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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6323849" data-attributes="member: 42582">As SkidAce suggested, my mileage does vary.I guess I also have some trouble working out what is happening in the fiction.Here is a diagram- the hobgoblins are numbers, the PCs letters.1 2 3A B CAs I understand it, each of hobgoblins 1, 2 and 3 gets a very hefty damage buff against each of PCs A, B and C even if A, B and C are shield-using fighters or clerics armed with spears or swords and themselves fighting in a reasonably tight formation. It's not clear to me why.If the hobgoblins outnumbered the defenders, I could understand it - the defenders are harried by the tight ranks of the hobgoblins. Or if the hobgoblins were getting a defensive buff, I could understand it - they have formed a shield wall. Or if the hobgoblins could push forward if two of the three hit, I could understand that too - they are maintaining their formation and driving the PCs back.But why do they become such heavy hitters when they are in formation? How does the formation help them hit harder or more accurately, even when their allies in the formation are fighting their own opponents?As I said, I don't quite understand it, and I don't like the vibe that it is a mistake to try and meet a hobgoblin phalanx by drawing up your own ranks. That seems somewhat counter-intuitive and definitely counter-genre.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 6323849, member: 42582"] As SkidAce suggested, my mileage does vary. I guess I also have some trouble working out what is happening in the fiction. Here is a diagram- the hobgoblins are numbers, the PCs letters. 1 2 3 A B C As I understand it, each of hobgoblins 1, 2 and 3 gets a very hefty damage buff against each of PCs A, B and C even if A, B and C are shield-using fighters or clerics armed with spears or swords and themselves fighting in a reasonably tight formation. It's not clear to me why. If the hobgoblins outnumbered the defenders, I could understand it - the defenders are harried by the tight ranks of the hobgoblins. Or if the hobgoblins were getting a defensive buff, I could understand it - they have formed a shield wall. Or if the hobgoblins could push forward if two of the three hit, I could understand that too - they are maintaining their formation and driving the PCs back. But why do they become such heavy hitters when they are in formation? How does the formation help them hit harder or more accurately, even when their allies in the formation are fighting their own opponents? As I said, I don't quite understand it, and I don't like the vibe that it is a mistake to try and meet a hobgoblin phalanx by drawing up your own ranks. That seems somewhat counter-intuitive and definitely counter-genre. [/QUOTE]

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