D&D Baseball

[howandwhy99]

I'm trying to figure out how certain rules work and thought this would be a fun way to ask.



D&D Baseball

The pitcher winds up on the mound. He throws the ball attempting to cross the strike zone.

A thrown ranged attack, but is a baseball an exotic weapon, simple, or like a thrown acid flask (no prof. needed)? Thrown weapons are 5x range increment only. (The rules imply the object could travel farther, but without accuracy). Since it is 60' 6" from the mound to homeplate the ball must have at least a 20' range increment.

The batter waits at home plate. As the ball comes across he swings at it.

Melee club attack. But what is the ball's AC? If it's an object, I'm guessing it as 10 + dex? + 4 (diminutive). But where is the Dexterity bonus derived from? Is it treated as a creature or a normal object (-5 no dexterity). How does Speed or the pitcher's throwing ability affect this modifier? Also, is this an Attack of Opportunity or a Readied Action? On the one hand, does a flying object (like an arrow) invoke an AoO? And on the other, can a readied action be ignored, if the ball was out of the strike zone? I'm guessing there is at least a Spot check involved.

Option 1: The batter misses the ball and the catcher catches it

What is the rule for catching thrown objects? Is a Dexterity check involved to account for the possibility of the catcher missing the ball?

Option 2: The batter hits the ball trying for a home run

How is distance determined for an object struck? Does it matter whether the hittee is a creature vs. an object? How can foul balls or ones hit into the dirt be accounted for? Does the speed of the ball matter? How about its' weight? What if it were on the ground like in golf or hockey?

An outfielder runs to catch the ball

I'm assuming this is a Readied action. But Readied actions can only be Standard (only move or catch). If the fielder has time, he could position himself with accompanying jump, climb, and balance checks. But doesn't a falling object land on the same turn it began falling?

The outfielder catches the ball and throws it to 2nd base hoping to catch a runner coming from 1st.

If the outfielder only moved to the ball previously, he can catch it, but not throw it as that includes a second Standard action. If the outfielder caught the ball last turn, his best option is to Move 30' towards the base and then throw the ball.

The batter drops the bat and runs to 1st base.

The Human batter drops the bat as a Free Action. He runs full speed 90 feet to 1st base. He can run up to 30' past it, but could not round the base on this turn. If he were very short (halfling-sized), he would not reach 1st base it until his next turn.

The runner on 1st base sprints from where he was leading off to 2nd base, trying to reach 3rd in time

Because the Run action requires the runner to move in a straight line, the runner requires a minimum of 1 round to reach each base. In fact, leading off was unnecessary as there is no chance the 2nd baseman could tag him out unless he already had the ball before the runner Moved. Leading off is a bad tactic in general as starting off base is the only way for the runner to be hit and outed by a line drive.

The 2nd baseman catches the ball and throws it to 1st attempting a doubleplay

This is a nearly impossible play. Even if the ball is hit directly to the 2nd baseman, his readied action to catch the ball ends his turn. The runner to 2nd is forced out, but the one to 1st always makes it (unless he's the aforementioned Halfling).

The runner to 2nd base doubles back and gets caught in a squeeze play

With a Run of 120' where the runner can always choose his direction, I think this is an impossibility.

 

[FalcWP]

If you think those are problems, what are you going to do about guys who want to wear armor and drink potions of bull's strength and bear's endurance before every game?

 

[JoeBlank]

I think I see your motivation here. I missed the first 2 sessions of howandwhy99's Age of Worms campaign due to my sons' baseball games. He figures if he can merge my two interests then he can get me to game more often.

The idea is fun as an exercise, but of course ends up demonstrating why D&D is great at D&D, but not at many other things. It would be fun to set up a game and actually create characters with feats such as Run and Weapon Specialization: baseball.

Blood Bowl does something similar with football, but I doubt anyone has attempted baseball yet.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

I've actually given some thought to this in the past.

I'd approach the pitcher/batter duel as a contest of skills. Perhaps let the pitcher and batter play "paper-rock-scissors" on pitch selection to replicate sitting on a fastball, etc, with the batter getting a +2 if he guesses right, or a -2 if he guesses wrong.

I'd treat wild pitches/passed balls/errors as fumbles. Home runs as critical successes (adopting the combat threat/confirmation mechanic to skills contests). Finding the right balance to get batting averages to work out might be a challenge.

You could adapt a lot of feats to this - to improve a particular pitch, get extra movement, improve your fielding, etc.

If you think those are problems, what are you going to do about guys who want to wear armor and drink potions of bull's strength and bear's endurance before every game?

Juicers! Stone them!

