Tumble & AoO...

[Psimancer]

I’m having a bit of a dispute with one of my players at the moment. In the game we played it my way, but I do want to double check to make sure I’m not being unfair on him…

In regards to the tumble skill and avoiding attacks of opportunity…

Do you move at half your normal movement for your entire move or just the squares in which you provoke?

For example, if during a move a character potentially provokes in a single square and chose to tumble to avoid the attack, would the total distance moved be 15 (half total move) or 25 (half movement for that one square only)?

 

[Yair]

Entire move.

 

[Len]

Only the squares in which you're tumbling count as double.

The rules for Tumble aren't perfectly clear on this point, but it does say "Tumble at one-half speed as part of normal movement" and "Tumble at one-half speed through an area occupied by an enemy".

Also, a "Rules of the Game" article says:

Tumbling is part of movement, so a Tumble check is part of a move action. Any distance you spend tumbling counts against your movement for the turn. You tumble at half speed, as if each square you tumble through costs you 10 feet of movement (15 if you tumble on a diagonal).

That's perfectly clear, if you believe in RotG.

Anyway, it seems reasonable that you can start and stop tumbling when you want, not just at the beginning and end of a movement action.

 

[Vrecknidj]

I don't think the PHB is clear on the matter, I haven't checked the SRD. But, it's probably safest to go with "entire move." That said, the tumbler can always take a -10 on his roll and tumble at full speed.

There's a monk in a campaign I'm running who has Tumble maxed out, has all the synergy bonuses, has the Acrobatic feat (I think that's the one), and has a magic item that gives him a +6 Dex. He can tumble to just about anywhere on the board with his 70' speed, and he has Spring Attack, so he can move 35', strike (and with Improved Trip this can be bad), and move 35' again, and he can manage the tumble with the -10 penalty with no problem.

He's pretty scary.

Dave

 

[Psimancer]

That's perfectly clear, if you believe in RotG.

Actually, thats no clearer at all...

My arguement to my player was, if they intended for you to count each square at double cost (like any other movement impairment), that's exactly how they would have stated it. But they didn't...

The fact that they use the term 'one-half speed' indicates to me that they meant 'total move'.

And the whole 'part of your move' thing doesn't mean FOR part of your move, but rather, it IS part of your move and NOT a seperate action...

I'm sure I have have read somewhere Skip saying 'total move' but for the life of me I have no idea where...

 

[Joshua Randall]

Having Tumble apply to the entire move is the simplest and requires the least amount of math.

What's your normal movement rate? 30 ft. Are you tumbling? Yes, so you move 15 ft.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I disagree with the (surprising) majority here. Tumbling reduces your speed. When you aren't tumbling, your speed isn't reduced. Unlike Power Attack or Combat Expertise, Tumbling does not reduce your speed for the entire round, but only for those squares in which you choose to tumble.

It isn't hard to use it correctly at all. Just have the tumbling PC pay 2-for-1 movement for each square he wishes to tumble through. If he runs out of movement, he stops.

 

[ThirdWizard]

I don't know, that "part of normal movement" leans heavily into the RAW being that you only move at half speed for part of your move, not all of it.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Just have the tumbling PC pay 2-for-1 movement for each square he wishes to tumble through. If he runs out of movement, he stops.

That's how I read it.

-Hyp.

 

[shilsen]

That's how I read it.

-Hyp.

Same here.