Dragon's Tail Cut?

[hazel monday]

Knockdown, Curb Stomp, Choke...those kind of manuever names wouldn't bother me.
All this Clever Monkey Belching Hidden Thunderstorm stuff seems pretty weak.

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

Definitely dorky. Worse yet, it's a mouthful, and completely meaningless. One problem I had with the Bo9S names, and things like "Dragon's Tail Cut", is that they don't actually describe what they do. They're meaningless, so players and DMs are forced to memorize dozens or hundreds of arbitrary names.

It's called JARGON.

I can't believe there is not one person on the staff there advising them on this.

Or maybe there is. Perhaps learning a whole new shared gamer language is a design goal.

But it certainly doesn't make the book easier to read and learn.

 

[Daztur]

Dear god, just about all of the mechanics I hear about for 4ed seem good but the names, dear god the names are getting embarrassing...

 

[Korgoth]

It's called JARGON.

Actually, it's now called "Diamond Hippocampus Frolic of Seventeen Gilded Tulip Petals from Heaven's Outer Vestibule", citizen. Please stop using the word "jargon"... it's not flavorful enough.

 

[Warbringer]

Rules and fluff need to be separatel as Reynard nicely demonstrated, flavored names imply genre.

If the feat is tied into the weapon of choice (as postulated by some) then include it in the title:

Sword Sweep: Your cutting blow knocks your enemy prone
Hammer Blow: The strength of the strike from your hammer knocks your enemy back 1 square
Stunning Shield: The sudden parry from your shield stuns your opponent; they lose an action on the next turn
Blinding Arrow: Theprecision of your arrow shot momentarily blinds your opponent; they are blinded for the rest of the encounter
Quaterstaff Trip: Your quaterstaff expertly slides between your opponents legs, knocking them off balance. They are prone
Hamstring Strike: Your light bladed weapon slices accurately at your opponents leg, inflicting a crippling blow; You gain +2 attack for the rest of the encounter
Spear a Boar: The blow from your spear knocks your opponent prone. They are also winded
Shield Shatter: The blow from your two handed weapon shatters your oppoents shield. All bonuses from the shield are lost for the rest of the encounter. Magical shields are not destroyed but the enemy is considered disarmed of his shield for the rest of the encounter.
Receive the Charge: You quickly set your pike/spear to recieve an enemies charge dealng an automatic critical if you hit hit. Attacks are resolved against an oppoents reflex only

Some fluff based effects
Banshee Wail: Expert with this elven blade, it sings its ghostly dirge as it strikes. Enemies not immune to fear are considered frightened for the rest of the encounter
Enemy of My Father The warlord names one monster type as the weapon's favored enemy. All attacks with this weapon strike at +2 and do +2 damage

 

[Warbringer]

Dear god, just about all of the mechanics I hear about for 4ed seem good but the names, dear god the names are getting embarrassing...

not embarrassing, but you are considered to have the flaw ... blushes with shame when the moon passes the zenith with the memory of past flirtations

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

These sound like euphemisms for something else, IYKWIMAITYD.

Snake Creeps Down?
Piercing the Jade Gate?
Twist the Dragons Tail? (ouch)
Hide the...aw, never mind. This could go on all night.

 

[Belorin]

Well at least we they don't have us yelling "Draagoon's Taail Cuuut!!!" as we make our moves and no joypad ache from pushing all those buttons to get the cool move.
I like 'Legsweep' myself.


Bel

 

[Kunimatyu]

Ditto. In the 7 years of 3.x I've NEVER heard anyone say "You know, 'Power Attack' and 'Trip' just aren't evocative enough."

This, for the first time, is "Change for change's sake."

And a bad one.

Time to resurrect the "Wotc, you suck at names" thread.

Roger that.

 

[Henry]

Snake Creeps Down?
Piercing the Jade Gate?
Twist the Dragons Tail? (ouch)
Hide the...aw, never mind. This could go on all night.

A lot longer than what it's describing, anyway.

Great-sounding feat, terrible names for it. I'd prefer leg sweep or something like that.