 

[Jack of Shadows]

OK,

Here's how I see it. The pitcher is attempting to hit the catcher with a thrown weapon. The batter is providing cover to the catcher so if the pitcher misses his to-hit by 5 or less he strikes the batter. The batter has readied an action to use his deflect arrows feat (which works on thrown weapons too). In this case I would call it a contested to-hit roll against the pitchers roll to strike the catcher. If the batter matches the pitchers attack it's a pop-up. If he beats the pitcher by up to 5 it a line drive, by up to 10 it's a fly ball, and by more than 10 it's a home run. If the pitcher beats the batter by up to 5 it's a ball, by up to 10 it's a fould ball and by more than 10 it's a strike.

I could go on and write up the entire set of rules but I'm at work and really should get some work done.

Jack

 

[howandwhy99]

These are some fine house rules, but I posted in the Rules Forum hoping for the right answers.

I like the baseball analogy, but maybe a breakdown of questions is needed?

1. Can a thrown or ranged weapon be attacked in flight? (other than Deflect Arrows).

1A. What if the weapon is an object? Or a creature? (a la halfling tossing)​

2. What if the thrown / ranged weapon is only passing through your Reach and not intended to harm you?

3. Does an object in flight have an adjustment to Armor Class based on Speed? What about the skill of the toss? Or aerial maneuverabilty?

4. Are objects passing through Reach or Threat Range capable of provoking AoO's? What if they are tossed creatures?

5. If an action is Readied, can an in flight object be interacted with? What about defending an ally from arrows like a bodyguard does?

6. Normally a Readied action cannot be ignored, but how could a batter choose whether to hit a pitch or not? Is there a better means to adjudicate this - a partial flight path like when a jumping creature jumps farther than his movement in a round?

7. What is the rule for catching a thrown object? What if the object was not thrown at you, but crossed your Reach?

8. When an object is struck in flight (or resting on the ground) what distance does it travel? Does it matter if the object is an Object, Creature, or Attended?

9. How is the path of a struck object determined? Via a parabola or a line drive along the ground? Or perhaps bouncing? If a batter were attempting to hit an object into the stand height and distance comes into play.

10. How does the struck object's weight or speed affect the its' travel?

11. Given a Readied Action, how can a creature catch a falling object? (i.e. move and catch being a Full Round Action)

11A. Is this even possible since all falling objects land in the round they fell? (barring DM adjudication for great distances over 6 seconds)​

12. Is it ever allowable to change direction while using the Run action? For instance, sprinters on an oval track.


I think that's it really. The movement rules are likely never to come up, but the "safe while on base" rule in baseball does lead to some odd situations.

And don't worry about Joe. Not everything is about baseball.
(Bring 2 characters next session)

 

[Thanee]

How about a D&D relay race instead?

A starts with the baton, moves 30 feet to B; B delays after A, takes the baton, moves 30 feet to C; C delays after B, takes the baton, moves 30 feet to D; and so on.

You can cover *any* distance within 6 seconds, given a big enough team.

Bye
Thanee

 

[shilsen]

How about a D&D relay race instead?

A starts with the baton, moves 30 feet to B; B delays after A, takes the baton, moves 30 feet to C; C delays after B, takes the baton, moves 30 feet to D; and so on.

You can cover *any* distance within 6 seconds, given a big enough team.

Bye
Thanee

I particularly like the plan for covering the world via a series of free actions and the Ride skill. Just line up a series of mounts side by side that go all the way around the world. And then fast mount on one side of a mount, fast dismount on the other side, fast mount the next mount, fast dismount on the opposite side, and so on.

 

[Thanee]

In 80 days 6 seconds around the world!

Bye
Thanee

 

[Jack Simth]

I'm trying to figure out how certain rules work and thought this would be a fun way to ask.



D&D Baseball

The pitcher winds up on the mound. He throws the ball attempting to cross the strike zone.

A thrown ranged attack, but is a baseball an exotic weapon, simple, or like a thrown acid flask (no prof. needed)? Thrown weapons are 5x range increment only. (The rules imply the object could travel farther, but without accuracy). Since it is 60' 6" from the mound to homeplate the ball must have at least a 20' range increment.

Exotic, of course; can't be a super baseball player unless you've got the focus for it. Oh, and there's a REASON baseball player's wear helmets - fastballs are lethal. Guess at weapon stats. I'd probably be more inclined to go with about a 40 foot range increment - it's designed specifically for throwing, after all, not worried overly much about damage - to deal with throwing it back from the outfield.

The batter waits at home plate. As the ball comes across he swings at it.

Melee club attack. But what is the ball's AC? If it's an object, I'm guessing it as 10 + dex? + 4 (diminutive). But where is the Dexterity bonus derived from? Is it treated as a creature or a normal object (-5 no dexterity).

