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Combat Expertise
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<blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 6289676" data-attributes="member: 4937"><p>Errr, "Yes" and "No" depending on what you mean by that. Technically, you need be in combat to use Combat Expertise although the definition of 'in combat' is something people argue over. Officially, Combat Expertise replaces the Fighting Defensively stance, and as such only occurs as part of the declaration of an action. I suppose there is no reason to enforce that any particular attack has to happen to use it, but an action declaration certainly does.</p><p></p><p>If you just wish to improve AC you could take the 'Total Defense' action, though keep in mind that normally when in the Total Defense stance you lose your threat zone and are therefore ineligible for attacks of oppurtunity, that Total Defense is a full round action so you won't be moving very fast, and that technically Total Defense is also an action in combat.</p><p></p><p>Not also that regardless of whether you are allowed to creep down a corridor in a defensive stance, the bonus to your AC for Combat Expertise, Fighting defensively and so forth is a Dodge bonus and so does not apply any time you are flatfooted with respect to an attack or denied your dexterity bonus. Thus, it won't do you any good against a trap or an attacker you haven't observed, until you get a chance to act with knowledge of the attacker - at which point you by definition must declare the stance to benefit from it. So in general, it's a rare circumstance that declaration of the stance would help you anyway except perhaps in an armed parlay.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Celebrim, post: 6289676, member: 4937"] Errr, "Yes" and "No" depending on what you mean by that. Technically, you need be in combat to use Combat Expertise although the definition of 'in combat' is something people argue over. Officially, Combat Expertise replaces the Fighting Defensively stance, and as such only occurs as part of the declaration of an action. I suppose there is no reason to enforce that any particular attack has to happen to use it, but an action declaration certainly does. If you just wish to improve AC you could take the 'Total Defense' action, though keep in mind that normally when in the Total Defense stance you lose your threat zone and are therefore ineligible for attacks of oppurtunity, that Total Defense is a full round action so you won't be moving very fast, and that technically Total Defense is also an action in combat. Not also that regardless of whether you are allowed to creep down a corridor in a defensive stance, the bonus to your AC for Combat Expertise, Fighting defensively and so forth is a Dodge bonus and so does not apply any time you are flatfooted with respect to an attack or denied your dexterity bonus. Thus, it won't do you any good against a trap or an attacker you haven't observed, until you get a chance to act with knowledge of the attacker - at which point you by definition must declare the stance to benefit from it. So in general, it's a rare circumstance that declaration of the stance would help you anyway except perhaps in an armed parlay. [/QUOTE]
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