Self-explanatory thread title.
Quite confused as to how exactly a Dancing Weapon operates.
Here's the relevant text:
As a standard action, a dancing weapon can be loosed to attack on its own. It fights for 4 rounds using the base attack bonus of the one who loosed it and then drops. While dancing, it cannot make attacks of opportunity, and the activating character it is not considered armed with the weapon. The weapon is considered wielded or attended by the activating character for all maneuvers and effects that target items. While dancing, the weapon shares the same space as the activating character and can attack adjacent foes (weapons with reach can attack opponents up to 10 feet away). The dancing weapon accompanies the activating character everywhere, whether she moves by physical or magical means. If the activating character has an unoccupied hand, she can grasp it while it is attacking on its own as a free action; when so retrieved, the weapon can't dance (attack on its own) again for 4 rounds. This special ability can only be placed on melee weapons.
So we can loose it as a standard action for it to attack for 4 rounds on its own. We know it uses its owner's BAB, doesn't threaten, and doesn't allow the owner to threaten with it. It says you're considered wielding or attending it for all effects that target the Dancing weapon, occupies your square, travels with you at all times, and can attack enemies. You can grab it as a Free Action while it's dancing, though if you do so it cannot be loosed again for another 4 rounds.
So here are my questions (would prefer the answers to be as RAW/RAI as possible):
1a. Let's say you are adjacent to (or within melee reach of) an enemy, and activate this property to loose the weapon. Does the weapon then get to make its full attacks in the same round, or does it have to wait until next round? (And do you include the round you loosed it as one of the 4 rounds it fights for?)
1b. Let's say you have to perform a Movement Action to get in melee reach and then activate the Dancing weapon. Does the Dancing Weapon even get a full attack once loosed, one attack, or no attacks?
2. While it attacks on its own, does it receive the benefits of the owner's Strength, Feats, Features, Buffs/Penalties, and other effects relevant to the owner who loosed it?
3. If a Dancing 2-handed Weapon is, say, Huge sized, and the wielder is Medium size, can he still loose it to attack?
4. How does a Dancing Weapon choose to attack or not attack on its own? Is there a verbal or mental command the owner emulates to control the weapon? (I am referring to the bolded part[s] in the property description, suggesting it's optional for the weapon to attack or not attack.)
1a. Let's say you are adjacent to (or within melee reach of) an enemy, and activate this property to loose the weapon. Does the weapon then get to make its full attacks in the same round, or does it have to wait until next round? (And do you include the round you loosed it as one of the 4 rounds it fights for?)
Based on standard action summons and whatnot, I would say that, yes, it does get all of its attacks in that round, and yes, that's one of its rounds.
1b. Let's say you have to perform a Movement Action to get in melee reach and then activate the Dancing weapon. Does the Dancing Weapon even get a full attack once loosed, one attack, or no attacks?
Same answer.
2. While it attacks on its own, does it receive the benefits of the owner's Strength, Feats, Features, Buffs/Penalties, and other effects relevant to the owner who loosed it?
According to the wording, it only uses your BAB.
3. If a Dancing 2-handed Weapon is, say, Huge sized, and the wielder is Medium size, can he still loose it to attack?
Yes. No limitation listed. A Colossal Dancing Greatsword would be a hell of a weapon, wouldn't it?
4. How does a Dancing Weapon choose to attack or not attack on its own? Is there a verbal or mental command the owner emulates to control the weapon? (I am referring to the bolded part[s] in the property description, suggesting it's optional for the weapon to attack or not attack.)
I believe RAI is that it does what you want it to; controlling it is a free action if any action at all.
1a. Let's say you are adjacent to (or within melee reach of) an enemy, and activate this property to loose the weapon. Does the weapon then get to make its full attacks in the same round, or does it have to wait until next round? (And do you include the round you loosed it as one of the 4 rounds it fights for?)Based on standard action summons and whatnot, I would say that, yes, it does get all of its attacks in that round, and yes, that's one of its rounds.
1b. Let's say you have to perform a Movement Action to get in melee reach and then activate the Dancing weapon. Does the Dancing Weapon even get a full attack once loosed, one attack, or no attacks?Same answer.
2. While it attacks on its own, does it receive the benefits of the owner's Strength, Feats, Features, Buffs/Penalties, and other effects relevant to the owner who loosed it?According to the wording, it only uses your BAB.
