What rules apply to the order in which individual attacks are taken during a full attack action in D&D 3.0, 3.5, and Pathfinder?
I am specifically interested in RAW requirements on the order in which your iterative attacks and off-hand attacks must be parsed. Information on any common additional attacks (such as from cleave or haste) would also be appropriate.
For example consider these three sources of attacks in 3.5 (per d20srd.com):
A second attack is gained when a base attack bonus reaches +6, a third with a base attack bonus of +11 or higher, and a fourth with a base attack bonus of +16 or higher.
If you wield a second weapon in your off hand, you can get one extra attack per round with that weapon.
If you wield a second weapon in your off hand, you can get one extra attack per round with that weapon.
When making a full attack action, a hasted creature may make one extra attack with any weapon he is holding.
So for 3.5, consider a character with two daggers, a BAB of 6, that feat, and under the effects of haste: they have five attacks from three "sources" (BAB, TWF, haste). In what order may the player take those attacks? Are they free to select any order, or strictly high to low total attack bonus (if so, how are ties resolved?), or BAB in order (same question on ties), or resolve each attack "source" in order but order the sources as desired, or some other thing?
Then, how does this change between D&D 3.0, D&D 3.5, and Pathfinder?
Best Answer
All 3 games mandate making attacks from highest base attack bonus to lowest
Player's Handbook (2000) for Dungeons and Dragons, Third Edition on Full Attack says
The Player's Handbook (2012) for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 on Full Attack says
In the 4th printing of the Pathfinder Role-playing Game Core Rule Book (2010) the latter is repeated verbatim on Full Attack (187).
Thus, without further guidance, it seems reasonable that the player picks the order of his character's attacks if two or more attacks are tied for the same base attack bonus (such as when wielding two weapons). The player, however, can't pick the attacks that are made at less than the base attack bonus (e.g. the additional attack at +1 from a base attack bonus of +6) until after attacks have been made at the full base attack bonus.
The example D&D 3.5 character with a base attack bonus of +6, the feats Two-weapon Fighting and Improved Two-weapon Fighting, and affected by the spell haste taking the full attack action makes 1 attack with his primary weapon at his full base attack bonus, 1 attack with his off-hand weapon at his full base attack bonus, and 1 attack with either weapon at his full base attack bonus, and the character could make those attacks in any order. He then makes 1 attack with his primary weapon at his base attack bonus −5 and 1 attack with his off-hand weapon at his base attack bonus −5, and could make those attacks in any order.