Firing into melee

[Zhure]

The big question of firing into a melee ties hand in hand with this one:

What are the rules for firing indiscriminately into a crowd or melee?

>snip>
Do you still suffer a -4 penalty to hit? What happens if you miss because of that -4? Do you hit one of the other orcs instead?

No, you can not take the penalty and try to hit the base AC of a randomly selected target. It's covered indirectly in the PHB, page 124, as the -4 penalty is assuming you are aiming to avoid your ally. Since none of the crowd targets in this hypothetical situation are allies, you don't need to take the -4.

I suppose you could roll to hit the last target, then if you miss because of cover, roll to hit the second-to-last, repeat as needed. Kind of a cheesy way to get multiple hit rolls, I'd say.

Greg

 

[Norfleet]

No, you can not take the penalty and try to hit the base AC of a randomly selected target. It's covered indirectly in the PHB, page 124, as the -4 penalty is assuming you are aiming to avoid your ally. Since none of the crowd targets in this hypothetical situation are allies, you don't need to take the -4.

Yes, but if the -4 is removed because you're not trying NOT to hit the wrong target, what happens if you now fire indiscriminately into a crowd containing allies? Where is the chance that you will accidentally strike an ally, now that you are not taking a -4 to avoid hitting one?

 

[Zhure]

You randomly determine a target, 1dx for x number of opponents, then resolve the hit roll normally, no -4, but they might get cover.

 

[Darklone]

And there are some houserules floating around for large to medium targets too...

IMC, a minotaur fighting a human would be the target in 60% of all cases...

 

[Zhure]

... or the actual rules, DMG page 65.

 

[Anditch]

THANKS

I thank all who have sent in there ideas. Cheers for spending time to read.

 

[Khenemetsobek]

Being 1 of the said minotaurs playing as a frenzied berzerker and with low int you can forget the 'had any brains bit' as my char wouldn't give a damn about pointy sticks being used when there is an enemy infront of me. As for the firing into melee I read the rules up and yes there is cover gained by 2 large creatures and our DM rules it as 3/4 cover vs medium creatures and 1/2 for large etc.

I say just dont worry about it fire away. If the minotaur is not bright enough to listen to your advice than a few arrows in his hide might make him learn. =)

 

[Lord Pendragon]

Being 1 of the said minotaurs playing as a frenzied berzerker and with low int you can forget the 'had any brains bit' as my char wouldn't give a damn about pointy sticks being used when there is an enemy infront of me. As for the firing into melee I read the rules up and yes there is cover gained by 2 large creatures and our DM rules it as 3/4 cover vs medium creatures and 1/2 for large etc.

You have every right to play your character as you see fit, so what I'm about to say may not apply to you. Even so....

Keep in mind that a low int doesn't mean completely brain-dead, and a low int plus a decent wis can still act to help a PC understand what's going on. All the minotaurs need to know, fundamentally, is that the archer's sticks help defeat the enemy. If the minotaurs are too dumb to know how to leave a clear line of fire, the archer can simply work it out ahead of time.

Archer: "Okay, big guy. Here's what we'll do. When I yell out 'right!' in combat, you shift 5 feet to the right, okay? And if I yell out 'left!' then you jump 5 feet to the left. That way I can use my pointy sticks to help you out."

And really, unless the minotaurs are stupid and extremely unwise, "not giving a damn" about the pointy sticks doesn't make sense. We're talking about arrows from a Deepwood Sniper here, not matchsticks. He could be adding serious damage.