Zorgoth
2013-10-19, 09:54 PM
So, while there is fighting defensively, parrying is obviously not really implemented in d20 (for one thing, parrying would not be a dodge bonus but a separate parry bonus, and for another, its effectiveness varies massively based on the weapon you are wielding). So I developed two different ideas for how to implement parrying, although I'm sure lots of people have done this before. One is a simplified mechanism designed to be easily understood, and the other is something I think is a little more realistic, although it still has some concessions to game mechanics, but it is much longer and more complicated. So here are the things I'm considering:
First, just for fun,
New weapon: Saber : 1d8 one-handed slashing martial weapon, 19-20x2. Finessable, cannot be wielded in two hands for additional strength bonus (this weapon is not as effective at parrying as the rapier, but is better than other weapons, and is more durable).
Simple version of parry:
I haven't sorted out how this combines with combat expertise but the priciple is simple and it shouldn't be hard to work out:
Some weapons have a parry rating. When fighting defensively or taking the total defense action, you may use up to your parry rating to gain the following effects:
rating 1: -1 dodge bonus to AC from fighting defensively, +2 parry bonus to AC, +1 to attack
rating 2: -1 dodge bonus to AC from fighting defensively, +3 parry bonus to AC, +2 to attack
rating 3: -2 dodge bonus to AC from fighting defensively, +5 parry bonus to AC, +3 to attack
rating 4: -2 dodge bonus to AC from fighting defensively, +6 parry bonus to AC, +4 to attack
Parry ratings:
Longsword, Spear, Shortsword: 1
Quarterstaff, Sabre, Scimitar: 2
Rapier: 3
When you are wielding a sabre, gain +1 to parry rating if your offhand is empty. When wielding a rapier, gain a +1 to parry rating if your offhand is empty. Thrown weapons, two handed weapons, and piercing weapons ignore the first 2 of a parry bonus to AC, while projectile weapons and two handed reach weapons used from over 5 feet away ignore the first 3. Parry bonuses do not apply against touch attacks and are denied whenever Dexterity to AC is denied.
Feat associated with simple version of parry:
Improved parry: Thrown weapons, piercing weapons, and two handed weapons do not ignore any of your parry bonus to AC. Projectile weapons and two handed reach weapons ignore only one point of this bonus.
Complicated version of parry:
Since the full version of my draft of the complicated version is very long, I am writing a shorter description and including the full thing as a spoiler:
When using appropriate weapons, parrying goes like this: Someone chose to parry instead of one of their attacks, they choose a melee attack to parry. They make an attack roll with some modifiers to intercept the weapon. They then make a strength or dexterity check against their opponent's strength check to hold or deflect the blow, with certain modifications; if the attacker wins the strength check they get an attack and may damage or destroy the parrying weapon. With an appropriate weapon, after a successful parry you may make a riposte, which denies the opponent dexterity to AC but does not gain Power Attack and only gets half strength modifier. With an appropriate weapon, The riposte may be parried (but cannot power through the parry) and followed by a counter-riposte, but it is harder to parry a riposte than an initial attack and the difficulty accumulates until one side gets to make an attack.
You may replace any attack you are entitled to with a parry at the same attack bonus if you are wielding any kind of weapon. You may select any one melee attack made against you in the next round and attempt to parry it. You must have your dexterity bonus to AC against that attack and not have any condition that would prevent you from making an attack normally. You make an attack roll to intercept the attacker's weapon, opposed by your opponent's attack roll to hit you. Except for specific weapons with specified bonuses, there is a -4 penalty for the defender with either a two-handed or a light weapon, a -4 penalty to the attacker with a two-handed weapon, . Swords have an additional +2 bonus, while non-light piercing weapons have an additional +4 bonus to avoid being parried.
Special: The above rules do not apply to certain specific weapons. Rapiers have a +8 bonus and sabers have a +6 bonus to parry, while both have a +4 bonus to avoid being parried. Quarterstaffs and spears have a +2 bonus to parry (but not to avoid being parried). Natural weapons cannot be used to parry. Before rolling to parry, you must decide whether to attempt a riposte. If you do, you are denied your dexterity bonus to AC if the parry fails. If a natural weapon is parried, the attacker takes weapon damage using their own Strength and Power Attack modifiers. If wielding a rapier, you may attempt to parry a ranged attack, but thrown weapons get a +5 bonus and projectile weapons get a +10 bonus (this replaces all other bonuses and penalties). No beats or ripostes occur in this case.
Beat (not to be confused with "beat attacks" in fencing): If you successfully parry an opponent's attack made with a slashing or bludgeoning weapon, they still may be able to hit you if you cannot stop or deflect the power of their blow. The attacker makes a strength check, opposed by the defender's strength or dexterity check, whichever is higher. The defender gains a +4 bonus on this check. For both attacker and defender, the wielder of a 2-handed weapon has a +4 bonus and the wielder of a light weapon has a -4 penalty. Two-handed reach weapons used from 10 feet away or more have an additional +4 bonus. Natural weapons are treated as one-handed. In addition, there is a +4 bonus for each size category above medium and a -4 penalty for each size categories below.
