Hi,
I'm new to Pathfinder and trying to make sense of mechanics specifically dealing with fighters using the 2-Handed archtype from APG.
Improved Critical: When using the weapon you selected, your threat range is doubled.
Lunge: You can increase the reach of your melee attacks by 5 feet until the end of your turn by taking a –2 penalty to your AC until your next turn. You must decide to use this ability before any attacks are made.
Step Up: Whenever an adjacent foe attempts to take a 5-foot step away from you, you may also make a 5-foot step as an immediate action so long as you end up adjacent to the foe that triggered this ability. If you take this step, you cannot take a 5-foot step during your next turn. If you take an action to move during your next turn, subtract 5 feet from your total movement.
Combat Reflexes: You may make a number of additional attacks of opportunity per round equal to your Dexterity bonus. With this feat, you may also make attacks of opportunity while flat-footed.
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.
So when I wield a 2-handed Greatsword with a 5 foot reach, do I get Attacks of Opportunities (AoO) against anyone that closes in on any of my adjacent squares since I threaten them before they move to close in on me (at 10 feet away)?
And I can make up to 4 AoOs with Combat Reflexes and a Dex of 16 (+3)?
Can I make multiple Step Ups in a round if multiple foes take a 5-foot steps away?
Do I need Lunge active to make use of Improved Critical if I don't get AoOs as in my 1st question when an enemy advances in on your position? So with Lunge active I would get an AoO at 10 foot range on foes closing in on my adjacent squares correct?
Do most 2-Handed Fighters always have Lunge active so they can make more AoOs due to having more possible targets with Improved Critical?
Is Step Up usually a must for fighters? Can't I just keep closing in on my foe by making the same free 5 foot move every round as I can just save it until the end of the round in case the foe does it?
1. Yes; you threaten to 10', so anybody that steps from 10' away to 5' away will provoke one attack of opportunity.
2. Yes, but only one attack of opportunity per provocation, and only one for a particular enemy's entire movement action (that is, other AoO against that enemy would need to be for some other reason, such as trying to cast a spell or something).
3. No; Step Up is an immediate action, and you only get one of those a turn (taking up your swift action for the next turn).
4. Many do. It's a nice feat.
5. You could simply take the 5' step during your turn. There is the possibility that another foe closes the gap before your turn comes around, though. I haven't played fighter much, so someone else will have to expound on the strategic advantages. Also, someone around here has a fighter guide.
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1. No, your reach is still 5 foot.
2. Yes.
3. No, using Step up is an immediate action, and you can only perform a single immediate action per round since it consumes your next round's swift action (a swift action is a special kind of free action you may do at any time during your round, but only once per round).
4. Improved Critical doesn't improve your reach, but the zone your weapon may crit on a natural roll : if a 1d8 20x2 is a critical hit on a natural 20 on your dice, Improved Critical makes it go to 19-20x2. 19-20 becomes 17-20, and 18-20 becomes 15-20 - that's the best you can reach as properties increasing threat range don't stack. This means that if you roll a number in this zone and it is enough to hit the creature (20 always hits), you have to roll again the dice with the same bonuses. If the roll is enough to reach the enemy's AC again, you roll your base weapon damage X times and multiply all your bonus damage by X, X being the weapon multiplicator (20 "x2", 19-20 "x3", x4, etc.). You don't multiply bonus damage dice like from a flaming weapon of Vital Strike though.
5. Lunge only improves your reach during your own turn, not during the enemy's turn.
5. Not really, but it can make casters suffer, and advanced builds using more books than Core may offer opportunities, like the "Step up and Strike" feat.
So when I wield a 2-handed Greatsword with a 5 foot reach, do I get Attacks of Opportunities (AoO) against anyone that closes in on any of my adjacent squares since I threaten them before they move to close in on me (at 10 feet away)?
Yes, unless they also have reach. Up to the number of AoOs you get.
And I can make up to 4 AoOs with Combat Reflexes and a Dex of 16 (+3)?
Yes.
Can I make multiple Step Ups in a round if multiple foes take a 5-foot steps away?
I'd say no, because a "5' step" is a defined action, which you only get one per round. The feat says you can take it as an immediate action on someone else's turn instead of your own, but you don't get more of them to take in the first place.
Do I need Lunge active to make use of Improved Critical if I don't get AoOs as in my 1st question when an enemy advances in on your position? So with Lunge active I would get an AoO at 10 foot range on foes closing in on my adjacent squares correct?
Firstly, Lunge is only active on your turn. It ends when your turn does, so barring any really strange situations, you won't be taking an AoO on your own turn.
Secondly, Improved Critical depends on the weapon you are using, not in the way you use it. If you have Improved Critical: Greatsword, you always threaten a critical on a 17-20.
Do most 2-Handed Fighters always have Lunge active so they can make more AoOs due to having more possible targets with Improved Critical?
Lunge doesn't help with AoOs, see above.
Is Step Up usually a must for fighters? Can't I just keep closing in on my foe by making the same free 5 foot move every round as I can just save it until the end of the round in case the foe does it?
The main reason to have Step Up is so casters can't take a 5' step away from you in melee and cast a spell without provoking an AoO. If you Step Up, they are still in melee range and would then still provoke an AoO from you.
