Rant / Question about Anchoring weapon ability

[DraGonKniGht20]

Alright, so I'm wanting to blow off some steam and just figure out what others think about this. Also been digging through a slew of posts everywhere for some answer and a bit surprised I guess at the lack of an answer I found. The internet is suppose to have an answer to everything! Haha.

Okay so here goes. Anchoring, basically turns your weapon into an immovable rod. Neat! So, i thought it'd be cool to make such a weapon (with a lot of other fun stuff, basically hold anything in place). I get that the target is neither entangled or paralyzed. I get that. What's grinding my gears is, other than simply not being able to move spaces without a DC 30 STR check, why not any other penalties?

A sort of 'Exhibit A'- http://webmbassy.com/v/bbc-room-101-mime-balloon-pop-13945267133.webm

I'm sure a lot of us have seen this, very entertaining to watch. But to brass tacks. Figure the balloon is the weapon in question with anchoring engaged. Guy has a hard time moving it, if at all. So say you attack him and trigger the effect, it's now impaled into his body somewhere. Now try moving. Sure he can flail about, but can you honestly say he can still fight at full effectiveness?

General movement would be pretty hindered. You couldn't fully shift your body to bring power into an attack, or twist/rotate to bring your weapon around like you've trained. Or how about trying to duck that incoming sweep of a mace? Hard to do with an anchored weapon stuck in ya like crazy glue.

I guess I'm making a case for, why couldn't such a target have like a -2 to attack and AC or something?

What are your guys' thoughts?

Edit: Or why is the description for the ability worded vaguely enough (in my opinion) that aside from what is stated, there is no penalty to the target.

[CampinCarl9127]

Because magic.

I realize that answer probably doesn't make you happy, but it's the truth. You are using magic to anchor them into place, and the magic functions a very particular way.

[Crimeo]

Quote:

it's now impaled into his body somewhere.

It does not say they are impaled on the weapon. It just says when you hit them, you can use a special ability to stop the weapon from moving and that they cannot move away from said weapon to a new location.

To meet the requirements of the text, you only have to be prevented from moving from your square by the weapon somehow.

In fact, it doesn't even clearly say you have to be touching it. It might just hold you in your general square with a vague short ranged tractor beam type thing. If so that would certainly allow for full within-square mobility still such as DEX to AC, and so on.

So the literal writing of the magic does not even actually necessarily conflict with the lack of other penalties in my opinion.

[DraGonKniGht20]

@Crimeo See, now that makes some sense. Cause here I'm thinking when I read that the ability cause be used when making an attack, I was envisioning it like literally anchored to the creature upon impact or some such thing, hence the whole line of thought I described. Now I can see it as it being more of a magic prison (relatively speaking) that prevents them from leaving the square.

I feel better now

[deinol]

For even more fun, make an anchoring warhammer. Definitely no impaling happening there.

I'm mildly disappointed that you can't put in on ranged weapons. I think an anchoring sling would be hilarious.

[Master of Shadows]

Interesting thing here, I feel compelled, after reading the weapon property, to point out that Anchoring is hugely powerful in that it prevents planar and dimensional travel as well.

[Firebug]

deinol wrote:

For even more fun, make an anchoring warhammer. Definitely no impaling happening there.

I'm mildly disappointed that you can't put in on ranged weapons. I think an anchoring sling would be hilarious.

My T.H.O.R. (The Herald Of Righteousness) Eldritch Scion Magus uses an Anchoring Adamantine Warhammer.

Also in PFS the GM technically can't sunder your items unless its in the tactics... Not that I would enforce that as a player with an Anchoring weapon.