Combat Expertise & Fighting Defensively [Archive] - Wizards Community

Combat Expertise & Fighting Defensively [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
1 ton ghost
09-01-07, 02:33 AM despite my usual rambling long ass posts, i'll be brief.

can the 2 stack? that is, can you go on defense, and still take out a few more for the AC amp?

total defense and Expertise? the synergy bonus? lot of variables ppl. kindly educate me plz.
Ranger REG
09-01-07, 02:36 AM despite my usual rambling long ass posts, i'll be brief.

can the 2 stack? that is, can you go on defense, and still take out a few more for the AC amp?
This is the most frequently asked question, and therefore should already be in the FAQ (short for "frequently asked question").

But for your convenience: Yes.
1 ton ghost
09-01-07, 02:46 AM um, that's good news i guess. just seems if it's getting down to the wire (low HP) you can jack your AC through the roof, especially as a savvy rogue. nothing short of a grapple really is viable.

loopholes? i mean, just getting +5AC is nice, then the additional 6 for a rogue (w/ 5+ranks tumble syn) on full 'd' as we say is really formiddable

wait a minute. full defense means you're not attack, moreso, you are not threatening either if i'm not mistaken. Expertise just is power attack in reverse, but it's implied you are still taking an attack action, just moving alot of that "punch" into defense. what's up? puzzled.
Fireclave
09-01-07, 03:24 AM Total Defence and Fighting Defensively are two different things.

You can't combine Total Defence with Combat Expertise, but you can combine Combat Expertise with Fighting Defensively.

When you take a Total Defence action, you spend a standard action to gain a +4 bonus to AC for 1 round. You can't take any attacks of opportunities but you still threaten to squares you normally would. That means that you still, for example, provide flanking bonuses for your party members.

When Fighting Defensively, however, you take a -4 penalty to all your attacks to gain a +2 dodge bonus to your AC for one round. Unlike Total Defence, Fighting Defensively is not an action by itself. Instead, it Fighting Defensively is done as part of a attack or full attack action. Therefore, you can combine Combat Expertise with Fighting Defensively.

Hope that helps :)

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
1 ton ghost 09-01-07, 02:33 AM	despite my usual rambling long ass posts, i'll be brief. can the 2 stack? that is, can you go on defense, and still take out a few more for the AC amp? total defense and Expertise? the synergy bonus? lot of variables ppl. kindly educate me plz.
Ranger REG 09-01-07, 02:36 AM	despite my usual rambling long ass posts, i'll be brief. can the 2 stack? that is, can you go on defense, and still take out a few more for the AC amp? This is the most frequently asked question, and therefore should already be in the FAQ (short for "frequently asked question"). But for your convenience: Yes.
1 ton ghost 09-01-07, 02:46 AM	um, that's good news i guess. just seems if it's getting down to the wire (low HP) you can jack your AC through the roof, especially as a savvy rogue. nothing short of a grapple really is viable. loopholes? i mean, just getting +5AC is nice, then the additional 6 for a rogue (w/ 5+ranks tumble syn) on full 'd' as we say is really formiddable wait a minute. full defense means you're not attack, moreso, you are not threatening either if i'm not mistaken. Expertise just is power attack in reverse, but it's implied you are still taking an attack action, just moving alot of that "punch" into defense. what's up? puzzled.
Fireclave 09-01-07, 03:24 AM	Total Defence and Fighting Defensively are two different things. You can't combine Total Defence with Combat Expertise, but you can combine Combat Expertise with Fighting Defensively. When you take a Total Defence action, you spend a standard action to gain a +4 bonus to AC for 1 round. You can't take any attacks of opportunities but you still threaten to squares you normally would. That means that you still, for example, provide flanking bonuses for your party members. When Fighting Defensively, however, you take a -4 penalty to all your attacks to gain a +2 dodge bonus to your AC for one round. Unlike Total Defence, Fighting Defensively is not an action by itself. Instead, it Fighting Defensively is done as part of a attack or full attack action. Therefore, you can combine Combat Expertise with Fighting Defensively. Hope that helps :)