Another prone question-atacking

[DarkLord Of DForce]

If you want to have different conditions, feel free to add them.

What you described is prone and weakened.

That's cool, if it makes sense in the situation.

If you make prone have too many effects, it's too difficult to remove them in situation where they don't make sense.

Okay, understood...

 

[DarkLord Of DForce]

Think of it this way: you're not able to swing as well, getting that -2, but you're attacking a more delicate target on most enemies. Their ankles, knees, groin.... not very well protected with most armor, as it makes mobility improbable. The damage is still done, you just don't have that leverage to get the full swing in.

Well, when you put it in that perspective, I guess the game mechanic makes sense.

Thanks.

 

[Benlo]

Well, when you put it in that perspective, I guess the game mechanic makes sense.

Thanks.

No problem! That's like half the fun of D&D, picturing all of these situations playing out. Thanks for getting my imagination going.

 

[Starfox]

This is not the only case where one condition naturally leads to another. The most obvious example to me is blind and slowed. The blind condition does not slow you down at all. Which, to my mind, means you are merely severely dazzled. If you are truly blind, you'd also be slowed.

The same applies to prone. If you are flat on your stomach, you should probably be prone and weakened.

Once you get your head around it, this atomizing of conditions works pretty well.

 

[DracoSuave]

The same applies to prone. of you are flat on your stomach, you should probably be prone and weakened.

Once you get your head around it, this atomizing of conditions works pretty well.

And of course, to say prone means you're flat on your stomach makes the assumption that you're not moving around. I see prone as you are horizontal. You might be rolling back and forth, trying to avoid blows while getting a couple in with your own.

Generally, tho, with 4e combat, I tend to discredit descriptions of conditions/powers/feats that operate on the assumption that a player is holding still. Once you allow characters to actually move like they would during a real fight, it's a lot easier to envision how things could potentially work.

 

[Colmarr]

Well, when you put it in that perspective, I guess the game mechanic makes sense.

Thanks.

The way I look at it is that while on the ground you probably can swing with full force (there are some exceptions, mostly related to two-handed non-piercing weapons).

However, you can only do so in very limited ways (which I imagine to be largely limited to swinging parallel to the ground - swinging up would be very difficult). That limitation of options is what the -2 to attack represents.

 

[Nightson]

Let's keep the abstract nature of HP in mind as well. You might be kicking out and hitting a knee joint, when you finish him off it's because he left an opening when his leg faltered on him.

Also, I don't allow characters to benefit from flanking while prone. Standing characters still get the benefit.