The rules say that if an enemy or object has total concealment, you can't attack it directly but you can attack into the square that you think it is in with a 50% miss chance.
My question is, what is the AC for this attack roll? Is it an attack roll against the enemy/object's AC with a 50% miss chance? This seems to make the most sense.
The answer I often hear is that an attack into the square should use AC 5 (per splash weapon rules), with a 50% chance to hit the target.
Even if we bump it up to AC 10 (the default AC for inanimate objects, IIRC), that's still only an AC 10 to hit and then a 50% miss chance.
If I'm a PC and those are the odds, I'm going to close my eyes and swing blindly at the square every time, because why try to beat the enemy's AC when you can swing blindly and hit 50% of the time?
Maybe what makes the most sense is to make your AC 5 (or is it 10?) attack into the square. If you hit the AC, make the 50% miss coin toss, and if you succeed there make a to-hit roll against the enemy's AC and proceed as normal.
The attack is against the target's full normal AC. Attacking randomly won't negate the target's armor, shield, etc.
The attack is against the target's full normal AC. Attacking randomly won't negate the target's armor, shield, etc.
I agree, that makes sense in terms of armor, shield, dex, and so on. Thank you for the clarification.
The attack is against the target's full normal AC. Attacking randomly won't negate the target's armor, shield, etc.I agree, that's what makes the most sense. So really, we're just looking at an additional 50% miss chance after the attack roll?
Correct. The AC 5 thing is literally for attacking the square, not anything on it; that only works for splash weapons because they affect an area anyway with the splash damage but even then it is sub-optimal as direct hits do more.
Correct. The AC 5 thing is literally for attacking the square, not anything on it; that only works for splash weapons because by they affect an area anyway with the splash damage but even then it is sub-optimal as direct hits do more.The attack is against the target's full normal AC. Attacking randomly won't negate the target's armor, shield, etc.I agree, that's what makes the most sense. So really, we're just looking at an additional 50% miss chance after the attack roll?
Sorry, I edited my post while you were writing yours! I should probably spend less time editing and more time proofreading before submitting my posts. ;)
Sorry, I edited my post while you were writing yours! I should probably spend less time editing and more time proofreading before submitting my posts. ;)
I tend to fire posts and then quickly have to edit, sometimes multiple times. I feel your pain.