Yiroep wrote:
Having a local dispute about some rules concerning aid another and was wondering what people's take was on it.
1. Does the person using aid another for attack or defense get a flank bonus or cover penalty to the attack roll to hit AC 10?
2. Is the person aiding an attack affected by concealment (such as from obscuring mist)?
Let's look at the actual text,
Aid Another wrote:
In melee combat, you can help a friend attack or defend by distracting or interfering with an opponent. If you're in position to make a melee attack on an opponent that is engaging a friend in melee combat, you can attempt to aid your friend as a standard action. You make an attack roll against AC 10. If you succeed, your friend gains either a +2 bonus on his next attack roll against that opponent or a +2 bonus to AC against that opponent's next attack (your choice), as long as that attack comes before the beginning of your next turn. Multiple characters can aid the same friend, and similar bonuses stack.
1. Per RAW, Flanking applies, Cover does not. Why? The rules state you make an "attack roll." So anything that affects your "attack roll" should apply. The AA another gives you the AC to hit with your attack roll but does not base the calculation on anything to do with the the target. So if your target was naked, it's AC 10. If your target has and AC of 1,000,000. You still need to hit AC 10. "Cover" is an AC bonus for the target. Since the target AC is not baed on the the target's AC, Cover does not apply.
2. The concealment question is more ambiguous. Per RAW, I'd say concealment doesn't apply because there is no requirement to hit the target, nor do the rule say that you are hitting the target, only that you are in a position to hit the target. In fact, one can argue that Aid Another does not require you to make contact at all, just provide interference.
Now, the rubber meets the road when we talk about Total Cover and Total Concealment. Can you Aid Another versus someone with total C or C? I'd say no to both because both preclude you from attacking someone and AA requires that you are in a position to do so. Total Concealment only allows you to attack the square that the person is in.
Perhaps another question is whether you can Aid Another while invisible? Like flanking while invisible, the rules don't seem to contemplate what effect invisibility would have on either action.
