Healing Infusion: Resistive Formula

[Shin Okada]

This Artificer's Class Feature Power says,

Effect: The target gains a +1 power bonus to AC until the end of the encounter, and you expend an infusion crafted with your Healing Infusion class feature. The target can end the bonus as a free action to gain temporary hit
points equal to its healing surge value + your Constitution modifier.

Well, ending the bonus is a free action but not a triggered action. In such a case, can the target take that free action after being hit by an enemy but before taking damage?

 

[keterys]

Up to the DM. A request has been put in to WotC to clarify free action timing.

 

[chitzk0i]

By the current rules, yes you can do that. Some people say that there's a difference between triggered free actions and non-triggered free actions, but there's no rules text to support that.

 

[keterys]

Fwiw, I rule that you can trigger the temp hp after being hit and have played that way for a number of levels.

That said, there is no rules text to support a non-triggered free action "interrupting" any action, and there is no clarity of the timing of events between lines of a power (ie, if there is time between the Attack: and Hit: lines of a power - or between the +X ; 1dY of a monster power).

Or even on the same line, such as in the middle of 'X damage and push Y squares'.

Ergo, neither ruling is supported. Or unsupported. Let the DM know, get a ruling made, move on.

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Well, my understanding is certain free actions (such as elven accuracy) don't work at all unless they function to interupt the trigger.

That said, its possible to treat such actions as "interupts" (since they don't work otherwise) and all other free actions as "reactions" (since they do work) - or all frees as interupts, or deal with them on a case by case basis.

As states, its not clear.

Personally, I wouldn't go with the "all interupts" interpretation, as to me that opens up some rules "cheese" that I don't think was intended - for example, a sword mage using a sword two handed, and simply letting go with one hand every time someone hits him, retroactively getting the AC bonus and causing it to miss.

That said, I'm as of yet unaware of any principled basis to seperate those that act as interupts and those that act as reactions other than only letting those that need to work as interupts to work be interupts.

 

[Ebylon]

I'd argue that, as an interpretation of the intended flavor of this specific power, you could use that as a free interrupt to suddenly shield yourself if necessary, but that's just this DM's opinion.

 

[DracoSuave]

You can use a free action at any time, including before the damage but after the attack roll.

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

True, but I can see the most common time one might wish to trigger it mid-attack is when the player learns how much damage it does and wants to prevent it.

"What! It did HOW MUCH damage!?! Um... I use my temp hit points from resistive formula to cancel some of that out."

From my experience, players aren't going to trigger it between the attack and the damage unless you let them "roll back time" to do so.

 

[DracoSuave]

True, but I can see the most common time one might wish to trigger it mid-attack is when the player learns how much damage it does and wants to prevent it.

"What! It did HOW MUCH damage!?! Um... I use my temp hit points from resistive formula to cancel some of that out."

From my experience, players aren't going to trigger it between the attack and the damage unless you let them "roll back time" to do so.

True, and that's not really that much of a problem either.