Dodge

[KarinsDad]

Don't forget - even if we restrict "On any action" to your own actions, you can still move past a line of six people and Dodge each of them.

How, when you're only taking one Move action? The 'Speak' free action, of course!

Keep up the zingers as you pass each opponent, and switch your Dodge opponent with each utterance. As a bonus, it's an action that can be taken outside your turn...

Many DMs disallow 6 free actions in a round.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Many DMs disallow 6 free actions in a round.

Which doubtless makes archers and throwers wail in despair...

-Hyp.

 

[Jdvn1]

Hmmmm.....I'm not sure about that "must" you've got in there.

I had no idea Dodge was so poorly worded! God do I love ENBoards!

Well, of the options available, none of them make a lot of sense, but for that sentence to refer to actions not on your turn makes more sense than the other options. Based on the wording of the feat.

Don't forget - even if we restrict "On any action" to your own actions, you can still move past a line of six people and Dodge each of them.

How, when you're only taking one Move action? The 'Speak' free action, of course!

Keep up the zingers as you pass each opponent, and switch your Dodge opponent with each utterance. As a bonus, it's an action that can be taken outside your turn...

Did I mention that I really like this thread? Not only did I have to consider the horrible wording of a (previously) underpowered feat, it's really interesting! It doesn't hurt that the RAW, in this instance, is really funny either.

This is somewhat unrelated, but I thought when they introduced Swift and Immediate actions, it stepped on the toes of Free actions... By the core books, you could take as many Free actions as you liked (though, 'Speak' is limited by the GM) but in the ELH, deities get an ability to give them more Free actions per round. Does 'Speak' become an Immediate action? Did Free actions become limited x/round at some point and later change back?

 

[Jdvn1]

"Action" is a very clearly defined game term. There are standard Actions, Full-round Actions, Free Actions, etc.

While I agree with you, maybe you can see why it might make sense that this particular usage of "action" might be a different usage from the cearly defined game term.

[EDIT]Chris Lindsay's response does say "intention"....so he's not incorrect. He just doesn't give the correct answer. [/EDIT]

Oh, sneaky edit. I didn't see this until now. I did notice that he didn't technically answer the stated rules question with a rules answer, which is interesting. And I still don't know how he can claim intent.

I don't even know who Chris Lindsay is. Did he write anything significant? I'm guessing he didnt' write that feat, but I can't be sure. Who did (most likely) write the feat?

 

[Storyteller01]

We keep it as is, but we also use 3.0 OA, so it gets a bit more use from the fighter/ninjas.

 

[Hypersmurf]

This is somewhat unrelated, but I thought when they introduced Swift and Immediate actions, it stepped on the toes of Free actions... By the core books, you could take as many Free actions as you liked (though, 'Speak' is limited by the GM) but in the ELH, deities get an ability to give them more Free actions per round. Does 'Speak' become an Immediate action? Did Free actions become limited x/round at some point and later change back?

There's an implicit-yet-nebulous limit on free actions in the Core rules.

Free Action: Free actions consume a very small amount of time and effort. You can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally. However, there are reasonable limits on what you can really do for free.

So, free actions are limited to what is 'reasonable'.

-Hyp.

 

[Hypersmurf]

"Action" is a very clearly defined game term. There are standard Actions, Full-round Actions, Free Actions, etc.

The phrase 'your action', however, is sometimes used in such a way as to imply 'your turn in the initiative order'.

(Combat Expertise) The changes to attack rolls and Armor Class last until your next action.

(Power Attack) On your action, before making attack rolls for a round, you may choose to subtract a number from all melee attack rolls and add the same number to all melee damage rolls.

(Stunning Fist) A defender who fails this saving throw is stunned for 1 round (until just before your next action).

(Delay) If you come to your next action and have not yet performed an action, you don’t get to take a delayed action (though you can delay again).

(Ready) If you come to your next action and have not yet performed your readied action, you don’t get to take the readied action (though you can ready the same action again).

(Shield Bash) If you use your shield as a weapon, you lose its AC bonus until your next action (usually until the next round).

If I use Stunning Fist on someone and walk away (move action), hasn't "just before my next action" already happened? Does it last for 1 round, or until just before my next action? How can it be both?

If I use my shield as a weapon and say "Gotcha!" (free action), do I regain my AC bonus?

If I use Combat Expertise and then cast Quickened True Strike (free action), do the bonus and penalty to AC and attack rolls expire?

If I Ready an action to 5-foot-step-and-attack when my buddy is in a flanking position, and yell "Ready!" (free action), do I not get to take the readied action?

If we read 'your action' as 'your turn', these problems go away.

-Hyp.

 

[Artoomis]

...
If we read 'your action' as 'your turn', these problems go away.

-Hyp.

However, Dodge statrs "any action." You get at least two actions on your turn if not taking some form of a full round action.

"Any action" is really quite different from "your action." "You can select a new opponent on any action. " Boy that sure sounds like pretty much any time you take an action you can select a new opponent.

Of course, soem reasonableness needs to be applied here. Unfortuentely, the feat itself has no guidance.

"Don't forget - even if we restrict "On any action" to your own actions, you can still move past a line of six people and Dodge each of them.

How, when you're only taking one Move action? The 'Speak' free action, of course!"

That seems to be a bit unreasonable - howevere, switching when you take an AoO? WHy not?

 

[Hypersmurf]

That seems to be a bit unreasonable - howevere, switching when you take an AoO? WHy not?

How so, when Speak is an action, and an AoO is not?

-Hyp.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

My group has always figured that a character with dodge would designate his "dodged opponent" at the start of his/her action.

That said, like everyone else we have houseruled it be a flat +1 dodge bonus. Anything else is too much bookkeeping, especially for a DM. If the players have trouble remembering to use it, there is no hope for me as a DM who may have multiple NPC's to keep track of with multiple dodged opponents each round.