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The Cat & Mouse power lets me shift some squares and have total concealment.

The trigger says: "You hit an enemy with a melee attack."

The trigger of FoB says: "You hit with an attack during your turn."

This Monk Guide says that this power can be used right after hitting (and maybe sliding) an enemy to stay next to that enemy and give oneself a better position for the FoB. So this power could be used to hit, move and then use the FoB. This sounds nice because moving before using FoB is otherwise not possible (so far I know).

My question is, why is this possible? Is it because FoB and C&M have (on a melee attack) the same trigger and it is nowhere stated which one is triggered first so the player can decide? Or is it because C&M is a free action and free actions can be used any time?

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Their trigger is exactly the same. Flurry of Blows rider "on your turn" is intended to prevent you from using it out of turn (say on an opportunity attack, or similar), not to specify that you can take additional actions (note this is a substantial departure from the previous version of this answer).

BUT, it is a free action, and Flurry of Blows is No Action. This means that both of them are permitted to trigger off of the same action. So you can make your attack, hit, trigger Cat And Mouse, and the trigger for Flurry of Blows would still be very much in effect.

Both of these are subject to the basic triggered actions rules (as they are free/no action rather than interrupts/reactions). They are treated like reactions and happen after the action is completed. However, the order (since you are the one who is initiating them), is up to you. Neither one invalidates the trigger (doesn't prevent the hit), so both are free to trigger.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thank you! Can you tell me where it is stated that a free action with a trigger has to be resolved right after the trigger occurs but that FoB can be used any time during the turn after a hit? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 23, 2014 at 18:32
  • \$\begingroup\$ @telandor rereading, I'm less sure. I was thinking "on your turn" was more permissive than my reading of it today. Will do some research and edit accordingly \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 23, 2014 at 19:00
  • \$\begingroup\$ @telandor I've made a complete overhaul to this, as I believe I was misinterpreting FoB quite severely \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 23, 2014 at 19:12
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    \$\begingroup\$ This makes more sense. Triggered actions occur immediately after their trigger - "on your turn" in the trigger line couldn't possibly circumvent this, or it'd just be a prerequisite--"You must have hit with an attack this turn"--with no trigger on the power at all. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 23, 2014 at 22:40
  • \$\begingroup\$ @JonathanHobbs Right, and I'd been reading it that way instead of as a proper trigger. Sometimes a reread makes all the difference. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 24, 2014 at 0:01

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