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but I don't agree that is what is meant

Neither do I, although at the table I would always rule it as being wuxia-style movement, i.e. through the air, as the fluff-blurb says. Because otherwise why call it Flying Kick, if you're not even flying?

The ability is just incredibly badly worded and missing a lot of established vocabulary from similar abilities, which makes it fun to argue about the different interpretations. It really needs an errata or at least a correction in wording, though.

For instance, consider Spring Attack: "As a full-round action, you can move up to your speed (emphasis mine) and make a single melee attack without provoking any attacks of opportunity from the target of your attack. You can move both before and after the attack, but you must move at least 10 feet before the attack and the total distance that you move cannot be greater than your speed."

The "your speed" clause is actually what specifies that the type of movement has to be one you naturally have, since it's your speed, not an arbitrary distance. In the case of Spring Attack it's absolutely unambiguous in what way and how far you can move, because it refers to a specific value with associated mechanics.

Flying Kick, however, does not, at least going by RAW.

EDIT: Also - "At 3rd level, a monk gains an enhancement bonus to his land speed."

See my previous argument:

The way it's written, one could easily argue, that it doesn't ask for Fast Movement as a class feature, but rather the value of Fast Movement as a variable devoid of context, in which case all the information that matters is "x ft.", the distance, not the actual type of the movement. In which case the distance moved is a flat value devoid of context or indeed a specific type of movement.

Since neither land speed, nor your speed, nor indeed the speed (as in type of movement, i.e. land speed) actually modified by Fast Movement, but just the raw distance value associated with Fast Movement is queried by Flying Kick, it's not clear-cut.

This reminds me of a running gag some friends and I have, where we think of increasingly egregious things to do and justify by saying: "Hey, there wasn't a sign saying don't do that!"

The problem with Flying Kick isn't that it doesn't specify what you can't do, but rather that it also fails to specify what you actually can do, which is the whole crux of the issue.

Interesting! Let's get into the RAW-interpretation of it, just for the fun of it.

First, let's see what Flying Kick offers us:

The monk leaps through the air to strike a foe with a kick

Could be flavour, could be rules text, so we'll ignore that, although (for the purposes of RAW interpretation, which usually ignores logic) it is interesting to note that the descriptive flavour text is not clearly separated from the actual rules text. In fact, it is the only clue in the entire ability as to what type of movement is actually performed ("Flying" Kick, leaps, through the air), so it's reasonable to look here for that information.

Before the attack, the monk can move a distance equal to his fast movement bonus

Now, this is the interesting part! At first glance, it might seem like it clearly means land speed, since that is what Fast Movement modifies, but in this particular case, it explicitly just asks for the fast movement bonus, i.e. the amount of movement that Fast Movement adds.

It should also be noted that the prolific "up to your speed/your speed" wording present in most forms of extra movement, which specifically forces you to use a movement speed and type you can perform (Fly, Burrow, etc.), is entirely absent here, as is the stipulation that the Monk must end his movement in a safe square, or a square he could stand on, which can be found on a lot of unorthodox movement abilities.

So, in conclusion, one could reasonably argue that there is no link to any of the actual movement types available to the performing Monk, none of the wordings which usually specify how the movement must be performed are present, and all the hints and wordings that are there point toward airborne movement. RAW, the Monk can fly, or rather ambiguously propel himself, in any direction his body can traverse (so at least not through walls or other obstructions), including through dangerous terrain and even ending there, for a distance equal to the raw, variable and devoid of context distance that is set in the Fast Movement class feature.

It's stupid, but a strong case can be made for it.

Hey,

the Sacred Huntsmaster (on that note: Why isn't it just "Huntmaster"? The extra s in there feels weird to say) Inquisitor archetype grants Animal Focus, which reads:

At 4th level, a sacred huntsmaster can take on the aspects of an animal as a swift action. This ability works as the hunter's animal focus class feature, with her inquisitor level serving as her hunter level.

