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LordArcana
Seeker
USA
53 Posts |
 Posted - 12 Jan 2008 : 16:25:11
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I was just wondering if there is a game legal justification to do this?
The PC's are walking down a 10' wide corridor and come to a bend in the tunnel. Turning the corner just enough they see two creatures further around the bend about 30' away. One of the PC's decides to charge the cretaures he can see and in the process of the charge passes a tucked away cubby he could not see before from his position.
The PC's movement went as follows:
5' - nothing odd
10' - can now see the cubby with a small sized creature waiting (Ready action). The creature has cover should the PC's try to attack as the walls of the cubby put him in a cover situation.
15' - the PC is directly in front of the opening of the cubby and decides he doesn't want to continue with the charge and takes a swing instead at the creature in the cubby.
My ruling was that since he declared a charge against one target he does suffer the negative to AC since he was putting himself at risk and opening his defenses up by initiating the charge BUT since he decided to change his target mid charge he does NOT get the attack bonus to the new target.
Likewise since the small sized creature had a readied action and was using the difficult terrain to his advantage by hiding there that the creature had cover from the PC, but the PC did not have cover from the creature and therefore the creature should get his attack of oportunity for the PC leaving a threatened square to enter an adjacent threatened square.
Is there any justification either way for this other than pulling rank as the DM and saying i can if i want to? I know the rule on pg 151 of the PHB says you can not execute an attack of opportunity against a target with cover relative to you...
I guess is there a justification for giving the advantage of cover to a small sized creature and not a medium sized creature? If so please quote the source.
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Kentinal
Great Reader
4693 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2008 : 17:21:40
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Hmm, off hand because the PC stopped and did not leave the threatened square no AoO.
As for cover it was hard cover so only threatened square is the opening which is where the PC stopped. I do not see an AoO appling, though there should be surprise attack granted to the small creature, in effect I would rule the PC flat footed. |
"Small beings can have small wisdom," the dragon said. "And small wise beings are better than small fools. Listen: Wisdom is caring for afterwards."
"Caring for afterwards ...? Ker repeated this without understanding.
"After action, afterwards," the dragon said. "Choose the afterwards first, then the action. Fools choose action first."
"Judgement" copyright 2003 by Elizabeth Moon |
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LordArcana
Seeker
USA
53 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jan 2008 : 18:27:15
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| Excellent. I didn't even think about negating dex to the PC for surprise. |
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Purple Dragon Knight
Master of Realmslore
Canada
1796 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2008 : 01:31:22
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| The only complication here is that the charging character, according to LordArcana's description, spotted the hiding creature at 10', so he is not flat-footed. He stopped in the square in front of the cubby, and the foe's ready action went. Because the character started his round charging, his AC is at -2 "until the beginning of his next turn." HOWEVER, and here's the explanation you sought LordArcana, even thought the player spotted the new enemy at 10', "If you don’t have line of sight to the opponent at the start of your turn, you can’t charge that opponent," so he could not have charged the cubby creature (yet, his AC remains at -2). |
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LordArcana
Seeker
USA
53 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jan 2008 : 05:42:59
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| I am sure that after i explain the offical ruling on this, he will turn and use it against me somehow :) |
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Attack of Opportunity Question
