Manticore Tail Attack Question

[dcollins]

From the SRD...

Wicked bad on my part. Looked really hard at that MM page and I couldn't see it. Thanks for the correction.

 

[IceBear]

No, the 1st Ed. language is almost (as usual) identical. 1st Ed. MM p. 65: "A manticore attacks first by loosing a volley of 6 of its iron tail spikes... They can fire four such volleys."

Hehe - I never played 1st Ed. When everyone else was playing 1st edition I was playing Basic D&D (well, the red box, the blue box, the green box, and the black one - where I grew up I couldn't get a copy of 1st Edition until I went to Uni and then I got 2nd Edition ). Maybe it was there that I'm remembering 1d4+1 spikes?

IceBear

 

[dcollins]

Hehe - I never played 1st Ed. When everyone else was playing 1st edition I was playing Basic D&D (well, the red box, the blue box, the green box, and the black one - where I grew up I couldn't get a copy of 1st Edition until I went to Uni and then I got 2nd Edition ). Maybe it was there that I'm remembering 1d4+1 spikes?

Wow, I've never felt more empathetic to anyone on these boards... couldn't get AD&D 1st Ed.? That sucks!

Anyway, looking at the 1974-1978 Basic "blue book" (p. 30), the rule is still the same: "There are 24 spikes in a manticore's tail and they can be fired, 6 at a time...". Might've been different in the "red book" rules, but I wouldn't bet on it.

 

[Darklone]

So by the rules you roll one attack and if that hits, the poor guy eats 6 spikes? Cool, gotta use this more often.

Besides, who else hates the sick D&D manticore that isn't really a manticore?

 

[IceBear]

Wow, I've never felt more empathetic to anyone on these boards... couldn't get AD&D 1st Ed.? That sucks!

Anyway, looking at the 1974-1978 Basic "blue book" (p. 30), the rule is still the same: "There are 24 spikes in a manticore's tail and they can be fired, 6 at a time...". Might've been different in the "red book" rules, but I wouldn't bet on it.

Yeah, I grew up in a small fishing town in Newfoundland, Canada. There wasn't even a mall, so a bookstore or hobbystore was out of the question. I literally handcopied my first copy of the Basic red box over a couple of weeks into a binder from a friend that had gotten it for Christmas. Later, on a visit to a nearby larger town (where there was a mall) I found the Dragonlance novels and the other box sets and DICE!!! (I was using multiple d6s for everything before that). If that stored had the 1st Edition stuff I never noticed it

Anyway, I guess I'm remembering something else then and not the manticore tail spikes. Sorry for any confusion.

Edit: Ah - it was the 2nd Edition monster manual that said it shoots 1-6 spikes for 1-6 points of damage. Whew! I'm not insane

IceBear

 

[Caliban]

So by the rules you roll one attack and if that hits, the poor guy eats 6 spikes? Cool, gotta use this more often.

Besides, who else hates the sick D&D manticore that isn't really a manticore?

No, it's a volley of spikes. Like other volleys in 3e (shuriken, Flame Arrow spell, various orb spells), it's one attack with several attack rolls. One attack roll per spike.

 

[AGGEMAM]

No, it's a volley of spikes. Like other volleys in 3e (shuriken, Flame Arrow spell, various orb spells), it's one attack with several attack rolls. One attack roll per spike.

You forgot to add 'at the same target'.

 

[Caliban]

You forgot to add 'at the same target'.

Some volleys can be launched at multiple targets.

 

[AGGEMAM]

Some volleys can be launched at multiple targets.

Yes, but only if so specified which the manticore tail spikes is not.

NOTE EDITED