La posto io
Is it possible to use the Shot on the Run feat in
conjunction with the Manyshot feat? Some people I know
insist that you must use the attack action with Shot on the
Run, and they further claim that Manyshot is a standard
action and not the attack action. But there isn’t any such
thing as an attack action, is there? The text on actions in
Chapter 8 of the Player’s Handbook (page 138) describes
many kinds of actions (standard actions, move actions, fullround
actions, and free actions); it even describes things
that are not actions and mentions restricted activity.
Nowhere, however, do the rules describe attack actions. So,
what’s the correct answer?
No, you cannot use Shot on the Run and Manyshot
together.
It is true that no category of actions is called “attack
actions” in the D&D game, but there is an action called
attack—it’s the first action described under Standard Actions
on page 139 in the Player’s Handbook.
It might seem that the folks who say no Manyshot with
Shot On the Run are slicing the baloney a little thin, but the
letter of the rules is on their side, and so is the intent behind the
letter of the rules. The Manyshot feat description could say you
fire multiple arrows with the attack action, but it doesn’t.
Manyshot is a standard action, not a variant on the attack action
(see the feat description on page 97 in the Player’s Handbook).
Likewise, the Shot on the Run feat could allow you to make
any kind of ranged attack while moving, but it doesn’t. When
using Shot on the Run, you must use the attack action with a
ranged weapon (see the feat description on page 100 in the
Player’s Handbook). This rules out using spells, most magic
items, or special standard actions such as the Manyshot feat
when making a Shot on the Run. That’s because casting a spell
would require the cast a spell action (described on page 140 of
the Player’s Handbook), using any magic item except for some
use-activated items would require the activate magic item
action (Player’s Handbook, page 142), and, as already noted
here, using the Manyshot feat is a standard action. Most magic
weapons are use activated and don’t require any action to
activate at all (see page 213 in the Dungeon Master’s Guide),
so you can use these weapons along with the attack action. For
example, you could use a +1 longbow or +1 arrow (or both)
with the attack action, and thus you also could use these items
with Shot on the Run.