Armor Piercing - worth the trouble?

[Johannixx]

You get to choose whether to dodge or parry each attack that comes at you. You don't have to pick once per round, but rather each time you're attacked.

 

[argo]

What do you mean by that? Specifically, why do you say parry is more powerful? Also, why is dodge more useful?

It seems to me that you should be able to use parry against the melee guy next to you, but that your dodge simultaneously apply to the guy with the bow shooting at you from 30' away - is that not correct? If it is, then why would dodge be more useful?

Dodge is more usefull because it applies equally well to all attacks. Therefore a character who chooses to specalize in dodging will derive the full benefit of his chosen style at all times.

Parry is more powerfull because it is easier to gain parry bonuses than dodge bonuses and there are more parry bonuses available. First off you get to add Str to parry (and I imagine that most meele-centric characters will have a better Str than Dex) and that Str bonus is not limited by armor worn (higher DR). You can pick up a shield right away for a quick bonus and there are more feats available to boost parry than there are for dodge (Intricate Swordplay, also Reflexive Parry is available to anyone, Uncanny Dodge is a class feature). A character who chooses to specalize in parrying (say a parry-centric Soldier, vs a dodge-centirc Barbarian) will easily have a DV about 5-10 points higher for the same investment of resources and a higher DR to boot.


On a side note, it is because of this pardagrim that I have chosed to house rule that you may only choose to be in parry mode or dodge mode once per round. I then go on to introduce a feat which lets you burn an AoO to switch whenever you like. I think that that forces players to consider how they want their character to develop and how they want to face threats on the battlefield.

I am such a tactical wargamming nut :roll:

 

[slaughterj]

You get to choose whether to dodge or parry each attack that comes at you. You don't have to pick once per round, but rather each time you're attacked.

That's my feeling as well. Else if you choose to parry and someone shoots an arrow at you, well, how do you resolve that?!

 

[slaughterj]

On a side note, it is because of this pardagrim that I have chosed to house rule that you may only choose to be in parry mode or dodge mode once per round. I then go on to introduce a feat which lets you burn an AoO to switch whenever you like. I think that that forces players to consider how they want their character to develop and how they want to face threats on the battlefield.

I am such a tactical wargamming nut :roll:

Yeah, but see my previous post, how do you resolve a situation where one first parries, then is shot at with an arrow?? And how do you "burn an AoO"?? Would you need somebody to run by you to trigger it, then save it because you know you'll need to burn it against the archer who's going to shoot at you?? Makes no sense...

 

[argo]

On a side note, it is because of this pardagrim that I have chosed to house rule that you may only choose to be in parry mode or dodge mode once per round. I then go on to introduce a feat which lets you burn an AoO to switch whenever you like. I think that that forces players to consider how they want their character to develop and how they want to face threats on the battlefield.

I am such a tactical wargamming nut :roll:

Yeah, but see my previous post, how do you resolve a situation where one first parries, then is shot at with an arrow?? And how do you "burn an AoO"?? Would you need somebody to run by you to trigger it, then save it because you know you'll need to burn it against the archer who's going to shoot at you?? Makes no sense...

Ok, thats two questions, so two answers. Remember, these are house rules here.

If a character is in "parry mode" and is attacked with a ranged attack or touch attack their DV against that attack is 10 + size mod + shield bonus (doesn't apply against touch) + expertise/fight defensevly bonus. So yes, this means that someone who is parrying has to be varry warry of archers and spellcasters, maybe even go with his lower dodge bonus as a way of hedging his bets. Hey, nobody ever said combat was easy :twisted:

Then I go ahead and offer this feat

Impenetrable Defense
You are a master of defensive combat, able to adapt to your defensive style at a moments notice.
Prerequisite: Int 13, Combat Reflexes, base dodge bonus +2, base parry bonus +2
Benefit: You may, at any time, change your defensive mode from dodge to parry or vice versa even when it is not your turn. Each time you change your defensive mode in this manner it uses up one of your attacks of opportunity for the round.
Normal: You may only change your defensive mode once per round, on your turn.


So no, someone doesn't have to "trigger" this. It is not actually an AoO it just uses up one of your potential AoO's for the round. I am going to go ahead and playtest these rules when my gaming group takes a break from our current campagin and I get a chance to run Conan. I think it will add some extra tension to combat: shoot for a higher total DV but expose a weakness or play it safe? Should make the players sweat :twisted: