stuff

Dimensional Hop was just an example. there are other abilities.
Casting Dimensional Hop is not a swift action it's a move action.
Casting a quickened spell doesn’t provoke an attack of opportunity, but you still might need to use consentration. Injury, Violent Motion, etc.
Yes, no ASF reading the scroll, but casting it...page 490
"Using a scroll is like casting a spell for purposes of arcane
spell failure chance."

Its all built in, when you emulate having a spell on your list, it acts like you have a spell list AND the spell. No need to over complicate as even 3.5 doesn't make such a distinction AFAIK.

A couple of questions, if anybody could help.

The damage done by a Dragon Disciple's bite is dependent on the type of dragon. Is there a chart somewhere?

I was surprised to find that magical weapons can be flaming, frost, shocking, or thundering, but not acidic. Is this a deliberate change?

A couple of questions, if anybody could help.

The damage done by a Dragon Disciple's bite is dependent on the type of dragon. Is there a chart somewhere?

I was surprised to find that magical weapons can be flaming, frost, shocking, or thundering, but not acidic. Is this a deliberate change?

Thank you both. Zark, I'm afraid I wasn't able to find the chart on page 75 that provides the bite damage for Dragon Disciples. Claw damage, yes. Breath weapon effect, yes. But bite?

EDIT: Ah. I see that the chart explains what extra energy damage the bite does after 6th Level as a Dragon Disciple. But what's the base damage that chewing on someone's shoulder does?

Hey, N. Jolly here with a few Gun questions:

1. Can a gun use Rapid Reload to reduce it's reload time, or just a crossbow?

2. Can a gun make use of the Many Shot feature if it's capable of making more than one shot before reloading (possibly aid'd by Rapid Reload)

3. Is Firearm an acceptable choice for a fighter's weapon training?

Thanks for the help, I'm just a huge proponent of guns in Fantasy.

Please, continue to support guns and gun style'd characters such as myself.

Hey, N. Jolly here with a few Gun questions:

1. Can a gun use Rapid Reload to reduce it's reload time, or just a crossbow?

2. Can a gun make use of the Many Shot feature if it's capable of making more than one shot before reloading (possibly aid'd by Rapid Reload)

3. Is Firearm an acceptable choice for a fighter's weapon training?

Thanks for the help, I'm just a huge proponent of guns in Fantasy.

Please, continue to support guns and gun style'd characters such as myself.

Though an official answer would be nice.

Scrolls have arcane spell failure:

Activate the Spell: Activating a scroll requires reading the spell from the scroll. The character must be able to see and read the writing on the scroll. Activating a scroll spell requires no material components or focus. (The creator of the scroll provided these when scribing the scroll.) Note that some spells are effective only when cast on an item or items. In such a case, the scroll user must provide the item when activating the spell. Activating a scroll spell is subject to disruption just as casting a normally prepared spell would be. Using a scroll is like casting a spell for purposes of arcane spell failure chance.

Chris Mortika wrote:

I was surprised to find that magical weapons can be flaming, frost, shocking, or thundering, but not acidic. Is this a deliberate change?

Those were the only ones in the original DMG as well, although later supplements added corrosive and a lesser sonic one as well that were all in line with the bonuses granted by flaming and its ilk. I am not sure if the are part of the OGL though.

Dimensional hop doesn't provoke as swift actions don't. At least that was my understanding of the rules.

I believe there is no distinction or restriction on armor when casting a scroll.

The question on whether or not you process ASF with scrolls is heavily debated. If you have no Arcane spell casting classes, the cleanest interpretation is you must make an ASF check. If you do, you make the ASF as per your Arcane class. Interpretation there to be no ASF is also advanced, but I don't believe it is the cleanest way to interpret the rules.

Christopher Van Horn wrote:

Chris Mortika wrote:

I was surprised to find that magical weapons can be flaming, frost, shocking, or thundering, but not acidic. Is this a deliberate change?

Those were the only ones in the original DMG as well, although later supplements added corrosive and a lesser sonic one as well that were all in line with the bonuses granted by flaming and its ilk. I am not sure if the are part of the OGL though.

Good question.
The bite damage is probably not as good as form of the dragon 1. So I guess it is 1d4 or 1d6

Hey, N. Jolly here with a few Gun questions:

1. Can a gun use Rapid Reload to reduce it's reload time, or just a crossbow?

2. Can a gun make use of the Many Shot feature if it's capable of making more than one shot before reloading (possibly aid'd by Rapid Reload)

3. Is Firearm an acceptable choice for a fighter's weapon training?

Thanks for the help, I'm just a huge proponent of guns in Fantasy.

