Abrupt Jaunt--questions.

[myancey]

Abrupt Jaunt seems a pretty wickedly broken class feature. I was hoping to have it put into scope by playgrounders and get some advice on how to make rulings according to this--bearing in mind that I would prefer it not be outrageously broken.

As is, it states that it cannot avoid attacks when the user is flat-footed or unaware.

Edit: This variant is from PHB II, btw.

1) Can it avoid spells targeted at them? (I believe it can if it disrupts line of sight, but provided he stays in sight, what then?)
2) How does it handle AoE spells like fireball?
3) Can it be used to avoid traps that have been sprung?
4) If an archer fires multiple arrows at the target (assuming the wizard knows he is there), does just the first arrow miss or do all of the archers arrows miss?
5) Does PHBII have errata for this? And if so, where can I find it?

Thanks for the help.

[Physics_Rook]

Most of these hinge on whether or not you think that the jaunt should be able to interrupt another action. You could easily rule that a person may jaunt on another's turn, but the jaunt must be declared either before or after their action, and never during it.

I'm AFB right now, but IIRC,

Since the jaunt is an immediate action, it takes place whenever the user decides it should, which means it can interrupt actions even in the middle of said action's resolution.

1) It can be used to dodge targeted attacks like that so long as it breaks line of sight.
I think the idea would be that the wizard jaunts just as the attack is taking place. So if he jaunts somewhere still in LoS, the attacker can re-aim before committing to his shot. I don't think it would be out of place for the attacker's shot to be a miss though, if you feel you should rule it that way.

2) So long as you can jaunt outside of the targeted square at which the AoE spell takes place, you should be able to evade it.
AoE spells aren't generally targeted at a specific person (e.g. Fireball), and as such aren't subject to the problems encountered in question 1.

3) If the wizard has a suitable place to jaunt to, then it looks as though he could even avoid traps if he so chose.
This would work on the same principle as question 2, if the wizard can jaunt during the triggering of the trap (or somehow before the triggering), and he has somewhere safe to go, then he can evade the trap.

4) If the archer is firing as per the full attack option, then the archer fires each shot independently of the previous one. The archer doesn't have to fire them all at once. If the archer uses a feat that lets him fire multiple shots at the same time, then I believe that yes they would all miss.

5) I have no idea.

At least this is how I believe Abrupt Jaunt is supposed to work.

It's a very useful tool, and wielded proficiently can be devastatingly powerful. But it is still subject to several limitations (uses, range, frequency of use, ect.) and can be accounted and planned for by any opponent that has the appropriate motivation. And nothing motivates an opponent more than learning he'll have to fight a guy that can cast spells and teleport at will.

[Bayar]

3) If the wizard has a suitable place to jaunt to, then it looks as though he could even avoid traps if he so chose.
This would work on the same principle as question 2, if the wizard can jaunt during the triggering of the trap (or somehow before the triggering), and he has somewhere safe to go, then he can evade the trap.

Wouldn't he be flat-footed in the first round of the trap encounter ?

[NineThePuma]

Wouldn't he be flat-footed in the first round of the trap encounter ?

Is a wizard ever really flat footed?

[HunterOfJello]

To answer your question I'll first provide a quote from the Rules Compendium of what an Immediate action is:



IMMEDIATE ACTION
An immediate action consumes a tiny amount of time.
However, unlike a swift action, an immediate action can be
performed at any time during a round, even when it isn’t your
turn. Using an immediate action on your turn counts as your
swift action for that turn. If you use an immediate action
when it isn’t your turn, you can’t use another immediate
action or a swift action until after your next turn. You can’t
use an immediate action when you’re flat-footed.


I'll now attempt to answer your questions as best I can.

1. Abrupt Jaunt definitely allows a wizard to avoid a spell cast at them if it relates to the space they were occupying. If a Lightning Bolt, arrow, or sword that the wizard is aware of attacks their space, they can teleport to another space up to 10 ft away as an immediate action and avoid that attack. However, if the wizard is unable to take an immediate action, is flat-footed, or is unaware of the attack then they cannot Jaunt away from the attack.

However, the rules for how Abrupt Jaunt works when a spell is cast with the descriptor of 'Target' gets a bit trickier. If an enemy spellcasters casts a spell with the target of "Wizard" and you Abrupt Jaunt once he starts casting the spell, the spell may still effect you if you are still within his line of sight and line of effect when the spell finishes. I'll leave this for the boards to argue over or find more specific information on. Ultimately, specific issues like this will be up to your DM to answer.

