Shamus does AoO

[Psion]

Personally, I like the comic and if I were you, I wouldn't base the entire comic on this single page.

Our own "LotR as a bad D&D game" here is funnier, but it's not bad.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Utterly stupid strip.

There is nothing even remotely difficult about AoOs in that situation.

I agree.

That was just DUMB.

 

[el-remmen]

While the author's little rant after the strip contradicts me, I looked at it as making fun of players, not the rules. . Heck, after nearly 5 years of playing a priest in a campaign with a ton of undead, one player always replied to my saying "Make a turn undead check" with "Level plus Charisma plus d20, right?" And was 100% serious, no matter how many times everyone would yell "JUST CHARISMA!"

 

[MarkB]

I have to agree that, if you're going to satirise AoOs in a comic, it helps to pick a situation where it's actually hard to resolve the rules.

I think the comic is generally one of the funniest out there, but this particular episode didn't push the right buttons.

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

There is nothing even remotely difficult about AoOs in that situation.

No kidding. Legolas clearly quick draws his knives, kills the orc, and goes along his business. Or he uses his arrow as a melee weapon.

 

[delericho]

So, the rules are stupid because the author of the strip misread them? Yep, that's hilarious.

 

[MarkB]

No kidding. Legolas clearly quick draws his knives, kills the orc, and goes along his business. Or he uses his arrow as a melee weapon.

Hey, if the character's got twinky feats like that, it's the player's responsibility to keep track of them.

 

[Aaron L]

While the author's little rant after the strip contradicts me, I looked at it as making fun of players, not the rules.

Wow, I hadn't even read the rant after the comic.

What the heck, dude? I just can't understand what he's complaining about. It's such a big problem to remember if you've taken an AoO that round? He's even got it wrong from the very begining. You don't provoke an AoO by walking up to someone. You provoke one if you walk past[//i] someone, but never by just walking up to someone.


I think the problem is that people get hung up on "squares" and the minis aspect. Just stop for one second and ask yourself "Will doing this drop my guard?" If the answer is yes, then you're going to provoke an AoO. All the rules and explanations and everything for AoO's are simply trying to enumerate all the possible things that PCs do that will make them have to drop their guard.


How many movies and comic books have there been where a bad guy is holding a gun to the good guys head, and something causes the bad guy to look away or shift the aim of the gun for split second and give the good guy the opportunity to knock the gun out of his hand? Or someone runs willy-nilly past someone else and gets clotheslined or tripped? Thats all AoOs are. Is it really that hard to grasp or keep track of?


"Your shoelace is untied."

"Huh what?" *looks down*

*WHACK*


AoOs in a nutshell.



And yes, I think it very much adds to the feeling of being in an actual fight when trying to dig through your backpack and drink a potion in the middle of combat lets the other guy take a free swing at you.

 

[Jim Hague]

What I find immensely amusing is the author's seeming inability to a)apply common sense to a situation and b)read a simple chart with answers to what does and doesn't provoke an AoO. I'm not overly fond of AoOs, but for Pete's sake, if you're going to mock them, at least know what in the hell you're talking about. Eesh.

 

[Lockridge]

While I myself understand and use AoO, I have pretty much given up on recruiting new players in part because of it. Most new players can follow along with the other rules but as soon as I start explaining AoO to them, their eyes glaze over. Either that or the new player thinks they understand it and then proceed to use it wrong.

Most people on these boards understand the rules or, if they don't, they know how to get the answers. This is not true of new or casual players. When I start with new players AoO are always the stumbling point where I either just disregard it until the players are a little more experienced or I insist on using it which causes frustration and boredom as players re-read the rules, tables and exceptions and then want to play something else.

With experienced players there is usually no problem but AoO have a long learning curve.

PS. the argument that all you have to do is determine if your guard is down only works when all agree on what lets your guard down. I can't be the only one who has had to convince a player that their action, whatever it may be, falls into this category. Common sense is rarely common.