D&D 5E 5E Questions

[Water Bob]

I don't have 5E, and I'm curious about some things.

First, (I'm familiar with 3E) have they done away with being Flat-Footed if attacked before your time to act (before your initiative number) on the first round of combat?

Second, 3E assumes initiative will be rolled at the sight of an enemy. I never liked this. 3E is geared towards a miniatures game. Back in my 1E and 2E AD&D days, initiative would be rolled at the start of aggression--and that leaves a lot of room for roleplaying and closing range, depending on the situation. Does 5E make an assumption about when to roll initiative as was done with 3E?

Third, I never liked the 3E flank rule, where a flank is only possible when two characters attack one, and the two characters must be exactly diagonal across from each other on each side of the target. How does 5E handle flanking? Is there a bonus to flank?

Fourth, is there a rule for multiple opponents on one defender? What's the limit? What's the bonus? Does character facing count in 5E combat?

Fifth, are Attacks of Opportunity still used in 5E?

Thanks in advance for the answers and discussion.

 

[Paraxis]

1st - Yes flat footed is gone, there is never a time you don't add your Dexterity modifier to your AC unless you are wearing heavy armor. Even being restrained or unconscious doesn't change your AC.
2nd - Initiative is rolled at the start of combat, but I don't see how rolling it during the tense moments before some combats would change much, everyone would just ready an action based on expecting the others to start something so it might get kind of confusing.
3rd - There is an optional flanking rule in the DMG and it is basicly the 3e version, but its completely optional and honestly not a very good rule it makes getting advantage way to easy IMHO.
4th- No bonus, no rule, unless using a grid that would limit the number, but 5e is about the DM patching holes like this, if you think 5 on 1 is worth giving all of the attackers advantage then go for it. You could have one of the weaker enemies use the 'help' action to give a stronger one advantage on his attack, that could be of some benefit.
5th - Yes but for only one thing 99% of the time, that is leaving the reach of an enemy it is like the older editions parting shot rule. If you move away from an enemy he can swing at you as a reaction. The 1% has to deal with a couple feats that let you make AoO under a couple other conditions.

 

[the Jester]

Paraxis mostly has it right. However:

Fourth, is there a rule for multiple opponents on one defender? What's the limit? What's the bonus? Does character facing count in 5E combat?

Yes, there's a limit.

A creature's space also reflects the area it needs to fight effectively. For that reason, there's a limit to the number of creatures that can surround another creature in combat. Assuming Medium combatants, eight creatures can fit in a 5-foot radius around another one.

Because larger creatures take up more space, fewer of them can surround a creature. If five Large creatures crowd around a Medium or smaller one, there's litle room for anyone else. In contrast, as many as twenty Medium creatures can surround a Gargantuan one.

There's no bonus, except that rogues can sneak attack an enemy if they have at least one ally within 5' of the enemy.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I'll answer these in order, as I remember them.

1. Your AC is your AC. There is no flat-footed or touch AC. There might be a couple of specific (assassin-type) abilities that only work on people who haven't yet acted in combat, or you might not be able to take a reaction if you haven't acted yet; I can't recall the details :-/

2. No edition assumed anything about initiative, and this is all down to DM style. You can roll initiative when you see the enemy, or when someone decides to attack.

3. Flanking is an advanced combat option in the DMG. The basic rules don't assume a grid, and since there are no squares that means you don't have to worry about being exactly diagonal. (Rogues can use sneak attack whenever they have an ally attacking the same enemy, regardless of position.)

4. Facing is an advanced combat option in the DMG. The limit is based around the idea of the grid, where a single square (for a medium or small creature) has eight squares around it so eight people can gang up on that one, but a large creature can have twelve medium creatures around it. I don't know if there's a bonus, because it's not something that comes up much.

5. The only way to provoke an opportunity attack is to move away from an enemy without taking the Disengage action. There are no opportunity attacks for casting spells, firing a ranged weapon, or simply moving around someone.

 

[Water Bob]

2. No edition assumed anything about initiative, and this is all down to DM style. You can roll initiative when you see the enemy, or when someone decides to attack.

