Power question: Everywhere and Nowhere

[ZickZak]

Hi, I have a question to this power. When do I use the teleport? Seems like when the target makes an attack, I ll tepeort using free action, which can be taken on anothers turn, making me immune to being hit by that target if I am invisible, unless the enemy knows what square I port to.

Everywhere and Nowhere
Effect: Until the end of the encounter, whenever the target makes an attack while you are invisible to it, it takes 5 psychic damage and you may teleport 5 squares as a free action.

 

[MwaO]

RC page 195. It behaves as an immediate reaction in terms of timing - after the attack resolves. So enemy rolls to hit, sees if it hits or not, you take the effects, then it takes 5 psychic and you can then teleport.

 

[RedSiegfried]

And even if you teleport away while invisible, the target is still going to know which square you teleport to unless you do something to become hidden.

 

[MwaO]

And even if you teleport away while invisible, the target is still going to know which square you teleport to unless you do something to become hidden.

He could make a stealth check, but if he's only invisible to the target and there's someone else able to point out the square as a free action...

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

I think you teleport before the attack lands, since it's a free action teleport. Which makes this power incredibly powerful.

 

[ZickZak]

Thanks for the answers.
I know he would know where I was, but that doesnt matter, if I teleport when he attacks, but before it lands.
If its timing is same as IR, then it doesnt work that way and is much less powerful.

 

[MwaO]

I think you teleport before the attack lands, since it's a free action teleport. Which makes this power incredibly powerful.

The only time that happens with free actions is when it would be required to function. As an example, if you have a free action +3 to hit from a power when you don't like the roll, it has to happen then, not after the trigger is resolved.

 

[Aenghus]

The text suggests the power is triggered by the target making an attack, any attack. It doesn't specify "an attack on the caster" for instance. My interpretation would be that the caster can teleport in response to any attack by the target before it resolves, and would suffer the 5 psychic damage. If the target can discern the new location of the caster and their attack can reach they could still attack (typically with the standard -5 penalty for invisible target).

My interpretation is that the effect triggers on every attack by the victim, who may well be tempted to attack PCs who are not invisible. Once they make their save the effect no longer applies unless the sorceror has other invisibility powers.

4e Sorcerors are kinda squishy unless con secondary, I don't see an issue with a daily power with some built in defence.

 

[MwaO]

The text suggests the power is triggered by the target making an attack, any attack. It doesn't specify "an attack on the caster" for instance. My interpretation would be that the caster can teleport in response to any attack by the target before it resolves, and would suffer the 5 psychic damage.

Please read rules compendium page 197 under 'Other Triggered Effects'...This is not an area really open to interpretation unless you think an immediate reaction can do the same thing. Which basically makes most immediate reactions into immediate interrupts.

 

[Aenghus]

Please read rules compendium page 197 under 'Other Triggered Effects'...This is not an area really open to interpretation unless you think an immediate reaction can do the same thing. Which basically makes most immediate reactions into immediate interrupts.

I'm interpreting it as intending to allow the caster to avoid attacks, and in this specific case working before the resolution of the attack. If it makes you feel better assume I'm using the named exception in that paragraph for my game. YMMV.

 

[MwaO]

I'm interpreting it as intending to allow the caster to avoid attacks, and in this specific case working before the resolution of the attack. If it makes you feel better assume I'm using the named exception in that paragraph for my game. YMMV.

It is a clear cut rule and that's not an exception. The power has a very specific effect that's perfectly valid after a reaction. There's no reason for that interpretation unless you want to just change what the power does.

Which is fine, but that's not an interpretation, that's a rewrite.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

The only time that happens with free actions is when it would be required to function. As an example, if you have a free action +3 to hit from a power when you don't like the roll, it has to happen then, not after the trigger is resolved.

Right, this was an Essentials-ERA hack that was introduced because of earlier rulings that Free Actions could in fact be invoked in interrupt time, or even during other actions on your turn (this had to do with Wardens). At that point they needed a way to make things sane, so there was this decree that only 'necessary' interrupt speed free actions could work at interrupt speed, effectively downgrading (or not, depending on the side you took in all this) various powers like Everywhere and Nowhere.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I'm interpreting it as intending to allow the caster to avoid attacks, and in this specific case working before the resolution of the attack. If it makes you feel better assume I'm using the named exception in that paragraph for my game. YMMV.

AAANNNDDDD... this is of course why page 197 was a horrible idea, because it creates a vast area of interpretation about what things were 'supposed' to do and thereby draws INTENT into RAW. This is EXACTLY why many of us argued for a LONG LONG time that Free Actions should not ever work this way at all, going right back to PHB2 days when it first came up. WotC stupidly wrote itself into a corner with earlier rules interpretations and then had to pull this garbage stunt to try to keep the whole mess functioning.