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stunned freedom of movement
- Thread starter carborundum
- Start date
Dandu
First Post
But wasn't Rules of the Game written by Skip Williams, aka the Sage, who also wrote...
Dun dun DUN!
the FAQ?
Sorry, I am going to have to point out that Skip Williams is pretty bad when it comes to the rules as well.
Fair's fair.
Greenfield
Adventurer
On the plus side, this thread did manage to keep me entertained all day.
Nobody has yet proven that FoM protects you form being Stunned and nobody has proven that you can move while you are Stunned.
I play Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 and Pathfinder. Thing is you can't seem to admit that your way is one possible way the rules could be interpreted, but you don't know for sure if it is correct or not. You may think they are but there are people who disagree. Just Google the topic and you will see that other's out there do not share in your "opinion" of the rules. The same goes for my side and that is why it is best left up to the DM to decide what will work and what will not.
Thing is you have to have movement in order to get a 5-foot step. You have to be able to move in order to gain this. You can't skip to the 5-foot step if you have no movement available such as through a move action.
"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.
This is from the 3.5 faq. Stunned is one of those effects that prevent a creature the ability to act at all so no 5-foot step.
So it seems that everyone is wrong to a certain extent here.
Op: You can either listen to the "advice" of the Faq and not allow FoM to work, or you can follow the "advice" of the Faq and make a DM judgement call. Seems to me the Faq is more of a "This is how I would handle the situation" because the author is trying to make the ruling easier.
So there you go OP, the info is right there for you to do with what you want.
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.
This is from the 3.5 faq. Stunned is one of those effects that prevent a creature the ability to act at all so no 5-foot step.
So it seems that everyone is wrong to a certain extent here.
Op: You can either listen to the "advice" of the Faq and not allow FoM to work, or you can follow the "advice" of the Faq and make a DM judgement call. Seems to me the Faq is more of a "This is how I would handle the situation" because the author is trying to make the ruling easier.
So there you go OP, the info is right there for you to do with what you want.
Greenfield
Adventurer
Um, I'm confused.
As far as I know, you're the only person here who wanted or sought such a proof. The rest of us were busy trying to convince you that FoM didn't protect you from being stunned.
So are you citing your own inability to prove your point as some sort of proof of your point?
Greenfield
Adventurer
Absolutely wrong. 5-foot step is only available when you don't take a move action, and can be done when you have no move action available. For example, when a fighter takes a full attack, they get no move action, but can still 5-foot step.
Stunned people get no actions. 5-foot step is clearly labeled as "no action".
Connect the dots.
kitcik
Adventurer
Agreed.
If you need to support this with "realism," think about this:
You are in an earthquake. You get conked on the head with a falling brick (not a direct hit). You are woozy and stumbling (stunned). You cannot get it together enough to run down a flight of stairs and hide in the subway (move action), but you could take a 5' step to avoid the wall falling behind you.
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