Attacking while Climbing

[mgshamster]

How does this work?

Here's the scenario: The PCs have the enemies in a choke point, where only one enemy can attack the front line fighter at a time. They're in a cave with rough walls.


First, a player with a goblin PC tried to move, stop on an ally square (the front line fighter), attack the enemy at the choke point, and then disengage and move away. He argued that since he's not finishing his entire movement on an ally square he can do it (and since he's a revised ranger, he ignores difficult terrain that is caused from moving through another's square).

No one else at the table liked this ruling, so we said that he can't attack from the ally square, as that counts as stopping his movement on an ally square, attacking, and then starting a new movement away. It was nixed.

So now this same player says he'll just climb the walls to go over/around the ally, and attack the enemy that way. And it still seems.. I don't know.. wrong? Like, how does a level 2 PC hang on to a wall well enough to attack someone on the ground? Especially if they don't have any climbing equipment and they don't have a climb speed?

Would you allow this? How would you rule it? (Just say no, say yes and disadvantage, just allow it, something else?)

[Demonslayer666]

Yes, I would allow it if the tunnel had enough room and there were ample handholds. I'd have the attack made with disadvantage and a athletics check at the beginning of each of his turns, he would also be easier to hit - maybe advantage on attacks made against him. If he fell, it would further complicate the situation if he fell on the fighter.

I would also allow the move in attack, and move out as a goblin because that's just cool.

[Laserlight]

I would allow the "move in, attack, move out", on the grounds that he's not ceasing to move, he's making his attack as he moves. He just can't end in the same space.

If an enemy ripostes with Booming Blade, the goblin will have to continue moving and eat the damage.

[Unoriginal]

5e consider climbing as a movement anyone can do, it just cost twice the number of ft to climb something than doing the same distance on the ground.

So you could attack while climbing

That being said, you need one hand to hold on the wall, so only one-handed weapons could be used, and if the enemy isn't in the reach of the weapon you can't hit them.

To be clear, if you just hold the wall with your feet on it, but at ground level in a square where an ally is, you're still in their square. You'd need to climb up to 5ft above ground to be out of said square, and then most Medium enemies will be out of range unless you're using a whip or another more-than-5ft-reach weapon.