Dragging an Ally

[Perish Song]

I'm having a little trouble finding an answer on this one, so I figured I'd ask here.

I'm running an Adventure Path (Rise of the Runelords) and am currently in a section with lots of ghouls. And that means paralysis. In a recent situation, one of the PCs was paralyzed, and a fortunate attack of opportunity prevented a coup de grace. After the fight, however, the players were wondering if the coup attempt could have been prevented by moving the paralyzed PC.

My question is this:
If a PC is helpless or willing, can an ally drag him/her away from danger? If so (I assume that dragging in this manner is possible), does that affect the dragging PC's movement speed? Does the ally being dragged away provoke attacks of opportunity? How exactly would such an action occur (use the drag combat maneuver or use carrying capacity rules)?

Thanks in advance!

[Horselord]

If a PC is helpless, no attack rolls are required.

The reason a character should be able to do CMB checks without rolling on a willing/paralysed ally is because the CMD represents resistance to the combat manoeuvre. Same reason as attack rolls aren't required to touch willing allies to cast Cure Light Wounds.

What actually plays out, rules-wise, is a character performs the Drag or Reposition combat maneuver on their helpless/willing ally (as detailed in the Advanced Players Guide). No roll is necessary, but unless the character has the appropriate combat manoeuvre feat the action will provoke attacks of opportunity. Note that only the one performing the manoeuvre provokes - the helpless/willing ally is safe from AoOs.

If you wanted to carry the helpless/willing ally then the encumbrance rules apply.

[Weirdo]

Horselord wrote:

No roll is necessary, but unless the character has the appropriate combat manoeuvre feat the action will provoke attacks of opportunity. Note that only the one performing the manoeuvre provokes - the helpless/willing ally is safe from AoOs.

Minor correction: a combat maneuver only provokes from the target of the maneuver. Since the target is a helpless ally, the dragging character is also safe.

[Horselord]

Thanks for that clarification, Weirdo. It made me check the source to see if I missed anything. Apparently your speed is not limited, so an average human should be able to drag an ally 30 feet as a standard action!

Drag:

You can attempt to drag a foe as a standard action. You can only drag an opponent who is no more than one size category larger than you. The aim of this maneuver is to drag a foe in a straight line behind you without doing any harm. If you do not have the Improved Drag feat or a similar ability, initiating a drag provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver. If your attack is successful, both you and your target are moved 5 feet back, with your opponent occupying your original space and you in the space behind that in a straight line. For every 5 by which your attack exceeds your opponent’s CMD, you can drag the target back an additional 5 feet. You must be able to move with the target to perform this maneuver. If you do not have enough movement, the drag goes to the maximum amount of movement available to you and ends. An enemy being moved by a drag does not provoke an attack of opportunity because of the movement unless you possess the Greater Drag feat. You cannot move a creature into a square that is occupied by a solid object or obstacle. If there is another creature in the way of your movement, the drag ends adjacent to that creature.

Stability: Some characters or types of creatures prove particularly sure-footed, making them more difficult to overthrow and move around the battlefield. Any racial ability that grants a bonus to CMD versus bull rush attempts grants the same bonus against drag combat maneuvers.

[Eridan]

There is a problem with combat maneuvers on allies i asked a few months ago.
Under normal conditions the result of some combat maneuvers depends on the CMB vs CMD roll. What CMD do i use if the target is an ally ? I need an CMD for the possible movement in case of the drag maneuever.

Your CMD is 10 + STR + DEX + BAB + other (size, deflection etc.)

A willing target can 'lower' his STR, DEX and BAB. With a positive STR and DEX we stick with a CMD of 10 + other .

That is how we play it. We use a CMB vs. CMD of 10 + other. You can fail on a 1 or have luck on a 20. A combat maneuver focused charakter is always better than, lets say, a wizard.

It is more than a houserule but it works.

[Horselord]

Like a coup-de-gras, it is no attack roll with maximum effect. If you want numbers though, a willing or helpless ally does not use their Strength or Dexterity to resist, so those scores are treated as 0 (-5 modifier for each). The ally won't be fighting against you, so their BAB is 0, they will choose not to use any feats that enhance their CMD. So it works out to 0 + size + magic items/spells, which for a lot of people will be ZERO.

This DC makes some sense for a helpless ally, but a willing ally would make it easier still. The ally can only take an immediate action so Aid Another is out - it has to come down to an arbitrary bonus, and it won't be small ... +4 minimum, +10 is not unreasonable and it could go higher. Should the ally add their full CMB to the check?

I can see your point though, Eridan. It would more accurately reflect character capability if they made a roll against DC ~0, but I think it is a rules contradiction.