MAAD combat [Archive] - Wizards Community

MAAD combat [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Jpasimio
03-23-07, 03:02 PM So one of the things I'm thinking of incorporating into my DM's Mark adventure is combat while in freefall during a MAAD. Maybe they are chasing someone, maybe they are trying to make a drop and encounter some enemies with flying mounts.

Projectile weapons would be ineffective in freefall. Should there be a penalty to attack or a check involved for using melee weapons? Would attack spells still be effective in freefall? Would any damage PCs affect their will save to accurately activate their talismans?

One of the scenarios that I find myself favoring is a bad guy throwing something of great value (maybe a party member) off the side of an airship along with some feather-fall talismans. This would require the PCs to dive off the ship immediately and find the talismans mid-air.

Any thoughts?
Woodstock
03-23-07, 05:56 PM Are you trying to transform your players in Crash, the minotaur, disciples?

MAAD is the best soldier deploy idea I've saw in RPG! Kiddoc said we will see it more often! Having it in DM's Mark is nice too!
kiddoc
03-23-07, 08:25 PM So one of the things I'm thinking of incorporating into my DM's Mark adventure is combat while in freefall during a MAAD. Maybe they are chasing someone, maybe they are trying to make a drop and encounter some enemies with flying mounts.

Projectile weapons would be ineffective in freefall. Should there be a penalty to attack or a check involved for using melee weapons? Would attack spells still be effective in freefall? Would any damage PCs affect their will save to accurately activate their talismans?

One of the scenarios that I find myself favoring is a bad guy throwing something of great value (maybe a party member) off the side of an airship along with some feather-fall talismans. This would require the PCs to dive off the ship immediately and find the talismans mid-air.

Any thoughts?

It's something I plan on incorporating in the future as well. That's why I've included story objects that let you attack and cast spells without penalties.

One thing to keep in mind is how SHORT freefall actually is. You're talking anywhere between 10 seconds on the short side and 45 seconds for a VERY high jump.

If you want to make combat possible (plausible?)--try and extend the amount of time AFTER the feather fall talisman's are activated. Give them special talismans that last for a LONG time, then at feather fall speed, they can attack and cast normally.

Now, if you want to make it jive well with the story, give bonuses for the PC's that have the MAAD-associated story objects.

Keep a close eye on ranged distances (which are tough to calculate in 3D), and make sure you incorporate the height advantage/disadvantage rules. In fact, you could even augment them a bit, giving a much bigger advantage for pretty substantial heights.

Anyhow, if you have more questions, feel free to PM me.
lordtiberiusfoxx
03-23-07, 09:37 PM In order to maximize freefall time, one can always say that the jump is over a Syrania (the Azure Sky) manifest zone. Then you can break all the rules you want!
Jesse Heinig
03-24-07, 04:20 AM Also, combat rounds aren't super long in the current edition of the rules. PCs will probably have 2-3 rounds of fall time just from jumping from a height and then feather falling some distance. During that time, they can throw alchemist's fire (bombs), fire missile weapons, make Spot checks to notice important objective locations, buff their party members (if they drop together) with area powers like bardic music, etc. They may also be trying to avoid taking enemy ground fire or even making skill checks to keep from landing in trees or on stakes/fences/groundwork defenses for just such an occasion! After a couple of MAADs, after all, the Blackwheel company's enemies will start to build defenses against drop troops!
If you've ever played one of those WWII shooter games on the PC like Call of Duty, you can come up with plenty of little mission objectives just related to the drop itself.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Jpasimio 03-23-07, 03:02 PM	So one of the things I'm thinking of incorporating into my DM's Mark adventure is combat while in freefall during a MAAD. Maybe they are chasing someone, maybe they are trying to make a drop and encounter some enemies with flying mounts. Projectile weapons would be ineffective in freefall. Should there be a penalty to attack or a check involved for using melee weapons? Would attack spells still be effective in freefall? Would any damage PCs affect their will save to accurately activate their talismans? One of the scenarios that I find myself favoring is a bad guy throwing something of great value (maybe a party member) off the side of an airship along with some feather-fall talismans. This would require the PCs to dive off the ship immediately and find the talismans mid-air. Any thoughts?
Woodstock 03-23-07, 05:56 PM	Are you trying to transform your players in Crash, the minotaur, disciples? MAAD is the best soldier deploy idea I've saw in RPG! Kiddoc said we will see it more often! Having it in DM's Mark is nice too!
kiddoc 03-23-07, 08:25 PM	So one of the things I'm thinking of incorporating into my DM's Mark adventure is combat while in freefall during a MAAD. Maybe they are chasing someone, maybe they are trying to make a drop and encounter some enemies with flying mounts. Projectile weapons would be ineffective in freefall. Should there be a penalty to attack or a check involved for using melee weapons? Would attack spells still be effective in freefall? Would any damage PCs affect their will save to accurately activate their talismans? One of the scenarios that I find myself favoring is a bad guy throwing something of great value (maybe a party member) off the side of an airship along with some feather-fall talismans. This would require the PCs to dive off the ship immediately and find the talismans mid-air. Any thoughts? It's something I plan on incorporating in the future as well. That's why I've included story objects that let you attack and cast spells without penalties. One thing to keep in mind is how SHORT freefall actually is. You're talking anywhere between 10 seconds on the short side and 45 seconds for a VERY high jump. If you want to make combat possible (plausible?)--try and extend the amount of time AFTER the feather fall talisman's are activated. Give them special talismans that last for a LONG time, then at feather fall speed, they can attack and cast normally. Now, if you want to make it jive well with the story, give bonuses for the PC's that have the MAAD-associated story objects. Keep a close eye on ranged distances (which are tough to calculate in 3D), and make sure you incorporate the height advantage/disadvantage rules. In fact, you could even augment them a bit, giving a much bigger advantage for pretty substantial heights. Anyhow, if you have more questions, feel free to PM me.
lordtiberiusfoxx 03-23-07, 09:37 PM	In order to maximize freefall time, one can always say that the jump is over a Syrania (the Azure Sky) manifest zone. Then you can break all the rules you want!
Jesse Heinig 03-24-07, 04:20 AM	Also, combat rounds aren't super long in the current edition of the rules. PCs will probably have 2-3 rounds of fall time just from jumping from a height and then feather falling some distance. During that time, they can throw alchemist's fire (bombs), fire missile weapons, make Spot checks to notice important objective locations, buff their party members (if they drop together) with area powers like bardic music, etc. They may also be trying to avoid taking enemy ground fire or even making skill checks to keep from landing in trees or on stakes/fences/groundwork defenses for just such an occasion! After a couple of MAADs, after all, the Blackwheel company's enemies will start to build defenses against drop troops! If you've ever played one of those WWII shooter games on the PC like Call of Duty, you can come up with plenty of little mission objectives just related to the drop itself.