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Message: <blockquote data-quote="atom crash" data-source="post: 1901272" data-attributes="member: 22162">There is no mechanic for accidentally hitting an ally with a targetted attack. The 3.0 rule for cover in melee from ranged attacks where you could accidentally shoot an ally was made a variant rule in v3.5.The reason is most likely the game focus on party cohesion and cooperation. The first time you make a missed shot or missed Cleave strike an ally, you've discouraged that attack from ever being used again. The PCs have enough things to worry about; friendly fire shouldn't be one of them.A secondary reason might be that the mechanics for this would get really ugly, confusing and complicated really quickly. Case in point: look at that variant rule about firing into melee. The arrow misses your opponent narrowly, now it hits your ally, but he dodges it, so it hits the opponent after all. Huh?Perhaps a fumble could emulate this effect, but do you really want to introduce a mechanic where you miss so badly (roll a 1) that you actually strike well enough to hit your ally's AC? OT: My version of a fumble ranges from dropping your weapon (rolling a 1 then rolling a second 1 to confirm the fumble) to overextending your reach (-2 on AC and -2 on next attack roll; garden variety critical miss). Anything stronger than that makes it too powerful, like making an insta-kill critical hit.</blockquote>