Cloudgatherer
First Post
Some of the explanations I've seen are terribly complex....
Simpler version: When firing into melee, characters w/o "Precise Shot" suffer a -4 penalty. This applies all the time.
Cover: Creatures of the same size in melee provide up to half-cover (+4 AC bonus). When firing at angles, use your best judgment. Typically quarter or half cover is the only decision you have to make.
Example: Archer (without Precise Shot) trying to fire through a party member to hit someone he's engaged in melee with suffers a -4 penalty while the target gains a +4 cover bonus. The archer might hit his ally if he misses the target's AC by 4, if so, use the attack roll against the ally, which might strike the ally.
Simpler version: When firing into melee, characters w/o "Precise Shot" suffer a -4 penalty. This applies all the time.
Cover: Creatures of the same size in melee provide up to half-cover (+4 AC bonus). When firing at angles, use your best judgment. Typically quarter or half cover is the only decision you have to make.
Example: Archer (without Precise Shot) trying to fire through a party member to hit someone he's engaged in melee with suffers a -4 penalty while the target gains a +4 cover bonus. The archer might hit his ally if he misses the target's AC by 4, if so, use the attack roll against the ally, which might strike the ally.
