5 foot step + charge?

[Raduin_Nimblegrund]

I have been debating something in my head, for a while...

For the past few games I have been allowing a player of mine to charge after taking a 5 foot step, so that he could make use of his flying kick ability.

Now, do you think this violates the "must move in a straight line" rule for charging? He uses the 5 foot step in a way so that he could adjust slightly before charging.

Personally I dont think he should even get the 5 foot step to start with. It shouldnt be able to be tacked on to a regular move like that, otherwise aoo's become meaningless...

 

[Cloudgatherer]

If you do any other moving in a round, you don't get a 5-foot step in addition.

 

[IceBear]

Yup, he can EITHER charge or take a 5ft step not both. The 5ft step takes up all his movement for the round.

IceBear

 

[Crothian]

What Cloudgatherer and IceBear said. They are good people, listen to them.

 

[Lord Ben]

I allow PC's and NPC to move around minor obstacles while charging, but I don't call it a 5ft step. It should still provoke an AO when they do it if they're leaving a square, and "5ft steps" the game term doesn't provoke movement AO's.

 

[Caliban]

I have been debating something in my head, for a while...

For the past few games I have been allowing a player of mine to charge after taking a 5 foot step, so that he could make use of his flying kick ability.

Now, do you think this violates the "must move in a straight line" rule for charging? He uses the 5 foot step in a way so that he could adjust slightly before charging.

Personally I dont think he should even get the 5 foot step to start with. It shouldnt be able to be tacked on to a regular move like that, otherwise aoo's become meaningless...

Technically, you can't take a 5' step and still move.

However, keep in mind that the grid is just an abstraction used to measure movement and placing. It's does not require the PC's to actually move only in along the grid lines.

If you can draw a line between the center of the square the PC starts in and the center of the square he stops in, and it doesn't pass through an enemy occupied square or other physical object, then the PC is moving in a straight line, even it drifts across one or more gridlines.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

What Caliban said!

 

[Zenon]

The problem is in the terminology that WotC chose to use.

Think of it this way:

A "5' step" that does not provoke an AoO should be called a "Combat Move" or "Combat Adjustment". This is to differentiate it from just moving 5'.

So, if a character takes a "Combat Move" in his round, he can no longer take any more physical movement, no matter how much movement he has left. So, no "Combat Step" and then charge.

If a character just moves 5' (not a "Combat Move"), he can then take a "partial charge", subject to DM approval. Partial Charge is only normally used when you only have a partial action, such as from a suprise round or a Ready action.

All movement in a round that includes a charge or partial charge must be in a straight line as Caliban said above. He has a good point with the grid example, too many people forget that.

The only thing I'm aware of that changes that is the feat Fleet of Foot from Song & Silence. With the feat (which has prereqs of a high dex, another feat and less than a certain class of armor [description of feat made ambiguous from copyright purposes], you can make up to a single direction change of 90 degrees or less during a charge.

I have found using the Combat Move terminology with my players clears things up about the 5' step questions.

 

[dcollins]

Zenon: I'm not sure how you can argue that a person can move 5' and then partial charge. That seems pretty clearly against the rules, since the only movement you get is the charge itself (the action allows no other movement in the action, 5' or otherwise).

On a separate issue, it seems that official materials seem to be evolving in the direction of calling the 5-ft. step an "Adjustment" (originating in the glossary entry on PH p. 275, as opposed to your terminology), based on the movement examples published here: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/DnD_PH_Bonus.asp

 

[dthornburg]

dcollins; I agree with your take on the movement of 5' and the partial charge.

The way I look at a Charge in my group is basically this; A charge attack is (up to) a Double Move with a Partial Attack action attached on the end of it, with the stipulation that you must move up to 10' and in a straight line.

The Charge/Partial Charge is a rule that doesn't quiet fit the regular thinking in the rules. I guess they just had to fit something in to accomodate this type of action.

dt