A few posts down is a preliminary "Mob" subtype, inspired by the knowledge that such a thing exists in Dungeon 113. It seems a 'cleaner' way of doing what I want.
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I'm going to have a situation come up where a large number of 1 HD, medium creatures are going to 'mob' the party.
I'm not seeing much on this, and I don't want to go through the trouble of doing any sort of grappling for the opponents - I'm looking for something streamlined (here's a to-hit penalty, have fun).
So, let me through this out, please let me know if you know or have something better:
Being Mobbed
When a creature is surrounded by more than the usual number of opponents that may normally do so (such as 8 creatures around a Medium-sized opponent) they are considered Mobbed.
Double the amount of creatures that can normally fit into a square may 'squeeze' together as per the squeezing rules around a target, as detailed in the list below:
Fine -- 200 creatures -- 1 5ft sq.
Diminutive -- 50 creatures -- 1 5ft sq.
Tiny -- 8 creatures -- 1 5ft sq.
Small -- 2 creatures -- 1 5ft sq.
Medium -- 2 creatures -- 1 5ft sq.
Large -- 2 creatures -- 1 10ft sq.
(and so on. Yes, Fine/Dim seem to be ... ridiculous. Will take all opinions - espc. considering they need to be in the same square as their target)
From our list, 16 Medium creatures, or 8 Large creatures may squeeze around and Mob a Medium creature. Creatures which take more than 5 ft of space normally may elect to share all or some of their space - two Large creatures may share the same 10 ft square, or share a space that is 10 by 15 ft. They relieve no penalties for squeezing by doing so.
Squeezing creatures take a -4 penalty to AC and attack rolls. Moving in or out of a mobbed square takes double movement cost, as per the normal squeezing rules, and still may provoke AoOs.
Ranged attacks through the 'mob' to the target of the Mob take a -6 penalty to attacks to hit the mob's target.
The target of the mob is somewhat less well off.
The target of a mob takes a -4 penalty to her AC.
The target is also unable to move, unless she is next to a square she could normally move into. If she is being mobbed by Fine creatures, she need simply move out of the space they are mobbing, incurring AoOs as normal. If a Medium sized creature is being mobbed by Gargantuan creatures, she may move through their space as per the rules.
To move out of the mob, the target must initiate a bull rush against a single member of the mob. If successful, you push the target back 5 ft out from the center of the mob, and may then use your remaining move action to escape the mob, provoking AoOs as normal. (if anyone has any left).
Let's see an example:
Having landed himself in a difficult spot again, Koewn the Ranger is mobbed by 8 ogres intent on his demise.
After a round of the Full Defense action, and still getting hit 5 times, Koewn's already had enough. He chooses one of the ogres to the left the Bull Rush his way out of this mob.
Koewn doesn't have Improved Bull Rush, so he provokes an AoO from the defender and his 7 friends. Assuming he's still alive, they resolve the Bull Rush.
Surprisingly, the ogre loses. Koewn is able to move 25 more feet out away from the ogres, and will most likely run away next round.
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OK. The system kinda is odd when it's Large or Huge mobbing Medium, since, technically, in that example, the ranger only bull rushed one Ogre, so as shown, he actually moved through the squares of an opponent (the second Ogre he didn't bull rush). However, I think since this is already a complex enough maneuver, it can be left as is. The Bull Rush sufficiently emulates a 'breaking of the line' of the mob.
A Small creature being mobbed by Huge creatures, or a Medium by Gargantuan, can just walk out since they are 3 sizes larger than him. (If you Withdraw through a "3 sizes larger" creature's square, do you still provoke an AoO?)
Against higher-BAB opponents, or opponents with Combat Reflexes, a mob can be deadly - imagine being mobbed by 16 rogues with Combat Reflexes. Around half of them will also be flanking/sneak attacking - you'll get 32 or so AoOs, plus, around 16 or so sneak attacks (I'd need a grid to really count).
Against low-BAB, low-AC opponents (which is my use for this), it's a slightly dangerous annoyance. (espc. if you don't want to kill your mobbers).
At any rate. Let me know if this is on base - I'm digging for simplicity more than true-to-life. And if something better's already out there, let me know!
