Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Ferwnnan 10-05-07, 11:06 AM	Hope I'm right here with this subject. I have a question on two tricks an animal companion can learn and do: "assist attack" and "assist defense". Both give a +2 on attack rolls/AC (in case of attacking a bit like flanking, except the animal need not to be on the opposite side of the opponent). That is how I understood it. Now what about ranged attacks? And is the animal threatened by the opponent as soon as it does this trick or does it for example just mean a dog barking at 10 ft distance (=out of reach)? Can it still attack itself in the time it does one of these tricks?
1 ton ghost 10-05-07, 12:13 PM	good thread btw. i think assist is for melee, not sure how you assist a ranged attack apart from "painting" your target ala radar; Fairie Fire, Glitterdust, screwing his cover, etc. i know sniper's have spotters and all, but i think that's just for target acquisition. shooter does the "shooting", he just needs help finding the mark. not sure i'm 100% on your question, but for what it's worth: think assist is a Standard Action so you shouldn't be able to attack if you are assisting.
kjenks 10-05-07, 02:08 PM	The Assist Attack and Assist Defend tricks enable the animal to use the Aid Another combat action. Aid Another is a standard action, so the animal can't normally make another attack in the same round. SRD === AID ANOTHER In melee combat, you can help a friend attack or defend by distracting or interfering with an opponent. If you’re in position to make a melee attack on an opponent that is engaging a friend in melee combat, you can attempt to aid your friend as a standard action. You make an attack roll against AC 10. If you succeed, your friend gains either a +2 bonus on his next attack roll against that opponent or a +2 bonus to AC against that opponent’s next attack (your choice), as long as that attack comes before the beginning of your next turn. Multiple characters can aid the same friend, and similar bonuses stack. === Since the animal must be "in position to make a melee attack on an opponent that is engaging a friend in melee combat," barking from 10 ft. away won't do it. Your animal must threaten the opponent at the time it makes the attack roll. (But it could make the attack roll then step back 5 ft.) If your animal uses Aid Another to assist your attack, your next attack roll gains that +2 bonus. It doesn't matter if that attack roll is with a ranged weapon, a melee weapon or a spell. If you and your animal are flanking your opponent, the +2 from flanking will stack with that +2 bonus. Since the Aid Another roll is an attack roll, flanking will give the animal +2 to the "attack roll against AC 10." If you have five dogs surrounding an opponent and all of them successfully Aid Another to Assist Attack for you, you get +10 on your next attack roll. This is great for a two-handed Power Attack on that opponent. But you don't have to be anywhere near the opponent to get the bonus. A druid could use the Assist Attack trick to have his summoned animals do the Aid Another thing, then throw Fireseeds or another spell from a safe distance. Even if the animals don't have the Assist Attack trick, you can use the Handle Animal skill to Push them (DC 20) to perform the trick on their next action. The same concepts apply to the Assist Defend trick. The animal must threaten the opponent to use the trick. One of my druids uses this on his heavy horse animal companion, and he rides the horse. Complete Adventurer Tricks Pages 100-101. === Assist Attack (DC 20): The animal aids your attack or that of another creature as a standard action. You must designate both the recipient of the aid and a specific opponent when commanding the animal to perform the task. The animal uses the aid another combat action (see page 154 of the Player’s Handbook), attempting to grant a bonus on the recipient’s next attack roll against the designated opponent. It also flanks the designated opponent, if it can do so without provoking attacks of opportunity. An animal must know the attack trick (Player’s Handbook, page 74) before it can learn this trick. Assist Defend (DC 20): The animal aids your defense or that of another creature as a standard action. You must designate both the recipient of the aid and a specific opponent when commanding the animal to perform the task. The animal uses the aid another combat action (see page 154 of the Player’s Handbook), attempting to grant a bonus on the recipient’s AC against the designated opponent’s next attack. An animal must know the defend trick (Player’s Handbook, page 74) before it can learn this trick. ===