Occupying the same square?

[Aopy]

Okay, I just got back from a D&D session and was very confused at a situation tthat came up. Here it is: (remember that we use minatures)

During combat in a 10' wide hallway, 6 orcs attacked the party from behind. There was a bard and a cleric bringing up the rear so they basically had to hold them off. One of the front line fighters ran around to get behind them, as we had already mapped that area and the wizard began castinf magic missile spells. The other figther type, a monk, said that they would occupy the same square as me, the cleric and fight the orcs. They said it caused a -2 penalty to hit and AC but otherwise we could occupy the same square. I couldn't find this in teh PPHB at the time and then left it at thier house so I can't check now! Anyone ever here of this? Was it a house rule?

I only wonder because the -2 to AC helped the orcs kill my 2nd level cleric who had lost his armor previously. There is a big diffference between 16 AC and 14 AC. The other players are upset as their healing ability is now gone.

Thanks for any input,

Aopy

 

[Maitre Du Donjon]

Never heard of this rule.

The closest rule i remember is that an ally can go through your square without incurring a movement penalty or whatever...

A similar question comes to mind (i don't want to hijack, i think its very related). Considering the following situation:

O: Orc
A-B: Characters
|O|
|A|
|B|

Characters A and B want to switch place. Character B has a better initiative than A. How do they do it? Do they incur AoO's?

Maitre D

 

[AuraSeer]

The PHB just says each Medium-size character takes up one 5' square. It doesn't say what happens if you try to squeeze in tighter than that. A penalty to attacks and AC is sensible, since being cramped will hamper all your movements, but it is a house rule.

 

[hammymchamham]

IIRC it says that 2 medium sized creatures in the same square can not fight effectifly. I've always ruled that means you can't fight...

 

[kengar]

From p.70 of the DMG

In general, when the characters aren't engaged in round-by-round combat, they should be able to move anywhere and in any manner that you can imagine real people could. A 5-foot square for instance, can hold several characters; they just can't all fight effectively in that small space.

From p. 130 of the PHB

Passing Through
Sometimes you can pass through an area occupied by another character or creature.

Friendly Creature: You can move through an area occupied by a friendly character.

(emphasis mine)
Nothing about staying there.

 

[Enkhidu]

We've always used the rule that if you enter an allies square and stay there, one of the two allies goes down and is prone (because you can always stand over the body of a fallen comrade). If both allies want to remain standing, a simple grapple or overbear check will determine who remains standing.

 

[Antikinesis]

Considering the following situation:

O: Orc
A-B: Characters
|O|
|A|
|B|

Characters A and B want to switch place. Character B has a better initiative than A. How do they do it? Do they incur AoO's?

Maitre D

B delays his action until A's initiative comes up. A takes a swing at the orc, or goes full defense, or some other standard action, and takes a 5-foot step back, into B's square (assuming B allows this). B then takes a 5-foot step forward, into the square previously occupied by A, and makes his attack (or other action).

Combat continues with A and B on the same initiative for subsequent rounds.

The movement in this example is less than 5 feet, so there is no AoO caused by movement. The characters' actions may have triggered an AoO, depending on what the actions were.

-AK

 

[MarauderX]

I couldn't find anything either, so I had to house rule it a while back.
Instead of letting 3 characters attack, only two could attack and had to change positions. I ruled it that the PC in front was to step backward 5' unless he didn't want to, at which time it would be something like grapple between them. I didn't let them have 3 attackers in that limited area, unless they wanted -4 to attack and have a chance to cleave each other. They declined that and just switched positions when the lower initiative roll was reached, as the higher initiative would just take a ready action until it was time for them to switch.

 

[mikep18103]

The other figther type, a monk, said that they would occupy the same square as me, the cleric and fight the orcs. They said it caused a -2 penalty to hit and AC but otherwise we could occupy the same square. I couldn't find this in teh PPHB at the time and then left it at thier house so I can't check now! Anyone ever here of this? Was it a house rule?

I don't have any books in front of me and I didn't find anything in the SRD but here is how I remember rulling this before. If two characters occupy the same square they both lose their Dex bonuses to AC (because there is limited room to move around). Also if an enemy attacks into the square he has a 50/50 chance of hitting either character (once again because of the confining space it is hard to strike accurately.

My .02

Mike

 

[Drawmack]

I believe he was confusing the fighting back to back rules which allow for occupying the same square but you face different directions.