LET'S TALK ACTION

[staticPF]

Let me first just say, I'm doing this on a phone until my internet gets turned back on (hopefully tomorrow) so please bear with any spellcheck surprizes I may miss.

Actions in game are a bit confusing. We are coming from a D&D background with a few other game sets mixed in, but we are totally new to Pathfinder (I was told it was just like 3.5 and d20 but I don't see much of that in the new PT rules.
As we (my group and I. I am DMing, but we all have DM experience) see it, the game allows 3 normal actions per turn, plus reactions, bonus actions and free actions. It also seems that the 3 actions allowed are players choice.
This would allow a player with speed 25 to move 5, 10, or 15 squares in a single turn.
It allows, as we understand, a mage to cast 3 spells in one turn, provided it only has one component (V,S,M, etc) or only one spell that has 3 components.
It would allow a fighter to make 3 attacks in a single round.
A rogue can make 3 attempts at unlocking a series 3 skill challenge lock.
So, are we understanding this correctly, or did we miss something.
I'm thinking we missed summat but the others, who are players and will want every advantage, think we have the right of it.

A little clarification would be greatly appreciated herr.

[Fuzzypaws]

You're correct, yes, with some caveats. You can use the three actions as you wish, though some activities cost more than one action to initiate. You can move three times, up to your Speed each time, so with speed 25 you could potentially move up to 75 ft. You can attack 3 times, though each attack after the first takes a cumulative penalty like the multiple attack penalty of 3.x. You can move attack move, or cast a 2 action spell and attack, or etc etc etc.

There are no bonus actions, other than as rarely granted by things like the Haste spell or spending hero points. You generally get one reaction per round, though not all classes have something to do with it at this time. Free actions still exist, and you can take up to 1 before or after any action or reaction.

[ShadeRaven]

For starter, there are no bonus actions other than additional actions that some power grants (such as haste).

Free actions are typically instant types like recalling knowledge, disbelieving an illusion, simple speaking, dropping an item, etc, except for powers and features that grant it and/or triggered responses (a free action spell to stop falling or a strike).

On a typical turn, players get 3 actions. Pages 307-308 lists the Basic Actions with some special actions are followed. Each class has some unique features that will use these actions as well.

Movement is 1 action use typically (Step or Stride). A player with speed 25 could use 1 action to move up to 5 squares with one action. So yes, they could move up to 15 squares (75 feet) if they used all 3 actions simply for move.

The fighter who didn't have to move could indeed take 3 swipes with his battle axe (with a -5 and -10 penalty on each subsequent attack, barring any features to reduce that).

Conversely, a mage who didn't have to move or otherwise interact, could stand there and fire off three 1 action spells.

Yes, the rogue could use 3 actions to focus solely on a lock trying to beat it in a single round while others try to defend him.

Once players start mixing in movement, Raising a Shield, interactions, class features, and multiple action powers, the options are pretty widespread.

[Castilliano]

Some corrections:
Recalling knowledge is an action. With odder creatures esp. undead, it's quite an important action worth doing again (though the DC is supposed to increase IIRC). You even have to concentrate.

Intentionally disbelieving an illusion uses the Seek action if you just want to scan it, though interacting with it using another action (most likely Interact, duh) qualifies to give you the same roll, usually Perception.
I think if somebody forces you to interact w/ an illusion you get a roll too, like pushing you into it. If you're dead certain it's an illusion, you could keep Seeking until you pierce the veil, 3x per round.

ETA: While there isn't much in the way of bonus actions outside of Haste which limits the types you can choose, there are many ways (usually via class feats) to combine actions, i.e. Quick Draw let's you draw & Strike w/ one action.

[Draco18s]

In addition to what Castilliano said:

Recall Knowledge is on page 145
Dropping an item is a reaction, page 307
Seek is on 308
Ready is 2 actions (and you can choose a single action and its trigger to use as a reaction), p308

[Shaheer-El-Khatib]

staticPF wrote:

We are coming from a D&D background with a few other game sets mixed in, but we are totally new to Pathfinder (I was told it was just like 3.5 and d20 but I don't see much of that in the new PT rules.

They were talking about Pathfinder which is pretty much D&D 3.75.

But the rules you are looking at are for Pathfinder 2.0 which is a totally différent system with no link to 3.5 at all.

Maybe you got confused and ended up missing Pathfinder "1" because the website is putting in front Pathfinder 2 ?

[ShadeRaven]

Castilliano wrote:

Some corrections:

Recalling knowledge is an action. With odder creatures esp. undead, it's quite an important action worth doing again (though the DC is supposed to increase IIRC). You even have to concentrate.

Intentionally disbelieving an illusion uses the Seek action if you just want to scan it, though interacting with it using another action (most likely Interact, duh) qualifies to give you the same roll, usually Perception.
I think if somebody forces you to interact w/ an illusion you get a roll too, like pushing you into it. If you're dead certain it's an illusion, you could keep Seeking until you pierce the veil, 3x per round.

ETA: While there isn't much in the way of bonus actions outside of Haste which limits the types you can choose, there are many ways (usually via class feats) to combine actions, i.e. Quick Draw let's you draw & Strike w/ one action.

I am also pretty sure that Haste (and similar functions) aren't "Bonus Actions" they are additional actions with limitations sometimes.

You are right on the recall knowledge, I was more thinking about just knowing something on the fly. That said, maybe *I* am using that liberally instead of sticking to the RAW. If a player comes into the room and sees a dwarf laying on the ground surrounded by orcs and asks, "Is that the dwarf we are looking for?", I am not going to make him stop and use an action to concentrate on remembering details given him going into the camp, I am more likely to say, "At quick glance, you believe so. It looks like he's wearing the minotaur hide armor described to you and has that flaming red hair he's noted for." I am using Recall Knowledge for remembering details that wouldn't necessarily be easily recalled or common knowledge.

You are right about illusions, too, when trying to disbelieve, but there are a lot of illusory attacks, traps, etc., that the target gets a free action to disbelieve. I suppose with the complexity of this simple system, you'd have to give dozens of examples for each to adequately cover all possibilities.

In general, I was just trying to give some snippets that can be covered by free actions, not that it was all inclusive or exception free.

[Ediwir]

Haste and similar give you Quick, which is just like a regular action BUT states what it can be used for (so for example, being Quick1 [stride, strike] gives you 1 extra action to move or attack, while Quick10 [recall knowledge] gives you 10 extra actions to get information).