Fire into Grapple with Large vs Medium creature

[Sithobi1]

Not all creatures have the same Improved Grab. Some work on any creature(Mind Flayer).

 

[mvincent]

Not all creatures have the same Improved Grab. Some work on any creature(Mind Flayer).

The full quote reads:
"Unless otherwise noted, improved grab works only against opponents at least one size category smaller than the creature."

so I have added an appropriate disclaimer to my previous post.

 

[Sithobi1]

As an aside, unlimited movement: Have a row of mounts lined up, a +19 or better in Ride. Do quick dismounts and mounts until you've gotten where you're going.

 

[Deset Gled]

I thought I would cast a quick ressurection on this thread to bring up an interesting bit from an SKR rant that I was reading through today:

(As an example, the playtest version of 3E D&D we had a complex system for handling firing into melee. Every time someone shot into a melee, the game ground to a halt as the DM had to check the size modifiers for all creatures involved, then determine a ratio of probability for each creature based on size, then roll to see if the shot hit the proper creature. It worked, and allowed people to accidentally shoot the wrong people, but it too too long for such a small benefit that we took it out and replaced it with the existing -4 penalty, which means that a person firing into a melee takes up no more game time than a person swinging a sword.)

So, it looks like the designers originally considered some cases like this, but threw it out the window once they got to the playtesting.

 

[frankthedm]

So, it looks like the designers originally considered some cases like this, but threw it out the window once they got to the playtesting.

That system was for firing into melee, not grapple.

 

[Nail]

....but I imagine the K.I.S.S. principle was applied to grapples too.

It's a good principle. There's no sense bogging down a game for a minor point.

 

[frankthedm]

It's a good principle. There's no sense bogging down a game for a minor point.

It is in no way minor. Shooting at a foe strugglng with a friend should be a good way to lose a friend.

The large creature may be a bigger target, but he will also be in control of the grapple most of the time, and that means he will be using the victim as a makeshift shield against his other foes.

IMHO there should always be a 25% chance an attack hits the wrong target when two creatures of similar size share a square {see D&D Bullrush & Iron Heroes' grapple rules]

 

[Machiavelli]

I just recently ran into this exact issue. My group was just on the cusp of a time-wasting discussion when I realized that my archer had a perfectly good shortspear he could use to negate the whole issue. With only one ogre to worry about, 42 HP to absorb any hits, and in the midst of a Whirling Frenzy, I figured there was no need to waste an arrow.

My advice? If there's any question of shooting a friend, then don't try shooting at all.

 

[Christian]

As an aside, unlimited movement: Have a row of mounts lined up, a +19 or better in Ride. Do quick dismounts and mounts until you've gotten where you're going.

Free Action: ... the DM puts reasonable limits on what you can reasonably do for free. (PHB pg. 139) So, no, the rules don't say you can do this; they say that they can do this if your DM thinks it's 'reasonable'. If your DM thinks that vaulting across a herd of horses in fractions of a second is 'reasonable', you need to get him some help.

The large creature may be a bigger target, but he will also be in control of the grapple most of the time, and that means he will be using the victim as a makeshift shield against his other foes.

So, in the example upthread, the purple worm will be trying to catch the arrows with the toad?

That would be so awesome!

 

[hong]

IMHO there should always be a 25% chance an attack hits the wrong target when two creatures of similar size share a square {see D&D Bullrush & Iron Heroes' grapple rules]

Bah.