Enlarged spiked chain

[blargney the second]

Remember if the characters's dex hits 12 or less IAS goes bye bye.

She's also got Weapon Finesse and Shadow Blade. Dex damage is *super* bad for her!
-blarg

 

[frankthedm]

They can still use expansion as psychic warriors, etc. I am using enlarged as the generic "you get bigger" term, not specifically to refer to enlarge person.

Mixing Splat material with splat material tends to make a mess.

 

[IanB]

Mixing Splat material with splat material tends to make a mess.

You don't need to use splat material to end up with ridiculous reach weapon situations, though. I was just providing *one example* of such.

 

[William_2]

It depends what you mean by 'the idea of the weapon'. As far as I can tell, the idea of the weapon is that unlike most reach weapons, it threatens adjacent squares...

-Hyp.

Strange. While the whip is clear that strikes can be made against all foes in range including adjacent ones, the chain says only adjacent ones. I can’t help suspecting that the intention was identical, but the wording was not applied well. My guess is that the descriptions are explicitly for the medium examples used, and the expectation is that a small amount of adjusting is required in cases where different sizes occur, such that, in this example, the chain could hit foes from adjacent all the way to the furthest range. Just a guess, though, not really much of an argument. Perhaps there is some reason why the large example would work that way it does following the medium examples, rather than working on a larger scale but in a comparable manner.

 

[James McMurray]

Strange. While the whip is clear that strikes can be made against all foes in range including adjacent ones, the chain says only adjacent ones. I can’t help suspecting that the intention was identical, but the wording was not applied well. My guess is that the descriptions are explicitly for the medium examples used, and the expectation is that a small amount of adjusting is required in cases where different sizes occur, such that, in this example, the chain could hit foes from adjacent all the way to the furthest range.

Same here. There's no reason, apart from a painfully literal reading, for it to work that way.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Same here. There's no reason, apart from a painfully literal reading, for it to work that way.

It's only averagely literal, not intensely literal...

-Hyp.

 

[catsclaw227]

And here is how to use cover to deny the enlarged combatant all AoOs in the above situation. Trolls might not be tactical enough to do so, but this is just to show how to use cover to avoid AoOs.

Interestingly, though it looks like when #4 moves into place, his first move takes away his cover, unless I am wrong that the direct center point to center point of the PCs space and #4 mooks space only touches the corner of Troll #2. When this happens, this is not considered cover anymore, is it?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Interestingly, though it looks like when #4 moves into place, his first move takes away his cover, unless I am wrong that the direct center point to center point of the PCs space and #4 mooks space only touches the corner of Troll #2. When this happens, this is not considered cover anymore, is it?

Against an opponent who is not adjacent, use the rules for determining cover from ranged attacks.

In other words, pick a corner of your square; draw lines to all four corners of the opponent's square. If any of those four lines pass through a square containing a creature or a square that provides cover, the opponent has cover from you.

The line from the PC's NW corner (assuming that's where you draw from, since all the others are worse) to the mook's SW corner (in that intermediate position after his first five feet of movement) passes through the troll's square; therefore the mook has cover.

Centre-to-Centre is irrelevant; it's one-corner-to-all-corners that matters.

To determine whether your target has cover from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target’s square passes through a square or border that blocks line of effect or provides cover, or through a square occupied by a creature, the target has cover (+4 to AC).

When making a melee attack against a target that isn’t adjacent to you (such as with a reach weapon), use the rules for determining cover from ranged attacks.

-Hyp.

 

[catsclaw227]

Centre-to-Centre is irrelevant; it's one-corner-to-all-corners that matters.

To determine whether your target has cover from your ranged attack, choose a corner of your square. If any line from this corner to any corner of the target’s square passes through a square or border that blocks line of effect or provides cover, or through a square occupied by a creature, the target has cover (+4 to AC).

When making a melee attack against a target that isn’t adjacent to you (such as with a reach weapon), use the rules for determining cover from ranged attacks.

-Hyp.

Well, there you go. It's good there's a smurf on board here in the D&D Rules forum!

Thanks!

 

[GorTeX]

Note that a Large reach weapon threatens 20 feet and 15 feet, but not 10 feet or 5 feet; a spiked chain has the special property that it also threatens adjacent squares.

So I see it more like this...

(The pale squares I need to check up on - I'm not certain if they're considered 10 feet, 15 feet, or both for a reach weapon.)

-Hyp.

While looking thru the FAQ on another matter entirely, I ran across this, FWIW (not much, i know)

Q: The description of the spiked chain states that it is a
reach weapon that can be used against adjacent foes. What
if a Large creature wields a Large spiked chain? Can it
attack the squares that are 10 feet away? What are the
adjacent foes of a Large or larger creature?

A: As with the vast majority of examples in the Player’s
Handbook, the spiked chain description assumes that the
wielder is a Small or Medium creature wielding a spiked chain
appropriate to her size. What the description really means is
that a character wielding a spiked chain can attack creatures
that are within her natural reach (in addition to those at the
normal range of a reach weapon). For a Medium or Small
creature, that means creatures that are 5 feet away (i.e.,
“adjacent”).
A Large creature wielding a spiked chain (or similar reach
weapon that also allowed attacks against adjacent creatures)
could attack creatures within her natural reach (that is, who are
either 5 or 10 feet away), in addition to those at the normal
range of a Large reach weapon (15 or 20 feet away).
A Huge creature wielding a spiked chain could attack
creatures 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 feet away. A Gargantuan
creature wielding a spiked chain could attack creatures 5, 10,
15, 20, 25, 30, 35, or 40 feet away, and a Colossal creature
wielding a spiked chain could attack creatures anywhere from 5
to 60 feet away