I'm a little confused by what exactly a Fear aura can do now. From the written text in the Bestiary:
Fear Aura (SU): The use of this ability is a free action. The aura can freeze an opponent (as in the case of a mummy's despair) or function like the Fear spell. Other effects are possible. A fear aura is an area effect...
So, something like a Bone Devil (least powerful Devil with an aura like that) can teleport next to something, paralyze it with its aura, and then conceivably coup-de-grace the paralyzed creature the next round? Is the Bone Devil's (and other Devils) aura even supposed to cause paralysis or is the glossary definiton simply being used to give a generalized rule for future monsters with fear auras? Simply put, can Devils paralyze with their Fear Aura instead of causing Fear? Is a Mummy's despair ability simply being used as an example of a monster with the ability to paralyze with fear, or are the fear effects interchangable??
Second, none of the Devils after the Bone Devil have durations on their Fear Auras. How long do these last? My guess is either 1d6 rounds (like the Bone Devil) or something equal to the creature's HD.
Finally, does Frightful Presence on Dragons cause a creature to become Frightened or Shaken? The glossary definition states that it could be either, and the Dragons' entry says to see the Frightful Presence definition in the glossary. So which one is it??
Thanks!
I was wondering about the dragon entry as well.
I'm a little confused by what exactly a Fear aura can do now. From the written text in the Bestiary:
Fear Aura (SU): The use of this ability is a free action. The aura can freeze an opponent (as in the case of a mummy's despair) or function like the Fear spell. Other effects are possible. A fear aura is an area effect...
So, something like a Bone Devil (least powerful Devil with an aura like that) can teleport next to something, paralyze it with its aura, and then conceivably coup-de-grace the paralyzed creature the next round? Is the Bone Devil's (and other Devils) aura even supposed to cause paralysis or is the glossary definiton simply being used to give a generalized rule for future monsters with fear auras? Simply put, can Devils paralyze with their Fear Aura instead of causing Fear? Is a Mummy's despair ability simply being used as an example of a monster with the ability to paralyze with fear, or are the fear effects interchangable??
Second, none of the Devils after the Bone Devil have durations on their Fear Auras. How long do these last? My guess is either 1d6 rounds (like the Bone Devil) or something equal to the creature's HD.
Finally, does Frightful Presence on Dragons cause a creature to become Frightened or Shaken? The glossary definition states that it could be either, and the Dragons' entry says to see the Frightful Presence definition in the glossary. So which one is it??
Thanks!
Okay. First, look at a given creature. If it doesn't say it paralyzes then it doesn't. Instead, it acts as the fear spell. That call-out in the description is there to inform you that other options are possible. Mummies literally scare you stiff, but dragons just scare you into running. The glossary rule is a generalized rule; monster descriptions are specific, and specific trumps the general rule.
The auras for devils last as if a fear spell were cast by the devil, so find the caster level for the devil and use that. We got hit with this in our campaign a while back when a gelugon attacked us and our shadowdancer ran off for 18 rounds or thereabouts. Fear lasts 1 round/level.
For the dragon, the frightful presence description in the glossary indicates shaken status, panicked status, or no effect based on the hit dice of the victim and the results of the saving throw. Remember though that fear effects can stack, so if the dragon hits you with another fear effect, you might go from shaken to something worse.
Thanks for replies! I'm still not sure about the Dragon's Frightful Presence. It says nothing about which HD are effected in which way. (Who gets shaken and who gets frightened). The Frightful Presence glossary entry, the entry on Dragon's frightful presence, and the individual dragon entries say nothing about which effect happens. I know the old 3.5 rulings, but was curious if anything had changed in Pathfinder?
Thanks for replies! I'm still not sure about the Dragon's Frightful Presence. It says nothing about which HD are effected in which way. (Who gets shaken and who gets frightened). The Frightful Presence glossary entry, the entry on Dragon's frightful presence, and the individual dragon entries say nothing about which effect happens. I know the old 3.5 rulings, but was curious if anything had changed in Pathfinder?
Here, let me emphasize the relevant portions:
Frightful Presence:This special quality makes a creature's very presence unsettling to foes. Activating this ability is a free action that is usually part of an attack or charge. Opponents within range who witness the action may become frightened or shaken. The range is usually 30 feet, and the duration is usually 5d6 rounds. This ability affects only opponents with fewer Hit Dice or levels than the creature has. An affected opponent can resist the effects with a successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 frightful creature's racial HD + frightful creature's Cha modifier; the exact DC is given in the creature's descriptive text). An opponent that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to that same creature's frightful presence for 24 hours. On a failed save, the opponent is shaken, or panicked if 4 HD or fewer. Frightful presence is a mind-affecting fear effect.
