AoO for Heal skill?

[AbeTheGnome]

Does the treat poison use of the heal skill provoke an AoO?

Oh... and can you use the Heal skill to replace your own fortitude save?

 

[phindar]

First Question: Short answer, yes. The poison treatment of the Heal skill takes a Standard Action, and on Table 8-2, standard action skills "Usually" provoke AoO's. Peforming a distracting act says "Some actions, when performed in a threatened square, provoke attacks of opportunity as you divert your attention away from the battle." In this case, you're diverting your attention to whether or not your friend has been poisoned. Not provoking while using a skill is covered under the Concentration skill, and Heal is mentioned in the list of examples (along with Open Lock and Use Rope).

Some skills don't provoke, but they involve keeping your eyes on whats going on. Bluff is a good example; if you're trying to feint your opponent, you're keeping your eyes on him.

Heal is written as providing aid to someone else. As long as the character is capable of taking actions, I wouldn't have a problem with self-use. (It is a little head-scratchy as to how a character who was stabbed in the back could first aid the wound, but D&D doesn't really get into that level of minutae. The GM can always assign a circumstance penalty to cover something like that, if its a big deal.) I wouldn't think a guy who was bit by a rattlesnake would be sitting their going, "Man, I wish there was someone here to put some herbs on this wound. This thing is going to get so infected."

 

[AbeTheGnome]

Funny you should mention the rattlesnake. That's almost exactly the situation. My PC was bitten on the calf by some kind of serpent construct, and he failed his Fort save. My solution: 5 feet backwards, drop prone, and substitute the Heal skill for my next Fort save (tie off the wound).

 

[frankthedm]

I would say AoO:Yes for the person Using Heal and the person recieving the heal skill. I say both are treated as flat footed since moving during medical treatment make injuries worse.

 

[starwed]

You can use the Concentration skill to "use a skill defensively" and thus avoid the AoO, however:

You can use Concentration to cast a spell, use a spell-like ability, or use a skill defensively, so as to avoid attacks of opportunity altogether. This doesn’t apply to other actions that might provoke attacks of opportunity. The DC of the check is 15 (plus the spell’s level, if casting a spell or using a spell-like ability defensively). If the Concentration check succeeds, you may attempt the action normally without provoking any attacks of opportunity. A successful Concentration check still doesn’t allow you to take 10 on another check if you are in a stressful situation; you must make the check normally. If the Concentration check fails, the related action also automatically fails (with any appropriate ramifications), and the action is wasted, just as if your concentration had been disrupted by a distraction.