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When using inspiration, the investigator rolls a d8 instead of a d6. At 20th level, the investigator rolls 2d8 and adds both dice to the result. An investigator must be at least 7th level to select this talent.

So... 20th level. 20th character level?

20th level Investigator seems to be the intent - okay, cool. But, what if you don't get True Inspiration, because you're an Empiricist? The unwritten assumption seems to be that you get 2d8 instead of the 2d6 that an Investigator would normally roll due to having True Inspiration, but RAW it does not say that, only that you roll 2d8 "at 20th level." Does a 20th level Empiricist with this talent roll 1d8 or 2d8 when using inspiration?

Personally, I think it's probably intended not to work for the Empiricist in this way, but I also think that nerfing a capstone ability is a confusing (and bad) way to balance an archetype, so maybe the workaround is there on purpose? Or, maybe it's a happy accident that they will never get around to FAQing, I don't know.

So, when is the Save DC for an extract set; when it is used, or when it is made?

To illustrate, say we have Allie, an alchemist capable of creating three second level extracts. Allie prepares one as Fox's Cunning, then drinks it and prepares the other two as, say, Fire Sneeze. Normally, Allie's INT is 18, but with Fox's Cunning it's 22. Is the DC for the Fire Sneeze extract (used, say, two hours later) 16 or 18?

So, stinking cloud continues to affect you for 1d4+1 rounds after you leave the cloud. Is this part of the spells effect?

To ask more simply, can you dispel the aftereffect of being nauseated, or is it a nonmagical, residual effect (you're just puking)?

Does Slashing Grace let a swashbuckler get the benefit of the Blue Scarf with your chosen weapon? The scarf works with light and one-handed piercing weapons... Slashing grace lets you treat the chosen weapon as a one-handed piercing weapon for class features and feats. The argument I see in favor of it working is that the scarf uses panache, which is a swashbuckler class feature.

I think it probably doesn't work, but I would be remiss if I didn't ask.

Title pretty much says it all. Is an improvised weapon enough of a weapon to ready as a free action with Quick Draw?

So, Rogue Crawl and the similar feat allow you to move half your speed while prone. If you move up to half your speed, you take no penalty on Stealth checks for movement. So, the question is, a human rogue with 30' base movement has rogue crawl and wants to use Stealth while crawling; how fast can he crawl without taking a penalty on the Stealth check?

My intuition says that the Rogue only has the one movement rate (30') and there are two things that he can do so long as he doesn't exceed half that, so I think he can crawl 15' and still stealth at no penalty... But I'm curious what you guys think. Does Rogue Crawl give a new de facto movement rate that must be halved to avoid the penalty, or does crawling satisfy the "half speed" requirement?

Do Fast Healing and/or Regeneration (which are not Supernatural) count as "Magical Healing" for the purposes of ending a Bleed effect? What if these abilities are granted by a spell or magic item?

A related question: Does Restoration (a spell with the Healing descriptor that does not actually heal hit points) end a bleed effect?

An even better, more succinct question: what exactly counts as magical healing for the purposes of ending a bleed effect?

After some preliminary searching (not saying I am a master of the search function) I haven't found an answer to this. I have a few questions about what happens when one uses silent image in ways that block line of sight...

1) The Illusionist creates lights, colors, fog, darkness or some other intangible "stuff" that obscures all vision within the AoE. Is this legal? It seems to fall under creating a figment of "a force" per the spell description, but I am not sure. Also, if it is legal, when would enemies make a save for interaction? Is simply being in the darkness/fog/etc enough? If so, would they get a new save each round they spend in the effect by default for continued "interaction?"

2) Can I cover an ally with a mobile illusion of the same "stuff" as above? For example, a "shower curtain" of opaque fire, colors, etc that moves around with an ally providing total concealment (of course, if they left the area, this application of the spell wouldn't work). If this works, I assume that the foe would get a save if they attacked the allies square?

Note: This wouldn't be de facto invisibility, since the foe could still tell where (approximately) the ally is.

3) Can I cover an enemy with a similar mobile illusion, effectively blinding them? If the illusion were, say a 15' sphere around a human (such that they couldn't reach out and touch it), would they even get a save for interacting, or would they have to take an action to disbelieve?

