes no difference to him at all.[/sblock]

OOC: [Sblock=Leif]This is the stock and trade of the Rogue. Rogues count on getting higher initiative than the bad guys to get in sneak attacks at the start of most fights. Because being flat-footed means no dex bonus which in turn means Sneak Attack![/sblock]