New tactic: dropping crap.

[User3]

So, by looking at the falling object rules, and the carrying capacity rules, I noticed that just picking stuff up and dropping it on dudes is pretty bad.

Take a Hill giant. With a 25 Strength, he can lift over his head (10ft over an average character's head) a max of 1600 lbs, for a damage of 8d6. Since having heavy crap dropped on you has no mechanics, i'd say that if its big enough(like a cart), its an AoE with a Reflex for half, or an attack roll for small stuff(an anvil). Its not much better than normal damage for weapon attacks, but its interesting.

Now, let's look at what an average human character with with Str 30 and and Jump can do. That 3200 lbs for an attack of 16d6 or 17d6 if you can jump to 20 feat.

Its not great, and it maxes out at 20d6, but for a non-magical attack that your average fighter/poly-ed wiz can do its pretty interesting.

[User3]

Whoops, Large creatures are x2. With DnD math of adding multipliers, that means the hill giant can do 2400 lbs for a 12d6 attack.

[User3]

PS If you drop enough crap on someone, you can even use the totally pimp "buried" rules for cave-ins, avalanches, and rockslides that basically traps a person until someone spends like a minute trying to dig them out.

[User3]

I got this nagging feeling that theres something to prevent this to do with limitations on free actions but...

The ultimate trap a 1st level human commoner with high strength, the quick draw feat, as many daggers as he can carry hung up near the cieling above potential targets.

Target walks under he instantly quick draws a dagger (free action) drops it (free action) repeat until he has dropped every dagger he has, instantly.

And then he can still take a full action.

Atlernately try alchemists fire, acid, small rocks, lead, churches, whatever.

[User3]

Its a move equivilant action to pick up an object, and a standard action to attack. I don't know if you would call dropping crap on someone an attack, but I do.

[Username17]

But note that dropping vials of acid is only an attack if you are trying to hit someone, and you do splash damage regardless.

However, a 1st level human commoner can't even qualify for quick draw - I think it needs a BAB of +1. So you'd totally need a human warrior to inflict near unlimited damage via a handy haversack full of acid.

-Username17

[User3]

Hitting a specific square requires an attack action(AC 5), so I guess you could in fact drop an entire Haversack worth of acid on random squares, each time doing 1 point of damage from the splash, assuming you are hanging from the roof, directly over your enemy.

Go you.

A commoner with a Haversack could just upend the sack and save himself the trouble of taking a feat.

[User3]

Well, I suppose you could insist dropping stuff on people IS always an attack or it can't hit.

But then I could insist a hill giant dropping stuff on someone directly in front of him is merely making a thrown ranged attack (don't giants have a boulder throwing attack anyway) and provokes attacks of opportunity if he is too close to the target.

There is no clear mechanic I know of to deal with someone just dropping something when they are above someone else. Where does it land? Can it hit them? Can it NEVER hit them? Does it even land?

What if you place your 1st level (now corrected to warrior) with the "attack of a thousand instantly dropped daggers" attack in the top of a tall room a single square wide and put a target in the bottom with no way out? Do all the items he drops always miss because he is not making deliberate aimed attacks?

And tipping out a haversack of items is not as closely related to the mechanics as quick drawing and dropping an unlimited number of weapons (I mean you're getting into deeper make it up 'cause its not there type territory).

So, if quick drawing and dropping X daggers cannot hit because of attack limitations is emptying a whole bag of the same X amount of daggers AS an attack action going to, and if it does how much damage does it deal?

[Username17]

Yes, there are no rules, anywhere in D&D for where dropped objects land relative to people who happen to be under them.

As to how much damage tipping over a bag of daggers on somebody does, well, the only even similar mechanic I know of is telekinesis - an edge-case spell which totally makes us cry.

-Username17

[User3]

There are rules for this kind of thing (sort of).

The trap rules!

Bricks from Ceiling: CR 2; mechanical; touch trigger; repair reset; Atk +12 melee (2d6, bricks); multiple targets (all targets in two adjacent 5-ft. squares); Search DC 20; Disable Device DC 20. Market Price: 2,400 gp.

Dropping lots of daggers from the ceiling should be roughly equivalent to this trap. Bricks are heavier and hit harder, but daggers have pointy edges. I'd make it a +12 attack for 2d6 damage.

If you want to set yourself up as a trap, I'd say that you could be a trap equal to yur own CR.