| Kilyle |
I like a lot of this, but how does a shield help you jump to the side as a pit opens up at your feet? or dodge out of the way of a swinging log trap? or grab a rope or vine that's swinging past you?
I can see shields helping you in some Reflex Save situations (e.g. avoiding damage from a fireball), but other ones just don't make sense. Is there any good way to separate the different functions of a Reflex Save, so the shield can help with Function A but not with Function B?
Also, Da'ath: I just read about the "players roll dodge instead of monsters rolling attack" switch tonight (on another site), and warmed to it pretty quickly. You're right that it's mechanically the same roll, but it switches the player's focus from passive to active (I'm not waiting to be hit, I'm acting to avoid being hit). It also would seem to reduce the amount of effort the GM has to put into the action, and it gives the player something to do on their off turns that doesn't involve just looking up a number on a sheet.
So while I think it will be a little confusing to switch to this method at first, I am strongly considering using it for my upcoming campaign with players who are new to tabletops.