Keter's page

I was searching for an answer to this very question and came upon this thread. Since no answer seems to have come from it yet (though it claims to be answered in the faq, I cant find it) I figured I would throw in my two cents.

The heart of the matter seems to me to be what being "immobilized" does. This was the logic given for the pinned dex bonus loss wording clarification ruling. The wording was changed to reflect a general loss of dex bonus even for barbarians/rogues because citing uncanny dodge's text "She still loses her Dexterity bonus to Armor Class if immobilized".

I think a better solution would have simply been to define immobilized as a condition and give it parameters and effects so the situations would have fit together naturally, but that is neither here nor there. We are left with the question of "what does it mean to be immobilized?" Does it mean you lose your dex bonus to skill checks and reflex saves? That would make sense and solve tis whole problem with a nice clear condition that eliminates the need for guess work or questions of slightly different wording that indicates THIS PARTICULAR dex denial is to everything, etc.

On the other hand, it doesn't make much sense that a rogue at the center of a fireball in an open field can make an evasion check and avoid all damage without moving, so making calls based on what makes sense is always dicey. All we can do is hope they notice this thread and specifically address it. BUMP.

It does seem to override the general rule on the trigger for it's blood drain to me with the wording "if the vampire establishes or maintains a pin". This would seem to me to imply that the ability triggers at that point. Even if one argues that this wording does not supersede the normal blood drain trigger, blood drain does not specify that it can only be triggered once in a given round.

The wording of the core ability is somewhat ambiguous as to the original trigger, as it does not use the pathfinder terminology of "maintain a grapple", "succeed at a grapple combat maneuver check", etc, but I think we all take it to mean if you do one of those things. The wording of the vampire's ability indicates a trigger and no restriction on activations/turn, and neither does the core mechanic.

Finally, this seems in keeping with the logic and flavor of the Vampire's ability mechanic as well. The text seems to indicate that unlike normal creatures with blood drain the vampire needs the time and effort it takes to pin to sink it's fangs in and feed. If the vampire is such a skilled/overpowering/preturnaturally quick predator that it is capable of doing so more rapidly and often, it follows to me that it could more easily sate itself to it's heart's desire.