Another question important to the ramifications of 1,2, and 3: Would allies that know the caster routinely does this sort of thing (because they were told something like "Whenever you see me cast these shimmery colors that block LoS, it's an illusion.") be immune, get a save at a bonus, or be just as impeded as enemies (that is, have to make a normal save upon interaction)?

And, a final question; can figments block the flow of light? For example, say that some PC's are in a temple with skylights. Can one use silent image to create an illusory "ceiling" in order to make it (naturally) dark inside by blocking the skylights, or would the light pass through the figment, making the illusion obvious?

What happens if you are inflicted with some condition that prevents you from moving while flying? If the answer is different for winged vs. supernatural flight (as in, the Fly spell) vs. buoyancy based flight, then what are the answers for each?

Disclaimer: I surely have follow-up questions and my own opinions on these matters- these questions were getting another thread off-topic, so I made this one in order to keep things focused.

Can I wield my heavy shield with both hands to deal more strength/power attack damage? Seems like I should be able to mechanically, but where/how am I gripping it?

Simple question, really. This spell calls out Golems as viable targets, yet it allows spell resistance... Does it bypass Golem Magic Immunity, or does it just not work as (obviously) intended?

Assuming that you are a fighter (or someone else with Martial Weapon Proficiency) Bastard Sword Proficiency seems like a pretty terrible feat choice to me basically all the time. The novelty of changing from a one to two handed weapon is pretty weak, especially since, generally speaking, if you are using it as a one handed weapon, it's because you intend to use that hand for something else. Nine times out of ten, I don't see why you wouldn't just use a long sword and take Weapon Focus or something.

But something occurred to me the other day. Maybe I shouldn't be comparing the Bastard Sword to the Longsword, but instead to the Greatsword. You can go in with huge strength and power attack all you want with the bastard sword, for slightly reduced damage output... BUT, when you get grappled, you can still wail on guys with it (one handed). A couple of questions for you guys:

a) Have you seen a Bastard Sword used effectively by a PC in Pathfinder? What did they do? Did they actually take proficiency in using it one handed?

b) If I am proficient in Bastard Sword by virtue of having Martial Weapon Proficiency, but I lack the proficiency to use it one-handed, can I take weapon focus: Bastard Sword?

c) Is there something obvious I am missing in terms of the awesomeness of the bastard sword?

How are you supposed to use this feat? You spend your standard action gaining 5 feet of reach for your turn only... After which you can't make an attack without burning a hero point or somesuch if you are using those rules. Feat seems fairly useless to me.

Do I draw an AO for tripping someone who is standing next to me with my whip despite having Improved Trip? I ask because an "unarmed trip attempt" (which isn't a trip using your unarmed strike, I guess) does *not* provoke, as far as I can tell. I imagine that the same answer will apply to disarming, etc in similar situations.

If I'm using a reach weapon and also have armor spikes or Improved Unarmed Strike, can I swap weapons between cleave attacks, thus targeting enemies who wouldn't otherwise be "within reach?" I don't see anything in Cleave that says that I have to use the same weapon, but the flavor text seems to imply that it's "one strike" so...

Edit: Also, I am sure this has been answered, but, can I charge and cleave?

So, what exactly can I do using the Handle Animal skill with regard to wild animals? The skill description states that I can domesticate wild (infant) animals, but also that I can push an animal or teach it tricks.

This does not seem to imply that I can't teach a wild animal tricks, or push it... But at the same time it seems reasonable that the DC ought to be higher to push an angry grizzly than a tame collie.

There are also people in real life- "lion tamers" and so on- who handle and teach tricks to animals, though these animals would not be considered "domesticated" by any reasonable measure of domestication. Domesticated animals, in the normal sense, are "safe" around civilians and even children, and can share a living space with people.

Since the skill gives us no new technical definition of a "Domesticated Animal" I assume the normal definition applies. Since the skill says that one can teach tricks to Animals (as opposed to "Domesticated Animals") I assume that means any animal. Ditto with Pushing the animal.

This may seem overly powerful, and maybe it is. I propose higher DC's for wild animals (probably based on HD) to be pushed. But ultimately, the question is this; is there anything in the RAW (or FAQ) to stop Handle Animal being used to Push (or train) an adult wild animal?