So if you have more HD than the dragon, you're immune. If you don't have more HD and you make your save, your immune for 24 hours. If failed, you are shaken. If failed and you have 4 HD or less, panicked.
I completely agree with what you're saying, I'm just wondering where you're pulling that information from. Maybe there's a page I'm not seeing, but in my Bestiary, the only entry for Dragon's frightful presence states :
"A dragon's frightful presence has a range equal to 30 feet x the dragon's age category, but otherwise functions as detailed on page 300."
Nothing else..
On page 300, my definition of Frightful presence reads:
"This special quality makes a creature's very presence unsettling to foes. Activating this ability is a free action that is usually part of an attack or charge. Opponents within range who witness the action become frightened or shaken. The range is usually 30 feet, and the duration is usually 5d6 rounds. This ability affects only opponents with fewer Hit Dice or levels than the creature has. An affected opponent can resist the effects with a successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 frightful creature's racial HD + frightful creature's Cha modifier; the exact DC is given in the creature's descriptive text.) An opponent that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to that same creature's frightful presence for 24 hours. Frightful presence is a mind-affecting fear effect."
That is everything in the Bestiary on 'Frightful Presence', and in none of the above copied text is there any mention of creature's less than 5 HD suffering from less of a fear effect, nor in the Dragon's entry.
As I said, I agree with what you're saying, I just want to know where you're getting the information from.
I completely agree with what you're saying, I'm just wondering where you're pulling that information from. Maybe there's a page I'm not seeing, but in my Bestiary, the only entry for Dragon's frightful presence states :
"A dragon's frightful presence has a range equal to 30 feet x the dragon's age category, but otherwise functions as detailed on page 300."
Nothing else..On page 300, my definition of Frightful presence reads:
"This special quality makes a creature's very presence unsettling to foes. Activating this ability is a free action that is usually part of an attack or charge. Opponents within range who witness the action become frightened or shaken. The range is usually 30 feet, and the duration is usually 5d6 rounds. This ability affects only opponents with fewer Hit Dice or levels than the creature has. An affected opponent can resist the effects with a successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 frightful creature's racial HD + frightful creature's Cha modifier; the exact DC is given in the creature's descriptive text.) An opponent that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to that same creature's frightful presence for 24 hours. Frightful presence is a mind-affecting fear effect."
That is everything in the Bestiary on 'Frightful Presence', and in none of the above copied text is there any mention of creature's less than 5 HD suffering from less of a fear effect, nor in the Dragon's entry.
As I said, I agree with what you're saying, I just want to know where you're getting the information from.
You need to download the errata. The change is in there. It's also in the updated PDFs if you happen to have bought that (so you can download it again for the changes).
And that is the case. (Not aware there was errata til now) Thanks! I hate feeling like I'm reading from a book that everyone else has read, with three pages torn out. Thanks!
And that is the case. (Not aware there was errata til now) Thanks! I hate feeling like I'm reading from a book that everyone else has read, with three pages torn out. Thanks!
Right there with ya, man. I didn't realize they had errata'd it already.
I completely agree with what you're saying, I'm just wondering where you're pulling that information from. Maybe there's a page I'm not seeing, but in my Bestiary, the only entry for Dragon's frightful presence states :
"A dragon's frightful presence has a range equal to 30 feet x the dragon's age category, but otherwise functions as detailed on page 300."
Nothing else..On page 300, my definition of Frightful presence reads:
"This special quality makes a creature's very presence unsettling to foes. Activating this ability is a free action that is usually part of an attack or charge. Opponents within range who witness the action become frightened or shaken. The range is usually 30 feet, and the duration is usually 5d6 rounds. This ability affects only opponents with fewer Hit Dice or levels than the creature has. An affected opponent can resist the effects with a successful Will save (DC 10 + 1/2 frightful creature's racial HD + frightful creature's Cha modifier; the exact DC is given in the creature's descriptive text.) An opponent that succeeds on the saving throw is immune to that same creature's frightful presence for 24 hours. Frightful presence is a mind-affecting fear effect."
That is everything in the Bestiary on 'Frightful Presence', and in none of the above copied text is there any mention of creature's less than 5 HD suffering from less of a fear effect, nor in the Dragon's entry.
As I said, I agree with what you're saying, I just want to know where you're getting the information from.
Sorry, I pulled it from the PRD, which has been errata'd. Forgot that it had been, to be honest, since the process is pretty seamless these days.