Your Honor Will Get You Dead!

Thursday, August 6, 2015

Does the thought of honorable combat sound like a good way to get killed? When the bad guys use every sneaky option in their arsenals, it only makes sense to retaliate with your own dirty tactics. Learn how to fight fire with fire (or poison... or poisonous explosives...) in Dirty Tactics Toolbox!

This 32-page Player Companion will be available later this month and contains a slew of options to ensure that your character never has to face a fair fight. For example, take a look at the Dirty Fighting feat that appears on page 14:

Dirty Fighting (Combat)

You can take advantage of a distracted foe.

Benefit: When you attempt a combat maneuver check against a foe you are flanking, you can forgo the +2 bonus on your attack roll for flanking to instead have the combat maneuver not provoke an attack of opportunity. If you have a feat or ability that allows you to attempt the combat maneuver without provoking an attack of opportunity, you can instead increase the bonus on your attack roll for flanking to +4 for the combat maneuver check.

Special: This feat counts as having Dex 13, Int 13, Combat Expertise, and Improved Unarmed Strike for the purposes of meeting the prerequisites of the various improved combat maneuver feats, as well as feats that require those improved combat maneuver feats as prerequisites.

That’s far from all the hijinks within the pages of the Dirty Tactics Toolbox! Check out some of the art below for an idea of other tricks this book has up its sleeve:


Illustrations by Vicky Yarova and Ian Perks

Amanda Hamon Kunz
Assistant Developer

More Paizo Blog.
Tags: Ian Perks Pathfinder Player Companion Vicky Yarova
Paizo Employee Developer

5 people marked this as a favorite.

I want a cat-sized wasp!!!!

Grand Lodge

3 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

Speaking of which...

Quote:
Special: This feat counts as having Dex 13, Int 13, Combat Expertise, and Improved Unarmed Strike for the purposes of meeting the prerequisites of the various improved combat maneuver feats, as well as feats that require those improved combat maneuver feats as prerequisites.

Finally a way for animal companions to gain Improved X feats!


4 people marked this as a favorite.

Are you that homesick, Adam?


2 people marked this as a favorite.

Rules are meant to be broken
like buildings
or people

Shadow Lodge

Adam Daigle wrote:
I want a cat-sized wasp!!!!

Are you sure that's not a regular size wasp riding on the shoulder of a pixie?

Grand Lodge

Come out already! My brawler is ready!

Liberty's Edge

I love the Equipment Trick line of Feats and am very happy that we are going to get at least one from this book. Unless I have been misled.

Dark Archive

1 person marked this as a favorite.

That is a very powerful feat. Not excessively so, but still very good.


Well, I know what feat I am taking on my next character!


1 person marked this as a favorite.

That's a really potent feat. Hopefully it won't get banned in PFS.

Scarab Sages

I want that feat now. Finally I won't have to dip Brawler just to take maneuver feats without taxes.

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rulebook Subscriber

I hope that signals maybe other improvements to combat maneuver feats, which have sprawled too broadly to let you be an effective combat maneuver generalist.


Handy for my grappledolon who had IUS as a useless tax! Love it- even gives my Summoner more to do.


Man, now THIS is a feat I intend to take!


I love how I can come to the blog every few days and get to look at really cool art. :)

Organized Play Developer

Adam Daigle wrote:
I want a cat-sized wasp!!!!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I have a few of those in my backyard. As much as Texas-sized wasps scare me, it occurs to me that they'd make great allies. I'm pretty sure they'd just as soon sting me in real life, though, so I have not yet attempted to train one.

I've heard you have an insect affinity not unlike a blight druid, so perhaps you'd have better luck?

Dark Archive

Adam Daigle wrote:
I want a cat-sized wasp!!!!

Also mouse- and dog-sized wasps!

Calistrian blood wasps! They produce (bitter tasting) honey that turns into some potent mead! They eat flesh of animals (and people?) they've paralyzed! You don't want to know what the honey is made out of!

Oh yeah, that's a cool feat. I've never been a fan of feats with a bunch of prereqs, particularly Ability score and 'feat tax' prereqs, and it only got worse after being spoiled by Mutants and Masterminds.


too late for any changes but will this book address an alternative view on Dirty Tricks - that using them (possibly combined with non-lethal attacks) can be a way to end combats early w/o death - so while perhaps not "honorable" highly effective for a LQ character who wants his enemies defeated but still able to help defeat greater evils and/or have an opportunity to repent?

(I have a dirty trick specialist in PFS play who is eagerly awaiting this book to see if there is anything that will help him be even more effective. Unfortunately the last feat that would have been ideal for him was immediately banned in PFS - Dirty Trick Master....)

Silver Crusade

I have like 2-3 characters who will be retraining Combat Expertise for this new feat.

And apparently we're getting Equipment Tricks for Cloaks now.

Scarab Sages

Ad much as I like the Dirty Fighting feat, I can't help but notice that this doesn't help for maneuvers based on Str or with Power Attack as a prerequisite. No Bull Rush, Overrun, or Sunder for your Dirty Fighters.


@ Imbicatus guess they were not dirty or underhanded enough for the Dirty Fighting feat.


Is there a useful use of Combat Expertise that this feat doesn't cover? (i.e. Combat Expertise as a feat tax not the rare case of a character actually wanting to use the attack penalty / dodge bonus to AC features of Combat Expertise the feat?)

About the only ones I can find are some prestige classes that have Combat Expertise as a requirement and a handful of feats which aren't improved combat maneuvers. Some of these feats are good so may be worth taking Combat Expertise to get (but are probably all best with characters that get Combat Expertise for free)

The list I have is

Improved Feint - and the related chain of feats. (predicting that this feat will respark the debate about whether Feint and the related feat chains really should be considered combat maneuvers even if the mechanics of the feat chain are different.

