D&D 4E New 4E term "combat advantage"

[Bishmon]

If combat advantage is indeed a catch-all for how to activate different abilities, I like it already. Consolidation of like but poorly-differentiated concepts is a good thing, and creating a single discrete state (which can be abstracted to describe numerous possible in-game scenarios) from which abilities can be derived is a great idea.

Agreed. If it does what we're speculating, it's easily one of my favorite changes to 4E.

 

[Kaffis]

How about calling it 'THE HIGH GROUND?!'? Kind of like in Star Wars Revenge of the Sith with Obi-Wan shouting, "Anakin, I've got the high ground, there is no way you can win!."

In all situations that one is mildly on higher footing then your enemy, then you are granted a Combat Advantage (translated into familiar 3e terminology) consisting of a +10 to hit and +3d6 sneak attack damage (b/c your opponent is obviously caught flat-footed by the overwhelming might of being a foot or two lower than you).

This makes playing a Small character particularly dangerous, and goes a long way in explaining why gnomes were cut from the 4e core races. Stupid gnomes .

Only Yoda himself was able to master the Jedi art of countering the HIGH GROUND Combat Advantage. Its takes a Jedi Master in the end.

C.I.D.

Just as a side note, but I feel the need to interject here, since this is a favorite joke topic of my DM...

Episode 3 is very handily and simply explained with 3.5/Star Wars d20 Revised rules: Obi-Wan has combat reflexes, and Anakin very foolishly moved out of either 3 or 4 threatened squares with his jump over Obi-Wan (the square adjacent to Obi-Wan, the square above that one, the square directly above Obi-Wan, and the square behind and above Obi-Wan. arriving behind Obi-Wan), and Obi-Wan connected 3 times with limb-severing crits. No special bonuses required...

 

[Asmor]

Just as a side note, but I feel the need to interject here, since this is a favorite joke topic of my DM...

Episode 3 is very handily and simply explained with 3.5/Star Wars d20 Revised rules: Obi-Wan has combat reflexes, and Anakin very foolishly moved out of either 3 or 4 threatened squares with his jump over Obi-Wan (the square adjacent to Obi-Wan, the square above that one, the square directly above Obi-Wan, and the square behind and above Obi-Wan. arriving behind Obi-Wan), and Obi-Wan connected 3 times with limb-severing crits. No special bonuses required...

That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!

Even with Combat Reflexes, you only get one attack of opportunity against an enemy who moves out of a square you threaten, even if they move out of multiple such squares.

 

[Merlin the Tuna]

Episode 3 is very handily and simply explained with 3.5/Star Wars d20 Revised rules: Obi-Wan has combat reflexes, and Anakin very foolishly moved out of either 3 or 4 threatened squares with his jump over Obi-Wan (the square adjacent to Obi-Wan, the square above that one, the square directly above Obi-Wan, and the square behind and above Obi-Wan. arriving behind Obi-Wan), and Obi-Wan connected 3 times with limb-severing crits.

Maybe the rule got changed for Saga, but in D&D, movement only provokes one AoO from a given enemy, whether you're leaving 1 of his threatened squares or 6 of them.