Edge of Dreams
2010-01-17, 11:49 PM
EDIT: Clearing up a known misconception here: Free Actions ARE allowed on enemy turns explicitly in the PHB
Main Post:
Having some issues with Immediate Interrupts, Reactions, and free actions
One of the Artificer infusions, Resistive Formula, says the target "can end the bonus as a free action to gain temp hp..." Now, before I get to the main rules question about this power, let me set some context.
There are Immediate Interrupts available in the game that take place in-between getting hit and taking the damage, and the PHB even mentions that if an interrupt causes you to no longer be in range of an attack, that attack does not happen and the action is lost. At least a couple examples are in AV.
There are Immediate Reactions that trigger on being hit, but I am not clear on whether or not it is possible for an Immediate Reaction that triggers on hit to affect whether or not you take the damage or how much you take. For example, my group has commonly interpreted Cape of the Mountebank's power:
- "Daily: Immediate Reaction. Use this power when you are hit by an attack. Teleport 5 squares and gain combat advantage against the attacker until the end of your next turn."
as causing you to not be hit by the attack. But today I read in PHB that
"An immediate reaction lets you act in
response to a trigger. The triggering action, event, or
condition occurs and is completely resolved before
you take your reaction, except that you can interrupt
a creature’s movement."
So now I'm not so sure that Cape would actually stop you from taking the damage.
In any case, one of my players argues that the free action to end Resistive Forumla's ac bonus and get temp hp can be used IN-BETWEEN getting hit and taking the damage. The scenario he imagines is this:
Bob gets hit with Resistive Formula's buff.
Alice attacks Bob.
Alice declares a hit.
Bob goes "oh drat, I'm low on hp"
Bob ends Resistive Forumla's buff and gains temp hp.
Alice rolls damage
Alice's damage is dealt to Bob, and Bob's temp hp give him a nice padded buffer against the damage.
Should that be valid? I have found no examples in PHB or AV at all (after searching through pdfs with ctrl-f) of free actions that can explicitly be taken between getting hit and taking damage.
More generally, what is the priority level of a free action compared to an Interrupt or a Reaction?
Main Post:
Having some issues with Immediate Interrupts, Reactions, and free actions
One of the Artificer infusions, Resistive Formula, says the target "can end the bonus as a free action to gain temp hp..." Now, before I get to the main rules question about this power, let me set some context.
There are Immediate Interrupts available in the game that take place in-between getting hit and taking the damage, and the PHB even mentions that if an interrupt causes you to no longer be in range of an attack, that attack does not happen and the action is lost. At least a couple examples are in AV.
There are Immediate Reactions that trigger on being hit, but I am not clear on whether or not it is possible for an Immediate Reaction that triggers on hit to affect whether or not you take the damage or how much you take. For example, my group has commonly interpreted Cape of the Mountebank's power:
- "Daily: Immediate Reaction. Use this power when you are hit by an attack. Teleport 5 squares and gain combat advantage against the attacker until the end of your next turn."
as causing you to not be hit by the attack. But today I read in PHB that
"An immediate reaction lets you act in
response to a trigger. The triggering action, event, or
condition occurs and is completely resolved before
you take your reaction, except that you can interrupt
a creature’s movement."
So now I'm not so sure that Cape would actually stop you from taking the damage.
In any case, one of my players argues that the free action to end Resistive Forumla's ac bonus and get temp hp can be used IN-BETWEEN getting hit and taking the damage. The scenario he imagines is this:
Bob gets hit with Resistive Formula's buff.
Alice attacks Bob.
Alice declares a hit.
Bob goes "oh drat, I'm low on hp"
Bob ends Resistive Forumla's buff and gains temp hp.
Alice rolls damage
Alice's damage is dealt to Bob, and Bob's temp hp give him a nice padded buffer against the damage.
Should that be valid? I have found no examples in PHB or AV at all (after searching through pdfs with ctrl-f) of free actions that can explicitly be taken between getting hit and taking damage.
More generally, what is the priority level of a free action compared to an Interrupt or a Reaction?