If the defender wins the beat check, the blow is harmlessly deflected or blocked. If the attacker wins the beat check by less than four, the parrying blade is deflected and the attack proceeds as normal, but with a -2 penalty to attack and damage. If the attacker succeeds by four or more, the parrying weapon is struck by the full force of the blow, and then the attack proceeds as normal against the defender except with a -2 penalty to attack and a penalty to damage equal to the lesser of the defender's Strength modifier and half of the damage taken by the parrying weapon. If the defender chose to make a riposte, they are denied Dexterity to AC against attacks due to a successful beat.
Special: Rapiers have a -2 penalty to Beat checks (attacking or defending). If the attacker is using the Power Attack feat, they gain a +1 bonus to their check for every 2 damage their attack would be granted by Power Attack if it hit.
When parrying with a spear or quarterstaff, you gain a +4 bonus to your beat check, but a successful beat check by the opponent always damages your weapon. If your weapon is not destroyed, you are not hit.
Riposte: When wielding a one-handed or light sword, a quarterstaff, or spear, you may choose to attempt a riposte after a successful parry, although this choice must be made before the parry. This attack is made immediately after the parry with the same attack modifiers as the parry, including parry modifiers, and the target is denied their dexterity bonus to AC. Anyone capable of parrying can attempt to parry a riposte, regardless of whether they prepared a parry, and is then entitled to their riposte if successful. However, a subject of a riposte take a cumulative -4 penalty to parrying for every riposte they have been subject to in this exchange (started by a single attack against the initial parrier), including the current riposte. Ripostes do not gain a benefit from the Power Attack feat, although they still take a penalty to attack, and any strength bonus to damage is halved. You cannot beat with a parried riposte. You cannot riposte against an opponent against whom you could not normally make an attack.
Feats associated with complicated version of parry:
Improved Parry
Prereq Int 13, Dex 15, Combat Expertise
You gain a +4 to all checks to parry an opponent's weapon, a +4 to all defensive beat checks, and a +4 bonus to attack on all ripostes. You also know the beat modifier of an attacj before you make the decision to parry it.
Block arrows
Prereq Int 13, Dex 17, Improved Parry
You may parry ranged attacks with a rapier or saber. No beats or ripostes are allowed in this case. The attacker gains a +2 bonus to avoid being parried with a thrown weapon and a +4 bonus to avoid being parried with a projectile weapon, but none of the bonuses or penalties mentioned in the description of the parry maneuver. (as is also mentioned in the spoiler, do not confuse beat with "beat attack" in fencing, it is just the word I am using for powering past a parry)
First, just for fun,
New weapon: Saber : 1d8 one-handed slashing martial weapon, 19-20x2. Finessable, cannot be wielded in two hands for additional strength bonus (this weapon is not as effective at parrying as the rapier, but is better than other weapons, and is more durable).
Simple version of parry:
I haven't sorted out how this combines with combat expertise but the priciple is simple and it shouldn't be hard to work out:
Some weapons have a parry rating. When fighting defensively or taking the total defense action, you may use up to your parry rating to gain the following effects:
rating 1: -1 dodge bonus to AC from fighting defensively, +2 parry bonus to AC, +1 to attack
rating 2: -1 dodge bonus to AC from fighting defensively, +3 parry bonus to AC, +2 to attack
rating 3: -2 dodge bonus to AC from fighting defensively, +5 parry bonus to AC, +3 to attack
rating 4: -2 dodge bonus to AC from fighting defensively, +6 parry bonus to AC, +4 to attack
Parry ratings:
Longsword, Spear, Shortsword: 1
Quarterstaff, Sabre, Scimitar: 2
Rapier: 3
When you are wielding a sabre, gain +1 to parry rating if your offhand is empty. When wielding a rapier, gain a +1 to parry rating if your offhand is empty. Thrown weapons, two handed weapons, and piercing weapons ignore the first 2 of a parry bonus to AC, while projectile weapons and two handed reach weapons used from over 5 feet away ignore the first 3. Parry bonuses do not apply against touch attacks and are denied whenever Dexterity to AC is denied.
Feat associated with simple version of parry:
Improved parry: Thrown weapons, piercing weapons, and two handed weapons do not ignore any of your parry bonus to AC. Projectile weapons and two handed reach weapons ignore only one point of this bonus.
Complicated version of parry:
Since the full version of my draft of the complicated version is very long, I am writing a shorter description and including the full thing as a spoiler:
When using appropriate weapons, parrying goes like this: Someone chose to parry instead of one of their attacks, they choose a melee attack to parry. They make an attack roll with some modifiers to intercept the weapon. They then make a strength or dexterity check against their opponent's strength check to hold or deflect the blow, with certain modifications; if the attacker wins the strength check they get an attack and may damage or destroy the parrying weapon. With an appropriate weapon, after a successful parry you may make a riposte, which denies the opponent dexterity to AC but does not gain Power Attack and only gets half strength modifier. With an appropriate weapon, The riposte may be parried (but cannot power through the parry) and followed by a counter-riposte, but it is harder to parry a riposte than an initial attack and the difficulty accumulates until one side gets to make an attack.
