Volley of Arrows

Illus. by M. Nelson

Giant eagles bearing boulders . . .

trained for such missions, troops under the effects of a fly spell, or a creature flying with a stack of rocks on a carpet of flying. An object might also be sent aloft by a telekinesis spell or similar magic. Creatures defending a wall or cliff might push or drop objects over the edge. A creature that has a fly speed can move at full speed while carrying aloft an object that does not exceed its light load (if carrying a medium or heavy load, its speed is reduced by one-third). Heavier objects deal more damage, and the damage increases with the distance the object falls. However, bombardment from higher altitudes is less accurate. The range increment of a dropped object is 50 feet. Objects dropped from altitudes higher than 250 feet are always considered indirect hits (see below).

Attack Rolls: The creature dropping an object makes a ranged attack roll against AC 5 to hit a square directly, applying any penalty for range increments and a –4 penalty for using an improvised weapon. In addition, the creature’s maneuverability may provide a penalty: –2 for average maneuverability, –4 for poor, or –6 for clumsy. An attack that misses hits a nearby square; see Missing with a Thrown Weapon, page 158 of the Player’s Handbook).

Damage: The damage dealt by a dropped object is based on the weight of the object and the distance the object falls, as noted on page 303 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide. A creature can avoid damage from the attack by making a DC 15 Reflex save.

Dive Bombing: A diving creature gains more control over the trajectory of its payload and gets a +2 bonus on the attack roll. Range increment penalties, if any, are calculated from the point where the object is released, but for the purpose of determining damage, the length of the dive is added to the distance the object has fallen. Dive bombing is treated as a charge, imposing a –2 penalty to the diving creature’s AC. Flyers with clumsy or poor maneuverability need to remember to leave themselves enough maneuvering room to avoid crashing into the ground or target (see page 20 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

In most battlefield situations, archers don’t pick particular targets for their shots. Instead, large groups of archers concentrate their shots on an area occupied by enemy troops, ensuring by sheer volume of projectiles that something will be hit. Despite the name of this tactic, it can be attempted by any characters wielding projectile weapons, such as crossbows or slings. The rule presented here originally appeared in a simpler form in Complete Warrior; this information updates and expands on that material. If at least ten archers are in a contiguous group (each one adjacent to at least one other), they can loose a volley of arrows as a full-round action. Rather than aiming at a specific target, they concentrate their arrows in a general area, hoping to hit whatever’s there. Each archer fires a single arrow, regardless of her normal rate of fire. The commander of the archers (generally an officer or veteran soldier, who need not be one of the archers himself) makes a special attack roll against AC 15, using only his base attack bonus, Intelligence modifier, and any range increment penalty. If the attack hits, arrows land in the target area, which has the same shape as the archers in the group. For example, if two rows of five archers hit with an arrow volley, arrows land in a 2-square-by-5-square area. An arrow volley that misses its intended target still lands somewhere. Refer to the diagram on page 158 of the Player’s Handbook to determine the misdirection of the

. . . make life tough for enemy soldiers