So, a swarm of spiders moves at 20'.
A swarm fills a 10' square.
To attack it has to end its move on top of a creature.
So if I can move 30', I can literally run right through a swarm without getting attacked and the swarm can't catch me to attack me on its turn?
So if a swarm of spiders is coming down the hall towards me, all I have to do is jog right through it and spit on it as I go?
What am I missing?
No, a swarm would always run if you treat it only like a list of statistics. If, to you, your swarm is just an AC, some HP, a damage die, an initiative modifier, and a few other numbers and values, then of course it always runs and wins.
But if you like to think of this game as having any resemblance to or foundation in pseudo-realism, then you realize that a swarm is supposed to be a bunch of creatures. Those creatures do what comes naturally for those creatures.
Running is not something that anything does for fun, except some humans. Running burns energy; energy requires food; food is not always easy to find; creatures naturally conserve energy rather than waste it. A swarm would have no reason to run. None. If you get just short distance away from it, it loses interest in you and resumes foraging for food. It's not like one of the, for example, rats sees you 50' away and shouts "Hey, guys, there's somebody we can eat, let's race over there as fast as we can and eat it!"
As for me, I like verismilitude and, as such, swarms behave like swarms living in an imaginary world, not like a list of statistics trying to win a game.
Running is not something that anything does for fun, except some humans.
Without telepathy there is no way to know for sure, but I'm pretty sure that I've seen dogs and horses run just for fun.
To your larger point, I'm not sure that natural behavior is what we should expect from a swarm that is magically summoned for the purpose of damaging your enemies as much as possible. I don't know if they can run or not, but if they can then I expect that those swarms would be compelled to do so. For non-summoned swarms, I'm with you on verisimilitude.
|
So, a swarm of spiders moves at 20'.
A swarm fills a 10' square.
To attack it has to end its move on top of a creature.
So if I can move 30', I can literally run right through a swarm without getting attacked and the swarm can't catch me to attack me on its turn?
So if a swarm of spiders is coming down the hall towards me, all I have to do is jog right through it and spit on it as I go?
What am I missing?
Unless you have a special ability you cannot move through an enemies square, so you could not run through a swarm
Unless you have a special ability you cannot move through an enemies square, so you could not run through a swarm
This is not correct:
A swarm can move through squares occupied by enemies and vice versa without impediment,
Do you take swarm damage for passing through a square with a swarm in it (or if a swarm passes through your square but doesn't stop)?
Or do you only take damage when the swarm ends its turn in your square?
You only take damage when the swarm ends its move in your square:
Swarm Attack: creatures with the swarm subtype don’t make standard melee attacks. Instead, they deal automatic damage to any creature whose space they occupy at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed.
Swarms do not threaten creatures, and do not make attacks of opportunity with their swarm attack.
Interestingly, it seems like a swarm could make two move actions each round, and each move action could end with one or more victims in the same square, so a swarm seems to be able to "Swarm Attack" twice per round. However, I don't think that was the intent.
We house ruled 15 years ago that Tumble was the only way to occupy the same square as a swarm and avoid damage. This wound up becoming negated by various forms of DR. The current form deals damage once in their round (some games modify by how long you're in the swarm) and any time you pass through the swarm (again, by how long you're in the swarm). I think, remembering the Ogres that lived in a cave full of rabid bats, NA and certain spells affect this as well.
|
You only take damage when the swarm ends its move in your square:
Swarm Attack: creatures with the swarm subtype don’t make standard melee attacks. Instead, they deal automatic damage to any creature whose space they occupy at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed.Swarms do not threaten creatures, and do not make attacks of opportunity with their swarm attack.Interestingly, it seems like a swarm could make two move actions each round, and each move action could end with one or more victims in the same square, so a swarm seems to be able to "Swarm Attack" twice per round. However, I don't think that was the intent.
If they double move, their movement only ends once, not twice.
Check the FAQ on Spring Attack.
Spring Attack: Can I use Spring Attack to make an attack from an ally's square
(Even with speed 15, a character moving 15 feet from A to 3 and then 15 feet from 3 to A isn't ending his movement in 3... using a move action to move 15 feet and a standard action to move 15 feet doesn't mean he's actually pausing halfway through his movement to change actions.)