A free action is something that can be done during a maneuver.
Modifying[]
Sometimes Reduced Time can reduce things costing a Concentrate or Ready to a free action.
B106 says "you cannot add Reduced Time to attack powers" although Powers 154's "attacks with enough Reduced Time to work instantaneously" confuses the issue.
Policies[]
Most free actions need to be done at start of turn (such as all switchable abilities, per powers 154), but some types of free actions (dropping an item, rising from a crouch) can be done at any point later in the turn.
- in those cases though it probably still needs to be done during the character's span of choice before they turn it over to another character, ie if someone is trying to grab your grenade you can't just drop the grenade to avoid them getting it - this is consistent with how Rapier Wit works - it's still done DURING as user's turn, it just doesn't need to be at the "start" of it
- a Power Dodge is an exception, it allows free actions to be done after one's choices are done during another's turn. Doing this in time to outmaneuver someone requires a success roll though, and it can be penalized by fast people using Deceptive Attack or Feint as normal
- safety engage/disenage on familiar guns is a special situation: it can't be done at ANY point in the turn, but can be done at either start or end, so it more versatile
basic[]
chars[]
Basic Set: Characters quotes
- 38 Dismissing your Ally is a free action (for Summonable)
- 70 Lowering or raising your shield is a free action (for Mind Shield)
- 79 talking is a free action (p. 363)
- 88 However, you get a DX-4 roll to hit each foe in close combat with you once per turn, as a free action
- 108 Once time is reduced to one second, a further level of Reduced Time makes the ability instantaneous – using it is a free action.
- 209 On a success, the grip change is a free action.
- 220 you can ready it in only one turn and drop it as a free action
- 241 You can do this as a free action at any point during your turn
- 287 drop it as a free action, just like a weapon
camps[]
- 363 explains crouch limits: RISING can be done at any point in turn, but LOWERING can only be done at start (and it prevents a sprint)
powers[]
P11 for Alternative Abilities (special rule for Alternative Attacks from Basic)
- switching to a different attack is a free action. If the user can make more than one attack per turn, he must use the same setting for all of them.
P108
- Those who try this as a free action (allowed once per turn) roll thrust damage.
P154
- All other zero-time transient abilities (notably Rapier Wit and attacks with enough Reduced Time to work instantaneously) work only on the user’s turn.
- The only switchable abilities activated or deactivated with a free action are Mind Shield, attacks with Aura, and switchable advantages that work instantaneously thanks to Reduced Time.
- The user must switch these on or off at the start of his turn.
Supers[]
Supers 29 discusses adapting Rapid Fire enhancement to non-attack abilities like Warp "to produce a character who teleports two or more times in a single turn with a single Concentrate maneuver" so it's not entirely clear how it might apply to free-action warping at -10, since "concentrate maneuver" warping is done at -5.
techs[]
high-tech[]
HT80
- When using a familiar weapon (see Familiarity, p. B169), engaging or disengaging such a safety is a free action at either the beginning or the end of a turn – but not both.
power-ups[]
PU2[]
p6
- You can do either grip change (or both) as a free action once on your turn