Leap

By mordak5, in Descent: Journeys in the Dark

Can a monster with leap, make a standard attack then leap (without making an attack) to make space for another monster, or can it only leap if its attacking, as the rules mention a "leap attack", but continue that the monster "may" make an attack.

It came up today, I was able to move the blood apes using standard movement so it didn't affect our session, but thought we'd better check for the future.

The relevant questions from the FAQ seem to be:

Q: Can a creature with Leap attack normally (without leaping)?
A: Yes. Leap is optional.

Q: Is it possible to Leap without doing a Leap attack? The AoD rules state that doing an attack roll is not mandatory with a Leap; if a figure does not roll attack dice, does it count as not attacking, and can said figure then make a normal attack?
A: The figure may perform the leap movement without making an attack. At the end of the movement, the figure may make one normal attack against any models it could normally target.

It doesn't specifically address making a Leap after making an attack, but since you can attack without Leaping, and you can Leap without attacking, I don't see any reason to think you couldn't.

Thanks, for the reply, thats the way 3 of us thought, 1 didn't, so I said i'd check on the forum for advice. Cheers

Just another thought, could the blood ape with a movement of 5 (silver) take 1 movement, then attack, then leap for the remaining movement away from the hero's?,

Would make them much more effective if so. I can't see anything to prevent it, but I could be missing something.

mordak5 said:

Just another thought, could the blood ape with a movement of 5 (silver) take 1 movement, then attack, then leap for the remaining movement away from the hero's?,

Would make them much more effective if so. I can't see anything to prevent it, but I could be missing something.

yes

There's never a requirement that Leap uses all your movement, just all your remaining movement. A perfectly normal Blood Ape (4 speed) can move 3 spaces and then Leap for distance purposes (though with only 1 movement left, you won't be able to leap over anything).

The word "remaining" always bothered me here.

Is it allowed to activate a Blood Ape with speed 4 and Leap for 6 spaces, letting one movement go to waste? It should be that way, but it always causes some frowning.

They're allowed to go "up to twice their remaining movement," so leaping 6 when you could go 8 is perfectly valid.

I don't know if you're allowed to use leap after attacking on your turn. I mean, if you leap but don't roll, it makes sense that you should be able to attack after landing, but it seems like attack should negate leap.

Thundercles said:

I don't know if you're allowed to use leap after attacking on your turn. I mean, if you leap but don't roll, it makes sense that you should be able to attack after landing, but it seems like attack should negate leap.

Um...any particular reason why it should work that way?

Also, saying it should "negate" the leap sounds like you're saying it should retroactively move you back to your pre-Leap position, though I'm fairly sure that's not what you meant.