Knight Protector Defensive Stance clarification?

[Xarteros]

In the Knight Protector PrC from CWar, the Defensive Stance ability states if you are within 5ft of an ally, you can transfer 2 AC (unnamed bonus?) to that ally, with the ability to transfer more AC to that ally as you level.

Now, my query is how exactly this is meant to work. Presumably, it's only while allies are within 5ft of you (to indicate you are standing in the way and providing some form of rudimentary cover bonus at your own expense). However, I feel like if it was meant to treat your body as providing a cover bonus, wouldn't it have been much simpler to just write it like that?

And also, how does that work with multiple allies? The way that the description is phrased only includes one ally, but it doesn't preclude having multiple allies at all. Is it fair to say that you can sacrifice the same value of AC to two or more allies, as long as they are all within 5ft? That is to say, if you grant 2 AC to one ally, and 2 AC to another ally, they would both gain 2 each and you would lose a total of 4?

What happens if they move away? I mean, my guess of the 'theme' of the ability is that you're only blocking allies that you're in front of (standing between them, and the enemy) but that's not specified at all. There's no line of sight/effect limitations, there's nothing to indicate that you have to be blocking the enemy, there's nothing stopping you from granting an AC bonus to an ally that stands between YOU and an enemy. There's no wording at all that says that they lose the bonus if they move too far away, or even that there's a duration or any other limitation/condition on the transferred AC. The literal description of the ability effectively just says you siphon away your ability to defend yourself, and grant it to an ally within 5ft.

It also says "At the start of any turn", you can grant the armour to an ally within 5ft. Does this mean that you can do it on enemy turns? Or on your ally's turn as well as your own? Does this mean you can only transfer 2+ AC per turn? Does this mean that your AC is reset each turn and you have to re-transfer it?

There are so many ways to interpret this. Any ideas? I'm the DM, so if something has to be house-ruled, that's my department

[Kaleph]

In the Knight Protector PrC from CWar, the Defensive Stance ability states if you are within 5ft of an ally, you can transfer 2 AC (unnamed bonus?) to that ally, with the ability to transfer more AC to that ally as you level.


I'd also rule it's an unnamed Bonus.


Now, my query is how exactly this is meant to work. Presumably, it's only while allies are within 5ft of you (to indicate you are standing in the way and providing some form of rudimentary cover bonus at your own expense). However, I feel like if it was meant to treat your body as providing a cover bonus, wouldn't it have been much simpler to just write it like that?


I'd forget about the cover bonus in the first place, since it may bring unnecessary confusion. The AC bonus it's not described as cover-dependant because it isn't.


And also, how does that work with multiple allies? The way that the description is phrased only includes one ally, but it doesn't preclude having multiple allies at all. Is it fair to say that you can sacrifice the same value of AC to two or more allies, as long as they are all within 5ft? That is to say, if you grant 2 AC to one ally, and 2 AC to another ally, they would both gain 2 each and you would lose a total of 4?


Unclear, but since apparently giving the bonus is a free action and hasn't uses/round limitations, I would follow your interpretation.


What happens if they move away? I mean, my guess of the 'theme' of the ability is that you're only blocking allies that you're in front of (standing between them, and the enemy) but that's not specified at all. There's no line of sight/effect limitations, there's nothing to indicate that you have to be blocking the enemy, there's nothing stopping you from granting an AC bonus to an ally that stands between YOU and an enemy. There's no wording at all that says that they lose the bonus if they move too far away, or even that there's a duration or any other limitation/condition on the transferred AC. The literal description of the ability effectively just says you siphon away your ability to defend yourself, and grant it to an ally within 5ft.


The problem here is that the duration of the ability is not described; the rules state anyhow clearly, that the relative position of the knight and his fellow is checked "at the beginning of any round", so I'd recommend that, for sake of simplicity, you do exactly what's written. So at every initiative count you check if the position is still valid for the defensive stance. If the other character starts his round adjacent to the knight but then moves, he still enjoys the bonus, until the end of HIS action.


It also says "At the start of any turn", you can grant the armour to an ally within 5ft. Does this mean that you can do it on enemy turns? Or on your ally's turn as well as your own? Does this mean you can only transfer 2+ AC per turn? Does this mean that your AC is reset each turn and you have to re-transfer it?
I'm reading the rules, and what I understand is that "turn" and "the actions that any character takes in a round at his initiative count" are the same thing. This means that you can assign the AC bonus also during enemies' turns, and actually you may re-assign it at every initiative count, as long as the total bonus doesn't exceed your maximum. You don't need to re-assign the bonus every time, but you're somehow forced after the ally you're protecting has moved away from you.