Let's suppose a combat situation where your target is covered by any creature, providing the target a half or three-quarters cover. Since the creature is right in front your target I imagine there's a chance you hit the cover instead your target.
I'd rule that if you failed to meet the AC of the partially hidden creature, you could hit the creature it's hiding behind if your original roll was enough to match or beat it's AC. If not, your projectile would clatter off armour/whatever.
RAW An attack has no chance of hitting a creature other than the target even if it grant cover, unless the DM decide otherwise and use homebrew or optional rules.
^-------- I use this rule sparingly. Generally if there is an opportunity to hit a taget that is being used intentionally as cover by another creature, I'll use it.
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“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
There are optional rules in the DMG to modify combat. Here is the one on hitting cover (for those without the DMG on D&D Beyond).
"HITTING COVER When a ranged attack misses a target that has cover, you can use this optional rule to determine whether the cover was struck by the attack. First, determine whether the attack roll would have hit the protected target without the cover. If the attack roll falls within a range low enough to miss the target but high enough to strike the target if there had been no cover, the object used for cover is struck. If a creature is providing cover for the missed creature and the attack roll exceeds the AC of the covering creature, the covering creature is hit."
It is pretty simple. In addition, since PCs often have higher ACs than NPCs or monsters, it means that they won't be hit if you miss the target you are aiming at behind your team mate since the die roll that missed the target has to still be high enough to hit the AC of the creature providing the cover.
P.S. I don't usually bother with it except for exceptional circumstances since it adds a layer of complexity that combat doesn't really need.
What you guys think about these "guides" I made? Which one makes more sense? They're not meant to be followed strictly, rather they are a guide so you can know what happens based on the attack roll
Personally when i decide that a missed attack can have a chance of hitting its cover or even an adjacent target, i will ask the attacker to reroll it. I rarely do so and its usually on nat 1.
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Let's suppose a combat situation where your target is covered by any creature, providing the target a half or three-quarters cover. Since the creature is right in front your target I imagine there's a chance you hit the cover instead your target.
How do you guys handle this?
You want the optional rule for hitting cover.
Nice. I Have not yet come across this but i like the mechanic. I may see this come through in my campaign now.
Talk to your Players. Talk to your DM. If more people used this advice, there would be 24.74% fewer threads on Tactics, Rules and DM discussions.
I'd rule that if you failed to meet the AC of the partially hidden creature, you could hit the creature it's hiding behind if your original roll was enough to match or beat it's AC. If not, your projectile would clatter off armour/whatever.
RAW An attack has no chance of hitting a creature other than the target even if it grant cover, unless the DM decide otherwise and use homebrew or optional rules.
^-------- I use this rule sparingly. Generally if there is an opportunity to hit a taget that is being used intentionally as cover by another creature, I'll use it.
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.” - Mark Twain - Innocents Abroad
There are optional rules in the DMG to modify combat. Here is the one on hitting cover (for those without the DMG on D&D Beyond).
"HITTING COVER
When a ranged attack misses a target that has cover, you can use this optional rule to determine whether the cover was struck by the attack. First, determine whether the attack roll would have hit the protected target without the cover. If the attack roll falls within a range low enough to miss the target but high enough to strike the target if there had been no cover, the object used for cover is struck. If a creature is providing cover for the missed creature and the attack roll exceeds the AC of the covering creature, the covering creature is hit."
It is pretty simple. In addition, since PCs often have higher ACs than NPCs or monsters, it means that they won't be hit if you miss the target you are aiming at behind your team mate since the die roll that missed the target has to still be high enough to hit the AC of the creature providing the cover.
P.S. I don't usually bother with it except for exceptional circumstances since it adds a layer of complexity that combat doesn't really need.
What you guys think about these "guides" I made? Which one makes more sense? They're not meant to be followed strictly, rather they are a guide so you can know what happens based on the attack roll
Personally when i decide that a missed attack can have a chance of hitting its cover or even an adjacent target, i will ask the attacker to reroll it. I rarely do so and its usually on nat 1.