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Rules Discussion » Armour 'Proficiency' » 4/20/2025 5:02 pm

Osric_of_O
Replies: 2

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Firstly: I only came to this game in HYPERBOREA 3e, but the forum describes this area as an AS&SH thing...
Is that still apt, or is it time for a bit of an update?  (Software tester by profession!  Proofreader by natural inclination.) 


I have a fellow party member who's an Assassin... 
   I noted that his Favoured Weapons include Long sword / Broad sword, where every other weapon type stops at smaller versions.  (E.g. Scimitar (small) but not the Scimitar (large) that would be comparable to a Long sword.)
   And it occurred to me how Long sword, being such a staple, might be important to impersonating all sorts of character classes.

And then I thought, what about armour? 
   How it would be handled if an Assassin were required to wear, say, Full Plate to impersonate a knight (cataphract) as part of an assassination mission?  RAW just have such armour as not allowed to the Assassin class.  But it would be wrong for the game if it could be assumed that anyone wearing heavy armour was by definition not an Assassin.
   Should they be allowed to swan about in such armour (outside of combat situations) without giving themselves away?  And if they were wearing such armour in order to play a role and combat ensued, should they suffer a 'non-proficiency penalty'?  (As well as presumably all that thiefy stuff being impossible, or massively disadvantaged...?)

Rules Discussion » Prone Attackers » 3/15/2025 11:38 am

Osric_of_O
Replies: 17

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You could indeed call it "supine" as distinct from "prone".  But I just found this in p 271's rules for PUSH attacks, where we have "knocked down":

 A knocked-down combatant is considered
    hindered and suffers a -2 AC penalty.

Page 264 tells us hindered means -2 AC but says nothing about it causing any penalty to attacks.  

Rules Discussion » Prone Attackers » 12/10/2024 5:56 pm

Osric_of_O
Replies: 17

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rhialto wrote:

Osric_of_O wrote:

But if a prone creature could not attack, that would mean that Pyromancers' Fire Web spells, which keep the victim prone for multiple rounds, would be an instant, no-challenge, encounter-winner.  And we don't really want that, do we?
 

Why not just treat a prone defender by the RAW, i.e. -4AC? They're not completely defenseless (automatic hit), just more vulnerable.

They would be that, but are they able to attack from prone?  And for all that their AC is penalised, are their attacks not penalised for attacking from prone?
 

Rules Discussion » Prone Attackers » 12/09/2024 6:54 pm

Osric_of_O
Replies: 17

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rhialto wrote:

Never encountered in all my days, but my first instinct is "a prone attacker cannot attack".[...] I'd likely levy a -2 or -4 attack roll modifier [..]

I totally have encountered this in several game systems over the years.  In systems where getting up from prone takes your whole action, every player wants to attack from prone, even at a penalty, rather than spend that round not getting to roll something.

So that means it's telling that p. 264's "Table 139: Attack Roll Modifiers" does not include any entry for Attacker is Prone.
   Surely if attacking from prone were possible it would be at a penalty.  Sure, a movie-hero could hamstring their opponent from prone, but doing so should require them to heroically overcome more than just the -1 penalty for 'defender is in a higher position'.  They have options, but fewer than a standing combatant's, and they are therefore easier to predict and to defend against, amounting to a penalty worse than that -1...

And since there's nothing listed for it, I suspect the intention was that prone characters are not supposed to be able to attack at all, but are assumed to get back to their feet before renewing the fight.  (If they weren't treated as prone only temporarily because of the attacker having had the drop on them; per p. 266's "A surprized party may be considered prone if caught completely unawares (e.g., sleeping, eating, reading).").

But if a prone creature could not attack, that would mean that Pyromancers' Fire Web spells, which keep the victim prone for multiple rounds, would be an instant, no-challenge, encounter-winner.  And we don't really want that, do we?

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