Large size reach and ranged attacks

[AshenPlanet]

Hi, I have a question about how the ranged penalty for shooting engaged opponents interacts with reach.

From paizo: "If your target (or the part of your target you're aiming at, if it's a big target) is at least 10 feet away from the nearest friendly character, you can avoid the –4 penalty, even if the creature you're aiming at is engaged in melee with a friendly character."

So, mob M is large sized and standing with a 5' gap between his square and player p square, player p is using a glaive with reach.
ie. M[]p (one square between p and M).

If an archer wanted to shoot at M, can he avoid the penalty for firing into melee since M is using 10' reach to attack p?

[Ilja]

I think the answer is yes, he can avoid the penalty.

[Eridan]

You are right but dont forget the cover p maybe provides.

[Grick]

AshenPlanet wrote:

If an archer wanted to shoot at M, can he avoid the penalty for firing into melee since M is using 10' reach to attack p?

I think the intent is no.

"at least 10 feet away" means ten or more feet. While it would take ten feet of movement for either of them to share the same space, and that sort of makes them ten feet apart, I think it would have made so much more sense to just say "is not adjacent to the nearest friendly character." Or to say "greater than 10 feet away" or whatever.

[GM Jeff]

P.MM
..MM

P = Player
M = Monster

The archer could aim for the back half of the Large creature (the bolded part), which is well past the 10' mark.

[Jedi Dade]

AshenPlanet wrote:

Hi, I have a question about how the ranged penalty for shooting engaged opponents interacts with reach.

From paizo: "If your target (or the part of your target you're aiming at, if it's a big target) is at least 10 feet away from the nearest friendly character, you can avoid the –4 penalty, even if the creature you're aiming at is engaged in melee with a friendly character."

So, mob M is large sized and standing with a 5' gap between his square and player p square, player p is using a glaive with reach.
ie. M[]p (one square between p and M).

If an archer wanted to shoot at M, can he avoid the penalty for firing into melee since M is using 10' reach to attack p?

This has recently come up in one of my games as well and my GM ruled that the -4 applies even when targeting a rear square... but I could not find the paizo reference you quoted above. can anyone tell me where it is so I can point my GM to it?

Thanks,
Jedi Dade

[Fuzzy-Wuzzy]

Here you go.