• NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.

Goblin Picador

I read this monster and ASSUMED it meant "stuck in your armor" you basically go with his control, or he rips a good chunk of your armour out, or impales you.

Yes, I KNOW this doesn't work if you're without armour, but how often do you fight goblins armour-less? That situation will at least be rarer than the other.

It's just supposed to be a bit of fun, and I like it.

Fitz
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Chocobo said:
Pull means move the target towards you, so an adjacent creature already can't be pulled.

Of course not, that would be silly. There is a size limitation on the pulling (max of medium). The goblin can only harpoon a colossal dragon and keep it from moving more than 5 squares away until it removes the harpoon. It can't pull the dragon closer because it is larger than medium.

Ok, I missed that!

But still, the "harpooned" effect has no size limitation. So a dragon still needs a standard action to remove the harpoon:

Can’t move more than 5 from this creature. Remove standard;

(So, does that mean a troupe of goblins can pin a dragon with multiple harpoons, Gulliver vs the Lilliputions style? Multiple harpoons against how many standard actions does a dragon have?)
 

tomBitonti said:
Also, Str vs. Fort? Why not Str vs. Str? Shouldn't there be mechanics to do any of:
Cutting the rope;
Sundering the harpoon;
Pulling the rope or harpoon out of the hands of the attacker;
Pulling the harpoon out of the defender.

You DO know that this is why the game HAS a DM, right? The rules simply CAN'T and SHOULDN'T account for every variable or even a piddly Goblin would have 10 pages of notes to describe what he can do. Any DM worth a damn can edjudicate that stuff on the fly.

tomBitonti said:
Also, what would a player need to do to learn how to use the goblin's spear?

Uh, training in a class that has a similar power?

Fitz
 


It's a nice idea, but...

If I'm playing Throg the Barbarian, a seven-and-a-half-foot tower of rippling muscle, and I get harpooned by an effin' goblin, I'm going to have some serious questions about how exactly that goblin is holding me in place, never mind pulling me toward him. I don't care how tightly he can hang onto his harpoon rope. I'll just drag him along behind me. He's a goblin, he doesn't even put a dent in my encumbrance limit.

Also, what does the goblin do once he's thrown his harpoon? Does he just have a backpack full of them or something, all with attached ropes tied to his waist?
 

Lizard said:
Every thread? No, just the ones where it's relevant, where the conflict between design goals is slammed into my face, hard.

The point is, as ThirdWizard and Kwalish have basically said, the HP topic has been (and is still being, even) discussed in at least 3-4 different places. You've said your piece, and most are aware of your position. Would it be too much for you to ask then, to allow people to discuss something else? Also, you could probably stand to be a little less overtly snarky when you make these thread derailments.

I don't see how the Goblin Picador's ability makes the DM's life harder, in all honesty. I'm sure I'm not the only DM who is perfectly capable of rolling with it and still making combat exciting and dynamic. Numerous rationalizations for the way it works even appear in this thread, none of them any less valid than the other.

Also, re: Picador mechanics:

FizTheRuke said:
You DO know that this is why the game HAS a DM, right? The rules simply CAN'T and SHOULDN'T account for every variable or even a piddly Goblin would have 10 pages of notes to describe what he can do. Any DM worth a damn can adjudicate that stuff on the fly.

This.
 


Kordeth said:
Given 4E's "exception-based design" philosophy, I'm certain that somewhere there's a global rule that says "a creature can cancel any ongoing effect it creates as a [free or minor, probably] action."

Probably. This is a problem with criticizing, or praising, 4e as it currently stands -- we don't know all the rules, especially the 'meta rules' to which various abilities are exceptions.

It's like seeing an object which is several steps down the hierarchy, i.e, Object.Visual.Interface.Button.Checkbox.threeState, seeing it has only one or two methods specified, and complaining it doesn't do all the things it should. (And those who are overjoyed at 4e are akin to those who assume it will have every function needed, beautifully and elegantly coded)
 


Lizard said:
(And those who are overjoyed at 4e are akin to those who assume it will have every function needed, beautifully and elegantly coded)

And those who are dismayed are akin to those who assume it won't?

Thaumaturge.
 

Into the Woods

Remove ads

Top