Using the DMG's guidelines for handling mobs in Chapter 8 (where the number needed to score a hit on a PC is used to calculate how many mobbers need to target the PC to guarantee a hit), what do you all do for creatures/mobbers who get pack tactics advantage?
Maybe it's actually in there in the rules, but I figured I'd float this passing thought before I begin constructing my Kobold gauntlet.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If you're assuming they'll always have the advantage, count the kobolds as having an additional +5 to hit (mathematically advantage roughly correlates to having the same chance to hit as a +5 bonus most of the time) when you calculate the number of kobolds needed to hit.
Yeah, that makes sense. The kobold, and other monsters I can only think of wolves right now, has the attack at advantage if ally is within 5' feature. "Mob tactics" almost insist on that spacing, and I"m pretty sure kobolds would capitalize on their pack tactic mentality in their structure, so more often than not, they'll have advantage.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
It is only +4 when you ignore the math of natural 20's. Even ignoring the extra damage from a crit.
Because a natural 20 always hits, advantage becomes much more helpful when you are facing a creature that is nearly impossible to hit. If you are a normal kobold you only have +4 to hit. A fully kitted out knight can easily get an AC of 30: +3 Full Plate, +3 Shield, Defense Fighting Style +1 and a Defender sword +3 set all to defense =18+3+2+3+1+ 3 = AC 30.
Then a kobold rolls a natural 19, he still misses, even if he has a +4 from bless. He only hits on a natural 20, and Advantage gives him two chances to get that, which is equivelent to a natural 19.
While statistically a +4 to hit is on average a similar benefit to Advantage, the better chance of getting a natural 20 via advantage more than makes up for it.
Advantage: figure out how many attacks hit. Then, using the number of attacks that missed, figure it out again and add the values (so if 25 monsters that hit on 17+ attack, first you figure that 1/5 (5) 5 hit, then you add 1/5 of the remaining 20, for a total of 9)
Disadvantage: figure out how many attacks hit. Then, using the number of attacks that hit, figure it out again and use that as the total (so if 25 monsters that hit on 17+ attack, first you figure that 1/5 (5) 5 hit, then divide by 5 again, for a total of 1)
It might be easier to use batch attacks instead of the mob rules -- i.e. rather than making 20 attacks for 1d4+2 each, make 5 attacks for 4d4+8 each.
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Using the DMG's guidelines for handling mobs in Chapter 8 (where the number needed to score a hit on a PC is used to calculate how many mobbers need to target the PC to guarantee a hit), what do you all do for creatures/mobbers who get pack tactics advantage?
Maybe it's actually in there in the rules, but I figured I'd float this passing thought before I begin constructing my Kobold gauntlet.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If you're assuming they'll always have the advantage, count the kobolds as having an additional +5 to hit (mathematically advantage roughly correlates to having the same chance to hit as a +5 bonus most of the time) when you calculate the number of kobolds needed to hit.
Yeah, that makes sense. The kobold, and other monsters I can only think of wolves right now, has the attack at advantage if ally is within 5' feature. "Mob tactics" almost insist on that spacing, and I"m pretty sure kobolds would capitalize on their pack tactic mentality in their structure, so more often than not, they'll have advantage.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Yeah that's totally fair, so consider them to have an additional +5 to hit.
Technically Advantage is closer to +4 statistically, depending on the target’s AC, but WotC treats Advantage as +5 so why not?
Try kobolds on hyenas or vultures, you’re gonna love your life. 😉
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The reasonably correct version of the mob rules in the DMG would be
It is only +4 when you ignore the math of natural 20's. Even ignoring the extra damage from a crit.
Because a natural 20 always hits, advantage becomes much more helpful when you are facing a creature that is nearly impossible to hit. If you are a normal kobold you only have +4 to hit. A fully kitted out knight can easily get an AC of 30: +3 Full Plate, +3 Shield, Defense Fighting Style +1 and a Defender sword +3 set all to defense =18+3+2+3+1+ 3 = AC 30.
Then a kobold rolls a natural 19, he still misses, even if he has a +4 from bless. He only hits on a natural 20, and Advantage gives him two chances to get that, which is equivelent to a natural 19.
While statistically a +4 to hit is on average a similar benefit to Advantage, the better chance of getting a natural 20 via advantage more than makes up for it.
Okay. (You’re still gonna love your life with some kobold hyena riders. 🤣😂🤣)
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The other way of doing this is:
It might be easier to use batch attacks instead of the mob rules -- i.e. rather than making 20 attacks for 1d4+2 each, make 5 attacks for 4d4+8 each.