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stunned freedom of movement


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The FAQ said:
Does the freedom of movement spell protect a character from being stunned? The argument is that “stun” is a condition that hinders movement.
Freedom of movement is one of those tricky spells that has a lot of open-ended wording that might lead to confusion. The spell becomes much more manageable if you just look at it as something that ignores any physical impediment to movement or actions. If you assign this restriction, then it makes sense that freedom of movement works against solid fog, slow, and web; each of these spells puts something in the way of the creature that stops them from moving/acting, or specifically targets the creature’s physical movement.
With this interpretation, spells and effects such as hold person that apply a mental impediment to taking any action would not be bypassed by freedom of movement. These are mental effects, and freedom of movement only helps you bypass physical effects (such as solid fog) or effects that specifically impede just your movement, not spells that stop you from taking any action, as hold person does.
In the same vein, freedom of movement would not work on someone who had been turned to stone by a medusa’s gaze or by a flesh to stone spell.
To answer the original question, being stunned is one of those mental effects and would normally deny a creature the ability to act at all. Since it’s not specifically focused on just impeding movement, and it is a mental, not physical impediment, freedom of movement would not help a stunned
creature to act or move normally.
This interpretation of freedom of movement can make it easier to adjudicate the effects of the spell, but it is also more restrictive. As always, it will ultimately be up to the Dungeon Master to make the best call as he sees fit for his campaign and play session.

Have a nice day.
 
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As I've explained (and you've conveniently overlooked) Dying and Stunned share the common component that the character may not take any actions. That's the relevance.

That's the point I'm asking you to address. Would you let FoM grant a move action to a dying character?

Beyond that, there are a number of feats that don't use an action to activate or use.
SRD said:
Use Feat
Certain feats let you take special actions in combat. Other feats do not require actions themselves, but they give you a bonus when attempting something you can already do. Some feats are not meant to be used within the framework of combat. The individual feat descriptions tell you what you need to know about them.

And, as you yourself have posted, a 5 foot step is listed as "no action". So, by the SRD and by your own post, it doesn't consume an action, and can be taken before or after your actions in the round.

The fact that a stunned fighter may not have any effective mental actions in the specified situation is beside the point. The fact is, he has no actions of any kind.

He is perfectly capable of moving, unimpeded, as soon as it's his action. Which happens after he clears the stunned condition. FoM doesn't clear or prevent a stunned condition because it only affects conditions that impede movement, and stun doesn't.
 

You people can play the game however you want.

To the OP: You do what you feel is appropriate. If you think FoM protects from Stunning then you go for it. The DM does have the right to make a decision when unsure about a rule. You look all over the internet and nobody has ironclad proof of the ruling. So it is up to you to do what you feel is right.
 

You will note that the "Dead" condition never says you can't act. That description is reserved for the "Dying". So once you're dead, you resume normal actions, by the SRD.

And to clarify - While a dead person may or may not be conscious, the Unconscious condition never says that you can't act either.

"This is why Iron Heart Surge can end these conditions..." said the "Immortal" Warblade shortly before entering the dragon's cave... never to be seen again.
 

Ah, falling back on Rule Zero I see.

If a DM decides to ignore the rules, then everything is a DM's call. Smooth move!

By the book, by the FAQ, and by the SRD, it doesn't protect against Stunned.

For those who choose to ignore the rules, from any all sources, and all authoritative references...

...what game are you playing again? You see, you can make up a game with any rules you like, but you shouldn't call it Dungeons and and Dragons. You see, there's already a agme using that name, and somebody might think you were talking about the same game.
 



Have a nice day.

Why did you have to go and bring the hated FAilQ into this? I was on your side... *sigh*

Hold Person said:
The subject becomes paralyzed and freezes in place.

Freedom of Movement said:
This spell enables you or a creature you touch to move and attack normally for the duration of the spell, even under the influence of magic that usually impedes movement, such as paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web.

The FAilQ is generally wrong and referencing it more often than not just makes your own position look stupid.
 


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