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I need some sharp eyes on this rules conundrum. I play a halfling monk/swashbuckler, who uses various magic to become tiny. This means that, most of the time, i have reach 0, and can only attack foes by entering their squares.
My problem is with the combination og Dodging Panache, Snake Strike (from the Snake Style)and 0 reach.
If I enter the square of an opponent, I provoke attack of opportunity. When the opponent attempts to strike me, I activate Dodging Panache and move 5 feet, into his square. My question is this: Where am i when he attacks? If I'm in his square, and he missis me, I get an attack of opportunity from Snake Strike. If I'm not yet in his square when he misses me, I can't reach him, and don't get an AoO from Snake Strike. It's all in he wording of Dodging Panache, and I can see it ruled both ways.
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Let's see if I've got your question understood properly.
#1: You began in a square adjacent to your enemy. Presumably, this square is threatened by that enemy.
#2: The rules state "Very Small Creature: A Fine, Diminutive, or Tiny creature can move into or through an occupied square. The creature provokes attacks of opportunity when doing so."
You enter the square of your enemy. You can do this because you are Tiny. You have not stated if you're doing this as a move action or as a five-foot step. Even if you're five-foot-stepping into your opponent's square, you still provoke for entering an opponent's square. See this FAQ. If you're doing this as a move rather than a five-foot step, the FAQ explains that you don't provoke TWO AoOs (one for leaving a threatened square and one for entering an opponent's square) due to the rule "Moving out of more than one square threatened by the same opponent in the same round doesn't count as more than one opportunity for that opponent". This tends to indicate that entering the opponent's square is equivalent to leaving an threatened square from a provocation perspective.
Dodging Panache said "This movement doesn’t negate the attack, which is still resolved as if the swashbuckler had not moved from the original square."
Since (almost) all other movement triggered AoOs occur in the square the creature was LEAVING, I'm inclined to believe that this is also true in this case. If the creature whos square you are entering had elected to trip you with his AoO and succeeded, wouldn't you be prone in the square you were entering his square from ? The FAQ on trip says "The attack of opportunity is triggered before the action that triggered it is resolved." While that FAQ is specific to trip, it implies that this is true for most if not all AoOs.
If you weren't tiny and were trying to move through his square with acrobatics and failed, you'd also be stopped in the square you're attempting to enter his square from.
All of this combined, while not definitive, leads me to believe that you can't use Snake Strike against the AoO provoked by entering the target's square.
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Sorry for not being more thorough in my explanation of the situation. You were right in your assumptions, though.
To clarify: I agree that in any other situation, an attack of opportunity triggered by movement is carried out before the movement occurs. My question attains to the wording of Dodging Panache, though. It states that I make the move before the opponent attacks, but that the opponent carries out the attack as if I had not yet moved. The movement happens before the attack, though, and the AC bonus is dependant on the move, so it must be carried out before the attack. Therefore, I am already in the opponent's square when he attacks. My movement into his square (from Dodging Panache) provokes AoO form other opponents, but not from the opponent whose initial AoO triggered the Dodging Panache. Those other opponents could, for instance, chose to trip me, thus negating my movement from Dodging Panache. But that's beside the point.
After I move into the opponent's square as an immidiate action, the opponent makes his AoO, as if I had not yet moved from the original square. Any conditions, such as reach, flanking or standing in a Grease spell, that applied to my former position, still applies to the attack. However, at the moment when his attack misses me, I have actualy already moved. I am already in his square, even though his AoO is carried out as if I had not yet moved. Am I then not in a position to utilise Snake Strike? Or is my counterattack also carried out as if I had not yet moved?
To clarify, we can use a slightly different example. Imagine a normal sized monk/swashbuckler, Donald, who has normal 5 foot reach. He is attacked by an opponent, and activates Dodging Panache to move 5 feet away from his opponent, bringing him out of reach. The opponent's attack is carried out as if Donald was still next to it, but it misses, and Donald activates Snake Strike. Is he still within reach, or has he already moved out of reach?
I would say that everything driven by the attack that allows Dodging Panache to be activated must be resolved before Dodging Panache finishes.
example:
Opponent declares an attack on Donald.
