Jiqs |
We encountered a ruling question in one of our gaming sessions about how the Bodyguard feat reacts to a Full Attack Action. The question is, "Does an enemy with multiple attacks on their full attack action allow a character with the Bodyguard feat to use multiple attacks of opportunity to add to their ally's AC?
For example, an enemy has 3 iterative attacks on their full attack action. Assuming the character with Bodyguard is adjacent to the target of the attacks, and has at least 3 available attacks of opportunity from Combat Reflexes, would that allow the character to use 3 attacks of opportunity to Aid Another to increase their ally's AC? (One Attack of Opportunity per attack of the enemy.)
mplindustries |
Uh, I can't imagine why this is a question. Any time an ally is attacked, you can spend an AoO to Aid their AC against that attack. The number of attacks coming from a specific enemy is irrelevant. If your ally is attacked 3 times (be it once each by 3 different enemies, or three times by a single one) and you have at least 3 AoOs, you can aid each time.
Jiqs |
The main point of disagreement that we've narrowed it down to is the trigger of it. Is the trigger each individual attack against your ally, or is it the declaration of a full attack action? I can see both options being ways to interpret it because of how Attacks of opportunity work. It depends on if each attack by an individual opponent is considered an opportunity to use the Bodyguard feat against, or if only the full action itself is the only opportunity that triggers it.
Nefreet |
For reference:
Benefit: When an adjacent ally is attacked, you may use an attack of opportunity to attempt the aid another action to improve your ally's AC. You may not use the aid another action to improve your ally's attack roll with this attack.
Normal: Aid another is a standard action.
If you get more than one attack per round because your base attack bonus is high enough (see Base Attack Bonus in Classes), because you fight with two weapons or a double weapon, or for some special reason, you must use a full-round action to get your additional attacks. You do not need to specify the targets of your attacks ahead of time. You can see how the earlier attacks turn out before assigning the later ones.
The only movement you can take during a full attack is a 5-foot step. You may take the step before, after, or between your attacks.
If you get multiple attacks because your base attack bonus is high enough, you must make the attacks in order from highest bonus to lowest. If you are using two weapons, you can strike with either weapon first. If you are using a double weapon, you can strike with either part of the weapon first.
Deciding between an Attack or a Full Attack: After your first attack, you can decide to take a move action instead of making your remaining attacks, depending on how the first attack turns out and assuming you have not already taken a move action this round. If you've already taken a 5-foot step, you can't use your move action to move any distance, but you could still use a different kind of move action.
Fighting Defensively as a Full-Round Action: You can choose to fight defensively when taking a full-attack action. If you do so, you take a –4 penalty on all attacks in a round to gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC for until the start your next turn.