Easy question about spring attack and jumping

[Tar-Edhel]

First time I get to use spring attack and I am a little confused.

You get to move before and after the attack, provided the total distance is no greater than my speed.

Which means I can't take a double move and attack somewhere in the middle right?

Can I SA while jumping?

I am trying to build a Psychic warrior who will rely on Spring attack/mental leap/speed of thought. Just want to be sure I understand SA correctly.

If you have a link to some explanation on the mechanics of SA, it would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

 

[jlhorner1974]

Correct. You cannot take a double move and attack in the middle.

Everyone gets to act the same way in every round. You can either do:

Full Round action
------ or --------
Standard action

All Standard actions include a move -- that is, you are allowed to move your normal speed before, during, or after the standard action. You are allowed to substitute other things for your Move. For example, you can attack (a Standard action) and then Pick up an item on the ground (instead of moving). You can substitute any action listed under the Move Equivalent Action section of page 128 in the Player's Handbook instead of your move.

A double move means you are moving your speed as your Standard action, plus moving your speed as the included Move equivalent action (I don't think this is explained well in the Player's Handbook). If you do this, you can move up to twice your normal speed, but then you don't have any action left to attack.

Making one attack is a Standard action that also allows a move.
In the normal case, you can either move then attack or attack then move. You must do all of your movement either before or after the attack.

If you have Spring Attack, you are allowed to "split up" your Move Equivalent Action into two pieces, one before your Standard action and one after. You are still limited to the normal amount of movement per round (your normal speed), but you just get to split up the movement as I said earlier.

Generally the idea with Spring Attack is that you stay out of reach of your enemies, close to melee range, attack once, and then retreat out of melee range, so that it makes you harder to hit.

It would have been easier if they explained it this way:

Each round, you can do one of the three below:

(1) a Full Round Action,
(2) a Standard Action + a Move Equivalent Action
(3) a Move Equivalent Action + a Move Equivalent Action (this is referred to as a "double move")


The reason you can do (3) is that you may substitute a Move in place of your Standard Action.

What you cannot do is substitute a Standard in place of a move, so you CANNOT do:

a Standard Action + a Standard Action

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

Yes, you can use Spring Attack while jumping. You can jump before the attack, after the attack, or both. You would need a separate Jump check for both unless you are making a single jump and attacking the target as you jump past.

Even if your Jump check gives you a distance greater than your speed, you are still subject to your normal movement limit. (Your movement before the attack plus the movement after the attack cannot be more than your normal speed). If your Jump check allows you to move more than this and you want to move the entire distance, you can cover the extra distance in the next round or rounds by using move actions then. Remember, you can always choose to Jump less than what your Jump check allows.

I believe there is a question in the D&D FAQ at Wizards.com about using Spring Attack while Jumping.



I hope this clears things up instead of making it more complicated.

(edited for clarity)

Jason.

 

[Malin Genie]

As the player of a character who does exactly that, I agree with the previous poster; you can Spring Attack while jumping.

For example, with boots of striding and springing and a few ranks in jump, a character could easily make a 40 ft (running) long jump. With the boots, her move would be 60 ft, so she can move the 20 ft (required for run-up for a running jump) and then complete the 40 ft jump in one move action.

If she passed over some enemies in the midst of the jump (you clear 1/4 your horizontal jump distance = 10 ft in the case of a 40 ft jump, allowing you to pass well over Medium size enemies,) then with a reach weapon, she could strike down onto her enemies as she went over.

 

[demon_jr]

You also are not required to move after a spring attack. You can declare a spring attack and move up to an enemy and attack, without continuing your movement. This is useful for engaging foes with reach and not provoking AoA.

 

[Hypersmurf]

You also are not required to move after a spring attack. You can declare a spring attack and move up to an enemy and attack, without continuing your movement. This is useful for engaging foes with reach and not provoking AoA.

Is that from an FAQ entry or somesuch?

By the wording of the feat, it's debatable.

"You can move both before and after the attack. Moving in this way does not provoke an AoO from the defender you attack."

Moving before the attack but not after is not moving "in this way", and therefore provokes an AoO as normal.

-Hyp.

 

[demon_jr]

Is that from an FAQ entry or somesuch?

By the wording of the feat, it's debatable.

"You can move both before and after the attack. Moving in this way does not provoke an AoO from the defender you attack."

Moving before the attack but not after is not moving "in this way", and therefore provokes an AoO as normal.

-Hyp.

Yes, I believe it is in the FAQ.

I may have to dig it up. I will post it when I find it.

Unless someone finds it first.

 

[demon_jr]

Taken from the FAQ:

The description for the Spring Attack feat says the attackers movement during a springing attack does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the defender. Does this mean a character with Spring Attack can disregard the problems associated with approaching and attacking an opponent with reach? This could be a huge benefit. Does the Spring Attack feat help you run away? Or must you move both before and after your attack to avoid attacks of opportunity?

When you use Spring Attack to attack a foe, your movement during your turn does not provoke attacks of opportunity from that foe, even if your movement takes you through several squares the foe threatens (as would be the case for an opponent with reach).

When or how often you move during your turn is irrelevant, but you must make an attack to get the benefit. Only the opponent you attack becomes unable to respond to your movement with an attack of opportunity; that opponent's allies suffer no such restriction.