Combat Actions - Partial Actions? Standard Actions?

[cossakking]

The question that I have is can you take a partial action and attack. The rules lead me to believe you can....

so you normally have a move action and a standard action...
Your standard action is to attack, and in your move equivalent you take a partial action and attack????

 

[IceBear]

Read Partial Actions in the PHB on page 121.

You cannot normally CHOOSE to take a partial action (other than with a readied action). The only other times you can take a partial action is due to circumstances (you surprised your opponent, you are hasted, you are slowed, etc).

You cannot choose to move and take a partial action during a normal combat round.

IceBear

 

[Ywain]

I think that you've answered your own question in a sense.

"your move equivalent you take a partial action and attack"

A move/move-equivalent action is not a partial action. They are not interchangeable. A partial action is not equivalent to a move action, it is not move-equivalent.

So read the descriptions of the action types closely.

 

[dcollins]

You may exchange a partial action for a single move (Table 8-3, p. 127).

However, you may not exchange a move for a partial action ("characters do not choose to take partial actions", p. 127 & 280).

It's only a one-way exchange, partial->MEA.

 

[Artoomis]

I hope this helps:

In a round you may:

Take a standard action, which includes a move. Examples include casting as spell or making a single attack.

Take a special standard action, which is "special" and requires reading the action carefully to see what you can do. (The SRD places "Charge" as a Full-Round Action, which is effectively what it is since you MUST move and can do nothing else). Example include a Charge and a Double Move (someone else said the Double Move was a special standard action in the PHB - in the SRD it is a Full-Round Action, which makes sense since you can do nothing else).

Take a Full-Round Action, which allows for no other move. Examples include Metamagic'd Spontaneous Spell, Full Attack, and, per the SRD, Charge and Double Move

Any time you can make a move, you may substitute a Move-Equivalent Action.

You may take a Partial Action only if you are Slowed, Hasted, Ready an Action, or have some sort of other circumstance that specifically grants you a partial action. You don't move and take an action with a Partial Action. (Partial Charge is a special case that let's you move AND attack.) Examples of Partial Actions include a Casting a Spell and a Single Attack.

You may start a Full-Round Action with a Partial Action, and finish it with your next action (using either a Partial Action or a Standard Action)

If you make no other move in the round, you make take a 5-foot step.

There - now I know I haven't covered every possible scenario, it's a summary of what you can do in a round.

Is this clear?

 

[AGGEMAM]

bla ... bla ... bla ...

Is this clear?

Quote frankly, Artoomis, that isn't really clear at all. I'll give it a go ...




Generally a standard action lets you take an action and make a move, either before or after but not during the action.

In a partial action you may either take an action or make a move, but not both. You cannot choose to take a partial action, but you can choose not to take it. In a partial action you can also start a full-round action.

An action can be anything you can do as an action, eg attacking or casting a (one action) spell. An action can even be a move, but a move cannot be an action.

With a move you can either move up to your speed or do something that is considered equal to a move, ie a move-equivalent action or MEA.

An attack action is any action that can potentionally damage your opponent, eg a melee attack or a charge.

A charge is a special standard action that allows you to move up to twice your speed and make a melee attack, but only if you move at least 10 feet, all your move is in a straigth line, you stop moving as soon as you threaten your target, and all your move is before the melee attack.

A partial charge is the same as the charge, except that you can only move up your speed, not twice your speed, and you can only make a partial charge if you have a partial action to use.

The attack action is a melee attack, a ranged attack, or an unarmed attack.

A melee attack can also be anything that is considered to be a melee attack, eg a disarm or a trip.



I don't know if this is clearer, but I bolded a lot of words.

 

[Artoomis]

It may be just me, but I think my presentation was much simpler without sacrificing accuracy.

You did add one or two things I left out, but most (not all) don't need any more than what I stated.

I intentionally left some things out to keep it simple.

 

[Magus_Jerel]

so you normally have a move action and a standard action...

If you mean in one round - not quite;
you only have the standard action - but the standard action contains a partial action and a move action.

What you actually have in a round is a move action and a partial action:

What you actually have (for sure) in "one round" is any of the following:

1 round = 6 seconds
1 round = full round action
1 round = partial action + move equivalent action
(the above is often called a "standard" action"

1 round = 2 move equivalent actions
(the above is called the double move action)

now - if you do a bit of algebra (and the rest of this board has always and will always want to crucify me for saying this) is that you can take equations 3 and 4 and generate the following:

partial action = mea

Thus taking two "partial actions" in and of themselves is theoretically possible; but they are going to state that you can NEVER choose to take a partial action unless the game makes you... Here is one of the the problem that generates.

You cannot choose to move and take a partial action during a normal combat round.

IceBear

And yet - we do this exact thing all of the time; as a typical fighter "closes into melee combat and makes his single attack". This is why it is called a "standard action". You are making the "mistake" of trying to read the text as it is exactly written - and not following conventional mass brainwashing For this, I applaud you. To avoid getting shouted at too much - I would have to answer your questions directly - but I think the private message system is still down.

 

[kreynolds]

If you mean in one round - not quite...

Oh boy. Here we go again.

 

[Caliban]

If you mean in one round - not quite;
you only have the standard action - but the standard action contains a partial action and a move action.

Wrong. You can do a Standard Action or a Full Round Action.

What you actually have in a round is a move action and a partial action:

You actually have more than that, but that is all you can accomplish using a Standard Action.

What you actually have (for sure) in "one round" is any of the following:

1 round = 6 seconds
1 round = full round action
1 round = partial action + move equivalent action
(the above is often called a "standard" action"

You seem almost coherent up to here.

1 round = 2 move equivalent actions
(the above is called the double move action)

Here's where you start to lose it.

That is false, as was proven repeatedly the last time you brought this up.

1 round does not equal 2 move equivalent actions. One round is greater than two move equivalent actions, meaning you still have a fraction of your six seconds left after performing two MEA's.

It's just that if you choose to do 2 move equivalent actions, you don't have enough time to do anything else that round. Also note that a double move is a SPECIAL Standard Action: It cannot be used to infer things about the Normal Standard Actions.

now - if you do a bit of algebra (and the rest of this board has always and will always want to crucify me for saying this) is that you can take equations 3 and 4 and generate the following:

partial action = mea

Thus taking two "partial actions" in and of themselves is theoretically possible;

As with all logical functions: Garbage In, Garbage Out.

but they are going to state that you can NEVER choose to take a partial action unless the game makes you... Here is one of the the problem that generates.

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You cannot choose to move and take a partial action during a normal combat round.

IceBear

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


And yet - we do this exact thing all of the time; as a typical fighter "closes into melee combat and makes his single attack".

That is not choosing to take a partial action, that is choosing to take a standard action. The game mechanics consider a Standard Action to be a single unit, not two seperate actions.

Even using your logic, trying to replace the Move/MEA portion of a Standard Action would be choosing to take a Partial action, which is explicitly not allowed by the rules.