|
It has long been my desire to compile a FAQ of sorts to help alleviate some of the questions that get asked here on a daily basis. I have been writing a list every once in a while of things I see often pop up here, and intend to publish my own rulings (unofficially, of course) once it is done.
I come to these boards to ask for some information. Namely, what do you think are some common questions you would like to see on a FAQ, unofficial or not?
Please do not get into answers of various questions here, opinions, or anything else but the questions themselves. I will take as many as I feel would work, compile them all into my own FAQ, and will post it online, partly for my own community but also available to anyone of you who wished to reference it and respected my decisions. In a worse-case scenario, it is but rulings for those near to me. In a best-case scenario, a few of the agreed-upon rulings could be borrowed by the higher ups in hopes of advancing their own official FAQ.
Thank you in advance.
Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys
Something that has always confused me is the new powers for Wizards schools, Sorcerer bloodlines, and the new powers added to domain powers. In regards to this what, if any, of these abilities are kept when taking a prestige class, such as the Loremaster? Are only the extra spells granted? Or not even that, is it just nothing unless expressly listed, example redesigned Dragon Disciple?
Things that have been discussed in length and that I'd like to see addressed in a FAQ/Errata/whatever:
- precisions on the Whirlwind Attack feat (can we attack with more than one weapon, are AoO excluded)
- precisions on the feats' compatibility (Vital Strike/Cleave, Lunge/Whirlwind, etc.)
- precisions on the Gauntlet / monk interaction (is a gauntlet a mere improvement on unarmed attack or a weapon by itself)
- precisions on the armor/shield bonuses when wildshaped (do shield bonuses apply)
...and others fine points I'm not remembering right now.
- Abundant Step special ability of Monks: can you use a standard action after using Abundant Step, or you cannot (since it's based on the Dimension Door spell) ?
- Negative Levels: do they 'freeze-lock' your Spell Slots/ Feats/ Special Abilities gained, or do they simple give flat penalties?
- Do Spiked Shield and the Bashing ability stack together ?
- How do you calculate the Power Attack bonus/penalty for Flurrying Monks, with their real BaB (3/4 HD), or with their 'emulated' BaB (equal to HD) ?
...these are the first that I could think of.
Another couple of possible FAQ questions:
- What happens to a spell whose formula is based on a random (dice-based) value and a fixed (level-based) value (for example, Ray of Enfeeblement or Cure Serious Wounds), when such a spell is Empowered? Does the formula become ((Xd6 x 1,5) + X), or ((Xd6 + X) x1,5) ?
- Can you apply the Vital Strike /Imp. Vital Strike /Greater Vital Strike feats:
1) with a Spring Attack ?
2) with an Attack of Opportunity ?
3) with an Alchemist Bomb or similar splash weapons?
In no particular order. . .
- What is the relationship between trip weapons and the trip ability?
- What is the relationship between Improved Trip and Whirlwind Attack? Does Whirlwind Attack prevent you from making attacks of opportunity?
- Can I cast fox's cunning/owl's wisdom/eagle's splendor to get more uses/day of various class abilities tied to a modifier value?
- What is the relationship between touch spells and effect spells involving a touch attack with two weapon fighting and iterative attacks in a full attack action?
- What are the limitations of the charm person spell? Since I can force someone to follow my orders with an opposed Charisma check, can I order someone to believe or think something? For example, can I order a kobold to believe he's a chicken?
- If someone casts a spell with no components (due to feats/etc.), will casting the spell provoke an attack of opportunity? Will it trigger readied actions to attack when a spell is cast?
- Do you retroactively gain skill points/additional languages from permanent increases to your Int score (as in, from gaining ability points every 4 levels, gaining inherent bonuses from wishes/manuals, etc.)?
- Is the bonus granted from a scarlet ioun stone considered a permanent Int bonus?
- Can the monster feats regarding spell-like abilities in the Bestiary apply to class-based spell-like abilities (e.g., telekinetic fist, gentle repose, etc.)? What are the caster level/spell level of class-based spell-like abilities?
- Does using a scroll count the same as casting a spell for the purposes of abilities that apply to casting a spell (e.g. intense spells of evoker)?
- What is the relationship of Vital Strike to Spring Attack, Flyby Attack, and Ride-By Attack?
- Can you make an attack of opportunity against an ally? Can you consider an ally to be an opponent in order to make the attack of opportunity--even if the ally is clearly your ally and not an opponent?
- Exactly when and how does a character use the perception skill to search for traps? The Trap Spotter rogue talent lets you automatically search for traps, but the perception skill description implies that such checks are automatic, "made in response to observable stimulus".
- What exactly can illusion figment spells (e.g. silent image, minor image, major image, etc.) contribute to combat? Can a figment creature help flank an opponent? A figment deals no damage, but could a figment creature attack anyway? Can figment creatures take attacks of opportunity if they're provoked? I am assuming something is concentrating on the figment spell to make it take actions, but what about if a spell doesn't require concentration--like the last 3 rounds of major image?
- Does casting a spell while grappled provoke an attack of opportunity from the creature grappling the caster? If so, what concentration checks need to be rolled to do so? If I choose to cast defensively, do I need to make 2 concentration checks?
Do shield spikes and the bashing enchant stack?
Can a shield be used as a main hand weapon?
