Rule Question - Withdrawing from a fight

[Supplement Four]

If I am reading this correctly:

You can attack and then use your movement to move away from your opponent, but you'll suffer an Attack of Opportunity when you leave his threatened square.

You can use defensive fighting, if you want, taking a -4 Attack but gain a +2 defense.

Or, you can use the Withdraw action, where, if you give up your attack, you can withdraw from combat without provoking an Attack of Opportunity.

That's all "correct", right?

 

[flatscan]

Or, you can use the Withdraw action, where, if you give up your attack, you can withdraw from combat without provoking an Attack of Opportunity.

That's all "correct", right?

Withdrawing only means you don't provoke an AoO from the square you started in. If in the course of a Withdraw action you move through additional threatened square(s) you provoke as normal.

 

[Supplement Four]

Withdrawing only means you don't provoke an AoO from the square you started in. If in the course of a Withdraw action you move through additional threatened square(s) you provoke as normal.

That's understood. But, if you attack and then withdraw (use your move to move away from your opponent), you are subject to an AoO from your enemy, right?

You have to give up the attack in order not to get an AoO from him.

Correct?

 

[flatscan]

Yes, if you attack and move out of a threatened square you provoke an AoO from everyone who threatens that square.

 

[thelevitator]

I'm pretty sure that the Withdraw is a full round action, which means you can't attack to execute it.

 

[Supplement Four]

I'm pretty sure that the Withdraw is a full round action, which means you can't attack to execute it.

That's what I'm reading. One lets you attack, but you get an AoC against you. If you give up the attack, no AoC.

 

[thelevitator]

If I remember right, this kinda threw our 3.5 group for a while too. I think it was because of the name of the move. Someone would say something like, "I take a final swipe at him before I withdraw." They meant attack + move, and I would sometimes confuse their description to mean the "Withdraw" action.

Of course, with my group, it gets used so rarely that it didn't cause too much trouble. :wink:

 

[Sutek]

I'm pretty sure that the Withdraw is a full round action, which means you can't attack to execute it.

That's what I'm reading. One lets you attack, but you get an AoC against you. If you give up the attack, no AoC.

Correct.

However, it's imporant to remember, as mentioned above, that the avoidance of AoA only applies to the initial combatant that you're withdrawing from. In both moves, you can still provoke AoAs from otehr combatants around you, and a Withdraw is in a straight line, so you gotta be careful.

Hope that didn't confuse you more. :wink:

 

[flatscan]

However, it's imporant to remember, as mentioned above, that the avoidance of AoA only applies to the initial combatant that you're withdrawing from. In both moves, you can still provoke AoAs from otehr combatants around you, and a Withdraw is in a straight line, so you gotta be careful.

Hope that didn't confuse you more. :wink:

This is not correct. When Withdrawing, the first square you exit does not provoke from ANY combatant that threatens that square. Any additional squares you move through provoke as normal. Withdrawing is also not restricted to a straight line, that's a Charge. :wink:

 

[Supplement Four]

This is not correct. The first square you exit does not provoke from ANY combatant that threatens that square.

Pg. 177 of the 2E rule book says that moving out of a threatened square provokes an AoO unless a five foot step is used.

Pg. 178 says that if a character flees combat, he risks an AoO. The way to avoid this is to use the Withdraw full round action.

 

[flatscan]

Pg. 177 of the 2E rule book says that moving out of a threatened square provokes an AoO unless a five foot step is used.

Pg. 178 says that if a character flees combat, he risks an AoO. The way to avoid this is to use the Withdraw full round action.

I was referring specifically to the Withdraw action. I've edited the post to make it clearer.

 

[Sutek]

Yes, I should have said initial square, not initial combatant. But my intent was to cover that other combatants apart from those immediately adjacent to the initial square can get AoAs as you retreat.

And you're also right about Withdraw not being a straight line. I know you can't make a Run move, because you have to nothing but Run to get up to quadruple your speed, so if you're Withdrawing then your're doing something other than Running. It must have been some cross polination from 3.5 or something stating inhibited direction change when doing more than a standard move (base speed). It's not in the AE anywhere, even for Running, so apparently you can Run and change direction freely in Conan and I never realized it before. :shock: