Whirlwind Attack Complications

[Aluvial]

Just to add a thought....

How can you WWA with a piercing weapon? I can understand slashing and bludgeoning, but piercing seems a little odd...

When you whirl you slash and bang each opponent, not poke, poke, poke, poke!


Aluvial

 

[Chun-tzu]

The Loremaster Secret Feat lets you take a feat that you don't have the pre-reqs for, and is perfect for smackdowns.

I don't think it does. The "applicable knowledge" secret does say "any one feat" without clarifying any further, and I didn't find any further clarification in the FAQ. But I don't think you can assume it means you don't need the pre-requisites, since in all other cases, you do, unless it SPECIFICALLY says that you do not. For example, 6th level Monks gain the Improved Trip feat, even if they don't have the pre-requisite, Expertise.

 

[AuraSeer]

How can you WWA with a piercing weapon? I can understand slashing and bludgeoning, but piercing seems a little odd...

WWA does not involve holding your weapon out and spinning like a ballerina. You do make a separate attack on each enemy.

Picture a scene out of a Jackie Chan movie, where he gets mobbed by opponents. He doesn't just spin around and hit them all at once; he strikes in lots of directions very quickly, and hits each attacker individually.

 

[Aluvial]

WWA does not involve holding your weapon out and spinning like a ballerina. You do make a separate attack on each enemy.

Picture a scene out of a Jackie Chan movie, where he gets mobbed by opponents. He doesn't just spin around and hit them all at once; he strikes in lots of directions very quickly, and hits each attacker individually.

So it is a separate roll for each opponent?

Aluvial

 

[IceBear]

Yes.

I know that some people have been confused by the wording in the PHB, but it's a seperate dice roll for each target within range.

IceBear

 

[Kyramus]

Whirlwind uses 1 attack roll.

Imagine a blade barrier if you will with a radius of 5 feet. All the blades hit everyone around the attacker, BUT some might miss. That is why it has 1 attack roll. Maybe it was a weak blade barrier and all miss it's target (rolled low on the attack, analogous to a successful reflex save by a rogue within a blade barrier).

So it is a separate roll for each opponent?

Aluvial

 

[IceBear]

No, it's one roll per target. It's not one roll.

IceBear

 

[AuraSeer]

The feat says "one melee attack against each opponent within 5 feet." Use of the word 'each' means there is one separate attack per opponent.

If it meant for a single attack roll, the text would say "one melee attack against all opponents within 5 feet." That would mean a single attack roll, used to affect multiple enemies.

(If I give "one soda to all my 6 coworkers," there's one soda and they have to split it. If I give "one soda to each of my 6 coworkers," I handed out a six-pack. Isn't grammar fun?)

 

[IceBear]

Here is a question from the FAQ, which while isn't exactly this question, contains more wording that shows it's one attack roll per target.

How many attacks would a character with the Whirlwind
Attack feat get if she were attacking with two weapons?
What if she has Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting?
What if she also as Improved Two-Weapon Fighting?
If you don’t have Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, you get
one attack against every foe within 5 feet, plus one attack for
the second weapon. The Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon
Fighting feats lessen your penalties, but they don’t give you
any extra attacks.
If you have Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, you get one
attack against every foe within 5 feet, plus two attacks with the
second weapon.
In either case, you must use your primary hand for the
Whirlwind Attack, though you can decide which weapon will
be “primary.” Note that your two-weapon attack penalties
apply to every attack you make during the Whirlwind Attack.
multiply your Strength bonus by 1.5 (and round down to the
nearest whole number). If you’re using two weapons, you apply
the full damage bonus on the primary hand and half the bonus
(rounded down to the nearest whole number) to the secondary
hand.
If the game did not have this rule, you’d actually get more
benefit from a high Strength score from using two small, lighter
weapons than you would for using a really big heavy weapon in
two hands.
Do you have to use the full attack action to get the
benefits of the Cleave or Great Cleave feats? I’d say so,
since you have to use the full attack action to get more than
one attack.
No, you don’t have to use the full attack action to get the
benefit of either one of these feats. If you have either or both ofHow many attacks would a character with the Whirlwind
Attack feat get if she were attacking with two weapons?
What if she has Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon Fighting?
What if she also as Improved Two-Weapon Fighting?

If you don’t have Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, you get
one attack against every foe within 5 feet, plus one attack for
the second weapon. The Ambidexterity and Two-Weapon
Fighting feats lessen your penalties, but they don’t give you
any extra attacks.
If you have Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, you get one
attack against every foe within 5 feet, plus two attacks with the
second weapon.
In either case, you must use your primary hand for the
Whirlwind Attack, though you can decide which weapon will
be “primary.” Note that your two-weapon attack penalties
apply to every attack you make during the Whirlwind Attack.

and

If you use the true strike spell and you get a threat, does
the +20 bonus from the apply to the critical confirmation
roll? Would the +20 bonus apply to the extra attacks you
get from the Cleave, Great Cleave, or Whirlwind attack
feats?
When you roll to confirm a critical, you use whatever
bonuses applied to the attack roll that made the threat, no
matter where those bonuses came from.
True strike affects only one attack. (Rolling to confirm a
critical is not a separate attack for this purpose.) If you make
multiple attacks in a round, your bonus from true strike applies
only to the first attack you make, no matter how you managed
to get multiple attacks.
a limit to the number of objects the servant can carry?
In general, an unseen servant can do anything human with a
Strength score of 2 could do (but remember that it can move in
three dimensions). The servant has no mind and no skills of its
own. If left to operate on its own, it can perform very simple
actions of the sort that a human could do while holding a
conversation (sweeping the floor, darning a sock, flipping the
pages of a book, picking up objects).
The servant has no senses and no ability to make judgments
when left to operate on its own. For example, if directed to pick
up objects and left to operate unattended, it cannot select
specific objects to pick up, though you can instruct the servantIf you use the true strike spell and you get a threat, does
the +20 bonus from the apply to the critical confirmation
roll? Would the +20 bonus apply to the extra attacks you
get from the Cleave, Great Cleave, or Whirlwind attack
feats?

When you roll to confirm a critical, you use whatever
bonuses applied to the attack roll that made the threat, no
matter where those bonuses came from.
True strike affects only one attack. (Rolling to confirm a
critical is not a separate attack for this purpose.) If you make
multiple attacks in a round, your bonus from true strike applies
only to the first attack you make, no matter how you managed
to get multiple attacks.

 

[Negative Zero]

...the main fighter got a weapon with a minor vampiric touch effect on it. It drains d6 hp per hit. When he rages and goes into dire bear form (OA prestige class). His base is humongous.

on a slightly aside note, tho it isn't precisely stated, it sounds implied: how does your friend use his weapons in dire bear form?

oh and WwA IS only within 5 feet. extending it to 10, effectively doubles the number of opponents you can attack, thereby making hte feat much more powerful. or at least that's how my DM explained it to me. feel free to disagree.

~NegZ