Okay, other than the start of combat, when you are Flat-Footed until your Initiative number comes up, when would someone need to be concerned about being Flat-Footed? I have several questions that will hinge on this, so I am going to hold off until I see what others say on the subject.
Flat-Footed
Shane_Leahy
First Post
Flat-Footed also means you cannot take attacks of opportunity. Its more then just losing your Dex bonus. Many things can cause a character to lose their dex bonus (Combat Feint for example) that does not make them flat-footed.
Joshua Randall
Legend
flat-footed in the SRD
Using the search feature on a .pdf of the SRD, I found the following relevant references to flat-footed:
Balance
Being Attacked while Balancing: You are considered flat-footed while balancing, since you can’t move to avoid a blow, and thus you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If you have 5 or more ranks in Balance, you aren’t considered flat-footed while balancing.
COMBAT REFLEXES [GENERAL]
Benefit: You may make a number of additional attacks of opportunity equal to your Dexterity bonus. With this feat, you may also make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed.
Normal: A character without this feat can make only one attack of opportunity per round and can’t make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed.
HOW COMBAT WORKS
Combat is cyclical; everybody acts in turn in a regular cycle of rounds. Combat follows this sequence:
1. Each combatant starts out flat-footed. Once a combatant acts, he or she is no longer flat-footed.
Flat-Footed: At the start of a battle, before you have had a chance to act (specifically, before your first regular turn in the initiative order), you are flat-footed. You can’t use your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) while flat-footed. Barbarians and rogues have the uncanny dodge extraordinary ability, which allows them to avoid losing their Dexterity bonus to AC due to being flat-footed.
A flat-footed character can’t make attacks of opportunity.
SURPRISE
When a combat starts, if you are not aware of your opponents and they are aware of you, you’re surprised.
[...]
Unaware Combatants: Combatants who are unaware at the start of battle don’t get to act in the surprise round. Unaware combatants are flat-footed because they have not acted yet, so they lose any Dexterity bonus to AC.
GLOSSARY
Flat-Footed: A character who has not yet acted during a combat is flat-footed, not yet reacting normally to the situation. A flat-footed character loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) and cannot make attacks of opportunity.
AIMING A SPELL
Some spells restrict you to willing targets only. Declaring yourself as a willing target is something that can be done at any time (even if you’re flat-footed or it isn’t your turn).
Foresight [the spell]
... You are never surprised or flat-footed. ...
Using the search feature on a .pdf of the SRD, I found the following relevant references to flat-footed:
Balance
Being Attacked while Balancing: You are considered flat-footed while balancing, since you can’t move to avoid a blow, and thus you lose your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any). If you have 5 or more ranks in Balance, you aren’t considered flat-footed while balancing.
COMBAT REFLEXES [GENERAL]
Benefit: You may make a number of additional attacks of opportunity equal to your Dexterity bonus. With this feat, you may also make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed.
Normal: A character without this feat can make only one attack of opportunity per round and can’t make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed.
HOW COMBAT WORKS
Combat is cyclical; everybody acts in turn in a regular cycle of rounds. Combat follows this sequence:
1. Each combatant starts out flat-footed. Once a combatant acts, he or she is no longer flat-footed.
Flat-Footed: At the start of a battle, before you have had a chance to act (specifically, before your first regular turn in the initiative order), you are flat-footed. You can’t use your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) while flat-footed. Barbarians and rogues have the uncanny dodge extraordinary ability, which allows them to avoid losing their Dexterity bonus to AC due to being flat-footed.
A flat-footed character can’t make attacks of opportunity.
SURPRISE
When a combat starts, if you are not aware of your opponents and they are aware of you, you’re surprised.
[...]
Unaware Combatants: Combatants who are unaware at the start of battle don’t get to act in the surprise round. Unaware combatants are flat-footed because they have not acted yet, so they lose any Dexterity bonus to AC.
GLOSSARY
Flat-Footed: A character who has not yet acted during a combat is flat-footed, not yet reacting normally to the situation. A flat-footed character loses his Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) and cannot make attacks of opportunity.
AIMING A SPELL
Some spells restrict you to willing targets only. Declaring yourself as a willing target is something that can be done at any time (even if you’re flat-footed or it isn’t your turn).
Foresight [the spell]
... You are never surprised or flat-footed. ...
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werk
First Post
Conditions like stunned, paralyzed, cowering, helpless...all deny the dex bonus to AC and no actions (implying AoO) which is what I was referring to. I would consider those flat-footed. I thought you were looking for conditions that would allow you to be sneaked (denied dex to AC) rather than technical flat-footed.
Diaglo mentions invisible, which denies the dex bonus but not actions, like being flanked.
Dazed denies actions, but not the dex bonus.
Diaglo mentions invisible, which denies the dex bonus but not actions, like being flanked.
Dazed denies actions, but not the dex bonus.
RigaMortus2
First Post
Being Flat-footed and losing your Dex bonus are actually subtly different. When you are flat-footed, you do lose your Dex bonus. However, when you lose your Dex bonus (from a successful Feint maneuver for example) it doesn’t mean you are Flat-footed. The difference in important because some skills, feats and special abilities only work when you are specifically flat-footed (but not just when you lose your Dex bonus). Case in point, Iajatsu Focus from Oriental Adventures only works on flat-footed appointments. Also, the Low-Blow feat from FRCS makes an opponent flat-footed (beware Halfling Samurai Iajatsu masters!)
