Weapon Focus Feat Tree

[Sir George Anonymous]

Do Dazzling Display, Shatter Defenses, and Deadly Stroke require a specific weapon to be selected. Weapon Focus allows multiple selections, and the description of these three feats makes is unclear about whether they apply to all weapons with which the character has Weapon Focus, or if one of them needs to be selected for Dazling Display, one of the WF/DD weapons needs to be selected for Shattering Defenses, and one of the WF/Greater Weapon Focus wepaons needs to be selected for Deadly Stroke (or if a DS weapon requires WF/DD/SD/GWF with the same weapon).

Cheers,

Sir George Anonymous

[Sir George Anonymous]

Any thoughts?

[Dissinger]

They do not, all they require is that you are wielding a weapon you have weapon focused to get the effect.

[ohako]

Hey, here's a follow-up question

Dazzling Display lets you try to apply the 'shaken' condition to some enemies, but the duration is still 1 round.

Shatter Defenses lets you 'flat-foot' an enemy that is shaken until the end of your next turn, and Deadly Stroke lets you thoroughly whack someone who is flat-footed or stunned.

I'm pretty sure the way this tree is supposed to work is

Round 1: Demoralize someone with Dazzling Display
Round 2: Shatter the Defenses of a Dazzled someone
Round 3: Strike Deadily at a Shattered someone

but by RAW this won't work, because the shaken condition ends before your round 2 starts. Otherwise I'm pretty sure the only way a Fighter can even use a Deadly Stroke (can we please call this 'Deadly Strike'?) is with Blinding Critical or Stunning Critical, both of which are higher-level options.

So, the question: are enemies shaken by a Dazzling Display supposed to be shaken for longer than 1 round?

[Tholas]

ohako wrote:

Hey, here's a follow-up question

Dazzling Display lets you try to apply the 'shaken' condition to some enemies, but the duration is still 1 round.

Shatter Defenses lets you 'flat-foot' an enemy that is shaken until the end of your next turn, and Deadly Stroke lets you thoroughly whack someone who is flat-footed or stunned.

I'm pretty sure the way this tree is supposed to work is

Round 1: Demoralize someone with Dazzling Display
Round 2: Shatter the Defenses of a Dazzled someone
Round 3: Strike Deadily at a Shattered someone

but by RAW this won't work, because the shaken condition ends before your round 2 starts. Otherwise I'm pretty sure the only way a Fighter can even use a Deadly Stroke (can we please call this 'Deadly Strike'?) is with Blinding Critical or Stunning Critical, both of which are higher-level options.

So, the question: are enemies shaken by a Dazzling Display supposed to be shaken for longer than 1 round?

Edit: I just realized that you wrote "your round 2 starts" and not "your round 3 starts". So I took the liberty to remove my first and incorrect answer.

PRPG wrote:

Demoralize: You can use this skill to cause your opponents to become shaken for a number of rounds. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + the target's Hit Dice + the target's Wisdom modifier. If you are successful, the target is shaken for 1 round. This duration increases by 1 round for every 5 by which you beat the DC. You can only threaten opponents in this way if they are within 30 feet and can clearly see and hear you.

Reading the rules your enemy is shaken for one full round and thus until the end of your next standard/full-round action. Of course you can't delay or ready an action then.

For maximum fun and profit take a look at the Barbarian rage power Intimidating Glare: Go into rage and use your move action to intimidate one adjacent enemy for at least 1d4 rounds. That leaves your standard action to hit him in the same round, making him flat-footed... :->

[ohako]

cool. so round-based effects that you inflict last until the end of your next turn? neat!

oh wait...what about this language in Stunning Fist?

Quote:

Benefit: You must declare that you are using this feat before you make your attack roll (thus, a failed attack roll ruins the attempt). Stunning Fist forces a foe damaged by your unarmed attack to make a Fortitude saving throw (DC 10 + 1/2 your character level + your Wis modifier), in addition to dealing damage normally. A defender who fails this saving throw is stunned for 1 round (until just before your next turn). A stunned character can't take actions, loses any Dexterity bonus to AC, and takes a –2 penalty to AC. You may attempt a stunning attack once per day for every four levels you have attained (but see Special), and no more than once per round. Constructs, oozes, plants, undead, incorporeal creatures, and creatures immune to critical hits cannot be stunned.

So a monk who uses Stunning Fist to stun an opponent for 1 round has the effect end right before the monk's next turn, but a fighter who uses Dazzling Display to demoralize an opponent for 1 round has the effect end right after the fighter's next turn? Okay. :) It looks like a prospective dazzler has to aim for that extra round(s) by rolling extra well on their Intimidate check.

[angelroble]

In the "Combat Round" Section:

"When the rules refer to a “full round”, they usually mean a span of time from a particular initiative count in one round to the same initiative count in the next round. Effects that last a certain number of rounds end just before the same initiative count that they began on."

So I would say that any effect that last 1 round ends before you act in your next round. You must beat the intimidation check by 5 to apply Shatter Defenses the next round.

[Tholas]

angelroble wrote:

In the "Combat Round" Section:

"When the rules refer to a “full round”, they usually mean a span of time from a particular initiative count in one round to the same initiative count in the next round. Effects that last a certain number of rounds end just before the same initiative count that they began on."

So I would say that any effect that last 1 round ends before you act in your next round. You must beat the intimidation check by 5 to apply Shatter Defenses the next round.

D'ho! I never noticed that rule. Well, that makes Intimidating Glare even more desirable.