What Cool Things Should the Rules Let You Do?

[mmadsen]

From Tolkien:

• Kill a dragon with one "lucky" arrow
• Kill a fell beast, in the dark, with one arrow from an elf bow
• Stun the Witch King with one elf blade slid under his hauberk
• Kill the stunned Witch King with a prophecy-sidestepping woman-wielded blade
• Survive an orc captain's spear thrust due to secret mithril shirt, but end up shaken and bruised
• Take dozens of black orc arrows, but fight until you bleed out

 

[Imp]

Gods, I'd just be happy if the game could run a decent chase scene.

 

[Edheldur]

Didn't the Book of Iron Might include some decent rules for this kind of thing, though? You took penalties on attack or damage (or folded in a skill check) to get special effects (dazed, blinded by his cape, etc). Yes, they were harder to do than regular attacks, but not cripplingly so, iirc.

Yup, it has rules for that and I love them. However, the stunts system is really rough, so I've used the one from Iron Heroes.

 

[Mallus]

"Klaatu barada nikto!" Seriously, it's a fantasy staple to try to cast a spell you have no business casting.

Yes, a wizard has no business trying to command Space Jesus's robot not to destroy the Earth...

This annoys Space Jesus, and he's usually a very forgiving man, err, alien.

 

[SavageRobby]

My top three:

Throw sand in your opponent's face, and have it possibly have a tangible effect.
Yell "look over there!" and point, and possibly distract your opponent.
Grapple (without a degree in advanced rulesology)


(Interestingly enough, one of our games of choice, Savage Worlds, does all of this - along with the swashbuckling elements listed early - pretty handily.)

 

[BadMojo]

I love how the swashbuckling stuff is the first "why can't we do that?" response. Without fail, that's the inexplicably communal notion of gaming cool.

I think that kind of "flashy" stuff is considered cool in many different communities. From James Bond movies to Indiana Jones to Diehard, people like to see heroes running, jumping, climbing, sliding, etc.

The swashbuckler stuff probably just comes up with D&D since it fits better with the pseudo-medieval/renaissance mash-up a lot of people assume is the game's default feel. Quick draw stuff is cool in Westerns and Samurai flicks, but isn't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about guys in chain mail swinging swords around.

 

[Greg K]

Maneuvers like those in the Book of Iron Might where you can potentially do cool stuff ( e.g, disable a limb or temporarily blind someone ) to an opponent without needing feats- Just an attack penalty (provided you can hit your opponent without needing a natural 20) and, if the attack succeeds the opponent fails a save/check. I'll take that over Bo9s maneuver system any day.

 

[BadMojo]

My top three:
Yell "look over there!" and point, and possibly distract your opponent.

Well, that one sounds like a feint in D&D 3.X. An unorthodox one, but still a feint.

 

[DungeonMaester]

"Hey look! A conveniently place distraction!" -Points over yonder-

---Rusty

 

[Irda Ranger]

From Tolkien:
* Kill a dragon with one "lucky" arrow
* Kill a fell beast, in the dark, with one arrow from an elf bow

Exploding critical. As long as you keep rolling 20's (or 19-20, or 18-20, etc.), keep rolling for more confirms.

Stun the Witch King with one elf blade slid under his hauberk.

Monks can do it with their fist; extend the rule to all attacks. Either that or just assume the King was allergic to Elven weapons.

Kill the stunned Witch King with a prophecy-sidestepping woman-wielded blade

There should never be a rule for this.

Survive an orc captain's spear thrust due to secret mithril shirt, but end up shaken and bruised

Armor = Damage Conversion (Lethal to Subdual). Does Unearthed Arcana have this? I think Grim Tales does too ...

Take dozens of black orc arrows, but fight until you bleed out

I think the rules do allow for this ... how else do you explain arrows that do 1d8 and a Fighter with 52 HP? Or did you mean "keep fighting to -10"? I'd allow that with a Will Save each round and each standard action causing yourself 1d2 damage (aggravating the wound).