Full Attack Action

Full Attack Action

In order to perform more than one physical attack per round, even if you fight with two weapons or a double weapon, you must use a full-attack action. (There are rare exceptions to this, such as the Monk's Echoing Strike ability, which is specifically a standard action that grants two attacks.) Spellcasters (whether arcane or divine) gain little benefit from full attack actions; a full attack action only applies to physical attacks. Spellcasters must rely on spells that cost less than a Standard Action, or use feats (such as Quicken Spell) to reduce the action required, in order to cram multiple spells into a single round's worth of actions.

(Physical attacks are basically any attack that isn't a spell; it refers to melee, thrown, or projectile-based attacks, usually with a weapon, but sometimes with natural attacks, or even class-based features, such as a Monk's martial arts, or a Brawler's fists. Even if these attacks are enchanted to inflict energy damage (such as fire, or acid), they remain physical attacks, for purposes of being used with a full attack action. If there is ever any question, refer to the ability itself — if it is an Extraordinary (Ex) ability, it is definitely a physical attack, regardless of what type of damage it deals. Abilities marked Supernatural (Su) are left to the GM's discretion, while abilities marked as Spell-like (Sp) are nearly always NOT physical attacks. In all cases, the GM is the final arbiter of such questions.)

A full attack action uses up a combined Standard Action and Move Action. If you do not have both a standard action and a move action available to you in a given round, you cannot perform a full-attack action this round. Declaring a Full Attack 'uses up' your standard action and move action for the round.

Base Number of Attacks

The base number of attacks a character can make during a full attack action is dictated by their Favored Class, which is the character class your character took at level 1. This base number is listed in the favored class table, under "Full Attack". Even if a character later multi-classes or dual-classes into another class, only the number of attacks listed for their favored class is used to determine their base number of attacks performable during a full attack action.

The first attack made during a full attack action is always made at the character's highest attack value (sometimes referred to as your "highest BAB"). The second attack made is made with a -5 penalty to that value (referred to as "BAB -5"). A third attack is made with a -10 penalty (if a third attack is possible with your chosen Favored Class; referred to as "BAB -10"), and a forth attack is made at a -15 penalty (again, assuming a fourth attack is available with your chosen Favored Class; referred to as "BAB -15").

Bonus Attacks

Bonus attacks can be acquired beyond those offered by a character's base number of attacks. Examples include the Two-Weapon Fighting feat (and related feats), some spell effects which grant bonus attacks during a full attack action (e.g. Haste), etc. While these grant additional attacks during a full attack action, they do not modify the character's base number of attacks.

Bonus 5-Foot Steps

Alternatively, a character may "trade away" one or more of the base attacks from their full attack to make a bonus 5-foot step (per attack traded away). Bonus 5-foot steps gained in this way do not prevent the use of a character's normal 5-Foot Step action (assuming they otherwise meet the requirements for it). Any attacks traded away in this fashion always use up the character's worst to-hit first, then their second-worst, etc. As you trade away attacks for 5-foot steps, any bonus attacks that would normally be performed at the same attack bonus are also lost. Any attacks you have left after your 5-foot steps may still be used as normal, of course, and these will always be your highest-bonus attacks, since those are used up last.

For example, an epic level Ranger (who gets a base of 4 attacks during a full attack action, at BAB, BAB-5, BAB-10, and BAB-15), who has all of the Two-Weapon Fighting feats (regular, improved, greater and perfect) gets 4 bonus attacks from these feats, also at BAB, BAB-5, BAB-10, and BAB-15, respectively. If this ranger trades an attack away for a bonus 5-foot step, they lose the use of their base BAB-15 attack (their worst attack), but they also lose the bonus attack they would normally get at BAB-15 (gained from Perfect Two-Weapon Fighting). The ranger may still perform their 6 remaining attacks (two at BAB, two at BAB-5, and two at BAB-10), all as part of this same full attack action.

Severability

The standard action portion of a full-attack action is always your first attack at your highest bonus. If you are using two weapons or a double-weapon, you can strike with either weapon (or either end) first. Note that actions which require a 'standard action' (such as cleave, or many combat maneuvers) MAY be used during a Full Attack action, but can only be used during the first attack (i.e. at your highest bonus) of a full attack action.

You only need to declare the target of your attack before each attack, and you can change targets (as long as they are in range / in reach) between attacks, as you like. You do not need to determine each target of each attack until you are actually making each attack. You can see how the earlier attacks turn out before assigning the later ones.

A full attack action is 'severable', meaning that a character can abort the full attack after the standard action portion has been performed, and recover their move action to use for other purposes (instead of completing the full attack action). The character must not have performed any actions beyond those they would normally be able to perform with a standard action, in order to sever the full attack action. If the character has already traded away one or more lower attacks for bonus 5-foot step(s), those attacks are used up, and could only have been performed with a full attack action. In such a case, the full attack action could not be 'severed'.

Even if you recover your move action by severing your full attack action, be aware that any (normal) 5-foot step you may have already performed this round would prevent you from using the recovered move action to actually move; the move action would need to be used for some other purpose, instead, in that case.

Other Actions

A full attack action doesn't usually end a character's turn, unless the action performed with the full attack action specifically states it does. As a result, most characters may still perform a swift action during the same turn as the full attack action. Swift actions can be used before or after the full attack, as the character prefers.

Furthermore, since the character used their move action to perform the full attack, they likely qualify for a (normal) 5-foot step. 5-foot steps, both normal, and bonus ones gained by trading away attacks, can be performed before, after, or between the attacks of a full attack.

Some common uses for a full-attack action include:

• Perform multiple attacks against one or more targets within range
• Multiple 5-foot steps to move safely around the battlefield
• Attacking and taking 5-foot steps in a mobile attack style
• Make a Double Move
• Whirlwind Attack (Feat)