You may replace any attack you are entitled to with a parry at the same attack bonus if you are wielding any kind of weapon. You may select any one melee attack made against you in the next round and attempt to parry it. You must have your dexterity bonus to AC against that attack and not have any condition that would prevent you from making an attack normally. You make an attack roll to intercept the attacker's weapon, opposed by your opponent's attack roll to hit you. Except for specific weapons with specified bonuses, there is a -4 penalty for the defender with either a two-handed or a light weapon, a -4 penalty to the attacker with a two-handed weapon, . Swords have an additional +2 bonus, while non-light piercing weapons have an additional +4 bonus to avoid being parried.
Special: The above rules do not apply to certain specific weapons. Rapiers have a +8 bonus and sabers have a +6 bonus to parry, while both have a +4 bonus to avoid being parried. Quarterstaffs and spears have a +2 bonus to parry (but not to avoid being parried). Natural weapons cannot be used to parry. Before rolling to parry, you must decide whether to attempt a riposte. If you do, you are denied your dexterity bonus to AC if the parry fails. If a natural weapon is parried, the attacker takes weapon damage using their own Strength and Power Attack modifiers. If wielding a rapier, you may attempt to parry a ranged attack, but thrown weapons get a +5 bonus and projectile weapons get a +10 bonus (this replaces all other bonuses and penalties). No beats or ripostes occur in this case.
Beat (not to be confused with "beat attacks" in fencing): If you successfully parry an opponent's attack made with a slashing or bludgeoning weapon, they still may be able to hit you if you cannot stop or deflect the power of their blow. The attacker makes a strength check, opposed by the defender's strength or dexterity check, whichever is higher. The defender gains a +4 bonus on this check. For both attacker and defender, the wielder of a 2-handed weapon has a +4 bonus and the wielder of a light weapon has a -4 penalty. Two-handed reach weapons used from 10 feet away or more have an additional +4 bonus. Natural weapons are treated as one-handed. In addition, there is a +4 bonus for each size category above medium and a -4 penalty for each size categories below.
If the defender wins the beat check, the blow is harmlessly deflected or blocked. If the attacker wins the beat check by less than four, the parrying blade is deflected and the attack proceeds as normal, but with a -2 penalty to attack and damage. If the attacker succeeds by four or more, the parrying weapon is struck by the full force of the blow, and then the attack proceeds as normal against the defender except with a -2 penalty to attack and a penalty to damage equal to the lesser of the defender's Strength modifier and half of the damage taken by the parrying weapon. If the defender chose to make a riposte, they are denied Dexterity to AC against attacks due to a successful beat.
Special: Rapiers have a -2 penalty to Beat checks (attacking or defending). If the attacker is using the Power Attack feat, they gain a +1 bonus to their check for every 2 damage their attack would be granted by Power Attack if it hit.
When parrying with a spear or quarterstaff, you gain a +4 bonus to your beat check, but a successful beat check by the opponent always damages your weapon. If your weapon is not destroyed, you are not hit.
Riposte: When wielding a one-handed or light sword, a quarterstaff, or spear, you may choose to attempt a riposte after a successful parry, although this choice must be made before the parry. This attack is made immediately after the parry with the same attack modifiers as the parry, including parry modifiers, and the target is denied their dexterity bonus to AC. Anyone capable of parrying can attempt to parry a riposte, regardless of whether they prepared a parry, and is then entitled to their riposte if successful. However, a subject of a riposte take a cumulative -4 penalty to parrying for every riposte they have been subject to in this exchange (started by a single attack against the initial parrier), including the current riposte. Ripostes do not gain a benefit from the Power Attack feat, although they still take a penalty to attack, and any strength bonus to damage is halved. You cannot beat with a parried riposte. You cannot riposte against an opponent against whom you could not normally make an attack.
Feats associated with complicated version of parry:
Improved Parry
Prereq Int 13, Dex 15, Combat Expertise
You gain a +4 to all checks to parry an opponent's weapon, a +4 to all defensive beat checks, and a +4 bonus to attack on all ripostes. You also know the beat modifier of an attacj before you make the decision to parry it.
Block arrows
Prereq Int 13, Dex 17, Improved Parry
You may parry ranged attacks with a rapier or saber. No beats or ripostes are allowed in this case. The attacker gains a +2 bonus to avoid being parried with a thrown weapon and a +4 bonus to avoid being parried with a projectile weapon, but none of the bonuses or penalties mentioned in the description of the parry maneuver. (as is also mentioned in the spoiler, do not confuse beat with "beat attack" in fencing, it is just the word I am using for powering past a parry)