Protecting
You shall not pass!

It would be useful to have a combat command to interpose yourself between an assailant and their intended target - maybe roll the assailants attack versus the intended target, and if they *would* get hit, the person protecting them gets hit instead assuming they succeed in their protecting roll.

This would make professions like bodyguard a lot more useful and feasible.

Maybe it already exists and I'm retarded, but I don't remember reading anything about it and there's nothing similar in help combat.

Problem here - if you're grappling your bodyguard, your bodyguard is only delaying the inevitable as they are unable to counter-attack. Furthermore, your bodyguard is typically faster and stronger than you, so good luck grappling/holding on to him (or her).

That said, whether you or your hostage get hit depends on a roll like anything else, as far as I can tell. So let's say you're fighting Super Katana Man and you've hired Super Katana Girl to protect you, if you grapple Super Katana Girl all you're doing is keeping her from attacking while you take stabs to the face due to Super Katana Man's super katana skills.

Not to mention, why not just grapple your enemy if you're that much of a pro grappler?

Anyways, that's not really what I was suggesting.

You ever go out, and see some cockbag try to assault a friend of yours? You ever put yourself in the middle? That's what I'm talkin' bout. Never had a friend grab me and hold me so the guy assaulting him could punch me in the face. I think you need better friends :P

Guarding a given direction actually prevents people from fleeing that way. Not to mention that when you're in combat, you're not guaranteed to succeed in fleeing.

That said, there isn't always time to talk OOC in the middle of shit going down. There's no reason for an assailant to agree to or even acknowledge your OOC request - in fact, that sort of stuff just kind of breaks some of the most exciting moments in SD.

And that's without even getting into situations where you arrive on the scene of combat already in progress.

Quote: from Hunter on 11:28 pm on Dec. 22, 2011[br]Perhaps a modification to the 'Guard' verb then, to allow guarding of people as well as exits?

I'm just making suggestions to work with what we have.

That would strike me as the obvious thing to do, kind of surprised it's not already possible...