[3.5] Bull Rush Questions

[liquidformat]

So a few questions about bull rush since my google fu has failed me.

1. since you can use a bull rush as part of your charge I assume this means you can add +2 to Strength Check?
2. How does Bull Rush interact with Pounce? It says it is an attack does that mean I can bull rush in adition to my other attacks while pouncing/charging?
3. Does Amulet of Mighty Fist add a bonus to Bull Rush?

[Telonius]

1 - Yes, explicitly:

Attacking on a Charge
After moving, you may make a single melee attack. You get a +2 bonus on the attack roll and take a -2 penalty to your AC until the start of your next turn.

A charging character gets a +2 bonus on the Strength check made to bull rush an opponent.

Even if you have extra attacks, such as from having a high enough base attack bonus or from using multiple weapons, you only get to make one attack during a charge.

2 - Less certain on this one, but I believe this is how it would work.

You can make a bull rush as a standard action (an attack) or as part of a charge. When you make a bull rush, you attempt to push an opponent straight back instead of damaging him. You can only bull rush an opponent who is one size category larger than you, the same size, or smaller.

Bull Rush can be used either as part of a charge, or as an attack action. If it's part of a charge, you'd resolve the Bull Rush first (since, if you win on the Bull Rush check, your movement hasn't stopped yet, therefore the melee attack isn't yet possible). After the Bull Rush resolves (i.e. after moving) you make the melee attack. Since you have Pounce, that allows you to make a full attack instead of a single attack, you'd get all your attacks. You could even use one of those attacks to use Bull Rush as a regular attack, but that would no longer get the +2 (since it's part of a pounce, not part of a charge).

3 - No. Amulet of Mighty Fists grants bonuses to attack and damage rolls only. A Bull Rush check is neither; it's an opposed Strength check. Any bonuses you get to Strength (or to Bull Rushes specifically) would apply.

[Clementx]

Rush can be used either as part of a charge, or as an attack action. If it's part of a charge, you'd resolve the Bull Rush first (since, if you win on the Bull Rush check, your movement hasn't stopped yet, therefore the melee attack isn't yet possible). After the Bull Rush resolves (i.e. after moving) you make the melee attack. Since you have Pounce, that allows you to make a full attack instead of a single attack, you'd get all your attacks. You could even use one of those attacks to use Bull Rush as a regular attack, but that would no longer get the +2 (since it's part of a pounce, not part of a charge).

Bullrushes are not an attack action. They are a standard action that is offensive. Trip, disarm, and grappling are explicitly called out as being made in place of any attack action. Bull rush, sunder, and overrun are not.

[liquidformat]

Bullrushes are not an attack action. They are a standard action that is offensive. Trip, disarm, and grappling are explicitly called out as being made in place of any attack action. Bull rush, sunder, and overrun are not.

according to Special Attacks I don't think you have a leg to stand on here in regards to either bull rush nor Sunder. And also given that all three are talked about along with Trip, disarm, and grappling in Special Attacks I think an argument can be made for Overrun being an attack as well.

You can make a bull rush as a standard action (an attack) or as part of a charge

You can use a melee attack with a slashing or bludgeoning weapon to strike a weapon or shield that your opponent is holding.

They are literally called out as 'attacks' in every source I have looked at...

[Clementx]

I did find a Sage's article that specifies bull rush is an attack action, but the Srd text and tables are more ambiguous with the standard action statement, reinforced by the need to take a move action most of the time.

I also misspoke about sunder, although the table in print separates unattended sunder as its own thing that is not an attack action. Overrun is clearly different, and bull rush as written on the page is in between in clarity.i

It occurs to me the reason my groups played it differently 20 years ago, which is the last time anyone tried bull bushing when they had iterative attacks. No attack roll on bull rush and overrun, unlike the other s. So why not bull rush on your -10 and -15 attacks that weren't going to hit the monsters AC? Overblown ability for Dungeoncrasher, at least.

[Doctor Awkward]

So a few questions about bull rush since my google fu has failed me.

1. since you can use a bull rush as part of your charge I assume this means you can add +2 to Strength Check?
2. How does Bull Rush interact with Pounce? It says it is an attack does that mean I can bull rush in adition to my other attacks while pouncing/charging?
3. Does Amulet of Mighty Fist add a bonus to Bull Rush?

1. Yes, this is explicit in the rules.
2. It doesn't. You are not making iterative attacks when you are attempting to Bull Rush someone. Despite the insistence of the SRD, you aren't making a regular attack at all. A Bull Rush is a special combat maneuver that supplants the normal combat rules with it's own special ones. Note that there is no attack roll involved in making a Bull Rush, and unlike grappling if you get hit with an AoO you keep going with it. You are entering an opponents square and physically attempting to move them with the mass of your body. Note that the Rules Compendium removes "(an attack)" from the description.
3. It does not. Mighty Fists adds a bonus to attack and damage rolls. Bull Rush neither requires an attack roll, nor deals damage.