Trip with natural reach?

[javcs]

Er, well, not RAW in the sense you can attack their appendage, but RAW in that you can ready to do something that would disrupt or prevent their attack.

 

[mvincent]

Er, well, not RAW in the sense you can attack their appendage, but RAW in that you can ready to do something that would disrupt or prevent their attack.

Correct.

To clarify for the others: a readied action can interrupt their attack, but it would not technically allow you to (by strict RAW) attack someone that is using a reach attack on you.

i.e. they have not actually entered your threatened zone, and even if you can assume that their natural weapons have entered your threatened area, D&D does not permit called shots to their natural weapons.

Still: I completely allow it, and encourage others to do so also.

 

[javcs]

As an example, if you can take a 5ft step (and are within 5ft of threatening them) you can ready an action to step to threaten them and disarm them (if they're using a weapon) or 5ft step out of reach or behind cover.
Alternatively, you could ready a standard action charge and as the attack, disarm/do whatever to them, or move out of reach.

If I were to use a houserule such as mvincent and Caliban do, I would probably alter it so you only get a shot when they use a weapon, not a natural weapon, and wouldn't let you if it was a tripping/disarming/appropriate action weapon (by which I mean it grants a bonus on such checks).

 

[Legildur]

This probably isn't "RAW" enough for those who obsess about that sort of thing, but that's what I do. No one has complained yet.

Isn't this a solution advocated in the FAQ or RotG? While not RAW, it does have appeal.

 

[javcs]

I believe it was in RotG. I don't know about the FAQ, though.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Isn't this a solution advocated in the FAQ or RotG? While not RAW, it does have appeal.

This was in the 3E Main FAQ:

I know a spellcaster can’t deliver a touch spell with a
weapon, but can a spellcaster deliver a touch spell by
touching an opponent’s weapon? For example, suppose an
enemy fighter has a weapon with a 10-foot reach. Can a
spellcaster step into the area that fighter threatens and
touch the weapon to affect the wielder? Is there a limit on
how far a touch spell can travel through equipment?

For the purposes of most magical effects, touching a
creature’s equipment is exactly the same as touching the
creature. That’s why touch attacks ignore armor, natural armor,
and shields. The point of contact does have to be fairly close to
the target’s body, though.

There is no set limit to how far away a spellcaster can be
when delivering a touch spell, but the basic requirement is
being able to reach into the space the creature occupies. For
example, a human occupies a 5-foot space. Thus, a foe must be
able to reach into that space to deliver a touch attack, even if a
piece of the human’s equipment (such as 50 feet of dangling
rope or a manufactured reach weapon) sticks out of the space.

A creature with natural reach is an exception to this rule—
you can use a touch spell against such a creature by touching
one of its natural reach weapons, even if its body is out of your
reach. Such a tactic might require some preparation, however.

If a creature can reach you with a natural weapon (such as a
bite, claw, or tentacle), you can ready an action to use a touch
spell against that natural weapon when it is used to make a
melee attack against you. Though casting a spell usually
requires a standard action, you can cast the spell and try to
touch the target as your readied action, so long as the spell’s
casting time is 1 action or less. (This is just like casting a spell
and making a touch attack as part of your regular action.) If the
spell has a longer casting time, you must first cast it and then
hold the charge until it can be delivered to pull off this
maneuver.

-Hyp.

 

[Infiniti2000]

i.e. they have not actually entered your threatened zone, and even if you can assume that their natural weapons have entered your threatened area, D&D does not permit called shots to their natural weapons.

Still: I completely allow it, and encourage others to do so also.

I don't and encourage others also not to, for the exact reason you give above. There are no called shots (outside of variants and the like) and that's exactly what this is, a called shot. I would only encourage this type of rule in a game where there are called shots, but then I would just use those rules, whatever they are. Without called shots, though, this rule isn't logical and nerfs big creatures more than I think the existing rules already do (e.g. why can a tiny, non-flying creature injure/kill a gargantuan creature without even logically being able to reach above the toes?).