Can You Ready a Power Attack? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Can You Ready a Power Attack? [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
DevilKiller
03-06-05, 05:01 PM You can ready an attack to hit anybody who enters your threatened square or a mage who begins casting a spell. Can you ready a power attack though, or perhaps even decide to power attack when your readied action is triggered? The Power Attack feat says it is used "on your action" and "before making attack rolls for a round". Could this be any time before making the attack rolls or only immediately preceeding them? Also, when you take your readied action is it "your action" again? If so I guess this is deifnitely not a problem.

POWER ATTACK [GENERAL]
Prerequisite: Str 13.
Benefit: On your action, before making attack rolls for a round, you may choose to subtract a number from all melee attack rolls and add the same number to all melee damage rolls. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus. The penalty on attacks and bonus on damage apply until your next turn.
Johannixx
03-06-05, 05:05 PM I would say yes. On your turn, you choose to use Power Attack, and then ready your action. When your action comes up, the Power Attack bonuses and penalties are still applicable.
Someone
03-07-05, 01:21 AM Yes, you can power attack with a readied attack.

But I agree with Johannixx, you set whether or not you power attack (and by how much) when you first acted to ready the action. The reason being that if you were to make an AoO before your readied attack triggered, the AoO would be under the effects of power attack.
DevilKiller
03-07-05, 10:21 PM Thanks, your point about the intervening AoOs makes sense, so I think that's how I'll rule it in my game and try to use it in other games as a player.
kjenks
03-07-05, 11:00 PM Keep in mind that your Power Attack penalty applies to all attack rolls you might make until your next turn, including attacks of opportunity and opposed rolls for Sunder, Disarm and Grapple. So if you set Power Attack at, say, 10 (assuming you have a base attack bonus of 10 or more), you'll effectively be at -10 on all opposed Disarm checks that round.
Dracspero
03-07-05, 11:12 PM What about when you're not readying an action. For example, I'm racing toward the fight, but on a double move I can't quite get there. Can I specify that I'll be power attacking if something provokes an AoO from me? This issue has come up in my game with respect to True Strike. The DM has (graciously) allowed me to have a standing assumption that, after casting True Strike I'll be doing a full power-attack on my next attack, whether that is on my next turn or from an attack of opportunity.

But really, if you can choose to trip or disarm on an attack of opportunity, I'd expect you can instead just put extra force into your swing.
kjenks
03-08-05, 12:30 AM On your action, you can set your Power Attack number. You do this before making any attacks -- even if you don't plan to make any attacks.

If you have Combat Reflexes and a reach weapon, it's a good idea to set your Power Attack number to something reasonable (in case you get to make an AoO while flat-footed), even if you're just standing around watching the action. You can't ready an action out of combat, but you can ask your DM if you can set your Power Attack number out of combat, just for this circumstance.
Rulebook
03-08-05, 08:28 AM you can only power attack after your initiative, period, as its when you decide if you're going to power attack or not. you cannot elect to cast a spell and say you're power attacking, as it says you must call the number before making -attack- rolls for the round.

if somebody casts a spell on you after you're done with all your attacks for the round, and you've power attacked, your AoO's (if any left) will be powerattacked until your next action, and the first one will be True Striked (if that was the spell in question) if its the next attack roll.

so if you're carrying a true strike charge, be careful not to make attacks of opportunities unless you -really- want to.
Zherog
03-08-05, 11:31 AM you cannot elect to cast a spell and say you're power attacking, as it says you must call the number before making -attack- rolls for the round.

I disagree. If I cast true strike I can then declare a Power Attack - because A) it's my turn and B) I haven't yet made any attack rolls this round. Should I get an AoO before my next turn, it'll be under the effects of both the spell and the feat. If I don't get AoOs, on my turn next round my first attack will have the effects of true strike. Before making that attack, I can change my power attack number to anything ranging from 0 all the way up to my BAB.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
DevilKiller 03-06-05, 05:01 PM	You can ready an attack to hit anybody who enters your threatened square or a mage who begins casting a spell. Can you ready a power attack though, or perhaps even decide to power attack when your readied action is triggered? The Power Attack feat says it is used "on your action" and "before making attack rolls for a round". Could this be any time before making the attack rolls or only immediately preceeding them? Also, when you take your readied action is it "your action" again? If so I guess this is deifnitely not a problem. POWER ATTACK [GENERAL] Prerequisite: Str 13. Benefit: On your action, before making attack rolls for a round, you may choose to subtract a number from all melee attack rolls and add the same number to all melee damage rolls. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus. The penalty on attacks and bonus on damage apply until your next turn.
Johannixx 03-06-05, 05:05 PM	I would say yes. On your turn, you choose to use Power Attack, and then ready your action. When your action comes up, the Power Attack bonuses and penalties are still applicable.
Someone 03-07-05, 01:21 AM	Yes, you can power attack with a readied attack. But I agree with Johannixx, you set whether or not you power attack (and by how much) when you first acted to ready the action. The reason being that if you were to make an AoO before your readied attack triggered, the AoO would be under the effects of power attack.
DevilKiller 03-07-05, 10:21 PM	Thanks, your point about the intervening AoOs makes sense, so I think that's how I'll rule it in my game and try to use it in other games as a player.
kjenks 03-07-05, 11:00 PM	Keep in mind that your Power Attack penalty applies to all attack rolls you might make until your next turn, including attacks of opportunity and opposed rolls for Sunder, Disarm and Grapple. So if you set Power Attack at, say, 10 (assuming you have a base attack bonus of 10 or more), you'll effectively be at -10 on all opposed Disarm checks that round.
Dracspero 03-07-05, 11:12 PM	What about when you're not readying an action. For example, I'm racing toward the fight, but on a double move I can't quite get there. Can I specify that I'll be power attacking if something provokes an AoO from me? This issue has come up in my game with respect to True Strike. The DM has (graciously) allowed me to have a standing assumption that, after casting True Strike I'll be doing a full power-attack on my next attack, whether that is on my next turn or from an attack of opportunity. But really, if you can choose to trip or disarm on an attack of opportunity, I'd expect you can instead just put extra force into your swing.
kjenks 03-08-05, 12:30 AM	On your action, you can set your Power Attack number. You do this before making any attacks -- even if you don't plan to make any attacks. If you have Combat Reflexes and a reach weapon, it's a good idea to set your Power Attack number to something reasonable (in case you get to make an AoO while flat-footed), even if you're just standing around watching the action. You can't ready an action out of combat, but you can ask your DM if you can set your Power Attack number out of combat, just for this circumstance.
Rulebook 03-08-05, 08:28 AM	you can only power attack after your initiative, period, as its when you decide if you're going to power attack or not. you cannot elect to cast a spell and say you're power attacking, as it says you must call the number before making -attack- rolls for the round. if somebody casts a spell on you after you're done with all your attacks for the round, and you've power attacked, your AoO's (if any left) will be powerattacked until your next action, and the first one will be True Striked (if that was the spell in question) if its the next attack roll. so if you're carrying a true strike charge, be careful not to make attacks of opportunities unless you -really- want to.
Zherog 03-08-05, 11:31 AM	you cannot elect to cast a spell and say you're power attacking, as it says you must call the number before making -attack- rolls for the round. I disagree. If I cast true strike I can then declare a Power Attack - because A) it's my turn and B) I haven't yet made any attack rolls this round. Should I get an AoO before my next turn, it'll be under the effects of both the spell and the feat. If I don't get AoOs, on my turn next round my first attack will have the effects of true strike. Before making that attack, I can change my power attack number to anything ranging from 0 all the way up to my BAB.