D&D 5E How do you adjudicate firing through combatants?

SpiderMonkey · Dec 30, 2014

Hi, all.

I'm wondering how you adjudicate firing missile weapons into (or past) a melee in 5e? I notice, for example that in "half cover," it includes as an example another creature. What if you have to fire past two creatures? Three?

LabyrinthLord718 · Dec 30, 2014

That's the beautiful part of Advantage/Disadvantage. Apply disadvantage and move on. On a 1, I would probably have one of the combatants being hit with a 50% chance it's one of your allies (provided the character is shooting through his allies).

Pickles JG · Dec 30, 2014

I would just give +2 most of the time. It would take a lot of creatures to make it more for me.
It is pretty much a judgement call though do what you feel fits, so long as you are cosnsistent - 2 stone giants in front of a drow +5.

Paraxis · Dec 30, 2014

Just cover bonus to AC of +2, it would take a crowd or a few large creatures for it to get bumped up to +5 cover. Disadvantage is not used for cover penalties so stay away from that. There are no fumble rules in D&D, I hate even the idea of them with a passion a natural 1 is just a miss no matter the circumstances.

LabyrinthLord718 · Dec 30, 2014

Paraxis said:
Just cover bonus to AC of +2, it would take a crowd or a few large creatures for it to get bumped up to +5 cover.

I like the cleanliness of this, but would like to know where you got this from.

Disadvantage is not used for cover penalties so stay away from that.

And this.

I guess I am not seeing this as firing through cover as much as a player trying to do something unique and outside the general scope of the rules and requiring adjudication.

Tormyr · Dec 30, 2014

LabyrinthLord718 said:
I like the cleanliness of this, but would like to know where you got this from.

And this.

I guess I am not seeing this as firing through cover as much as a player trying to do something unique and outside the general scope of the rules and requiring adjudication.

The cover rules specifically mentiom firing through/past creatures as being half cover.

EDIT: Oh geez. Failed my reading comprehension check today with the original post. I would give the +5 for 3/4 cover (it still could get through) when firing past lots of creatures. I also use the optional cover rule in the DMG that [MENTION=2011]KarinsDad[/MENTION] mentions.

KarinsDad · Dec 30, 2014

Years ago, we had a house rule that if someone fired through a crowd, and if the reason they missed the target was because of the +2 of cover, and if that "to hit" roll managed to hit the AC of the intervening creature (random for creatures), then the intervening creature got hit (we also at a different time had a reroll if cover was the reason). Sucked to be him sometimes.

This didn't happen often, but it was hilarious fun for the table when an inadvertent PC or NPC got hit because they were in the way. It also forced players to be a bit judicious when just firing through crowds. When I start DMing 5E, I just might bring back this rule because it did give us a ton of laughs over the years. :lol:

LabyrinthLord718 · Dec 30, 2014

Tormyr said:
The cover rules specifically mentiom firing through/past creatures as being half cover.

Thanks for clarifying, but in actuality, it specifically mentions CREATURE (singular).

Tormyr · Dec 30, 2014

KarinsDad said:
Years ago, we had a house rule that if someone fired through a crowd, and if the reason they missed the target was because of the +2 of cover, and if that "to hit" roll managed to hit the AC of the intervening creature (random for creatures), then the intervening creature got hit (we also at a different time had a reroll if cover was the reason). Sucked to be him sometimes.

This didn't happen often, but it was hilarious fun for the table when an inadvertent PC or NPC got hit because they were in the way. It also forced players to be a bit judicious when just firing through crowds. When I start DMing 5E, I just might bring back this rule because it did give us a ton of laughs over the years.

I seem to remember it being in the DMG.

LabyrinthLord718 · Dec 30, 2014

KarinsDad said:
Years ago, we had a house rule that if someone fired through a crowd, and if the reason they missed the target was because of the +2 of cover, and if that "to hit" roll managed to hit the AC of the intervening creature (random for creatures), then the intervening creature got hit (we also at a different time had a reroll if cover was the reason). Sucked to be him sometimes.

This didn't happen often, but it was hilarious fun for the table when an inadvertent PC or NPC got hit because they were in the way. It also forced players to be a bit judicious when just firing through crowds. When I start DMing 5E, I just might bring back this rule because it did give us a ton of laughs over the years.

That is a fantastic rule!

D&D 5E How do you adjudicate firing through combatants?

SpiderMonkey

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