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Is it a DEX Stat Check? It seems like it to me.
There´s certainly special abilities which add to it (Feats, traits, Class Abilities),
but I don´t see why special abilities coudn´t add to STR Ability Checks, either.
This is pertinent as to whether certain bonuses (like Good Hope) apply to Init checks or not.
IMHO, it seems appropriate and non-problematic, but I´m not sure what the RAW is.
I'm not certain I follow some of your question (what is Good Hope from?) but Initiative is a Dexterity check, so it would seem that abilities which effect Dex checks could effect Initiative checks. I can't think of an example that wouldn't.
Yes, Initiative is Dexterity check with bonuses from a few sources (mostly feat, racial, few class).
Initiative isn't a 'check' per se... it doesn't have difficulty...can you 'fail' initiative?
It is a roll that is modified by various factors, your DEX modifier being one of them.
That depends on what exactly you're asking. Some things effect "Ability Checks", and others effect "X-based skill checks". Neither of those would include Initiative. Usually if something effects initiative, it says so.
I agree on the skill check bonuses, but can you find an example of a bonus to "Dexterity Ability Checks" that would not apply to Initiative?
Initiative
At the start of a battle, each combatant makes an initiative check. An initiative check is a Dexterity check.
That sounds like an ability check to me.
Actually the second sentence in the intiative rules explicitly states that initiative is Dexterity check ("An Initiatve check is a Deterity check.").
Thanks, Deinol and Drejk! 100% clear!
I dont think you can take 10 for initiative though ?..
I dont think you can take 10 for initiative though ?..
You can only take 10 if you are not "in immediate danger". I'm fairly certain combat is the definition of "immediate danger".
EDIT: Never mind about taking 10 can't be used on ability checks, that's at the bottom of the description.
(what is Good Hope from?)
Good Hope
School enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 3
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Targets one living creature/level, no two of which may be more than 30 ft. apart
Duration 1 min./level
Saving Throw Will negates (harmless); Spell Resistance yes (harmless)
This spell instills powerful hope in the subjects. Each affected creature gains a +2 morale bonus on saving throws, attack rolls, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls.
Good hope counters and dispels crushing despair.
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This raises a question I have had for a long time..if Initiative is a Dexterity check then do you apply Armour penalties to it?
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Armour check penalties specificity say they only effect skill checks.
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/equipment---final/armor#TOC-Armor-Check-Penalty
An armor check penalty applies to all Dex- and Strength-based skill checks.
EDIT: It seems that if you are nonproficient in your armour or shield then you would apply the penalty to your initiative.
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This number is the maximum Dexterity bonus to Armor Class that this type of armor allows. Dexterity bonuses in excess of this number are reduced to this number for the purposes of determining the wearer's Armor Class. Heavier armors limit mobility, reducing the wearer's ability to dodge blows. This restriction doesn't affect any other Dexterity-related abilities.
The maximum dex bonus only affects AC, nothing else.
Is it a DEX Stat Check? It seems like it to me.
There´s certainly special abilities which add to it (Feats, traits, Class Abilities),
but I don´t see why special abilities coudn´t add to STR Ability Checks, either.This is pertinent as to whether certain bonuses (like Good Hope) apply to Init checks or not.
IMHO, it seems appropriate and non-problematic, but I´m not sure what the RAW is.
It was in 3.5 so it should still be one. I only remember because the Factotum's int bonus to dex based checks applied to initiative.
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That sounds like an ability check to me.
Initiative
At the start of a battle, each combatant makes an initiative check. An initiative check is a Dexterity check.
An ability check, as far as I understand, is just a check when using that ability. IE: a strength check, a dexterity check, a constitution check, etc. Not things based on them.
I've never heard of Initiative referred to as a 'dexterity check' before. I'll look in the PRD and see if I can find some better terminology.
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One example is in the "Getting Started" section where it separates a "Strength Check" from the other things that Strength uses.
Strength (Str)
Strength measures muscle and physical power. This ability is important for those who engage in hand-to-hand (or “melee”) combat, such as fighters, monks, paladins, and some rangers. Strength also sets the maximum amount of weight your character can carry. A character with a Strength score of 0 is too weak to move in any way and is unconscious. Some creatures do not possess a Strength score and have no modifier at all to Strength-based skills or checks.
You apply your character's Strength modifier to:
* Melee attack rolls.
* Damage rolls when using a melee weapon or a thrown weapon, including a sling. (Exceptions: Off-hand attacks receive only half the character's Strength bonus, while two-handed attacks receive 1–1/2 times the Strength bonus. A Strength penalty, but not a bonus, applies to attacks made with a bow that is not a composite bow.)
* Climb and Swim checks.
* Strength checks (for breaking down doors and the like).
This indicates that "Climb" or "Swim" are not "Strength checks", being as it calls those out separately. I would say that, similarly, only a roll based off of pure Dexterity is a "Dex check", and not something with other stuff like Initiative.
Still, I dunno. The second sentence of Initiative, as mentioned, does indicate it's a Dexterity check, so I'm likely in the wrong. I've just never heard it referred to as such. Granted, it hasn't exactly come up before. I'll just have to know that when I see things that apply penalties to Ability Checks in the future (or bonuses), that includes Initiative.