Combat Manuevers and Attack Bonuses

[Driver 325 yards]

Okay, I am a little confused about what bonuses work for combat manuevers.

Does the +2 from flanking increase your disarm, bull rush, etc... attempt?

What about the enhancement bonus from your weapon?

What about Weapon Focus, if you are using a weapon to perform the combat manuever?

I think I know that the +2 from charge helps with bull rush?

I guess I was wondering if there is some general rule that would help me know the rule for all attack bonus situations and how they affect combat manuevers.

[Kazumetsa Raijin]

Flanking does increase. Anything that increases attack bonus, increases your CMB since it is an Attack roll of a sort.

True Strike + Bull Rush = B$&@%$$#. It's a really great way to bull rush someone a good distance. Just as an example.

I don't think the bonus from your weapon applies, but someone back me up on that?

Weapon Focus doesn't apply either as far as I know. Someone back me up or correct me on that too?

The +2 indeed does add to it.

BUt I don't wanna dig through pages on pages :(

[Marakash Arkenrae]

hmmm, never thought about that. Here's what the PRD says:

"When you attempt to perform a combat maneuver, make an attack roll and add your CMB in place of your normal attack bonus. Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects. These bonuses must be applicable to the weapon or attack used to perform the maneuver."

PRD LINK
(near the bottom)

So it seems to me like weapon focus and enhancement bonuses would apply to things like disarm and sunder, but not bull rush or grapple.

I guess that makes sense.

[Jacob Saltband]

...

[Quandary]

check out the blog post: Combat-Maneuvers-and-Weapon-Special-Features
it's all detailed there.
don't ask me why the special rule about trip weapons and drag/reposition is not in the FAQ.
kind of weird they hide that stuff in some blog that nobody knows exists unless they happened to read it in the first place.

but what the blog describes is in line with the RAW because if you note, some CMBs say 'in place of an attack' and that means in place of a SPECIFIC attack, i.e. one that would already be made with a weapon. others do not say that, namely grapple, bullrush, over-run, so there is no reason to think that they use a weapon, you just spend the specified action type (e.g. standard) and you make a CMB check, no weapon is ever invoked... those are the CMBs that are not 'weapon compatable maneuvers', that don't benefit from weapon bonuses.

the blog doesn't go into it, but there's a few edge cases where you are clearly doing a CMB with a weapon even though that CMB isn't amongst the normal 'weapon CMB' list, such as barbarian knockback (bullrush) or grab (grapple) , so those cases should also plausibly use weapon bonuses. bullrush also has the identical 'in place of attack' wording WHEN DONE AS A CHARGE, although i'm not sure if that is the intent or just poor editing. I've asked for specific confirmation of all that, but there has been no response one way or the other.

[it's clear you'r using the weapon in a crucial way because you can use those with reach weapons where the weapon is the only way you can attack that square with a CMB, changing to use a non-reach weapon shouldn't change how the weapon is being used]

[Kurt Grossman]

From the PRD: Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects.

That DOES include weapon attack bonuses!

[Driver 325 yards]

Wow, thanks for all the answer. That true strike bull rush I never even thought about.

I even found a feat where bull rush is performed with a shield (shield slam). Also a weapon enhancement where bull rush is performed with a shield (ramming).

One last question. Whenever you perform a combat manuever, not matter if it replaces you 1st or last attack, do you allows perform it using your full CMB? In other words, CMB does not decrease with iterative attacks like melee or ranged attacks do?

[Jacob Saltband]

CMB's use your current attack bonus so second attack gets minus 5 to CMB just as if your attacked normally, and so on.

[Driver 325 yards]

Jacob Saltband wrote:

CMB's use your current attack bonus so second attack gets minus 5 to CMB just as if your attacked normally, and so on.

Based on what was qutoed above

Quote:

Here's what the PRD says:

"When you attempt to perform a combat maneuver, make an attack roll and add your CMB in place of your normal attack bonus. Add any bonuses you currently have on attack rolls due to spells, feats, and other effects. These bonuses must be applicable to the weapon or attack used to perform the maneuver."

Doesn't this mean without the -5?

[Jacob Saltband]

CMB is affected by negatives as well as positives.

[Quandary]

BAB is listed in the format of: +13/+8/+3
Your BAB for latter iteratives is the number given for that iterative,
and the CMB used for that attack uses that BAB.

I guess technically that might mean that if you only activate Power Attack towards the end of your Full Attack it may be at a lower bonus, but if you do it at the beginning it still works the same for all attacks because that's what it says: all attacks.

[Driver 325 yards]

Quandary wrote:

BAB is listed in the format of: +13/+8/+3

Your BAB for latter iteratives is the number given for that iterative,
and the CMB used for that attack uses that BAB.

I guess technically that might mean that if you only activate Power Attack towards the end of your Full Attack it may be at a lower bonus, but if you do it at the beginning it still works the same for all attacks because that's what it says: all attacks.

Oh, that makes sense