[CONAN] Parry is the way to go.

[Supplement Four]

Ya know, looking at the Riposte, Parry is really the way to go, over dodging. Why? The better your parry, the more often you'll get a free AoO on your foe when he rolls half or less of your Parry AC.

You don't get that with Dodge. With Dodge, you get to Dance Away--an extra 5 foot step of movement, allowing you to move 10' during the round, when combined with your free 5 foot step.

So, if you Parry, you sometimes also get a free extra attack on your enemy. That sounds like a better deal than dodging.

 

[Spectator]

Ya know, looking at the Riposte, Parry is really the way to go, over dodging. Why? The better your parry, the more often you'll get a free AoO on your foe when he rolls half or less of your Parry AC.

You don't get that with Dodge. With Dodge, you get to Dance Away--an extra 5 foot step of movement, allowing you to move 10' during the round, when combined with your free 5 foot step.

So, if you Parry, you sometimes also get a free extra attack on your enemy. That sounds like a better deal than dodging.

Funny, I never even read the rule, by Jove you are right!

 

[Supplement Four]

I'm looking at the maneuvers. There seems to be an entire tactical game hidden in there. Use the Force Back to force your foe into a position where he will trigger an AoO from your ally. Dodge, instead of Parry, in hopes of getting the Dance Away effect that moves you five feet. Then, on your turn during the round, use your free five foot step to close to a different foe, switch to that target as you've just created a flank on him.

It can be a tactical chess match, using these maneuvers, instead of just two figures standing toe-to-toe, battling it out.

Getting extra attacks in the way of AoO's is the name of the game.



For example, you're in a 10' wide hallway. You're fighting an enemy on the left hand side of the corridor. Your ally is behind you, fighting a second enemy along the right side of the wall.

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Your enemy has nish. He swings. You dodge and get the Dance Aside effect, so you move diagonally to the left hand side of the wall.

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Now, it's your turn, and you use your freebie 5 foot step to create a flank on your Ally's enemy.

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EDIT: So, basically, you use Parry if you want a chance at a freebie attack. Use Dodge if you need to move to a different position on the battlefield.

 

[Nyarlathotep5150]

I don't have my book on hand, but does Riposte say it gives you an EXTRA AoO? Because, since your AoO's are already calculated in how many you can take between your turns (usually 1), if it doesn't say its extra, I'd say it counts as your 1 per full round (of course, the Combat Reflexes feat negates most of this issue).
But otherwise I agree. The proliferation of Combat Maneuvers makes Conan combat far more Dynamic thatn the otherwise static D20 fare (assuming the PC's remember to use them that is).

 

[Supplement Four]

I don't have my book on hand, but does Riposte say it gives you an EXTRA AoO? Because, since your AoO's are already calculated in how many you can take between your turns (usually 1), if it doesn't say its extra, I'd say it counts as your 1 per full round (of course, the Combat Reflexes feat negates most of this issue).

No, I meant that it gives you an AoO. So, it does count against your usual total.

But otherwise I agree. The proliferation of Combat Maneuvers makes Conan combat far more Dynamic thatn the otherwise static D20 fare (assuming the PC's remember to use them that is).

I'm working on making them standard fare in my game. My PC's are 3rd level now, so more of them are starting to apply. That's why I'm taking a hard look at them.

 

[Supplement Four]

For example, you're in a 10' wide hallway. You're fighting an enemy on the left hand side of the corridor. Your ally is behind you, fighting a second enemy along the right side of the wall.

____
E
____
Y
____

____

____
E
A
____



Your enemy has nish. He swings. You dodge and get the Dance Aside effect, so you move diagonally to the left hand side of the wall.

____
E
____

____
Y
____

____
E
A
____



Now, it's your turn, and you use your freebie 5 foot step to create a flank on your Ally's enemy.

____
E
____

____

____
Y
____
E
A
____

This would also work if your ally was in combat way down the hall. Many times, the Dance Aside is a way to disengage from combating a foe without taking an AoO from him.

Take the example above, but change the Ally fighting to 20 feet away. You have Initiative, but you use the Delay option to change your nish to go after your foe. He attacks, and you dodge. You get lucky that he rolls lower than half your Dodge AC. This allows you to Dance Aside, which is to take a free five foot step. It's an Immediate Action, so you do it right then.

Your Dance Aside takes you to the position shown above. Next, it's your turn. You're out of danger now, in no other's threatened area, so you use your Move Action to move 15 feet to your Ally's foe. With your Attack action, you've now made a flank with your enemy, so you get +2 on the attack.

Your ally goes next, and he also gets a +2 attack now because of the flank (unless the enemy used Dance Aside to break the flank from your attack!), kills the baddie.

That would be the end of the round. Now, the two of your turn to face your original enemy, two on one.

Tactics.

I definitely want to encourage this in my game. Certainly, the NPCs will be using these methods against the PCs.