Archon Style Feats + 2 Handed Weapon


Rules Questions


Archon Diversion says you have to have at least 1 hand free to divert an attach from your ally to yourself, so do you have a hand free when you are wielding a 2 handed weapon?

The rules say that to remove a hand from a 2 handed weapon (and to put it back on) is a Free Action, and it the way it has been worded in the past is that Free Actions can be taken as part of another action, even when it's not your turn. For instance, a Giant Octopus that makes an Attack of Opportunity with a Tentacle then gets to use Grab to make a Grapple Check as a Free Action. So that would suggest you the Greatsword-wielding Paladin does get to use Archon Style.

But if you are wielding a 2 handed weapon, doesn't that pretty much mean that you don't have a free hand unless you are a Kasatha or something?


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Quote:
The penalty to AC for using Archon Style to grant nearby allies a bonus to AC against a single opponent decreases to –1. Once per round while using Archon Style, when you have at least one hand free or when wielding a shield, you can divert one melee weapon attack targeting an adjacent ally to yourself. After resolving the attack, the ally you protected can make an attack of opportunity against the diverted opponent. You expend no action to divert the attack, but you must be aware of it and must not be flat-footed. You must choose to divert the attack after the opponent has declared the melee attack, but before the attack roll is rolled.
FAQ wrote:

Two-Handed Weapons: What kind of action is it to remove your hand from a two-handed weapon or re-grab it with both hands?

Both are free actions. For example, a wizard wielding a quarterstaff can let go of the weapon with one hand as a free action, cast a spell as a standard action, and grasp the weapon again with that hand as a free action; this means the wizard is still able to make attacks of opportunity with the weapon (which requires using two hands).

As with any free action, the GM may decide a reasonable limit to how many times per round you can release and re-grasp the weapon (one release and re-grasp per round is fair).

You can usually only take free actions on your turn, so you would have to release one hand from your two-handed weapon to be able to use the ability off turn. This would prevent you from being able to make attacks of opportunity (such as the one you'd receive from paired opportunists) until you regroup your two-handed weapon the next turn.


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Even if you can attach a free action to other out-of-turn actions, the diversion is explicitly not an action, so one cannot attach a free action to it.

There's always the talking loophole--talk as an out-of-turn free action and attach your "remove one hand" action to that--but a lot of GMs would look askance at that.


Kind of interesting:

Archon Diversion wrote:
when wielding a shield, you can divert

That means when you are using Thunder and Fang, wielding an Earthbreaker in 1 hand and a Klar in the other, you are more liberty to use Archon Diversion than if your other hand were actually empty, sometimes gripping the handle of your hammer.


I believe the intention with Archon Diversion is that it's not usable with two-handed weapons or traditional two weapon fighting.

It's only usable when you:
1) Have a one handed weapon in one hand and nothing in the other or
2) Have a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other. You can use the shield to TWF or purely for defense.

To me, it's clearly intended to be for sword and board users.


Claxon wrote:

I believe the intention with Archon Diversion is that it's not usable with two-handed weapons or traditional two weapon fighting.

It's only usable when you:
1) Have a one handed weapon in one hand and nothing in the other or
2) Have a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other. You can use the shield to TWF or purely for defense.

To me, it's clearly intended to be for sword and board users.

Or for my Thunder and Fang Inquisitor who's also taking Broken Wing Gambit.


As I said Scott, "have a weapon in one hand and shield in the other".

A klar and earthbreaker qualify as "weapon in one hand and shield in the other" while using Thunder and Fang. This is "sword and board", just a better version of it.


Claxon wrote:

I believe the intention with Archon Diversion is that it's not usable with two-handed weapons or traditional two weapon fighting.

It's only usable when you:
1) Have a one handed weapon in one hand and nothing in the other or
2) Have a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other. You can use the shield to TWF or purely for defense.

This is accurate to the spirit of my revisions. ^_^

Claxon wrote:
To me, it's clearly intended to be for sword and board users.

Note that the original Blood of Angels version was unarmed only (I added the shield parts for Planar Adventures).

I set out to make the lawful styles more monk-accessible/monk-focused (I can't remember the final version of Devil Style very well at the moment, but I think it's more the latter) by design or redesign.


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That makes sense Isabelle, thanks for your input.

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