Movement vs. Entering - Interesting CustServ Response

[Mistwell]

Polearm Gambit is more specific and would be an exception from the wording you have in the previous post.

I disagree. It is about polearm gamble, and I do not think it is at all clear that it's an exception. Obviously you get to attack if they move next to you voluntarily on their turn, and I think that is how it is intended to usually operate. That you get an opportunity attack if they are forced to move next to you on another PC's turn? Not so sure that is the case.

 

[Thundershield]

I disagree. It is about polearm gamble, and I do not think it is at all clear that it's an exception. Obviously you get to attack if they move next to you voluntarily on their turn, and I think that is how it is intended to usually operate. That you get an opportunity attack if they are forced to move next to you on another PC's turn? Not so sure that is the case.

It's about as clear as it gets. The feat, Polearm Gamble, uses the word "enters", which according to CustServ is meant to include forced movement. Otherwise the feat would have said "When a nonadjacent enemy moves into a square adjacent to you..."

So until we have word from the original designer of the feat or see an errata of the feat, all we can go by as for the intend of this feat is the original wording of it. Anything else is pure speculation.

 

[auspexRex]

It's about as clear as it gets.

It's certainly not "as clear as it gets".

 

[eamon]

Polearm Gamble is not more specific than OA rule which specifies that forced movement does not provoke.

It's easy to lead oneself to believe that feats and powers are by their very nature "more specific" than the combat section; but if you reason that through you'll realize it leads to complete nonsense: almost no powers reiterate the basic combat rules that apply - without overriding them. A push power that fails to mention that when you push someone off a cliff the victim gets a saving throw isn't a specific exception; it's just another rule - both rules apply.

Polearm Gamble grants an OA when an opponent enters a square; teleportation and forced movement prevent it. Neither rule is more specific that the other, so both apply: In general you gain an extra OA which triggers whenever an opponent enters certain squares, but when the action in question consists of forced movement, that action doesn't trigger any opportunity actions.

 

[Regicide]

Polearm Gamble is not more specific than OA rule which specifies that forced movement does not provoke.

Yes, it is. Quite obviously it is. OA is a general rule, a feats are exceptions to the general rule.

almost no powers reiterate the basic combat rules that apply - without overriding them. A push power that fails to mention that when you push someone off a cliff the victim gets a saving throw isn't a specific exception; it's just another rule - both rules apply.

Of course they don't reiterate the rules, if they did, they'd be poorly written. They state the EXCEPTIONS to the general rule, not the entire general rule plus the exceptions.

Polearm Gamble grants an OA when an opponent enters a square;

Yes, and had they meant "move into" instead of "enter" they'd have written that. They didn't.

 

[CableRouter]

Allow me to reiterate the important part, "The DM can restrict the number of free actions in a turn." In other words, it is well within the rights of the DM to limit the number of times a wizard would be able to slide a target out of and into the zone... to just once, if necessary.

The effects of your spells are not actions, free or otherwise. If you want to put your foot down as a DM to keep things under control, just make a ruling and carry on. Don't try to twist the wording of completely unrelated rules to try to make your case, it just makes a DM look like he doesn't understand what's going on.

 

[Samir]

The effects of your spells are not actions, free or otherwise. If you want to put your foot down as a DM to keep things under control, just make a ruling and carry on. Don't try to twist the wording of completely unrelated rules to try to make your case, it just makes a DM look like he doesn't understand what's going on.

The post you are quoting is referring to a specific daily spell with a free action trigger, and the particular effect he is talking about is very much a free action.

Grease
Daily * Arcane, Implement, Zone
Standard Action
Area burst 2 within 10 squares
Effect: The burst creates a zone of slick grease that covers all horizontal surfaces until the end of the encounter. The zone is difficult terrain. You can make the following attack, using a square within the zone as the origin square.
Free Action
Close burst 1
Trigger: A creature enters the zone
Target: The triggering creature in burst
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: You knock the target prone.
Miss: You slide the target 2 squares.