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Message: <blockquote data-quote="eamon" data-source="post: 5240557" data-attributes="member: 51942">===============Thread Necro Warning===============Concerning the interpretation that a hydra's fury (which grants several basic attacks) consists of distinct attacks (and so all attacks need to target the defender to avoid violating a mark), <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-discussion/279780-how-have-pcs-died-your-d-d-4th-edition-games-7.html#post5240361" target="_blank">keterys said on another thread</a> that:Yes, it is RAW. I'm almost positive that many people at WotC don't realize it works that way - which puts RAI in doubt, and as I said, _every_ group I play with - which is five groups - does not play that way. In at least two cases, I'm sure if I tried to explain the RAW they'd think I was nuts. I know a few prominent monster builders outside of WotC who clearly don't work that way too. It's very easy to find monsters from WotC or elsewhere that just aren't designed with that in mind.I asked CS a year ago:The rules text for the "marked" status literally refers to a "-2 penalty  to attack rolls for any attack that doesn't target the creature that  marked you". In that phrase, what's "any attack"?  Is that an  attack power?  Or is that an attack as described by the combat section -  i.e. a single ranged, melee, area or close burst attack? As a  specific question, when a ranger that is marked uses the twin strike  power (a single attack power granting two attacks) to attack both the  creature that marked him and another creature - does he take a -2 to  attack rolls for the attack vs. the creature that did not mark him? A  trickier example is Attacks on the run (ranger level 9 power, PHB),  which grants movement and two attacks.  If the second attack is versus the creature that marked him, does he take a -2  penalty to the attack roll of the first attack?  If he does _not_, what  happens if he falls into a trap before making the second attack - i.e.  he avoided the -2 penalty since the attack power was intended to include  the creature that marked him, but before he moves adjacent and can  actually make the attack, he is interrupted in a fashion making the  attack impossible. Marks speak of a single "attack" but it's not  clear to me whether that means a single attack roll (seems unlikely), an  entire attack power (which has consistency issues), or something in  between. Customer Support answered: Hello. When you are marked, if you make an attack that does not  include the source of the mark, you will take a -2 penalty to the  attack. This means that with Twin Strike and Attacks on the Run you will  take the -2 penalty to the attack rolls that do not target the source  of your mark. I've gotta say, my wording was perhaps a little too suggestive (by pointing out consistency issues), so I've asked CS again in an attempt to use a less suggestive wording.Particularly in the case of the hydra, I feel that it's unreasonable to permit the hydra to spread it's attacks without violating the mark.  The whole point of a defender is to tie down a target and take the hits; and some of these hydras have more attacks than most parties will have members - requiring just one attack to target the hydra makes it very attractive for the hydra to continue to focus fire on another party member and dispatch just a token effort vs. the (generally better armored, higher-hitpoint, less dangerous) defender.So, in the vast majority of cases, I think it's clearly the best choice to follow the rules as written because doing otherwise undermines the whole point of the defender role - if a marked creature is not focusing on the defender and not taking the penalties, something is not right.</blockquote>

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