Dragon Breath Recharge Question

[kreynolds]

It'd be a house rule, which isn't really germane to the rules thread, but if I used retrievers (and I don't), I'd change them to make them less predictable to help prevent meta-gaming.

Then what do you do about a human armed only with a bow and one quiver of arrows. When his quiver is empty, is it a metagaming situation because a player says, "He's out of arrows! Let's get him!"?

 

[kreynolds]

But I don't rule it that way, so it's not an issue .

LOL

 

[Pielorinho]

I don't follow. How does that shorten the amount of time to "wait"?

It doesn't shorten the amount of time: it shows that one full round has passed between the dragon's two breaths, as measured by the casting of a one-full-round-casting-time spell.

Way I see it "wait" can mean one of two things:
1) Actively spend time doing nothing at all; or
2) Observe the passage of time.

If it means #1, then a dragon who must wait 4 rounds between breathing may do nothing else during those 4 rounds. I think nobody subscribes to #1.
If it means #2, then as soon as one round has passed, the dragon has fulfilled its obligatory wait period.

My example shows that it may breathe in consecutive rounds and still wait one round between breaths, as shown by the casting of a one-full-round-casting-time spell.

Daniel

 

[Zhure]

Then what do you do about a human armed only with a bow and one quiver of arrows. When his quiver is empty, is it a metagaming situation because a player says, "He's out of arrows! Let's get him!"?

Sure, if the retriever's rays were a visible quiver, that analogy would hold water.

Greg

 

[kreynolds]

Sure, if the retriever's rays were a visible quiver, that analogy would hold water.

It holds water anyway. If you've survived a couple of encounters with retrievers, or if it has become some kind of "lore", then metagaming isn't a factor.

 

[kreynolds]

It doesn't shorten the amount of time...

Then it can't breathe, because it just did last round.

My example shows that it may breathe in consecutive rounds and still wait one round between breaths, as shown by the casting of a one-full-round-casting-time spell.

I don't see it. Besides, you're example ignores the fact that you can't wait to breathe and breathe in the same round. Your example removes one argument and replaces it with an argument that is irrelevant to the discussion, i.e. the paralysis bit.

 

[Pielorinho]

I don't see it. Besides, you're example ignores the fact that you can't wait to breathe and breathe in the same round. Your example removes one argument and replaces it with an argument that is irrelevant to the discussion, i.e. the paralysis bit.

Paralysis? Huh?

You don't "wait to breathe and breathe in the same round." You breathe in your action, then wait for your next action. Your next action happens one round later.

While you waited for your next action, one round passed. You can measure that passage of a round by having someone cast a one-full-round-casting-time spell right after your turn ends.

Daniel

 

[Zhure]

It holds water anyway. If you've survived a couple of encounters with retrievers, or if it has become some kind of "lore", then metagaming isn't a factor.

Yes, but only in the case of a character allocating skill points or having the requisite in-character knowledge, neither of which becomes metagaming. Both cases tend to be rare in my campaigns because (1) I don't use retrievers as a part of my monster pallete and (2) "professional monster hunters" are a rare breed because I feel they fit a "gaming archetype" and not a "fantasy archetype" (except for dragon hunters and similar specialized cases). I can understand them existing in other games.

I might allow professional monster hunters to appear every 1d4 campaigns. :-D

Greg

 

[Pielorinho]

I might allow professional monster hunters to appear every 1d4 campaigns. :-D

Does that mean they might show up next campaign, or will you have to wait one campaign before they show up?

Daniel

 

[Zhure]

Might be next campaign if I roll a '1'.