Clarifying the 5-Foot Step

[Kessel]

I played my first-ever game of Pathfinder this weekend and the following question came up.

My understanding of the 5-foot step is that you can take one as (essentially) a free action as long as you don't move in any other way in your turn (generally speaking, I couldn't take a regular move and then get an additional 5-foot bump). My GM disagreed, saying that a 5-foot step is a move action, so it can't be taken in any turn that you use a move action for anything (in the case that spurred our argument, using a move action to reload my gun with the Rapid Reload feat). Based on the rulebooks (5-foot step is under "Miscellaneous Actions," not "Move Actions," for instance) I'm pretty sure I'm right-- that I can take a 5-foot step, use a move action to reload, and use a standard to shoot, all in one turn-- but my DM has played 1,000,000 times more Pathfinder than I have and he seemed very certain.

Whose interpretation is correct?

Thanks!

[TriOmegaZero]

5ft steps do not use move actions, unless you are doing so into difficult terrain. If your DM needs proof, point out that you can take a 5ft step between iterative attacks during a full-attack action, which is a full round action.

[AvalonXQ]

You are entirely correct.

Your GM is using the 4th Ed. rules, where the five-foot step is replaced by the "shift" action, which does require a move action. He is wrong to try to apply this to Pathfinder.

In Pathfinder, a 5-foot step doesn't cost any of your actions for your turn. It gives you a "free" move along with your other actions in any round where you would otherwise not move from your square.

[Cheapy]

Move Actions aren't necessarily movement. As long as you have not moved from your square, you can take a 5'. But once you do that, you can't use an action to move (normally).

It's not based off of move actions, it's based off of changing squares.

[Howie23]

AvalonXQ wrote:

You are entirely correct.

Almost. A 5-foot step is classified as no action, not a free action. The distinction is rarely important, tho. Otherwise, OP's GM does seem to be pulling in rules from a different game or is suffering some other form of misunderstanding, likely related to the language that you cannot 5-foot step in a turn that you move. The reload is a move action, but is not movement.

[ATron9000]

Link him to this thread.

[blackbloodtroll]

It is in the core, described as such. Have him read the core, it proves you right.