Level Up (A5E) Combat maneuvers ruling

[Huntedown]

Speed over strength
When a creature attacks you with a melee weapon that has the heavy property, or a Large sized or larger creature attacks you with a natural weapon, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against it using a weapon that has the dual-wielding or finesse property.

Do you attack before, after or at the same time

Instinctive Counterattack (2 points)
Utilizing reflexes perfected by dedicated training, your body flows into a sublime strike almost without a thought.
When your exertion pool is not empty, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack.

Does that mean if its your last 2 exertion, you cannot use this maneuvers?

 

[Faolyn]

Speed over strength
When a creature attacks you with a melee weapon that has the heavy property, or a Large sized or larger creature attacks you with a natural weapon, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against it using a weapon that has the dual-wielding or finesse property.

Do you attack before, after or at the same time

Reactions happen at the same time, or close enough to it, I believe. So basically, if a creature that fits the description attacks you, then you use your reaction to attack back. I do believe that it gets to roll its attack first, though, since Speed Over Strength doesn't say that you block its attack.

Instinctive Counterattack (2 points)
Utilizing reflexes perfected by dedicated training, your body flows into a sublime strike almost without a thought.
When your exertion pool is not empty, you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack.

Does that mean if its your last 2 exertion, you cannot use this maneuvers?

This one is phrased weirdly and doesn't make much sense, IMO. You should be able to use Instinctive Counterattack when you have 2 exertion in your pool, because your pool isn't empty, and it's not phrased "as long as using this maneuver doesn't reduce your pool to 0". OTOH, obviously you can't use a maneuver if you can't pay for it because your pool is empty. Maybe this was originally supposed to be a stance where you pay for it once and it lasts for long time, but I can't remember and I no longer have the original playtest packets to find out.

 

[Steampunkette]

Reactions happen at the same time, or close enough to it, I believe. So basically, if a creature that fits the description attacks you, then you use your reaction to attack back. I do believe that it gets to roll its attack first, though, since Speed Over Strength doesn't say that you block its attack.

The reaction happens after the attack, but before you take damage. I know it sounds weird, but there are reactions to being attacked and reactions to being damaged. The enemy's attack deals damage -after- you do.

This one is phrased weirdly and doesn't make much sense, IMO. You should be able to use Instinctive Counterattack when you have 2 exertion in your pool, because your pool isn't empty, and it's not phrased "as long as using this maneuver doesn't reduce your pool to 0". OTOH, obviously you can't use a maneuver if you can't pay for it because your pool is empty. Maybe this was originally supposed to be a stance where you pay for it once and it lasts for long time, but I can't remember and I no longer have the original playtest packets to find out.

Instinctive Counterattack isn't a stance. It's a Reaction. The action type is always listed under the name and point cost, with the level and tradition. Huntedown removed the information.

Essentially: You can always spend 2 points to use your reaction to attack, with no trigger. The "Empty Pool" clause is meant to replace a trigger for a reaction.

 

[Anselm]

Instinctive Counterattack isn't a stance. It's a Reaction. The action type is always listed under the name and point cost, with the level and tradition.

I think the reference to stance was about what it might have been in the play test based on the wording, not what it is now.

 

[Faolyn]

Instinctive Counterattack isn't a stance. It's a Reaction. The action type is always listed under the name and point cost, with the level and tradition. Huntedown removed the information.

Yeah; I meant in its original playtest form. Although I doubt it was a stance then, either.

Essentially: You can always spend 2 points to use your reaction to attack, with no trigger. The "Empty Pool" clause is meant to replace a trigger for a reaction.

OK, I can see that, but I still think it's badly phrased, since "not having an empty pool" isn't really a trigger. But I guess it's close enough.

 

[Stalker0]

Reactions occur after the trigger. So you person attacks you and then you attack them.

whether you rule damage comes later enough to get you an attack before you take damage…I could go either.

Instinctive counterattack is weird, but essentially they had to have a trigger, so they chose “do you have exertion in your pool…then you can use this attack at any time”. The trigger occurs before the cost, so going to 0 with the maneuver is fine, as long as you had exertion when you started the maneuver

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Instinctive counterattack is weird, but essentially they had to have a trigger

This is what made it finally click for me, but boy was the rule confusing for a while.