Please, continue to support guns and gun style'd characters such as myself.

2. Many shot only applies to bows (not crossbows) and would not apply to any gun other than the scatter gun anyways being that it is the only one designed to fire without either a reload or a cycling of the gun. This also requires a house rule

3. I would say yes, since they fall into no specific weapon group otherwise, although once again this may require a house rule

Hope that helps :D

Thanks, Christopher. (That's probably why I wasn't able to find it in the rulebook!)

I'd like to see your reference for Swift spells don't provoke, since it goes against the rules as I know them. I may have missed something, so book/page would help.

On the big table of what provokes and what doesn't there is a swift actions section and an immediate actions section. Both show that either type of spell does not provoke.

Good to know, I wasn't aware of this.

Here are the questions again, edited.

1 # What spell levels are all the different cleric domain powers?
In order to calculate the concentration check when casting stuff like Dimensional Hop, Lightning Lord, Copycat, etc. you need to know the spell level of the ability.

2 # Does using a spell-like ability as move action provoke an attack of Opportunity?

3 # USM - scrolls and ASF (arcane spell failure)

Dissinger wrote:

Dimensional hop doesn't provoke as swift actions don't. At least that was my understanding of the rules.

I believe there is no distinction or restriction on armor when casting a scroll.

I'd like to see your reference for Swift spells don't provoke, since it goes against the rules as I know them. I may have missed something, so book/page would help.

The question on whether or not you process ASF with scrolls is heavily debated. If you have no Arcane spell casting classes, the cleanest interpretation is you must make an ASF check. If you do, you make the ASF as per your Arcane class. Interpretation there to be no ASF is also advanced, but I don't believe it is the cleanest way to interpret the rules.

Under Cast a quickened spell:

...Casting a spell as a swift action does not incur an attack of opportunity.

In this way only readying an action can be done to intervene with a quickened or swift action spell.

This was true in 3.5 as well and the sole reason why if you could do it as a swift it was superior to doing it as a standard.

Here are the questions again, edited.
3 # USM - scrolls and ASF (arcane spell failure)

Activating a scroll spell by UMD, lets say haste, do you cast it as a Wizard scroll or as a bard scroll or is it just an arcane sroll?

If it just is an arcane scroll can a rogue Emulate the bard feature of casting arcane spells in light armor with no ASF?

If a rogue in light armor find a bard scroll, lets say Good Hope. Does she cast it as a bard with no ASF chance or does she have to Emulate that Class Feature?

If you don't have a spell list do you have to Emulate that to? (We don't play that way, but I've seen questions about it. )
As Dissinger put it: "Its all built in, when you emulate having a spell on your list, it acts like you have a spell list AND the spell."
His answer is sensible, but the text isn't obvious.

What if a bard in light armor cast a scroll of fireball with UMD. No ASF? The text on UMD and scrolls say: "allows you to use a scroll as if you had a particular spell on your class spell list" If a bard has fireball on his class list he would not have ASF in light armor.

To have any chance of activating a scroll spell, the scroll user must meet the following requirements.

* The spell must be of the correct type (arcane or divine). Arcane spellcasters (wizards, sorcerers, and bards) can only use scrolls containing arcane spells, and divine spellcasters (clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers) can only use scrolls containing divine spells. (The type of scroll a character creates is also determined by his class.)
* The user must have the spell on her class list.
* The user must have the requisite ability score.

Versatile Performance:
Do I just swap the bonus or do I use the performcheck?
The way I read it you just swap the bonus, but its uncleaar.
Let say I want to use acrobatics to tumble. Acrobatics is a dex check and it has a AcP. Charisma checks don't. Let me add a great quote

If I play the Piano, and I have a masterwork piano (+2 to skill checks), do I get that bonus when using Versatile Performance to cover diplomacy? [...] If the answer is yes, explain the in-game logistics...

Evil Guard: "You can't go through the gate!"
Bard: *Rolls in piano*
Evil Guard: "What are you doing!?"
Bard: Tinkles away on piano
Evil Guard: "Hmmmm...alright, I'm convinced - you can go through."

More bard stuff
bardic performance
a Level 12 bard can during one round activate bardic performance as a move action, cast a quicken spell using a meta magic rod and perform a stadard action such as casting a spell or attack with a weapon.
At level 13 he can activate bardic performance as a swift action. Must he activate it as a swift action or can he chose to activate it as a move action and still do the same stuff he did at level 12?
If answer is no: why would a low level bard be better at combining spells and level bardic performance than a high level bard?
If answer is yes. Here is another question.

