Does performing Trip attempts every round ruin Suspension of Disbelief?

[noretoc]

Certainly, but I think most people want to make decisions as if they were their character.

I thought this was the definition of roleplaying. Otherwise the game would just be a board game.


I have no problem believing a trip attemp every round and succeeding. First there is an attack roll. If you don;t want to get hit, boost your touch ac.

There is a show on one of the discovery channels called perfect weapon. These two guys learn about fighting from all different culture all over the world. They have a compilation the other day and one of the sections was knock down. Let me tell you, there are as many ways to knock a person down as there are to hurt him. Also, there is a simple trip move that works 100% of the time, in real life. It is called grabbing the legs and throwing both up. It works every time. No... No suspension of disbelief at all.

What does suspend disbelief, is when you have to try to think of a reason you can not trip the guy in front of you, who is open, easily gotten to, has big skinny legs, except for the fact that you used it already.

As for it being annoying. I thik of it this way.

"I got shot by an arrow" "Damn I got shot by an arrow again" "WTF, Another arrow, stop it", "Goshdarnit, Enough with the arrows!", "Arrows are broken"

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

The solution to this problem is to stop playing an annoying character.

Pleae don't tell me that my character is annoying, and therefore should not only be banned, but should not even recieve the rules support to exist in the first place. What's fun and annoying to people varies widely. I personally find a hulking brute that just smashes enemies with his club till they die to be rather annoying. And boring at the same time, which is a hard combination to pull off. Except...I'm not going to tell you your character shouldn't exist, because...I have a modicum of civility.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

There is a show on one of the discovery channels called perfect weapon. These two guys learn about fighting from all different culture all over the world. They have a compilation the other day and one of the sections was knock down. Let me tell you, there are as many ways to knock a person down as there are to hurt him. Also, there is a simple trip move that works 100% of the time, in real life. It is called grabbing the legs and throwing both up. It works every time. No... No suspension of disbelief at all.

Wait, that's the name of the show? And it's new? I know Discovery used to have Fight Quest, and before that History Channel had Human Weapon (which I sorely miss). Are you talking about one of those two, or is this in fact a different show altogether? Just curious.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

I'm still trying to figure out how the goblin studies the person's fighting habits when fights last minutes.

 

[Shadeydm]

In a simulation of a STEVEN SEAGAL MOVIE, which is the context that YOU brought up, tripping multiple opponents is handled by minions. If you fail to have fun in the context that YOU brought up, that's your problem.
QUOTE]

Sprinkling in WORDS in CAPS does not validate your weakass ARGUMENT.

 

[Shadeydm]

I like the notion of abstract victory, where bringing a guy down to 0 hit points mean you can perform whatever finishing move you like -- but it doesn't really fit into a system where everything else isn't equally abstract.

"I'd like to trip him."
"You've already used your trip power."
"OK, I'll swing my sword instead. Woo-hoo! I hit and did a lot of damage!"
"Ah, you successfully tripped him!"
"Um, cool. I guess."

ding ding ding we have a winner.

 

[Intense_Interest]

"I'd like to trip him."
"You've already used your trip power."
"OK, I'll swing my sword instead. Woo-hoo! I hit and did a lot of damage!"
"Ah, you successfully tripped him!"
"Um, cool. I guess."​

I don't even understand how this conversation works in anything beyond the 1st brush of a campaign. The player understands and memorizes his own power limitations before the DM has even rolled up the third encounter of the day.

And you can always say you want to trip a guy; you just happen not to be able to use your Super Always Works When It Hits power to trip a guy. And considering that we're already living in Fantasy, I find it acceptable that yes, Dwarf's hearts don't explode at 20STR and there are martial super abilities.

Anyway, I have to say I'm not even sure what trip is supposed to mean within the scope of D&D's combat simulation, considering the assumed stances of the system:

1- combat occurs in "kindly" 5'x5' squares instead of the clinch-in-a-phonebooth style that modern MMA and most combat defense styles assume and implement.

2- there is no groundwork, at all, within the system, meaning that the advantage of the "trip" is the same as the advantage of pushing a guy over: knocking him prone.

3- disarming and tripping are action-neutral factors within the game rather than cumulative benefits as would be assumed: a disarmed or tripped fighter will be slightly disadvantaged for that "initiative step", but will be free to spend actions to get to the exact same position beginning his turn and during the next time he could be effected. You spend a standard, he spends a move and maybe some HP, and you're back to start.

4- there is a divergent game-expectation between specialists in one type of move versus generalists that have "stunts": you can balance one factor of "trip monkey" for at-will actions within itself, and you can balance varied fighters that pull a stunt when their bag wants it Encounter/Daily style. They do not need to be in the same class or "silo".

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Wait, that's the name of the show? And it's new?

Fight Science, for one, covers a lot of weapons and unarmed strikes, and uses a lot of motion capture and force meters to generate cool "visible man" type animations. There are several episodes out there, and there are even some in a related show called Sport Science.

One episode of Fight Science had a section looking for the "perfect" weapon, and covered the advantages and disadvantages of a variety of asian martial arts weapons. In the end, I believe they settled on the katana. One other thing I gleaned from the show is that D&D has kind of under-simulated the 3-Sectional Staff. Their motion capture showed a martial artist using that weapon in a way that would clearly be represented by "reach"- she was able to strike targets 9-11' away.

Frikken Awesome.

Oh yeah- count me as one in favor of tripping someone all day.

A few years ago, the SMU football team got out from under its NCAA "Death Penalty" and was playing the Aggies. The Aggies ran all over them- using only 4 plays from the playbook, and even using backup players. The "Ponies" couldn't stop the Ags, and got brutalized for it.

The same goes for martial arts maneuvers- if targets leave themselves open to a particular technique with which you're proficient, beat 'em up with it until they cry for mercy.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Seriously, I solved this thread a page ago. We're done mods, you can close it.

 

[hong]

Pleae don't tell me that my character is annoying, and therefore should not only be banned, but should not even recieve the rules support to exist in the first place.

Yes, your character is annoying. Not to you, perhaps, but that can be taken as a given.