Post by jeesan on Nov 16, 2005 15:12:54 GMT -5
Hey everybody, here's my proposed re-vamping of the much reviled "firing into melee" rules. I know it's kinda long, but please tell me what you think. Thanks! -j
There are two possible situations where a missile could hit an un-intended target:
1) The aim of the archer was true, but an un-intended target moved into the path of the missile as it was on its way to the intended target, and
2) The aim of the archer was off, for whatever reason, and the missile travels in an un-intended trajectory that is blocked by an un-intended target.
The original rules cover both situations resulting in hitting an un-intended target that is adjacent to the intended target. However, there are several problems with the rules:
1) They do not cover the possibility of hitting an un-intended target that is near the flight path of the missile but is not adjacent to the intended target. This includes un-intended targets adjacent to the archer as well as partway along the intended flight path of the missile. The possibility of hitting an un-intended target should extend to all un-intended targets anywhere near the flight path of the missile from the archer to the intended target.
2) The current rules ignore the inherent accuracy of the missile shot that is implied in the “to-hit” roll. An archer with higher skill obviously is more capable of accounting for variables that increase a shot’s difficulty. Realistically, this should include all kinds of things like:
a. the AC of the target,
b. range,
c. adverse conditions like winds, etc.,
d. personal injuries to the archer,
e. problems with the archer’s weapon,
f. static cover from missile fire, like a wall the target is hiding behind, and
g. moving objects that could move into the path of the missile during its flight, like melee combatants.
In the current rules, the archer’s skill at handling all but one of these variables is represented by the needed attack roll to hit the intended target. The archer has a base to-hit roll needed to hit an AC based on his class level, and all modifiers to the shot’s difficulty and the archer’s skill are added to or subtracted from the needed to-hit roll. All that is, except for (g) above. Instead of the possibility of hitting an un-intended object reducing the archer’s chance to hit the intended target, as it should, the current rules simply assign probabilities to which object is struck by the missile, more or less in proportion to the object’s size. In other words, if two of the archer’s medium-sized friends are fighting in melee with a large troll, the archer has a flat 25% chance of hitting friend #1, 25% to hit friend #2, and 50% chance to hit the troll. And, these probabilities have nothing to do with the archer’s skill. A 15th level grand master elf with 22 Dex has the exact same relative chance of hitting his friend instead of the troll as a 1st level blind gnome with one arm. This is simply ludicrous.
3) A natural 20 always should hit the desired target, regardless of any other considerations. This is consistent with all other combat rules in the game. However, the current “firing into melee” rules can cause a natural 20 to hit an un-intended target, based on the simple probabilities described in (2) above. In the above example, if the archer rolls a nat 20, he still has a 50% chance of delivering a critical blow to one of his friends, regardless of his skill level! Also completely ridiculous. Now my proposed rules below can still result in a nat 20 hitting an un-intended target, but only if the shot was exceedingly difficult to begin with.
4) Once the struck target is known, be it intended or un-intended, the chance of actually hitting that target with damage is the same as doing damage to the intended target. In other words, the one-armed blind gnome in (2) above needs a 10 to hit the troll. If he rolls a 10 and the missile is going to hit friend #1 because of the 25% probability in (2) above, friend #1 receives damage whether he is completely naked or wearing +10 Plate Mail of Quantum Plane Shifting that would have caused the archer to need a 42 to-hit! The rule is so simplified it ignores the AC of the struck un-intended target.
So, to correct these problems while still preserving the possibility of hitting an un-intended target, I propose the following changes to the rules. These changes only slightly increase the over-all complexity and play-ability of the game, which I think is well worth the benefits.
The proposed rules for “firing thru melee” are thus:
1) An archer’s to-hit roll is modified by –3 for every melee combatant that is within or adjacent to a square containing the intended flight path of the missile. This flight path, and all affected squares, extends from the archer to the intended target.
2) Rule #1 only applies to combatants actively involved in melee if the archer is proficient in his weapon, as these are the only people who are moving erratically enough to cause the archer difficulty in firing around them. If the archer is not proficient in his weapon, then the rule applies to all creatures along the flight path (in the square or adjacent squares) of the missile.
3) If the archer’s to hit roll is equal to or higher than this modified needed to-hit roll, then he hits the intended target, period.
4) If the archer’s to-hit roll is less than the needed to-hit roll, then he hits an un-intended target from Rules #1 and 2 above based on how much he missed the roll by. For example, if the archer is firing at a troll engaged in melee with one of his friends, then if he misses his to-hit roll by 3 or less, he hits his friend. In the case of multiple targets in the way, the order in which the hit is assigned is in order of nearest friendly to the intended target. So if he misses by 4, then he hits the second-nearest un-intended target to the intended target. Ties based on distance can be decided based on even probability.
