Spring attack question


Rules Questions


If my target of attack with spring attack is a monster with reach do I negate all its AoOs?(wither it has or doesn't have combat reflexes)


EDIT: Hrm, on second look it does say you negate AoO so I would say yes.


Yes, spring attack allows you to move a minimum of 10' before your attack. When you do so you prevent all attacks of opportunity from that movement.

This is from page 134 of the core rule book.

Benefit: 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.


But after doing this a few times, your opponent will probably ready an action to attack you when you come into reach, if he is intelligent enough and there aren't other party members in melee with him.


Zen79 wrote:

But after doing this a few times, your opponent will probably ready an action to attack you when you come into reach, if he is intelligent enough and there aren't other party members in melee with him.

It's even more comical when your enemy has multiple attacks. He readies his action, you spring, he attacks you a bunch of times, and you only attack him once. Big-time losing proposition.

Although, if you have friends, like a group of PCs, there's a good chance that nearly all of them are doing more damage than you are. Spring Attack guarantees you only get one attack/round, and your friends are probably attacking at least twice, or casting damaging/scary spells - most monsters will be glad to let the spring attacker die last since he is (often) the least effective enemy.

Now, true, if you build for it and do it right, you might be really deadly with Spring Attack. I submit that, in most cases, had you built differently, around some other, more dangerous tactic, you would probably be even more deadly.


Sorry Blake, you can only ready a standard or move action - not a full-attack action.


Spring Attack and the Vital Strike feat chain are a great combination* for characters which don't have the AC and HP to stand and trade full attacks with the enemy. It also ties in nicely with a character optimized for mobility, so maybe a rogue. I think a rogue could even Spring Attack into a flanking position with his fighter buddy to get Sneak Attack.

*I think it was ruled on these board that they can be combined.


+1 They do work together.


My favorite thing about Spring Attack is the 10ft movement necessary to do it.

Makes monsters with reach with Step Up pretty annoying.

Or slow.


Step Up can only be used when the opponent 5ft. steps, no?

but yeh, Slow ruins Spring Attackers, heh.


thanks for the answers guys, yea i think spring attack don't get real good till you can get Bounding Assault(lvl 12)and Rapid Blitz(lvl 18)which both add an extra attack on a spring attack(up to 3)at your highest attack bonus.

Dark Archive

springger wrote:
thanks for the answers guys, yea i think spring attack don't get real good till you can get Bounding Assault(lvl 12)and Rapid Blitz(lvl 18)which both add an extra attack on a spring attack(up to 3)at your highest attack bonus.

not quite. Basically, when you are moving and attacking (not charging), you can do your second attack (bab -5) with Assault, and the 3rd attack (bab -10) with blitz. and assualt requires the attack to be agains a differant opponant than spring attack. so its good for tagging a few people, not taking out 1


Ice Titan wrote:

My favorite thing about Spring Attack is the 10ft movement necessary to do it.

Makes monsters with reach with Step Up pretty annoying.

Or slow.

Slow hehehe

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