Monsters with Natural Reach

[Shade]

I posted this on Friday, but seem to have lost track of the thread, and the Search function is not active. If you have already responded to this post, my apologies.

If a monster has natural reach, and you are at the edge of its threatened area, can you hit the monster?

For example, an otyugh's tentacles have a natural reach of 15 ft. If Joe the fighter moves up to within 15 ft. of the otyugh, the otyugh can attack Joe. But can Joe attack the otyugh, since its tentacles are "right there"? Or does Joe need to move another 10 ft. to reach the otyught's body.

This came up in a recent session, and three of us were unable to find an answer in the three core rulebooks. Can anyone point me to the location in any of the books where this is addressed?

Thanks!

 

[Darkness]

I posted this on Friday, but seem to have lost track of the thread, and the Search function is not active. If you have already responded to this post, my apologies.

If a monster has natural reach, and you are at the edge of its threatened area, can you hit the monster?

For example, an otyugh's tentacles have a natural reach of 15 ft. If Joe the fighter moves up to within 15 ft. of the otyugh, the otyugh can attack Joe. But can Joe attack the otyugh, since its tentacles are "right there"? Or does Joe need to move another 10 ft. to reach the otyught's body.

This came up in a recent session, and three of us were unable to find an answer in the three core rulebooks. Can anyone point me to the location in any of the books where this is addressed?

Thanks!

No, you can't. I don't know where it's cited in the books, though... Perhaps it's addressed in the FAQ?

 

[SpikeyFreak]

It seems kinda common sense to me.

Most creature with natural reach have a facing that is larger then 5x5 anyway, and that represents what you can hit. Their apendages don't extend beyond that except when they are attacking.

I would, however, rule that you could ready an action to attack an appendage that the creature is reaching at you with.

That would be an ad-hoc rule though, I don't think I've seen any rules on how to adjudicate something like that.

--On-The-Fly Spikey

 

[graydoom]

I answered this in the other thread too. Bascially, I said that you cannot attack a monster unless you can reach it, but I would allow a readied action to attack the tentacles or whatever.

 

[dcollins]

There is no rule in D&D that says you get additional reach if the monster you're fighting has reach.