Re: Out of Character thread IV
You asked for the text, so here it is:
As you can see, melee (and ranged) powers were specifically reworded to talk about 'separate attack rolls' rather than 'separate attacks', and the targets of an attack power are defined (and thus determine whether marking is relevant) before before those attack rolls are made.
Edit: Note that I'm not writing all of this because I *like* the idea of the thing being free to blast away at the rest of us as long as it's blasting you too. It'd be in my own self-interest to say 'sure, do it the other way!', so...
On the other hand, it does force the thing to shoot at you and someone else rather than two someone elses, so we're still better off for you having marked it.
MELEE POWERS
(Only including the Targets subsection.)
Targets: A melee power targets individuals, which are specified in the power description. For example, a melee power might target "one creature," "one enemy," or "one or two creatures."
- Multiple Targets: If a melee power has multiple targets and includes attack rolls or damage rolls, these rolls are made separately against each target.
- Line of effect: There must be line-of-effect between the power's origin square and the target.
- Line of sight: Unless otherwise specified, the power's user doesn't have to be able to see the target of the power, though concealment (page 200) might apply.
(Ranged Power/Targets is identical to the above, other than 'ranged' being in place of 'melee'.)
MARKED
- The creature takes a 2 penalty to attack rolls for any attack that doesn't include the marking creature as a target.
- A creature can be subjected to only one mark at a time, and a new mark supersedes the old one.
- A mark ends immediately when its creator dies or falls unconscious.
This condition reflects the ability of some creatures to claim the attention of a chosen target in battle. When a target is marked, it has a hard time ignoring the creature that marked it. Most marking effects have very short duration, or else they require the marking creature to remain a threat to the marked target.
MAKING ATTACKS
Dungeons & Dragons battles are won through cleverly chosen attacks, able defenses, and luck. On a typical turn, a monster takes a standard action to use an attack power, as does an adventurer, whether he or she is a stalwart fighter, a wily rogue, a devout cleric, or a clever wizard. All creatures' defenses are tested by foes' attacks.
Every creature has a number of attacks to choose from. The exact attack powers available to an adventurer depend on the player's choices at character creation and as the adventurer gains levels, and a monster's attack powers are specified in its stat block.
Each attack power has a type - melee, ranged, close, or area - that determines how the power interacts with a number of rules of the game. Whatever type of attack power a creature uses, the process for making an attack is almost always the same.
1. Choose an attack power, keeping in mind the rules for its type.
2. Choose targets. Each target must be within the power's range and must be within line of effect. See "Choosing Targets," page 105, for how to determine whether a creature can be targeted by a power.
3. Make an attack roll, rolling a d20 and adding the appropriate bonuses and penalties.
4. Compare the attack roll's result to the target's defenses. The attack specifies what defense to check. If the result is equal to the specified defense or is higher, the attack hits the target. Otherwise, it misses. (However, if the d20 shows a 20, the attack automatically hits the target, and if it shows a 1, the attack automatically misses.)
5. When an attack hits, it usually deals damage, and many attacks produce some other effect, such as forced movement or a condition. An attack power's description specifies what happens on a hit. Most attack powers do nothing on a miss, but some specify an effect, such as half damage, on a miss.
6. If the attack power has more than one target, repeat steps 3 through 5 for each of them.
Some attack powers don't include attack rolls. Such powers automatically deal damage impose conditions, or harm enemies in some other way.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:50, Wed 23 Mar 2022.