Whirlwind Attack

Second Chance / Improved Second Chance

Butterfly's Sting

Elusive Redirection

Gang Up / Team Up


Imbicatus wrote:
Ad much as I like the Dirty Fighting feat, I can't help but notice that this doesn't help for maneuvers based on Str or with Power Attack as a prerequisite. No Bull Rush, Overrun, or Sunder for your Dirty Fighters.

It still provides its usual bonus (allowing you to pull them off without AoO and/or providing a larger flanking bonus when you have the feat). The special just doesn't apply. Probably because relatively few people complain about taking power attack...I'm sure some Dex-based types who dumped Strength will be sad, but they still get to benefit from the others...and without having to waste a feat on Combat Expertise.

What I'm sad about is that the benefit for already having the Improved feat doesn't stack with Outflank...

Edit: Still an amazing feat, though.


Wait... Does this mean we can finally have a viable 'Improved-X' build without having to take Combat Expertise? My Bluff at +34 feinting rogue could have done with that...


Mentathiel wrote:
Wait... Does this mean we can finally have a viable 'Improved-X' build without having to take Combat Expertise? My Bluff at +34 feinting rogue could have done with that...

So it seems! My planned bloodrager luchador heel may not have to dip brawler after all!

Contributor

Mentathiel wrote:
Wait... Does this mean we can finally have a viable 'Improved-X' build without having to take Combat Expertise? My Bluff at +34 feinting rogue could have done with that...

Yes in most cases, not in yours. The feint action isn't a combat maneuver, its a use of the Bluff skill. As a result, this feat will not help you qualify for Improved Feint, nor will it give you any bonuses on feint checks.


This is a pretty solid Feat. Here's hoping the other options are at least this good.

Liberty's Edge

Alexander Augunas wrote:
Mentathiel wrote:
Wait... Does this mean we can finally have a viable 'Improved-X' build without having to take Combat Expertise? My Bluff at +34 feinting rogue could have done with that...
Yes in most cases, not in yours. The feint action isn't a combat maneuver, its a use of the Bluff skill. As a result, this feat will not help you qualify for Improved Feint, nor will it give you any bonuses on feint checks.

I will have to take another look at my CRB, but isn't Feint listed with the Combat Maneuvers in the Combat chapter?


graywulfe wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
Mentathiel wrote:
Wait... Does this mean we can finally have a viable 'Improved-X' build without having to take Combat Expertise? My Bluff at +34 feinting rogue could have done with that...
Yes in most cases, not in yours. The feint action isn't a combat maneuver, its a use of the Bluff skill. As a result, this feat will not help you qualify for Improved Feint, nor will it give you any bonuses on feint checks.
I will have to take another look at my CRB, but isn't Feint listed with the Combat Maneuvers in the Combat chapter?

No, but it is right beneath the Combat Maneuvers section...I wonder if that's why so many people think it's a combat maneuver...

Grand Lodge

Luthorne wrote:
graywulfe wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
Mentathiel wrote:
Wait... Does this mean we can finally have a viable 'Improved-X' build without having to take Combat Expertise? My Bluff at +34 feinting rogue could have done with that...
Yes in most cases, not in yours. The feint action isn't a combat maneuver, its a use of the Bluff skill. As a result, this feat will not help you qualify for Improved Feint, nor will it give you any bonuses on feint checks.
I will have to take another look at my CRB, but isn't Feint listed with the Combat Maneuvers in the Combat chapter?
No, but it is right beneath the Combat Maneuvers section...I wonder if that's why so many people think it's a combat maneuver...

that and it has improved/greater feats as well, complete with combat expertise pre-req. Also when you think about what combat manuvers are/do, feinting not being a combat maneuver is a real surprise.


9mm wrote:
Luthorne wrote:
graywulfe wrote:
Alexander Augunas wrote:
Mentathiel wrote:
Wait... Does this mean we can finally have a viable 'Improved-X' build without having to take Combat Expertise? My Bluff at +34 feinting rogue could have done with that...
Yes in most cases, not in yours. The feint action isn't a combat maneuver, its a use of the Bluff skill. As a result, this feat will not help you qualify for Improved Feint, nor will it give you any bonuses on feint checks.
I will have to take another look at my CRB, but isn't Feint listed with the Combat Maneuvers in the Combat chapter?
No, but it is right beneath the Combat Maneuvers section...I wonder if that's why so many people think it's a combat maneuver...
that and it has improved/greater feats as well, complete with combat expertise pre-req. Also when you think about what combat manuvers are/do, feinting not being a combat maneuver is a real surprise.

I suspect it's so rogues can be good at it. Does anyone else really care much about feinting? Honestly, I wish there was a higher percentage of monsters who depended on Dexterity and dodge bonuses for AC instead of just a ton of natural armor...or that feinting just offered more. Of course, I also wish rogues at least got a rogue talent that let them use their rogue level in place of their BAB when performing dirty trick, disarm, and/or trip combat maneuvers, as well as getting a +1 bonus per die of sneak attack they have...

...but that's getting way off-topic.

Liberty's Edge

Also it was in one of the two areas of the 3.5 PHB Combat section where the Combat Maneuvers were drawn from. Also it may have been a Combat Maneuver in Beta.


So I'm assuming this feat doesn't have prerequisites since none are listed. Paizo wouldn't give us false hope on avoiding feat taxes right? Right?!


Great feat. But why does it not work for called shots feats? Cries desperately...

Grand Lodge

Amazon says the ship date is Oct 1...

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