Supplement Four
Mongoose
Since coverage is lite in the Conan RPG concerning combat and special situations, I turned to the 3.5 DMG for guidance. That book strongly suggests that combat actions only take place inside of a combat round (with the exception of healing spells, and the like, that make sense occurring outside of combat--stuff that we normally dont' have to worry about in a Conan game).
The Ready Action specifically states that when the action is used, the character using it cannot move other than using a five foot step--and if that five foot step is used, then Movement cannot be the action readied.
But, it seems to me if we GM's allow outside of combat, while a character is moving, that a lot of logical and realism problems will be solved.
Take, for example, the Borderer with bow and an arrow nocked, the archer himself alert, ready, and "on point", leading the party down dusty, dark dungeon corridors. The character turns a corner and sees a guard 60 feet away from. The guard sees the PC as he comes around the corner.
Initiative is thrown. The guard wins and charges the Borderer, attacking him at a lowered defense, catching him flatfooted.
The Borderer is alert and on point with arrow nocked--yet, he's considered flat-footed? And the guard can charge 60 feet and attack before the PC can get off his nocked arrow?
Does that seem right to you?
If we make a combat maneuver that is akin to the Ready Action, but allows him to walk and act outside of combat, then, what we get is this, in the above scenario: Borderer fires bow --> Guard charges and chatches Borderer flat-footed.
I'm still not sure about the whole "flat-footed" part, given the PC's condition, but I left it in just to keep the rules as true to RAW as possible.
Now, I've read a few posts, here and there, where people has said that playing the Ready Action loosely like that, outside of combat, opens a whole can of worms.
What worms will be opened? I'm not sure I see the implications of playing the game as I said above.
Comments from experienced 3.5/Conan GMs?
The Ready Action specifically states that when the action is used, the character using it cannot move other than using a five foot step--and if that five foot step is used, then Movement cannot be the action readied.
But, it seems to me if we GM's allow outside of combat, while a character is moving, that a lot of logical and realism problems will be solved.
Take, for example, the Borderer with bow and an arrow nocked, the archer himself alert, ready, and "on point", leading the party down dusty, dark dungeon corridors. The character turns a corner and sees a guard 60 feet away from. The guard sees the PC as he comes around the corner.
Initiative is thrown. The guard wins and charges the Borderer, attacking him at a lowered defense, catching him flatfooted.
The Borderer is alert and on point with arrow nocked--yet, he's considered flat-footed? And the guard can charge 60 feet and attack before the PC can get off his nocked arrow?
Does that seem right to you?
If we make a combat maneuver that is akin to the Ready Action, but allows him to walk and act outside of combat, then, what we get is this, in the above scenario: Borderer fires bow --> Guard charges and chatches Borderer flat-footed.
I'm still not sure about the whole "flat-footed" part, given the PC's condition, but I left it in just to keep the rules as true to RAW as possible.
Now, I've read a few posts, here and there, where people has said that playing the Ready Action loosely like that, outside of combat, opens a whole can of worms.
What worms will be opened? I'm not sure I see the implications of playing the game as I said above.
Comments from experienced 3.5/Conan GMs?