3. If a Dancing 2-handed Weapon is, say, Huge sized, and the wielder is Medium size, can he still loose it to attack?Yes. No limitation listed. A Colossal Dancing Greatsword would be a hell of a weapon, wouldn't it?
I believe RAI is that it does what you want it to; controlling it is a free action if any action at all.
4. How does a Dancing Weapon choose to attack or not attack on its own? Is there a verbal or mental command the owner emulates to control the weapon? (I am referring to the bolded part[s] in the property description, suggesting it's optional for the weapon to attack or not attack.)
1. Makes sense, I suppose. I guess since when it's loosed, it's its own "creature," it gets its own actions (which is attacking). Good to know it can manipulate action economy like that; makes it a much more useful property. Would rounds where it doesn't attack count toward the 4 rounds it fights for? (I'd think so, but you never know.)
2. Not sure if it's that simple. There are buffs and features that affect weapons directly; wouldn't those be applicable as well? And when it deals damage, surely it would do more than just, say, its weapon damage and its enhancement modifier.3. I thought it could work that way too, but I always viewed the Dancing property to function as if it were wielded by the creature who loosed it.
4. So then it would be mentally commanding the weapon to do what you want it to do. So could you have it Power Attack or use Weapon Finesse, if it's a finessable Dancing weapon?
1. Makes sense, I suppose. I guess since when it's loosed, it's its own "creature," it gets its own actions (which is attacking). Good to know it can manipulate action economy like that; makes it a much more useful property. Would rounds where it doesn't attack count toward the 4 rounds it fights for? (I'd think so, but you never know.)
I'd say "they still count," in the same way that rounds where you aren't attacked still count against your shield spell.
2. Not sure if it's that simple. There are buffs and features that affect weapons directly; wouldn't those be applicable as well? And when it deals damage, surely it would do more than just, say, its weapon damage and its enhancement modifier.
You have to distinguish between the sword's buffs and the owner's. If the sword keeps its buffs but gets none of its owners.
I see no wording to suggest that it gets your strength modifier to damage.
3. I thought it could work that way too, but I always viewed the Dancing property to function as if it were wielded by the creature who loosed it.
Not according to RAW, as far as I can tell.
4. So then it would be mentally commanding the weapon to do what you want it to do. So could you have it Power Attack or use Weapon Finesse, if it's a finessable Dancing weapon?
Does the sword have the relevant feat? Then,.... no. It doesn't use your abilities, just its own.
Fair enough. Thanks for the clarifications!
As far as oversized. The weapon "counts as wielded" by the PC. So if you try to unleash a dancing weapon you can't wield, it wouldn't work.
on the other hand, since your feats are irrelevant once it leaves your hands, you can have a dancing exotic weapon.
It only counts as wielded for abilities and effects that target items. Inappropriately-sized weapons aren't an ability or effect.
Though that note about a Dancing Exotic weapon would be pretty cool. A +5 Dancing Called Colossal-sized Falcata would make for the best Dancing Weapon to have.
In case anyone thinks it's relevant, the 3.5 FAQ agrees with Orfamay Quest:
The dancing weapon uses its owner's base attack bonus and its enhancement bonus, but it doesn't get any of its owner's other attack modifiers (such as his Strength modifier, Weapon Focus, and so on).
The dancing weapon makes a full attack (with multiple attacks if the owner's base attack bonus is +6 or higher) each round, starting on the round it is released.
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3. If a Dancing 2-handed Weapon is, say, Huge sized, and the wielder is Medium size, can he still loose it to attack?
From an RAI standpoint, the wording "can be loosed" makes it sound to me like it's meant for you to be already wielding it to let it do its thing, meaning it would have to be usable by you to start with.
Also (I may be wrong here), but I think you need to be using something as intended to control/gain benefit from magical properties of said item. If you can't wield it because it's too big, you can't wield it to trigger the effect. It would be like saying that you get the enhancement from a belt because you're holding it in your hand, or you get the effects of a metamagic rod because it's taped to your arm. No, you need to actually be using it to gain any effects.
If this worked with any weapons people have in their inventory then everyone would walk around with an extra oversized weapon on their back (barring weight restrictions) that they would turn on, because hey, free DPR.