"A bard cannot have more than one bardic performance in effect at one time" and "Each round, the bard can produce any one of the types of
bardic performance that he has mastered"

Can a 13 level bard start a bardic performance as a move action cast a spell and end the bardic performance as a free action then start another bardic performance as a swift action?
The rules are vague. It says "any one", it doesn't say only one.
The rules says: "one bardic performance in effect at one time" it doesn't say only one bardic performance during a round.

A 10 level bard can use the same tactics.
Standrad action. Start Dirge of Doom
Swift action: Cast quicken Glitterdust using meta magic rod
Free action: end bardic performance
Move action: start Inspire Courage

I would live to see descriptions on scimitars, falchions and other items left out of the equipment chapter.

More bard stuff
bardic performance
a Level 12 bard can during one round activate bardic performance as a move action, cast a quicken spell using a meta magic rod and perform a stadard action such as casting a spell or attack with a weapon.
At level 13 he can activate bardic performance as a swift action. Must he activate it as a swift action or can he chose to activate it as a move action and still do the same stuff he did at level 12?
If answer is no: why would a low level bard be better at combining spells and level bardic performance than a high level bard?
If answer is yes. Here is another question.

"A bard cannot have more than one bardic performance in effect at one time" and "Each round, the bard can produce any one of the types of
bardic performance that he has mastered"

Can a 13 level bard start a bardic performance as a move action cast a spell and end the bardic performance as a free action then start another bardic performance as a swift action?
The rules are vague. It says "any one", it doesn't say only one.
The rules says: "one bardic performance in effect at one time" it doesn't say only one bardic performance during a round.

A 10 level bard can use the same tactics.
Standrad action. Start Dirge of Doom
Swift action: Cast quicken Glitterdust using meta magic rod
Free action: end bardic performance
Move action: start Inspire Courage

We understand a Bard cannot have two Bardic Performances active at the same time, but is there any restriction for a Bard using 2 different Bardic Performances at different points in the same round?

"Each round, the bard can produce any one of the types of
bardic performance that he has mastered"

So is that one at a time, or only one per round?

And Versatile Performance is REALLY unclear:

1) Is the Bard actually performing (ie, does he use an instrument if applicable)? If not, does his total performance bonus (including bonus from masterwork instrument) not apply then?

2) if he is emulating a skill that works off a different ability score, which ability score modifier does he use?

3) and finally, if he is emulating a skill with an armor check penalty, does that armor check penalty apply to the versatile performance?

Is spring attack a standard attack, a full attack or something else?
If anyone has a link where Jason has explained this, please post a link.

Hey there everybody,

Let me see if I can clean this up a bit.

Cleave is a standard action, which means you can use it anytime you can take a standard action. It cannot be used as part of a full-attack action, which is a full round action. You cannot use Cleave as part of a charge, since that is a special full-round action (partial charge not withstanding). The same applies to Great Cleave.

Vital Strike can be used in place of an attack action. This means that whenever you take an attack action, you can use Vital Strike instead. An attack action is a type of standard action. While this is nearly identical to Cleave, there are a few subtle differences. Anything that applies to an attack action would apply to a Vital Strike attack, whereas it would not, necessarily, apply to Cleave. The two feats cannot be used in conjunction.

I am not sure that answers all the questions here.. but I will check back later to see if there is anything I have missed.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

"Vital Strike is an attack action, btw, which is a standard action. You cannot use it as part of a full-attack action."

What attacks can be used with Vital Strike?
What attacks can be used with Cleave?
what about partial charge and spring attack? Can they be used with Vital Strike or Cleave or both?
Can Vital Strike be used as an attacks of Opportunity?

There are something like 20 threads with questions about charge, vital strike, Cleave, spring attack, Attacks of Opportunity, Deadly Stroke, Great cleave, Spirited Charge and Power attack and how these feats work in conjunction with eachother.

Please release a FAQ even if it's just a micro-FAQ. Start with these questions and the Vital Strike damage.

You are contradicting yourself. Here is what you said in another thread.
...
I don't what to sound rude, but if you are not sure about the rules how can we be?

What attacks can be used with Vital Strike?
What attacks can be used with Cleave?
what about partial charge and spring attack? Can they be used with Vital Strike or Cleave or both?
Can Vital Strike be used as an attacks of Opportunity?

There are something like 20 threads with questions about charge, vital strike, Cleave, spring attack, Attacks of Opportunity, Deadly Stroke, Great cleave, Spirited Charge and Power attack and how these feats work in conjunction with eachother.

