Seafarer's Handbook Parry: Balanced?

[Galfridus]

This is their version of the Parry feat:

Pre-reqs: Dex 13+, BAB +3, Expertise

On your action, you may choose to hold one or more of your normal attacks until an opponent attacks. The opponent rolls his attack normally to determine if he hits. If he succeeds, you may then make an opposed attack roll against a DC equal to your opponent's final attack result. If you succeed, you have parried the blow and struck your opponent's weapon (PHB 136). Using parry does not provoke an attack of opportunity. If, at the end of the round, you have any unused parry actions, they are lost and may not be transferred to the next round.

I have a player interested in this feat. Would you allow it in your game?

 

[kreynolds]

Not unless the prereqs include the sunder feat. I bought that book a while ago, and I love most of it, but some of those feats just don't meet the prereqs that they should.

 

[Galfridus]

Good point. It also occurs to me that using this feat against attackers with natural weapons is a bit hazy; since you "hit the weapon", does that mean you deal damage to the attacker?

 

[SpikeyFreak]

Seems okay to me, as long as you take the "hitting the weapon" part as flavor text.

Any other way and it gets too powerful for me.

--Well-Balanced DM Spikey

 

[IceBear]

Seems okay to me, as long as you take the "hitting the weapon" part as flavor text.

Any other way and it gets too powerful for me.

--Well-Balanced DM Spikey

Agreed. I doubt, however, it was meant as flavor text since they gave a page number reference.

One of my players wants to parry in my game, so I might use this (minus the implied sundering).

IceBear

 

[Galfridus]

Heh, I also notice that technically, you can't parry anyone with a higher initiative than you, since your parry attempts expire "at the end of the round" instead of "just before your next action".

 

[D'karr]

Changes

Change the word struck to redirected, deflected or countered.

Then there is no confusion.

I see no problem with the feat.

 

[MonkeyBoy]

...

So, we need to re-edit this feat, here's my take;

"On your action you may elect to sacrifice one or more of your attacks. When you are attacked in melee, you may attempt an opposed To Hit roll against your attacker; if you win their attack misses, should they win use their attack roll to adjudicate their attack as normal. You may only attempt to parry any given attack once, and may not parry while flat-footed or when denied a Dex bonus to AC. These pending 'parry attempts' persist until the beginning of your next action or until used."

Notes; I would not allow this feat to be combined with the fighting defensively option - you need to sacrifice _actual attack opportunities you could have used that action_

You might want to rule that a successful parry could be turned into a sunder attempt - but I'd personally make that "improved parry" requiring the sunder feat to get...

Certainly there's no reason to make every parry a sunder - anyone who thinks taht has obviously never actually parried a blow. (you deflect; if you just block you get numb wrists really fast...)

 

[IceBear]

Heh, I also notice that technically, you can't parry anyone with a higher initiative than you, since your parry attempts expire "at the end of the round" instead of "just before your next action".

I didn't think your round ended until just before your next action - at least that's how casting full round spells work.

Edit:

Nevermind, I just reread the feat, and I see that they seem to intend for the parrying attempt to end at the end of the ACTUAL round.

IceBear

 

[D'karr]

Re: ...

So, we need to re-edit this feat, here's my take;

"On your action you may elect to sacrifice one or more of your attacks. When you are attacked in melee, you may attempt an opposed To Hit roll against your attacker; if you win their attack misses, should they win use their attack roll to adjudicate their attack as normal. You may only attempt to parry any given attack once, and may not parry while flat-footed or when denied a Dex bonus to AC. These pending 'parry attempts' persist until the beginning of your next action or until used."

Notes; I would not allow this feat to be combined with the fighting defensively option - you need to sacrifice _actual attack opportunities you could have used that action_

You might want to rule that a successful parry could be turned into a sunder attempt - but I'd personally make that "improved parry" requiring the sunder feat to get...

Certainly there's no reason to make every parry a sunder - anyone who thinks taht has obviously never actually parried a blow. (you deflect; if you just block you get numb wrists really fast...)

I think you might have meant Total Defense. Fighting defensively you are still fighting and able to attack.

The flat-footed part and Dex Bonus should only be either or. In other words rogues with evasion can be flat-footed but still retain their Dex Bonus. A character with combat reflexes can still make AoO's even when flat-footed. I say this feat should be the same.