AEG Steadfast Boots : What does it mean?

[Shin Okada]

From AEG P.130

"As long as the wearer carries a melee weapon that is Medium-Size or larger, she also counts as being set against a charge. The weapon does not have to have reach.."

What does this mean? How does this item work?

a) Whenever a charging enemy come near to the user, he can attack as if he was readying an attack against a charging enemy. Then his initiative order changes (as if he has taken a turn just before the charger).
b) Whenever a charging enemy come near to the user, he can attack as if he was readying an attack against a charging enemy. But this is a kind of extra attack and does not change the initiative order.
c) These sentences are just saying that the wearer of the boots may use any weapon (medium or larger) to "readying a weapon against a charge" and inflicts double damage.
d) Neither of the above

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

This is, IMO, a question where I go with what I judge to be balance and the spirit of the rules rather than the most literal interpretation of the letter of the rules.

I actually take position (D).

I understand it to mean that any attacks the character may have the opportunity to make are considered to be readied against a charge. It doesn't grant extra attacks, nor does it grant extra (readied) actions but it does mean that any weapon ordinarily capable of dealing double damage against a charging foe will do so on any attack against a charging foe. So, if Bezerker Bob charges Steadfast Sue (who wields a longspear), Steadfast Sue gets an AoO which counts as being set vs. charge and therefore deals double damage.

If steadfast Sue had readied an action to attack any foe who came within reach (but not to set her weapon against a charge while doing so), she would deal double damage on both her readied attack and her AoO.

If steadfast Sue had Hold the Line and Combat Reflexes, she would also get an AoO when Bezerker Bob entered her first threatened square (this is distinct from the AoO for leaving a threatened square which is limited to one per round) and that would also count as set against a charge and would deal double damage. If Beserker Bart (Bob's ally) then charged her, she would get double damage on her hold the line AoO and her normal AoO, provided that she had a high enough dexterity to take them.

If Steadfast Sue were wielding a glaive instead of a longspear, she wouldn't deal any extra damage because being set vs. charge doesn't do anything special for a glaive.

 

[Hypersmurf]

It's an odd one.

I end up agreeing with EB's reading of the effects, but if that is what they intended, the choice of wording is a bizarre one.

The implication of the wording is that while wearing the boots, you are considered set to receive a charge with your warhammer. But setting a warhammer to receive a charge has no mechanical effect, so the ability is pointless in this case.

Given that, it would have made more sense - rather than saying "a melee weapon" and adding the strange note about it not having to have reach - if the description said something about 'while wielding a weapon that can be set against a charge'.

-Hyp.

 

[Shin Okada]

Thanks. Elder-Basilisk's interpretation seems to be a reasonable one which does not break game balance. I don't like it to be a uber item nor make spears obsolete.