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Maybe I'm being terribly dense, but this seems like a RAW/RAI problem that one of my players put forth before me.
As written, Paired Opportunists' ability to receive an otherwise unavailable AoO via your Teamwork Feat buddy would seem to clash against Total Defense denying you any AoOs. One could argue that you either can't get an AoO (Total Defense really is total), or that the parenthetical clause of Paired Opportunists lets you get an AoO in spite of yourself.
As intended, it seems to take most of the sting out of the Total Defense action. Likewise, when compared with Fighting Defensively and taking those same AoOs at a penalty.. things just seem to get murkier.
What do the board citizens think?
Total Defense is a full round action for a +4 bonus to AC and CMD for one round -- that stings no matter what. However in addition to losing your full round action you also lose the ability to take AoOs for the round -- basically it's like you've already taken all the AoOs you get for the round.
SO even though you have an ability that would let you take an AoO you are not capable of doing so and therefore can't do it.
I would be more worried about the Bodyguard feat which lets you give an ally a bonus to AC by giving up an AoO attempt -- since while on full defensive you can't take AoOs anyways you might as well give up the attempts to help the Ally.
(Please note even this isn't broken since they have to be adjacent to you and you still gave up your full round action and your AoOs -- and even if you didn't give up the AoOs you still are spending the attempt which means you can't take the AoO again instead only giving your ally a +2 on AC (and CMD iirc) -- however if they aren't provoking at least you get to do something to help your buddy)
You cannot make AoO's because you are fully defending, nothing stops the AoO triggers tho from still procking. So if you're fully defending, and a flanked enemy tried to grapple you without Improved Grapple, thus provoking to only you, you can't take the AoO but your ally sharing Paired Opportunist still can take the AoO. Same vice a versa if they try to grab your friend, they take the AoO, it's shared to you, but you can't actually take the attack.
Yup. When you're in total defense, you don't threaten any squares, so you wouldn't be able to make use of the feat.
Threatened Squares: You threaten all squares into which you can make a melee attack, even when it is not your turn. Generally, that means everything in all squares adjacent to your space (including diagonally). An enemy that takes certain actions while in a threatened square provokes an attack of opportunity from you. If you're unarmed, you don't normally threaten any squares and thus can't make attacks of opportunity.
Since Total Defense prevents you from making any attacks it means you do not threaten those squares. Paired Opportunist specifically states you have to threaten the target.
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Since Total Defense prevents you from making any attacks it means you do not threaten those squares. Paired Opportunist specifically states you have to threaten the target.
To be more accurate total defense takes a standard action and prevent one from taking aoo, using fighting defensively or combat expertise, that's it.
It does NOT prevent you from attacking in any other way. a caster can use total defense and attack with a quickened spell for example.my favored way to attack while in total defense was using 'snapping turtle clutch' feat from the snapping turtle style feat tree to grapple an attacker as immediate action while i am in total defense.
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Either way I've never seen a PC take Paired Opportunists (teamwork feat) in 10+ yrs of Org Play (mainly as it takes 2+ PCs to take it or one with the ability to share it)... then Total Defense is an act of desperation! LoL, I am the ONLY person I've seen in Org Play Fighting Defensively or using Total Defense. Then again I typically run wizards so my PCs need some extra +5 or +8 dodge bonuses now and then (acrobatics & two non-proficient tonfas & no two-weapon fighting - heh!). I just gotta make it until I CAN cast...
Meanwhile, me traumatized by a rogue and kensai magus with 15-20 crit range, battlemind link, paired opportunist, outflank, rogue opportunist, teleport shenanigans, and a <10% chance for any attack to not cascade into another crit because each attach gets 2 rolls to hit taking the better natural dice value, meaning if one crits, they both get 2 attacks, which becomes four dice rolls, meaning even on average, they will never run out of attacks.
Meanwhile, me traumatized by a rogue and kensai magus with 15-20 crit range, battlemind link, paired opportunist, outflank, rogue opportunist, teleport shenanigans, and a <10% chance for any attack to not cascade into another crit because each attach gets 2 rolls to hit taking the better natural dice value, meaning if one crits, they both get 2 attacks, which becomes four dice rolls, meaning even on average, they will never run out of attacks.Comment
Either way I've never seen a PC take Paired Opportunists (teamwork feat) in 10+ yrs of Org Play (mainly as it takes 2+ PCs to take it or one with the ability to share it)... then Total Defense is an act of desperation! LoL, I am the ONLY person I've seen in Org Play Fighting Defensively or using Total Defense. Then again I typically run wizards so my PCs need some extra +5 or +8 dodge bonuses now and then (acrobatics & two non-proficient tonfas & no two-weapon fighting - heh!). I just gotta make it until I CAN cast...comments to tha comments... I do love a heavily invested and pointed attack sequence that can be foiled by a commonly used first level spell in wands like vanish, obscuring mist, or stone shield, let alone blur, mirror image, displacement, blink, etc... Carry on...
The teamwork feats I imagine see more utility in a Home Game where the same PCs show up time and time again.
They had truesight glasses, so half those wouldnt work, nevermind they had enough attacks that a 20% miss chance wouldnt matter and they'd chew through mirrors anyway, stone shield would explode from a single attack by the time they are level 15 for battlemind link, blink wouldn't stop the crits, just halve the number of times they happen. Believe me, I tried finding solutions.