DarkJester
First Post
Can you trip a flying creature? I seem to remember a disscussion about it in the past. Has there been a definite ruling made?
Tripping Flying creatures
- Thread starter DarkJester
- Start date
Lord Pendragon
First Post
I don't know of anything official.DarkJester said:
How I'd rule: If the creature is actively flying, then it can't be tripped. If the creature is capable of flight, but currently landbound (like a hippogriff simply standing there), then it can be tripped like anything else.
Lord Pendragon
First Post
What's a stall?Patlin said:
drunkmoogle
First Post
Lord Pendragon said:
When a flying creature cannot maintain enough forward momentum to maintain flight, it falls. IIRC, the flier must move a minumum distance at the end of its turn or fall. This amount of movement is dependant on its maneuverability.
Back on topic, I would say no, you cannot trip a flier. There are other ways to force it landbound, namely grapple.
Lord Pendragon
First Post
Has "stall" become an actual game term to define that situation? If so, then Good and Perfect fliers would still be immune to tripping, since they need no forward momentum to maintain flight...drunkmoogle said:
WattsHumphrey
First Post
I don't have a rules reference, but I'd rule that you could always trip a flier, if you could reach the square(s) that the creature was in and if the creture was using wings (not magical flight). Imagine it to be 'tripping' one of the creature's wings.
Lord Pendragon
First Post
As a creature's wings are at the top of its body, it seems as easy to "trip" a creature's wings as it would be to "trip" a humanoid's arms, which is to say undoable. Tripping is based on a leg sweep of some sort, and wings aren't vulnerable in the same way.WattsHumphrey said:
Still, without a rules clarification we're just comparing House Rules.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040706a
Trip
Most creature using wings or other appendages to fly can be tripped. Incorporeal creatures with perfect maneuverability, and creatures that don't rely on their limbs to fly cannot be tripped when in flight.
Resolving the Trip Attempt: The attacker makes a Strength check. The defender can oppose the attempt with a Strength check or a Dexterity check. Each creature gets a bonus based on its maneuverability rating, as follows: perfect +12, good maneuverability +8, average +4, poor +0, clumsy -4.
Stability bonuses do not apply in aerial overruns.
Trip Results: A successful trip forces the defender to stall (even if the tripped creature doesn't have a minimum forward speed) rather than knocking the defender prone.
Stalling and Freefalling
Stalling represents the failure of a flying creature's wings (or other motive agent) to keep the creature aloft. The rules are a little sketchy when it comes to what happened during a stall, so here are some unofficial suggestions.
A stalling creature falls, but it wings provide considerable drag and tend to slow the creature's fall. As noted earlier, a creature falls 150 feet during the first round spent stalling, and it falls 300 feet each round thereafter. Wingless flyers that stall still have some residual lift and fall more slowly than non-flyers.
A flying creature that cannot maintain its minimum forward speed because it has been rendered unconscious, has become paralyzed, has become magically held, or becomes unable to move for some other reason stalls at the beginning of its first turn after the debilitating effect occurs.
A stalling creature can take no actions, except to recover from the stall. It loses its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) while stalling. As noted earlier, recovering from a stall requires a Reflex save (DC 20).
A stalling creature falls more or less straight down, but it also tumbles and spins erratically. Melee or ranged attacks made against a stalling creature have a 20% miss chance.
A nonflyer (or flyer falling through the air) freefalls rather than stalls. A creature in freefall drops 500 feet the first round and 1,000 feet each round thereafter. While in freefall, a creature can attempt a single action each round. It must make a Dexterity or Strength check (creature's choice, DC 15) to avoid dropping any item it tries to use. Spellcasting is possible, but doing so requires a Concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) and if the spell has a material component, the creature must first check to see if it drops the component.
Trip
Most creature using wings or other appendages to fly can be tripped. Incorporeal creatures with perfect maneuverability, and creatures that don't rely on their limbs to fly cannot be tripped when in flight.
Resolving the Trip Attempt: The attacker makes a Strength check. The defender can oppose the attempt with a Strength check or a Dexterity check. Each creature gets a bonus based on its maneuverability rating, as follows: perfect +12, good maneuverability +8, average +4, poor +0, clumsy -4.
Stability bonuses do not apply in aerial overruns.
Trip Results: A successful trip forces the defender to stall (even if the tripped creature doesn't have a minimum forward speed) rather than knocking the defender prone.
Stalling and Freefalling
Stalling represents the failure of a flying creature's wings (or other motive agent) to keep the creature aloft. The rules are a little sketchy when it comes to what happened during a stall, so here are some unofficial suggestions.
A stalling creature falls, but it wings provide considerable drag and tend to slow the creature's fall. As noted earlier, a creature falls 150 feet during the first round spent stalling, and it falls 300 feet each round thereafter. Wingless flyers that stall still have some residual lift and fall more slowly than non-flyers.
A flying creature that cannot maintain its minimum forward speed because it has been rendered unconscious, has become paralyzed, has become magically held, or becomes unable to move for some other reason stalls at the beginning of its first turn after the debilitating effect occurs.
A stalling creature can take no actions, except to recover from the stall. It loses its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) while stalling. As noted earlier, recovering from a stall requires a Reflex save (DC 20).
A stalling creature falls more or less straight down, but it also tumbles and spins erratically. Melee or ranged attacks made against a stalling creature have a 20% miss chance.
A nonflyer (or flyer falling through the air) freefalls rather than stalls. A creature in freefall drops 500 feet the first round and 1,000 feet each round thereafter. While in freefall, a creature can attempt a single action each round. It must make a Dexterity or Strength check (creature's choice, DC 15) to avoid dropping any item it tries to use. Spellcasting is possible, but doing so requires a Concentration check (DC 15 + spell level) and if the spell has a material component, the creature must first check to see if it drops the component.
