Haste and Refocus

daemonslye

First Post
Here is a simple one:

Lets say you lost initiative but are hasted (before the round started). Can you take your partial action first then use your
standard+move to refocus for next round thus gaining a net
benefit of an extra partial before your opponent may react?

Thanks

~D
 

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daemonslye said:
Lets say you lost initiative but are hasted (before the round started). Can you take your partial action first then use your
standard+move to refocus for next round thus gaining a net
benefit of an extra partial before your opponent may react?

I don't see why not. You only need to spend a full-round to regain your bearings, and in your example, you still did. Your partial was just extra. Haste lets you accomplish more in the same amount of time, so you didn't really sacrifice any time during your normal full-round. You just did everything faster.

I'd definately ask your DM how he would rule on this though.
 
Last edited:

Yes you can. There is a feat in Rokugan called "A Single Moment" that lets you refocus as a move-equivalent action. So if you lose initiative in round one, you can refocus and probably win initiative in round two.

The refocus combo is very deadly, especially for casters. \

1. Caster wins initiative
2. Delay action until close to the bottom of the round
3. Cast one spell with a partial action and a quickened spell
4. Refocus, probably winning initiative for next round
5. Blast away with standard action spell, haste action spell, and quickened spell.

Even without A Single Moment, this tactic is nasty for heavy evocation combos, as 5 spells can finish off many characters before the healer can react.

My two cents...
 

You could, but why? You're essentially throwing away an action to "feel good" about being first in initiative in the next round. Take the example above:

1. Caster wins initiative
2. Delay action until close to the bottom of the round
3. Cast one spell with a partial action and a quickened spell
4. Refocus, probably winning initiative for next round
5. Blast away with standard action spell, haste action spell, and quickened spell.

If the caster acts on his initiative, he casts on the partial action, quickened spell, and casts a spell as his standard action. Repeat at the top of initiative next round.

He's cast 6 spells in his first two rounds acting normally. By refocusing, he's only cast 5, because he had to sacrifice a standard action to refocus.

Now, if he was trying to wait for his opponents to bunch up, there might be a tactical reason to do this -- but he runs the risk of having someone run up and whack him while he's delaying.

Not worth it, IMO. What's the difference between being last in the round, or first in the following round? Nothing, except in the very first round of combat. You're better off delaying until the end of a round if you want to wait a bit, because you don't lose any action that way (review the D&D FAQ, which has an equivalent definition).
 

The point of strongbow's post is that the caster's actions all go in one set; he casts 5 Fireballs (or whatever) essentially simultaneously. This can be a lot more deadly than casting 3 Fireballs, allowing the enemy to heal their most wounded, and then casting 3 more.
 


Finally, I can post again!!

pg. 134 of phb under refocus

"Reforcus is a full-round action during which you cannot move. A character can choose to do nothing for an entire round and refocus his thoughts as he gets his bearings and apprasies the situation. The effect is that on the following rounds of the combat, the character..."

From this I would say that no you can't refocus and do something else in the same round. Its a shame, because is the first good use of refocus I've ever heard.
 

Stalker0 said:
pg. 134 of phb under refocus

"Reforcus is a full-round action during which you cannot move. A character can choose to do nothing for an entire round and refocus his thoughts as he gets his bearings and apprasies the situation. The effect is that on the following rounds of the combat, the character..."

See, that's the exact same passage I read, but I think you should be able to do it. The fact is that refocus is a full-round action, and according to the rules, a Haste partial action is in addition to your normal actions in a round. So you could use your Haste action for whatever, then use a full-round action to refocus. By doing this, you are meeting the requirements of the refocus action, which requires a full-round action, which you did in fact spend.

Also, the description of refocus, and arguably most of the books, assume normal conditions, i.e. you are not hasted. The first sentence is the only relevant one. The second is really just flavor.
 

Stalker0 -

To follow up, review p.80 and p.81 in Tome and Blood;
Casting Times.. It seems to me that, similarly, full round
spells (that do not allow movement and require full
concentration) are hasted/speeded as well (even one full
minute spells in fact).

So, I would consider this another "exploit" for the combat
savvy.

~D
 

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