4E surprise round and called shots and gaze attacks

[Balain]

We have been playing an ongoing campaign for some time. 4E was new to all of us and figured we'd give it a good go of it. For the most part we like the rules. We have run into a couple of spots where we ran into issues.

The first was surprise rounds. The rules take into account being sneaky and hiding. Then the monsters get a perception check to see if they react that round. That's fine. The problem comes up when it's not so much sneaky as a surprise. So one character can teleport. He was totally out of sight and the monsters all distracted. He wanted to teleport to a corner that he could see and blast the monsters.

He thought he should get a free attack. Which I could somewhat see. But the other point we pointed out was, imagine in this room we are all debating the rules for this game and someone just appeared and blasted. Some of us would react and some wouldn't. So We agreed to disagree and he makes hide checks and monsters get a perception check with modifiers. This seems to be okay but I feel there might be a better way to handle such examples. So any ideas?

One character also wanted to make a called shot. Hit a large war horn out of an ogre's hand. The only thing we could find was a chart in DMG for modifiers to skills/attacks. we could have sworn there were more detailed rules on called shots somewhere?

The one other problem was during a fight that happened both in and out of a building. The rules say that windows give superior cover. I get this but with the gaze attack the monster was next to the window and had line of sight to 1/2 the party. So we went with gaze attack in that situation had no cover. Should windows grant superior cover when the creature gazing is adjacent to the window?

[Mando Knight]

There's no rules for called shots. However, if your characters want to be attacking items in opponents' hands, give it the same base defenses as the wielder and modifiers as appropriate (concealment if it's hidden from view, cover/superior cover if it's hidden via the monster's body) as well as some value of Resist All.

There's no reason why gaze attacks get an exception to the rule for windows except that they're gaze attacks instead of projectile attacks. However, windows might be able to hinder magic or something, just as a table or wall would, despite being transparent.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

We have been playing an ongoing campaign for some time. 4E was new to all of us and figured we'd give it a good go of it. For the most part we like the rules. We have run into a couple of spots where we ran into issues.

The first was surprise rounds. The rules take into account being sneaky and hiding. Then the monsters get a perception check to see if they react that round. That's fine. The problem comes up when it's not so much sneaky as a surprise. So one character can teleport. He was totally out of sight and the monsters all distracted. He wanted to teleport to a corner that he could see and blast the monsters.

He thought he should get a free attack. Which I could somewhat see. But the other point we pointed out was, imagine in this room we are all debating the rules for this game and someone just appeared and blasted. Some of us would react and some wouldn't. So We agreed to disagree and he makes hide checks and monsters get a perception check with modifiers. This seems to be okay but I feel there might be a better way to handle such examples. So any ideas?

If it was in the middle of combat, there is no such thing as a surprise round. Otherwise, it's a surprise round to begin combat. The monsters should all get perception checks versus his...well, figure out an appropriate check for him to make, representing his ability to maintain focus and get a lock on enemies after the 'port. So, any who pass Perception checks get to roll initiative and take the surprise round along with him. So, you pretty much got it right.

One character also wanted to make a called shot. Hit a large war horn out of an ogre's hand. The only thing we could find was a chart in DMG for modifiers to skills/attacks. we could have sworn there were more detailed rules on called shots somewhere?

Nope, improvise. -2/-5/-10 is a good scale (tricky, hard, nigh impossible). That tends to be the rule when in doubt.

The one other problem was during a fight that happened both in and out of a building. The rules say that windows give superior cover. I get this but with the gaze attack the monster was next to the window and had line of sight to 1/2 the party. So we went with gaze attack in that situation had no cover. Should windows grant superior cover when the creature gazing is adjacent to the window?

Not sure on this one...were the PCs inside the building? If so, they can get cover by ducking beneath the bottom of the window. That's why cover is provided.

[KillianHawkeye]

Called shots haven't been around since 2nd Edition. They weren't in 3rd and are not in 4th.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Thinking about it, if you want to make it dramatic, you could use the DMG's rules (page 42) for improvised stunts. Since in a fight, called shots certainly can be considered a sort of stunt.

[Dekkah]

For your called shot, like other pointed there is no rules about it.

In your exemple, I would simply have ruled it a basic attack VS the monster reflex (maye give a small penalty (-2) for the size of the item).