Tripping yuan-ti

[Ketiara]

So I have a tripper in my groupe and they are fighting a lot of yuan-ti.
And since they are semi snakes they have a large portion of their body on the ground. Should they get a bonus to resist trip and if yes how high?

I could use both a raw and personal oppenion answer.

[Jeff the Green]

I don't know that there is RAW about this, but I'd give the standard +4 for being hard to trip and the skill trick (I think it's a skill trick) to stand as a swift action at will. That way it makes a bit more sense (it's easier to get back on your scutes than your feet) but also doesn't completely wreck a character's schtick.

[WhamBamSam]

For the RAW answer...


If your attack succeeds, make a Strength check opposed by the defender’s Dexterity or Strength check (whichever ability score has the higher modifier). A combatant gets a +4 bonus for every size category he is larger than Medium or a -4 penalty for every size category he is smaller than Medium. The defender gets a +4 bonus on his check if he has more than two legs or is otherwise more stable than a normal humanoid. If you win, you trip the defender. If you lose, the defender may immediately react and make a Strength check opposed by your Dexterity or Strength check to try to trip you.Emphasis mine. Being snake-like should qualify as being "otherwise more stable than a normal humanoid." So the regular +4 seems fine.

[Necroticplague]

I don't really see a reason that a snakelike body should be more stable. A wider stance is more stable. Thus, a snakelike stance, which is very narrow, should be easy to knock over. And for getting back up, they have the disadvantage of losing acces to pulling their legs up to their chest to get up fast. Unless they fight with their body heavily coiled in a pile below them, which would render them nigh-immobile.

[Jeff the Green]

I don't really see a reason that a snakelike body should be more stable. A wider stance is more stable. Thus, a snakelike stance, which is very narrow, should be easy to knock over. And for getting back up, they have the disadvantage of losing acces to pulling their legs up to their chest to get up fast. Unless they fight with their body heavily coiled in a pile below them, which would render them nigh-immobile.

It's more the fact that the center of mass is very low to the ground and the way their body deforms produces a very wide base compared to the center of mass.

[Duke of Urrel]

I don't really see a reason that a snakelike body should be more stable. A wider stance is more stable. Thus, a snakelike stance, which is very narrow, should be easy to knock over. And for getting back up, they have the disadvantage of losing acces to pulling their legs up to their chest to get up fast. Unless they fight with their body heavily coiled in a pile below them, which would render them nigh-immobile.

I don't think a yuan-ti stands with its tail in a coil, exactly, but neither does it stand with its tail stuck straight out behind it, like a rod. Especially in combat, I would expect a yuan-ti's tail to meander behind it in an S-curve. This would be analogous to a biped's defensive crouch. So I think we are correct to guess that a yuan-ti is more stable than a biped. Moreover, after being knocked down, I think a yuan-ti would be far from immobilized. It would simply twist its tail around and use it to push itself back up. This would be analogous to bending at the knees to spring back up, as a biped does.

Imagine what a rearing cobra would do if you tried to knock it down or flip it over. Even if you succeeded, I think the snake would twist and spring itself back in an upright position before you could say "mongoose."

[backwaterj]

I don't think a yuan-ti stands with its tail in a coil, exactly, but neither does it stand with its tail stuck straight out behind it, like a rod. Especially in combat, I would expect a yuan-ti's tail to meander behind it in an S-curve. This would be analogous to a biped's defensive crouch. So I think we are correct to guess that a yuan-ti is more stable than a biped. Moreover, after being knocked down, I think a yuan-ti would be far from immobilized. It would simply twist its tail around and use it to push itself back up. This would be analogous to bending at the knees to spring back up, as a biped does.

Imagine what a rearing cobra would do if you tried to knock it down or flip it over. Even if you succeeded, I think the snake would twist and spring itself back in an upright position before you could say "mongoose."

I'd use this very logic to suggest that there should be no special bonus or penalty to the check. They're constructed differently but roughly analogous in the ability to resist/recover from a trip.

Although it must be said that real-world physics don't support the (legless) yuan-ti model at all. At best a snake can lift about a third of its body weight unsupported. If they're smart they'll just slither on the ground where they can't be tripped.