Telonius
2010-03-24, 08:57 AM
I recently noticed that Elementals, Oozes, and Swarms all have, "Not subject to Critical Hits or Flanking," in their Type (subtype in the case of Swarms) description. Now, immunity to critical hits I understand. But flanking?
The way I understand it, the flanking bonus (+2 to attack) is meant to represent the difficulty that creatures have defending themselves from attackers surrounding it. It's just harder to defend when one person's attacking you from the front and the other is attacking from behind.
So what gives here? The Rogue's Sneak Attack ability is turned off whenever the target is immune to critical hits, so it's not that. I can understand that oozes or swarms might not be taking any particular defensive actions on any front, so it might not be particularly easier to hit them no matter how many people are surrounding it. But then what about Elementals? Why would (for example) a Thoqqua or a Belker not be easier to hit when it's surrounded? Or is this just an odd carry-over from previous editions?
The way I understand it, the flanking bonus (+2 to attack) is meant to represent the difficulty that creatures have defending themselves from attackers surrounding it. It's just harder to defend when one person's attacking you from the front and the other is attacking from behind.
So what gives here? The Rogue's Sneak Attack ability is turned off whenever the target is immune to critical hits, so it's not that. I can understand that oozes or swarms might not be taking any particular defensive actions on any front, so it might not be particularly easier to hit them no matter how many people are surrounding it. But then what about Elementals? Why would (for example) a Thoqqua or a Belker not be easier to hit when it's surrounded? Or is this just an odd carry-over from previous editions?