Can the feat "Step Up" be used if the 5' step away from you is to the left or right rather than directly away? Can it be used if the 5' step away from you is actually diagonal and past you?
Basically:
PC Fighter= @
Orc Shaman= %
A|B|C
D|%|E
F|@|G
Does the Orc only provoke the use of this feat if he moves into A, B, or C? Can I use the feat if he 5' steps into D, E, F, or G?
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I'd rule that the feat could be used (triggered) only when the target's 5' step actually breaks melee contact - or if you're using minis on a battle grid, base contact.
So, in your example, only when the orc shaman moves in A, B or C; if he moves to D, E, F or G, there's no real need to take the step up to mantain melee range, so the feat is not triggered at all.
I wondered if some folks might not see it that way...
The feat just says that the enemy must "Attempt to take a 5' step away from you". It doesn't say they must end their movement farther from you than they began it. Nor does it specify a restriction on the direction their movement takes them.
I'd assume as long as their 5' step takes them away in any direction, regardless of the direction, that it triggers the feat.
+1 @golem101
Else it could be used for not getting flanked - the enemy moves into flanking position, you get an immidiate 5 foot step and use it to avoid being flanked. That are not the RAI behind step up.
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I wondered if some folks might not see it that way...
The feat just says that the enemy must "Attempt to take a 5' step away from you". It doesn't say they must end their movement farther from you than they began it. Nor does it specify a restriction on the direction their movement takes them.
I'd assume as long as their 5' step takes them away in any direction, regardless of the direction, that it triggers the feat.
I understand your point, but to me the key to the feat is the "away" part - that means adding some distance.
Unless the target steps away from melee range it could be argued with good reason that he's moving "around" your position rather than away: his relative position has changed but not the overall distance, so he's not anymore "away" from you than he was before the 5' step.Moreover, as noted above, it could be a trick to avoid flanking, which is not the intent of this feat.
I think there is definitely confusion centering around how people are defining "away".
Another reason I assumed that lateral and diagonal movement would trigger this feat is that the next feat in the tree "Following Step" allows you to move up to 10' when using the "Step Up" feat.
There's been a fair bit of discussion on what the point of "Follwing Step" is. Why would one ever need to move 10' to follow someone who took a 5' step away from them? The only reason I can come up with is that it was meant to allow the PC to follow an NPC whose 5' step was a forward diagonal while still maintaining the same relative orientation to one another.
I think the feat's name leads on to believe it's only for giving chase whereas the intent was to allow for tactical repositioning.