With all due respect, and no patronizing intended :
Ok, so how about the fighter choose not to wear a shield, have one less AC and choose to hold a potion instead?
... bla bla...
REALISM!!!
He'll have to open the bottle too you know, and while fighting with an open bottle in his hand - watch out not to spill it. Enough realism yet, or should we also add that his hands will get sweaty after a while, thus he'll have to make dexterity rolls or drop the bottle...? If the bottle was rugged then we wouldn;t have to do the slippery roll, instead a skin graze roll would be needed.
Another roll would be in order to determine whether or not the fragile bottle would bend or break in his hand when held too tightly.
For total realism we could also add "expires at :" date on the potion, and measure the temperature and air humidity each round, because magical potions tend to loose their healing properties in certain conditions.
Now what if the warrior was stressed cause of combat, and his throat would tighten during consumption of the healing beverage? How thick is the potion? Does it taste well, or do we need more rolls to see if he doesn't gag on it or throw it up?
So many variables!
Holding an open potion bottle is possible in pen and paper D&D and i'd say it wouldn't provoke an AoO (DM decision), but would be too much fuzz to implement in ToEE.
With reguards to bows, the archer takes one round to fire a shot, and at an advanced stage can fire two shots in one round. Ergo, there is no difference in time between his actions and the actions of anyone else on the battlefield. The very fact that it is possible to fire two shots in one round (even excluding haste) suggests that it is more than possible to perform this action without incuring an attack of opportunity.
It doesn't matter what specific actions the archer is doing, it still all happens in one round, exactly the same as for someone swinging a longsword. Swinging a longsword is a slow process, this is an established 'reality' in D&D and yet the longsword weilder suffers no attack of opportunity, but a quick archer does?
You're focusing on this one potential unreal thing. Melee weapons being slow to swing, and thus archer having enough time to fire a shot in point blank with no AoO.
I'll skip the fact that one handed weapons are not slow ones, and one could easily score a hit every second.
I'll skip the fact that even two handed ones can be swung very swiftly, and each swing, even the least powerful can be deadly. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCVt9rRE0bk"]Not that even these two douche bags seem to be swinging them quite fast, and they are not warriors by ANY standards.[/url]
Hell,[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hfLZozBVpM"]this fat guy swings fast AND cuts stuff open effortlessly[/url] Dodge that, and load an arrow before he takes another swing.. Wait, but the two guys in the video dared to MOVE while swinging?!? OUTRAGE!
I'll skip the fact that sword is only one of the weapons that a two handed swordsman has. Even if he just swung his sword, his elbow can still smash your face, knee hit the groin, kick break your ankle, headbut throw of balance.. D&D doesn't include such attacks, but REALISM does.. Hell, the swordsman can just push you, grab your arrow, grab the bow, grab your sleeve, get too close to take a shot... Use the POMMEL to break your jaw.
I'll also skip the fact that it's not an easy job to shot an arrow, and much strength and balance is required, which is unachievable when you're dodging swords, kicks, headbuts, grappling and spit.
Instead, let's imagine a real situation where an archer tries firing a bow in point-blank range, and a footman fighting him. The archer would get instantly raped 99 out of 100 cases. Archers didn't win melee duels with their bows. Why 99 out of 100? Because the 100th is your favorite hero Legolas.
AoO is a mechanic that simulates exactly this.
AoO is a balancing roll. It applies when you're doing something that is unwise during a wild melee brawl.
A mage may not always have to wave his hands, but he sure has to concentrate to control the magic energy. Doing so AND avoiding mace swings is tricky.. but as you pointed out - possible.
But it's also possible in D&D and ToEE itself. It;s "defensive casting."
Now, before you say "You're clueless, that's not what i said, i want to know why it's not PASSIVE?!?!?!One"
You're free to NOT use defensive casting, because you have the option to focus FULLY on the spell, and thus make sure that you succeed with it. You provoke an AoO but you're sure that the spell hits.. OR you don't provoke AoO and focus on defense just as much as on the casting, but you can fail at multitasking.
The next example is "OMG, OMG, WHY CANT I PASSIVELY NOT PROVOKE AOO WHILE MOVING!?"
Because you have the option to move at full speed (defending yourself while sprinting? HA), instead of moving slower but being more careful at the same time. What would be the point of the first one?
Example 1 : Delayed blast fireball is about to blow up and annihilate everything. Running as fast as you can is the only sane option. Better to provoke an AoO than die in a fiery inferno.
Example 2 : Your fragile mage friend on the other end of the room is about to get killed by an enemy. Charge to save him. Your armor has a chance of deflecting the blow, his robes provide no protection at all.
Example 3...
Are you seeing where i'm going here?
NO game is fully realistic, for one that IS would be a pain to play.
I for one like ToEE because it offers some freedom. I can solve a quest in three ways, i can choose my own feats, i can run provoke AoO's or not.. It implemented D&D system very well, and the system itself offers even more freedom.
I understand however that such freedom may not fit people who are used to play games where you left click to attack and right click to move.
ToEE (and the entire d&d system) is a middle ground. Diablo being the "What is realism? Can i eat it?" and Dwarf Fortress Adventure Mode being "Better play with calculator and wikipedia open"
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