Re-read Lunge. It only applies during your turn. So it's very hard to use it for AoOs, which usually happen during someone else's turn.
Yes, 16 Dex and Combat Reflexes gives you 4 AoOs per turn.
Step Up is an immediate action. You only get one of those in a turn, so you can't take multiple Step Ups in a turn.
Improved Critical is always on, any time you make an attack roll with the weapon it applies to. It doesn't matter if you're lunging or not.
Lunge isn't ever "always on", it's something you have to declare when you're attacking, and it only applies to the end of your turn. You still get the -2 AC till the start of your next turn, but you only get the extra reach during your own turn. Two-handed fighters who want to get lots of AoOs usually use reach weapons instead of greatswords. Glaives, guisearms, fauchards, longspears... There is a long list of them.
Step Up is a very common fighter feat, but it isn't a "must". Even fighters can't take every feat. If you depend on getting in the enemy's face to shut him down -- usually against archers or spellcasters --, then you want Step Up so you can stay in his face. If you are an archer, you don't need it. If you plan to trip them so they're down on the ground and can't get away from you, you don't need it. If you just plan to deliver so much damage that they're dead, you don't need it. What Step Up stops is the guy who takes a five foot step away to do his thing without provoking attacks of opportunity.
blahpers is sort of correct. IF your weapon has a 10foot reach anyone moving from 10feet to 5feet would provoke (assuming they are not taking a 5 foot step).
However, lunge only works during your attack sequence only. It does not extend your reach to 10feet during other creatures actions. As a result it gives no benefit for attacks of opportunity. Your normal reach with a greatsword for AoO is only 5feet.
Note: If somehow an opponent provokes an attack of opportunity on YOUR turn then lunge should still be effective. However there are virtually no instances of this occuring.
Example1:
21P
A creature moves from 2 to 1 in the example above (you are P). Your reach is 5feet (covering only 1). You do NOT get an attack of opportunity. Not even if you had been using lunge on your last attack sequence.
Example2:
321P
You have a 10foot reach due to being enlarged and having a greatsword. A creature moves from 3 to 1. The movement from 3 to 2 does NOT provoke an AoO. The movement from 2 to 1 does because you threaten 2 when he leaves it.
Example 3:
321P
You have a 10foot reach due to a longspear. You do not threaten 5feet around you. A creature moves from 3 to 1. The movement from 3 to 2 does NOT provoke an AoO. The movement from 2 to 1 does because you threaten 2 when he leaves it.
On a later turn he moves from 1 to 2. This does not provoke an AoO because you do not threaten 1. When he moves from 2 to 3 he will provoke an AoO because you DO threaten 2.
- Gauss
Lunge increased reach ends when your turn ends while the penalty to your AC lasts until the beginning of your next turn so it won't help you with attacks of opportunity.
Step Up specifically uses immediate action. You have only one swift/immediate action each turn so you can't use it against two different opponents in a row.
EDIT: Ninjas strike for lots of AoOs today.
OK thanks all for the clarifications.
I interpreted Improved Critical (When using the weapon you selected, your threat range is doubled) as physical area around the character. But I see that it refers to weapon critical chances.
I find Pathfinder's terminology again, ambiguous.
So to make use of Lunge, you would delay your actions until the end of the round, and if someone moved away you could use Lunge or a free 5 foot move to attack.
Or you could Lunge target 1 and also 5 foot move to attack target 2 in another direction?
Lunge doesn't seem very useful now.
Can you use Step Up and a free 5 foot move in a round?
On your turn, you declare you are using Lunge.
Now your reach with a 10' reach weapon becomes 15', and you can attack anyone with all of your attacks. At the end of your turn, your threatened area returns to just 10'.
See the use in Lunge now? Someone 15' away from you can be hit by you but cannot hit you in return by just taking a 5' step on their turn. Now (unless they have reach too) they MUST move through your threatened space to melee you, drawing an AoO.
Step Up is used on your opponent's turn, and it's almost 100% meant to prevent your foe from avoiding your AoOs for casting or making ranged attacks.
You cannot use Step Up and your 5' step in the same round, mainly because the feat says you can't. Step Up is an immediate action used on your opponent's turn, normal 5' steps are used on your turn.
Correct, I neglected to mention that the added reach would only benefit you during your own turn, limiting its usefulness.
So Thoth Amon is at the end of a 25 foot wide corridor. He has 3 guards with reach weapons on either side of the hall. An open lane is in the halls's middle, thus creating an AOO gauntlet! He taunts Conan a pouncing CAGM Barbarian (Why Thoth would taunt such a foe is beyond me, he is perhaps both evil and insane) Conan has a looted falchion or scythe or club or maybe just his claws...
Conan roars a challenge and decalres a lunging charge. As he draws an AOO from each guard he counters with a Dazing Assault GAGM blow and arrives at Thoth covered in gore leaving a dazed bunch behind him to watch their lord's death!
THE END
p.s. Conan could have been more feat savvy and used a reach weapon himself with spiked armour
p.p.s. Unless Conan is facing lots of large foes then Lunge could still be useful.
p.p.p.s Like big Apes with red cloaks.
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