shroudb |
I am running Rose Street Revenge for a group I play with on Sundays and I need to know when is a character consider flat footed. I can not see any where in the book that list situations when a character would gain the flat footed condition.
Thanks in advance
a ton of things make you flat-footed:
flank, prone, vs stealth/invis, grab, some fighter feats, dazes, crits from swords, etcit's the most common condition
ENHenry |
Some Examples:
Alchemist's Debilitating Bomb (pg. 49)
Barbarian's Come and Get Me ability (pg. 59)
Fighter's Combat Grab (pg. 89)
Fighter's Aggressive Shield, Brutish Shove, Intimidating Strike, Improved Combat Grab (pg. 90)
Fighter's Shatter Defenses (pg. 92)
Ranger's Distracting Shot (pg. 116)
Rogue's Unbalancing Blow (pg. 122)
Feinting via Deception Skill (pg. 150)
Chill Touch Spell (vs. undead) (pg. 210)
Daze Spell (pg. 213)
Flanking an enemy (pg. 313)
...there's a pretty extensive list, involving Class Feats, Skills, spells, etc. It's better to not worry about ALL the cases where you end up flat-footed, just deal with them on a case-by-case basis. The most prevalent is flanking, but it is not the only method. Unlike PF1, being flat-footed is a very simple condition: you get a -2 circumstance penalty to your AC, and you're flat-footed. No need to calculate AC without Dex, etc.
Vic Ferrari |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Unlike PF1, being flat-footed is a very simple condition: you get a -2 circumstance penalty to your AC, and you're flat-footed. No need to calculate AC without Dex, etc.
Yes, I really like that change (not been a fan of flat-footed, for 18 years now), I just wish they would also drop TAC (casters use their spellcasting modifier for attacks).
Mekkis |
2 people marked this as a favorite. |
I really don't like how these negative conditions don't stack.
If an enemy is prone, surprised and flanked, it stands to reason that they'd be easier to hit - and easier to crit - than were they just surprised.
This not only rewards players for cooperating to impose different conditions, but also improves realism when it comes to an assassin being much more likely to crit their victim after they've sneaked into their room while the victim is sleeping.
Tridus |
Yeah, agreed. Non stacking everything really alters how you play and takes away the option to apply another condition (since it won't do anything). Buffs have the same problem where two buffing classes don't play nice together because they can't stack, effectively removing that ability from one of them while the other is doing it.
If applying these things is meant to be a big deal in game, then it can't cease to be a thing for every other player as soon as someone does it.
sherlock1701 |
3 people marked this as a favorite. |
ENHenry wrote:Unlike PF1, being flat-footed is a very simple condition: you get a -2 circumstance penalty to your AC, and you're flat-footed. No need to calculate AC without Dex, etc.Yes, I really like that change (not been a fan of flat-footed, for 18 years now), I just wish they would also drop TAC (casters use their spellcasting modifier for attacks).
I have to disagree, flatfooted is very simple in PF1. You lose dex and dodge bonuses to AC. Straightforward. The universal -2 irks me. A dex based character should be easier to hit than platemail character when caught off guard. There's just so much more to hit.
I'm also not a fan of universal AC. It makes logical sense that armor protects better against swords than against cold and acid, for example.
Vic Ferrari |
Vic Ferrari wrote:I have to disagree, flatfooted is very simple in PF1. You lose dex and dodge bonuses to AC. Straightforward. The universal -2 irks me. A dex based character should be easier to hit than platemail character when caught off guard. There's just so much more to hit.ENHenry wrote:Unlike PF1, being flat-footed is a very simple condition: you get a -2 circumstance penalty to your AC, and you're flat-footed. No need to calculate AC without Dex, etc.Yes, I really like that change (not been a fan of flat-footed, for 18 years now), I just wish they would also drop TAC (casters use their spellcasting modifier for attacks).
Well, plate should never make you harder to hit than someone not in plate, it should just reduce damage if one is hit. If we're going to try to get "realistic", that's when I might go with Armour as Damage Reduction.
Vic Ferrari |
Yeah I've been saying that heavy armors should give a bit of DR myself.
Yes, someone in amour is not harder to hit than someone that is naked. The person in armour might be easier to hit, depending on the armour (more surface area, and they might be slowed a tad). Just if you do hit, either, the armoured one might take less damage, or no damage, depending on where and with what you hit them with.
Matthew Downie |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Unlike PF1, being flat-footed is a very simple condition: you get a -2 circumstance penalty to your AC, and you're flat-footed.
The definition of flat-footed is that you're flat-footed?
A dex based character should be easier to hit than platemail character when caught off guard. There's just so much more to hit.
Being able to sneak up on someone in platemail and slide a weapon through a gap in their armor makes more sense to me than someone with 10 Dex being unaffected by ambushes.
