Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Tanktalus 02-24-06, 11:20 PM	Our game's wizard has this bright idea of grabbing a bunch of 7 cu ft boulders (about 1000 lbs each), using shrink item (now about 1/4 lb each), then, a couple days later, using fly, giving the small rocks to the flying character (either halfling rogue or human ranger), who will drop them on a dragon, and, during the fall, speaking the command word to enlarge them again. As the DM, I'm trying to figure out what type of to-hit modifiers would be applicable here (somehow "+2" vs "-2" don't quite seem apt :D ), and what type of damage they'd do. I've been searching the books and online for a couple hours without much luck. I'm trying to figure this out for both if the dragon is caught unawares (yeah right) and if the dragon is moving or even flying. I don't think the damage would change, but the difficulty to hit would be affected - I assume that if the dragon is flying, that the -4 penalty to hit a "running" creature would apply. But I also assume there is some sort of range increment here - the further up you drop from, the harder it is. I'm thinking that to hit, the character would face a -4 penalty for not having the weapon proficiency (although the halfling gets his +1 "thrown weapon" bonus still), and a range increment of somewhere in the 20-40 foot area. +1 for having "higher ground." Ranged attack modifiers (BAB + DEX) would apply. But I'm still quite unsure of the damage. And, if it somehow was surprise (e.g., also invisible), I assume the rogue's sneak attack damage would also apply... Any ideas, suggestions, comments would be appreciated - the game isn't for a bit, I'm just prepping now. Especially if you can point to something generic in the books or the RSRD! He can be a bit of a rules lawyer at times, so something to back me up would be useful too. Thanks!
Wyrd Bearer 02-24-06, 11:32 PM	I'm thinking that if a flying character is dropping boulders to try to hit a spot to anticipate a flying victim may be passing through, then the dropper will need to hit an AC of 5 + 1/ 10 ft that the boulder must fall (this is to duplicate having to lead the target properly). The max AC should be around 25 Then, the target is entitled to a reflex save to entirely negate any damage caused by the free-falling boulder. The DC to save should probably decrease with every 10 ft that the boulder has to fall, particularly so if the potential victim is aware. So start with a DC 25 reflex save if the boulder starts 10 ft above the target and then subtract 1 from the DC/10 ft the boulder travels, for a minimum DC of 5. So a dropped boulder from higher up will cause more damage, but the dropper will have a harder time leading the target and the victim will have more time to avoid it. For a victim unaware of the falling boulders, the Reflex save is for half damage (this represents the victim noticing at the last second and rolling with the blow or just getting grazed).