[RPG] Can you take a free action during an immediate action

actionspathfinder-1e

Scenario 1:

Consider a Stalwart Defender with the following Defensive Power:

Intercept (Ex): Once a round as an immediate action, when a melee or ranged weapon would successfully strike an adjacent ally, the stalwart defender can choose to have the weapon strike him instead of the intended target. […]

The Stalwart Defender has the Quick Draw feat and a Quickdraw Shield with Energy Resistance to Fire.

[…] If you have the Quick Draw feat, you may don or put away a quickdraw shield as a free action.

The Stalwart Defender's adjacent ally is shot by a firey arrow. The Stalwart Defender does not yet have his shield drawn. So can the Stalwart Defender draw his shield while taking his intercept action, and benefit from its resistance against the fire arrow?

According to the rules as written,

You can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally.

This question addresses if a character can take a free action in response to another character's actions, to which the answer is no. (That falls under the realm of immediate actions.) However, as long as you're already "acting normally" you seem to be allowed to take free actions, whether it's your turn or not.

This interpretation also makes sense stylistically, as a character should be able to take their usual free actions while already reacting to another character, such as drawing a shield while intercepting an attack.

Scenario 2:

A character has a +1 base attack bonus. This allows him to do the following

Draw a weapon as a move action, or (if your base attack bonus is +1 or higher) as a free action as part of movement.

The character also has the Step Up and Following Step feat, giving him the following ability:

Whenever an adjacent foe attempts to take a 5-foot step away from you, you may also [move up to 10 feet] as an immediate action.

During this 10 foot movement done as an immediate action, can the character draw a weapon as a free action?

Note that I'm specifically interested in answers not citing D&D 3.5 FAQs… I'd rather stick to Pathfinder rules and clarifications from Paizo.

Best Answer

Most free actions must occur on your turn, so no, the Dwarf cannot draw his shield

I quoted 3.5 in the other question, but since you're not interested in that, I'll stick with a reading of the Pathfinder PRD:

Combat Round:

In a normal round, you can perform a standard action and a move action, or you can perform a full-round action. You can also perform one swift action and one or more free actions. You can always take a move action in place of a standard action.

Free Actions:

Free actions don't take any time at all, though there may be limits to the number of free actions you can perform in a turn. Free actions rarely incur attacks of opportunity. Some common free actions are described below.

Great, free actions are quick. What's speaking?

Speak

In general, speaking is a free action that you can perform even when it isn't your turn. Speaking more than a few sentences is generally beyond the limit of a free action.

(Emphasis Mine)

So, why is there a special clause for speaking that says you can do it when it is not your turn if you can take free actions outside of your turn? This clause does not come into conflict with "You can perform one or more free actions while taking another action normally.", which is simply a clarification that "Sure you can drop your sword while attempting to climb the rope while shouting at your Dwarf companion to get his shield out"

How about immediate actions?

Much like a swift action, an immediate action consumes a very small amount of time but represents a larger expenditure of effort and energy than a free action. However, unlike a swift action, an immediate action can be performed at any time—even if it's not your turn.

There again is the special emphasis that it can be done when it is not your turn. This further implies that most actions can only be taken on your turn.

Paizo, to my knowledge, has not commented on this because it is the same as 3.5, and this has already been covered in a FAQ by the 3.5 designers. Since Pathfinder is an improvement on 3.5 and doesn't change the rules wholesale, why would they comment again on this?

Source? Pathfinder PRD combat section.

And for those interested, further discussion on the 3.5 side of things here: https://rpg.stackexchange.com/a/8896/1736

Edit

And to counter a point from your question:

This interpretation also makes sense stylistically, as a character should be able to take their usual free actions while already reacting to another character, such as drawing a shield while intercepting an attack or loading a crossbow with rapid reload while making an attack of opportunity.

What about during the surprise round? Say someone botches their perception and is about to get shot with said arrow. Totally unaware. Should he be able to whip out his shield then?

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