New Feat: Point Blank Master Advanced Players Handbook

[lordlor]

Point Blank Master (Combat)
You are adept at firing ranged weapons in close quarters.
Prerequisite: Weapon Specialization with selected ranged weapon.
Benefit: Choose one type of ranged weapon. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity when firing the selected weapon while threatened.
Normal: Using a ranged weapon while you are threatened provokes attacks of opportunity.
Special: Starting at 6th level, a ranger with the archery combat style may select Point Blank Master as a combat style feat, but he must have Weapon Focus instead of Weapon Specialization in the selected weapon.

This Feat is out of the new Pathfinder Advanced handbook.

I need some confimation about this feat....

Ranged Weapon = bows/sling & whip since these are all reanged weapons that normally without this feat provoke an attack of opportunity when using them in close combat

Or is it for bow only???

Would like any Feadback from players, DM's & designers of the new book please

[Alexander Kilcoyne]

It says 'Ranged Weapons'- how does that need designer clarification lol.

You don't provoke AOO when firing your ranged weapon of choice that you have weapon specialisation for (or weapon focus for if Ranger). You apply the feat to a single ranged weapon that you meet the prequisites for; whether thats a bow or something a bit less common is up to you.

[Ughbash]

It is any ranged weapon.

However a ranger can ONLY use it for bow if he uses a combat bonus feat and already has weapon focus for the bow.

Any other character can pick it for a weapon he has specialization in.

[Shadowlord]

lordlor wrote:

Ranged Weapon = bows/sling & whip since these are all reanged weapons that normally without this feat provoke an attack of opportunity when using them in close combat

Ranged weapons are any weapons that have a range increment entry in the Range column of the equipment table. The whip is a Reach weapon, but it does not have a range increment. Ranged and Reach are not the same thing.

The feat can apply to any weapon that has a range increment.

[Paul Watson]

Ughbash wrote:

It is any ranged weapon.

However a ranger can ONLY use it for bow if he uses a combat bonus feat and already has weapon focus for the bow.

Any other character can pick it for a weapon he has specialization in.

You mean anyone with at least 4 fighter levels as that's a prerequisite for Weapon Specialisation. That makes this a nice bonus for the Ranger as he's the only class other than a Fighter who can get this feat.

Also, the Ranger may apply it to any ranged weapon he has weapon focus in, not just bows. Ranged combat style applies to any ranged weapon he uses be it bows, crossbows or thrown daggers.

[LazarX]

Paul Watson wrote:

Ughbash wrote:

It is any ranged weapon.

However a ranger can ONLY use it for bow if he uses a combat bonus feat and already has weapon focus for the bow.

Any other character can pick it for a weapon he has specialization in.

You mean anyone with at least 4 fighter levels as that's a prerequisite for Weapon Specialisation. That makes this a nice bonus for the Ranger as he's the only class other than a Fighter who can get this feat.

Also, the Ranger may apply it to any ranged weapon he has weapon focus in, not just bows. Ranged combat style applies to any ranged weapon he uses be it bows, crossbows or thrown daggers.

But given that the ranger doesn't have a ton of feats to spare, he's going to most likely choose one ranged weapon for the necessary weapon focus feat. Given that... a bow is a hard choice to beat.

[Carpy DM]

Paul Watson wrote:

You mean anyone with at least 4 fighter levels as that's a prerequisite for Weapon Specialisation. That makes this a nice bonus for the Ranger as he's the only class other than a Fighter who can get this feat.

Any eldritch knight could get it; more importantly, however, Zen archer monks get it for free at 3rd level.

[lordlor]

My question is aimed at Whips, in the pfhb it states under whip description: Using a whip provoke an attack of opportunity, just as if you had used a ranged weapon...

So can this feat apply to whips aswell???

[Jeremiziah]

No, a whip is not a ranged weapon.

[Herald]

So the question I would ask is "Can a spell caster take this for spells that are ranged touch attacks."

Can I use Weapon Specialization for rays? I believe that I could in 3.5.

[QOShea]

Herald wrote:

So the question I would ask is "Can a spell caster take this for spells that are ranged touch attacks."

Can I use Weapon Specialization for rays? I believe that I could in 3.5.

Sadly, you have to be a Fighter 4th level to take Weapon Specialization.

Which stinks, because this feat would perfect for my flintlock pistol rogue.

[Berhagen]

It could work for an Eldritch Knight though

[Mok]

lordlor wrote:

Point Blank Master (Combat)

You are adept at firing ranged weapons in close quarters.
Prerequisite: Weapon Specialization with selected ranged weapon.
Benefit: Choose one type of ranged weapon. You do not provoke attacks of opportunity when firing the selected weapon while threatened.
Normal: Using a ranged weapon while you are threatened provokes attacks of opportunity.
Special: Starting at 6th level, a ranger with the archery combat style may select Point Blank Master as a combat style feat, but he must have Weapon Focus instead of Weapon Specialization in the selected weapon.

Sigh... they are still using the same confusing terminology as with Weapon Focus.

