Rethinking the 5' step rule

[whatisitgoodfor]

Wormwood:

Technically, a cop should stay at least 30' from a criminal, as he could do a partial charge on the surprise round.

Sounds like the real world is broken.

No. No. No.

They're assuming that the crook is going to be weigthed down by his plunder, giving him a medium load and therefore lowering his speed to 20.

 

[Illuminae]

the problem in your comparison, and what is confusing you is WHAT youre comparing.

a 5 feet step does NOT grant you any form of protection against someones actions, just like in the real life cop example you gave.

when someones initiative comes, even 21ft is not enough to protect you from an attack in the game, just like reality.

however, de 5 ft protects against AoO´s, and a charge or a regular attack is not an AoO.

in real life, a quick 5ft step is more than enough to prevent someone from dealing a quick punch/kick/slashing weapon thrust that he pulled out of nowhere in a milisecond thought.

 

[Zhure]

Bah. IMO handguns and crossbows shouldn't provoke an AoO for discharging, just reloading. Makes them a nice weapon choice and reflects one of the reasons they get used IRL.

But then the houserules forum is thataway.

Greg