Medium creature with Reach Weapon and Lunge (Do count corners?)

[Mike Schneider]

I wish Order of the Stick was on Pathfinder rules now, so they could properly lampoon this idiocy.

[Purplefixer]

The rules on reach are very clear. You always threaten the area around adjacent to you if you are small or medium. You threaten the ring of adjacent squares outside that if you have reach, natural or by weapon, though weapon reach usually negates your normal adjacent threat. Horses, for instance, being large with short reach, threaten the top four, middle four, and bottom four adjacent spaces. A troll, having 10' reach, threatens those 12 adjacent spaces, and all the spaces adjacent to those spaces. A troll with a a halberd threatens all the spaces adjacent to THOSE as well. AND the Troll can still make attacks of opportunity with his bite if you're up close!

Adjacency is the rule to run by, and reach always allows another full ring of threat.

[Howie23]

Purplefixer wrote:

The rules on reach are very clear...

Adjacency is the rule to run by, and reach always allows another full ring of threat.

Care to cite that? :)

[Terek]

Howie23 wrote:

Purplefixer wrote:

The rules on reach are very clear...

Adjacency is the rule to run by, and reach always allows another full ring of threat.

Care to cite that? :)

I do have a citation from the CoreRulebook itself, however I do not agree that it is very clear. However, if you look closely and make an analysis it will make sense.

Here is the text with bold italics added on the key point.

http://paizo.com/pathfinderRPG/prd/combat.html#big-and-little-creatures-in- combat-146 wrote:

Large, Huge, Gargantuan, and Colossal Creatures: Very large creatures take up more than 1 square.

Creatures that take up more than 1 square typically have a natural reach of 10 feet or more, meaning that they can reach targets even if they aren't in adjacent squares.

Unlike when someone uses a reach weapon, a creature with greater than normal natural reach (more than 5 feet) still threatens squares adjacent to it. A creature with greater than normal natural reach usually gets an attack of opportunity against you if you approach it, because you must enter and move within the range of its reach before you can attack it. This attack of opportunity is not provoked if you take a 5-foot step.

Large or larger creatures using reach weapons can strike up to double their natural reach but can't strike at their natural reach or less.

While this quote deals with things that have natural reach, I am making the assumption that a reach of 10 feet has the same max range as a natural reach of 10 feet.

Option 1 Option 2
RRRRR 3RRR3
R111R R111R
R1X1R R1X1R
R111R R111R
RRRRR 3RRR3
R = 10 foot reach Square
3 = 15 foot reach Square
1 = 5 foot reach Square
0 = 0 foot reach Square

With Option 2 you could approach without provoking an attack of opportunity by coming in from a corner.

With Option 1 you could not approach without provoking an attack of opportunity by coming in through a corner.

So by the rules for natural reach, Option 2 is incorrect. Now if you do not agree with my assumption that the max range of Natural Reach and the max range of 5 ft reach with a reach weapon are similar then I didn't prove anything to you.

Now, Lunge adds 5 feet to your reach so it would be like the following if I was adjudicating.
LLLLLLL
LRRRRRL
LR111RL
LR1X1RL
LR111RL
LRRRRRL
LLLLLLL

Hope this helps those who want to clear this up.
Terek