Knight with Spiked Chain. Broken?

[nittanytbone]

There are plenty of counters: A few ranks in tumble, the Spring Attack chain of feats, range weapons, reach weapons, spells, swarming the knight to use up all of his AoO, and so on. I think its fine.

 

[BASHMAN]

If it's difficult terrain, then the knight can't take a 5' step.

Besides, why can't the barbarian use a reach weapon himself? Or a ranged weapon?

Oh, to clarify, it says, "An ENEMY who begins his turn in a knight's threatened area treats it as difficult terrain." Ergo, the knight doesn't treat his own threatened squares as difficult. [unless he is filled with self-loathing]

The barbarian COULD use a reach weapon or ranged attack. In this scenario, we are assuming all he had was a greataxe.

 

[BASHMAN]

Though personally, I doubt a knight would stoop that low, if you are focusing on roleplaying. The knight I'm currently playing considers the spiked chain a dishonorable weapon.

Ah, then instead assume the knight in question were using an honorable lance and improved unarmed strike. The effect is the same-- he threatens a 10' radius around himself, without a 5' gap around himself.

 

[Merkuri]

Ah, then instead assume the knight in question were using an honorable lance and improved unarmed strike. The effect is the same-- he threatens a 10' radius around himself, without a 5' gap around himself.

To use the tactic the OP suggested, though, the knight would have to take a 5' step back each round. That's not a good idea if your goal, as you suggested, is to keep enemies away from somebody behind you.

 

[Deset Gled]

It only works with a spiked chain (or when enlarged), because, while with a reach weapon you would still threaten the area they start in (making it difficult terrain) you only factor in difficult terrain penalties for squares you enter and not the ones you leave. Hence he could take a 5ft step towards you with no movement penalty, and thus not suffer an AoO and have his full attack. Which is why you need to threaten the square they start in and the one they intend to move into.

Can you give a rules quote for this? It's certainly not how I would (or have) rule(d).

Of course, even if you're right, it still works if you combine the reach weapon with IUS, armor spikes, or any number of other combinations that let you threated both far and adjacent squares.

 

[Merkuri]

Quoth this SRD page:

Difficult terrain hampers movement. Each square of difficult terrain counts as 2 squares of movement. (Each diagonal move into a difficult terrain square counts as 3 squares.) You can’t run or charge across difficult terrain.

That suggests, though it does not quite say it outright, that you count moving into a "difficult terrain" square as 2 squares. If the square you are moving into isn't difficult you count it as one normal square of movement. The one you are moving into is the one that matters.

 

[moritheil]

I continually forget how easily people get their feathers ruffled. Folks, the spiked chain build is really tame.

If you really want to build to hinder your enemies, build a Knight X/Peerless archer 10, who threatens all points he has line of effect to and therefore causes an entire battlefield to be difficult terrain for his enemies.

(Admittedly, he'll be target No. 1 for all enemy ranged attacks, but the look on your opponents' faces should be worth it.)

 

[BASHMAN]

Also note Spring Attack defeats this combo.

Only if you have a 40' move speed, which I suppose the barbarian would.

 

[Deset Gled]

Difficult terrain hampers movement. Each square of difficult terrain counts as 2 squares of movement. (Each diagonal move into a difficult terrain square counts as 3 squares.) You can’t run or charge across difficult terrain.

That suggests, though it does not quite say it outright, that you count moving into a "difficult terrain" square as 2 squares. If the square you are moving into isn't difficult you count it as one normal square of movement.

I disagree. The next sentance in that section says "If you occupy squares with different kinds of terrain, you can move only as fast as the most difficult terrain you occupy will allow.", which implies the exact opposite outcome to me. If terrain in any part of the square you occupy does not allow a 5' step, you can't make one.

 

[Merkuri]

"If you occupy squares with different kinds of terrain, you can move only as fast as the most difficult terrain you occupy will allow."

I believe that part is designed for creatures with greater than 5' space who can occupy multiple squares. A human-sized opponent can only occupy one square at a time. He may be moving from one to another, but at any given moment he's only occupying one square.