[3.5] The 3.5 Trivia Game

[Simplicity]

Okay, you know all there is to know about 3.5e... It's time for 3.5 the home game! Oh wait... No, no, no... 3.5 the TRIVIA GAME.

Q: A halfling fighter walks into a dark cave filled with a hundred stirges. The striges swarm the fighter to attack. What is the maximum number of stirges that can attack the fighter in a round?

 

[MerricB]

A. Stirges are tiny creatures, and need to enter the halfling's square to attack.

Normally, four tiny creatures can be in the same square. When that square is occupied by an opponent, only half that number can be in the same square - thus, two.

The answer is that only two stirges can attack the halfling.

Am I right?

Cheers!

 

[dave_o]

I'd rule that 17 could attack him at a time.

One at each position, one above, and then the respective diagonals from being above.

What's worse, I'd rule that 10-11 are flanking him.

 

[Simplicity]

A: Two stirges.

MerricB is correct. In order to attack the halfling fighter, the stirges must first enter that halfling fighter's space. Note that if the halfling fighter has Combat Reflexes (and a high enough Dex), he will receive attacks of opportunity on both of these stirges... His chances of surviving the encounter are quite good if his bonuses to hit are rather high.

Q: The halfling fighter decides that he is going to run, but first he wants to drink a potion. Unfortunately, he is mostly surrounded by stirges... See the following diagram. H represents the halfling, S represents spaces filled with stirges, and E represents empty spaces. Remembering that there are two stirges in the halfling's space, how many attacks of opportunity does the halfling receive before reaching space A? Suppose that the halfling's speed is 20 ft.

SSSSSSS
SSSSSSS
SSHEEEA
SSSSSSS
SSSSSSS

 

[MerricB]

The halfling takes 2 attacks of opportunity from the stirges in his space from drinking the potion.

A further 2 AoOs are provoked by moving, but the stirges in the halfling's square cannot attack again without Combat Reflexes.

As the stirges don't have reach, no further AoOs are forthcoming.

Thus: 2.

Cheers!

 

[Simplicity]

A: Two attacks of opportunity.

Correct again, MerricB!

Q: Suppose that in the situation above, hoping the make himself more difficult to hit, the halfling had decided to drink a reduce potion. The halfling still runs past the stirges to the entrance of the cave. But suppose that in the A square (shown above), a hostile wasp rests upon the ground. What problem does the halfling now have, and how could he get around it?

(Or is there a problem at all?)

 

[babomb]

Assuming we're talking about a Giant Wasp (size Large), the (now Tiny) halfling can end his move in the wasp's square. He'll provoke an attack of opportunity from the wasp, but the wasp has little chance of hitting. The wasp gets a -4 for squeezing into a narrow space, leaving his attack bonus a mere +2. Our Halfling fellow got a +2 to Dex and +1 to AC from the reduce spell (total +2 to AC). Even an average-dexterity halfling with no armor would less than a 50% chance of getting hit.

 

[Simplicity]

Not a giant wasp (size Large), a normal wasp (size Diminuitive)...
Can the halfling end his turn on the square occupied by a normal wasp after the reduce?

 

[Chris_Nightwing]

The halfling should just jump over the pesky thing. That or shoot it, provoking attacks of op from the two stirges in his square, and then move out (assuming it dies of course). Ooh, he could bullrush it!

 

[Belphanior]

As a Tiny creature, the halfling can enter a square occupied by a hostile creature. He provokes an AoO for doing so.
Alternatively, he can choose to overrun the wasp, but still suffers an AoO from the wasp.


I'd like to note that the wasp should be size Fine (no wasps are as big as toads, I hope), and had the halfling not drunk the potion, he could've just ran through with impunity, because he'd have been 3 sizes larger than the wasp.