Does this include the ability to apply an Animal Focus to his companion? The ability reads like it would only allow you to apply one to yourself, but goes on to say that it works like the Hunter class feature, which does allow you to apply one to your companion.

I'm asking because as far as I know, the usual way to word something like this would be along the lines of "This does not allow the X to Y, this ability works otherwise as the Z class feature of the same name", or similar.

I'd just like some clarification here, maybe I'm being too pedantic about the wording or certain clauses missing.

Thanks in advance.

Hey,

I was wondering a few things about what materials you have to physically present at the table, and when.

For instance, what about the sources available on the PRD? Do they count as "present and owned", as long as you can provide a device with internet access?

What if I want to play a Cleric of, say, Hanspur. Would I have to provide a copy of Faiths of Balance, even though the Domains he grants are available in the CRB?

Also, is it possible/legal for a table to pool resources, so to speak? Is it sufficient if one player at a table provides a physical copy of, say, the APG, or does everyone have to provide his own?

Fantastic, thanks for the quick answer. I figured it might be the second one, but with PFS I always like to be absolutely sure first.

Cheers

Alright, so I feel ridiculously dumb for asking this, since it seems like something I should know, but I couldn't find a precise answer so I have to:

It states in the guide to PFS play "Before you level up a character for the first time, you may change any aspect of it [...]"

Does "before you level up [...] for the first time" mean "after three adventures before ascending to level 2" or "any number of times between adventures as long as it's before level 2"?

For example: After playing him for one scenario worth 1 XP, I want to respec my Barbarian into a Wizard, because I was so bamboozled by the magnificent tricks of arcane casters or something. Do I have to get 3 XP first and respec him on level-up, or can I do so immediately before playing his second scenario?

Thanks for taking the time to answer this.

Cheers

Hey,

I was wondering, is there any particular ruling concering the use of spells or items which are by fluff attached to a particular race?

For instance, could a human - provided the spells are on his list and he's proficient with the weapons, obviously - use spells like Mudball, Ironbeard or Blood Rage, or use a gnomish Ripsaw Glaive?

The only clear restrictions I could find were Paragon Surge, which is specifically Half-Elf only, and everything from Goblins of Golarion, which seems to be only legal for Goblin characters.

Cheers

Guide to critters in PFS

Thanks for the speedy and informative answer, mate. That covers pretty much everything I wanted to know and then some.

Cheers

Hey,

so, after trying (for about five to ten minutes) and failing to find a definite ruling, I have to create a topic for this. I'm sure someone will point me instantly to another thread answering every question I have, but I'm willing to risk life and reputation here.

How do animal companions work in PFS play? Or specifically:

How are their HP calculated? Same as for PCs or by some esoteric formula passed down through generations in secret and cursed tomes?

Do they know any tricks except the bonus tricks from the get-go, or do they just start with a single "bonus" trick (i.e. Attack)?

How is teaching additional tricks handled? Do you just make a Handle Animal Check at the end of the session to teach your furry (or scaly, whatever floats your boat) friend a new trick during the vague amount of time between adventures? Can you train your companion for a purpose (i.e. the trick-packages as per the Handle Animal skill) with this roll, if it even exists?

Cheers

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but it contains parts of a problem I have right now that didn't get answered fully (or at least there wasn't a clear consensus):

What happens to the Claw damage of a Monk/Synthesist Summoner with Feral Combat Training and the Improved Damage Evolution?

Personally, since Feral Combat Training states pretty clearly that effects which in some way augment unarmed strikes apply to your chosen natural attack, I think the Claw damage would get bumped from 1d4 to 1d6 as per the Monk unarmed damage chart and then again bumped up to 1d8 by Improved Damage (or 1d4->1d8->2d6->2d8 if the Monk is hit by Enlarge Person).

I'm fairly certain this is how it works, but I'd like some extra consensus since I may well be missing an FAQ or Errata on this particular issue that I'm not aware of.

Edit: All of this is disregarding Flurry since the Monk will be a Master of Many Styles, so no need to take that into account.