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<blockquote data-quote="Erechel" data-source="post: 7251947" data-attributes="member: 6784868"><p>Keep in mind that no tactic is perfect, and the fun of them is to see how the characters arrange to fight them instead of the "I Attack" action. </p><p> </p><p>In 1 you are at least forcing a dodge (that still grants OAs and only negates the flanking Advantage if you use that common rule) or Disengage (that negates OA but keeps flanking advantage) instead of a spell or attack. And ranged attacks (being them weapons or spells) are at disadvantage in melee. I've used it with enemies that actually <em>lost</em> initiative, but against a group accustomed to fighting monsters instead of soldiers, so positioning wasn't such a great deal to them (the melee character was an lvl 6 elf shieldmaster champion with a battleaxe, that used its bonus action to shove the same soldiers against a Hail of Thorns AoE, and attacked them. The sucker critted 6 times in that fight). Battles change, and opportunities are gained or lost.</p><p> </p><p>2. That's actually a clever use of positioning. But guerrilla has the bad custom to ambush people, and note that I've used also shield-and-javelin orcs. And you could retreat to a different position than before, possibly surrounding the PCs. Again, everything changes during a battle,<a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/3s65q3/the_pike_horde_a_reimagining_of_orc_warfare_in_dd/" target="_blank"> but orcs with pikes sound good to me</a>.</p><p> </p><p>3. Half cover: +2 to Dex saves; Dodge: Advantage on Dex saves. The average fireball does 28 damage; your possibilities for a common orc group to succeed are much higher in that formation than otherwise, and thus damage is halved (effectively 14 to everyone, and an orc has 15 HP, so you need at least 2 attacks to kill them). You could keep some orcs on the back ranks (say a group of 10 orcs in total), which are protected from the fireball entirely (total cover) this way. And we are talking about 1/2 CR foes. Then you switch positions. The characters should waste at least 3 3rd level slots to kill less than half the orcs (and a smart shaman could give them Protection from Energy or temporary HP to lessen the effects of the fireballs). You could devise other sources of fire resistance (such as tiefling guards, whom only receive 7 damage from a fireball, or a fire proof vest made of asbestos or hides soaked in vinegar -historical protection against byzantine flamethrowers-)</p><p> </p><p>4. About firing bows prone, seems sensible, but you could really say that they are firing crossbows or throwing javelins and rocks, or that they are kneeling. Also, there is no specific rule about high ground, but it <em>is</em> one really simple situation where the DM adjudicate Advantage to the rolls as a ruling. Remember that Advantage <em>is ad hoc</em>, and no one will complain about this.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Erechel, post: 7251947, member: 6784868"] Keep in mind that no tactic is perfect, and the fun of them is to see how the characters arrange to fight them instead of the "I Attack" action. In 1 you are at least forcing a dodge (that still grants OAs and only negates the flanking Advantage if you use that common rule) or Disengage (that negates OA but keeps flanking advantage) instead of a spell or attack. And ranged attacks (being them weapons or spells) are at disadvantage in melee. I've used it with enemies that actually [I]lost[/I] initiative, but against a group accustomed to fighting monsters instead of soldiers, so positioning wasn't such a great deal to them (the melee character was an lvl 6 elf shieldmaster champion with a battleaxe, that used its bonus action to shove the same soldiers against a Hail of Thorns AoE, and attacked them. The sucker critted 6 times in that fight). Battles change, and opportunities are gained or lost. 2. That's actually a clever use of positioning. But guerrilla has the bad custom to ambush people, and note that I've used also shield-and-javelin orcs. And you could retreat to a different position than before, possibly surrounding the PCs. Again, everything changes during a battle,[URL="https://www.reddit.com/r/DnDBehindTheScreen/comments/3s65q3/the_pike_horde_a_reimagining_of_orc_warfare_in_dd/"] but orcs with pikes sound good to me[/URL]. 3. Half cover: +2 to Dex saves; Dodge: Advantage on Dex saves. The average fireball does 28 damage; your possibilities for a common orc group to succeed are much higher in that formation than otherwise, and thus damage is halved (effectively 14 to everyone, and an orc has 15 HP, so you need at least 2 attacks to kill them). You could keep some orcs on the back ranks (say a group of 10 orcs in total), which are protected from the fireball entirely (total cover) this way. And we are talking about 1/2 CR foes. Then you switch positions. The characters should waste at least 3 3rd level slots to kill less than half the orcs (and a smart shaman could give them Protection from Energy or temporary HP to lessen the effects of the fireballs). You could devise other sources of fire resistance (such as tiefling guards, whom only receive 7 damage from a fireball, or a fire proof vest made of asbestos or hides soaked in vinegar -historical protection against byzantine flamethrowers-) 4. About firing bows prone, seems sensible, but you could really say that they are firing crossbows or throwing javelins and rocks, or that they are kneeling. Also, there is no specific rule about high ground, but it [I]is[/I] one really simple situation where the DM adjudicate Advantage to the rolls as a ruling. Remember that Advantage [I]is ad hoc[/I], and no one will complain about this. [/QUOTE]
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