[randiv]

It does not reflect well on this re-release that something this basic and ordinary to combat is so ill-defined. This is not some rare circumstance. It ought to be clearly defined in the rules.

There is 30 years of experience with this system for this sort of issue to be known. Why wasn't this ambiguity dealt with? I find this disheartening.

If this was the only ambiguity it might be forgiveable, but the forum is loaded with similar problems. They can all be fixed by house rules, and in 1979 I was fine with that -- fewer issues than D&D of that era -- but I expect a little more coherence these days.