An attack of opportunity can be provoked/made on a surprise round?
You need Combat Reflexes.
An attack of opportunity can be provoked/made on a surprise round?
Flat-Footed: "At the start of a battle, before you have had a chance to act (specifically, before your first regular turn in the initiative order), you are flat-footed. You can't use your Dexterity bonus to AC (if any) while flat-footed. Barbarians and rogues of high enough level have the uncanny dodge extraordinary ability, which means that they cannot be caught flat-footed. Characters with uncanny dodge retain their Dexterity bonus to their AC and can make attacks of opportunity before they have acted in the first round of combat. A flat-footed character can't make attacks of opportunity, unless he has the Combat Reflexes feat."
Good catch, Grick!
So, Uncanny Dodge or Combat Reflexes.
Or having acted before whatever it is provokes.
Kensai Magus can also draw their weapon and take AOOs in the suprise round.
The teamwork feat Lookout might allow you to take attacks of opportunity on a surprise round (depending on how you interpret it).
The teamwork feat Lookout might allow you to take attacks of opportunity on a surprise round (depending on how you interpret it).
Lookout just lets you act in the surprise round. You're still flat-footed until you have done so.
a technical reading of flat-footed would mean that you are flat footed the entire surprise round even after you have acted: (specifically, before your first regular turn in the initiative order). your turn during the surprise round is not 'regular' (it consists of only a standard or a move action).
Lookout, assuming that you are not surprised your self, allows you to take a normal rounds worth of actions... thus after you act it could be infered that you are no longer flat-footed.
thus if the lookout person takes their turn it could be considered their first 'regular' turn and would not be FF the rest of the surprise round, allowing AoO's on opponents that may act after them (whereas, by that reading of the FF rules even people who are not surprised during the surprise round are considered FF even after they have acted until thier action on the first round of combat when they get their 'regular' turn in the initiative order).
a technical reading of flat-footed would mean that you are flat footed the entire surprise round even after you have acted: (specifically, before your first regular turn in the initiative order). your turn during the surprise round is not 'regular' (it consists of only a standard or a move action).
There's good discussion on that topic here (along with an unhelpfully vague response to the FAQ flags)
There is a religion (torag) trait: Defensive strategist. With that trait you are not flatfooted at the beginning of combat.