firing into melee combat

[bolen]

If you shoot your bow into melee combat, I just see you get a -2 penalty on your attack. can you not hit your friend? Am I just missing a rule here?

 

[MerricB]

If you shoot your bow into melee combat. I just see you get a -2 penalty on your attack. can you not hit your friend? Am I just missing a rule here?

There's no penalty at all. Friends do not provide cover from your ranged attacks. See pages 279-280.

Cheers!

 

[bolen]

There's no penalty at all. Friends do not provide cover from your ranged attacks. See pages 279-280.

Cheers!

OK. Not sure if I like that. Does someone have a house rule for this or do you guys agree with the rule as written?

 

[Victoly]

I agree with the rule as written. All the penalty ever amounted to in 3.x was forcing ranged characters to take a feat to negate it.

 

[FadedC]

Agree with Victoly, it sounds realistic but it really just amounts to a feat tax on ranged characters.

If you absolutely have to add a penalty, you should probably only make it apply to non ranged characters like fighters and warlords. Assume everyone else has the "feat" for free.

 

[Surgoshan]

And part of the philosophy of 4e was that any feat necessary to make a build viable should just be part of the build or gone entirely. Thus allies don't cover enemies and spellcasters don't need concentration.

 

[mattdm]

OK. Not sure if I like that. Does someone have a house rule for this or do you guys agree with the rule as written?

Consider it built-in to the training one receives in ranged weapons.

Possible house rule: on a natural 1, you risk hitting an adjacent ally. (If you make a feat to negate that, then, make it do something else as well.)

 

[Mort_Q]

Possible house rule: on a natural 1, you risk hitting an adjacent ally.

Penalizing one player because someone else rolled a 1 is not a good idea regardless of how cinematic it is.

 

[Xorn]

That's how I explain it to players--you're a hero, and heroes can shoot into a melee without putting their allies at risk.

The mechanical side is as others have stated. The first feat any ranged character takes in 3.x (or should) is Precise Shot. So just give them Precise Shot and let them actually choose a feat they want, instead of must-have.

 

[Nikosandros]

OK. Not sure if I like that. Does someone have a house rule for this or do you guys agree with the rule as written?

The rule is not realistic at all.

However, it makes life easier, and much more enjoyable, for character that use ranged weapons. I'm going to use it as written.