Thanks!
Koewn
----
I'm going to have a situation come up where a large number of 1 HD, medium creatures are going to 'mob' the party.
I'm not seeing much on this, and I don't want to go through the trouble of doing any sort of grappling for the opponents - I'm looking for something streamlined (here's a to-hit penalty, have fun).
So, let me through this out, please let me know if you know or have something better:
Being Mobbed
When a creature is surrounded by more than the usual number of opponents that may normally do so (such as 8 creatures around a Medium-sized opponent) they are considered Mobbed.
Double the amount of creatures that can normally fit into a square may 'squeeze' together as per the squeezing rules around a target, as detailed in the list below:
Fine -- 200 creatures -- 1 5ft sq.
Diminutive -- 50 creatures -- 1 5ft sq.
Tiny -- 8 creatures -- 1 5ft sq.
Small -- 2 creatures -- 1 5ft sq.
Medium -- 2 creatures -- 1 5ft sq.
Large -- 2 creatures -- 1 10ft sq.
(and so on. Yes, Fine/Dim seem to be ... ridiculous. Will take all opinions - espc. considering they need to be in the same square as their target)
From our list, 16 Medium creatures, or 8 Large creatures may squeeze around and Mob a Medium creature. Creatures which take more than 5 ft of space normally may elect to share all or some of their space - two Large creatures may share the same 10 ft square, or share a space that is 10 by 15 ft. They relieve no penalties for squeezing by doing so.
Squeezing creatures take a -4 penalty to AC and attack rolls. Moving in or out of a mobbed square takes double movement cost, as per the normal squeezing rules, and still may provoke AoOs.
Ranged attacks through the 'mob' to the target of the Mob take a -6 penalty to attacks to hit the mob's target.
The target of the mob is somewhat less well off.
The target of a mob takes a -4 penalty to her AC.
The target is also unable to move, unless she is next to a square she could normally move into. If she is being mobbed by Fine creatures, she need simply move out of the space they are mobbing, incurring AoOs as normal. If a Medium sized creature is being mobbed by Gargantuan creatures, she may move through their space as per the rules.
To move out of the mob, the target must initiate a bull rush against a single member of the mob. If successful, you push the target back 5 ft out from the center of the mob, and may then use your remaining move action to escape the mob, provoking AoOs as normal. (if anyone has any left).
Let's see an example:
Having landed himself in a difficult spot again, Koewn the Ranger is mobbed by 8 ogres intent on his demise.
After a round of the Full Defense action, and still getting hit 5 times, Koewn's already had enough. He chooses one of the ogres to the left the Bull Rush his way out of this mob.
Koewn doesn't have Improved Bull Rush, so he provokes an AoO from the defender and his 7 friends. Assuming he's still alive, they resolve the Bull Rush.
Surprisingly, the ogre loses. Koewn is able to move 25 more feet out away from the ogres, and will most likely run away next round.
---
OK. The system kinda is odd when it's Large or Huge mobbing Medium, since, technically, in that example, the ranger only bull rushed one Ogre, so as shown, he actually moved through the squares of an opponent (the second Ogre he didn't bull rush). However, I think since this is already a complex enough maneuver, it can be left as is. The Bull Rush sufficiently emulates a 'breaking of the line' of the mob.
A Small creature being mobbed by Huge creatures, or a Medium by Gargantuan, can just walk out since they are 3 sizes larger than him. (If you Withdraw through a "3 sizes larger" creature's square, do you still provoke an AoO?)
Against higher-BAB opponents, or opponents with Combat Reflexes, a mob can be deadly - imagine being mobbed by 16 rogues with Combat Reflexes. Around half of them will also be flanking/sneak attacking - you'll get 32 or so AoOs, plus, around 16 or so sneak attacks (I'd need a grid to really count).
Against low-BAB, low-AC opponents (which is my use for this), it's a slightly dangerous annoyance. (espc. if you don't want to kill your mobbers).
At any rate. Let me know if this is on base - I'm digging for simplicity more than true-to-life. And if something better's already out there, let me know!
Thanks!
Koewn
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