Freedom of Movement --- Still use Standard Action to escape?

[Razz]

According to Freedom of Movement, you automatically succeed on checks to escape grapples.

A player of mine says he's automatically free, and still has all his actions to use.

However, according to the wording, it just says checks made to escape automatically succeed. It sounds like you still need to declare you're "escaping", which is a Standard Action.

So, does escaping with Freedom of Movement still require a Standard Action (or Move Action for those with Greater Grapple, I believe)? Or is it really an auto-escape?

Thanks!

[Starglim]

Standard action. I don't think Greater Grapple would change this, because escaping a grapple is not the same as maintaining a grapple (see the other freedom of movement thread for the reverse side of this) although I do think it's a grapple check for purposes of bonuses from the Improved Grapple chain.

[EWHM]

Most of the time it doesn't matter, because Freedom of movement makes the combat manuever to grapple automatically fail.

This spell enables you or a creature you touch to move and attack normally for the duration of the spell, even under the influence of magic that usually impedes movement, such as paralysis, solid fog, slow, and web. All combat maneuver checks made to grapple the target automatically fail. The subject automatically succeeds on any combat maneuver checks and Escape Artist checks made to escape a grapple or a pin.

If it's cast or invoked after the fact, you can get away with a standard action.

[Starglim]

EWHM wrote:

If it's cast or invoked after the fact, you can get away with a standard action.

Yes, and the attacker can't grapple you again while the effect lasts, so you don't lose any more actions.

[Razz]

Ok, that's what I figured. Thanks! What happened was my player was grappled, and he had the spell Heart of Water on. One of the effects of the spell allows you to mentally choose to affect yourself with Freedom of Movement for 1 round/level and then the spell expires. So he used it while being grappled and wanted to make sure that he still needed to use that Standard Action to get out and away.

[BigNorseWolf]

Alternatively, the cleric could try to cast in the grapple or do what they wanted anyway, because when the grappler's turn rolls around and they have to maintain they will fail and the cleric will be freeeeee

[Alexander Kilcoyne]

I hate freedom of movement with a passion. Little else simply says NO to a fighters trick.