Attacking from above

[WhiteLily]

The D&D rules have traditionally considered it to be an advantage to attack from a higher elevation and will give those attackers a small bonus to hit.

According to page 95 of Exploits, Attacking from above suffers a -2 penalty.

Did D&D get it wrong?

[Dalin]

See Combat at Different Levels, Exploits, p. 47, for what you're talking about. The short of it is that it affects Active Defenses, with a bonus for the higher fighter and a penalty for the lower one. Because the bonuses and penalties affect defenses, they are on part of the Active Defense Modifiers table on p. 97.


The -2 attack penalty for attacking from above is fully fleshed out on p. 38. It represents dropping down from above onto or next to a victim. (Leaping down from a balcony, chandelier, etc.) The victim gets an identical penalty to their defense, so the penalty isn't that bad for a skilled attacker.

[WhiteLily]

I was wondering if they were referring to the jumping down on someone maneuver.

Is there no bonus to higher elevation? Attacking from horseback?

[Anders]

See Combat at Different Levels p. 47.

[WhiteLily]

Originally Posted by Anders

See Combat at Different Levels p. 47.

Sometimes I wish the rules were organized a bit differently.

[Anders]

At least these books have a usable index. We've been playing some other games and finding stuff in there is... interesting.

[corwyn]

Originally Posted by Anders

At least these books have a usable index. We've been playing some other games and finding stuff in there is... interesting.

Honestly, I've always considered that one of GURPS major strengths. Compared to say, a WoD index.