Does this combo work (Covering Fire, Friendly Fire, Startling Shot)

[Pocketfulofgeek]

Hello everyone.

Apologies in advance if this combo is completely wrong, but my friends are I are starting to plan new characters and I have totally fallen in love with Luring Cavalier combo'd with Musket Master, and wanted to know if the below works as I think it does:

Luring Cavalier (Order of the Dragon) + Musket Master (Now I know I'm having to go up to 7 in Gunslinger for startling shot but bear with me).

Feats:
Friendly Fire http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/betrayal-feats/friendly-fire-betrayal-teamwor k
Covering Fire http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/covering-fire-combat-teamwork
Swift Aid http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/swift-aid-combat

Now, using swift aid to Covering Fire an ally as a swift action, and using Order of the Dragon's ability to aid another to give them +3 to either AC, Attack rolls, Saves, or Skill Checks, choosing to give an ally +3 to attack rolls this round.
Next reload the firearm (Musket Master really helping with this as using rapid reload and alchemical cartridges you can reload a musket as a free action!)
Finally use Startling Shot as a free action combined with Friendly Fire, focusing on the line "regardless of whether either potential target was hit" to trigger an attack of opportunity for an ally and also knocking the enemy flat footed. (The ally in concept here is my friend's potential Slayer, so sneak attack AOO).

Does this work? It seems like something rather silly and fun but I'm unsure if the abilities gel as well as I'm thinking.

Thanks for your help guys and girls!

[Bob Bob Bob]

Linkfied because I'm lazy.
Friendly Fire
Covering Fire
Swift Aid

First problem. Covering fire only lets you boost AC, not any roll you want. The Order of the Dragon just increases the aid another bonus.

Second problem. How are you using Startling Shot as a free action? It says

Startling Shot (Ex) wrote:

At 7th level, a gunslinger with least 1 grit point can spend a standard action to purposely miss a creature that she could normally hit with a firearm attack. When she does, that creature becomes flat-footed until the start of its next turn.

Bolding mine. You're spending a standard action to intentionally miss. Similarly Friendly Fire says:

Friendly Fire wrote:

You initiate this feat as a standard action

Unless you've found a way to get two standard actions, these don't mix.

[Pocketfulofgeek]

Ah, mistype! Meant Startling shot as a standard action. Swift aid lets you aid as swift, musket master gets the reload down to a free, startling shot is a standard as you rightly said.

As for Covering fire not being able to add to hit, I wondered about that, just the order of the dragon aid explanation is a little loosely worded.

Thanks so far!

[Bob Bob Bob]

So here's the problem.

Order of the Dragon wrote:

Aid Allies (Ex): At 2nd level, whenever an order of the dragon cavalier uses the aid another action to assist one of his allies, the ally receives a +3 bonus to his Armor Class, attack roll, saving throw, or skill check. At 8th level, and every six levels thereafter, this bonus increases by an additional +1.

There's two ways to read this ability. One is bonkers and requires a lot of adjudication, the other makes sense. I cannot in good faith recommend assuming the bonkers one is correct.

The first interpretation is that it's replacing your aid another bonus. Nice, clean, matches the single check language it uses (roll instead of rolls, throw, check), and answers all the unanswered questions. This would make Covering Fire +3 to AC while not changing any of the other restrictions (that it has to be to AC).

The second interpretation is that you can give an extra untyped bonus with no time limit that you can give to an ally every time you use aid another (so use it in the morning and give all your allies +3 AC, attacks, saving throws, and skill checks) that never end. Because it doesn't say that they have a duration, that means they're permanent.

I suppose we can also throw in a third interpretation that Order of the Dragon provides said bonus to AC/whatever while you're in the act of using aid another and only then. That would be... odd, to say the least.