Readied action that allows for an offensive but invulnerable fighter?

[rhammer2]

You are incorrect. You only get a 5' step if you performed no other movement during the round.

Actually, yes. This in 3.0 where PHB Table 8-3 allows a 5-ft step with any partial action... I'll ask you to not focus on that detail. For brevity's sake, assume that the swordsman is already 15 ft. away when the round starts, if you like.



I must say, it really doesn't feel right for this set of tactics (assuming swordsman charges round 1, double moves round 2) to manage keeping the swordsman from making any attack at all for 2 full rounds, with AOOs from the polearm in both rounds, when he's allegedly within striking range the whole time.

 

[FireLance]

Re: Firelance, I've never been sure on whether option #5 was allowed or not. (Consider also the victim of a trip or large-and-in-charge attack.)

Heh. I'd argue that the attacker should be allowed to complete the rest of his move (if he has 20 ft. of move remaining) and attack if the defender was allowed to take an AOO and move. Mind you, this is assuming the attacker moves and attacks instead of charging. If he charged, then it would work, but like Hypersmurf said: once.

If the attacker was somehow prevented from completing his move, e.g. trip or large-and-in-charge, then it would also work ... once.

 

[dcollins]

You are incorrect. You only get a 5' step if you performed no other movement during the round.

I guess you didn't grok the bit you quoted about "I'll ask you to not focus on that detail. For brevity's sake, assume that the swordsman is already 15 ft. away when the round starts, if you like."

In fact, now that I think of it, it doesn't matter if the swordsman is 15 ft. away or not -- just anywhere within movement of the polearm-wielder, who is going to move and attack in the next round. Which means that either person (sword or polearm) who picks the right ready action can get a free attack and prevent the other person from attacking, in the next round. You'd think the logical conclusion would be every sword vs. polearm encounter winds up staring at each other with mutual readied actions, if that were the case.

 

[Darklone]

Hmm. Polearm dude readies an attack as soon as someone comes into 10ft reach as well as a 5ft step back. By the arguing in the last discussion, the opponents movement (even if he didn't move his maximum yet) is over.

Praise the gods for tumble...

 

[Hypersmurf]

Hmm. Polearm dude readies an attack as soon as someone comes into 10ft reach as well as a 5ft step back. By the arguing in the last discussion, the opponents movement (even if he didn't move his maximum yet) is over.

No, I think you're misremembering.

The last discussion (if it's the one I'm thinking of) was that the spearman readied a 5'-step-back-and-attack for when the swordsman attacked.

Then, the action he interrupts is not a Move action, but the Attack action. Since the swordsman has already begun his Attack action, his Move action is over, and he's committed his Standard action to something that isn't a move. The spearman steps back and attacks, and then the swordsman gets to finish his attack... but his target is no longer in reach.

This is different to Readying an attack-and-step-back for when the opponent moves within 10 feet. The action you're interrupting now is the Move action, and after your readied action is resolved, the swordsman gets to complete his Move action... which might involve following you another ten feet. And since he hasn't actually begun his Standard action yet, he still has that to do with as he wills.

-Hyp.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Is this legal?

I have a polearm, and ready an action that when my enemy charges at me and starts moving through the square 10 feet away I move 20 feet to the right. They charge, I get the AOO for movement, and then move away. Since I am far away, they cannot attack. Rinse, repeat.

From a realistic standpoint, the idea of a polearm weilding spinning away from an opponent as he hits him is possible, but still... its poweful.

Thoughts.

You get the AoO when he exits the square 10ft away from you, thus at the point you start running he is within 5ft of you and would get an AoO on your movement away would be one way of ruling it. His move action couldn't be a "withdraw" since that is a full round action IIRC (certainly by the intent of withdraw). There would still be problems with longspear wielding ogres, however.

But as a DM I wouldn't take a second to disallow this as a (potential) artefact of the granularity of alternating actions during melee.

Cheers

 

[Darklone]

Thanky Hyp.

Well anyhow... Polearms are strong enough without munchkinized ruleslawyering, so expect a major DM smackdown if your DM is similar to me