Passive Defense and 4e

[gilbertocarlos]

In 3e you also had skills that gave passive bonuses and most players would buy 1/2 a point in it, like:

Running gave extra move.
Boxing gave extra dodge.
Karate gave extra damage.

Other thing to consider is 4e made swing weapons not suck so much, the knight with his dueling polearm can easily kill a peasant in one hit, and he can attack every turn.

Also, low tech 4e made armor closer to reality. 100 pound armor gives you DR9, not 7, and standard DR6 plate can pack a punch and give you only medium encumbrance.

[muduri]

Originally Posted by Anthony

It was 2/3 of skill, but only functioned properly while at Light or No encumbrance.

Just dug out my old 3E books - hmm, yes, looks like it was that and no larger than a small shield - and if not, presumably you go back to your 1/2x skill for Parry. But no similar limitations for unarmed Karate / Judo Parries. I can see how that could get messy, e.g., trying to universalize for very strong or ultratech characters etc.

Having cast Zombie on this poor thread, I notice that duration is "the thread remains animated until destroyed" - but I promise to leave it either to continue shuffling or return to its grave as others will.

[Otaku]

Originally Posted by muduri

Having cast Zombie on this poor thread, I notice that duration is "the thread remains animated until destroyed" - but I promise to leave it either to continue shuffling or return to its grave as others will.

Except it caught my eye now, and I have at least one question, though perhaps it is a bit silly. Passive Defense as it worked in 3e most of the time doesn't make a whole lot of sense... but sometimes PD was used to represent other effects and not just "glancing" off of armor. I have the most vague of memories of seeing it addressed elsewhere... perhaps Powers? I say that because almost every example of what I am talking about that doesn't fall under "glancing off of armor" (which sufficient DR or an opponent missing by 1 or some other circumstance already covers) involves - well- "powers", especially "Four Color" campaigns that deal with the "reality" of comic book superheroes (especially from previous eras).

So for the martial artist who has honed his chi, the mage with the permanent self enchantment, the reality warping super, etc. that really does have a "passive" dodging ability... well PD used to handle that. What is the 4e method?

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by Otaku

So for the martial artist who has honed his chi, the mage with the permanent self enchantment, the reality warping super, etc. that really does have a "passive" dodging ability... well PD used to handle that. What is the 4e method?

Cosmic on your dodge, as I recall. Not sure where that's published.

[PK]

Originally Posted by Otaku

So for the martial artist who has honed his chi, the mage with the permanent self enchantment, the reality warping super, etc. that really does have a "passive" dodging ability... well PD used to handle that. What is the 4e method?

Step back from game mechanics and look at what you're actually asking for: "I want to be hard to hit without me putting forth any effort." The best choice there is Luck; use it to reroll your opponents' attack rolls against you.

The exception is the "passive dodge," because I have no idea what that means in real-world terms. If you want to dodge without it looking like you're intentionally dodging, I'd call that a perk: Lucky Dodger.

[vierasmarius]

Another option for a character who effortlessly avoids minor attacks is DR with Force Field. Just give it a special effect that attacks blocked entirely by DR appear to miss.

[Tomsdad]

Originally Posted by muduri

Sincere apologies for thread necromancy. Found this thread on PD from about a year and a half ago and there's one thing I'd like to find out more about, here:

What was it exactly that boosted Fencing in 3E? Was it just that Parry was higher (2/3 of skill?), or were there bonuses that applied specifically when you were lightly armored? Have experimented with dropping the +3 and re-introducing PD, and it's had the desired effect on knight vs. peasant, but one player's poor 75-point monk keeps getting brutalized, ha. Before I just drop it and get closer to RAW I thought I'd see if there was anything else balancing things in 3E.

Out of interest what was the issues with Knight vs. peasant?

[malloyd]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Another option for a character who effortlessly avoids minor attacks is DR with Force Field. Just give it a special effect that attacks blocked entirely by DR appear to miss.

The other approach is to reduce your opponent's to hit rolls. Usually with vision penalties of some sort, but you could do an area effect Affliction too.

[vicky_molokh]

Getting Cosmic Dodge might provide the benefit that Passive Defence used to provide:

Originally Posted by PU4:7

A Cosmic active defense can be used even when the rules
state that such a defense isn’t possible against a particular
type of attack – not just to stop Cosmic attacks! Thus, Cos-
mic Dodge lets you attempt to dodge a surprise attack, Cos-
mic Parry (Rapier) makes it possible to parry a flail, Cosmic
Block allows you to try blocking a bullet, and so on. This
never applies to Maledictions, area-effect attacks, etc. – only
to attacks for which the active defense would normally be
appropriate, were it not for a rule or circumstance disallow-
ing it in this particular situation.

[aesir23]

Originally Posted by vierasmarius

Another option for a character who effortlessly avoids minor attacks is DR with Force Field. Just give it a special effect that attacks blocked entirely by DR appear to miss.

Hmmm, how much would you charge for a limitation on DR so that attacks that penetrate do their full damage? (You could call it All or Nothing or Binary DR.)