"Type" actually has a specific meaning in the rules, meaning bludgeoning, slashing or piercing. If the intent is not to go with one of those three meanings then the feat ought to be written as "Choose one kind of ranged weapon."

As for whips... they are one-handed melee weapons. However, because rules wouldn't be fun without obscure footnotes... reach weapons are treated as ranged weapons for purposes of cover and a few other things, even if the weapon itself is not a ranged weapon. It is not considered a ranged attack, but still a melee attack.

[Hunterofthedusk]

Actually, that's "Damage Type". It really should have been written as "Choose one ranged weapon" and left out any qualifiers

[mdt]

QOShea wrote:

Herald wrote:

So the question I would ask is "Can a spell caster take this for spells that are ranged touch attacks."

Can I use Weapon Specialization for rays? I believe that I could in 3.5.

Sadly, you have to be a Fighter 4th level to take Weapon Specialization.

Which stinks, because this feat would perfect for my flintlock pistol rogue.

That's what multiclassing is for.

Fighter 4/Rogue 1

[Ughbash]

Paul Watson wrote:

Ughbash wrote:

It is any ranged weapon.

However a ranger can ONLY use it for bow if he uses a combat bonus feat and already has weapon focus for the bow.

Any other character can pick it for a weapon he has specialization in.

You mean anyone with at least 4 fighter levels as that's a prerequisite for Weapon Specialisation. That makes this a nice bonus for the Ranger as he's the only class other than a Fighter who can get this feat.

Also, the Ranger may apply it to any ranged weapon he has weapon focus in, not just bows. Ranged combat style applies to any ranged weapon he uses be it bows, crossbows or thrown daggers.

There are a few other ways to get Weapon Specialization.

One of the would be a Battle Oracle with the right relevation. But that restriction makes it so MOST people who have it are Fighters, and a smaller set of people that are Eldritch Knights. Arguably it is more likley a ranger would get it than an eldritch knight.

[Papa-DRB]

Oh Wow!!

This could change my build for my 'switch-hitter' ranger (Treantmonk's Optimization Guide) that I have been building for a game.

*very* nice....

-- david
Papa.DRB

[LazarX]

QOShea wrote:

Herald wrote:

So the question I would ask is "Can a spell caster take this for spells that are ranged touch attacks."

Can I use Weapon Specialization for rays? I believe that I could in 3.5.

Sadly, you have to be a Fighter 4th level to take Weapon Specialization.

Which stinks, because this feat would perfect for my flintlock pistol rogue.

This feat seems to be clearly intended for use with Range Weapons, not spells. So spellcasters this feat is not for you.

[RtrnofdMax]

LazarX wrote:

This feat seems to be clearly intended for use with Range Weapons, not spells. So spellcasters this feat is not for you.

I'm not sure this is true. Following this logic would be like saying that point blank shot and precise shot are not intended to be used with ranged touch attacks, and that's not true.

[LazarX]

RtrnofdMax wrote:

LazarX wrote:

This feat seems to be clearly intended for use with Range Weapons, not spells. So spellcasters this feat is not for you.

I'm not sure this is true. Following this logic would be like saying that point blank shot and precise shot are not intended to be used with ranged touch attacks, and that's not true.

You're implying a symmetry that does not exist. Just because Weapons Finesse is a requirement for Weapons Specialisation does not mean that everyone who qualifies for the first feat can qualify for the second.

[Doskious Steele]

RtrnofdMax wrote:

LazarX wrote:

This feat seems to be clearly intended for use with Range Weapons, not spells. So spellcasters this feat is not for you.

I'm not sure this is true. Following this logic would be like saying that point blank shot and precise shot are not intended to be used with ranged touch attacks, and that's not true.

It's true that Point Blank and Precise Shot are useful for ranged touch attacks (as a subset of all ranged attacks), be they spell-based or not. That said, this particular feat negates the Attack of Opportunity specifically associated with firing a ranged weapon in melee combat, as opposed to the Attack of Opportunity associated with casting a spell while threatened.

Also, the reason the feat directs one to choose "one type of ranged weapon" as the object of the choice related to the feat, as opposed to "one ranged weapon" is that the use of the "one weapon" phrase leads to the confusion of whether the feat applies only to a single, unique, specific weapon possessed by the character taking the feat at the time the feat is taken, as opposed to any weapon of the chosen type (the difference between *that* longbow and *any* longbow). (This problem is inherent to the language, though, as observed in http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0012.html)

[Huppolitan]

I am pretty sure that thrown weapons count as ranged weapons, as they have a range increment, but would love a community confirmation for this. My PFS thrown-weapon fighter is about to gain a new level . . .

[Ravingdork]

Huppolitan wrote:

I am pretty sure that thrown weapons count as ranged weapons, as they have a range increment, but would love a community confirmation for this. My PFS thrown-weapon fighter is about to gain a new level . . .

Ranged weapons are those shown under the RANGED WEAPON sections of the books' weapon tables. Most thrown weapons are not ranged weapons at all, but melee weapons that can be thrown.

That being said, I believe most anything that works with ranged weapons will also work with melee weapons that can be thrown (making the above point largely moot).