Catching a Javelin

[Water Bob]

In my last game, a character had a javelin thrown at him. The player playing the target of that toss wanted to be cool and catch the javelin that was thrown at him.

This became a non-event quick when I told the player that he was out of actions for the round. But, I am curious. Would you allow this in your game? Too fantastic for you? If you did allow it, how would you handle it mechanically?

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Snatch Arrow Feat.

It even accounts for being out of actions for your turn.

 

[Angrydad]

Well, that was resolved quickly. Alternatively, you could have the player make a really high DC Reflex save to see if he even reacts in time, then, assuming he still has an AoO left for the round, make him roll an attack against an insanely high AC. If all that works, then sure, let him Snatch Arrows without the feat.

 

[kitcik]

Well, that was resolved quickly. Alternatively, you could have the player make a really high DC Reflex save to see if he even reacts in time, then, assuming he still has an AoO left for the round, make him roll an attack against an insanely high AC. If all that works, then sure, let him Snatch Arrows without the feat.

If you allow this, be ready when he tries to snatch maces and other stuff and wants a Reflex save against pretty much any melee damage...
I mean, you could make the DC impossible, but that's the same as saying "no."

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

The Snatch Arrow feat allows you to catch thrown weapons.

The Prereqs imply a pretty sophisticated but applicable process by which someone gets this skilled.

A decent amount of natural ability (Dex 15)
+
Impressive combat skill with your hands (Improved Unarmed attack)
+
Practice and skill reacting to ranged weapons (Deflect Arrow)
=
The ability to catch these weapons in midair. (Snatch Arrow)

This is a pretty serious commitment, 3 Feats and some intentional stats to pull off this ability. If a player was that committed to do all this, then I say more power to ya, catch a javelin!

But what this feat says to your player is "If you wanna catch a Javelin in midair, you need to seriously train to develop that specific skill. It is NOT something most people can do."

 

[kitcik]

[MENTION=6674868]RUMBLETiGER[/MENTION] i cannot xp you but i agree. for a feat, it is fine. in fact, i like this feat and would take it for flavor if feats weren't so precious.

 

[Dross]

If you allow this, be ready when he tries to snatch maces and other stuff and wants a Reflex save against pretty much any melee damage...
I mean, you could make the DC impossible, but that's the same as saying "no."

Actually it'll be possible once in 20 attempts, since ANY save succeeds on a natural 20.

I'd leave it as the feat.

Just realise that if the javelin ends up sticking out of you because it HIT, you HAVE caught the javelin.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Make sure you get it right, though...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy8jAjiyj_c&feature=youtube_gdata_player]javelins hurt - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Gray Lensman]

Ouch, bet that hurt

 

[Deset Gled]

This actually could be really cool and cinematic, if you're in a game that's based around such things. If you really really want to add this in, here's what I would do:

First, the defender must declare they are going to attempt to catch the projective before an attack roll is made.

Second, defender makes a Reflex save of 20 - weapon size modifier + range increment penalty + magic enhancement bonus. Failure results in an automatic hit, even if the attacker rolled a natural 1.

Third, spend an AoO to make an opposed attack roll. Failure results in an automatic hit, even if the attacker rolled a natural 1.

Fourth, defender rolls a Fortitude save and attacker rolls damage. Defender takes subtracts the Fort save from the attacker's damage and takes the result in damage (if it's a positive number). Defender ends the turn holding the weapon.

This makes catching large objects from far away easier than small objects from close range, has a significant penalty for failure, and take into account the fact that something thrown at you really hard is still going to hurt if you catch it. I think it simulates things pretty well, and allows players to take a significant risk to achieve something that would look really cool. It's not an elegant mechanic, but at least it would take less time to adjudicate than grappling.