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I was wondering if there has been any clarifications on how long a single round spell lasts ...
The standard ruling has always been "effects that last a certain number of rounds end just before the same initiative count that they began on." (page 178 of Core Rulebook) But how would something like the Bloodline Arcana from the Pit-Touched bloodline work?
Pit-Touched
Your diabolic corruption is from a source in the deepest parts of Hell.Associated Bloodline: Infernal.
Bloodline Arcana
Whenever you cast a spell, you gain a bonus on Intimidate checks equal to the spell’s level for 1 round.
This effect is never longer than 1 round (some spells last longer as you get more levels),
you can't give it to someone else (its not a touch spell),and as as far as I know there is nothing you can do with Intimidation that is just a move action ...
As written this would only have an effect if you cast a quickened spell?
Am I missing something?
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I'd say that round is when the character makes their Intimidation Check
It seems to be almost a "Swift Action" to increase that skill for that round until the beginning of their next round.
That means that everyone between the end of the character's turn to the beginning of the character's next turn will be affected by the success or failure of the Intimidation check.
Would you say your question would be better summed up as:
"What sorts of things can I actually do, once I get this intimidation bonus, given that it only lasts for one round?"
If so, I really have no idea. It seems like it may be in need of errata.
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I was hoping that there was some kind of FAQ or errata that I might have missed addressing the various bloodline and domain powers that don't do anything for the caster at lower levels because the effect ends before they get a turn to act.
Some believe this is working as intended, others just house rule you get one round with them ... I was looking to see if the developers have address this issue as they have a number of other on going debates.
What exactly can you do with the intimidate skill, in the middle of combat?
Would it boost the DC for fear-type spells?
Could the sorc intimidate a melee-type that stepped up to him, causing that melee-type to become panicked or shaken? (or flee?)
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This is what I assume is attended (the following round) ...
Demoralize
You can use this skill to cause an opponent to become shaken for a number of rounds. This shaken condition doesn’t stack with other shaken conditions to make an affected creature frightened. The DC of this check is equal to 10 + the target’s Hit Dice + the target’s Wisdom modifier.
Success: If you are successful, the target is shaken for one round. This duration increases by 1 round for every 5 by which you beat the DC. You can only “threaten an opponent this way if it is within 30 feet and can clearly see and hear you. Using demoralize on the same creature only extends the duration; it does not create a stronger fear condition.
Fail: The opponent is not shaken.
Demoralize Action
Demoralizing an opponent is a standard action.
I checked in the four errata PDFs I have, for the core rulebook, and none of them mention anything about this particular bloodline.
Let's consider, though, if it were for longer than one round. How would the relative power level be, if you were able to cast a spell on one round, intimidate with a bonus on round two, cast on round three, intimidate on round four, etc.?
If that's the case, then keeping one opponent at a -2 to attacks, saves, and ability checks, anywhere from 50% of the time, to 100% of the time (depending on your roll), for the tradeoff of you casting half the time, still seems like a weak ability.
If it's truly only one round, then you're limited to casting spells with a swift action, so that you can have your standard action free to intimidate. That's even more weak.
Seems like a poorly-written bloodline arcana, imo.
Only use I can see for it is later on, when you can swift cast spells and then use your standard for the intimidate.
But by the time you can do that, its a pretty poor tactical choice
I guess a magus/sorcerer with the Enforcer feat could use spell combat to cast a spell, then make a non-lethal melee attack, and then intimidate to demoralize as a free action.
Otherwise, if you have spells to cast as an immediate action, that gives you your whole turn to intimidate with. (Not that burning a feather fall each round for a +1 to a check that's really easy to raise is a good option.)
Seems straightforward to me. Instead of defining the point in time at which the effect ends, the bloodline is defining the duration.
So. You have just cast a spell. You've used your standard action for the round. Seems to me like it would last for a duration of one round - that is until the end of your standard action for the next round.
That's what makes sense, even if it's not explicitly written out, and if it makes sense (i.e that makes it a usable ability instead of a pointless one), that's the ruling I'd use.
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@gbonehead ... I agree, and thats what I plan on doing in my home game. But, I was interested in using a version of this character in PFS, and I wasn't sure what the standard ruling would be.
I suspect, going by RAW, this wouldn't be useful at all ...
I was hoping to make a fun sorcerer halfling, that could enlarge and intimidate people with his sinister infernal magnetism :).
That's actually an interesting corner case. Because Enlarge Person is a 1 round cast time instead of 1 standard action, you could argue that you don't receive the bonus at all until your next turn. At that point you'd receive the bonus for the next round, which you could then use as your standard action.
Food for thought
@gbonehead ... I agree, and thats what I plan on doing in my home game. But, I was interested in using a version of this character in PFS, and I wasn't sure what the standard ruling would be.
I suspect, going by RAW, this wouldn't be useful at all ...
I was hoping to make a fun sorcerer halfling, that could enlarge and intimidate people with his sinister infernal magnetism :).
Ah, convention campaigns. Gotta love 'em, gotta hate how random the rulings by the GMs can be.