5) Once an un-intended target to be struck is identified, then that target is only struck if the archer’s to-hit roll is high enough to hit that target’s AC. The unintended target’s Dex and other missile defense are included, if applicable. Also, the to-hit roll applied in this case doesn’t include the –3 to-hit per un-intended target.
6) A natural 20 on the to-hit roll deals a crit to whichever target results from the to-hit roll including all bonuses and penalties.
So let’s look at a complicated example:
Ulgo the dwarf is not proficient in the crossbow he decides to fire at a large troll. The troll is 10 squares away from Ulgo. There is a scroll-caddy NPC and the party mage standing next to Ulgo in adjacent squares. The troll is also fighting 2 of Ulgo’s party members in melee. Ulgo would normally need a 13 to hit the troll. But because he is non-proficient in his weapon, there are 4 possible un-intended targets that he can hit. This increases his needed to-hit roll to 13+12 = 25. If he rolls a 19, he has missed by 6, so he is going to possibly hit the 2nd-nearest friend from the troll. Both fiends are the same distance, so they flip a coin to see who gets it. Now friend #2 gets the toss, and his AC (not including his Dex bonus because his back is turned to Ulgo) is high enough that a 19 would hit him, so he takes damage from the bolt. If Ulgo had rolled a 13, he would have missed by 12 and so would hit the scroll-caddy or the Mage, whichever is furthest from the troll, in similar fashion. If he rolled less than 12 then he misses everybody.
How about another example:
Finnial the elf is a specialist in the longbow. He is making a called-shot to the brain of a troll that is 20 squares away. The troll is fighting the party fighter in melee. Also, the party thief is between Finnial and the troll but he is smoothly stalking another opponent for a backstab and isn’t moving fast or erratically. The fighter is the only potential un-intended target. The thief is not included because Finnial can easily shoot around him. Finnial now has –3 to hit the troll in addition to hit penalties for called-shot and anything else. Say Finnial needs a 23 to-hit the troll and his total bonus is +2 to-hit. He rolls a nat 20, but his total to-hit is 22, and he missed by less than 3, so he just dealt a crit to the fighter. Now Say his total bonus is +3 to-hit. He rolls a nat 20, and the total result is 23, enough to hit the troll, so he crits the troll.
There are two possible situations where a missile could hit an un-intended target:
1) The aim of the archer was true, but an un-intended target moved into the path of the missile as it was on its way to the intended target, and
2) The aim of the archer was off, for whatever reason, and the missile travels in an un-intended trajectory that is blocked by an un-intended target.
The original rules cover both situations resulting in hitting an un-intended target that is adjacent to the intended target. However, there are several problems with the rules:
1) They do not cover the possibility of hitting an un-intended target that is near the flight path of the missile but is not adjacent to the intended target. This includes un-intended targets adjacent to the archer as well as partway along the intended flight path of the missile. The possibility of hitting an un-intended target should extend to all un-intended targets anywhere near the flight path of the missile from the archer to the intended target.
2) The current rules ignore the inherent accuracy of the missile shot that is implied in the “to-hit” roll. An archer with higher skill obviously is more capable of accounting for variables that increase a shot’s difficulty. Realistically, this should include all kinds of things like:
a. the AC of the target,
b. range,
c. adverse conditions like winds, etc.,
d. personal injuries to the archer,
e. problems with the archer’s weapon,
f. static cover from missile fire, like a wall the target is hiding behind, and
g. moving objects that could move into the path of the missile during its flight, like melee combatants.
In the current rules, the archer’s skill at handling all but one of these variables is represented by the needed attack roll to hit the intended target. The archer has a base to-hit roll needed to hit an AC based on his class level, and all modifiers to the shot’s difficulty and the archer’s skill are added to or subtracted from the needed to-hit roll. All that is, except for (g) above. Instead of the possibility of hitting an un-intended object reducing the archer’s chance to hit the intended target, as it should, the current rules simply assign probabilities to which object is struck by the missile, more or less in proportion to the object’s size. In other words, if two of the archer’s medium-sized friends are fighting in melee with a large troll, the archer has a flat 25% chance of hitting friend #1, 25% to hit friend #2, and 50% chance to hit the troll. And, these probabilities have nothing to do with the archer’s skill. A 15th level grand master elf with 22 Dex has the exact same relative chance of hitting his friend instead of the troll as a 1st level blind gnome with one arm. This is simply ludicrous.
