Does Spring Attack protect from all attacks of opportunity?


Rules Questions


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Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

This came up in another thread; this one here is for FAQing.

Spring Attack says you do not provoke from the target of your attack. Is this intended to protect you from ALL attacks of opportunity made during the action, or only those that would normally be provoked from moving out of threatened spaces?

For example, if I used Spring Attack to dash past my front line towards the enemy, and then I made a disarm maneuver upon my enemy without the benefit of the Improved Disarm feat, would the enemy get an attack of opportunity because of the attempted maneuver?

Here is the feat for ease of reference.

Spring Attack:

Spring Attack (Combat)

You can deftly move up to a foe, strike, and withdraw before he can react.

Prerequisites: Dex 13, Dodge, Mobility, base attack bonus +4.

Benefit: As a full-round action, you can move up to your speed and make a single melee attack without provoking any attacks of opportunity from the target of your attack. You can move both before and after the attack, but you must move at least 10 feet before the attack and the total distance that you move cannot be greater than your speed. You cannot use this ability to attack a foe that is adjacent to you at the start of your turn.

Normal: You cannot move before and after an attack.


That "any" in the feat does seem to allow disarm et al without having to worry about AoO's.

Interesting find Ravingdork


Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

I'll FAQ it for you, but I'm certain that using Spring Attack only protects from AoOs caused by the use of Spring Attack to move into attack position and move away again, not from AoOs caused by the choice of attack you make in the middle.


The intent is to protect you from an AoO for moving, but as written the target can't make an AoO against you for other actions either.

It is similar to the wording with the shield feat that says you don't take penalties when attacking. The intent is to mean no penalties when TWF'ing, not "never take penalties no matter what".

Most people just would not think to use it for a combat maneuver. Considering how it takes two feats to get it, I would not mind if it was allowed.

Of course that leads into a "spring attack vs grapple" debate if that is allowed.

edit: My brain died for a moment. Grapple is its own standard action and unlike some of the others can not replace a standard melee attack.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Poor Wandering One wrote:

That "any" in the feat does seem to allow disarm et al without having to worry about AoO's.

Interesting find Ravingdork

Wasn't my find. That credit goes to Ascalaphus, assuming he didn't get the idea elsewhere himself.


thanks for FAQ this.
personally, as it cost 3 feats, i would go as written and allow it.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Still hoping to get this answered. Please FAQ! :D


I always understood it to mean that you could move before and after the attack, and the movement did not provoke any attacks of opportunity from you target.

I never supposed you could move up to your opponent, attempt an Unarmed Strike without the Improved Unarmed Strike Feat, and then run off. You wouldn't provoke an Attack of Opportunity from moving out of the Threatened Square, but you still would from the Unarmed Strike.

It occurs to me that you can use Spring Attack to attack someone with Reach and negate their Attacks of Opportunity with Reach.


Admittedly, Pathfinder isn't 3.5, however the 3.5 SRD had different wording for Spring Attack.

3.5 SRD wrote:

3.5 SRD Spring Attack:
Spring Attack [General]

Prerequisites: Dex 13, Dodge, Mobility, base attack bonus +4.

Benefit
When using the attack action with a melee weapon, you can move both before and after the attack, provided that your total distance moved is not greater than your speed. Moving in this way does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the defender you attack, though it might provoke attacks of opportunity from other creatures, if appropriate. You can’t use this feat if you are wearing heavy armor.

You must move at least 5 feet both before and after you make your attack in order to utilize the benefits of Spring Attack.

Special
A fighter may select Spring Attack as one of his fighter bonus feats.

There are two conclusions that I see...

1. The wording was deliberately changed to allow immunity to all opportunity attacks in Pathfinding from the target when using Spring Attack. This would likely be correct, as it would support the idea that the spring attack is of a surprising nature, though not surprising enough to cause the target to be flat-footed versus the attack.

2. The wording was changed without considering that the impact of the change in wording would lead to the target of a Spring Attack being unable to make opportunity attacks against the Spring Attacker. This is unlikely, as I think the designer(s) of Pathfinder would have made such wording changes for a reason.


I had always read it as only preventing AoOs from the movement, but with Hrothgar highlighting the difference in wording I'm not as confident as I was. FAQ'd.


Honestly given the extreme level of crap tier prereqs that little nod toward spring attack being a solid feat seems nice.

The Exchange Owner - D20 Hobbies

Pathfinder went word count reduction shopping:
PF 84 words with 437 characters
3.5 94 words with 533 characters

Nothing to see here, it works identically. It only protects vs movement AoO not Unarmed or disarm AoO.

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