5 foot step trick

[Hypersmurf]

Wait, what? So in 3.5 Spring Attack, you can as your attack action: move, attack, finish your move, and then you still have a move action left over?

The problem is that in 3E, the Attack action was a standard action... and a standard action was "move and do something" or "do something and move", where the move could be substituted for an MEA.

In 3.5, the Attack action is a standard action... and a standard action is "do something".

So in 3E, when Spring Attack said "When taking the Attack action, you can move before and after your attack", it meant "That move that's already a part of a standard action can be split up".

But in 3.5, when Spring Attack says the same thing, it ends up meaning "There's normally no movement as part of a standard action, but in this special case, there is".

Depending on whether you consider the "does not exceed your speed" limit to apply to the action or to the round, you may find that the move action you have left over can't actually be used to move any further, but you can still use it to, say, get something out of your Haversack.

Now, I consider this to be an accident caused by the fact that the definition of a standard action changed in the revision, and so I've changed the feat in my own game to require the expenditure of a move action to gain that movement.

-Hyp.

 

[mvincent]

Interestingly, while I've commented on the accident of wording in the 3.5 Spring Attack feat that means your movement is part of the Attack action (not a separate move action)

While that is interesting to literalists, wouldn't intent have priority? Otherwise you have other wierd things that occur from taking certain rules text too literally.

 

[Hypersmurf]

While that is interesting to literalists, wouldn't intent have priority?

Well, my general philosophy is "Divine intent from what's written. If they wrote 'X does Y', why not assume that their intent was that X does Y?"

But in this case, my inclination is to say that someone forgot to carry a 1.

-Hyp.

 

[Dracorat]

Umm actually, it does require both your standard and move action. Keep reading past that initial opening text.

"When using the attack action" (which is the part everyone reads) "you can split your move action..."

Notice - it requires the expenditure of your move action as well.

 

[MarkB]

Umm actually, it does require both your standard and move action. Keep reading past that initial opening text.

"When using the attack action" (which is the part everyone reads) "you can split your move action..."

That's not the text printed in either my 3.5e PHB or in the SRD.

 

[Artoomis]

Umm actually, it does require both your standard and move action. Keep reading past that initial opening text.

"When using the attack action" (which is the part everyone reads) "you can split your move action..."

Notice - it requires the expenditure of your move action as well.

When quoting the rules, one should actually QUOTE them:

The feat actually states, "When using the attack action with a melee weapon, you can move both before and after the attack, provided that your total distance moved is not greater than your speed."

This COULD be read to give you an extra move during your attack. I think that's yet another attempt to read rules too precisely, looking for loopholes. You, of course, use your move action up while doing a Spring Attack. A change in rules so dramatic as to give you an extra move during a round would need to be really specifically laid out as such if that was the intent.

 

[Nail]

Depending on whether you consider the "does not exceed your speed" limit to apply to the action or to the round, you may find that the move action you have left over can't actually be used to move any further, but you can still use it to, say, get something out of your Haversack.

Perhaps some wine and cheese.

 

[Dracorat]

That's not the text printed in either my 3.5e PHB or in the SRD.

I use the leatherbound PHB v3.5 and the text is:

When using the attack action with a melee weapon, you can split your move action in that round in order to move both before and after the attack, provided that your total distance moved is not greater than your speed. Moving in this way does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the defender you attack, though it might provoke attacks of opportunity from other creatures, if appropriate. You can't use this feat if you are wearing heavy armor.

You must move at least 5 feet both before and after you make your attack in order to utilize the benefits of Spring Attack

I just checked the PHB non-leather bound. It says the same thing. Page 100.

[edit]Double check. The non-leather bound says "you can move before and after" which is different than the leatherbound version. I will try to find why the leatherbound uses different text[/edit]

 

[MarkB]

I use the leatherbound PHB v3.5 and the text is:



I just checked the PHB non-leather bound. It says the same thing. Page 100.

[edit]Double check. The non-leather bound says "you can move before and after" which is different than the leatherbound version. I will try to find why the leatherbound uses different text[/edit]

Interesting. The leatherbound PHB is supposed to be the same as the standard one aside from including the then-available errata.

If they decided it was worth clarifying the feat in the leatherbound PHB, why on earth didn't they also update the errata and SRD?

 

[Dracorat]

I'm wondering the same thing. I already checked the errata and it is silent.