Donald declares that he will use dodging panache (immediately gaining + CHA against the attack).
Opponent's attack is resolved, including any follow-on effects.
After all consequences of the attack are resolved, Dodging Panache finishes with move completing.
This movement doesn’t negate the attack, which is still resolved as if the swashbuckler had not moved from the original square.
You're in the square that provoked the attack (the one in front of him) when the attack resolves, after which you move into his square. I would rule that since your snake strike resolves after his AoO, you'd already be in his square when you make the attack, allowing you to be within reach.
Order of operations:
1) You get attacked by bad guy
2) The attack prompts DP
3) The attack resolves as if you were still in the original square
4) With the attack having resolved, DP resumes moving you into his square
5) Snake Style resolves in response to his attack
Would your answer be the same if Donald had dodged away ? He wouldn't get his Snake Style response because he's no longer adjacent ?
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This movement doesn’t negate the attack, which is still resolved as if the swashbuckler had not moved from the original square.You're in the square that provoked the attack (the one in front of him) when the attack resolves, after which you move into his square. I would rule that since your snake strike resolves after his AoO, you'd already be in his square when you make the attack, allowing you to be within reach.
Order of operations:
1) You get attacked by bad guy
2) The attack prompts DP
3) The attack resolves as if you were still in the original square
4) With the attack having resolved, DP resumes moving you into his square
5) Snake Style resolves in response to his attack
I'm not sure how this is supposed to work, however, I believe that your number 4 and 5 are reversed. The reason I believe that, is that the only attacks granted by Snake Style are from Snake Fang, and the attacks from Snake Fang are Attacks of Opportunity. Attacks of Opportunity interrupt the normal flow of combat, and these attacks trigger on the miss, which happens before the character has moved. If you don't take the AoO at that point, I don't think you can take it later, after the move.
Now, Snake Fang grants a second, possible attack. If you hit with the Attack of Opportunity, then you can spend an Immediate action to make an additional attack. But in order to get that second attack, you must hit with the first one, and if you aren't close enough to hit with the first one... you get the idea.
Maybe a question to ask is, can you take a 5-foot step in between someone provoking and taking your AoO, if the triggering event happens on your turn? I think the answer that is no, which leads me to believe the answer here is no.
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But, why isn't Dodging Panache fully resolved before the opponent gets his attack? It's an immediate action that interrupts the opponent's attack, but after the immediate action, which grants a move and a dodge bonus, is fully carried out, the opponent gets to attack as if you had never moved.
If Dodging Panache was worded "The Swashbuckler can spend a panache point as an immediate action to get a dodge bonus equal to his charisma bonus against the attack. After the attack is carried out, the Swashbuckler can move 5 feet.", then I would agree that the move is carried out after the attack. But it is not. It is worded "when an opponent attempts a melee attack against the swashbuckler, the swashbuckler can as an immediate action spend 1 panache point to move 5 feet; doing so grants the swashbuckler a dodge bonus to AC equal to her Charisma modifier". Why, then, should Dodging Panache be split up to be carried out partially before the triggering attack, and partially after? Why even state that "This movement doesn’t negate the attack, which is still resolved as if the swashbuckler had not moved from the original square" if the movement is not to be carried out until after the triggering attack?
In my take on the ruling, this is the sequence:
1) You get attacked by bad guy
2) The attack prompts Dodging Panache. You get a 5 foot move which grants a dodge bonus. This move provokes AoO from other bad guys, which are resolved now.
3) The attack resolves as if you were still in the original square
4) Snake Style resolves in response to his attack. If the tiny monk moved into reach, he can get an AoO. If Donald the non-tiny monk moved away from reach, he doesn't get an AoO.
Also, the second attack from Snake Strike is not really relevant, as you have already spent your swift/immediate action on Dodging Panache.
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That order might be correct. Like I said, I don't know for sure how it works. I'm just pretty sure that you aren't moving 5 feet in between the attack missing and taking your attack of opportunity, which is how Captain Battletoad presented things. If Dodging Panache moves you before the initial attack even takes place, even though you are treated as though you had not moved, then it may work as you've said.