Pummeling (POCT)

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Pummeling includes most attacks made with hands, fists, elbows, and the like. Humanoid and partially humanoid creatures with racial intelligence of at least low can make pummeling attacks. Nonhumanoid creatures with racial intelligence of at least average and with manipulative appendages at least as large and strong as human hands and arms also can pummel. Humans, demihumans, orcs, ogres, giants, centaurs, and similar creatures can make pummeling attacks. Great cats, octopi, oozes, horses, and other creatures who lack intelligence or prehensile appendages cannot. Common sense must apply. For example, the DM might allow androsphinxes to make pummeling attacks if they retract their claws. Generally, however, creatures with natural attacks use them in preference to pummeling attacks.
Pummeling requires at least one free hand, although the attacker may wear a metal gauntlet or similar item. A character may also use a weapon pommel or an improvised weapon, such as a mug or bottle, in a pummeling attack. Attacks with improvised weapons provoke attacks of opportunity just as other brawling attacks do.
The target of a pummeling attack must be alive, non-vegetable, organic, and non-fluid. Undead, shambling mounds, golems, and jellies are among the many creatures that cannot be pummeled.
Pummeling is ineffective against creatures who can be harmed only by special or magical weapons unless the attacker functions as a magical weapon powerful enough to hurt the creature (see DMG, Table 46; note that character levels never apply to the table). Elementals, fiends, and most extraplanar creatures are immune to pummeling unless attacked by similar creatures or by characters using magical weapons.
Creatures immune to blunt (type B) weapons are immune to pummeling attacks.
No creature can pummel an opponent more than one size larger than itself unless the target is not standing up (prone, kneeling, or sitting) or the attacker has a height advantage or can fly. For example, a halfling usually cannot pummel a hill giant.
==Pummeling Procedures==
Most characters can make a single pummeling attack each round. Any character can gain an extra pummeling attack each round by punching with both hands (provided both hands are free). However, the character suffers the penalties for attacking with two weapons (see Chapter Two).
To make a pummeling attack, the character makes an attack roll vs. the defender's Armor Class. Pummeling damage and speed varies with the type of implement used to pummel:
* Small, soft objects (bare hands) inflict 1d2 points of damage; base speed is fast.
* Small, hard objects (mailed fists, mugs, weapon pommels) inflict 1d3 points of damage; base speed is fast.
* Large, soft objects (saddles, unconscious characters) inflict 1d4 points of damage; base speed is slow.
* Large, hard objects (chairs, small tables, sacks of coins) inflict 1d6 points of damage; base speed is slow.
To be used as an improvised weapon, an object must weigh no more than one third of the attacker's maximum press score (from PHB, Table 1) and its greatest dimension can be no larger than half the attacker's height. For example, a Man-sized creature could wield a tall stool in a pummeling attack, but not a stepladder or banquet table; common sense must apply.
A cestus (see Chapter Seven) is a special case. A character employing a cestus uses the pummeling procedure but inflicts normal damage.
Strength bonuses to attack and damage rolls apply to all pummeling attacks.
There is no knockdown die for pummeling attacks. Instead, there is an opposed Strength roll to see if the defender is knocked down. Modify the opposing Strength scores as follows:
* 2-point bonus or penalty per size difference of the attacker versus the defender;
* +1 for attacking with a large object;
* +1, +2, or +3 for a specialized, master, or grand master attacker.
The defender is knocked down if the attacker wins the opposed Strength roll. If both Strength rolls succeed, the character who succeeds with the highest roll is the winner. If the attacker fails her Strength roll, there is no knockdown no matter what the defender rolls. If the defender fails her Strength roll, there is no knockdown unless the attacker's roll succeeds.
If a pummeling attack scores a critical hit, do not use the procedures in Chapter Six. Instead, the defender must save vs. death or be knocked unconscious for 3d10 combat rounds. The attacker's hit probability adjustment (from Table 1 in the PHB) for Strength applies as a bonus or penalty to the saving throw. If the attacker does not have a Strength score, determine the attacker's effective Strength using the formula found in Chapter Two and apply the appropriate modifier from the PHB.
==Pummeling Skill Levels==
* Nonproficient: Most characters have had some experience with pummeling since early childhood, and nonproficient characters are very rare. If the optional character point system from the Skills & Powers book is in use, a character who is nonproficient in pummeling may claim 3 extra character points. Such characters are very rare, however, and the DM and the player should agree on a reason why the character is nonproficient; perhaps the character had an isolated and nonviolent childhood, or comes from a culture where fistfighting is unknown. A nonproficient pummeler suffers the attack penalty listed for his class in Table 34 from the PHB and cannot score a knockdown or knockout with a pummeling attack.
* Familiar: The vast majority of characters are assumed to be familiar with pummeling, and need not spend any character points or proficiency slots on the skill. Such characters can make one pummeling attack each combat round with no penalty.
* Proficient: Any character can spend character points (or a weapon proficiency) to become proficient at pummeling. Nonwarriors gain no benefit from pummeling proficiency. Proficient warriors gain their full allotment of melee attacks when pummeling.
