5FT Step?

[1337 h4xor]

you could add another option

5) cast defensively, pass that conn check and blast him standing right in his face.

and the 5 foot step makes perfect sense. especially when you're dealing in seconds. While 2 people are engaged one hops back just out of range just long enough to do x (insert cast spell fire bow etc here...) before his oponnent is on him again.

 

[Gunslinger]

you could add another option

5) cast defensively, pass that conn check and blast him standing right in his face.

Casting Defensively is great. If you're in right block of levels and have a decent con modifier it's especially nice.

 

[MeepoTheMighty]

Casting Defensively is great. If you're in right block of levels and have a decent con modifier it's especially nice.

Mmm..dwarven wizards with 20 Con, maxed out concentration ranks, and combat casting feat...

 

[Ravellion]

Admittedly, I've started to seriously consider house-ruling 5' steps (adjustments) so that they're only available at the end of a character's turn sequence (i.e., after actions are complete). That would alter this issue, and solve the problem of needing to declare 5' adjustments -- but take away the ability to 5' step in the middle of a full attack action.

I wouldn't want to play a fighter in that game.

Wiz: Casts defensively. do 14d6 w/ freezing sphere to fighter next to me. End of turn, make 5ft step.
Fighter: &*#@! I move up and attack once!

Rav

 

[Al'Kelhar]

Yep. And if Billy is in this situation and has more than two brain cells, he'll ready an attack for 'when the wizard starts casting'. You see, he gets to take a 5' step on his readied action, too (as long as he didn't move with his move-equivalent or take a 5' step on his regular turn). This method can be a nasty surprise to spellcasters and archers who like to use this tactic. (My favorite for the latter case is to ready an action and sunder the bow. Bows don't have much hardness or hit points ...)

This, of course, depends upon Billy having readied the action on his previous turn. This is generally an unlikely scenario, as Billy will no doubt have moved up to the caster and smacked him big time in his last round in an effort to kill him before he gets the chance to cast anyway.

In practice, spellcasters move 5' away or cast on the defensive. The latter is not usually very hard, as wizards' high Int scores give them more skill points than they can usefully use on things other than Concentration - hence most wizards have spent a lot of skill points on Concentration.

In my experience, high level spell-casters usually need at least two characters to take down efficiently.

Cheers, AK

 

[Stalker0]

I wouldn't want to play a fighter in that game.

Wiz: Casts defensively. do 14d6 w/ freezing sphere to fighter next to me. End of turn, make 5ft step.
Fighter: &*#@! I move up and attack once!

Rav

Well the fighter still gets his full attack action, so hopefully by the time the wizard is doing 14d6, the fighter is doing like 3 attacks....power attacking.....with improved critical and keen......and +5 enhancement bonus.....hah....hahahha.AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

 

[Metalsmith]

Well the fighter still gets his full attack action, so hopefully by the time the wizard is doing 14d6, the fighter is doing like 3 attacks....power attacking.....with improved critical and keen......and +5 enhancement bonus.....hah....hahahha.AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

Silly Person!
Read Rav's Post again. Now read the Quote his post was obviously refering, Now Read the Post again.

No full attack action here. The poor fighter now only gets one attack a round, as he has to use a move action to get into range since 5' steps are only allowed at the end of the round.

The balance shifted from giving the fighter a little bit of a hard time to bending him over and going to him with a Sandpaper and Barbed Wire covered cylindrical object. The sugested rule isn't so bad as long as you only plan on playing characters with a Max BAB of +5, but that 20th Level Barbarian over there may want to have a few words with you.

Metalsmith

 

[Fenes 2]

So far imc there has been sort of a gentlemen's agreement concerning the 5-foot step. A spellcaster will use casting defensively, not the 5-foot-step to avoid an AoO (which works well enough). An archer using his melee sidearm instead of battlemap movement when attacked in melee seems also more stylish/reasonable/appropriate than the machinegunning backstepper (and it also avoids the natural retaliation of sundering the bow). It does work out for the PCs as well - especially for the archer, who will not have to replace his bow, or at least his string, everytime after a melee fighter closed and sundered.

I do have a problem with the 5-foot step, it is, imho, akin to the "your pistol/cannon/spell has a range of x, I move to x+1cm and blast you to smithers" mentality. Nothing wrong with it in board games, but in D&D games I'd rather not deal with PCs that have built-in laser-rangefinder and combat computers minmaxing their movements in a hypothetical grid.

 

[Rel]

When we first started playing 3E, we looked askance at the 5' step rule because of this exact situation. Ultimately we felt that it was fine how it was.

The fact is that if the Wizard is employing that tactic, he had better hope that whatever spell he casts incapacitates the fighter. Because if he doesn't, he is going to be eating greataxe on the Barbarians next action.

Now of course there are times when that is the wizard's best option. I've done it many times myself. But it is a big gamble and a spellcaster who relies on that method to avoid AoO's is probably not going to live too long.

 

[Kailyn]

Actually all of this is handled nicely by readying a partial action (which will allow you to respond to a 5' move)--if you have the higher init.

5) If Billy has a higher initiative instead of attacking Billy readies a partial action--when the wizards takes a 5' so will he and attack.

Wizard takes 5 and his action stops, as Billy's trigger goes off. Billy also takes a 5 foot step, gets his full attack and, since Mr Wizard is in reach of Billy, provokes a AoO when he starts to cast. (Ouch!).

Improved initiative anyone?

PS Should Trevor get smart and NOT take a 5, Billy gets a AoO and then can abort his ready action, for 1 more attack and now his initative is AFTER Willy.