Rules for Catching?
- Thread starter RUMBLETiGER
- Start date
El Mahdi
Muad'Dib of the Anauroch
Keeping it simple is always good, but...
Success in catching a thrown object is equally dependent upon the success of the thrower and the catcher. So, use the rules for thrown objects for the thrower, but you can use their result to modify the catchers DC. You can reduce the DC by an amount equal to how much the thrower succeeds by (but no lower than 1), and increase the DC by the amount the thrower misses by. Thrower misses by 10, but the catcher can still try to pull it in - it's just going to be that much more difficult. Thrower succeeds by 5, and only a real clutz is going to drop it.
Also, the throw should be considered a Standard Action, and the catch attempt either a Move Action or a Standard Action (at least IMO).
Critical successes and failures can still apply too. The thrower rolls a 1, and he tanked the throw to the point it's uncatchable by the target (outside of his movement area, wobbling horribly, only thrown 5 feet, etc.), though it may be catchable by one of the bad guys
- thrower rolls a 20 and he put it right in the catchers hands, he couldn't miss even if the catcher was blind. Catcher rolls a 1 and he becomes known as Butterfingers for the rest of his adventuring career (and maybe longer...) - catcher rolls a 20, and even if it was a bad throw, he pulls off a miraculous diving catch, even rolling and coming up on his feet (Touchdown!).
I'd also up the DC if the catch was being contested by other PC's/NPC's, and definitely up the DC if the thrower or catcher are involved in combat at the time.
Success in catching a thrown object is equally dependent upon the success of the thrower and the catcher. So, use the rules for thrown objects for the thrower, but you can use their result to modify the catchers DC. You can reduce the DC by an amount equal to how much the thrower succeeds by (but no lower than 1), and increase the DC by the amount the thrower misses by. Thrower misses by 10, but the catcher can still try to pull it in - it's just going to be that much more difficult. Thrower succeeds by 5, and only a real clutz is going to drop it.
Also, the throw should be considered a Standard Action, and the catch attempt either a Move Action or a Standard Action (at least IMO).
Critical successes and failures can still apply too. The thrower rolls a 1, and he tanked the throw to the point it's uncatchable by the target (outside of his movement area, wobbling horribly, only thrown 5 feet, etc.), though it may be catchable by one of the bad guys
- thrower rolls a 20 and he put it right in the catchers hands, he couldn't miss even if the catcher was blind. Catcher rolls a 1 and he becomes known as Butterfingers for the rest of his adventuring career (and maybe longer...) - catcher rolls a 20, and even if it was a bad throw, he pulls off a miraculous diving catch, even rolling and coming up on his feet (Touchdown!).I'd also up the DC if the catch was being contested by other PC's/NPC's, and definitely up the DC if the thrower or catcher are involved in combat at the time.
Last edited:
Rhun
First Post
Also good for not dropping your beer.
Greenfield
Adventurer
Some skill checks have a penalty for "distracted".
Grapple checks have a penalty if you aren't using both/all arms.
Someplace in there there's an idea for the one handed catch, or the "Attack of Opportunity" catch done as a Move action.
Start with the throw, aiming at a particular square. Use scatter rules for a miss. In your example, throwing over the rock, you have a 50/50 miss chance for shooting blind. Things designed/intended to be thrown are thrown normally, with a reasonable range increment of 30 if it's a 1 handed throw, 15 if it's big enough to require two hands. Random shaped things have a range increment of 10, 5 if they're heavy enough to require two hands.
Now look at Grapple. How do you initiate one? It's a touch attack, by the rules, so that's what I'd use to catch the item. Touch AC is a base 10, adjusted for size. IRL, a football is easier to catch than a baseball, and a baseball is easier to catch than a thrown set of keys. Football is Tiny, while Baseball and keys are Fine, and the keys are thrown at a penalty, since they aren't made as a "throwing weapon".
Unless the object is very heavy or hard to hold for some reason I'd waive the "Strength/Grapple" check to hold on.
The only part of that that had to be invented for the occasion is the range increment for the object. Everything else is based pretty solidly in RAW.
Grapple checks have a penalty if you aren't using both/all arms.
Someplace in there there's an idea for the one handed catch, or the "Attack of Opportunity" catch done as a Move action.
Start with the throw, aiming at a particular square. Use scatter rules for a miss. In your example, throwing over the rock, you have a 50/50 miss chance for shooting blind. Things designed/intended to be thrown are thrown normally, with a reasonable range increment of 30 if it's a 1 handed throw, 15 if it's big enough to require two hands. Random shaped things have a range increment of 10, 5 if they're heavy enough to require two hands.
Now look at Grapple. How do you initiate one? It's a touch attack, by the rules, so that's what I'd use to catch the item. Touch AC is a base 10, adjusted for size. IRL, a football is easier to catch than a baseball, and a baseball is easier to catch than a thrown set of keys. Football is Tiny, while Baseball and keys are Fine, and the keys are thrown at a penalty, since they aren't made as a "throwing weapon".
Unless the object is very heavy or hard to hold for some reason I'd waive the "Strength/Grapple" check to hold on.
The only part of that that had to be invented for the occasion is the range increment for the object. Everything else is based pretty solidly in RAW.
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