Attacks with no possible defense, and knockback

[solfuries]

If a super sneaky ninja sneaks up on an unsuspecting target and attacks, I have been playing that the target does not get to make any sort of defense rolls, as long as the target did not detect the ninja. Therefore, a ninja sneak attack against 0 defense becomes devastating. Do you all agree?

How about knockback? If somone is knocked back, do they still get to make defensive rolls, or are they the supreme sitting duck with a defense of 0?

I have also been playing with grenades, saying that if the player makes his attack roll against an opponent, the grenade lands at the desired location. However, its damage is compared to a 0 defense, making them pretty damaging, and area effective.

i.e. Ninja throws grenade with an attack of 12, the grunt tries to defend against the incoming grenade by fleeing with a defense of 6. However, because grenade damage is compared to a defense of 0 the grenade does 12 * (DT for the grenade) = lots of nasty damage.

Three different but linked questions, just getting everyone's opinion would be great.

[Clay]

If a super sneaky ninja sneaks up on an unsuspecting target and attacks, I have been playing that the target does not get to make any sort of defense rolls, as long as the target did not detect the ninja. Therefore, a ninja sneak attack against 0 defense becomes devastating. Do you all agree?

The Revised game has official rules regarding the element of surprise. While I'll leave the specifics to it, you'll only see a penalty to the surprised party based on HOW surprised they are. (Battle-wary combatants may only receive a -1 the first round, while sleeping adventurers may receive the traditionaly "very bad" -3)

In general, zero defenses are not a recommended solution for most situations. If you watch a lot of anime, you'll see that the heroes, even if surprised, are rarely slaughtered on the spot.

How about knockback? If somone is knocked back, do they still get to make defensive rolls, or are they the supreme sitting duck with a defense of 0?

You always can make a defense roll unless explicitly stated by some rule. In regard to knockback specifically, yes you can still make defense rolls. The only penalty is the loss of an action which CANNOT be counter-acted by the multiple actions maneuver.

I have also been playing with grenades, saying that if the player makes his attack roll against an opponent, the grenade lands at the desired location. However, its damage is compared to a 0 defense, making them pretty damaging, and area effective.

I think just using the Area Effect perk is sufficient. If you're going for some ultra-gritty war anime, your take may be more appropriate, but most often all explosions do is affect a lot of people and look glitzy doing it. That and take out grunts.

But it could be a neat idea for a power perk. I believe one of the new ones in the revised rules works kind of similarly.

Three different but linked questions, just getting everyone's opinion would be great.

Well, there's mine. As Always, OVA is intentionally open to interpretation, so unless the rules explicitly state otherwise (as in the Knockback example) feel free to use whatever works for you.