Quick question about Feints

[Bullettop]

The basic rules say a Feint lasts one second. If I take the an A-O-A "Feint" and make a successful Feint I can use a follow up attack the same turn. If I take A-O-A again next turn, does the target's active defense penalty still apply?

[vicky_molokh]

A Feint only reduces ADs by its margin of victory, without the flat parry penalty normal attacks provide. Furthermore, the parry penalty from regular attacks resets on the next turn.

[Anaraxes]

The oFAQ clarifies that the defense penalty from a Feint applies either through the end of your own turn, or to your next turn, but not both.

The distinction mostly comes up when there's a character that can take multiple maneuvers per turn (Altered Time Rate, Great Haste, etc). But it also covers the case of an AoA (Feint). When you want the Feint to apply on the following turn, the Feint is the last attack that you make in your own turn.

It is possible to AoA (Feint) and do Attack + Feint, rather than Feint + Attack. In the first case, you're setting up the penalty for the next turn. In the second case, you're benefitting just the one attack that's part of the AoA on your current turn. (Plus any attacks from Extra Attacks or additional Maneuvers you might have in the current turn.)

Only the most recent Feint applies to the following affected attacks. So there's little point in Feinting multiple times in one turn. (You might do that if you didn't like the results of the first Feint.)

[Anaraxes]

I didn't see anything in MA when I skimmed through looking for "feint". But it was a pretty quick skim.

The turn boundary constraint appears in Basic, under All-out Attack (Feint) on B365. "The Feint applies to this attack instead of one you make on your next turn."

The "good for one second" bit is also from Basic, under Feint (also on B365, middle column rather than right one) The emphasis on "one" suggests that the author is trying to emphasize that it's a transient bonus and not a permanent penalty to the target's defense, nor a one time bonus that's good 'til used, however long that might be. (It's part of the discussion about what happens if your foe can't see you Feint, turns his back and runs away, etc, you lose sight of the target, etc.)

B365 also points out that a Feint applies to both attacks of a subsequent AoA (Double), so it establishes the precedent that the Feint doesn't apply to exactly the next single attack rolled.

[Anaraxes]

Feints aren't transferable to other people. They only benefit your own attacks. (B365 again, under "Feint"). The Teamwork Perk in MA does allow the benefit to be transferred to "another teammate", assuming you're all trained and formed up.

Note the singular phrasing of "another teammate", instead of "teammates" or "other teammates" or "all other teammates". Only one attacker gets to benefit from the Feint. In this case, the attacker has Feinted for the benefit of some specific other teammate. (Feel free to require designating that teammate when the Feint is made, if you're into declarations.) So, the simplest rule is going to be "until the end of the designated teammate's turn". Other teammates might be acting before then, but they don't benefit from the Feint, so that doesn't really matter.

If someone wanted to get obnoxious about it, I'd just apply Rule Zero and common sense. The feinted isn't going to remain faked out forever, even if all his attackers are arbitrarily slow, so you would make it one second of his time. Or just imagine (for this sole purpose) that there is a global clock. So the Feint might expire before any attacker got a chance to take advantage of that temporary distraction.

[Bullettop]

Thank you all very much for your replies