[4e] Turnabout

[Burley]

Turnabout is a special little ability you get at epic tier if you choose the Lord of Fate epic destiny. Basically, whenever you roll initiative, you pick a target. Whenever that target imposes a condition on something, it imposes the condition on itself.

Wait...
So, what if the enemy you picked marks something? Would the enemy also be marked by itself? Would it take a -2 to hit when not including itself in the attack?

[Kurald Galain]

Yes, due to some poor wording on WOTC's part.

Even funnier, "prone" is a condition. So if the monster trips you, he falls. And weirder, "unconscious" and "dying" are conditions (although "dead" is not). So whenver the monster drops a player character to below zero, the monster is finished.

The part where it becomes ill-defined is in the monster manual. Arguably, something like "the target takes -2 to all attacks (save ends)" is a condition per se. Also arguably, it's not, because the list on PHB 277 can be argued to be the exhaustive list of conditions.

So we have yet another topic to argue ceaselessly about

[Olo Demonsbane]

Best use: Use Turnabout, then start using Mage Hand to throw squirrels at him. He bites one, it becomes dying...

[Burley]

Yes, due to some poor wording on WOTC's part.

Even funnier, "prone" is a condition. So if the monster trips you, he falls. And weirder, "unconscious" and "dying" are conditions (although "dead" is not). So whenver the monster drops a player character to below zero, the monster is finished.

The part where it becomes ill-defined is in the monster manual. Arguably, something like "the target takes -2 to all attacks (save ends)" is a condition per se. Also arguably, it's not, because the list on PHB 277 can be argued to be the exhaustive list of conditions.

So we have yet another topic to argue ceaselessly about

Yeah, Conditions are pretty specific. That's come up a few times lately...

Anyways, yes, Kurald, 4e brings a myriad of topics for me to extort, causing your retort.
I'm craving torte now... Drat you, WotC. Drat you.

Best use: Use Turnabout, then start using Mage Hand to throw squirrels at him. He bites one, it becomes dying...

Except that: No. An enemy dropping you to 0 is not the same as an enemy imposing the "dying" condition on you. If a power says "the target is (conditioned) until X/save ends," then there is a condition.
Simply put: If the power used doesn't use one of the conditions' name in the power, it isn't a "condition" and doesn't count.
Throwing squirells is just a waste of a standard action... and of squirells.

[Asbestos]

If a monster power did say "and you are dying" I wonder what that would do to a monster since they can only be alive and above 0hp or dead and at 0hp or lower, they can never be 'dying'.

[Roderick_BR]

Can you yell "OBJECTION!" when using this power?

I think most of these effects just negate the enemy's power from working, if they place a condition that can't be used, for example, marking powers just make it so the normal targets (you and your allies) are not marked, thus making your enemy waste his power/action.

[Lady Tialait]

1. Turnabout target.
2. Get 'Dominate' status from target.
3. ????
4. HILARITY!

[Nahal]

1. Turnabout target.
2. Get 'Dominate' status from target.
3. ????
4. HILARITY!

I think at that point we just rule it a body swap. Or a "your head asplode."

[Zeful]

Can you yell "OBJECTION!" when using this power?

I think it would be more "NO U".

[hewhosaysfish]

1. Turnabout target.
2. Get 'Dominate' status from target.
3. ????
4. HILARITY!

Who would be controlling it's actions? The person it tried to Dominate? The Lord of Fate who used Turnabout on it? The most likely interpretation I can see is that it Dominates itself... it's a little mind-bending to think that the creature is mind-controlling itself but mechanically it works out as "dazed and can only use at-wills". A nice de-buff but not crazy powerful (indeed less powerful than if you had Dominated it).