Smite Evil as Part of a Full Attack?

O

Ogrork the Mighty

Explorer

• Jun 1, 2007

• #1

Does your game allow the use of the Smite Evil (or Smite whatever) supernatural ability as part of a full attack?

In other words, do you waive the normal standard-action-to-activate requirement for Su abilities in the case of Smite Evil?

 

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FireLance

Legend

• Jun 1, 2007

• #2

If you allow a paladin to smite evil with a lance while charging on his special mount, you are implicitly waiving the normal standard action to activate requirement for supernatural abilities.

It would be inconsistent to allow that, and not to allow smite evil as part of a full attack.

 

starwed

First Post

• Jun 1, 2007

• #3

Well, the description of supernatural abilities states that Using a supernatural ability is a standard action unless noted otherwise.

And smite evil tells us that a paladin may attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack. .

As far as I'm concerned, that counts as "stating otherwise." And a normal melee attack can be made as part of a full attack, thus...

 

K

kinem

Adventurer

• Jun 1, 2007

• #4

SRD said:

a paladin may attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack

Click to expand...

From that RAW, it seems pretty clear to me that it's just part of the attack action, and does not take a standard action. You don't have to interpret it that way, but I have little doubt that if the designers meant for it to take a standard action, they would have worded it differently.

Edit: Starwed said the same thing, but his post wasn't there when I started posting

 

Hypersmurf

Moderatarrrrh...

• Jun 1, 2007

• #5

starwed said:

Well, the description of supernatural abilities states that Using a supernatural ability is a standard action unless noted otherwise.

And smite evil tells us that a paladin may attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack. .

Click to expand...

It depends whether you consider 'one normal melee attack' to be the time required to use the supernatural ability, or what the supernatural ability allows you to do.

If we make the assumption that using Smite Evil is a standard action (as a supernatural ability), it doesn't invalidate the sentence. What does the Smite Evil standard action allow a paladin to do? It allows him to attempt to smite evil with one normal melee attack. The melee attack, in this case, is provided by the Smite Evil standard action, just as a melee attack is provided by the Charge full round action or the Attack standard action.

-Hyp.

 

starwed

First Post

• Jun 1, 2007

• #6

Eh, obviously it's open to interpretation, but when I read the phrase "smite evil with one normal melee attack" that identifies making the smite evil attempt with making a normal melee attack. You're not making a melee attack as part of smiting evil, the melee attack is the smite evil attempt.

If the Magic Item Compendium is any indication, though, WotC has finally realized that explicitly noting activation methods is a good idea.

 

Hypersmurf

Moderatarrrrh...

• Jun 1, 2007

• #7

starwed said:

You're not making a melee attack as part of smiting evil, the melee attack is the smite evil attempt.

Click to expand...

Right - but is the source of that melee attack an attack/charge/full attack action (or AoO), or is the source of that melee attack the Use Supernatural Ability standard action?

-Hyp.

 

B

boolean

Explorer

• Jun 1, 2007

• #8

The "smite evil = standard action" position would make the charging smite variant from PHB2 mostly useless, right?

 

Hypersmurf

Moderatarrrrh...

• Jun 1, 2007

• #9

boolean said:

The "smite evil = standard action" position would make the charging smite variant from PHB2 mostly useless, right?

Click to expand...

I'm away from my PHB2, so I have no idea

-Hyp.

 

A

Alpha Polaris

First Post

• Jun 1, 2007

• #10

PH2 said:

Beginning at 5th level, if you smite evil on a charge attack, you deal an extra 2 points of damage per paladin level to any evil creature you hit (in addition to the normal bonus damage dealt by a smite). If the charge attack misses, the smite ability is not considered used. This is a supernatural abilty.

Click to expand...

This seems to imply you can already smite on a charge attack, which waives the "standard action to activate the supernatural ability includes an attack" argument, since you can't do a standard action as part of a charge. Regarding full attacks, that's the way we always played it: full attack, the paladin goes "womp, womp, smite evil", and the small to-hit bonus (+6 or so ) helps landing the third iterative attack.