* Expert: Any character can spend character points (or weapon proficiencies) to become expert at pummeling. Expert warriors who are entitled to more than one melee attack each round can make the same number of pummeling attacks each round, but gain no other benefits. Expert nonwarriors can make multiple pummeling attacks at the same rate as a nonspecialized warrior of the same level.
* Specialized: Generally, only single-classed fighters can become pummeling specialists, though there are optional rules in the Skills & Powers book that allow other characters to specialize. Pummeling specialists gain the normal specialist attack and damage bonuses and extra attacks. Specialists' attack bonuses apply to their Strength scores when rolling for knockdowns.
* Master: Only single-classed warriors can attain mastery in pummeling. Pummeling masters gain the normal master attack and damage bonuses and extra attacks. Masters' attack bonuses apply to their Strength scores when rolling for knockdowns, and apply as penalties to saving throws vs. knockouts. Grand master pummelers can use critical augmentation to score knockouts on attack rolls of 16 or better.
==An Example of Pummeling==
Anada, an 8th-level elf warrior, has just escaped from a cell inside a bugbear lair. He has no weapons but still wears his suit of chain mail +1. Anada surprises a pair of unwary bugbear guards and moves in to attack them from behind. The bugbears are Large creatures, but Anada is Man-sized, so his pummeling attacks can effect them. Anada is familiar with pummeling, and can make only one pummeling attack each round despite his warrior level (though he could make a second attack with his other fist and suffer the penalties for a two-handed attack).
Because he is not in a threatened square, his first punch does not provoke an attack of opportunity. Anada's attack roll must be good enough to hit AC 5, a bugbear's normal Armor Class. He hits with a roll of 18, good enough to score a critical hit. Anada's Strength is 17, so the bugbear suffers 2d2+1 points of damage from Anada's bare fists (the damage is doubled due to the critical hit). The blow inflicts 3 points of damage, all temporary. Next, Anada and the bugbear must make opposed Strength rolls. Anada receives a –2 penalty to his Strength score because he is one size class smaller than his opponent. The bugbear's effective Strength is 17, with a +2 bonus because it is larger than Anada. Anada rolls another 18 and the bugbear rolls a 10. The bugbear is not knocked down. (Because Anada failed his Strength roll, the bugbear would not be knocked down in any case.)
The critical hit makes the bugbear roll a saving throw vs. death at –1 (because of Anada's 17 Strength) to avoid being knocked out. It fails the roll and falls unconscious for 3d10 combat turns. The second bugbear takes no action, because Anada has surprise.
The next round, Anada wins initiative and moves in to pummel the second bugbear, who turns to face him. Anada's punch provokes an attack of opportunity, because the bugbear threatens him. The bugbear has +4 attack and damage bonuses and its racial damage bonus of +2. It hits Anada for 9 points of normal damage and scores a knockdown chance. Anada's pummeling attack automatically fails, but his saving throw is successful and he is not knocked down. The bugbear decides to use its regular attack to punch Anada with its free hand, in hopes of recapturing him alive. It must hit AC 3 (Anada has a 15 Dexterity in addition to his magical armor) and misses.
During the next round Anada tries to pick up the fallen bugbear's weapon. The second bugbear wins initiative, however, and tries to punch Anada again. Anada is not yet armed, so there is no attack of opportunity. This time the bugbear hits, inflicting 1d3+2 points of damage with its mailed fist. It scores 5 points of damage, 1 normal and 4 temporary. Anada has now suffered 14 points of damage, 10 normal and 4 temporary. Unfortunately, Anada only had 12 hit points at the start of this battle, having been wounded earlier. Because his current hit point total is –2, he falls unconscious for 2d6 full turns. The bugbears drag him back to his cell, and watch him more carefully this time.
==Special Pummeling Maneuvers==
The following are special attacks that can be attempted as a pummeling attack. They are typically attempted to cause a special situation, such as a knockout.
===Sapping===
The basic rules for sapping are found in Chapter Two. However, a character may attempt to make a ranged sap attempt with a thrown abject, subject to range, Strength, and Dexterity modifiers. Damage is determined by the object's size and hardness, as given above. There is a one-phase delay when making a ranged pummeling attack; small objects become average, large objects become very slow. Small objects have a maximum range of 15 yards. Short range is 5 yards or less, medium range is 5–10 yards, and long range is 10–15 yards. Large objects cannot be thrown unless they can be wielded as improvised weapons as described above; they have a maximum range of 5 yards and are always considered to be at medium range. Size Large and larger creatures might be able to hurl some large objects, such as sacks of coins, as though they were small objects.
===Kicking===
Characters attacking with a height advantage (or attacking a prone, kneeling, or sitting opponent) can pummel by kicking instead of punching. Humanoid characters tend to have stronger legs than arms, and inflict extra damage:
* Bare feet: 1d3 points of damage;
* Shoes, boots: 1d4 points of damage;
* Heavy boots: 1d6 points of damage;
* Iron-shod or hobnailed boots: 1d8 points of damage.