Bolas from S&F
- Thread starter Lord Ben
- Start date
Bolas are definitely overpowered, and cry out for banning or heavy Rule 0'ing. Some maroon posted in another thread that his DM allowed him to use bolas to auto-trip GIANTS.
Why stop there? I bet a ranged touch attack with a Bola would trip a Purple Worm. Or a Titan. Or a Huge Monstrous Spider. Hell, it'd probably trip a Tarrasque.
I like the proposed fix allowing for a contested roll, and I can't imagine a medium-sized bola tripping a being whose feet are usually five or ten feet apart, or who weighs over a thousand pounds. Sorry.
Why stop there? I bet a ranged touch attack with a Bola would trip a Purple Worm. Or a Titan. Or a Huge Monstrous Spider. Hell, it'd probably trip a Tarrasque.
I like the proposed fix allowing for a contested roll, and I can't imagine a medium-sized bola tripping a being whose feet are usually five or ten feet apart, or who weighs over a thousand pounds. Sorry.
For a house rule I like the idea of making the attacker choose between attempting the trip and attempting the entangle. So two goblins throwing who both succeed would trip and entangle their opponent. Serious attack bonus to their buddies. Defender gets a reflex save of the attack roll to avoid.
Wolf72
Explorer
whirley-gigs!
okay ... I'm prob just missing the order of events.
but for reference here's the entry from Dragon 274:
"A character struck by bolas must make a Reflex save (with a DC equal to the attack roll of the bola's wielder). If the saving throw fails, the target takes subdual damage and is considered pinned. (See "Grapple" in Chapter 8: Combat of the Player's Handbook for more information.) The bola's can pin only a Tiny, Small, or Medium-sized target." ....
"If the saving throw succeeds, the target suffers normal damage but is not pinned."
jontherev said:
okay ... I'm prob just missing the order of events.
but for reference here's the entry from Dragon 274:
"A character struck by bolas must make a Reflex save (with a DC equal to the attack roll of the bola's wielder). If the saving throw fails, the target takes subdual damage and is considered pinned. (See "Grapple" in Chapter 8: Combat of the Player's Handbook for more information.) The bola's can pin only a Tiny, Small, or Medium-sized target." ....
"If the saving throw succeeds, the target suffers normal damage but is not pinned."
Forrester said:
A maroon? I assume you were trying to be witty by mispelling moron?
That was me who posted using the bola against giants. Calling someone a moron (if that was your intent) for using the RULES we are given is absurd. Especially when we are in the RULES FORUM. If you think the designers made a huge mistake, blame them, not the players.
Equating tripping a giant to tripping a purple worm shows a lack of understanding rules on your part. A giant takes up a 5' x 5' square (except Cloud or Storm giants). Their legs are not that much further apart than yours. Haven't you ever heard of the phrase, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall"? A worm has no legs to even trip it. I'm sure you were just being sarcastic here, at least I sincerely hope so. Obviously, the rules allow for ANYTHING of ANY SIZE to be tripped by the bola, since no guidelines were given. However, logic steps in when a creature is so large that their legs are 10 or more feet apart. I seriously doubt my DM would allow it, but my pc wouldn't try it anyway because I'm not a 'maroon'[sic].
If you disagree with the rules or something I say, fine, let's discuss it like adults. Tossing insults around is dull and unimaginative.
I don't have a big problem allowing an opposed check for the trip attack, but it doesn't make sense to me to allow the defender to use strength. You've already hit them, so they should be required to use dex to avoid the trip. It's how fast you move that other leg out of the way, not how strong your legs are, that would help you avoid a trip. At least, that's my take on it. Our group hates using house rules though, so we'll probably leave it as is.
Shard O'Glase
First Post
Well duh he was calling you a moron when he called you a maroon. Geez don't poeple watch the classics anymore or is it just some lame dragon ball crap. 
And I have to say if I was the DM I'd never let you trip a giant with a bolo.
Edit for smilies since I am just messing aorund and not intending to insult people here.
And I have to say if I was the DM I'd never let you trip a giant with a bolo.
Edit for smilies since I am just messing aorund and not intending to insult people here.
Last edited:
When I said "maroon", I meant "maroon". Shard is right -- no one watches the classics anymore.
And yes, you can be a "maroon" by following only the letter, and not the spirit of the rules. By your own admission the rules do not prohibit using a bola to trip a Purple Worm. And yes, you'd be a Maroon for USING the RULES as GIVEN in this case.
Tanglefoot bags supposedly slow to half-movement *any* creature hit by them. You'd be a maroon to USE the RULES as GIVEN in this case too.
Where "maroon" does not mean "moron", but "munchkin powergamer with no respect for the spirit of the game."
However, your seeming willingness to allow bolas to not work against "Huge" sized giants shows promise. I still remain skeptical that a bola could wrap around a giant's legs, assuming his feet are four feet apart, but I'm not going to argue it with you.
And yes, you can be a "maroon" by following only the letter, and not the spirit of the rules. By your own admission the rules do not prohibit using a bola to trip a Purple Worm. And yes, you'd be a Maroon for USING the RULES as GIVEN in this case.
Tanglefoot bags supposedly slow to half-movement *any* creature hit by them. You'd be a maroon to USE the RULES as GIVEN in this case too.
Where "maroon" does not mean "moron", but "munchkin powergamer with no respect for the spirit of the game."
However, your seeming willingness to allow bolas to not work against "Huge" sized giants shows promise. I still remain skeptical that a bola could wrap around a giant's legs, assuming his feet are four feet apart, but I'm not going to argue it with you.
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