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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mlund" data-source="post: 5928807" data-attributes="member: 50304">It's been a giant pain in the backside from my end as a DM. There are zero rules to keep characters engaged in melee other than that 3rd level Defender theme ability. Basically, melee is completely permeable and my players don't like it.Correction: the players take exception to monsters charging right past them to wreck the characters in the back row like the front row isn't even there. They don't seem to worried about doing that to the monsters. Likewise they don't mind the wizard or cleric waking up to the melee, sticking a hand In, and waltzing away.They don't complain as much about a monster that starts in a melee breaking off to chase down a hit-and-run artist like the cleric, wizard, or rogue.After the second playtest session, though, it was getting a bit stale. The ability of range attackers to just scoot-and-shoot back and forth across a melee was wearing kind of thin. The rogue didn't even bother to try and hide, he just moved and used his sling for d8 every round. The wizard generally couldn't get entirely clear of a fight in a given encountear area so he'd typically jump in and deliver his "electric pimp slap" on an enemy and then jump back.Basically, it was really, really hard to mechanically justify a "line of battle" in melee. There needs to be something discouraging disengaging melee casually, maybe getting disadvantage and granting advantage until the start of your next turn. Without a battle mat you need a good definition of who is engaged in melee, though. People who made a melee attack or got attacked in melee are obvious, but what about the cleric reaching into a swirling battle to tag a fighter with Cure Light Wounds? He's just as vulnerable to getting stabbed by the Orc engaging the fighter as the fighter is.I think a good rule of thumb is that if you are within melee reach of an enemy or within 5' of someone who is then you are "stuck in" and take a penalty to get out without using your action to do so. Using the Caves of Chaos map as a reference, if you go or reach into a 10' square where people are swinging melee weapons in it you're in melee.So run past the front line if you dare, but it'll cost you. Suffering Disadvantage and granting Advantage to enemies until your next turn would probably fit the bill.- Marty Lund</blockquote>

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