Swarmfighting, Low Blow, and more Size Category fun...

[everchanging02]

Hello,

Been forever sicne I've posted, but something has come up that neither my friend nor myself can agree upon. I'll give a bit of background and then the situation.

Background:
Creatures with 0-foot reach cannot attack another creature without entering the other creature's square (Player's Handbook v.3.5, Pg. 149).
Under normal rules (Dungeon Master's Guide v.3.5, Pg. 29), two Tiny-sized creatures can occupy the same space as a Medium-sized creature (two size category difference, so only half of the number of Tiny-sized creatures that can normally fit in a 5-foot square can occupy the same square as the Medium-sized creature).
A creature possessing the Swarmfighting feat (Races of Faerun, Pg. 169) can occupy the same square as another creature with the feat. Up to four Small-sized creatures can occupy the same square, or up to eight Tiny or smaller -sized creaures can occupy the same square, provided all creatures in question possess the feat.
This means, up to four Tiny-sized creatures (each with the Swarmfighting feat) can occupy the same square as a Medium-sized creature (as per above DMG rule).
The Low Blow feat (Races of Faerun, Pg. 166) allows a creature the ability to enter the square of another creature of at least one size category larger, make an attack, and then move back to its original square. (Meaning, a Halfling with the feat can step into a Human's square, attack, and then step back out of the square.)

Situation:
A Human (medium size) is surrounded by 6 Petals (tiny with flight, 2.5ft square space, 0ft reach; refer to Monster Manual III, Pg. 120).
Four Petals have the Swarmfighting feat. The other two Petals have the Low Blow feat.
The four Swarmfighters gang up on the Human, entering his/her square and now being granted the ability to attack. Now, the Low Blow Petals want to attack the Human.
Is this possible? Can the Low Blow Petals preform their Low Blow attack, despite the square already being filled by four Swarmfighting Petals (and the Human)?

And, as a general question, does the number of Low Blow Petals even matter? Could there be the four Swarmfighting Petals in the Human's square and then up to 16 Low Blow Petals preforming their Low Blow attacks?
Could there even be eight Halflings performing Low Blow attacks against the Human that is being swarmed by the four Swarmfighting Petals?

Thank you very much for your help, all that respond.

Editing Notes:
Fixed minor gramatical errors and consistency of words/phrasing.

 

[Brain]

I'd say that once the 4 swarmfighters were in the square, nobody else could enter the square. The low blow guys could attack first before the swarmfighters entered though.

 

[Lasher Dragon]

LOL I loved the swarmfighting feat the minute I read it. I tried to convince the DM at the time to let me play a troupe of cannibalistic halflings with the swarmfighting feat. No go, but it would have been funny.... think a bunch of wild pygmies with bones through their noses hehehe.

 

[everchanging02]

I'd say that once the 4 swarmfighters were in the square, nobody else could enter the square. The low blow guys could attack first before the swarmfighters entered though.

This was my thought, as well.
Reading the Low Blow feat, it states that the character must enter the square of the opponent.
If you think about it in single, half, and quarter squares, that would mean that the Low Blow attacker would be trying to fill a half square that already is triple-ly occupied. (Half the Human, two Swarmfighting Petals, and then itself.)
Logically, it's trying to fit too many creatures into the same square.

I just think it's the fact that you have to step into the opponent's square, which is already occupied to its absolute maximum.

It does, however, bring up the question of how many creatures you can stack into the same space... Take a Colossal creature, put the maximum number of Large creatures into its space, put the maximum number of Tiny creatures into the Large creatures' spaces, and then put the maximum number of Fine creatures into the Tiny creatures' spaces...

I don't think it works, but it is a question.

 

[everchanging02]

WotC to the rescue!

I wanted to provide an update on this, in case the issue is in question for anyone else. Here is the official WotC responce:

Hello there [everchanging02],

The Swarmfighting feat does not allow creatures to count as smaller creatures. It allows them to share space with allies. It is bad practice to assume that a feat allows for more than a strict interpretation. Nothing in the feat suggests that you can shove more tiny creatures into an enemy's square, just that they can share a "5-foot square" with more friendlies than usual. And because Tiny creatures do not threaten, it's not so great for them beyond being able to share a space in a limited area.

The Low Blow feat will allow the creature to enter a square and attack an opponent even if there is more than one person in that square (2 grapplers or even two Tiny creatures harrying a medium creature.) This will provoke an AoO unless the opponent does not threaten the Low Blow striker (like if he was grappling.) So if 2 petals were in a human's square and he was surrounded by 64 advanced petals who have both swarmfighting and low blow (8 squares with 8 petals each in them,) each of those petals could move in, low blow the human, then move back to their original square (sharing with their allied petals) on each of their turns. Of course the first one (or more if the human had combat
reflexes) would provoke an AoO.

Good luck and good gaming!

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