Helping find invisible creatures

[Grog]

Is there any rules mechanic for someone who can see invisibility pointing out the location of an invisible creature to a friend who can't see invisibility? I'm thinking that directions from someone else might give a bonus to the Spot check to pinpoint an invisible creature, but is there anything already in the RAW about this?

 

[hong]

If Fred had pinpointed the location of an invisible creature, I certainly wouldn't object to him telling Bob which square it's in. Bob would still have to roll the miss chance, though.

 

[Dross]

There is no problem to yelling out "It's over there." To me the real problem is the interaction of a grid where a player can point and say "In this square" and in PC life "It's about 15 feet to the right and slightly in front of you."

You need to find a medium that both the players and DM are happy with.

(I had a player change tunes when he said the square was pinpointed when facing an invisible foe, then argue against this when he was about to be peppered with a dozen arrows. That does not go down well with me. )

 

[frankthedm]

Is there any rules mechanic for someone who can see invisibility pointing out the location of an invisible creature to a friend who can't see invisibility? I'm thinking that directions from someone else might give a bonus to the Spot check to pinpoint an invisible creature, but is there anything already in the RAW about this?

A ally can point, but at best, that is a line the hidden foe could be anywhere along. A player can point all he wants at one square on the battlegrid, the character can only point in the direction of the square. Perhaps a 2 point circumstance bonus for a good decription of the foes location may be in order when the ally tries to "spot as move action".

(I had a player change tunes when he said the square was pinpointed when facing an invisible foe, then argue against this when he was about to be peppered with a dozen arrows. That does not go down well with me. )

Some folks always try and get things both ways. This is a big reason ruling should never be made to favor one side or the other. The ruling should be the closest to what the rules call for, not "what is more fun for the players" at this moment.

 

[Grog]

Hmm. So there's nothing in the RAW about this?

If not, I think a lot would depend on the combat environment. If there are landmarks, it would be a lot easier for the spotter to help everyone else. For example, he could point at a pillar and say "He's right beside that pillar, to the left," and that would probably let his friends target the right square. But if they're in the middle of a great big empty cave, the best he could probably do would be to get them in the general area.

 

[Elethiomel]

Hitting a square with a ranged attack is pretty easy, so if you really want to you could toss a rock or some piece of adventuring equipment into the square. That takes an entire round, though. I'd also say that a ranged attack that hits the target, or a spell that is visual and hits the target, or an eldritch blast that hits the target (etc) will pinpoint what square it hit a target in if the other characters nearby are watching for it.