(Note: There are always specific rules that trump general rules and often even more specific rules that trump the 'somewhat' specific rules. If the enemy casts a Magic Missle which "always strikes unerringly", then the wizard will get hit by the missles as long as he is within range.)

2. AOE spells can be avoided by using Abrupt Jaunt if you can exit the area of the spell. Determining what spell is being cast and what the target of the spell is would have to be determined by specific checks by the player.

A specific issue that is mentioned in many Immediate Action abilities and is held as a general rule in most games that I've heard of is that once a player has become aware of the results of an action, they cannot take an immediate action to reverse those results unless the action specifically states that it can reverse the results after the fact. Examples of this would include being told if an attack on the wizard hit or being told how much damage the wizard took from a fireball that blew up in the area he was standing in. A good and reasonable DM will give you an appropriate amount of time to state the decisions and actions you are taking, but that doesn't always happen. If you are told that an arrow hits the wizard in the head, slices through his eye and into his brain dealing 96 points of piercing damage, then it's a bit too late to state that the wizard teleports 10 feet to the side to dodge the attack.

3. Most traps that would be nice to be able to avoid are triggered accidentally. In the case that a trap is triggered accidentally by the wizard, he would be flat-footed and therefore unable to use Abrupt Jaunt.

In the possible case that the wizard is aware of the trap and is planning on readying an action to use Abrupt Jaunt once specific conditions have been met, it would be possible to avoid specific elements of a trap that the wizard strongly suspects or is already aware of. If I was DMing, then I would allow the wizard the ability to safely Jaunt away from an already known arrow trap that will be activated when a button is pressed, however I wouldn't allow the wizard to safely Jaunt away if the arrows ended up being fired from another direction or the trap was actually a Fireball or Gas trap. In those cases i would likely rule that the wizard was flat-footed against those attacks and not able to Jaunt away. A lot of these elements are up to the DM, but the best game mechanic to use is the Ready action as described on page 160 of the PHB.

4. Ranger that the wizard is fully aware of and not flat-footed against shoots the first arrow. The wizard Abrupt Jaunts away from the first arrow and dodges it. The ranger then shoots 4 more arrows that all stick into the wizard making him look like a pin cushion.

Since the ranger can decide which targets and spaces he attacks for each arrow he shoots, he can easily change the target and/or space that he is firing at for the next arrow he shoots. These same rules apply for other similar spells and attacks such as melee attacks and spells that can target multiple targets in a row. Examples for this would include a Fighter who takes a 5 ft step during his Full-Attack and then is able to hit the Wizard again after being Jaunting away from the fighter's first attack.

5. The Player's Handbook 2 does have errata. The errata states:



Page 68 – Benefits, Immediate Magic
[Revision]
The first sentence should read: “You gain a
supernatural ability that reflects your chosen
school of magic.” Text describing these abilities as
extraordinary abilities or spell-like abilities can be
disregarded.


Since the Abrupt Jaunt Immediate Magic is defined in the errata as a Supernatural Ability Supernatural it is, "not subject to spell resistance, counterspells, or to being dispelled by dispel magic". However, Supernatural Abilities do not function within Anti-Magic Fields so be careful not to wander into one or try to Jaunt into one. Things probably won't work out so well.

[begooler]

I have a player that has abrupt jaunt. It's a really powerful ability. However, it has a limited number of uses per day.
Usually what I try to do is always throw things at him to get him to expend his uses as soon as possible. If the player knows they might run out of uses of the ability before they really need it, they will be cautious about using it.

Also be very clear about when they are declaring their immediate action. For example in my games:

DM: You see the adept casting a spell. Player X, roll a reflex save.
Player X: I use abrupt jaunt instead.
DM: You quickly teleport out of the way as flames engulf the space you were just standing on.

DM: You see the adept casting a spell. Player X, roll a reflex save.
Player X: My reflex save is Y... Hmmm that's a bit low, I use abrupt jaunt.
DM: Just barely in time, you teleport out of the way as flames engulf the space you were just standing on.

DM: You see the adept casting a spell. Player X, roll a reflex save.
Player X: My reflex save is Y. What happens?
DM: You take Z fire damage.
Player X: I use abrupt jaunt!
DM: Okay, you could use it, but you already took the fire damage.

[Tyndmyr]

Abrupt Jaunt seems a pretty wickedly broken class feature.

You are understanding correctly. The best means of dealing with it is to simply toss out a greater volume of things to dodge. It's limited on a per-day basis, and it's all too easy to expend your uses quickly if you're not careful.

So long as they still have to worry about running out, you're doing fine, regardless of if the number is hp or abrupt jaunt uses.