Please release a FAQ even if it's just a micro-FAQ. Start with these questions and the Vital Strike damage.

Hey there everybody,

Let me see if I can clean this up a bit.

Cleave is a standard action , which means you can use it anytime you can take a standard action. It cannot be used as part of a full-attack action, which is a full round action. You cannot use Cleave as part of a charge, since that is a special full-round action (partial charge not withstanding). The same applies to Great Cleave.

Vital Strike can be used in place of an attack action. This means that whenever you take an attack action, you can use Vital Strike instead. An attack action is a type of standard action. While this is nearly identical to Cleave, there are a few subtle differences. Anything that applies to an attack action would apply to a Vital Strike attack, whereas it would not, necessarily, apply to Cleave. The two feats cannot be used in conjunction.

I am not sure that answers all the questions here.. but I will check back later to see if there is anything I have missed.

Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing

"Vital Strike is an attack action, btw, which is a standard action. You cannot use it as part of a full-attack action."

Edit: "Attack action is a kind of Standard action."
Yes. Drinking a potion is a kind of Standard action.
What the point using terms people don't understand.

He says: "An attack action is a type of standard action"
He says: "Vital Strike is an attack action, btw, which is a standard action."
Thus Vital Strike is a standard action.
Then he says: "Anything that applies to an attack action would apply to a Vital Strike attack, whereas it would not, necessarily, apply to Cleave."

If both Cleave and Vital Strike are standard actions it would be wrong saying: "Anything that applies to an attack action would apply to a Vital Strike attack, whereas it would not, necessarily, apply to Cleave."

if there is a difference it would be nice to know it. Sure Cleave lets you make two attack actions it you hit the first target, but apart from that?
How does Spring attack or Partial charge work in conjunction with these feats and other feats.
Or more blunt: what is he talikng about?

Or more blunt: what is he talikng about?

There are differences in the execution of Cleave and Vital Strike, but they both take the same action. A standard action. That last remark should have been dropped altogether.

As for spring attack and partial charges that is a whole other matter.

Partial action charge, cannot be combined with cleave or vital strike. The action of charging only allows to make a melee attack. A melee attack is not the same as a standard action.

All attack actions are standard actions.
All melee attacks are not necesarily actions (e.g. AoO are not actions).

Spring attack allows you to combine a move with a melee attack.
Spring attack does not allow to combine a move with an attack action.(By RAW)

Spring attack allows you to combine a move with a melee attack.
Spring attack does not allow to combine a move with an attack action.(By RAW)

That was my reading of the book, but there have been numerous threads of people saying that Vital can be used during a Spring Attack along with remarks like "if they don't work together I'm throwing out my books."

There hasn't been an official "Vital can't be used with Spring" errata response?

That last remark should have been dropped altogether.

Spring attack allows you to combine a move with a melee attack.
Spring attack does not allow to combine a move with an attack action.(By RAW)

Perhaps we make a to big issue out of this.
Could it be spring attack only tell us we can move make an attack and move again. Perhaps the resaon it doesn't tell us what we can or can't do is because we decide it our selfs?
Move + trip + move
Move + vital strike + move
Move + cleave + move
Move + disarm + move
Move + sunder + move
Etc.

I understand your frustration at the changing terminology, but I must admit that I do not understand your argument.

There are differences in the execution of Cleave and Vital Strike, but they both take the same action. A standard action.

All attack actions are standard actions.
All melee attacks are not necesarily actions (e.g. AoO are not actions).

"Single melee attack" is not an action keyword and does not indicate that you aren't making a Standard Attack action.

There hasn't been an official "Vital can't be used with Spring" errata response?

If it's a "move + standard action + move" then I should be able to use vital strike or cleave.
Edit: Is it a full round action? If it is I can't use cleave.

I don't understand why this is so heavily debated. It allows a "single melee attack" which requires a Standard Action normally but does not allow any Standard Action.

Trying to twist Spring Attack into "Move-Standard-Move" so you can Vital Strike in the middle opens you up to a crap ton of Vital Strikes on a Whirlwind Attack.

Nothing official either way. There are enough arguments in favor and against that it could be interpreted both ways in the RAW.

Not sure we need a ruling on Spring Attack + Cleave.

Spring attack allows "A single melee attack", not a single attack action, or a standard action attack.

Cleave allows you to make more than one attack with an attack action, but it's pretty clearly more than a single melee attack.

As written, they simply wouldn't work together. No question.

