Trip, knockback, disarm etc?

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Trip, knockback, disarm etc?
« on: January 04, 2013, 07:26:06 AM »
Hi all,

I note a few monsters have these tags, and i can also imagine players wanting to perform them from time to time, so how are they handled?

They may be in the text, but it's a big book, so if they are please feel free to throw me the page number.

Cheers.

Re: Trip, knockback, disarm etc?
« Reply #1 on: January 04, 2013, 10:08:08 AM »
There's no specific rule for these things, but some standard ways to handle it. A weapon with the "forceful" tag would do knockback.

Otherwise, most of these are going to be handled either in the fiction (if you planned ahead and set up a tripwire, it's going to trip somebody: say what honesty demands) or by defy danger ("You can try to disarm him, but you have to defy the danger of getting attacked in the meantime").

I also tend to give the players something extra along these lines if they roll a 12+, but that's not in the book.

Re: Trip, knockback, disarm etc?
« Reply #2 on: January 04, 2013, 10:17:54 PM »
Yeah, I think the only tag I see for that sort of thing is Forceful, as azrianni said. If you jump to page 379 there's a description of what the tag does.

There also isn't a move to trip or disarm, or to knock people back or down. That all needs to be established in the fiction. Either as an action a character is trying to take, or as a result of a GM move.

For example, if a character attempted to disarm a foe, I would probably call for a Defy Danger move with either STR (if they were using brute force to just knock the weapon away) or DEX (if they were using a precision strike). The danger in this case is they don't disarm their opponent, and probably take damage. I would handle trips and push backs the same way; a Defy Danger move, with the danger being you don't trip or push back your opponent.

If a weapon has the forceful tag though, knock back or knock down is just part of the effect from being hit. Let's say the Fighter chose the Huge enhancement for their signature weapon. Now it has the forceful and messy tags, so when they hit something make sure to narrate the target staggering away with a ragged wound from the force of the blow. Or send it sprawling on the ground.

The same thing goes if the enemy has the forceful tag. Knock the PCs back a few steps when they get hit. If the monster gets a really solid hit on them (like when a player misses their Hack & Slash move), have them Defy Danger with either Con or Dex to remain standing. If they got hit by something big, don't even give them that opportunity. If a PC gets walloped by a Grey Render, just narrate them coming to on the floor a few heartbeats later with the thing's massive claws descending towards them.
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