Common Combat actions

[pming]

Hiya.

Anything that doesn't requier actual knowledge. Example: shooting a bow is no problem...shooting a plasma rifle in the 40-watt range...no.

IMHO, this whole idea of a list of "combat actions" you can do is nonsense and just rubs me the wrong way (I blame 3e for that...but that's a whole other ball of kittens...). If the player says "I try to [do something]", it should NOT be up to the game systems allowable/unallowable combat actions...it's the GM's job to take what the player wants his character to do, decide an appropriate chance, and let the player roll the dice.

Grrrr! Grognard rage...increasing!...

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[Aus_Snow]

Grrrr! Grognard rage...increasing!...

I understand the reasons well enough, but... it does say "Common Combat actions", after all.

 

[Stormonu]

Withdraw/Evade
Reposition
Attack Multiple Foes at Once
Redirect/Intercept Attack
Overbear/Wrestle
Beat Back
Shield Slam/Block
Seek Cover
Harry (As in, shoot on the move)
Engage/Duel
Counterstrike
Full Defense
Backstab/Sneak Up On
Dirty Fighting (Knee to the Groin, Sand in the Eyes)

 

[Ultimatecalibur]

Hiya.

Anything that doesn't requier actual knowledge. Example: shooting a bow is no problem...shooting a plasma rifle in the 40-watt range...no.

IMHO, this whole idea of a list of "combat actions" you can do is nonsense and just rubs me the wrong way (I blame 3e for that...but that's a whole other ball of kittens...). If the player says "I try to [do something]", it should NOT be up to the game systems allowable/unallowable combat actions...it's the GM's job to take what the player wants his character to do, decide an appropriate chance, and let the player roll the dice.

Grrrr! Grognard rage...increasing!...

^_^

Paul L. Ming

And that is great if you have creative players and a flexible GM, but not all players are creative nor GMs flexible. Some players need something to tell them "you can do this" and some GMs need rules that say "the PCs can do this and here are the rules for how".

I'm just trying to find out what various people's expectations are for what these "common" actions are. I'm not trying to stop players from swinging on chandlers or flipping tables over while enemies are standing on top. I just want to make a laminated printout with common actions, how to do them and what their effects are, put it on the table for me and my players to refer to and have at it.

Would you react to a fireball by going prone if the rules said it granted you a +2 bonus to your saves/defenses against area attacks?

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

• Stand up from prone

You seem to have "get down" covered (kneel, crawl, go prone...) but not the opposite.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

IMHO, this whole idea of a list of "combat actions" you can do is nonsense and just rubs me the wrong way (I blame 3e for that...but that's a whole other ball of kittens...). If the player says "I try to [do something]", it should NOT be up to the game systems allowable/unallowable combat actions...it's the GM's job to take what the player wants his character to do, decide an appropriate chance, and let the player roll the dice.

I am definitely an Old School player but I have to disagree with you, at least to an extent. It should be the intent of the system to cover the most common actions that are going to be attempted with standard rules rather than leave EVERYTHING up to the DM. The game doesn't have to cover it all - in fact, it can't possibly do so. However, even where the system chooses NOT to provide rules it can at least provide guidelines/suggestions for the DM. Even just listing common player choices can allow DM's to decide for themselves how to handle them sensibly and consistently.

It's when the system goes too far in trying to rule on anything and everything in combat, not just the most common choices, that you should begin to chafe. Of course, having such a list as this also allows DM's to choose what rules sections to ignore in favor of a more rules-light/casual approach.

 

[Numlock]

Reload Weapon
Ready Weapon
Holster Weapon