Counterattack?

[pawsplay]

Even if he spent a feat/talent on it?

IMO, definitely. It just doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

Ranged retaliation? Maybe it comes from his race: He's an eladrin, maybe they're related to HoMMV's succubi.

I was going to say that the whole "attack triggers immediate action usually in the form of a counter attack" idea is very HoMM. (Heroes of Might and Magic for the uninitiated.)

The basic rule there is that if one creature (stack) attacks in another in melee and the defender is not wiped out, the defender attacks back, but can only do this once between it's own attacks. (it is also basicly involuntary, you can't save your counter attack up.) Then there are special creatures who break just about every condition in that description, like succubi who can make ranged counter attacks, various creatures who don't draw counter attacks and those that can counterattack multiple times per round.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

I want to play a succubus ranger now!

 

[kinem]

It doesn't make sense that someone could shoot faster only when being fired upon, and it makes even less sense that a dragon could produce breath weapons faster only when it is hurt to a specific degree. It hope they take this type of BS out of what would otherwise look to be a promising new edition.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

It's not as if this was the first time things like that were put into D&D, you know.

 

[KarinsDad]

Stinks of BS. I can see for melee, but a missed ranged attack triggering a counter attack does not work in my book.

It doesn't make sense that someone could shoot faster only when being fired upon, and it makes even less sense that a dragon could produce breath weapons faster only when it is hurt to a specific degree. It hope they take this type of BS out of what would otherwise look to be a promising new edition.

Agreed.

It's sounding more and more like a video game and less and less like an RPG.

Designer 1: "I know. Let's make up cool abilities not because they make any sense, but because they are cool. Don't worry, no matter how nonsensical and far out in left field they are, there will be people who will rationalize them."

Designer 2: "Cool"
Designer 3: "Cool"
Designer 4: "Cool"
Designer 5: "Cool"
Designer 6: "Cool"
Designer 7: "Cool"
Designer 8: "Cool"
Designer 9: "Cool"

Designer 1: "Let's give them spikey hair too."

Designer 2: "Cool"
Designer 3: "Cool"
Designer 4: "Cool"
Designer 5: "Cool"
Designer 6: "Cool"
Designer 7: "Cool"
Designer 8: "Cool"
Designer 9: "Cool"

 

[Plane Sailing]

Kinem, Karinsdad - ridicule isn't appropriate discussion in this thread. Please desist.

Thanks

 

[Gothic_Demon]

I agree to some extent that this seems like a "Cool" ability to put in, but it seems reminiscent of the Mines of Moria in LOTR, when Legolas luckily ducks the goblins arrow and, without pause, looses his own arrow back along the same path.

An instinctive, reflexive action, similar to ducking when you see a shadow overhead, or when you hear gunfire. And it probably costs his immediate action for the round. Doesn't seem all that far-fetched to me.

Think of it along the lines of swerving around a shadow on the road that you can't quite see. You reflexively move the car around it in case it was something.

 

[UnsocialEntity]

I'd also like to note that if enough reactions are added to the game, you simply turn swing-swing-swing-swing to swing-counter-swing-counter etc.

I think I might actually prefer if you could take more actions during a monsters turn. Plenty of times i've seen players sort of "mentally turn off" when it's not their turn because they have no actions they could take until initiative goes back to them. If they have to watch and pay attention for possible immediate actions, it may help out with this problem.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

It doesn't make sense that someone could shoot faster only when being fired upon, and it makes even less sense that a dragon could produce breath weapons faster only when it is hurt to a specific degree. It hope they take this type of BS out of what would otherwise look to be a promising new edition.

Note, the same is true for AoO, except that they only work in meelee.

To rationalize such abilities away: It's a pump of adrenaline. The Dragon is reduced to half hp, his body reacts by putting even more adrenaline out, which in case of Dragons also means that he can spit fire again.
The Ranger was nearly hit, so his body pumps out a sudden jump of adrenaline, and he uses it (instinctively) to fire a counter attack (if he was hit, the same should have happened, except that the hit means the adrenaline is used for something else...)

It's also worth pointing out that the rules don't say that a standard action takes 3.5 seconds, a move action 1.5, a swift 0.30 and a immediate action 0.20 seconds. These actions are an abstraction of what you can do in 6 seconds, how long it really takes is not defined. The action type only determines when you can take it and how often.