Try the pitcher's dexterity.

How does Speed or the pitcher's throwing ability affect this modifier? Also, is this an Attack of Opportunity or a Readied Action? On the one hand, does a flying object (like an arrow) invoke an AoO? And on the other, can a readied action be ignored, if the ball was out of the strike zone? I'm guessing there is at least a Spot check involved.

I'd be inclined to do both - the batter must hit the ball; if he has a readied action, well and good - if he doesn't, he gets an AoO as it leaves his threatened area.... if he can; take a -X circumstance penalty to the attack roll; X is picked for flavor; -5 is probably good.

Do remember, though - don't roll initiative until the pitcher actually wants to throw the ball - then everyone rolls initiative - if the batter wins, he readies an action and is not flat-footed. If the pitcher wins, the batter is flat-footed, and can't swing at it (barring Combat Reflexes) and it's a strike if the pitcher hits the strike zone. If the batter swings and misses, it's a strike. If the batter swings and hits.... well... have to ad-hock something for where it goes next..... hmm....

Option 1: The batter misses the ball and the catcher catches it

What is the rule for catching thrown objects? Is a Dexterity check involved to account for the possibility of the catcher missing the ball?

Take a look at the rules for giants catching boulders....

Rock Catching (Ex): A giant of at least Large size can catch Small, Medium, or Large rocks (or projectiles of similar shape). Once per round, a giant that would normally be hit by a rock can make a Reflex save to catch it as a free action. The DC is 15 for a Small rock, 20 for a Medium one, and 25 for a Large one. (If the projectile provides a magical bonus on attack rolls, the DC increases by that amount.) The giant must be ready for and aware of the attack in order to make a rock catching attempt.

Pick a DC. I'm guessing about 15 would be good. Perhaps require the Deflect Arrows feat for it to work properly.

Option 2: The batter hits the ball trying for a home run

How is distance determined for an object struck? Does it matter whether the hittee is a creature vs. an object? How can foul balls or ones hit into the dirt be accounted for? Does the speed of the ball matter? How about its' weight? What if it were on the ground like in golf or hockey?

It's not. Let's do something simple - x feet for every y points of damage that would have been dealt (Baseballs are immune to damage from bats....). Depending on how high a level you see baseball players, x could be 10, y could be 1, or x could be 1, y could be 10.

An outfielder runs to catch the ball

I'm assuming this is a Readied action. But Readied actions can only be Standard (only move or catch). If the fielder has time, he could position himself with accompanying jump, climb, and balance checks. But doesn't a falling object land on the same turn it began falling?

Permit readying a partial charge. Outfielders take Monk or Barbarian levels for the extra speed.

The outfielder catches the ball and throws it to 2nd base hoping to catch a runner coming from 1st.

If the outfielder only moved to the ball previously, he can catch it, but not throw it as that includes a second Standard action. If the outfielder caught the ball last turn, his best option is to Move 30' towards the base and then throw the ball.

Basically. This delay covers the little issue of the ball's flying time - everyone gets to go before the outfielder can throw the ball infield, as he can't do that until the 2nd round.

The batter drops the bat and runs to 1st base.

The Human batter drops the bat as a Free Action. He runs full speed 90 feet to 1st base. He can run up to 30' past it, but could not round the base on this turn. If he were very short (halfling-sized), he would not reach 1st base it until his next turn.

When running, you want Monk levels, or anything else that increases your base land speed, for this very reason. Of course, he probably had to end his turn with the readied action... so he can't actually run the same round he hit the ball......

The runner on 1st base sprints from where he was leading off to 2nd base, trying to reach 3rd in time

Because the Run action requires the runner to move in a straight line, the runner requires a minimum of 1 round to reach each base. In fact, leading off was unnecessary as there is no chance the 2nd baseman could tag him out unless he already had the ball before the runner Moved. Leading off is a bad tactic in general as starting off base is the only way for the runner to be hit and outed by a line drive.

He doesn't run, he Hustles. Monks and Barbarians, for the extra speed. How long does a given baseball play usually last?

The 2nd baseman catches the ball and throws it to 1st attempting a doubleplay

This is a nearly impossible play. Even if the ball is hit directly to the 2nd baseman, his readied action to catch the ball ends his turn. The runner to 2nd is forced out, but the one to 1st always makes it (unless he's the aforementioned Halfling).

Let him use a reflex save to catch the ball, as per Giant Rock-catching - then he still has his turn.

The runner to 2nd base doubles back and gets caught in a squeeze play

With a Run of 120' where the runner can always choose his direction, I think this is an impossibility.

*shrug* can't always have everything.