The "Bubble"

[Tequila Sunrise]

Thanks for all the replies. A lot of interesting ideas on both sides of the issue.
I am still looking for an answer as to the designer's intent. All of the suggestions are "after the fact" that accept the Bubble as part of the game and move on from there. I am wondering if the Bubble was intended. If yes, then my group sees no reason to house rule it. If it wasn't intended and happens to be something that fell through the cracks without realization then we will house rule it.
Game on.

As others have said, nobody here can answer your question for sure. Speaking for myself, it seems clear that the bubble is an unintentional mistake. If the bubble had appeared in one of the PHB's combat examples, or had been mentioned in some other way in any book, a good argument for intent could be made. But it didn't, and the idea that the designers included an [arguable] nuance of real-world combat into their highly abstract heroic game is absurd.

If the bubble is ever discovered in my game, I'll house rule that charges can be executed over 1 square, minus the usual bonus to attack or bull rush. I practice taekwondo, and there is a certain distance that is ideal for an attacker to maintain after knocking his foe prone. But using that to rationalize D&D's bubble is silly because D&D lacks so many similar details of real world combat. Also, IRL, even if I knock a guy prone and then maintain that ideal distance he can sure as hel get up and attack me within 6 seconds if he wants to.

 

[Squire James]

I think "the bubble" is unintentional, but it's also a mechanic that does not cry out to me to be fixed. As Microsoft might say, it's not a bug, it's a feature!

 

[MrBeens]

I think "the bubble" is unintentional, but it's also a mechanic that does not cry out to me to be fixed. As Microsoft might say, it's not a bug, it's a feature!

To counter the people who are seeing it as unintentional
I'm not a WoTC designer, but as a professional designer of games it looks to me that it is intentional.
D&D is not primarily designed as a 1 on 1 duel simulator.
"The bubble" is not an issue in multiple person combat as the guy getting up has loads of options.
"The bubble" is not an issue in 1 on 1 combat as the guy getting up has a bunch of options, just not as many, some of them sub optimal. All of the suggested "fixes" here just remove all the penalties from the suboptimal options.
People need to remember that suboptimal is not instantly wrong in all situations.

 

[Ryujin]

To counter the people who are seeing it as unintentional
I'm not a WoTC designer, but as a professional designer of games it looks to me that it is intentional.
D&D is not primarily designed as a 1 on 1 duel simulator.
"The bubble" is not an issue in multiple person combat as the guy getting up has loads of options.
"The bubble" is not an issue in 1 on 1 combat as the guy getting up has a bunch of options, just not as many, some of them sub optimal. All of the suggested "fixes" here just remove all the penalties from the suboptimal options.
People need to remember that suboptimal is not instantly wrong in all situations.

Precisely. The brutal rogue gets knocked prone by the baddie who steps back, smirks, and waits for the rogue to put himself in a position to get pasted again. The party wizard steps up and Thunderwaves the baddie into the fighter, who is now flanking for when the rogue gets up and charges said baddie. Oopsie! Baddie go boom.

 

[FireLance]

All of the suggested "fixes" here just remove all the penalties from the suboptimal options.

Some, not all.

A character using Lunge is still restricted to melee basic attacks and doesn't even get the +1 attack bonus for using a charge.

 

[Infiniti2000]

"The bubble" is not an issue in multiple person combat as the guy getting up has loads of options.

The only option directly applying to the Bubble is another "bubble" that allows you to shift as a free action when standing up in a square now occupied by someone else. In no other case can you shift as a free action when standing up. So, "please come stand on top of me so that I can move for free." Huh?

"The bubble" is not an issue in 1 on 1 combat as the guy getting up has a bunch of options, just not as many, some of them sub optimal. All of the suggested "fixes" here just remove all the penalties from the suboptimal options.

Any 'fixes' presented here actually only grant a suboptimal option (a melee basic attack (MBA) without any bonuses) when none existed before. Nothing removes any penalty from a previously existing suboptimal option. Before the fix you couldn't even attack with a MBA unless the opponent were further away, now you can.

This isn't a solution in search of a problem or even a house rule question. It's a comment on a mysterious quirk of the rules that defies logic.

People need to remember that suboptimal is not instantly wrong in all situations.

That's true, but that doesn't explain why you think this Bubble is intentional. Can you explain that? I can't imagine the designers thinking to themselves that this was an intentional quirk.

 

[abyssaldeath]

Some, not all.

A character using Lunge is still restricted to melee basic attacks and doesn't even get the +1 attack bonus for using a charge.

That is a restriction for players way more then monsters and not even all players. Plus, there are 67 powers for PC's that have the phrase "you can use this power in place of a melee basic attack". In my opinion that is not very restrictive. At least not restrictive enough to be considered a penalty.

 

[keterys]

You're going to have a hard time arguing it's intentional unless it's directly used in an example as a tactic.

There are an awful lot of unintentional consequences in the rules... for example, it's not intended that forced movement doesn't really work on flyers (such as pulling or sliding them to the ground) - the restriction on forced movement not working on vertical movement is intended to prevent giving people falling damage with forced movement.

So an awful lot of DMs (including some WotC ones) allow forced movement to work on flying enemies in a 3D fashion. Was that house rule 'necessary'? Depends on what you consider fun for the game. Much like the "Bubble" it's all in what you consider a bug or a feature.

 

[Garthanos]

That is a restriction for players way more then monsters and not even all players. Plus, there are 67 powers for PC's that have the phrase "you can use this power in place of a melee basic attack". In my opinion that is not very restrictive. At least not restrictive enough to be considered a penalty.

There are also more than a few powers which allow you to shift 1 or 2 squares before attacking, you can presume there is a reason for those.

Are those powers which add maneuverability during an attack... there because there are ways to restrict somebodies ability to move in to the proper reach? If we allow an attack while moving that isnt a charge... are we stepping on powers toes.

 

[ChaosMage]

The only option directly applying to the Bubble is another "bubble" that allows you to shift as a free action when standing up in a square now occupied by someone else. In no other case can you shift as a free action when standing up. So, "please come stand on top of me so that I can move for free." Huh?

You can picture that as either the other person in the square giving cover so the prone person doesn't need to be as careful getting up or the other person helping the prone person up. It's a 5x5 square, someone standing in the same square isn't literally standing ON a prone character.