Quick Draw and AoO


Rules Questions


Hi,
A Ranger from my party has a doubt about the possible use of Quick Draw in an AoO. Given this situation:
He is right handed and he's wielding a Composite Long-bow, body in left hand and his right hand to pull the string. In his belt there's a Dagger or Shortsword or Longsword which he would normally use in his right hand, being right-handed. An enemy goes through the square before his eyes; normally this would not cause any AoO since he's wielding a ranged weapon and doesn't threat any square, but considering he has Quick Draw, would it be possible for him to draw his melee weapon as a free action with his right hand while still holding the bow in his left hand, and then strike the AoO?


Pathfinder Maps Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Previous discussions suggest that you cannot take free actions (with a few limited exceptions) during AoOs, only on your own turn. AFAIK, this is the only distinguishing characteristic of an immediate action.


He does not threaten, unless he has the Snap Shot feat. He has to actively have a melee weapon in hand to threaten an AoO.

There are exceptions to this in specific class abilities. The Magus' Kensai archetype, for example:

Iaijutsu (Ex) wrote:
At 7th level, a kensai applies his Intelligence modifier as well as his Dexterity modifier on initiative rolls (minimum 0). A kensai may make attacks of opportunity when flat-footed, and may draw his favored weapon as a free action as part of taking an attack of opportunity.

But without an ability that grants something akin to the last line of Iajutsu there, it's not possible.


He could, however, attack with his longbow as an improvised club, if he really wanted to. At the end of every turn, he could just shift his grip to hold it as an improvised melee weapon until the beginning of his next turn.

Sczarni

The general rule is that free actions may not be taken outside of your turn. That's what immediate actions are for.

There are some exceptions, such as speaking, some class abilities, a Giant's Rock Catching, and creatures with the Grab, Trip, Push, or Pull Universal Monster abilities.

But Quickdraw is not one of those exceptions.


Very clear, thank you. A last question if you don't mind: what if he is wearing a Spiked Gauntlet? Does he threat any square even if he's still holding a bow?


Yes.


As long as he's holding the bow in a different hand, then yes.

Sczarni

Holding a bow only requires one hand.

Using a bow requires two.

So, as long as one hand has the bow, and the other has the Spiked Gauntlet, yes, he would threaten.

Silver Crusade

1 person marked this as a favorite.
Nefreet wrote:

The general rule is that free actions may not be taken outside of your turn. That's what immediate actions are for.

There are some exceptions, such as speaking, some class abilities, a Giant's Rock Catching, and creatures with the Grab, Trip, Push, or Pull Universal Monster abilities.

But Quickdraw is not one of those exceptions.

Link to FAQ on free actions and AoO's

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / Rules Questions / Quick Draw and AoO All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.
Recent threads in Rules Questions