3) A natural 20 always should hit the desired target, regardless of any other considerations. This is consistent with all other combat rules in the game. However, the current “firing into melee” rules can cause a natural 20 to hit an un-intended target, based on the simple probabilities described in (2) above. In the above example, if the archer rolls a nat 20, he still has a 50% chance of delivering a critical blow to one of his friends, regardless of his skill level! Also completely ridiculous. Now my proposed rules below can still result in a nat 20 hitting an un-intended target, but only if the shot was exceedingly difficult to begin with.
4) Once the struck target is known, be it intended or un-intended, the chance of actually hitting that target with damage is the same as doing damage to the intended target. In other words, the one-armed blind gnome in (2) above needs a 10 to hit the troll. If he rolls a 10 and the missile is going to hit friend #1 because of the 25% probability in (2) above, friend #1 receives damage whether he is completely naked or wearing +10 Plate Mail of Quantum Plane Shifting that would have caused the archer to need a 42 to-hit! The rule is so simplified it ignores the AC of the struck un-intended target.
So, to correct these problems while still preserving the possibility of hitting an un-intended target, I propose the following changes to the rules. These changes only slightly increase the over-all complexity and play-ability of the game, which I think is well worth the benefits.
The proposed rules for “firing thru melee” are thus:
1) An archer’s to-hit roll is modified by –3 for every melee combatant that is within or adjacent to a square containing the intended flight path of the missile. This flight path, and all affected squares, extends from the archer to the intended target.
2) Rule #1 only applies to combatants actively involved in melee if the archer is proficient in his weapon, as these are the only people who are moving erratically enough to cause the archer difficulty in firing around them. If the archer is not proficient in his weapon, then the rule applies to all creatures along the flight path (in the square or adjacent squares) of the missile.
3) If the archer’s to hit roll is equal to or higher than this modified needed to-hit roll, then he hits the intended target, period.
4) If the archer’s to-hit roll is less than the needed to-hit roll, then he hits an un-intended target from Rules #1 and 2 above based on how much he missed the roll by. For example, if the archer is firing at a troll engaged in melee with one of his friends, then if he misses his to-hit roll by 3 or less, he hits his friend. In the case of multiple targets in the way, the order in which the hit is assigned is in order of nearest friendly to the intended target. So if he misses by 4, then he hits the second-nearest un-intended target to the intended target. Ties based on distance can be decided based on even probability.
5) Once an un-intended target to be struck is identified, then that target is only struck if the archer’s to-hit roll is high enough to hit that target’s AC. The unintended target’s Dex and other missile defense are included, if applicable. Also, the to-hit roll applied in this case doesn’t include the –3 to-hit per un-intended target.
6) A natural 20 on the to-hit roll deals a crit to whichever target results from the to-hit roll including all bonuses and penalties.
So let’s look at a complicated example:
Ulgo the dwarf is not proficient in the crossbow he decides to fire at a large troll. The troll is 10 squares away from Ulgo. There is a scroll-caddy NPC and the party mage standing next to Ulgo in adjacent squares. The troll is also fighting 2 of Ulgo’s party members in melee. Ulgo would normally need a 13 to hit the troll. But because he is non-proficient in his weapon, there are 4 possible un-intended targets that he can hit. This increases his needed to-hit roll to 13+12 = 25. If he rolls a 19, he has missed by 6, so he is going to possibly hit the 2nd-nearest friend from the troll. Both fiends are the same distance, so they flip a coin to see who gets it. Now friend #2 gets the toss, and his AC (not including his Dex bonus because his back is turned to Ulgo) is high enough that a 19 would hit him, so he takes damage from the bolt. If Ulgo had rolled a 13, he would have missed by 12 and so would hit the scroll-caddy or the Mage, whichever is furthest from the troll, in similar fashion. If he rolled less than 12 then he misses everybody.
How about another example:
Finnial the elf is a specialist in the longbow. He is making a called-shot to the brain of a troll that is 20 squares away. The troll is fighting the party fighter in melee. Also, the party thief is between Finnial and the troll but he is smoothly stalking another opponent for a backstab and isn’t moving fast or erratically. The fighter is the only potential un-intended target. The thief is not included because Finnial can easily shoot around him. Finnial now has –3 to hit the troll in addition to hit penalties for called-shot and anything else. Say Finnial needs a 23 to-hit the troll and his total bonus is +2 to-hit. He rolls a nat 20, but his total to-hit is 22, and he missed by less than 3, so he just dealt a crit to the fighter. Now Say his total bonus is +3 to-hit. He rolls a nat 20, and the total result is 23, enough to hit the troll, so he crits the troll.
