This was the point of contention for me:
CRB, page 181
Free Action: Free actions consume a very small amount of
time and effort. You can perform one or more free actions
while taking another action normally. However, there are
reasonable limits on what you can really do for free, as
decided by the GM.
My assumption is that you are intended to perform an Attack of Opportunity with the weapon you threaten with when the AoO is triggered. Yet it could be argued that when a skeleton moves within your space you could Quickdraw a mace and use it for the AoO, or perhaps that when an Efreeti provokes on you, you use the free action to pull out your +1 light quickdraw shield of lesser fire resistance.
Heh. It reminds me when I originally made this ruling. I had a player who had a Supernatural melee touch attack, and wielded a rod (that acted as a mace). When an enemy's movement provoked an AoO, he wanted to make his AoO with the touch attack instead but I ruled the attack must be made with the threatening weapon, even if attacking with the rod was normally the same kind of action as using the supernatural ability.
Of course, if the player already had a touch spell on his hand waiting to discharge, then he would already be threatening and it would be a different story ...
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A specific instance of this question prompted this FAQ
Snap Shot: Can a character with Snap Shot (page 119) and Combat Reflexes make multiple attacks of opportunity with a ranged weapon, assuming that loading the ranged weapon is a free action?
Yes. As long as you can reload your weapon with a free action you can reload your weapon as part of the ranged attack attack of opportunity you are making with the Snap Shot feat.
—Stephen Radney-MacFarland, 10/13/11
This might just be throwing fuel onto the fire.
"You can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally."
Does the word "action" in the rule (bolded, above) mean the game-defined mechanical term action (Standard/Move/Swift/Etc.), or is it the English word action which simply means to act?
A) If "to act" then yes, you can take a free action any time you do anything, including breathing, seeing, thinking, blinking, growing new cells, etc.
B) If game mechanic, then is taking an AoO an Action? If so, what type of action is it? It's not a free action, since it can happen outside your turn. It's not an immediate action because it doesn't use up your next swift. Is it "Not an Action"? And if so, does that even count as taking another action?
In the case of A), since you're never really not doing anything, that means all free actions can be taken at any time, regardless of what you're doing. Since that's pretty clearly not supposed to be the case, we can assume that is not correct.
In the case of B), it depends on which action, if any, taking an AoO is, and whether "Not an Action" is, despite the name, an action.
Since the rules are not explicit, you'll just have to ask your GM.
There are two ways of interpreting the FAQ post, and both ways have their merits.
In one way, the FAQ is specifically referring to snap shot and the ranged AoOs it allows for.
The other way is that they're saying that since you can do it as a free action, you can tag it on to the AoO.
Hence my "fuel onto the fire" comment.
Actually, there's a third way which says that this FAQ is irrelevant since you could just say something, a free action able to be taken out of turn, and tag on whatever free action you want to do to the free action to talk, since the rules allow you to do free actions while taking other actions normally. But this is pretty silly, so we should ignore it.
Actually, there's a third way which says that this FAQ is irrelevant since you could just say something, a free action able to be taken out of turn, and tag on whatever free action you want to do to the free action to talk, since the rules allow you to do free actions while taking other actions normally.
Even though you can speak as a free action out of turn, that doesn't mean it interrupts other actions. So, for example, you could tell the orc not to hit you, then after it hits you tell it to stop hitting you, what you couldn't do is talk to it in the middle of it's attack action to hit you and then tack on another free action.
Still silly, but it means you would have to speak+draw either before the AoO is provoked or after, but not during. (Assuming that speaking out of turn is considered using that particular action "normally")
Free actions are explicitly only allowed on your turn.
Is that actually explicit? As in that is written somewhere?
I ask because this free action thing has come up one my game with the ever wonderful ring of force shield and im pretty sure none of my players were aware that free actions, short of talking, are only allowed on the players turn.
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Free actions are explicitly only allowed on your turn.
Is that actually explicit? As in that is written somewhere?
I ask because this free action thing has come up one my game with the ever wonderful ring of force shield and im pretty sure none of my players were aware that free actions, short of talking, are only allowed on the players turn.
It work in the reverse direction: the free action and non action that can be taken outside of your turn have that explicitly stated in the action (speaking) or were subjected to FAQ (Snap Shot). Unless there is a specific permission somewhere you can't do them outside your turn.
Same thing for immediate actions. The fact that they are immediate actions allow you to make them outside your turn.
As a houserule I would allow some free action like quickdraw with a immediate action that use the draw weapon, but only on a case by case basis.
Free actions are explicitly only allowed on your turn.
Is that actually explicit? As in that is written somewhere?
I ask because this free action thing has come up one my game with the ever wonderful ring of force shield and im pretty sure none of my players were aware that free actions, short of talking, are only allowed on the players turn.
All actions are only allowed on your turn with very few specific exceptions.
AoOs are not actions, they are special attacks that can only be taken under specific conditions. They are not actions.
Action Types
An action's type essentially tells you how long the action takes to perform (within the framework of the 6-second combat round) and how movement is treated. There are six types of actions: standard actions, move actions, full-round actions, swift actions, immediate actions, and free actions.
This list is, in fact, comprehensive.
So, can you combine a free action with an immediate action?
RAW it seems so.
Even if a GM decided to let players quickdraw weapons by tagging it onto speaking as a Free action, you can't take Free actions to disrupt another creature's actions. If you try to trick a creature by staying unarmed so that you can lure it in, then speak and quickdraw a weapon, your GM should tell you that your speech cannot interrupt another creature's turn since it is a Free action, and therefore your drawing a weapon cannot be performed until its action is complete.
Of course, it really shouldn't be allowed in the first place, as allowing interruptive Free actions is going to cause a lot of headaches
I'd like to pose logical reasoning as to why an Attack of Opportunity should be made with the weapon you threaten with. If a goblin runs past an armed paladin and an unarmed paladin that both have quickdraw and short swords on their belts, why should having a mace in her hand allow the armed paladin to draw her short sword and attack, while the other paladin cannot?
Tagging actions onto speaking would really turn action economy into adventurers wielding whatever they feel like (Schroedinger's weapon). On your turn you move toward me and I speak. Now that I'm speaking, maybe I'll draw a polearm. Then maybe I'll drop it and then draw a short sword. Your turn ends and the enemy archer's turn begins, so I speak and then drop Prone as a free action. I'm hit! I thought this was an easy fight, but I'll speak and enter a Rage as a free action so I don't die from this surprise critical.
It really robs the role of planning and puts the awards in sophistry's pocket.
So, can you combine a free action with an immediate action?RAW it seems so.
You can if the immediate action is taken during your turn, otherwise, free actions are still subject to all the normal rules.
