Taking the High Ground

[Nytmare]

I general, wagons should always give players combat advantage. ALWAYS

WRONG! Combat advantage and an expanded crit range of 15-20.

 

[Xphile]

You could also apply defensive abilities, like a -1 to hit somebody who has advantageous terrain.

My players had a situation where they had a creature down the stairs trying to throw up the stairs at them. Instead of a bonus to attack for them, I gave them a cover bonus against enemy ranged attacks.

 

[Kzach]

WRONG! Combat advantage and an expanded crit range of 15-20.

Don't forget superior cover.

 

[Starfox]

About the original issue; giving a +2 bonus might actually be more valuable than gaining Combat Advantage. CA is a dime a dozen at higher levels - my players generally have 2 or 3 kinds of combat advantage at once from round 2 onwards. A static +2 bonus will actually stack with that.

I also think a cover bonus is at least as reasonable as an attack bonus. In an extreme case, such as attackers scaling ladders, you could consider them prone and apply that penalty.

 

[eriktheguy]

my players generally have 2 or 3 kinds of combat advantage at once from round 2 onwards

This made me lol