Riposte

Discussion on playing Earthdawn. Experiences, stories, and questions related to being a player.
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Lys
Posts:177
Joined:Sun Dec 11, 2016 4:00 am
Riposte

Post by Lys » Tue Mar 21, 2017 6:09 am

So i never really liked the mechanical implementation of Riposte in 3e, and i really do not like what they did Riposte in 4e. Seriously i was told that they wouldn't change it! The entire reason i made an account on the forum was to make sure that this was the case! They said it worked the same as in 3e, and yet Riposte in 4e works like how Panda "mispoke" it! Why do you do this to me? Whyyyyyyy!?

*Ahem* Moving on...

The core problem with Riposte is the Talent's awkward efforts to combine a defence ability and an extra attack ability. Given that Avoid Blow already covers defence well enough, i decided to rewrite it focusing on the extra attack part. Mechanically speaking, my version of Riposte is identical to the Momentum Attack talent, only its trigger condition is a failed attack on the adept, rather than an extra success on an attack by the adept. The trigger for Riposte is slightly more likely to come up on any given round, but it comes at the cost of not adding to the adept's alpha strike ability like Momentum Attack does. Overall i feel this trade-off balances the two, as play experience has shown that a good alpha strike is devastating.

Riposte
Step: Rank + DEX Action: Free
Strain: 1
Skill Use: Yes (Journeyman)

The adept makes a close combat counter-attack against her overextended opponent. If an opponent misses a close combat Attack test against the adept, she may immediately make an attack against that opponent. After avoiding the opponent's attack, the adept makes a Riposte test against her opponent’s Physical Defense. If successful, she makes a Damage test, as normal. This talent can only be used once per round.

Dougansf
Posts:465
Joined:Mon Nov 28, 2016 4:14 am

Re: Riposte

Post by Dougansf » Tue Mar 21, 2017 8:33 pm

I like your concept, it is a lot cleaner in talent description and use, even though it created an extra roll.
Are you suggesting that Riposte could be used any time the adept is missed, or only after an active defense (avoid blow) is used?

I recall in ED1 that Riposte could only be used against weapon attacks (not unarmed or claws). Is that still the case in ED4?
The wording says "melee attacks" instead of "close combat attacks" so probably, but worth making sure.

Lys
Posts:177
Joined:Sun Dec 11, 2016 4:00 am

Re: Riposte

Post by Lys » Tue Mar 21, 2017 9:06 pm

It can be activated any time the adept is missed, regardless of whether active defences were used. Briefly i considered it making it cost two strain if no active defences had been used, but nah it's fine like it is. It actually adds another parallel to Momentum Attack in that successful uses of Anticipate Blow and Manoeuvre make it more likely that it will be triggered.

Rules-as-written Riposte has in every edition required the adept to be using a melee weapon, and could only be used against attacks with melee weapons. That is why it uses the terms "melee attack" and not "close combat attack". The first requirement is reasonable, but i always considered the second one to be bullshit and my table never enforced it. The new Riposte loses both of these requirements, as i based it off Momentum Attack which doesn't have them. Basically you can Riposte in a fist fight, just like you can Momentum Attack in a fist fight.

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