Facing?

[BLACKDIRGE]

Hi all,

Last night during our gaming session one of our new players became very mifffed about the fact that there is no facing for miniatures in 3E. This is a rule we have all used from the beginning but he is demanding proof of that fact supported by the players handbook.

If anyone knows where, in any WOTC book, it actually states that there is no facing in D&D could you please post it here.

Thanks

Dirge

 

[Spatzimaus]

It's in a bunch of places. Here's one. Bottom of p.131 and top of p.132:

"FACE: Face is how wide a face the creature presents in combat....These faces are abstract, not 'front, back, left, and right' because combatants are constantly moving and turning in battle. Unless a creature is immobile, it practically doesn't have a front or a left side---at least not one you can locate on a tabletop."

There are plenty more, but that's the one you find if you look "Face" up in the index.

 

[maddman75]

I've had the same discussion. The best explaination is that your character can face any direction he wants to, at any time.

It does get a bit wondy with creatures with a non-standard face, such as a huge creature with 10'x20' face in a 10' hallway that could attack on either side. But if you've played the COmbat and Tactics 2e rules, you see the wisdom in this. Half the combat was spent with characters twisting this way and that, for no real effect.

 

[Caliban]

Facing doesn't exist in combat, but outside of combat the DM is free to assign any facing he deems reasonable.

Otherwise it would be impossible to sneak up behind someone, or to sneak past somone when their back is turned.

 

[Droogie]

sometimes the books do forget about its own facing rules, though.

I've heard complaints that tower shields introduce facing plus you have monsters like the frostworm that have a facing of something like 5' by 30', which sounds like its actual dimensions rather than the abstract space it takes up on the battlefield.