OTHER ACTIONS

Movement-Only Actions

Sometimes you just want to cover ground as quickly as possible or put as much distance as you can between yourself and an opponent. The actions covered here are actions during which you devote your efforts only to moving during a round. Less commonly used movement actions, including many move-equivalent actions, are covered in Miscellaneous Actions and Table: Miscellaneous Actions.

Double Move

You can move up to double your speed as a special standard action. You do not get to move your speed in addition to this as in a normal standard action, however. Essentially, the double move action already counts the move of a standard action. It’s a “move and a move,” thus a double move.

As with any other move, if you move within or out of a threatened area, you provoke an attack of opportunity from the threatening enemy. However, since all you do when you take a double move action is to move, the space where you begin your move is not considered threatened, and therefore enemies do not get attacks of opportunity for your moving from that space. If you move into another threatened space, enemies get attacks of opportunity for your leaving the first threatened space.

For example, an orc marauder is fighting Tordek and Lidda in a hallway. Tordek and Lidda are side by side. Using the double move action, the orc flees directly away from them. Since all the orc does is move during his turn, the space where he starts (about 5 feet across) is not threatened, so Tordek and Lidda don’t get attacks of opportunity against him. If, on the other hand, the orc were between Tordek and Lidda, the space where the marauder started would not be threatened, but no matter which direction he moved, he would enter another threatened space, since both Tordek and Lidda threaten 5-foot areas around themselves. The marauder would have to move away from Tordek (and thus into a space still threatened by Lidda) or away from Lidda (and thus into a space still threatened by Tordek). Whichever character he did not move away from would get an attack of opportunity against the orc as he moved out of the threatened space that he entered. If he moved to either side, he would be moving into a space threatened by both opponents, so each would get an attack of opportunity against him.

A double move represents a hustle, which for an unencumbered human is about six miles per hour.

Run

You can run as a full-round action. (You do not get a 5-foot step.) When you run, you can move up to four times your normal speed in a straight line (or three times your speed if you’re in heavy armor). You lose any Dexterity bonus to AC since you can’t avoid attacks.

You can run for a number of rounds equal to your Constitution score, but after that, you must succeed at a Constitution check (DC 10) to continue running. You must check again each round in which you continue to run, and the DC of this check increases by 1 for each check you have made. When you fail this check, you must stop running. A character who has run to his limit must rest for 1 minute (10 rounds) before running again. During a rest period, the character can move no faster than a normal move.

A run represents a speed of about twelve miles per hour for an unencumbered human.

Miscellaneous Actions

Some actions don’t fit neatly into the above categories. Some of these options are actions that take the place of or are variations on the actions described in Attack Actions, Magic Actions, and Movement-Only Actions. For actions not covered below, the DM lets you know how long such an action takes to perform and whether doing so provokes attacks of opportunity from threatening enemies. The variant and special attacks mentioned here are covered in Special Attacks and Damage.

Total Defense

You can simply defend yourself and move during a round as a standard action. You don’t attack or perform any other activity other than moving your speed, but you get a +4 dodge bonus on your AC for 1 round. Your AC improves at the start of this action, so it helps you against any attacks of opportunity you suffer while moving.

Use Feat

Certain feats, such as Whirlwind Attack, let you take special actions in combat. Others are not actions themselves, but they give you a bonus when attempting something you can already do, such as Improved Disarm. Some feats, such as item creation feats, are not meant to be used within the framework of combat. The individual feat descriptions tell you what you need to know about them.

Table: Miscellaneous Actions

	Attack of Opportunity*		Attack of Opportunity*
No Action		Standard Actions (cont.)
Delay	No	Use touch spell on self	No
		Escape a grapple	No
Free Actions		Evoke sunbeam spell	No
Cease concentration on a spell	No	Feint (see Bluff)	No
Direct rainbow pattern spell, or shield spell	No	Issue command to animated rope	No
Attack with eyebite spell	No	Overrun (charge)	No
Change form (shapechange spell)	No	Heal a dying friend	Yes
Dismiss tree shape spell	No	Light a torch with a tindertwig	Yes
Drop an item	No	Use a skill that takes 1 action	Usually
Speak	No	Rebuke undead (use special ability)	No
Make Spellcraft check on counterspell attempt	No	Turn undead (use special ability)	No
		Strike a weapon (attack)	Yes
Move-Equivalent Actions		Strike an object (attack)	Maybe††
Climb (one-quarter your speed)	No	Total defense	No
Draw a weapon†	No
Sheathe a weapon	Yes	Full-Round Actions
Ready a shield†	No	Climb (one-half your speed)	No
Loose a shield	No	Use a skill that takes 1 round	Usually
Open a door	No	Coup de grace	Yes
Pick up an item	Yes	Light a torch	Yes
Retrieve a stored item	Yes	Change form (polymorph self)	Yes
Move a heavy object	Yes	Extinguish flames	Yes
Stand up from prone	No	Load a heavy crossbow	Yes
Load a hand crossbow	Yes	Load a repeating crossbow	Yes
Load a light crossbow	No	Prepare to throw oil	Yes
Control a frightened mount	Yes	Throw a two-handed weapon with one hand	Yes
Mount a horse or dismount	No	Transport (tree stride)	No
Direct the movement of a flaming sphere spell	No	Use touch spell on up to six friends	Yes
		Refocus (no move)	Yes
Standard Actions		Escape from a net, entangle spell, Otilukes freezing sphere, etc.	Yes
Ready	No
Concentrate to maintain or redirect a spell	No	Action Type Varies
Dismiss a spell	No	Disarm‡	Yes
Aid another	No	Grapple‡	Yes
Bull rush (charge)	No	Trip an opponent‡	No
Bull rush (attack)	No	Use feat‡‡	Varies
Change form (shapeshifter)	No

*Regardless of the action, if you move within or out of a threatened area, you usually provoke an attack of opportunity. This column indicates whether the action itself (not the moving) provokes an attack of opportunity.
**Unless the component is an extremely large or awkward item (DM’s call).
†If you have a base attack bonus of +1 or higher, you can combine one of these actions with a regular move. If you have the Two- Weapon Fighting feat, you can draw two light or one-handed weapons in the time it would normally take you to draw one.
††If the object is being held, carried, or worn by a creature, yes. If not, no.
‡These attack forms substitute for a melee attack, not an action. As melee attacks, they can be used once in an attack or charge action, one or more times in a full attack action, or even as an attack of opportunity.
‡‡The description of a feat defines its effect.

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