D&D 5E Shooting into a melee. Disadvantage or not?

[atanakar]

From afar, if a character shoots an arrow into a melee that includes a friendly character does he have Disadvantage?

 

[Larnievc]

Too much hassle for me. I just say let them shoot. Realistically you might hit your guy but how much fun is that?

And it never happened in Baldur's Gate so that's canon.

 

[commandercrud]

Realistically you might hit your guy but how much fun is that?

A lot.

 

[OB1]

Disadvantage can be called for by the DM in any situation where she believes the situation warrant's it. I would say shooting into a melee scrum is a good example of this, but should be ruled consistently by the DM. IE maybe DM decides the shot is at disadvantage anytime the attacker is more than 1/2 the close range of the attack or if there are more than 2 of your allies engaged.

For that matter, you could also say that 2 allies engaged with an enemy you are attacking counts as 1/2 cover, 3 is 3/4 cover, and 4 is full cover (adust for enemies larger or smaller than enemies engaged).

 

[Charlaquin]

Not by default. Though, if your ally is between you and your target (which is likely in a melee), the target will have half cover from you.

 

[HarbingerX]

RAW there is no penalty. You can decide if one is warranted, and under what circumstances. You could also rule that the enemy has partial cover due to your friends being in the way... and if you miss by the cover bonus, you hit your party member.

But it's up to your table.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Well, disadvantage as other have said is fine. Also, based on the options for using miniatures, if a creature (ally or not) is "in the way" of your target, you could say the target has half cover (+2 AC), three-quarters cover (+5 AC) or even total cover (no shot possible, depending on the size of the creatures "in the way").

If it is a general "scrum" melee is going on, the DM could even do BOTH, disadvantage and some form of cover.

 

[Coroc]

We sometimes use theatre of the mind then it might be disad. or a nat 1 would mean you hit your ally. If we use some battle map, then the lines of sight determine possible ranged attacks. Only sharpshooter could ignore the cover or halfcover.

The official rules say a person of same size gives half cover so it would be -2. If the situatio nis worse, e.g 1 enemy surrounded by your allies i could imagine giving even -5 (Again SS ignores that)

 

[Oofta]

Several things may provide varying levels of cover to your target, including allies. Getting half cover is pretty common, occasionally I'll make it three quarters for multiple creatures between you had the target, or if the target is smaller than the impeding creature.

Half Cover​

A target with half cover has a +2 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws. A target has half cover if an obstacle blocks at least half of its body. The obstacle might be a low wall, a large piece of furniture, a narrow tree trunk, or a creature, whether that creature is an enemy or a friend.​

​

Three-Quarters Cover​

A target with three-quarters cover has a +5 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws. A target has three-quarters cover if about three-quarters of it is covered by an obstacle. The obstacle might be a portcullis, an arrow slit, or a thick tree trunk.​

 

[Leatherhead]

Not by default. Though, if your ally is between you and your target (which is likely in a melee), the target will have half cover from you.

Not just an ally, an enemy can act as a meatshield for their buddy by just standing in your way too.