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In 3.5, a character can end their turn mid-jump if they run out of movement for that round but they have not finished their jump. Is such a character considered to be flat-footed, as is a balancing or climbing character? How might that affect feats such as Deflect Arrows?

not_a_thri-kreen_monk
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1 Answers1

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The Player's Handbook simply says:

If you run out of movement mid-jump your next action (ether on this turn or, if necessary, on your next turn) must be a move action to complete the jump.

It says nothing about becoming flat-footed or denying you your Dexterity bonus to AC so you aren't flat-footed. As attempting to deflect an arrow isn't an action according to the Feat, you can still use it mid-jump just as you could if you were on the ground.

Brian_Drozd
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  • Note that while the character is not flat-footed, it cannot perform anything other than a move to complete the jump - not even immediate ones. Alas, casting a spell to achieve flight or to teleport to a steady ground is against the rules here. – Jeor Mattan Jan 16 '15 at 13:14
  • @JeorMattan [Citation Needed]. I see no reason you could not use an immediate action or take an attack of opportunity mid-jump. You could do those things mid-move action on your turn, so you should be able to do them mid-move between turns, when a jump forces your move to stretch between turns. – KRyan Jan 16 '15 at 14:30
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    @KRyan the PHB quote is in the answer. I see the silliness here, but what do I miss? "Next action must be a move action to complete the jump" doesn't look ambiguous. – Jeor Mattan Jan 16 '15 at 15:37
  • @JeorMattan Ugh, that looks like just extremely sloppy wording. Free actions (and therefore swift and immediate actions) can occur in the middle of other actions, which would imply that they can still happen here, but the wording is incredibly poor. – KRyan Jan 16 '15 at 16:31
  • @KRyan exactly. It gets houseruled in an instant by a reasonable DM, still it exists and has to be dealt with. – Jeor Mattan Jan 16 '15 at 17:27
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    @JeorMattan: Remember this quote came from the Player's Handbook, back before Swift and Immediate Actions were defined. When they said 'no action', they meant no action; Deflect Arrows simply didn't count as an action at the time it was written, and so could be done mid-jump. – Brian_Drozd Jan 16 '15 at 22:12
  • @Brian_Drozd this is something the updates in PHB II should have covered, right? Even then, before immediate actions, this was a no-no for having cast levitate/fly/dimension door/feather fall - or a quickened version thereof - at the beginning of the next turn, which is a questionable policy. – Jeor Mattan Jan 16 '15 at 22:16
  • @JeorMattan: Yes, no casting quickened spells; quickened spells are, by the feat, free actions. Conversely, Deflect Arrows specifically says 'does not count as an action' (letting you use it mid-jump) and not 'is a free action'. That distinction did exist even in the PHB. Regardless, I'm not sure what 'casting a spell' has to do with the OP's question; OP asked about being flat-footed mid-leap and Deflect Arrows feat specifically. – Brian_Drozd Jan 17 '15 at 01:08
  • @Brian_Drozd it has everything to do with the wording you supplied. PHB does not give any option when you turn starts mid-jump other than complete your jump normally, and that's weird. – Jeor Mattan Jan 18 '15 at 10:42
  • @JeorMattan: How is that weird? The fact that you 'pause' in mid-jump is an artifact of the breaking combat into turns so it can be managed better. This rule simply reflects that fact; you cannot suddenly start doing things that actually take effort in mid-jump because you are not really paused there - you are still focused on landing properly and not falling flat on your face when you do. Jumping to gain altitude is not free-falling. At the same time, to do what you suggest, and cast a spell mid-leap, I'd suggest readying an action to trigger when you reach a certain height and then jump. – Brian_Drozd Jan 18 '15 at 15:16
  • @JeorMattan (continued): By using a readied action to cast a spell mid-jump, you are letting the DM know that what you want to do is a cool action-movie-esque trick (jumping into a flight, or jumping and disappearing or whatever), and correspondingly that you aren't going to be concerned with landing from your jump correctly in the first place. This could even be done with a jump that has to be split across two rounds. Just be prepared to fall flat on your face if the spell fails. – Brian_Drozd Jan 18 '15 at 15:21
  • Tangential but I don't believe you can ready an action to do something as you move. "Then, any time before your next action, you may take the readied action in response to that condition." Ready is in response to others actions not your own. I also believe you just described a feat (casting in the middle of a move, not unlike shot on the run for casters) but since so tangential I am not looking it up. Just FYI tho. – joedragons Jan 19 '15 at 15:37
  • @joedragons: You're right; I forgot in 3.5e you had to have Spring Attack and Flyby Attack to break up your movement. I was thinking 5e, where you can break up your movement however you please. – Brian_Drozd Jan 19 '15 at 15:57