Is D&D combat meant to be heroic?

[FireLance]

In the last game I played, a bandit tried to charge past my 3rd-level cleric to attack a conjurer PC. This provoked an AOO from me, but instead of trying to bonk him with my morningstar (I figured I wouldn't be able to drop him with one blow, anyway), I attempted a disarm even though I didn't have the Improved Disarm feat. He took the AOO and missed, and I beat his opposed attack roll. His longsword dropped to the floor and he ended up facing the conjurer empty-handed (he didn't have Improved Unarmed Strike, either).

Is that "heroic" enough for you (however you define the term)?

 

[molonel]

I do my best to describe D&D combat, but at high levels it feels more like two or more mech warriors striding out onto the field and pounding each other as fast and as hard as they can.

You hit as fast and as hard as you can.

Dramatic speeches? Schyeah right!

 

[Piratecat]

Au contraire. My villains monologue their butts off, and the PCs are about 21-22nd lvl. Mind you, they may be bobbing and weaving while it happens...

 

[Korgoth]

Here's a good "villain spell": Pohlkhat's Pompous Pontification. Also known as "Rhetorical Time Stop", this spell stops time like a regular Time Stop. However, the only action the caster may perform is to deliver a grandiose or megalomaniacal monologue. The caster may not move, but may gesticulate as appropriate to emphasize his point.

 

[hexgrid]

The players in my game definitely ignore most "special" combat actions, on the reasoning that 99% of the time it makes more tactical sense to just hit the opponent again and whittle it's hitpoints down.

 

[ha-gieden]

Korgoth's spell ROCKS.


We try to make combat in D&D seem as "heroic" as possible. Like Kamikazie says, this is usually done through description. We encourage players to go into as much detail as possible about exactly *how* they attack, dodge, or whatever (this often leads to players getting up from the table and demonstrating, which can be quite entertaining) and our DM will sometimes give bonuses based on the description. In my opinion, it makes combat a LOT more fun.

In real life, no matter how tough you are, one good hit with a sword can take you out. So I wonder how any hit-point based system could be used to potray anything other than pure mechanics or incredible heroics.

We choose heroics.

That's what makes it the most fun for us.

 

[RFisher]

Disarm, trip, &c. aren't meant to be equally viable to a standard attack in all situations. Rather, they are choices you use when the situation calls for it. (Whether you & your companions set up that situation or whether it happened serendipi...seren...aw, heck...on its own.)

It'd be interesting to try making those options more equal to a straight attack. I suspect, however, that you'd just trade complaints of "we just stand there exchanging blows" with "we just always trip &..." Or it might make combat more "random" & thus, more dangerous for the PCs. (Assuming the DM let's the monsters take full advantage of the changes as well.) Perhaps not, though.

That said, perhaps--even when the circumstances warrant using such an option--it may not be all that viable unless your PC was "built" for that option. I could see eliminating a few of the feats in order to make these options a bit more attractive to any PC when the proper situation arises.

Even with a PC built for disarming, the increase in the number of situations in which he'll choose to disarm often isn't enough to justify the cost in feats.

Whether more disarming & tripping makes combat more "heroic", I cannot say.

 

[Aaron L]

I find it humorous to suggest that combat in D&D, wherein a skilled combatant can single-handedly dispatch dozens of lesser warriors in a single fight, isn't heroic.

 

[Ender_rpm]

I find it humorous to suggest that combat in D&D, wherein a skilled combatant can single-handedly dispatch dozens of lesser warriors in a single fight, isn't heroic.

Ha, +1

 

[molonel]

Here's a good "villain spell": Pohlkhat's Pompous Pontification. Also known as "Rhetorical Time Stop", this spell stops time like a regular Time Stop. However, the only action the caster may perform is to deliver a grandiose or megalomaniacal monologue. The caster may not move, but may gesticulate as appropriate to emphasize his point.

Stolen.