Steve Jackson Games Forums - View Single Post

Plane · 06-03-2021, 06:03 PM

Buddy B and Ally A are walking down a path. Buddy B is holding onto the wrist of Ally A.

Enemy Ethel jumps out and chucks a snowball at Ally A's head.

Ally A rolls a dodge and critical fails it, meaning Ally A is now falling down.

Normally when this happens you get a roll to do a break fall.

Can Buddy B who is not falling, use his grip on Ally A's wrist to be of some hepl? Like do a 'sacrificial' breakfall on his behalf and lessen the damage they'll take?

Maybe the standing Buddy can't completely stop the falling Ally from falling and hitting the ground, but perhaps he could help just enough to decelerate that descent (subtract velocity) and lessen the damage?

Conversely: what if Ally A was instead the one who was holding onto Buddy B's wrist? Does crit-failing a dodge and falling down mean automatically losing your grip? Or could they use it to try and pull themselves up?

It seems like one party or the other could unilaterally try to decelerate the faller, or they might cooperate at it. But I don't really know how you'd work the mechanics of it.

I'm thinking somehow Technical Grappling's Mass-Based Moves penalty system could somehow play into it, like the stronger/heavier guy is more able to slow the fall of the weaker/lighter guy as opposed to vice versa, though I'm sure DX plays into it somehow too.

If you're already grappling your ally (or they're grappling you, since it's mutual) it also makes me wonder if you could do stuff like yank them out of the way of an attack, kind of similar to how a parry can represent moving your sword out of the way of an attack.

If you're not already grappling your ally that would get a lot more complicated though.

06-03-2021, 06:03 PM	#1
Plane Join Date: Aug 2018	Sacrificial Breakfall Buddy B and Ally A are walking down a path. Buddy B is holding onto the wrist of Ally A. Enemy Ethel jumps out and chucks a snowball at Ally A's head. Ally A rolls a dodge and critical fails it, meaning Ally A is now falling down. Normally when this happens you get a roll to do a break fall. Can Buddy B who is not falling, use his grip on Ally A's wrist to be of some hepl? Like do a 'sacrificial' breakfall on his behalf and lessen the damage they'll take? Maybe the standing Buddy can't completely stop the falling Ally from falling and hitting the ground, but perhaps he could help just enough to decelerate that descent (subtract velocity) and lessen the damage? Conversely: what if Ally A was instead the one who was holding onto Buddy B's wrist? Does crit-failing a dodge and falling down mean automatically losing your grip? Or could they use it to try and pull themselves up? It seems like one party or the other could unilaterally try to decelerate the faller, or they might cooperate at it. But I don't really know how you'd work the mechanics of it. I'm thinking somehow Technical Grappling's Mass-Based Moves penalty system could somehow play into it, like the stronger/heavier guy is more able to slow the fall of the weaker/lighter guy as opposed to vice versa, though I'm sure DX plays into it somehow too. If you're already grappling your ally (or they're grappling you, since it's mutual) it also makes me wonder if you could do stuff like yank them out of the way of an attack, kind of similar to how a parry can represent moving your sword out of the way of an attack. If you're not already grappling your ally that would get a lot more complicated though.