D&D 3E/3.5 3.5 when are you no longer flat-footed

Dimwhit · Oct 7, 2012

So at the start of a combat, you are flat footed until you act in the round. The question is, are you flat footed until the End of your turn that round, or just until you start to act on that round?

billd91 · Oct 7, 2012

Start.

Empirate · Oct 7, 2012

From the SRD:

SRD said:
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.

So when you have the chance to act, i.e. on your first turn, you lose the flat-footed condition. So you wouldn't, for example, lose your Dex bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity you provoke during your first turn (unless you're balancing or something).

Dimwhit · Oct 7, 2012

Empirate said:
From the SRD:

So when you have the chance to act, i.e. on your first turn, you lose the flat-footed condition. So you wouldn't, for example, lose your Dex bonus to AC against attacks of opportunity you provoke during your first turn (unless you're balancing or something).

That's exactly the situation. Our DM does EVERYTHING with DM Genie, and DM Genie keeps you flat-footed until the END of your turn, so for AoOs we provoke on that first round, we're flat-footed.

I keep telling him DM Genie is screwed up in more than one place...

Empirate · Oct 7, 2012

He who useth software to DM a game of D&D,
Needeth he an iPhone app to roll dice?
Useth he the audiobook version of the PHB to read it?
Needeth he a robot to bind his shoelaces?
Verily, retarded be he who can not interpret simple lines in a rulebook without the 'aid' of an engineered apparatus!
Cast out the heathen piece of software,
And returneth thou to the pure gaming table,
Which containeth nought that is electronic in nature!

Thus speaketh a wise old grognard, that thou might listen to his words and do as he commandeth!

Dimwhit · Oct 7, 2012

Empirate said:
He who useth software to DM a game of D&D,
Needeth he an iPhone app to roll dice?
Useth he the audiobook version of the PHB to read it?
Needeth he a robot to bind his shoelaces?
Verily, retarded be he who can not interpret simple lines in a rulebook without the 'aid' of an engineered apparatus!
Cast out the heathen piece of software,
And returneth thou to the pure gaming table,
Which containeth nought that is electronic in nature!

Thus speaketh a wise old grognard, that thou might listen to his words and do as he commandeth!

Heh, nice!

I've railed against DM Genie to no avail. I'm outnumbered.

Greenfield · Oct 9, 2012

Dimwhit said:
Heh, nice!

I've railed against DM Genie to no avail. I'm outnumbered.

Let me guess: You presented your case, and he consult3d DM Genie to see if your were right.

Dimwhit · Oct 9, 2012

Greenfield said:
Let me guess: You presented your case, and he consult3d DM Genie to see if your were right.

You know, when it comes right down to it, yeah. Pretty much.

Vegepygmy · Oct 9, 2012

Dimwhit said:
That's exactly the situation. Our DM does EVERYTHING with DM Genie, and DM Genie keeps you flat-footed until the END of your turn, so for AoOs we provoke on that first round, we're flat-footed.

Oh, well. Your DM effectively has a stupid house rule. Not much you can do about it, and some would argue that rogues really need the power boost, anyway.

irdeggman · Oct 9, 2012

Supporting evidence from the FAQ

The knight’s code (PH2 27) says that a knight cannot strike
a flat-footed foe, but aren’t all foes flat-footed in the first
round of combat if their initiative is lower than yours? Does
this mean that a knight cannot strike an opponent in the
first round without violating his code?

Yes and yes. A knight who routinely rolls high initiative
scores should consider readying attacks to be triggered by an
enemy’s action. Once the enemy’s turn has begun, he’s no
longer flat-footed (even if your readied action interrupts the
first action of his turn).