The Point of Ironclad Reactions?


Rules Questions


I must be missing something, but could someone explain what the point of the Ironclad Reactions feat is? You can take a free 5-foot step if you're struck by an attack of opportunity. But that's the thing: you've already been struck. So what are you avoiding? It's not as though the opponent is likely to have another attack handy immediately thereafter; the context specifies an attack of opportunity, not a full attack. What's the advantage here that I'm not picking up on? It seems like a lot, even the best of circumstances, to ask a player to take a feat that relies on them taking damage.


You are able to quickly react to attacks.

Prerequisites: Base attack bonus +6 or fighter level 4th, armor training class feature, proficiency with medium armor.
Benefit: Once per round when a foe successfully hits you with an attack of opportunity, you can expend a use of an attack of opportunity to take a 5-foot step. You can do this even if you have already taken a 5-foot step.

I can imagine someone getting use out of the last part. Normally you can only take one 5-foot step per round.

Without really delving into it though it doesn't look like a great feat.


Suppose you want to get by two people. Try to tumble past the first, take the AoO and make a 5' step if you fail. It's not worth a feat but it's not actually useless.


It could be useful to help get into flanking position or something like that.

It's a niche feat. It's not great but a lot of feats aren't.


It could be helpful for ranged attackers full attacking. 5' step away from one threatening enemy, but still threatened by another. Make your first attack, as soon as you're hit do another 5' away, complete the rest of your attacks.

Combat reflexes also exist on some monsters, so you can avoid a second trigger if you'd doing some other combo of actions that triggers twice.


i suppose it sort of syngergizes with Azata Mischief. If the enemy hits you, you get a 5 foot step. If they miss you get a free trip.


Outslug style gives you a bonus to attack and damage until the start of your next turn every time you 5' step. I'm not sure there's a way to exploit this, but I'm interested.

Silver Crusade

Here's another way to get an extra (virtual) 5' step. This method requires a Domain, rather than a feat. That extra 5' step is incidental but quite tactically useful, unlike this terrible feat.

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