whirlwind attack: one roll or multiple rolls

[Hypersmurf]

Still, if you roll the die one time for one attack and compare that roll to all opponents then each opponent still gets one attack.

But that's one roll for all opponents, not one roll for each opponent.

Just like one apple for all the orphans is less fruit than one apple for each orphan.

-Hyp.

 

[Baby Samurai]

WHIRLWIND ATTACK
You can strike nearby opponents in an amazing, spinning melee attack.
Prerequisites: Dexterity 13, Intelligence 13, Melee Defence, base attack bonus +4.
Benefit: As a full-round action, you can make an area attack with your melee weapon, striking every opponent within your reach. This whirlwind attack uses the area attack rules; you make one attack roll and apply the result to every target in range.



Area Attacks
Certain weapons and effects, such as grenades, autofire weapons, or the Force slam power, target all creatures in a given area instead of a single target.

When you make an area attack, you make a single attack roll and compare the result to the Ref Defence of every target in the area. Creatures you hit take full damage, and creatures you miss take half damage.

 

[Darklone]

That's what I read:

Just like one arrow for all the orphans ...

 

[Rvdvelden]

Baby Samurai, I'm pretty sure the OP meant the D&D version of whirlwind attack:

FROM SRD:

WHIRLWIND ATTACK [GENERAL]
Prerequisites: Dex 13, Int 13, Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack, base attack bonus +4.
Benefit: When you use the full attack action, you can give up your regular attacks and instead make one melee attack at your full base attack bonus against each opponent within reach.
When you use the Whirlwind Attack feat, you also forfeit any bonus or extra attacks granted by other feats, spells, or abilities.
Special: A fighter may select Whirlwind Attack as one of his fighter bonus feats.

 

[geosapient]

But that's one roll for all opponents, not one roll for each opponent.

Just like one apple for all the orphans is less fruit than one apple for each orphan.

-Hyp.

I'm not trying to deny the orphans their apples. I'm not that cruel. I'm just considering that the apples aren't the attack and rather the damage dealt.

 

[Veril]

When making a whirlwind attack, does one role the a single attack that applies to all targets, or does one get multiple attacks, but a single attack for each target.

I think it's pretty clearly supposed to be one dice roll per opponent.

BUT

As a referee I've got better things to do than to roll the dice once for each target and compare to the targets AC. It keeps the game flowing to roll a D20, announce the AC I have hit, and have everyone take the same damage. The referee is the bottlekneck in gaming, and decreasing that bottlekneck is good for my game.

As a player, it's more fun to do 1 atack roill, and 1 damage roll and one critical confirmation roll. Over the long run it all averages out. I remember the time when I slew the 6 buggears surroounding me in a single melee round doing 57 damage to each one. That was a lot more fun.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I'm not trying to deny the orphans their apples. I'm not that cruel. I'm just considering that the apples aren't the attack and rather the damage dealt.

But how can you read "One apple for each orphan" and "One attack for each opponent", and decide that the ratio of apples to orphans is different to the ratio of attacks to opponents?

You're suggesting there's a single apple, that happens to be N x larger than a normal apple, where N is the number of orphans. I'm saying there are N apples.

-Hyp.