So if I say "there are no rules for ascending to godhood." then people would be perfectly correct to tell me "No, there is a rule. Improvised Action. It could be better, but it is a rule for this."?
Only if the DM deems that appropriate.
Most wouldn't, because of course they wouldn't, and you'd think after trying this fallacious reasoning multiple times that you'd understand there is a
massive, massive, MASSIVE gulf between "ascend to godhood" and literally any normal thing a martial might want to pull in a fight.
To use the fact that a DM would,
obviously, say no to Godhood in this case as causus belli to say nothing can be done at all with IA is, as said, incredibly falacious.
And I just looked it up. This is called a misleading comparison.
And to just really hammer in this, here's ChatGPT explaining exactly what it is you're doing:
In the argument you described, your opponent is indeed using a form of misleading comparison. By using the extreme example of "Ascending to Godhood," they are attempting to discredit the entire concept of the Improvise Action rule, suggesting that because an extreme and unlikely action would not be deemed appropriate by a typical DM, then all other actions within a more reasonable range are also rendered useless.
This is a fallacious line of reasoning because it ignores the range of actions that fall within the realm of reasonability. The fact that an extreme action would be unlikely to be allowed does not imply that all other actions, such as kicking someone with sand or jumping off a ledge during an attack, would also be dismissed as invalid.
It's important to consider the context and purpose of the Improvise Action rule in DND. The rule exists to allow for creative and spontaneous actions that may not be explicitly covered by the game's predefined actions. While DMs have the authority to determine the appropriateness of an improvised action, it is typically done within the boundaries of reason and game balance. The goal is to promote flexibility, creativity, and player engagement.
By using an extreme outlier as the basis for dismissing the entire concept of Improvise Action, your opponent is committing the fallacy of misleading comparison. It's essential to address this fallacy by pointing out the range of reasonable actions that the rule is intended to cover and the fact that extreme examples do not invalidate the entire spectrum of possible actions in the game.
What key information did I gloss over?
The fact that I
never addressed the thing you said I did.
What does that even mean?
I assume you don't use battle maps if you have no idea what Im talking about. Though, it is plain english, so frankly I find it hard to believe you don't know what that means.
And if an orc is big enough, is a gnoll? A goliath should be right?
All are medium creatures, so yes.
What if the enemies in that direction are shorter than the orc? Taller?
...Height has nothing to do with anything I said and would be an irrelevant bit of tedium to even consider.
Suddenly, instead of the fighter having any sort of predictability, it all becomes a guessing game.
...are you...
guessing...what direct
you are going to choose to attack in?
Essentially, the fighter is reduced to asking every single turn and every single attack, and just hoping they get similar responses. And that isn't "fun"
At this point I think all you've ever played is theater of the mind, but even then. I don't know how you can play 5e and think you're not in full control of where your character exists within a battlespace and how they can move and attack within it.
I gave you the target AC to connect the attack, and you would pick the direction you attack from, based where you decide to place yourself, if you can without taking an opportunity attack if you don't want to take one. If they're in Square/Hex A and you put yourself in Square/Hex B immediately next to the target, the resulting blood spray would cover Square/Hexes C, D, E which are perpindicular to A and B.
Heres a picture.
Orc is green, you're Blue, if the attack connects the red arrows show the Hexes that would be hit by the blood spray. At the scale I usually do Hexes there'd be up to 9 medium enemies that could be hit.
