Moving out of an Threatened Square

[Elrihm]

Could you use a five foot step, a shift, to move out of a threatened square without provoking an attack of opportunity in place of a move action, or is it the full round disengage, or a tumble?

[Hirax]

You can only take a 5 foot step as a free action in a round where you make no other movements.

[Boci]

As long as you do not move via a move action, you can take a 5ft step as a non-action during your turn. This does not provoke an AoO. You cannot shift in 3.5 AFAIK, that is a 4thed mechanic.

[Drglenn]

5-foot step is a free action, but you can't perform any other movement that turn.

and yes, it can be used to get out of a threatened square, that's what it's meant for

[Zaq]

A five-foot step (made as part of the special action, not merely a move action to move five feet) does not provoke, but as obliquely indicated, it's not a move action. You can only do it if you haven't made any other form of movement in the round.

SRD link. (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/actionsInCombat.htm#take5FootStep)

[Elrihm]

K, thanks guys. Yeah, I'm aware shift is a 4th ed term, it just describes it well. And yes, I know I can't use it in the same turn as movement. I was just wondering whether it provokes AoO, and if it does, what's the point of disengagement?

[Zaq]

You can't move and take a 5' step in the same round. If you want to end up more than 5' away from whatever was threatening you, you need something bigger than a 5' step . . . like the Withdraw action, or a successful Tumble check.

[Koury]

The SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/index.htm) is a pretty good reference for this kind of thing.


Take 5-Foot Step
You can move 5 feet in any round when you don’t perform any other kind of movement. Taking this 5-foot step never provokes an attack of opportunity. You can’t take more than one 5-foot step in a round, and you can’t take a 5-foot step in the same round when you move any distance.

You can take a 5-foot step before, during, or after your other actions in the round.

You can only take a 5-foot step if your movement isn’t hampered by difficult terrain or darkness. Any creature with a speed of 5 feet or less can’t take a 5-foot step, since moving even 5 feet requires a move action for such a slow creature.

You may not take a 5-foot step using a form of movement for which you do not have a listed speed