How do you calculate the range of an attack when attacking diagonally?

[Sabruxo]

I was recently in a situation where I had to make a crossbow attack on an enemy that is in the opposite corner of the room from where I was.

It looked a bit like this:

image

For the sake of simplicity, let's assume my weapon has a range of 25 feet, and that each square is 5 feet wide.

If I count the diagonal squares, the enemy would just be in range increment. But if I calculate it mathematically with Pythagoras' theorem, the enemy would be 35 feet away, and thus not be in range.

I know there is a rule for diagonal movement and area (page 456, with a drawning!) where your first diagonal square costs 5 feet, the second 10 feet, and so on...

How is the range of an attack determined, by RAW?

Just count the squares?
Calculate the diagonal, which would amount to 7 feet for each square?
Use the movement/area rules?

[beowulf99]

I believe you measure ranges using the rules for moving diagonally as a default. My justification is that this is how you measure everything else. Movement obviously but also areas. For example the chart on page 456 of the CRB measures a "60 foot line" diagonally and uses the diagonal movement formula, coming out to an "actual" length of only 40 feet or 8 squares rather than the 12 that the "Straight" line reaches.

It is odd that I can't seem to find a blanket statement for measuring ranged attacks in this way though. Anybody found one?

[Aratorin]

beowulf99 wrote:

I believe you measure ranges using the rules for moving diagonally as a default. My justification is that this is how you measure everything else. Movement obviously but also areas. For example the chart on page 456 of the CRB measures a "60 foot line" diagonally and uses the diagonal movement formula, coming out to an "actual" length of only 40 feet or 8 squares rather than the 12 that the "Straight" line reaches.

It is odd that I can't seem to find a blanket statement for measuring ranged attacks in this way though. Anybody found one?

Does there really need to be? Both movement and lines show you how to measure distance diagonally. You use the same measurements if you are flying. Firing a crossbow is just causing a bolt to fly. Why would you measure the movement of this object differently than anything else?