Comical abuse of Free Actions

[SilverLeaf167]

Do you have any examples of abusing free actions, particularly their unlimited quantity?

For example, if you have the ability to stand up from prone as a free action, you can theoretically spend an infinite amount of time falling prone, standing up, falling prone and standing up again, while anyone watching cannot do anything. This might not have any gameplay effect, but just imagine what it would look like.

And yes, I am aware of the statement in the PHB that says that the DM may limit the number of free actions. This topic is mostly comical, as the title says.

[Myth]

Deities can make items as free actions, so long as they are related to their portfolio. It's in DD. Burying the world in shovels is just too funny IMO. Well there are limitations like 10 free actions (for deities) per round for example, the entry of Apollo says"

Automatic Actions: Apollo can use Craft (musical instrument), Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (history), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (the planes), or Profession (herbalist) as a free action if the DC for the task is 25 or lower. He can perform up to ten such free actions each round.

But infinite Organs or Grand Pianos falling at a rate of 10 per 6 seconds is still quite funny.

[Starbuck_II]

Well, you can stack infinite Arcane strikes (free action) to get Xinfinite d4 damage.

Why because only the +X to hit is typed. Untyped stack (damage is untyped).

[Amphetryon]

Commoner Railgun.

[Whammydill]

There is always the classic "Commoner Rail Gun"

IIRC Handing something to someone who is next to you is a free action. So line a bunch of commoners or whatnot up, and have them hand objects to each other down the line. The longer the line means the distance being traveled in such a short amount of time = massive speed = fun!

Edit: Ack! Swordsaged!

[Greenish]

Quickdrawing Iaijutsu Master with a golfbag full of katanas.

[Shadowleaf]

Talking is an obvious example.

[Douglas]

Sadly, the commoner railgun only works if you selectively use D&D rules for one part and real world physics for another. By D&D rules all the way, the last guy throws the object and it works just as if the whole rest of the line didn't exist: normal thrown weapon, possibly improvised, with normal range increment and normal weapon + strength damage. By real world physics all the way, people can't hand off an item that quickly.

Now the commoner rapid transit system, on the other hand...

Also, the Pony Express: get a high enough Ride bonus and mounting or dismounting is a free action. You do not necessarily have to dismount into the same location you mounted from. So, mount (free action), dismount on the other side (free action), mount another horse that you earlier lined up (free action), dismount on the other side (free action), mount yet another horse (free action)... Move anywhere the line of mounts can reach, and do it all with just free actions. You could cross the world to the front of a war zone, fire off a full round's worth of spells, then come all the way back before the enemy gets a turn.

[JeminiZero]

Practical Application: Spellblade Tennis

Deities can make items as free actions, so long as they are related to their portfolio. It's in DD. Burying the world in shovels is just too funny IMO. Well there are limitations like 10 free actions (for deities) per round for example, the entry of Apollo says"

Automatic Actions: Apollo can use Craft (musical instrument), Knowledge (arcana), Knowledge (geography), Knowledge (history), Knowledge (nature), Knowledge (nobility and royalty), Knowledge (religion), Knowledge (the planes), or Profession (herbalist) as a free action if the DC for the task is 25 or lower. He can perform up to ten such free actions each round.

But infinite Organs or Grand Pianos falling at a rate of 10 per 6 seconds is still quite funny.

There is a similiar piece of abuse involving craft. Because the time required to craft an object is dependent on its cost, free items (such as clubs) can be crafted instantly and for free.

[Violet Octopus]

Stand on cliff above enemies with a big bag of acid flasks. Quickdraw, drop repeat.

Craft 4 aerofoils. Get 4 people to stand in a circle, facing outwards, each holding one aerofoil. Get them to pass them clockwise. Instant helicopter. You might need more people for a second propellor to keep it stable.

re: talking, in an epic campaign I was in just about every encounter began with the players spending half an hour or so fleshing out a plan of attack. Talking Is A Free Action indeed...

[Radar]

You can take a -20 penalty to make Sleight of Hand checks as a free action, which is all kinds of awesome in itself. There is also an epic use of this skill, that lets you move a willing person up to 10ft away (DC 80). Now consider the Fission power and the consequences of having two bodies... you can waltz around the world and pick-pocket every living creature in one round, if you can reliably make a DC 100 check.

There is always the classic "Commoner Rail Gun"

IIRC Handing something to someone who is next to you is a free action. So line a bunch of commoners or whatnot up, and have them hand objects to each other down the line. The longer the line means the distance being traveled in such a short amount of time = massive speed = fun!

Edit: Ack! Swordsaged!

