aid another [Archive] - Wizards Community

aid another [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
pseudoidiot
03-04-05, 02:31 PM i was just curious about some people's opinions of aid another.

on one hand, i think it's extremely useful, but on the other it seems easily abuseable.

i just picture one big strong guy having trouble hitting something, so all his friends jump in and start taking aid another actions, and eventually not only can the big strong guy hit the baddy, but he can take a full power attack and really dish out some damage (i know, i had this happen).

i mean, i realize the enemy could just start taking out the weaker guys, but i'm still not sure about this action.

what do other people think? is there something i'm missing?
Salla
03-04-05, 03:55 PM Not really. This is called 'teamwork', and should be commended. The other PCs are showing selflessness and tactical sense by realizing that giving Grog The Barbarian their assistance, he's the best chance for ending this quickly before someone gets killed.

The Aid Another (attack) section of the PHB (3.5 book, pg 154) specifies that the Aid Another bonuses stack, so it's not an issue of that. However, all these characters need to get adjacent to the foe (not the ally!), make attack checks against AC 10 (not difficult), and then the chosen ally gets the bonus. If this monster is that dangerous, getting up close and personal with it is a VERY iffy proposition.

And, as always, remember that if the PCs can do it, so can the enemies. You might not think being surrounded by 8 goblins is that big of a threat, with the Plate Armor and Heavy Steel Shield you scraped up, but just wait ... ;)
pseudoidiot
03-04-05, 04:00 PM yeah, i see what you mean. and surrounding someone with a bunch of goblins or kobolds is VERY tempting.

for clarification, do you actually have to be adjacent? i was thinking as long as you threaten that enemy, right? so you could have your guys with swords.. then around them your guys with spears, etc etc
Salla
03-04-05, 04:03 PM yeah, i see what you mean. and surrounding someone with a bunch of goblins or kobolds is VERY tempting.

for clarification, do you actually have to be adjacent? i was thinking as long as you threaten that enemy, right? so you could have your guys with swords.. then around them your guys with spears, etc etc

You're right, the technical phrase is 'in a position to make a melee attack', rather than adjacent, so reach weapons work. Nobody ever uses them around here, so I forget about them sometimes. :)
BW0222
03-04-05, 07:49 PM >i just picture one big strong guy having trouble hitting something, so all his
>friends jump in and start taking aid another actions, and eventually not only
>can the big strong guy hit the baddy, but he can take a full power attack
>and really dish out some damage (i know, i had this happen).

It seams fine to me. Imagine you are trying to block a blow from a half-orc. However, every time you try to block, some wizard puts his staff in your face, some rogue keeps knocking your sword down, etc.

In game terms, having three week people spending a round just to give you a +4 or +6, is a lot of effort. It obviously puts folks are risk and means they are spending rounds assisting rather than attacking, healing, casting spells, etc. It's a pretty rare, last-hope tactic, which is of limited effect against intelligent foes. As soon as they realize that they can't be hit except through a group aiding another, then they should start taking out weaker folks first.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
pseudoidiot 03-04-05, 02:31 PM	i was just curious about some people's opinions of aid another. on one hand, i think it's extremely useful, but on the other it seems easily abuseable. i just picture one big strong guy having trouble hitting something, so all his friends jump in and start taking aid another actions, and eventually not only can the big strong guy hit the baddy, but he can take a full power attack and really dish out some damage (i know, i had this happen). i mean, i realize the enemy could just start taking out the weaker guys, but i'm still not sure about this action. what do other people think? is there something i'm missing?
Salla 03-04-05, 03:55 PM	Not really. This is called 'teamwork', and should be commended. The other PCs are showing selflessness and tactical sense by realizing that giving Grog The Barbarian their assistance, he's the best chance for ending this quickly before someone gets killed. The Aid Another (attack) section of the PHB (3.5 book, pg 154) specifies that the Aid Another bonuses stack, so it's not an issue of that. However, all these characters need to get adjacent to the foe (not the ally!), make attack checks against AC 10 (not difficult), and then the chosen ally gets the bonus. If this monster is that dangerous, getting up close and personal with it is a VERY iffy proposition. And, as always, remember that if the PCs can do it, so can the enemies. You might not think being surrounded by 8 goblins is that big of a threat, with the Plate Armor and Heavy Steel Shield you scraped up, but just wait ... ;)
pseudoidiot 03-04-05, 04:00 PM	yeah, i see what you mean. and surrounding someone with a bunch of goblins or kobolds is VERY tempting. for clarification, do you actually have to be adjacent? i was thinking as long as you threaten that enemy, right? so you could have your guys with swords.. then around them your guys with spears, etc etc
Salla 03-04-05, 04:03 PM	yeah, i see what you mean. and surrounding someone with a bunch of goblins or kobolds is VERY tempting. for clarification, do you actually have to be adjacent? i was thinking as long as you threaten that enemy, right? so you could have your guys with swords.. then around them your guys with spears, etc etc You're right, the technical phrase is 'in a position to make a melee attack', rather than adjacent, so reach weapons work. Nobody ever uses them around here, so I forget about them sometimes. :)
BW0222 03-04-05, 07:49 PM	>i just picture one big strong guy having trouble hitting something, so all his >friends jump in and start taking aid another actions, and eventually not only >can the big strong guy hit the baddy, but he can take a full power attack >and really dish out some damage (i know, i had this happen). It seams fine to me. Imagine you are trying to block a blow from a half-orc. However, every time you try to block, some wizard puts his staff in your face, some rogue keeps knocking your sword down, etc. In game terms, having three week people spending a round just to give you a +4 or +6, is a lot of effort. It obviously puts folks are risk and means they are spending rounds assisting rather than attacking, healing, casting spells, etc. It's a pretty rare, last-hope tactic, which is of limited effect against intelligent foes. As soon as they realize that they can't be hit except through a group aiding another, then they should start taking out weaker folks first.