Difference between revisions of "Talk:Rules Clarifications, misc."

Latest revision as of 10:57, 14 July 2006

Noah: So you only save vs. spells against a spell which has effects that cannot be subsumed by the other saves to the left? Whoa.

Hal: The spell poison, you save vs. posion; the spell death spell, you save vs. death magic. Left to right, baby.

Kerry: Negative weapon speed due to high dex? Dex mods on casting time?

Noah: Dex mods on casting time? If haste doesn't increase the speed of spellcasting, why should dex?

Kerry: Because in the rules they are both mods to init.

Hal: Dexterity does not increase the speed of spellcasting any more than haste does; but the rules do (I must admit) imply that both haste and dex lower the segment on which casting begins.That is to say, fireball has a speed of 3, regardless of dex; but if you roll a 5 on inits, and have an 18 dex, then you start casting it on 3 and finish on 6. 5 - 2 + 3 = 6. We have in general not played this way, because it is a little clunkierm ("crunchier" even?), but I think it's a fine idea for a clunky mass combat. In a similar vein, while a weapon speed cannot be reduced below 0, a superior dex can decrease the initiative die. Thus a +5 dagger has a speed of 0. If wielded by the aforementioned 18-dex character, who rolls a 4 on the init die, it strikes on 4 - 2 + 0 = 2. Of course, dexterity cannot cause anyone to attck before initiative segment 0. (These are Battle Royale rules, and whether they will be implemented in the campaign is another matter.)

Noah: To be clear, then, nobody can act on a segment of less than zero, which means that many or most of these ridiculous characters, with all their cumulative initiative bonuses, will act simultaneously on 0. That is, 0 is likely to be the busiest segment of the round. Is this correct?

Hal: Since the max dex bonus to initiative for regular characters is -2, one would have to roll a 1 or 2 and have a weapon speed of 0 in order to go on 0. Although we can certainly expect some BR characters to have stats above 18, it's still probably going to be unusual, at least, for the stat to be in Dex, and, of course, not everyone has weapon speeds of 0. So N's prediction of 0 being th ebusiest segment may be technically true if we run a chi test on all the segments and actions, but will hardly be a problem. Unless he expects to roll 1 or 2 a lot.

Noah: Which I do not.

Kerry: The coup de grace takes a whole round, right? If so, can it be interrupted by another player missile attacking/casting on the gracer during that round? Does the gracee take max damage from one attack, or rolled damage, or none, or what?

Hal: I couldn't find these rules in the 2d Ed DMG, but the 1st ed DMG is unambiguous. Coup de grace takes a full round, and is only possible if the gracer is not only not being attacked but is not subject to attack. (I assume this does not include being theoretically subject to attack from someone casting spells secretly through a crystal ball or something, but it certainly includes someone shooting arrows at you and missing.) If the gracer is subject to attack, he cannot kill his victim automatically, but he gets 2X the normal compliment of attacks, each auto-hitting and doing max damamge (2X the attacks? I didn't remember that part, did you?). That's pretty harsh, and if anyone wants to speak up against it, I'll entertain rebuttals. In any event, the gracer is, of course, taking a -2 AC penalty.

Noah: Next question: what are rules for discussion amongst players (do we all speak Common, or wish to take languages into account) and time limitations on deciding our actions/writing them down? Do we announce our own actions on our segment (which could be problematic regarding any hidden action) or do cards get passed to you and you adjudicate the actions?

Kerry: I submit that discussions about actions should be brief, ie, 30 seconds or less, with a stopwatch employed. After all, a round is only about one minute, and the discussion is assumed to be happening in game. Also, you can only have discussion between characters who are close enough to talk or yell to each other, unless you have other means of communication. Moreover, enemies can overhear you if in range. As for actions, those that are obvious (I move to character X and hit him with my sword) should just be announced at your init, while secret stuff should be passed to Hal, who can then call for the appropriate saving throw or whatever.

Chris: That's just what I was thinking.