(1) Actions in combat. Generally it'd be great to have everything expressed in the six action types listed in Pathfinder ('Attack Action' not being one of those 6, exactly, and being confusing in other ways to boot), but that's an errata rather than a faq issue. Specific queries:
- What type of attack action do the following feats contain: Spring Attack, Shot on the Run (probably others too, have't gone through methodically)?
- What type of attack action do the following actions contain: Charge, Full Attack, Attack of Opportunity?
- What type of action is it to remove or apply one hand to a two-handed weapon?
- Can nonactions be taken out of turn? If so, what type of action is a 5' step?
(2) Clarification of the prerequisites for magic item creation. PSRD: "For other magic items [than potions, scrolls and wands], the caster level is determined by the item itself. In this case, the creator's caster level must be as high as the item's caster level (and prerequisites may effectively put a higher minimum on the creator's level)". This suggests that CL is a de-facto prerequisite. Is it?
Which prerequisites can be ignored for +5 to the skill check? The book allows anything except the creation feat. That allows broad leeway for interpretation. Can a ring of wishes be created without the material components for the wish spells, or without the wish spells, for +5/+10 DC?
... and yet another couple of questions:
- Since a creature subjected to Grapple (the 'graplee', not the 'grappler') can still make full attacks (if not pinned) with a one-handed or light weapon (but not with a Two-handed weapon or two weapons), what happens:
1) to grappled creatures with only natural attacks ?
2) to grapple creatures with both manufactured weapons and natural attacks ?
- Can you score a critical hit with spells which do not deal effectively 'damage' , but only penalties (for example, Ray of Enfeeblement or Touch of Idiocy) ?
- Can you score a critical hit with an Enervation spell or an Energy Drain spell, since technically it doesn't deal effectively 'damage' but the rules on Energy Drain in the Bestiary say that 'If an attack that INCLUDES an energy drain scores a critical hit, it bestows twice the listed number of negative levels" ?
When a creature or player has a burrow speed and is underground what are they able to sense if they don't have tremorsense, such as a wolverine or a sorcerer with the elemental(Earth) bloodline?
When a creature is summoned through the Summon Monster and Summon Nature's Ally spells does the summoner have to control them through use of the handle animal skill or do they have magical control over the summons?
When using cleave is it possible to use a sunder or trip action instead of an actual attack? For example, if the character succeeds on a sunder attempt could they then attack an enemy adjacent to the enemy holding the item the sundered?
Can staggered creatures take attacks of opportunity? 5' Step?
Can you flurry with a single monk weapon for each attack or do you have to alternate as two weapon fighting?
|
|
For those that have asked questions and not received answers, I appreciate your patience. I have been distracted ensuring that my new Archives were completed first. Now that they have, I can get back to focusing on the answers for this FAQ.
Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
I have a fresh new question which recently just popped up:
Paladins, Aura of Justice:
"At 11th level, a paladin can expend two uses of her smite evil ability to grant the ability to smite evil to all allies within 10 feet, using her bonuses."
Since the text for Smite Evil simply says:
"If this target is evil, the paladin adds her Charisma bonus (if any) to her attack rolls and adds her paladin level to all damage rolls made against the target of her smite. If the target of smite evil is an outsider with the evil subtype, an evil-aligned dragon, or an undead creature, the bonus to damage increases to 2 points of damage per level the paladin possesses."
without specifications, what do you think is considered a 'damage roll' for the purpose of Smite Evil? Do you include spells and supernatural abilities which deal damage (like a Half-Dragon's Breath weapon, for example), or only physical damage dealt with weapons ?
(this problem is easily noticed with Aura of Justice, but also with multiclass Paladin/Sorcerers or Half Dragon Paladins, for example).
|
|
I can answer that one right away actually. The smite would, in that case, add in anytime the player had to roll to deal damage. This includes spells and supernatural abilities. If the text said 'weapon damage', that would be a different story. By RAW, it is any damage roll.
Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys
|
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
I can answer that one right away actually. The smite would, in that case, add in anytime the player had to roll to deal damage. This includes spells and supernatural abilities. If the text said 'weapon damage', that would be a different story. By RAW, it is any damage roll.
Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys
I suspect the RAI (rule as intended) though was meant to apply to weapon damage rolls. I, as a DM, would not allow adding on the smite bonus damage when rolling damage from spells, magic items, etc.
I could be wrong of course, just saying what I suspect the intention is/was.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
I can answer that one right away actually. The smite would, in that case, add in anytime the player had to roll to deal damage. This includes spells and supernatural abilities. If the text said 'weapon damage', that would be a different story. By RAW, it is any damage roll.
Your God of Knowledge,
NethysI suspect the RAI (rule as intended) though was meant to apply to weapon damage rolls. I, as a DM, would not allow adding on the smite bonus damage when rolling damage from spells, magic items, etc.
I could be wrong of course, just saying what I suspect the intention is/was.
I consider RAI when giving my answers as well, and it depends on how Smite is represented. If one thinks of it as the Paladin's god infusing his attacks (and now his allies) with holy energy, then it makes sense to apply to any kind of attack, not just a manufactured weapon. The ability is Supernatural, after all, implying some type of magic involved (since it won't function in an Antimagic field) as opposed to something more innate like an Extraordinary ability.
In any case, if you wish to discuss it more then please make a new thread for it. I probably should have not answered it here to begin with, this thread is just for questions for a FAQ.
Your God of Knowledge,
Nethys