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Old 08-31-2017, 11:26 AM   #11
dbm
 
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Default Re: [Spells] Why is Command a blocking spell, and how does it work?

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Originally Posted by finn View Post
I think I will rule that Command can be used to foil a melee attack with a right command, but will not foil a ranged attack. Commanding the archer to wait, drop, etc., should not affect the arrow that has been already been successfully released (a successful attack roll).
Bear in mind that you can parry a bow shot with a melee weapon if you are within melee range.

If you see an archer nock and prepare to loose an arrow why not disrupt them if they are within range of hearing? You aren't disrupting the arrow, you're disrupting the shot. Your command doesn't stop the sword in melee, for that matter, it stops the person using it (and a sword has momentum, too, just like an arrow...)

Command costs twice as much as Iron Arm or Deflect Arrow. I would allow it to impact both.

Last edited by dbm; 08-31-2017 at 11:27 AM. Reason: Edited for clarity
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Old 08-31-2017, 11:30 AM   #12
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Default Re: [Spells] Why is Command a blocking spell, and how does it work?

I checked my copy of Magic, and noticed that the description was exactly the same. I thought the examples were added for DFRPG, so I asked in this forum, but I was wrong.

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You're absolutely right - they are in the book. They're not very illuminating, however, unfortunately. If you tell the subject to look, what do they look at? Presumably whatever you point at, but that isn't spelled out. If they Wait (capital 'w'), what trigger action are they waiting for?
For "Look!", I guess they look at were you pointed, which might be relevant in some situations. I guess that I will rule that looking stops the incoming attack too.

For "Wait!", I guess the subject can choose whatever conditions on what he wants to wait for. "I must wait, for something. I guess I will wait for *** as its most advantages thing to wait for". Thinking up weird conditions for your Wait maneuver might actually be funny.

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Just go with your gut whilst not hosing the players. Dungeon fantasy as a genre is more fuzzy than it is about harsh reality. The spell is reasonably priced compared to Deflect Missile or Iron Arm, so far from abusive.
I think I will go with the attitude that it's a somewhat funny spell, and an occasion for humorous interpretation of the commands.
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Old 08-31-2017, 11:41 AM   #13
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Default Re: [Spells] Why is Command a blocking spell, and how does it work?

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One of the favorite Command words locally is "Strip!" - a foe doesn't really get very far in one second unless they're wearing break-away clothing, but it definitely wastes a turn, and they've usually dropped everything their holding and their armor is at least a little looser now.

If they're not wearing armor, you might be lucky enough to catch them with their shirt half over their head, or their pants around their knees, which makes most people pretty vulnerable.
One command that was used in a larp game I participated with a similar spell was "Dogeza". It is to "get down on your hands and knees and bow to the floor" which is one word in Japanese, the language the larp was run in.

The NPC did go down on his knees, but went on a ferociously attack against the mage right after that. It was fun.
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Old 08-31-2017, 04:25 PM   #14
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Default Re: [Spells] Why is Command a blocking spell, and how does it work?

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One command that was used in a larp game I participated with a similar spell was "Dogeza". It is to "get down on your hands and knees and bow to the floor" which is one word in Japanese, the language the larp was run in.

The NPC did go down on his knees, but went on a ferociously attack against the mage right after that. It was fun.
The word for something rather similar in English is "kowtow" (you bow so far to touch/knock your head on the floor). It's of course stolen from Manderin, because English steals so many words and because the English encountered the practice first in Chinese court etiquette.
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Old 09-01-2017, 12:47 AM   #15
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Default Re: [Spells] Why is Command a blocking spell, and how does it work?

You could simply go with 'prostrate yourself'.

Let's hope they hear the first word correctly (unless you favour the more comedic variant of Dungeon Fantasy, of course).
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Old 02-13-2018, 01:34 PM   #16
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Default Re: [Spells] Why is Command a blocking spell, and how does it work?

This was brought up in another thread some time back and the point of Commanding someone to "Kowtow" or "Prostrate" is an interesting one. If you command someone to do one of these and they don't understand the vocabulary, what then?

The consensus was that if the recipient failed the resistance roll and did not understand the vocabulary (or the language for that matter) then they would stand there confused for a turn.
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Old 02-13-2018, 02:13 PM   #17
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Default Re: [Spells] Why is Command a blocking spell, and how does it work?

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One of the favorite Command words locally is "Strip!" - a foe doesn't really get very far in one second unless they're wearing break-away clothing, but it definitely wastes a turn, and they've usually dropped everything their holding and their armor is at least a little looser now.

If they're not wearing armor, you might be lucky enough to catch them with their shirt half over their head, or their pants around their knees, which makes most people pretty vulnerable.
I might be inclined to rule that that doesn't work if the subject is wearing more than one turns worth of clothes to strip. The spell explicitly states "If the subject cannot fulfill the command immediately or on his or her next turn, the spell has no effect."
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Old 02-13-2018, 09:45 PM   #18
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Default Re: [Spells] Why is Command a blocking spell, and how does it work?

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For "Look!", I guess they look at were you pointed, which might be relevant in some situations. I guess that I will rule that looking stops the incoming attack too.
Really looking in a specific way is a Concentrate manuever, so I think that having them take Concentrate to look rather than Attack or whatever is reasonable.

"Suicide!" or "Fratricide!" seem to me to be the most potentially unbalancing commands though.
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Old 02-14-2018, 10:46 AM   #19
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Default Re: [Spells] Why is Command a blocking spell, and how does it work?

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"Suicide!" or "Fratricide!" seem to me to be the most potentially unbalancing commands though.
I don't think those are a problem, since IMO those don't work as commands. Without including 'commit' first, they're just confusing nouns shouted out at people.
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Old 02-14-2018, 11:43 AM   #20
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Default Re: [Spells] Why is Command a blocking spell, and how does it work?

The intended effect is to buy a lull for one "beat" in combat. The enemy about to attack you converts that action into a waste of time: diving flat, turning around, running away, doing a little dance, etc. If you can figure out an unambiguous way to express that waste of time as a verb that can be acted on completely in the space of one turn, it should be okay . . . If any of the boldfaced parts are missing, the GM may allow the spell to work but have the result be, "He stops his attack and gives you a baffled stare for the rest of his turn." That's the spirit of the rules right there.

Thus, Command's value is not in the command itself – i.e., "charming" the subject to perform an action – but in the fact that it terminates not just the attack that triggered it but also the rest of the attacker's turn. That's considerably better than using Blink, Deflect Energy, Deflect Missile, or Iron Arm, as it can foil multiple attacks, keep someone from stepping away, etc.; it isn't more energy-intensive only because it's Resisted, which is a huge drawback.

All of which means that the GM who feels harried doesn't have to care about how or whether the command is parsed. All the GM has to do is let it halt the enemy's turn. The spell's energy cost, difficulty, prereqs, etc. are balanced against that functionality – no more, no less.
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