Doesn't work, since by RAW the object passed by has no speed (apart from the fact, that in D&D there is only movement speed and falling speed - nothing, that could be applied here). The last person on the line can either keep it, drop it on the ground or throw it as an improvised thrown weapon.
It is a fast, non-magical postal system tough.

[Vulaas]

Streamers and then taunt them until they respond.

Talking is a free action, streamers abuses them for every action they take...

[Milskidasith]

Well, you can stack infinite Arcane strikes (free action) to get Xinfinite d4 damage.

Why because only the +X to hit is typed. Untyped stack (damage is untyped).

I'm pretty sure that damage from the same source doesn't stack, even if it's untyped.

[Alleine]

Chicken infested flaw + spell component pouch + quickdraw.

The pouch contains all focuses and components that you'll need for spells with small/negligible cost. You quick draw and drop repeatedly for as long as you care to and 50% of what you pull out will be live chickens. Kill your enemies by suffocating them with chickens.

[Snake-Aes]

Chicken infested flaw + spell component pouch + quickdraw.

The pouch contains all focuses and components that you'll need for spells with small/negligible cost. You quick draw and drop repeatedly for as long as you care to and 50% of what you pull out will be live chickens. Kill your enemies by suffocating them with chickens.

Bonus points if you turn the chickens into holy hand grenades. or holy bullets. A magical RPG inside the RPG.


In one of the games we played, there was a specific labyrinth where spells cast are not consumed, lost or otherwise disabled, so a wizard could prepare a single magic missile and cast it all day. This + arcane strike = DM saying "ok, that's obviously silly. You get 5 arcane strikes per round". Of course, that's still a +8 attack and +40d4 damage every round...

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Chicken Infested + Spell Component Pouch + Great Cleave + Warmind5.

Infinite attacks due to infinite chickens being pulled out as free actions

[Esser-Z]

The commoner railgun doesn't work as a railgun, no.

But, it DOES work as a rapid delivery system, and it still shatters causality (the item is simultaneously in every point along the line at once!)

[Eldan]

Which is why you use a few million commoners to build a computer with near-infinite processing speed. A one is "pass this ball to the right", a zero is "pass this ball to the left". And since you can pass on infinite balls every round, at infinite speed...

[Kurald Galain]

Which is why you use a few million commoners to build a computer with near-infinite processing speed. A one is "pass this ball to the right", a zero is "pass this ball to the left". And since you can pass on infinite balls every round, at infinite speed...

However, one might request a concentration check on the commoners to not pass them the wrong way... thus introducing the Pentium Rounding Problem to your commoner-computer

[Urpriest]

Since the thread doesn't specify 3.5, a 4e example: in the past, people put together builds that would reliably build up to unlimited free attacks, much like 3.5's aptitude hand crossbows. Then the errata declared that free action attacks cannot be made more than once per round. People were sad. However, it was quickly pointed out that several of these builds in fact don't make free action attacks, they make attacks as "No action". Which means there is no way to limit them. So infinite attacks resume!

[FMArthur]

If a battle isn't going your way, just sit down and keep crafting 0gp items until the enemy agrees to leave if you would just end your turn.

[The_Admiral]

Pathfinder sorcerer spamming quickened acid splash

[Snake-Aes]

Pathfinder sorcerer spamming quickened acid splash

Explain...

[ffone]

Isn't the Commoner Railgun partially befouled by initiative?

Sure, it's all free actions...but if it's not *immediate* actions, then it takes them a whole one turn cycle to hand the macguffin around the world (still impossible fast and quite worthy of the thread!), assuming they used delay actions to go in the proper order.

This would also seem to limit them to two items per round, or however much they can hold in their hands at once, unless they can store/draw the things as free actions as well. I suppose that one item could always be a bag of holding with many things in it.

[The_Admiral]

A pathfinder sorcerer can cast cantrips without limit acid splash is a cantrip you can apply the quickened metamagic feat spontaneously

[Mongoose87]

A pathfinder sorcerer can cast cantrips without limit acid splash is a cantrip you can apply the quickened metamagic feat spontaneously

Wouldn't it use up a fourth level slot?

[The_Admiral]

*looks closer at feat description*oh

[Lhurgyof]

*looks closer at feat description*oh

What about metamagic reducing cheese?

[senrath]

Won't work. Quicken Spell turns it into a swift action, not a free action.

[OracleofWuffing]

Quick draw lets you draw a weapon as a free action. Any object that isn't a weapon is an improvised weapon. Therefore, you can draw any object you have as a free action. Could be useful if you're flying 70ft over someone, or have convinced your DM that dropping and spreading caltrops are the same thing.