He says: "An attack action is a type of standard action"
He says: "Vital Strike is an attack action, btw, which is a standard action."
Thus Vital Strike is a standard action.
Then he says: "Anything that applies to an attack action would apply to a Vital Strike attack, whereas it would not, necessarily, apply to Cleave."

The reason this feat has this wording and not "As a standard action" like cleave is because a feat that modifies your Attack Action can be combined with other feats that modify your Attack Action, but not with ones that require a Standard Action.

This is why currently you can combine Rapid Shot and Many Shot together as they both use a Full-Attack Action which modifies your Full-Round action.

In the PFRPG their is only one feat currently that modifies your Attack Action and that is Vital Strike, but their will more than likely be more in the future from paizo.

Hope that helps.

Trying to twist Spring Attack into "Move-Standard-Move" so you can Vital Strike in the middle opens you up to a crap ton of Vital Strikes on a Whirlwind Attack.

stuff

My reading of SA is move + melee attack action + move.
The rules say: "Normal: You cannot move before and after an attack."
So the benefit is move + melee attack + move.

The reason they don't list it as move + attack action + move is probably that an attack action, like vital strike doesn't have to be a melee attack. It can be a ranged attack and SA does not let you move + use ranged attack + move
Saying SA is move + standard action + move would also be wrong. It wont let you move + cast fireball + move back. Nor does it let you move + heal a friend + move.

I still think Official Ruling is Needed

In the PFRPG their is only one feat currently that modifies your Attack Action and that is Vital Strike, but their will more than likely be more in the future from paizo.

Is Vital Strike the melee equivalent (action-wise) of Many Shot?

No need to open cans. Whirlwind Attack is a full-attack action and vital is a standard action.

If you allow Spring Attack to do Vital Strike, then the working is identical and you are forced to allow Vital Strike on Whirlwind.

The way I see it is:
SA + VS = Yes
My reading of SA is move + melee attack action + move.

Is Vital Strike the melee equivalent (action-wise) of Many Shot?

I know thread diversions are common..but I really liked the original poster's intent for this thread...IE Questions that are looking for resolution from designers, with the actual _debate_ of said questions moved to other threads (With a single link on this thread). While I love the debates, it'd be nice to have this be a single, _terse_ thread that you can check for just 'new questions' and 'developer answers'.

I know thread diversions are common..but I really liked the original poster's intent for this thread...IE Questions that are looking for resolution from designers, with the actual _debate_ of said questions moved to other threads (With a single link on this thread). While I love the debates, it'd be nice to have this be a single, _terse_ thread that you can check for just 'new questions' and 'developer answers'.

And to put the thread back on topic:

Magic Item Creation

A) What is the correct DC for crafting magic items? DC5+Caster Level or DC10+Caster Level?

B) Is the caster level listed in the Magic Items section a prerequiste for creating that item? If so, can it be bypassed by adding +5 to the crafting DC?

Magic Item Creation

A) What is the correct DC for crafting magic items? DC5+Caster Level or DC10+Caster Level?

B) Is the caster level listed in the Magic Items section a prerequiste for creating that item? If so, can it be bypassed by adding +5 to the crafting DC?

ZappoHisbane wrote:

Magic Item Creation

A) What is the correct DC for crafting magic items? DC5+Caster Level or DC10+Caster Level?

B) Is the caster level listed in the Magic Items section a prerequiste for creating that item? If so, can it be bypassed by adding +5 to the crafting DC?

Answering these questions would clear up more than 10 threads q:

ZappoHisbane wrote:

Magic Item Creation

A) What is the correct DC for crafting magic items? DC5+Caster Level or DC10+Caster Level?

B) Is the caster level listed in the Magic Items section a prerequiste for creating that item? If so, can it be bypassed by adding +5 to the crafting DC?

Answer to A) look here

Dragonborn3 wrote:

Does an elf need to be evil and go through a ritual to become a drow in Golorian, or is it something that can even happen to a paladin who is doing nothing but minding his/her own business?

We purposefully left rules vague for what an elf has to do in order to turn into a drow, so that the transformation is left to the GM to say yes or no to as the campaign's storyline requires. The transformation shouldn't happen too often though; it should be pretty rare. Merely being evil is not enough. You have to be VERY evil, you have to worship a demon, and you have to THEN do an act of great evil on top of that before there's even a chance of the transformation kicking in. There are, after all, an awful lot of evil elves who aren't drow.

Answering these questions would clear up more than 10 threads q:

This quote can be found here

James Risner wrote:

To move, yes. Was the design goal to allow it during Move->Vital->Move say from Spring Attack?

I'd certainly let my players do that in games I run.