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I talked to the author of the archetype and he confirmed it has no duration. It's meant to be always up, like the aura it replaces.
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The way I read it the HT has to tell their companions what to do. So to keep it up all day you'd have to be constantly telling everyone how to pack up the camp in order to get the best teamwork benefits, how to best drink their grog, how to sneak down the hall without calling attention to the team, et cetera.
Practically that means that you likely wouldn't use it all the time. You could activate it before combat, but having it up at all times would be beyond odd.
I read it in the following manner:
1) To use the ability at all, battle must be engaged, or at the very least, imminent
2) The ability only lasts as long as the current combat.
Battlefield Presence (Su)
At 3rd level, a tactician can direct her allies in battle, granting each ally within 30 feet one teamwork feat she possesses as a bonus feat as a standard action. All allies must receive the same feat, but do not need to meet the prerequisites of this bonus feat. This ability does not function if the paladin is flat-footed or unconscious. Allies must be able to see and hear the holy tactician in order to gain this benefit. Changing the bonus feat granted is a swift action.
Not the only way to read the feat, but in my mind the most sensible. If the Holy Tactician can have it up all day long, and changing teamwork feats is only a swift action, why have it take a standard action to use in the first place?
Never mind the silliness of a paladin directing her allies in battle all day long while they complete mundane tasks…
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It's not an aura. It has a 30 ft. radius. So if there were two of you when the fight started and the rest of the party ran up later (or the archer was simply too far away) then they don't get the feat just because "you're supposed to always be giving the benefits out". The paladin is supposed to spend an action for it.
Sorry for bumping an old thread but I was wondering the same question so I'm throwing in my two cents as well and wondering if anyone else has anything to say about this... Like, why is it so much better than the Cavalier's Tactician ability? This archetype doesn't even lose stuff like: spells, lay on hands, mercy, divine grace. Even the Weal's Champion which I heard people say was bad (not sure why) becomes an amazing ability at level 11.
I'll bump this again just coz it doesn't look like anyone's reached a consensus.
Battlefield Presence (Su)
At 3rd level, a tactician can direct her allies in battle, granting each ally within 30 feet one teamwork feat she possesses as a bonus feat as a standard action. All allies must receive the same feat, but do not need to meet the prerequisites of this bonus feat. This ability does not function if the paladin is flat-footed or unconscious. Allies must be able to see and hear the holy tactician in order to gain this benefit. Changing the bonus feat granted is a swift action.
"This ability does not function if the paladin is flat-footed"
The way I read it, it's always on, but unless the paladin acts in the surprise round & wins initiative they're flat-footed & have to reactivate it.
That means it really doesn't work for something like Lookout unless you already have a way of acting in the surprise round (and can then grant the ability to your team).
It also means you DO have to spend an action activating it in most combats. Whether you think that's worth it is up to you.
As for having to be in combat, you don't have to be in combat to draw your weapon, or cast a spell, or speak (which is what "directing your allies" would fall under there), so I don't see why you'd have to wait till initiative is rolled (although again, flat-footed means you'd have to re-activate it).
There are some feats that would be super useful in non-combat scenarios as well, like Secret Language and Shake It Off, so this doesn't seem like it has to be only a combat ability.
I talked to the author of the archetype and he confirmed it has no duration. It's meant to be always up, like the aura it replaces.
I would LOVE to see something to back this up
I'll bump this again just coz it doesn't look like anyone's reached a consensus.
Battlefield Presence (Su)
At 3rd level, a tactician can direct her allies in battle, granting each ally within 30 feet one teamwork feat she possesses as a bonus feat as a standard action. All allies must receive the same feat, but do not need to meet the prerequisites of this bonus feat. This ability does not function if the paladin is flat-footed or unconscious. Allies must be able to see and hear the holy tactician in order to gain this benefit. Changing the bonus feat granted is a swift action.
"This ability does not function if the paladin is flat-footed"
The way I read it, it's always on, but unless the paladin acts in the surprise round & wins initiative they're flat-footed & have to reactivate it.
I don't see it that way. Take Antimagic Field
"An invisible barrier surrounds you and moves with you. The space within this barrier is impervious to most magical effects, including spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities. Likewise, it prevents the functioning of any magic items or spells within its confines.
An antimagic field suppresses any spell or magical effect used within, brought into, or cast into the area, but does not dispel it. Time spent within an antimagic field counts against the suppressed spell's duration."
Given the similar language used, I see it that, if it is in fact up all the time after activation, then the Flat-footed condition would simple stop it from granting the feat until you are no longer Flat-footed and resume afterward.
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It's an aura. It acts just like aura of courage, except it grants a teamwork feat instead of a saving throw bonus.
I talked to the author of the archetype and he confirmed it has no duration. It's meant to be always up, like the aura it replaces.Can you show me the Link of the author's reply? thx
The way it was worded, the discussion happened off boards, likely in person at a convention.
Cheapy is a reasonably reliable source. I doubt he was lying. But going with the likely assumption that he heard correctly and that was the authors’s intent, it still isn’t exactly “official”. Rules have been judged to work different then author intent before.
This ability does not function if the paladin is flat-footed or unconscious.
For being flat-footed to matter, the ability would need to be on before combat starts.
I think the anti-magic interpretation makes the most sense. The ability is activated but not functioning when the paladin is flat footed or unconscious. Once those conditions are removed, the ability picks up where it left off. That limitation was probably added specifically to prevent cheesing the lookout feat.