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JerryRig
January 14th, 2015, 20:48
The way it is written:

Total Defense

You can defend yourself as a standard action. You get a +4 dodge bonus to your AC for 1 round. Your AC improves at the start of this action. You can't combine total defense with fighting defensively or with the benefit of the Combat Expertise feat. You can't make attacks of opportunity while using total defense.

So when a character gets two standard actions can they attack with their first standard action and go into total defense with their second under pathfinder rules?

Any insight would be appreciated.

Trenloe
January 14th, 2015, 21:33
So when a character gets two standard actions can they attack with their first standard action and go into total defense with their second under pathfinder rules?
What characters get two standard actions?

Nickademus
January 14th, 2015, 21:48
The answer to your question is yes. Though I have never heard of a way to receive a second standard action. The haste spell grants an additional attack with the full attack action. A couple abilities give free actions that mimic something you would need a standard action for.

The closest I can think of is a monk using Panther Style that uses a standard action for total defense then a move action to provoke attacks of opportunity that trigger free action retaliatory strikes.

Trenloe
January 14th, 2015, 21:59
The closest I can think of is a monk using Panther Style that uses a standard action for total defense then a move action to provoke attacks of opportunity that trigger free action retaliatory strikes.
In this example there is only one retaliatory strike as it is a swift action, not a free action. But, yeah, good example of when you can do an attack after spending a standard to go into total defence.

Nickademus
January 14th, 2015, 22:25
In this example there is only one retaliatory strike as it is a swift action, not a free action. But, yeah, good example of when you can do an attack after spending a standard to go into total defence.

The Panther Claw feat allows a monk in Panther Style to make a retaliatory strike as a free action up to a number of times in a round equal to its Wisdom modifier (or GM fiat). So in theory a monk with a 20 Wis could go total defense and move 30' through a group of five enemies getting five retaliatory strikes. With the Panther Parry feat, each retaliatory strike comes before the AoO so the monk, if lucky, could drop each enemy before their attack of opportunity had a chance to happen.

What's sick is that a human fighter can all three of these feats (and the prereqs) by 3rd level.

Trenloe
January 14th, 2015, 22:35
The Panther Claw feat allows a monk in Panther Style to make a retaliatory strike as a free action up to a number of times in a round equal to its Wisdom modifier (or GM fiat). So in theory a monk with a 20 Wis could go total defense and move 30' through a group of five enemies getting five retaliatory strikes. With the Panther Parry feat, each retaliatory strike comes before the AoO so the monk, if lucky, could drop each enemy before their attack of opportunity had a chance to happen.

What's sick is that a human fighter can all three of these feats (and the prereqs) by 3rd level.
Oh right, missed that.

Hopefully it won't get too cheesy, especially with intelligent creatures who probably won't take the attack of opportunity after seeing the first of their group get "panthered".

Nickademus
January 14th, 2015, 22:43
All I'm saying is that when the zombie apocalypse happens, I'm bringing the monk.

Derails aside, I am curious if Jerry found a way to get multiple standard actions. I know some spellcasters that would love that.

JohnD
January 14th, 2015, 23:21
The Panther Claw feat allows a monk in Panther Style to make a retaliatory strike as a free action up to a number of times in a round equal to its Wisdom modifier (or GM fiat). So in theory a monk with a 20 Wis could go total defense and move 30' through a group of five enemies getting five retaliatory strikes. With the Panther Parry feat, each retaliatory strike comes before the AoO so the monk, if lucky, could drop each enemy before their attack of opportunity had a chance to happen.

What's sick is that a human fighter can all three of these feats (and the prereqs) by 3rd level.
Yowzers.

darrenan
January 14th, 2015, 23:29
Amazing Initiative (Ex): At 2nd tier, you gain a bonus on initiative checks equal to your mythic tier. In addition, as a free action on your turn, you can expend one use of mythic power to take an additional standard action during that turn. This additional standard action can't be used to cast a spell. You can't gain an extra action in this way more than once per round.

Nickademus
January 14th, 2015, 23:40
I would expect something like that from mythic. Not really a part of the normal Pathfinder though. Besides, still can't cast an extra spell. :P

JerryRig
January 15th, 2015, 03:19
All I'm saying is that when the zombie apocalypse happens, I'm bringing the monk.

Derails aside, I am curious if Jerry found a way to get multiple standard actions. I know some spellcasters that would love that.

My question related to a melee person going into total defense not for spellcasters ....but maybe you can find an option below to help them. Just looking for clarification on those that have more than 1 standard action in a round by whatever means they attain it.

Examples:

Slow Time (Su)

At 12th level, a monk of the four winds can use his ki to slow time or quicken his movements, depending on the observer. As a swift action, the monk can expend 6 ki points to gain three standard actions during his turn instead of just one. The monk can use these actions to do the following: take a melee attack action, use a skill, use an extraordinary ability, or take a move action. The monk cannot use these actions to cast spells or use spell-like abilities, and cannot combine them to take full-attack actions. Any move actions the monk makes this turn do not provoke attacks of opportunity.

-or-

Inspire Action (Su)

As a special use of bardic music, a 6th-level Pathfinder chronicler can exhort any one ally within hearing to a sudden surge of action, allowing her ally to immediately take an extra move action. This does not count against the ally's number of actions on his own turn.

At 9th level, she can enable an ally to immediately take a standard action instead.

*add lingering performance and it goes for 3 rounds.

-or-

Extra Action: You can spend a hero point on your turn to gain an additional standard or move action this turn.


so far these are the ones I have found without looking to deeply.

Nickademus
January 15th, 2015, 05:20
Slow Time/Time Stop have always simulated a person taking multiple turns before anyone can react, so no surprise there. I figured there were a few ways to spend resources for a free action. They all seem to block spellcasting though (for good reason).

kwarner1986
January 16th, 2015, 07:16
Hero Points optional rule grants extra standard actions as well.

Nickademus
January 16th, 2015, 16:55
Jerry mentioned that. I haven't looked at the Hero Point system yet and am curious if it is like the old action point system that regenerated every day/combat or if the point are more rare requiring something special to be awarded. The old action point system only allowed a reroll per point so these seem much more powerful.

kwarner1986
January 16th, 2015, 17:54
They are rare, one regenerates per module or when the hero does something heroic that the dm feels they should be rewarded for.

Nickademus
January 16th, 2015, 18:04
Ah, I see. They are the same as a point system I use, though it's not called Hero Points because HP is too confusing of an abbreviation. Thanks for the info.

Trenloe
January 17th, 2015, 03:37
Hero points are an optional rule in the Advanced Players Guide: https://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/advanced/advancedNewRules.html#hero-points