Being in the prone position has some advantages. You're harder to hit with melee and ranged attacks. But what is considered prone for D&D 4th ed. My rogue uses hand cross-bows. So could he go prone using a kneeling position (like using a rifle) and gain the benefits for being prone, or is that more of the Squeeze move act? Are there penalties to making ranged attacks while prone and feats to counter them?
[RPG] How to take advantage of intentionally going prone
dnd-4eprone
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Best Answer
The complete rules for the prone condition appear in the Rules Compendium, pp. 232–233.
You can voluntarily drop prone as a minor action, but you probably don't want to in normal circumstances. D&D uses the condition to represent falling down in awkward or unsteady ways, not controlled crouches like a rifleman's stance. The only advantage of falling prone is a +2 bonus to defenses against distant ranged attacks. There is no defense bonus against melee attacks: On the contrary, prone characters grant them combat advantage. There is a –2 penalty to all attack rolls while prone.
There are many feats and powers that knock foes prone, but very few mitigate the disadvantages of being prone. Low Crawl from PHB3 allows you to shift while prone, and Keep Your Feet from Psionic Power allows you to stand up as an immediate reaction. Grounding Shot from PHB3 negates the penalty for attacking prone targets, but it doesn't help when you're the one who's prone.