What does On The Ground mean to you?

[gnfnrf]

Does this mean that a Stone Dragon initiator has the unerring ability to detect basements? If he enters a building and can't use his maneuvers, that means he's no longer on the ground, just on a floor over a basement, right?

--
gnfnrf

 

[lukelightning]

When you disarm an opponent, the weapon falls to the "ground".

Bwahahaha!
DM: The enemy disarms you.
Player: I pick up my sword.
DM: You can't. You're in a boat. Your sword is now 100 miles away, on the mainland.

 

[werk]

I think lukelightning's "immobile supporting surface" makes the most sense.
-blarg

I disagree. Ground is a lot different from Floor...to me. But as Deset said, the designers don't share my opinion.

It really is a poor choice of either mechanics or terms IMNSHO.

 

[The Souljourner]

I disagree. Ground is a lot different from Floor...to me. But as Deset said, the designers don't share my opinion.

It really is a poor choice of either mechanics or terms IMNSHO.

Meh, what are they supposed to say, "your weapon falls to the surface on which you're standing, unless the material on which you're standing is a liquid or gas and is less dense than the dropped weapon, in which case the weapon falls through the liquid or gas until it encounters a solid or a liquid or gas of equal or greater density..... unless you're in free fall or zero gravity, in which case the weapon flies in a random direction."

Yes, they could have said floor. Floor implies the man-made horizontal surface of a structure. So then would the abilities not work outside?

I think you just kind of have to go with the spirit of the rules combined with some common sense and playability.

-Nate

 

[Deset Gled]

Meh, what are they supposed to say, "your weapon falls to the surface on which you're standing...

I wouldn't expect them to be that specific when talking about how a weapon falls. I would expect them to be that specific about the Bo9S abilities if they're supposed to be more limited (okay, maybe not *that* specific).

Does a stone floor count if its man made? What about a natural, multi-level cave formation? Does a basement foil the ability? What about an underground lake? What happens if you wear shoes? These are all problems that you run into if you want "ground" to be more than just "that thing you stand on".

 

[pallandrome]

Just as a side note, A ship deck should not count as an immobile surface, ever. Unless we are talking ocean liners, that deck will be shifting pretty much all the time.

 

[Wolfwood2]

You know what? I changed my mind.

"On the ground" should mean that your feet are planted on a stable surface capable of supporting your weight. Not more and no less.

There's no reason to make this school inferior to the others because of some fiddly bit of text wording.

 

[Tiberius]

Plus, water is an excellent conductor.

To be fair, water is itself a poor conductor. The dissolved ions present in any non-distilled water, however, are great.

 

[Arabesu]

Any time dwarven stability would apply

If I recall, and I don't have my books with me to check, dwarves get a stability bonus when standing "on the ground." I remember comparing the text from the PHB for stability and the text from the Bo9s for stone dragon manuevers, and the were similar...

Thus it seems fair to assume that anytime you would permit a dwarf to get their stability bonus, you should permit stone dragon manuevers. This seem particularly apt since the school of stone dragon manuevers are extraordinary abilities (rather that sup or spell-like) and seem to have a thematic similarity and conection to dwarven tactics.

Arabesu.

 

[werk]

Meh, what are they supposed to say...

The easiest thing is to define it in the glossary, where they can be as specific and/or elaborate as they deem necessary to clearly define the term and it's use. Then just continue to use the term 'ground'...but better.