It seems silly to me that I would get a -4 to hit someone prone on the ground next to me. I get the reason why "at range" you get the penalty, because the person on the ground has a lower profile, but if you're standing over them, that is no longer the case. Normally this wouldn't be an issue because most people will be subject to AoO and so they just don't do it. But being a Zen Archer with point blank master I find the reasoning hard to visualize. Is there some rule or feat out there that deals with offsetting the prone at range penalty? Do I at least get a higher ground bonus?
No such luck.
But really, why don't you just ask your GM to make a sane house ruling on it?
Prepare an action to fire at them when they stand up.
First, you get the AoO when they do, then, your readied attack goes off.
presuming you can have a ranged attack readied and simultaneously threaten into their space... not always easy.
Prepare an action to fire at them when they stand up.
First, you get the AoO when they do, then, your readied attack goes off.
Doesn't the readied action act as an immediate and thus the person would still count as prone for both AoO and the readied action?
"The action occurs just before the action that triggers it."
Being a Zen archer, I'm also a monk. I could ready to shoot once they stand and get my AoO before they stand. Knowing my GM, they'll just attack from prone rather than give me aoo and allow me to use my readied action. A better readied action is to shoot once they declare an attack.
We don't have any "trippers" in your group, so I don't expect this to happen very often, but I considered being the group "tripper". Then I thought if I'm always getting the -4 on my main attack then it wouldn't serve me well. I was mostly hoping there was a rule for ranged attacks vs prone when adjacent or perhaps if there was a feat with range vs prone.
It's funny, I have the same chance of shooting someone at 300ft as I do someone laying at my feet.