Not to side-track this discussion, but just FYI, you're incorrect about that. 3E's rule is to roll initiative on sight of the enemy. Check out page 22 of the 3.5 DMG. Combat encounters start at the point where a creature or character becomes aware of a foe. There's even an example that describes an encounter starting, with initiative rolled, when a door is between the party and some orcs. BTB, rounds are counted before the door is opened. In a 1E or 2E AD&D game, it's up to the DM, and I wouldn't start combat until an aggressive move is made.

Initiative in 3E is about awareness, not aggressive moves.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Not to side-track this discussion, but just FYI, you're incorrect about that. 3E's rule is to roll initiative on sight of the enemy. Check out page 22 of the 3.5 DMG. Combat encounters start at the point where a creature or character becomes aware of a foe.

Becomes aware of a foe. How do you know if it's a foe, if it's not attacking you? It's all subject to interpretation. If you're negotiating with the Duke, and he sets his guards on you, that's when you roll initiative - even if they were there the whole time.

Different editions have different words for explaining the same thing. If you were playing 1E, you would roll initiative if the PCs decide to attack the NPCs, which might be as soon as they were spotted. At best, the editions might assume different default behavior from the PCs for the purpose of giving an example, but what happens at the table is going to depend far more on the players and the DM than on the edition.

 

[Water Bob]

Becomes aware of a foe. How do you know if it's a foe, if it's not attacking you? It's all subject to interpretation. If you're negotiating with the Duke, and he sets his guards on you, that's when you roll initiative - even if they were there the whole time.

"Foe" is my words, not that from the book. The examples in the 3.5 DMG use obvious enemies, like Orcs and such.

In your example, you wouldn't think the Duke to be an enemy, and thus initiative happens when you become aware that he is a foe.

That's the way 3.5 is written. I don't like it and don't run my Conan game that way. Even if it's an Orc, that doesn't mean we need to go straight to combat rounds like the book says.

Different editions have different words for explaining the same thing. If you were playing 1E, you would roll initiative if the PCs decide to attack the NPCs, which might be as soon as they were spotted. At best, the editions might assume different default behavior from the PCs for the purpose of giving an example, but what happens at the table is going to depend far more on the players and the DM than on the edition.

There are several examples in the 3.5 DMG on how to start combat encounters by the book, and they all happen as soon as the party becomes aware of an enemy, whether they are in range or not.

Again, I don't like the 3.5 rule, but that's the way it is written. (Which is why I was asking if 5E is written that way. It doesn't sound as if it is written that way.)

As DM, I change that rule to my tastes. But, I don't like players pointing at the book and saying, "But...it says to do it this other way."

 

[rjfTrebor]

I don't have 5E, and I'm curious about some things.

First, (I'm familiar with 3E) have they done away with being Flat-Footed if attacked before your time to act (before your initiative number) on the first round of combat?

Second, 3E assumes initiative will be rolled at the sight of an enemy. I never liked this. 3E is geared towards a miniatures game. Back in my 1E and 2E AD&D days, initiative would be rolled at the start of aggression--and that leaves a lot of room for roleplaying and closing range, depending on the situation. Does 5E make an assumption about when to roll initiative as was done with 3E?

Third, I never liked the 3E flank rule, where a flank is only possible when two characters attack one, and the two characters must be exactly diagonal across from each other on each side of the target. How does 5E handle flanking? Is there a bonus to flank?

Fourth, is there a rule for multiple opponents on one defender? What's the limit? What's the bonus? Does character facing count in 5E combat?

Fifth, are Attacks of Opportunity still used in 5E?

Thanks in advance for the answers and discussion.

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

They're actually giving the core game away for free if you're interested in the differences.

 

[Water Bob]

http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules

They're actually giving the core game away for free if you're interested in the differences.

Yes, thanks. I have that and looked at it before I posted. It doesn't answer any of my questions except the last one (but I still asked in case it was expanded in the full game).

 

[Rune]

5th - Yes but for only one thing 99% of the time, that is leaving the reach of an enemy it is like the older editions parting shot rule. If you move away from an enemy he can swing at you as a reaction. The 1% has to deal with a couple feats that let you make AoO under a couple other conditions.

Actually, the optional marking rule in the DMG allows anyone (who wants to mark) to make one opportunity attack per marked foe's turn without using a reaction.