A guy with high dexterity can still respond to a surprise attack - they're not Helpless, after all - and the higher their dexterity, the better they can do it.
Charlaquin |
4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Vidmaster7 wrote:Yeah I've been saying that heavy armors should give a bit of DR myself.Yes, someone in amour is not harder to hit than someone that is naked. The person in armour might be easier to hit, depending on the armour (more surface area, and they might be slowed a tad). Just if you do hit, either, the armoured one might take less damage, or no damage, depending on where and with what you hit them with.
Pathfinder (and D&D) abstracts that into AC. Higher AC from armor does not mean harder to hit, it means harder to hit in a way that will do damage. The surface area of a person in plate armor is greater than the surface area of a naked person, but the majority of that surface area is protected enough that hitting it won’t meaningfully harm the person. The surface area that is vulnerable is significantly smaller on someone in armor than on a naked person.
Vic Ferrari |
Vic Ferrari wrote:Pathfinder (and D&D) abstracts that into AC. Higher AC from armor does not mean harder to hit, it means harder to hit in a way that will do damage.Vidmaster7 wrote:Yeah I've been saying that heavy armors should give a bit of DR myself.Yes, someone in amour is not harder to hit than someone that is naked. The person in armour might be easier to hit, depending on the armour (more surface area, and they might be slowed a tad). Just if you do hit, either, the armoured one might take less damage, or no damage, depending on where and with what you hit them with.
Yes, I have been aware of the abstraction that is D&D AC, for decades, and I am not advocating removing it, just highlighting something in passing.
StratoNexus |
I am so aware of that brother man (or sister lady). LIKE SO AWARE I've even said the same at some point. However in PF2 giving an extra 2 higher AC could have some powerful effects so I feel the DR is a good compromise.
I have been thinking the same thing. I have always liked armor granting AC, but in PF2, I think Heavy armor needs to add AC, but also needs more. Resistance seems like a great option.
Increasing max Dex by 1 might also work.
sherlock1701 |
ENHenry wrote:Unlike PF1, being flat-footed is a very simple condition: you get a -2 circumstance penalty to your AC, and you're flat-footed.The definition of flat-footed is that you're flat-footed?
sherlock1701 wrote:A dex based character should be easier to hit than platemail character when caught off guard. There's just so much more to hit.Being able to sneak up on someone in platemail and slide a weapon through a gap in their armor makes more sense to me than someone with 10 Dex being unaffected by ambushes.
A guy with high dexterity can still respond to a surprise attack - they're not Helpless, after all - and the higher their dexterity, the better they can do it.
It's easier to slip a dagger into someone wearing a chainshirt than into someone wearing plate. Way more openings in the former.
Voss |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I am so aware of that brother man (or sister lady). LIKE SO AWARE I've even said the same at some point. However in PF2 giving an extra 2 higher AC could have some powerful effects so I feel the DR is a good compromise.
It isn't though, without changing how DR is calculated. Past level three, any DR that doesn't come in multiples of 5 is utterly trivial compared to monster damage. And it quickly has to scale up to the point it is effective immunity to normal swords or lose any sense of relevance at all.
By way of comparison, the barbarian getting around 3 points of DR at level 9 is completely laughable progression. The -1 to AC they've had since level one still affects them more than that piddly resistance ever will. The same would be true for armor.
ChibiNyan |
I'd also like a bit more stacking on debuffs, at least (Probably not buffs since they'd get out of control). This edition already feels worse than PF1 in the "Don't bother doing anything if you're not dealing damage" paradigm (Only specialists in some maneuvers could really make it worth).
Having a lot of ways to stack the deck in their favor really helps lower level or non-martial characters handle some tough encounters.
ATM there aren't many ways to counter the mighty "my numbers are higher than yours" strategy. Encouring more tactical play compared to rolling dice is always fun!
ErichAD |
Heavy armor sort of displaced shield use as time went on, so it would make some amount of sense to allow fullplate to be used as if it were a shield. I'd say it aught to require a feat, but there's little enough reason to use heavy armor as is, that it's probably fine.
Would that satisfy the need for damage absorption?
ENHenry |
ENHenry wrote:Unlike PF1, being flat-footed is a very simple condition: you get a -2 circumstance penalty to your AC, and you're flat-footed.The definition of flat-footed is that you're flat-footed?
Poor choice of phrasing on my part - in other words, they are considered flat-footed for any ability triggered by that condition. It’s obvious, I know, but I’ve seen people not think about what abilities they have that are triggered by that in PF1.
As for its simplicity, I still assert it’s easier to remember to subtract 2 than to subtract a variable number, all the more variable if you have Dex damage or other modifiers. Also, it’s one less stat to track, which is not a bad thing. I, too, kinda wish they had done away with touch AC, especially since in PF2 it’s so often close to the regular AC value.