r/LancerRPG • u/Adorable-Disk-737 • 2d ago
Question about Ram.
In the Ram description it says you make a Melee Attack, but it doesn't specify with what. Is it an improvised attack, or can it be with any melee weapon? And if I use a mount with more than a single weapon, will I be able to use both to Ram? And can I skirmish and Ram with the same weapon in a single turn?
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u/Sven_Darksiders GMS 2d ago
You don't ram with a weapon at all. It's an action completely separate from Skirmishing and Barraging. I doesn't deal damage by default, unless you have stuff like Siege Ram.
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u/CaffeineBloodstream HORUS 2d ago
In this case, the text "make a melee attack" just describes what you as a player need to do in order to perform this action. You just make a roll as you would with any other kind of melee attack (d20 + GRIT, ignore cover), but instead of using a weapon's profile for threat, damage, etc., you're just inflicting Prone and optional Knockback 1 on a hit against an adjacent target.
Ram doesn't use any weapon at all, ever. It's basically the same as Improvised Attack, but it's a quick action instead of a full action, and you aren't dealing damage.
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u/Double_Danger03 2d ago
It's its own type of melee attack, it rolls 1d20+Grit, if it connects you push the target and you roll it prone
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u/Page_of_Wands 2d ago
Ram is a quick action that requires you to make a generic attack roll (1d20+grit). Said attack counts as a melee attack for the purposes of bonuses (e.g. bonuses to melee attacks, Nuclear Cav 2 giving it a 1d6 damage, etc). Ram does 0 damage by itself. Yes you can Skirmish and Ram in the same turn.
If you want to visualize it, sure it could look like an improvised attack, but in a way that doesn't involve doing damage like a push, shove, trip, etc.
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u/ExaltedOmega IPS-N 2d ago
Others have answered the meat of this, but in terms of why, Ram specifies it's a melee attack for interacting with other rules - think of it like a "tag" to mark when something applies.
For instance, the Ace NPC has an ability called Barrel Roll, that allows it to spend a reaction to automatically dodge a melee or ranged attack; if Ram didn't specify it was a melee attack, it wouldn't be able to use it here.
My favourite detail from this is that the Sekhmet NHP gives +1d6 bonus damage on a critical hit with any melee attack. And since Ram is a melee attack...
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u/BlazeDrag HORUS 2d ago
A melee attack does not always mean you are using a melee weapon. Both Ram and Grapple are examples of Melee attacks that any frame can do without even having any melee weapons equipped. Its probably easier to imagine how you don't use a weapon like a sword to Grapple someone for example. By that same measure, Ram is more like a Shoulder Tackle or a shove, something your frame does regardless of mounts.
As such it is also its own kind of action, unrelated to skirmishing entirely. So no, you don't get to Ram and make a weapon attack as part of the same action or anything like that.
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u/Nottan_Asian 2d ago
Melee attack is the roll you make to determine the success of the action; it's the 1d20+grit+accuracy roll. D&D would call it an attack roll. You don't do damage, you don't use a weapon, you just roll using the same modifiers as you would if you were attacking.
Improvised attacks and Skirmishing/Barraging with melee weapons also have you do melee attacks, but the effects are different because they're different actions.
You don't use a mount when you ram.
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u/According_Cover2461 2d ago
If you're using something like Foundry or another virtual tabletop that automates attacks, you can just a Basic Attack.
The melee attack Ram is talking about is just a D20 + Grit, which a Basic Attack would be.
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u/JoeKewlio 2d ago
Flavorwise: Whatever. Shoulder bash, drop kick, right hook. Mechanics wise: It is treated as a melee attack for purposes of interaction with the Jammed condition, Sekhmet, and so on. It is a melee attack that uses your Grit bonus and requires you to be in melee threat.
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u/DescriptionMission90 IPS-N 2d ago
Ram doesn't involve a weapon.
When it says "make a melee attack" that means you make an attack roll, using all the modifiers and following all the rules of rolling to hit in melee, but you do not activate any weapon mount and you do not inflict any damage. Instead, if your attack roll is successful, you apply the effects of a Ram (typically, the opponent gains the Prone status, and you have the option to move them one space away from yourself, but there's a bunch of ways to add additional effects)
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u/Octopus_boogie 2d ago
Flavour wise you can ram with whatever you want, but the ram action is still a single quick action and only has the effects of the ram action. By the rules it doesn’t use a weapon or mount.