A question came up during a campaign session, where we have an operative with the uncanny mobility operative exploit. People were wondering if uncanny mobility activates only when you succeed on the trick attack roll (i.e. the stealth, bluff, intimidate, etc checks) or if it always work, irregardless of any rolls.
You can trick or startle a foe and then attack when she drops
her guard. As a full action, you can move up to your speed. Whether
or not you moved, you can then make an attack with a melee
weapon with the operative special property or with any small
arm. Just before making your attack, attempt a Bluff, Intimidate, or
Stealth check (or a check associated with your specialization; see
page 94) with a DC equal to 20 + your target’s CR. If you succeed
at the check, you deal 1d4 additional damage and the target is
flat-footed. This damage increases to 1d8 at 3rd level, to 3d8 at
5th level, and by an additional 1d8 every 2 levels thereafter. You
can’t use this ability with a weapon that has the unwieldy special
property or that requires a full action to make a single attack.
Uncanny Mobility (Ex)
When you make a trick attack, if you choose the target of
your attack before you move, your movement doesn’t provoke
attacks of opportunity from that target. When you use your
standard action to move, you can choose one creature; you
don’t provoke attacks of opportunity from that creature for
this movement.
My interpretation is that the "trick attack" referred to in Uncanny Mobility is the full round action, and that as soon as you declare you are taking the trick attack action, you gain the benefit of uncanny mobility irregardless of any the success or failure of a part of that action. The rolling of a skill check is part of the overall trick attack action, not the entire trick attack.
Others were wondering if "make a trick attack" refers to succeeding on the skill check versus the 20 + CR difficulty or perhaps even hitting after making that skill check.
During the game we decided to go with Uncanny mobility always activates as soon as you declare the action and the target, but wanted to poll the forums afterwards to confirm.
As far as I can tell, Uncanny Mobility triggers on the declaration. Otherwise it wouldn't really have function since the roll is just prior to the attack. Order of operations > Move - Skill - Attack.
A trick attack is the full round action, and Uncanny specifies "when you make" not "when you succeed at" like other abilities.
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Yeah the base trick attack ability specifically says you move, then make the skill check, and then the attack.
Nothing about uncanny mobility changes when the skill check is made, so the movement is still before the skill check. In order for the ability to do *anything*, it can't be dependent on the skill check succeeding.
1) If success were required it would say that a success, a hit, or "if you succeed at..." or something similar to the other abilities that DO require a hit to succeed.
2) Uncanny mobility lets you run around someone, then stab them. So what they're saying is you'd run around, stab them, and then depending on whether you stabbed them or not they got an attack of opportunity 3 seconds ago? That would be.. weird.
3) The language would then leave you wondering if the trick needed to succeed or the attack actually had to hit. The rules would have had to have called that out.
4)When you make a trick attack, if you choose the target of
your attack before you move,
5) "I'm gonna gank THAT one" I have now picked the target of my trick attack, i fullfill all of the conditions required to shut off aoos for my movement.
I don't think there's any grounds for the needing to succeed being a stipulation of uncanny mobility.