Dodge and Drop; can't be used vs. Melee why?

[Ubiquitous]

Originally Posted by SuedodeuS

You take a step toward somebody to swing an axe at his head. As you're taking the step, he splays himself out on the ground. Are you honestly saying you wouldn't be able to compensate? Because I'm fairly confident I would be able to.

Well, the thing is, you probably aren't. Mechanic-wise, the +2 to Dodge, being negated, means that to bust that you've gotta take a -4 to your skill for a Deceptive Attack, plus whatever the new penalty is for raking a prone guy. How it would look in real-life is when you went to swing, he dropped. Maybe I'm too unfamiliar with axe-combat to see how you'd correct, but I think if someone dropped totally down the best I could do would be lower my hit maybe three feet, which I don't think'd connect. No offense meant about your ability with an axe but if the scenario is saying that it's dodge-enhancing to 'sprawl out', what difference does it make if you sprawled against one guy and not a bunch of others. How do you sprawl just for one guy and not a bunch of others?

A quick roll that moves 1 yard is a Retreating Acrobatic Dodge. A leaping somersault that moves 2-3 yards away is an All Out Defense: Increased Dodge, possibly combined with a Retreating Dodge that may or may not be Acrobatic. It isn't a Dodge and Drop - namely because you don't drop.

You do, then get back up. The 'drop' in this case is just formality but originally I thought it was a case of Acrobatic Stand. By saying Retreating Acrobatic Dodge, does that mean you're collecting +3 Dodge from a Retreat and +1 from an Acrobatics success?

Bad rolls simply mean you shouldn't always rely on something. "Dodge and Drop is always a good idea because I can always stand up as a Step on my turn, thanks to my Acrobatic Stand 26" is untrue, because you always run the risk of failing (even critically failing) that roll. "Fighting these goblins will be cakewalk thanks to my Retreating Acrobatic Dodge of 16" is similarly untrue, because all it takes is one bad roll to give you a very bad day. Bad rolls should always be kept in mind, because **** happens - and the more you can do to keep said **** off of you (not going prone every other combat round, killing those goblins from a distance or bringing a competent healer with you, etc), the better.

I don't think I ever said anywhere that this all beared relying heavily upon. I'm familiar with playing encounters tactically (or whatever the word is) and using range and cover and the environment, whatever'll help, to my advantage. But this example is covering one specific thing, and not relying heavily on what'll probably be your best skill (16 in a 150-point game, that's not out-of-the-question right) because 'you might get a bad roll' just doesn't seem right to me; it could happen with anything, Skill 8 to Skill 80, it just isn't critical past 16.