Free Actions and AoO

[Gez]

Free actions never provokes an AOO, because an AOO is an attack you can do when you see an opening in the opponent's defense and exploit it. By definition, a free action is too fast, too quick, for the opening to be exploited.

Not necessarily in the 3.5. rules as written, but any other interpretation makes no sense. YMMV.

Furthermore, AOOs themselves are immediate actions (free actions that can be taken out of your turn), and thus do not provoke AOOs. Otherwise you can get a whole heap of AOOs and counter-AOOs, like: "I try to sunder his weapon" "He takes advantage of your sunder attempt to try to disarm you" "Ahah! So I use the AOO to sunder his weapon!" and so on...

 

[Chorn]

Furthermore, AOOs themselves are immediate actions (free actions that can be taken out of your turn)

Aren't they officially labeled "not an action" much like drawing an arrow while shooting a bow?

Otherwise you can get a whole heap of AOOs and counter-AOOs, like: "I try to sunder his weapon" "He takes advantage of your sunder attempt to try to disarm you" "Ahah! So I use the AOO to sunder his weapon!" and so on...

Which can happen and is fully supported by the rules. They just get resolved in a last in, first out order which could end up countering the action that started the chain.

 

[VorpalStare]

Or, as noted more than once, the rule for standing as a free action with a DC 35 Tumble check in Complete Adventurer.

-Hyp.

It is interesting to note that falling prone is a free action that does not provoke an AOO, but that standing up as a free action does provoke, even when using the Tumble skill (successful use of which usually prevents AOO's). This seems like a very inconsistent set of rules to me.

 

[Sledge]

Yeah that whole 35 roll needed to still get hit has always annoyed me. I would rather a 25 to stand up and get hit, 35 no aoo
The sunder disarm chain however isn't really a problem because of AOO limits.

 

[3d6]

Aren't they officially labeled "not an action" much like drawing an arrow while shooting a bow?


Which can happen and is fully supported by the rules. They just get resolved in a last in, first out order which could end up countering the action that started the chain.

Drawing an arrow while shooting a bow is a free action.

From the SRD:
Drawing ammunition for use with a ranged weapon (such as arrows, bolts, sling bullets, or shuriken) is a free action.

 

[Deset Gled]

Drawing an arrow while shooting a bow is a free action.

Good catch. Chorn's orginial point is still correct, though. An AoO is not a free action, nor is it an immediate action. It is not an action at all. Gez's points may make a lot of sense logically, but none at all mechanically.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Free actions never provokes an AOO...

Except for the ones that do.

By definition, a free action is too fast, too quick, for the opening to be exploited.

Hmm? No, by definition, "Free actions consume a very small amount of time and effort. You can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally. However, there are reasonable limits on what you can really do for free."

Since there exist free actions that explicitly do provoke AoOs, your proposed definition is insupportable.

Furthermore, AOOs themselves are immediate actions (free actions that can be taken out of your turn)...

No, they aren't.

"Using an immediate action on your turn is the same as using a swift action, and counts as your swift action for that turn. You cannot use another immediate action or a swift action until after your next turn if you have used an immediate action when it is not currently your turn (effectively, using an immediate action before your turn is equivalent to using your swift action for the coming turn)."

Are you suggesting that if I've made an AoO this round, I can't cast Swift Invisibility?

And an immediate action can theoretically provoke an AoO. There's nothing in the rules to prevent it.

Otherwise you can get a whole heap of AOOs and counter-AOOs, like: "I try to sunder his weapon" "He takes advantage of your sunder attempt to try to disarm you" "Ahah! So I use the AOO to sunder his weapon!" and so on...

Well, according to the Table of Action Types, Sunder isn't something that can be used as an AoO anyway (it lacks footnote 7). But you could use that counter-AoO to hit him, or trip him, or disarm him, or grapple him.

-Hyp.

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

Furthermore, AOOs themselves are immediate actions (free actions that can be taken out of your turn), and thus do not provoke AOOs.

Attacks of opportunity are not immediate actions. If they were, Combat Reflexes would be useless, since you only get one immediate/quickened action per turn no matter how many Attacks of Opportunity are provoked. Also, they predate immediate actions by quite a long time, and have never been officially called out as such.